Early morning long runs w.e 31/8/2014

This week was all about the first long training run I’ve done in a while and I’ve found the only practical time to do it is to get up at 5am midweek and run further than many people commute to work.

Still, following a big week of mileage last week I am finally getting into the sort of mileage range I’d like to do (50-70 mpw) and will be using this training for Ladybower 50, Red Bull Steeplechase and the White Rose Ultra for the rest of the year but it’s also going to be base mileage in the lead up to a post Christmas change of focus towards out and out speed for trail and road races in the new year culminating in Rome Marathon.

To get ready for the long run I had to ferry spare clothes and leave my laptop at work on Tuesday so I could treat it as a proper training effort wearing my race vest rather than backpack with clothes and laptop in it and apart from falling and twisting my ankle 7 miles in, I felt very comfortable with the effort level and was happy pushing to sub 8 min/mile pace for the last 5 miles without any real issues so I’ll be doing 2 more 20ish milers before Ladybower but working at a reasonable pace still rather than plodding them out super slow.

It was clear to me during the unfortunate extra 6 miles I did at the Berghaus Trailchase on day 1 that I can run reasonably strongly for about 15-17 miles but after that, there’s no hiding a lack of long runs in training so hopefully I can cover this off with midweek early starts. I don’t mind getting up early and running and I actually look forward to the darker mornings to get some real use out of the Led Lenser head torch I got as part of the trail team kit.

The niggles seem to finally be easing off *touch wood* and I hope to get another couple of solid weeks in and see how it plays out at Ladybower 50 soon.

  • Monday – Rest
  • Tuesday – 16.2 miles (9.1 & 7.1 miles)
  • Wednesday – 20.7 miles
  • Thursday – 7.4 miles
  • Friday – 8.6 miles
  • Saturday – Rest
  • Sunday – 10.9 miles

Total: 63.8 miles, 5,364ft elevation.