Always a little further….

Well, I’m busy training for the next event – the Downslink Ultra – 38 miles of trail running on what I’m hoping will be a bit cooler day than the ones we have been having recently. It is hard to believe that it is just over 7 weeks to go and I’ve only got three really long runs left to do.

You may note I’m classing these as really long runs…. that is because anything approaching marathon distance as a training run is a REALLY long way ! on Friday I’ll be running 24 miles and the next two runs are 26 miles each. This adds up to a lot of running and I’ll be hitting the 50+ miles a week soon. In addition to this I’m still swimming twice a week and this week managed my longest ever swim at 1850m. If you are interested this is 74 lengths of the local swimming pool…. it was less than a year ago I was thrilled if I could manage 14 lengths in one session so the training must be working ! I’m also adding in some gym work to make sure I don’t ignore my core.

I think with Ultras they should also have medals for the partners of the people taking part. They are the ones who have to live with us. We are either out running, talking about running, eating or sleeping….. I’ve been trying to fit running in with some of the other things that I do (such as running to the radio club rather than driving) but it does still eat in to time….

The good thing (or bad thing as far as my husband is concerned) is that I’ve signed up for the next event after the Downslink. I always need a bit more of a challenge so I’ve entered the Winter Fan Dance in the full Load Bearing category. So, on the 7th Jan, I will be taking on one of the SAS selection routes with a full 30lb backpack. I know what the weather and conditions could be like and at the moment if I’m honest it does scare the living daylights out of me but I also know that training is everything so I’ve already started doing one of my “mid distance” runs each week with my full pack and in boots. At the moment most of these runs have been on the flat but after the Downslink Ultra I will start doing hillier, longer runs with the full weight.

For me this has a bit of a personal meaning – I’ll be carrying in a backpack a bit less than the total weight that I’ve lost since I started running (and about 1/4 of what I weigh at the moment). When I started running just over 6 years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed that I would be entering events like these and be training for an Ultra…. or maybe that is a bit of a lie…. Maybe I did dream that I could…. and maybe that dream just gave me enough determination to get out the door on those first few mornings when I hated every minute of it…..

Maybe I’ll just carry on dreaming… always a little further 🙂

Chanconbury Ring South Downs South Downs My backpack :)

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