Day 1: Feel the Burn
So day one begun enthusiastically as expected. Obviously there were many concerns and worries, with regards to how I would feel running so far, and whether everything would start off well. My mother, Aunty and co-runner Nick set off at 6:30 am on Tuesday the 3rd January. We headed towards Workington to begin running for the Road2Uganda challenge.
​​After the 2 hour and 15 minute drive we arrived, all weary and tired. The weather was cold, overcast and windy, but importantly it was dry!! Once taking a couple of photographs and making sure we had all our equipment together, Nick and I set off on the challenge. To get to our end point of the day we had to run 28.33 miles ending up just past Keswick.
The scenery along the route was absolutely stunning. We followed the beautiful river Derwent, and crossed through Whinlatter pass; which despite what Wikipedia says, was a hard, hard climb. It was a massive help just having my friend Nick with me. As an inexperienced runner, Nick's knowledge about running made me feel more comfortable, and our constant banter helped take my mind off the seemingly never ending muscle burn. Throughout the day I struggled getting into my ‘running rhythm’, and by the final 6 miles I begun to feel like my muscles were getting stabbed by tiny daggers.
At the end of Day 1, whilst relaxing and trying to catch my breath in an ice bath, I worried about how my body would feel on day 2. I wondered if day 1 had prepared me well, or worsened my chances of completing the challenge. I tried to take it day by day, and stop myself from thinking about the impending 3 days of constant running. 28 miles down, 87 to go. Piece of cake...
