I LOVE this time of year. There is something very special
about the start of spring with the gradually warming temperatures and the
countryside coming to life again after the winter lull. It’s also a dangerous
time of year - I tend to get carried away and want to pack every spare moment
full with plans for runs, walks, trips and whatever else I can think of. So
guess what? The calendar is looking pretty stacked all of a sudden. Hey ho.
Lots to look forward to.
My running is also coming back to life. An injury enforced two
months off over the winter has given my legs a freshness I haven’t had for
quite some time, and I’m relieved to say the niggles I had are now well in
check. Phew. It’s quite amazing how quickly the body can bounce back from a
period of no running. In the midst of it you feel like you may never find ‘it’
again and the negative voices in the back of your head are working overtime,
but of course that’s just your mind playing around. In reality, running fitness
is a long term project, and whilst the sharpness on the outside does disappear
quickly, all that hard work over the years which has gone into the core of your
legs, is of course still there. Thanks goodness for that.
I was hoping to run the World 100km in April which is the
same day as the London Marathon on 22nd April however I’ve decided to pull the
plug on that. It’s too soon, and there’s too much pavement pounding involved.
Not worth the risk. My 3rd GB vest will have to wait a bit longer. I
will be ready fitness-wise, but I probably won’t have the durability in me to
batter the roads for 7 or so hours. I may however sneak a shorter race in
towards the end of April – I’ll hold that decision for a few weeks. I’m now
targeting, with a lot of excitement, the TNF 100 in the Blue Mountains of
Australia on 19th May. I’ve never travelled down under before, so
I’ll be excited to be a tourist and see some of the sights of the Sydney and
Blue Mountains area, as well as the prospect of some great racing of course.
Training wise, for me March is all about building some base.
As Twitter will tell you I’ve been swimming daily during my injury spell and,
rather worryingly, I’ve been enjoying it. I couldn’t have written the script
for that one. But I’ve now decided to try to keep it up even as my running
mileage increases as it seems to loosen my legs and joints out remarkably well,
which will hopefully help to maintain the durability and overall strength when
I really start to crank the running up in April. I’ve run a great mixture of
distances from 5 miles to 40 miles over the last couple of weeks and I will
keep up the variety for motivation, interest and as a good overall balance. I’ll
also do the weekly Bournemouth AC marathon sessions which are seriously good workouts,
albeit on the flat. In April I will step up the sessions and work at threshold
a lot more with a view to being ‘fit’ for early May. My fitness for the TNF 100
should flow nicely into Western States where I’m going for my 3rd
finish. I can’t wait.
So despite a challenging start to the year, it’s all heading
in the right direction :o)
