Summers back!

Woke up to be beautiful morning. There hasn't been one like this in a long time especially on a holiday weekend! So practising yoga as the sun streamed in the windows was uplifting! Then out for some hill reps where each climb repeated had to be faster. I think this may become a regular routine and as there is a 2 metre wide grass verge I can run on that to prevent injury from too much road running. I'll increase the number of reps each time. Last night I had a "bike fit" where I was wired up and filmed on a 3D camera. It allows you to check all the angles to improve your efficiency. Some important adjustments were required and later on today I'll take the bike out to test it. The adjustments might explain the severe cramp in my last race. One more lesson learned.

Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres

Today I was visited by Elizabeth, a community fundraiser for Maggie's just to catch up and see how I was getting on. It's easy to forget that Maggie's is not funded and requires hundreds of thousands of pounds each year just to keep it's doors open so that anyone suffering from cancer can walk in and receive support and advice. If you haven't visited a Maggie's Centre before then you should as you'd instantly understand why they deserve our support. It also makes it easier for me to step out into the pouring rain today to run because at the front of my mind is the bigger picture - raising funds for Maggie's. The Marathon des Sables is going to take a huge effort on my part but the journey will be amazing. Linking that to Maggie's just increases the pleasure and in today's tough economic climate I feel an even greater need to raise funds. Elizabeth and I came up with a few ideas and I'll let you know what these are in due course. In the meantime, check out Maggie's http://www.maggiescentres.org/about/what_is_maggies.html or pay them a visit. It could be life changing!

Shattered

As expected I had a fantastic nights sleep but by 6am I was on the yoga mat. 6.30am I was on the road for a 10k run dressed as though it was winter. Hat, gloves and running tights were required as the temperature was marginally above freezing. The sky was clear blue and the sun was rising so it was a privilege to be out. I meet lots of people who think I'm mad doing what I do but you'd understand it better if you went out for a walk / run before getting on with life in the morning. By 8.15 I was dropping the kids off at school and heading off to Perthshire for some client meetings. However I felt drowsy and had to stop and get a can of Red Bull to keep me awake - not my usual brew! I was shattered so also had a 15 minute power nap at lunchtime. The intensity of the training since Friday has caught up and my body is struggling to keep up. Well it better get used to it as it's only going to get worse. So early night again and I can start all over again in the morning.

Building the base

Now the serious training starts. The weekend was about getting the mileage up in my running legs. Today I had my 1-2-1 yoga lesson and for 1 hour I worked myself into a pool of sweat. I'm loving it and it is so intense which is right up my street. I love learning new things especially when I can see the benefits. After a busy day at work I needed to fit in a short run before my swimming session. The September run challenge involves running 6 days a week for the month with the minimum run time being 20 minutes. So being time pressed I did the minimum and then went for my swim training. There won't be any swimming in the desert but it keeps my legs from stiffing up after the running. This is a coached session so we were worked hard and looking at my times, my swimming has slipped. But I'll pick it back up in the coming weeks. I think I'll sleep tonight!

Recovery is essential

After a big training weekend it is important to recovery properly. So with every glass of wine to ease the aches and pains I drank an equivalent galss of water! I slept like a baby but woke with legs as stiff as a board. So I went downstairs at 6am and did my 15 minute yoga practice and realised my legs felt fantastic! With hamstrings like mine this was a real surprise and it makes me realise how important that early morning yoga session is. So no more exercise for the remainder of the day and plenty of good food and hydration, without the wine! Tomorrow morning my yoga teacher will be putting me through my paces in a 1-2-1 session which will set me up for my return to swimming training in the evening.

Endurance training

What a fantastic weekend of playing at being an athlete. It's amazing what you can do when you "park life" and concentrate on running. After our morning session yesterday we went out for "efforts". That involved a 2 mile run out and back with 12 minutes of hill climbing in the middle. This was followed by a wonderful hour of yoga. That would be a wonderfully difficult or relaxing hour depending in whether or not you are "bendy". I'm nt so it was tough but hugely beneficial - thank Mark. This morning we woke up to horrible weather. 18 miles across beautiful countryside. That's double the distance I had ran this year. But it was brilliant. Day off tomorrow and a well earned rest.

Honesty

Generally speaking people either say I'm mad, daft or wish me well when they find out I am training for the Marathon des Sables. However when talking to a bunch of runners at the training camp last night one of them was brutally honest. "You won't finish it" he said - there was a pause in the conversation as the others looked at him. DK is known for his frank views but this one seemed too honest. People may think I won't make it but nobody, until last night, had actually expressed it. So a bet of £10 was made and I am looking forward to collecting it. Apparently my "continual positivity" annoys some people but that's not my problem. If people want to limit themselves then that is their choice. We didn't fall out over it as everyone is entitled to their opinion. So yesterday we did a wee 5 mile warm up and this morning a 9 miler with a very big hill! It's brilliant. I also started the morning with my yoga and will have another yoga session today after we have completed another run this afternoon. This is quality training and it will take me closer to removing £10 from a "doubting Thomas"!