Reflecting on the Week - 4th January

Distance: 63.5 km
Time: 18:31
Elevation: 534 m
Fastest pace: 4:06/km
Max HR: 181 bpm

Tail end of the recovery block this week, and it actually felt like recovery rather than just “less running but still knackered”. The standout was the long run where Basil quietly put in 30 km. He is only 13 and still cruised it. Short of carrying the Tailwind and making sure he didn’t get lost, it was fairly easy. He was tired at the end, but so he should be!

The run felt harder than it should, as I write this I can feel myself coming down with a cold so that makes sense - will whack in some Centoreze and take it easy.

An easy run “that’s a wrap on 2025” 15 km with Basil, Si and Bruce closed out the year. It also finished off Basil’s 200 km month, he’s really had a good Christmas holiday, including a run around Anfield and his first Liverpool FC match. It’s been nice to give him the attention, so many runs when I am training hard are too fast/far and so I don’t get to spend the time - nice to have that reset,

Recovery was the theme, but it was not just about running less. I have been paying attention to sleep, food and feeling instead of forcing pace targets. There is a kind of quiet discipline in choosing to back off when really you want to not lose all that hard earned fitness in the build up to Daytona.

Badwater 135, the application window is now open - that’s a very real moment. I have the questions in front of me and I am drafting answers between runs and school runs. Training will ramp again soon, but this week was about topping up the tank, not draining it.

Daytona 100: Laura Watts who I met and raced at Daytona has provided a mile by mile summary of the race here, https://run-ultra.com/news/full-throttle-at-the-daytona-100/, I’m pleased I unwittingly provided her the motivation to PB.