Unintentional Ultra Runner

"I'm not a runner but I can run. I'm not a fighter but enjoy a scrap. I'm not a genius but I'm not stupid. I'm not perfect and I've made mistakes but at the end of the day, I am who I am and will always succeed" Rob Wood. That’s it, we’re Done, Finito, Fin, Fini, Finished with training and ready to get on the plane tomorrow night. I started this journey & blog as a complete imbecilic Ultra novice but actually came to learn loads about crazy Ultra running as well as a shedload about myself. There’s no way I could have completed it alone and although most of my training has been done in solitary or with the pups, I’ve always had huge virtual support and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. All aside, I still consider myself a novice but at least say I’m an educated one now. I’ve absolutely had highs as well as some pretty significant lows but actually impressed myself with the level of persistent commitment. Low#1: The...

“You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands - your own.” Mark Victor Hansen   One more week of taper training and then OFF!! Kit has been accumulating for almost a year and tbh, it seems to have become part of the furniture so, time to get it packed and actually see if it all goes in the pack. Speaking of which, the second pack already started to wear and figured it only needed a strap to break in the Jungle and I’d be screwed so, yep, another one ordered. Drawing on all the tips & tricks I’ve accumulated over the last year I set about getting race ready. Decanted all my food and put it into double lock zip bags (squishing out all the air save loads of space), Placed each days food in piles and put the piles into individual zip bags. In essence one pack is one day in its en...

"What we face may look insurmountable. But I learned something from all those years of training and competing. I learned something from all those sets and reps when I didnt think I could lift another ounce of weight. What I learned is that we are always stronger than we know." Arnold Schwarzenegger   The closer I've got to closing out training preparation the more I've reflecting on the blog, the reason for starting it .Rereading old posts to see how my last 11½ months has changed me personally and panned out physically has been quite an eye-opener.   When I took on this journey, to say I was pretty naïve and clueless would be an understatement. You might say "hey, you've done immense distance singe day Ultras so what's the big deal?!" I can honestly say it's vast and the voids bewteen Single v's Multi-stage events are epic.  Single stage events are 100% mentally demanding and without doubt, physically bloody tough wo...

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving them"   Zig Ziglar Monday 29/04: It's back... Marathon Monday! Having had a good rest day yesterday and the weather getting a lot more favourable it was a day’s work followed by a hound hook up and out the door. Plan had been festering all day yesterday and watching those amazing London Marathoners complete their mission it fired me up to crack on and get the job done. A lap of the airfield at pace with the little ones (not that I have much say in the matter) and then, after getting them settled it was straight back out for the long leg of the session. Along the coast path to Warsash, back through the trail route and home again for some reason was bloody hard graft. Unusually for me, my legs were proper sore at around 11 miles in and even now I don’t get why. On top of that my knees were “clunking” quite a lot. Obviously not good when you still ha...