81. Great British Seaside Challenge (27.5 Miles) - 05:26:01
About 2 weeks prior to this event I'd invested in a pair of carbon-plated super lightweight running shoes to see if they could make me any quicker. The short answer was yes and I smashed my 5K and 10K PB's (both set over 5 years ago). However in the process had aggravated my achilles tendon.
I was still determined to do this event and loaded up with painkillers set off from Skegness heading 14 and a bit miles up the coast towards Sutton. Within a mile everything was hurting and it was a real struggle to keep going. I just focussed on each mile on the way to the turn around point, as it was a slightly shorter return leg, only by about 1/2 mile but every yard helps.
The day after the event I was booked in with a physiotherapist who said my achilles was like a giant balloon, and sent me home with a roll of kino tape (great stuff), with instructions to rest up and keep applying ice for a few weeks. In hindsight it did me the world of good to have a rest, but was frustrating at the time. Luckily I had nearly 2 months before the next marathon.