Back on it

After a major race you need to rest and recover before getting “back on it”.  Just over a week ago my coach asked me if I was ready to get back on it.  By that she meant ramping up the training as there are only 109 days to go to Tahoe and we’ve got some serious work to do.  When I looked at this weeks plan I had to remember that while this was a significant hike in my recent training, it was just getting back to where I was before The Fling.
This week I have ran 93km and swam 4.5km.  This is only going to increase although it will involve a lot of power walking up hills and then running down them at speed.  Back to back runs are our favoured approach to getting me ready for my Tahoe adventure so on Saturday I headed out with Stuart for 35km, part road and part trail.  We managed a reasonable pace but it was a tough 3 hrs 15 mins.  I practiced my nutrition and hydration strategy and had no issues.  I then drove straight to Aberdeen with my wife for my daughter’s birthday - getting out the car wasn’t much fun.  A nice dinner, a few glasses of wine and after breakfast we headed back down the road.  A three hour drive is not the ideal way to prepare for a 25km run and the weather wasn’t looking good with the wind picking up to the forecast 45mph.
I really wasn’t looking forward to the run and with no company, I plugged in my headphones.  My legs felt stiff to start with but soon warmed up.   The music helped pass the time and my heart rate behaved which was the sign that the hard weeks training had paid off.  Next week should be an easier week before it steps up again.   Tomorrow is a day off and I am looking forward to the rest.  But it was good to be “back on it” and I’m looking forward to getting into the mountains and soon the gym. I’ve work to do to get this body stronger to cope with the stresses of the training and Tahoe.  I hope you are enjoying following me on this adventure?