Training Notes: 30th JUNE
Thought I’d try something new and drop a quick ramble instead of one of my epic race reports. Call it a Monday-morning postcard from the pain cave.
Had a catch-up with Fletch early last week to sketch what we’re grandly calling “the season.” Translation: every decision between now and January has one job—convince the Badwater committee I deserve a bib in Death Valley. The application itself is a mini-thesis, so I’m treating races and training blocks like footnotes in my argument.
The plan: hop over the pond in December for the Daytona 100. It’s flat, coastal and run by Bob Becker, one of the original Badwater die-hards. 100 legit miles on tarmac, a dose of Florida warmth, and a rehearsal for the jet-lag dance. If all goes to script it lands on my CV just in time for the January application window. Add that the recent finish at Nove Colli (200 km of Italian roller-coaster) - helpful additions.
A short note on Bob Becker, he’s the race director of the Daytona100 and the Keys100, but that doesn’t tell the real story - watch him finish Badwater135 a few years ago, this is the kind of human who embodies the Badwater135 way - click here
So to my training, then. I took a couple of lazy weeks after Nove Colli to take the pressure off, then Fletch slipped a few intervals in to the plan - sneaky:
mid-week intervals - sharp, ugly reminders that speed matters even in the longest races
a 25 km Saturday shuffle in the sun, pure therapy
Sunday “rest day,” which I spent wrestling DIY projects (call it functional strength)
and this morning, back to business: 3 × 5 km tempo at 4:30min/km. First rep felt fun, second respectable, third a polite punch in the teeth. Nice to sweat properly again. (yes, just 1s out on the first one, metronomic!)
The British summer is having a go at impersonating Death Valley - high twenties, big blue sky - so I’m banking heat acclimation while it lasts. Next jobs: book flights for Daytona and rope in anyone else who feels like joining. #tumbleweed
That’s the snapshot. Miles in the bank, sun on my back, Badwater on the horizon. Catch you next Monday - because no one crosses Death Valley alone.