Monday 23 May 2022

Heat training (sort of!)

I'm back on it but as I was away in Saville for the football followed by a trip to Madrid, I had to carefully plan my running.  100,000 Rangers supporters landed in Saville for a party and unfortunately we didn't get the result we wanted.  However despite a long day with a few libations along the way (!!) I was up the next morning for a 10k run.  I can't let the training slip and must keep my "eyes on the prize" no matter what challenges get in the way.
Madrid was hot, very hot but I managed 4 runs.  Nothing over 12 km but the heat had to be taken into account.  In Romania last year it was 35 degrees which was similar to one day in Madrid but I wasn't carrying a 12kg backpack and trying to run 250 km in a week up mountains.  So it was good to "suffer" in the heat as a reminder of what lies ahead.
But I'm feeling in a good place with all the hard work that's been done to date and the 125k Ultra two weeks ago was a confidence booster as I had to dig deep mentally to push through the pain barrier and keep going to the end.  Anyone with a desire to complete a multi staged ultra like MdS or URR should test themselves out on a 125km ultra over 2 days.  It give you a good insight as to the challenges you will face.
My coach has told me the mountain training will start again on Saturday and I can't wait to get back.  The scenery, the solitude and the silence of the mountains is sublime.  I'll also be doing back to back long days in the coming weeks and months, getting used to waking up with a days tough running in my legs and then repeating it.  That's what will get me ready for Romania plus I will be starting to run with a weighted backpack.  Scotland might not offer me the heat training but it got everything else I need.  Before 11th August (URR) I will source a training camp in the mountains abroad where I can be guaranteed the heat plus of course I have my heat chamber work with the UWS to look forward to.  Working towards challenging goals requires a well constructed plan where you stick to it and never lose focus on the prize and of course in the end the most important question is "how bad do you want it?"

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