"The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart."
Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike



Only 2 weeks left of full on training before I start the 3 week taper period.

General advice from more experienced Ultra guys than me is to have a 3 week taper consisting of the first being 80% of my usual mileage followed by 60% in the second week and then 40% in the week leading up to leaving. And there I was thinking my taper would be next to nothing!!

Onto the weekly training accountability…

Monday 15/04:
Rest day fuelled with regular Ibuprofen seems to have given my knees the time out they needed and this morning they were ok and good to get going for the long one.

Proper windy but dry from a weather perspective so it was always going to be a challenge especially along the coast but hey, it’s gotta be done.

The inevitable challenge for the day is making sure I get the distance but also keeping the guys with four legs exercised.

Quick lap of the airfield with the hounds gives me peace of mind that they’ve had a bit out run time and be happy to kip whilst I was out doing the longer leg of the day. It’s always good to have a little bit of company even if it was only for a part of the session. I really do just need them to slow down!!

Once I’d done the drop off it was a swift turn around to get going for the next 18 miles.

Consciously aware that my knees have been giving me a little grief, I decided to take the session fairly easy. Didn’t over push it. Distance is probably more valuable than speed. That said, there’s always that nagging in the back of my mind that getting home late in the evening has an impact on everything else. Shower, food, time to chill and of course sleep are all impacted the later I get in from the long one.

The only thing in my favour is that the days are getting longer now that the UK clocks have changed so it’s loads lighter and I don’t need to illuminate the route.

A great positive came from a mod I made to the ruck sack. At the bottom of it is a seam that holds the main body to the straps. I noticed back in the early days that no matter what you put in there, if it’s heavy, it WILL compress and chafe your back. Initially I’d rolled a towel and strategically placed it in the bottom to keep the seam from coming into contact with my back BUT, when it’s wet it adds weight and that ain’t gonna be good in the jungle. Solution was to use a piece of foam pipe insulation ) about 8” and push it right to the bottom. Worked a treat!!

Not sure what it was for this one but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I usually do. The route was crystal clear in my head but seemed to be endless. Maybe it’s time for a route change.

Home by 20:00 hrs and still dusk so no complaints. 24½ miles completed and a good start to the week in terms of getting to the 70 mile target. 

Tuesday 16/04:
Dojo training day

Wednesday 17/04:
Today was off to a flyer. No aches after the Monday long one so, jogged to training, instructed at the dojo and then legged it home to grab the pups.

Really quick turnaround and with the hounds hooked up they led me off for a lap of the airfield at the usual lightning pace.

Proper nice being out during a dry, fairly warm Spring evening and with nothing to be back for, it’s kinda more like chill time than doing a session with a purpose.

I’d seriously thought of reducing the pack weight to something a bit more realistic to that which I’ll be running with in the Amazon but ya know what, us low level dwellers don’t have many hills so my thoughts are that it’s a good way to get that bit more outta training.

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge to get out and run a distance (Daughters birthday) so the compromise might be reps of the shingle hills on the beach.
Anyway, 11 done for today so right now we’re on track for the weekly target.

Thursday 18/04:
Today was always going to be a challenge to get any run in let alone a long one what with it being my youngest's birthday.

Took the first available opportunity. Hooked up the hounds and shot straight off along the cliffs and back. Nothing espcially dramaric about it tbh but the weather is defo warming up here in the UK and noticable compared to what I've been used to for the last 11 months.
 
Still, it's gonna be lot hotter in the Jungle so best get used to it eh!? 6.5 miles done which is more then i thought I'd get in so absolutely no grumbles.
 
Friday 19/04:
A UK national holiday so made the most of having a full day to do whatever.
Opted to have a day with the dogs and squeeze out of it what we could.
The temperature has rocketed to 23 degrees today so it was a strategic plan of runnign from water stop to water stop for the tethered metalists. Great to give them a chance to cool off, drink, cock about for a bit before heading off to the next oasis.

Was a pretty laid back kinda morning and ending up with 9.5 miles completed followed by a few hours chilling out in the van right on the sea front.

Saturday 20/04:
Another sweltering hot day for us in the UK topping out again at around 23 degrees so strategically planned to head out early before it got too hot for the hounds. 
Pretty much copied yesterday's route going from oasis to oasis.
Managed to tag a little extra loop on by heading along the canal path towards Titchfield not because I selfishly wanted to get a decent distance in but more because the hounds simply wanted to do more. Being pretty wooded and covered from the sun it was all good.

Knocked out 11 miles and then sat by the sea in the van for the beginning of rest day.

Monday is scheduled to be another hot one and I defo need to complete Marathon Monday in terms of distance.
No dogs unless I can get out early and do the airfield loop before the heat rises. Will see how it pans out.
 
Rest day Sunday 21/04:
Nothing better than having a day off in awesome sunshine. I'm feeling a bit unsure how tomorrow is going to pan out as it's expected to be another boiling hot day.
Right now i'm planning to just plod, take plenty of fluid and soak it up. Bring it on!!
 
Although I missed the 70 mile target for the week I'm OK with it only being 62.5. Hopefully next week it'll be a little closer.
If you're taking part in events next weekend, HUGE respect & Good Luck to you all. May to achieve all your goals. Now go smash it!!!  
 
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