Bloomin’ heck. This is getting hard already, and I’m only three weeks in.
It hasn’t been the best of weeks, running wise (or otherwise, actually). Nine miles on Tuesday – including four miles of horrendous 6 min: 2 min intervals – left my already dodgy ankle feeling even worse. Even after a rest day on Wednesday I wasn’t totally confident that I’d make my long run on Friday if I didn’t take another day off, so I missed Thursday’s hill session, opting instead for a healing glass of red wine in a pub garden. Two complete rest days in a row feels incredibly naughty when the word ‘ultra’ is constantly echoing in the back of your mind.
As it happens, this turned out to be the best choice I could have made, as on Friday I ran probably the most enjoyable 18 mile training run I’ve ever done. This was helped along by my favourite running weather (misty rain) and a packet of miniature Creme Eggs in celebration of Good Friday, which packed in such a whopping energy boost that I really have to question whether these should really be marketed as a general purpose treat or something stronger. After a really slow start (the great thing about ultra training: it’s ok to run really slowly while also eating biscuits), I picked up the pace quite substantially in the final 10km, and couldn’t quite believe the amount of energy that I found – I even managed a sprint finish!
This leads me to question whether I should take my rest day on the day before my Friday LSR, rather than on the Wednesday. I might try to pack in a Mon-Tue-Wed flush with a rest day on Thursday, and maybe I’ll keep feeling as bright and energetic for my LSRs as I did yesterday (unlikely). As advised by the lovely folk on #UKrunchat hour, I also took the decision this week to do a marathon before the UT55. The Lakeland Trails Coniston marathon takes place three weeks before the big one, so I’ve signed up and booked a bed at the local youth hostel, and will be making my way up the the Lakes for yet another weekend in early summer. This gives me a ‘smaller’ goal to aim for with my training, and if it goes ok it will no doubt boost my confidence for the ultra a couple of weeks later.
On the topic of confidence, this is where I’ve really faltered this week. I made the mistake of looking at some ‘recommended’ ultra training plans, which left me doubting my ability to even get to the start line of UT55 – perhaps ultra running isn’t for me after all? Not only do I not have the time to be running ‘only about 74 miles a week’ (at my normal pace that’d be more than 10 hours a week of running!), but I also don’t have quite as much commitment as back-to-back marathons would require: I’m simply not interested in pushing myself that hard. 55km will be a big challenge, but I don’t feel the need to empty my life of everything that isn’t running in order to complete it. In my crisis I went through all the typical stages: doubt, fear, anger, chocolate muffin consumption, frantic research and sensible reasoning, and came to the conclusion that, hey, this is my running career and I’m not in it to imitate or be ‘as good as’ anyone else. So I’ll stick to my running schedule and enjoy my own challenge, using the experience I’ve gained from running 5 marathons (2 of them within 7 days) to direct me. And, as the awesome Bangs and a Bun said recently, “my [ultra]marathon, my journey, my way“. Yes.
The self-doubt continued when I embarked on a 12-miler with my hubby this morning. I had no energy left after yesterday, and I was tired, and perhaps also a little bored of running after my 18-mile epic. Six miles in we stopped at York Hospital for a loo stop and some more Creme Eggs, and I was pretty sure that I couldn’t do another 6 miles; my lungs hurt and my feet were burning and I was so hungry and irritable. But those Creme Eggs really do have magical powers because we made it in once piece, totting me up to 30 miles in 2 days and 42 miles this week. So we had lunch out as a treat: I am good for nothing for the next 48 hours, but once again I’m excited for this new challenge.
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