I’ve stepped up my training this year to try and really start to perform well in the upcoming ultras. The plan was to run twice a day doing 20kms for each run during the week and then take the weekend off to recover.
So how did the first week go?
Good, and not so good.
When you look at the runs that I did, you could be forgiven for thinking HUGE fail. But I don’t think it is. This was a good first week for me. Here’s why.
Monday
I got two 20km runs in for a total of 40kms. It was pretty warm out there and I wasn’t trying for any speed records, so it was a slow run day. Happy with that.
Tuesday
I got the morning run in, another 20kms, but the evening was a real struggle. We had to hottest day on record since 1927. Yup – we spent the rest of the week under a massive heat wave with record temperatures across the country. It was still way too hot to run in the evening so I only managed 10kms before running out of water.
On a normal day I can run the 20km circuit on about 300mls of water. On this run I had over 600lms of water and I ran out at 10kms. So, pretty hot out there.
Wednesday
Things we still sweltering on Wednesday but I managed to get out in the evening for a slow 20kms. I was feeling very tired and less than enthused, due to lack of sleep and fatigue from the increase in distance. It was too hot to sleep at night and too hot to work during the day. But somehow I managed to get a few hours of each in.
Thursday
The northerly winds were in full force on Thursday, and having struggled to run into them on Wednesday, I opted for a different route. I ran my 18km circuit, which is shorter but with a lot more hill climbing. Those hill help shield me from the wind a bit and get the full distance in without too many problems.
Friday
By Friday the temperature had eased off a bit. It was still hot and summery, but a gentle breeze was enough o make the run tolerable. So I went out in the evening for a 20km run. The morning just weren’t happening for me, as I was still so tired at the start of the day, it was a struggle just to get out of bed.
My total kms for the week was: 134. That’s the most I’ve ever run in one week.
I joined up to a running club on Strava for the WUU2K runners for this year’s race. I’m currently in first place, with some runners probably still working on completing their Sunday runs.
As a start of this training block, I’m happy with my effort. I ran every day, even though it was really hot and I was really tired. I’ve come through the week with no injuries, and after taking the weekend off running, I’m now looking forward to cracking into another week starting tomorrow.
The everyday running, and doubling up the runs should begin to pay some dividends in the next few weeks, and I’m looking forward to seeing what effect this has on my performance.
On January 31st I signed up for the WUU2K once again. I’ll do the 62km distance again this year, and this time I’ll finish the race in daylight. At least that’s what I’m working towards. And if I put in the hard work now, I’m sure to reap the rewards on race day.
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