A solid training week – it is nice to be reporting that
:o)
So despite some lingering sinusitis in the early part of the
week, I managed to train through without it flaring up again (maybe the
antibiotics are working), and it feels like I’ve just about got away with it.
Monday to Wednesday involved long days away working in the Midlands and London,
but I still managed to get my runs in, and was back in Bournemouth in time
(just) to jump on the back of the Bournemouth AC train banging out a marathon
session on the prom. It was horrible, I’m not going to lie, with a stiff
easterly wind to contend with one way, but I got the session done, albeit not
quite as quickly as planned.
I then trained through and toed the line at the New Forest
50km on Saturday morning, a 3 loop trail race around some lovely rolling gravel
tracks. This was my substitute for the Hobble which I had to bail on the week
before, and I admit to feeling rather blasé and not really up for it on
Saturday morning after Thursday and Friday nights out (must be getting old,
can’t handle it anymore), but again the machine took over, and I turned out a
really pleasing run.
 |
| Start of The New Forest 50km (am I asleep?) |
I knew a win wouldn’t be realistic given some still
competition from Southampton speedster Matthew Bennett (who’s currently in the
midst of Comrades training), but my aim was to average sub 7 min/ mile pace,
and get round in one piece. The first lap felt a little laboured, and the cold
easterly certainly didn’t help the sinuses, but I seemed to feel my way into
the race and ran the last lap really strongly, bringing the average pace down
from 7.04m/m end of lap 2, to 6.57m/m at the finish. I finished second
according to the results, but 3rd according to my counting, in 3hr
40mins (measured at 31.5miles). Happy days.
So it made for a pleasing 100 mile week, my first in the
best part of a year, and some reasonable quality in there too. Hopefully I can
maintain that sort of mileage for a couple of weeks, before my taper for the
Fling starts in about 3 weeks time.
Kudos must also go to BAC team mate Steve Way who ran 3.55
for 40 miles at the Barry 40 on Sunday, and in doing so achieved a world best
(for an old boy) at the distance. Nicely done mate!
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