"Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today"
Tim Fargo

 

Monday 25/03:

I can’t remember the last time I ran in the sun but this week is living up to forecasts and today was a NICE run!!

Temperature was a near perfect 13 degrees and sunny without wind. Better still, it was daylight for 90% of it.

A quick loop of the airfield to get the hound’s exercised and then straight back out for the extra 15 miles.

Heading out I was a little still unsure if I’d do the longer loop and turn the 15 miles into 18 miles but when it came to the proverbial fork in the road it was, sad to say, the shorter one. Not because I wimped out, but more that I wanted to see if I could get back without having to brighten the route with a headtorch.

I took the opportunity to try out some different nutrition en route. Pip & Nut is, in essence just peanut butter in a sachet.
There’s no way you can neck it in one but the occasional slurp was goooood.
I like peanut butter anyway so half the battle in the bag. The only challenge, as you’d expect is that it’s pretty gooey. Slosh it around, savour the taste and then get it down with a slurp of water is actually pretty good.
Obviously there are some benefits besides taste. Slow release energy without that sickliness that I find gels have.
Took a first gulp at around 10 miles and the tube was still going right through to around 14 miles. Defo something for the Jungle as I could probably get by with 2-3 per day and they don’t weigh much either.

The end of the session came in at just under 21 miles and still in daylight (just).

A great start to the week and looking forward to the Wednesday one espcially if the weather stays good.

 

Wednesday 27/03:
The usual routine of teaching at the dojo for a couple of hours was preceded by the few miles run there before heading home to collect my four-legged furry friends.

Jogging to the dojo is always a bit “urgh”.
It takes me a couple of miles to settle into a pace and before I know it, I’m there. That said, the run back is a load better because I’ve been doing stuff in class.

With the dogs all harnessed up and raring to go it was back along the seafront for a lap of the airfield.

Dusk and almost dark when we set off but being road running and not having to worry about terrain there wasn’t a need for a headtorch.

I have no idea what the difference was but tonight was a proper quick pace and most of the time it was me v’s the dogs for interval sprints. I just seemed to have an immense surplus of energy and the urge to race the dogs was a great laugh (although the dogs thought I’d possibly gone a bit mental).

Swift (and I really mean swift!) lap in the bag with a total of 10.5 miles was another good short one banked.

Roll on tomorrow for a slightly longer 15 miles.

 

Thursday 28/03:
Half expected to be a little tired today. Didn’t sleep good and with the belter of a run last night I thought I’d feel flat. Fortunately that wasn’t the case (phew!).

Work day done and kit on ready to plod the airfield, did the dog drop off and then got straight back out the door for the additional longer stretch.

If you’re in the South Coast of the UK and reading this, you’ll know the weather’s been amazing this week. No wind and an 11 – 14 degrees with sunshine has made for near perfect conditions.

To top it all, the replacement ASIC trainers I got from Alton Sports have made such a difference to knee, hip & back pain elimination. Just goes to prove, if you’ve had a pair of shoes for a long period of time you may not notice the negative impacts they’re putting on your body. Get them replaced! I was told 500 miles is the norm but never really worried too much but I promise ya, it’s worth doing if you want to save a world of pain.

The run itself was pretty good. A bonus with the warmer evening is that you don’t need to take food supplements. I must’ve swallowed half a kilo of gnats!!
Jeez, when they get stuck in the back of your throat and won’t shift it's really annoying!! But hey, it’s protein right?
Ended the session with the 16 planned miles and already looking forward to the same tomorrow.

 

Friday 29/03:


No life commitments planned after work so it was kit on and out the door. Figured today was going to focus on “time on feet”.

Distance and/or time was kinda irrelevant so buckled in with the dogs for a trek along the cliffs. Today was all about giving them some ”mucking about” time by the sea rather than just route running,

There was only one downer to today. Whilst doing my responsible duties and bagging one of the little treasure’s poo’s the other one decided to use my leg as a lamppost whilst I was occupied doing the bagging – wtaf?!?!
Putting a positive spin on it, they say to get used to running in wet feet for the Jungle although not quite sure pee actually counts :0/

Took us ages to get round, played in the stream, stopped for lunch, walked / power stomped and just enjoyed the sun - totally worth it by just taking it easy.

Another 10.5 miles in the bag and still got one more to do this week in what looks like it’ll be a high of 16 degrees if the weather forecast is correct.

Saturday 30/03:
A short 10 miler was the planned distance today but 13 miles is really the deep down intention.
The longer route will give me a total of 250 miles this month and a rounded 70 miles for the week.

The temperature was as predicted but still way lower than what’s coming to me in Peru.

Figured we’d do an airfield lap to knock off 6 miles of the 13 then get the hounds rested before crackin’ out the last 7 miles on my own.

All absolutely went to plan. The temperature has risen from 10 degrees to a massive 17½ in the last week and although nothing near what it’s likely to be in the Jungle, it’s a massive leap for the UK and noticeable when running.

Definitely found an increase with the water intake and just to add to the pack weight, I needed to carry ample of the little four legged companions at regular intervals.
Fortunately, unlike my last running buddy, these two are more than happy to stop and take a slurp from a collapsible bowl.

The absolute only downer was that my right leg was used as a fricken lamppost (again!) – that’s one habit I need him to break. Fed up with being pee’d on for sure and it defo ain’t cool on so many levels!

Having dropped the little ones off it was straight out for the second leg.

Took the promenade out for 3½ miles and then back again.

An absolutely crackin’ day. A packed beach which meant loads of chats, beeps, honks and waves from friends on the way.

Must remember sun block next time coz I got a little burnt but hey, who cares! It was the perfect end to the month / week and dead chuffed to break my PB on distance in a single month.

 

250 miles DONE & 70 for the week. One proper happy runner for sure.    

Monday, we do it all again. First day of the month will kick off with a long one but the focus will be on the 30^th of April.

Whatever your goals are, think about the finish line and make it happen.

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