JANUARY 2012, 135 miles
Jan. 23 - 29, 21 miles
This week was special as I was in Brazil! I ran six miles in São Paulo. It was great to run through the different districts. Then I ran in the mountains near Belo Horitonte - wonderful.
Jan. 16 - 22, 37 miles
I did another 26 miler! Two days before my trip to Brazil. Everything in working order. The first pain came from the top of my left IT band but it wasn't bad. Felt great!
Jan. 9 - 15, 20 miles
Jan. 15
It's hard for me to take but I can't do two 57-mile weeks in a row at the moment. I've been so tired all week and I don't think I've done enough stretching. It's 8.45pm, there's a very small chance I'll go a bit crazy this evening and do a long run along the Southbank but...
Jan. 12
I currently seem to be alternating between good weeks and bad weeks with my running. Since the 25-miler I managed a 12-miler two days later but have struggled with short 4-mile runs since then. My legs just feel really weary. There's a possibility it's because my chiropractor gave my bones and good knocking about and identified a bit of strain in my piriformis muscle but I think It might be simple muscle fatigue. Still it's frustrating and I hope I'll be bouncing back tomorrow to do a fast 10 mile run.
Jan. 2 - 8, 57 miles
Jan. 7
Today I smashed the 20-mile barrier I've been wanting to break for a few weeks now. I ran 25 miles with a few short toilet and drink/snack breaks. This was all the more surprising because I did a 17-miler just three nights ago.
I have two more weeks of serious training before tapering towards the 31-mile Ultra Marathon on the 19th February.
I'm beginning to think about the logistics of my run. How will I carry my food and drink - bum bag or back pack? A bum bag would be more comfortable but I'm not sure it holds enough.
Also, should I use commercial energy bars/sports drinks/gels? Probably not. I'd really rather stick to a natural, home-made diet as much as possible. Before my run today I drank a pint of natural sports drink and a pint of water with lemon. I ate two bananas with Manuka honey poured on top, a satsuma and a bite of cake before setting out. During my run I drank two pints of water with apple cider vinegar and honey. I ate an apple, half a Snickers bar, a chunk of white Turkish bread with honey and cream cheese, then before the last 3 miles I ate three slices of brown bread with beetroot and apple salad and cream cheese. This was at my mum's place. I'd already ran 22 miles and it's three miles home from her house. I thought I'd probably walk it but I ended up running home - bringing the milage up to 25. I didn't stop for long at my mum's because I was getting cold and wanted to jump into a bath, but I did do quite a bit of stretching.
Jan. 2
A little reflection on December: After battling a nasty cold and bruised heel, I had more problems in the week between Christmas and New Year with Norovirus. I needed three days off running - ideally I'd like not to have more than one day off at a time. In total I managed two 12-mile runs and a three-miler in that last week. I'm looking forward to warmer weather with fewer illnesses and injuries now.
This morning I had a lovely 12-mile run though and I was surprised I could manage it after my birthday weekend with three nights of very little sleep. I set out at 7.25am - still fairly dark. After about an hour the sun poked over the trees as I ran through Victoria Park and listened to disco - those moments are glorious. I didn't feel as though I really pushed myself but I need to go for a 21-miler at some point this week if I have any chance of finishing the Ultra Marathon in February.
