Build on a solid foundation

Having built a house recently, not personally of course, I know the importance of building on a solid foundation especially if you are doing a lot of the work in the winter when the elements are fighting against you.  There are no short cuts.  If the foundation is flawed then when put under pressure they will fail.  I was thinking about this as my coach has my training plan starting to gradually increase whether it be gym sessions, no. of repetitions, weights, distance of runs, back to back runs etc.  No sudden increases like doubling your run distance, but building on the foundations that were laid over the last 4 months 
If you ignore this proven method you will end up injured which sets you back and we're all trying to avoid that.  With my first race in 54 days time I can't afford time out for an injury.  The first priority is making it to the start line uninjured and if you have managed to peak your training at that point, that's a bonus.  But don't be injured.
The highlight of my week was a 5km run in London in a cold, blue sky winters day.  Again my coach adjusted my training to fit in with my work.  I couldn't run on Thursday, Friday was meant to be a no run day and I had a busy running schedule on Saturday and Sunday.  She restricted it to 5km just to keep me ticking over.  I planned an out and back route which took me across the Thames.  That's the wonderful thing about running that you can go "sight seeing" at the same time and as London isn't back to normal it's a nicer run.  I left my music off so I could enjoy the sounds of a city waking up.
It contrasted with two very wet runs this weekend.  I headed back to Chatelherault and ran a lap before my pals turned up for the second lap. It was nice to be back running in the forest but it was wet under foot.  Didn't help that I turned up in road shoes which shows how out of practice I am at preparing to run at Chatelherault.  Good to be back running with my mates.
Today was a tough gym session followed by an 11 km run and I was asked to up my pace for this session.  As I pulled into the carpark at Tollcross the rain was bouncing off the road but I had come suitably dressed.  Following a hard gym session, including a Stairmaster session, I headed out for a run. The Stairmaster is a bit mind numbing and tough but as my mountain running pal Michael said, Ben More doesn't have an off switch! I was delighted with my run despite the waterlogged route and the constant rain because my HR was bang on target.  I hope this continues.  It would have been easy to cancel this session but when you are being held accountable for every training session with people watching, you can't.  It was a question of getting my mindset right and go out and embrace the conditions.
I'm feeling stronger than I have ever been and also added a new race to my calendar, Salomon Ring of Steall in September as I enjoyed it so much last year.  It's only a month after Ultra Race Romania but I am aiming to be in good shape after a sensible season of training.  I'm confident in the next stage of "building" me for the goals I have set this year but always make sure you are building on a solid foundation.