Friday, November 11, 2011

Next up - Brecon Ultra

So, this week was meant to be the start of a taper (ish) for the Brecon Ultra 45miles next Saturday (Nov 19th).

Had a really solid weekend - 23 miles on Saturday and felt amazingly good doing 15 miles on Sunday. Definitely feeling stronger and generally more resilient to the training burden & stresses. Another week of 60+ miles - happy with that. Gym on Monday, fast 6 miler around work on Tuesday, rest on Wednesday but accidentally (?!) did a slow steady 8 miles, and another 8 miles or so yesterday steadily building up. Definite rest today - haven't got any kit whatsoever with me. Benefit of my job is that I can do most my mid-week running at lunch-time as I can just about 80min running if I'm organised enough. Hill training - no chance - flat as a pancake in rural Lincolnshire - biggest hill is a railway bridge!

Quads seem to have finally settled down and groin is pretty much there too - touch wood. Not surprising that I've been having niggles all summer/autumn as prior to April I hadn't run for longer than an hour on the road for several years and not consistently since my triathlon days finished in 1998. Although always aerobically fit, nothing can really prepare your legs for the pounding!

One thing I've discovering and am really enjoying is running with a headtorch - it's really therapeutic being out in just your own bubble of light - very peaceful.

Really looking forward to the Brecon race - never been to this part of the world before. Hoping for a good run - last ultra of the year and quite possibly last race of the year, so will hopefully hit race day just right and give it a whirl!