I’ve just finished a BIG week of training for my 10 marathons in 10 days challenge in May. As the 10in10 is all about daily consecutive longs runs my training needs to replicate the same so I planned to do 100 miles in 7 days and finish it with the 28 mile Winter Railway Ultra. These blocks of high mileage help me get used to running long runs day after day which makes me feel very tired and experience the mental battle and physical fatigue which I will experience during the 10in10 challenge.
As the week progressed it got harder to motivate myself to get out for each long run but I’ve been pleased with both the pace I’ve run and that I’m managing to keep injury free.
Denzil – Race Director and “Fat Controller”
Finishing the week with the Winter Railway Ultra (28.3 miles) was the ultimate way to finish the week, my longest run of the week as the last day. I actually started off the run in fairly high spirits and paced it slow for the first few miles before getting into my usual rhythm. I was quite impressed to complete the race in an average of just under 8 minute miles and 3rd place overall. The race is a lovely friendly race put on by Denzil which is 3 laps up and down a very pretty disused railway line set in some very picturesque woodland and along the banks of the river Severn. Maybe my good spirits were high because I was on the last day of this mini challenge and it replicates the last day of the 10in10 when you don’t have to save anything for the next day and you know you have nearly completed your challenge. This seems to create a euphoria and the motivation to go faster.
Lovely Snow Drops out on the course in the woods at the side of the River Severn
In the end I managed 103.2 miles for the week, with the only minor concern being a stiffness in my right Achilles. I’ll have an easy few days now to give my legs a bit of a rest before getting stuck into more heavy mileage. I plan to do another 100 mile week like this again in about a month’s time.
