Coming out of the off-season with an Advent Accumulator

It’s the 10th December and for the second year running I’m doing the “advent accumulator” - the premise is simple, run the number of kilometres of the day of the month up until Christmas Eve. It’s a bit of fun as a concept, but it’s harder than you think.

I’ve been taking it easy since my last 100 miler, I don’t like to pause, people say you need to but I don’t like it at all. Whilst the body may enjoy the benefits of a month of so taking it easy, I find the mental side more of a challenge - don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind doing nothing at times, but the lack of structure, focus and purpose does unsettle me. Perhaps it’s all back to identity? That framework and story that you describe yourself to others and yourself, that narrative is pretty fundamental if you ask me - when I’m not training, I lose a bit of that. I’m not talking some big derailing of everything, just a little subsidence in the foundations - that causes a few cracks. Since I stopped drinking I think I perhaps notice those cracks a bit more.

Well, it’s time to shore up the foundations again. I have a pretty big goal for next year, it’s not one I’m sharing in public yet, maybe I won’t - it will be at the Nove Colli, that’s all I will say for now. To get close to that goal I need a really good block of training, so we are starting now and what better way than to get started with the advent accumulator.

The first week is a bit frustrating, getting out to run for a few km’s - knowing full well that in the back end of the month you would beg for a short day. But that’s the way this challenge works. We are into the second week now, just back up into double figures. It’s risky to do the maths, whilst by count of days I might be over a third, by km distance we haven’t even started: 55km done, 245km to go! Last year I wondered about carrying on to the end of the month, do the maths.. that’s a leap - I decided against it on the basis of being even more unpopular with family over Christmas if I did. Next week is when it gets a bit tasty, the km’s creep up into the high teens but you are still a week away. Dig in, focus on the day in front of you and don’t look forward.

So today wasn’t just 10km, it was also an interval session… and to add a bit more spice I have been fasting since Sunday night (yes, it’s Tuesday). I like my weekly fast, it’s a bit of additional discipline and focus and normally it’s ok - but the 5 x 1km was a stretch. I finally caved into some food at midday, I was about the keel over.

So today marks the first proper day back training, tomorrow will be the next.. and on every day until the 24th.

After a sluggish November, I’m excited again, maybe that rest was worthwhile after all.