Wow – Hi guys!
It has been a long old while since I wrote about my Ultra Training – fear not, I have not given up. I have actually managed to stick to the training plan incredibly well for the first time EVER! I have just not had the motivation to write about my training – the miles are long, the weather is gross and the days are still short (except for all of the photos in this blog post. These are from that odd bit of warm weather we had in February and they make me really happy). Hopefully, with the longer evenings and short shorts weather, I’ll find the motivation to write endlessly for you again.
ALSO – I have teamed up with Montane as one of their Ambassadors. I’m incredibly excited to bring you more kit reviews, cool projects and race reports over the coming months. I am so excited I might wet myself.
But for now, a quick update!
Siobhan and I are now in the final weeks leading up to our first ever marathon. Yup. The first one. We went into this 50-mile training plan only ever having completed a half marathon each.. YEARS ago. Our joints and ligaments have needed time to adjust and I’m happy to see my niggles becoming fewer and fewer and our recovery times becoming much faster. Last weekend we had a 22-mile training run and we both felt surprisingly great the day after. This gives me high hopes for our long races in the summer.
But let’s talk about this upcoming marathon. If you know who I am or follow any of my training or social media, you’ll know that this marathon is not a road marathon. Nope, not even a little bit. I hate running on roads – I find it monotonous and no fun – and if you’re not having fun then why are you doing it?! Glorious as they are, you will never see me at the Boston, New York or London Marathons. I much prefer narrow trails, rolling hills and steep climbs. So this first marathon is just that. Siobhan and I have signed up to run the Southwest Coastal Path marathon – this marathon is put on by the Trail Events Company and is 2 laps of their half marathon loop. It’s a scenic route with a 500 competitor limit, 1800+ metres of elevation gain and long cut off times – I honestly couldn’t think of anything better.
Siobhan and I are similar in our running ethos – we have a complete rather than compete attitude. I may never be fast enough to challenge for a podium spot and that’s okay with me. I just love a day of sharing cool trails with cool people. So instead of aiming for a sub-4 hour finish (vom), we’ll be aiming for a sub-7 hour finish (mainly due to the large amount of elevation gain and techy coastal paths). We’ll pass through a checkpoint loaded with food and water every 5-9 km (the temptation to stay and eat will be strong), so I’m sure the miles will fly by!
I can’t wait to bring you the race report along with some glorious coastal photos – hopefully the weather will be beautiful, but if it’s not, that’s okay! We’ve gotten through a whole winter of training in the Brecon Beacons baby! We can handle anything!
Thanks for checking in, Ferals – have a great weekend!
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