Back to the trails

Most of this years training has taken place on tarmac rather than the trails.  This has been down to the severe weather and change of location.  Lockdown hasn't helped but the highlight of the week, was running again at Chatelherault with a group of friends.  Covid rules were strictly adhered to with no more than 15 of us, including 2 excited dogos, and within 500 metres we were definately socially distanced.  Stuart and I had ran 6.5km before we met up with the group and running on trails is different from tarmac.  You engage more muscles for a start due to the uneveness of the ground.  The ground is wet and slippy so staying upright can be challenging, as Stuart found out to his cost.  There are plenty of hills to test your lungs and after another 10 km Stuart and I left the group who were on a different schedule.  We then ran back to the start and that brought the total run to 25km.  So good to be back at Chatelherault with friends and hopefully in the months ahead we'll get into the mountains which is an essential part of my preparation for URR in August.
I weighed myself this morning and was surprised that I'm weighing 144lbs - a bit on the light side.  This week isn't going to help as I'm taking 3 days off after some dental surgery on Wednesday and will be on a "wet diet" for 2/3 days.  Once my rest and recovery is over I will be back and I'm feeling my training plan has me in good shape for this time of year.  The advantage of having a coach advising me and adapting my plan when necessary.
This week has been 71km of running and the distances are just going to continue going north.  The gym work is making me stronger and by the end of April I'll have access to my own gym which will make a difference.  Loving the lighter mornings, bring on the sunshine and some warmth in the air!