I love Mondays, once I pack HWMBO and Son & Heir to Nothing off to work I have the house to myself, total bliss.
Todays run was 35k, which I was looking forward to having had my rest day yesterday. The only downside was my stomach was very sore due to “female matters”, as far as I’m concerned the menopause can’t come quick enough, you men have no idea how lucky you are not having this bodily function. It can cause a huge amount of discomfort and affect our training not to mention races, not very pleasant.
Caroline came and picked me up at 8.15 and we drove to Charing where we picked up the North Downs Way heading towards Dover. The weather was fantastic, slightly overcast but warm. I was using my new Inov-8 backpack which I will be using for the Jungle Ultra in May. In the pack I had 1.5L of water and dog food bringing the weight to approx 4kg. The pack felt extremely comfortable with no bouncing or wobbling so very happy. The water holders on the front took a bit of getting used to, but once I had got the hang of them they were fine. Unlike the Raidlight bottle holders these didn’t bounce or sway from side to side too much and were well positioned on the shoulder straps.
The run went very well, I felt very comfortable, although I still find my breathing isn’t fantastic going up steep hills, but this I’m sure will improve over the next few weeks. We were chatting so much I forgot to drink as much as I should have done, so by the end I was feeling quite thirsty. Due to all the wind we have been experiencing recently a tree had fallen across the track, but we managed to find out way through the brambles and across to the other side. We ran all the way to Chilham, turned round and ran back to the car at Charing – total distance 36.5km.
The remainder of the day seemed to disappear very fast, talking to friends, sending emails, sorting sponsorship and checking out hammocks for the Jungle, before I knew it the time was 3.30 – oops, I had better get myself bathed and start the ironing!
Tomorrow I have a short run in the morning, training my daughter and a friend in the forest followed by a speed session! its all go!
Happy Training!
