Reflecting on the Week - 8th Feb

Distance: 70.6 km
Time: 6:22
Elevation: 331 m
Fastest pace: 4:00/km
Max HR: 180 bpm

The headline is easy this week. I got a place in Badwater 135. I found out just 15 mins ago. It is exciting and slightly terrifying in the best possible way. Suddenly all the day to day training has a very real, very hot, and very long target pinned to it. More reflections on the entry when it’s fully sunk in, for now just a summary on the week.

Delilah and Basil watching the live feed, an agonising wait for nearly an hour as names are read out one by one…

Training itself was a proper mix of grind and glimpses of sharpness. The big one was a 30 km run out near Cheltenham, which I went into already tired. I tried to hold strong splits all the way and just could not quite hang on for the last one. Heart rate up at 177, legs grumbling, brain negotiating. That is exactly the kind of session I will need for Badwater: practising how to stay present when the plan starts to slip.

At the other end of the spectrum, there was a shorter run “spending time at the pointy end”, about 9.5 km of faster work, with a 1 mile best-effort PR sneaking into my Strava. A couple of 8 km runs in grim weather filled in the middle of the week, just steady, honest miles. Nothing glamorous, just consistency.

I also kept the strength work ticking over with an evening of weights. For Badwater, that strength matters as much as the long runs. Strong hips, back and core mean fewer excuses when everything starts to ache. With the race place confirmed the training lens shifts now. Every session has a job: build durability, dial in discipline, and get comfortable being a little (lot) uncomfortable.