I managed a 7 mile effort tonight down a dark and windy Derwent Valley to take this week's tally to 71.4 miles. My heart just wasn't in it and I quite literally lost the will to run and gave up 3.6 miles short of the end. It's not as if I didn't have enough energy or that my legs gave up on me. I just couldn't do another mile! I hit a mental block!
I'll be talking through the week's events with Mark and David tomorrow and I've got a feeling that they won't be too disappointed. I'll post a full review of the findings and where I go from here early next week.
It's no great disaster in the grand scheme of things and it's still the most mileage I've ever managed in training. Ever! Although it's some way short of my record of 182 miles in a single week. I suspect I've paid the price for some pacy runs early on in the week and perhaps a bit of dehydration has had a part to play. Those pacy runs certainly boosted my confidence so they've served some purpose. But speed isn't going to get me from one side of the USA to the other so I'm going to have to try and be sensible!
The plan for the next 2 weeks is to concentrate on getting more strength in my legs in the gym. Then in 3 weeks time I'll be tackling a 50 mile week in Egypt of all places. That should be quite a challenge. The week after that will be more gym work before attempting another 75 miles the week after. If that goes to plan then I'll look to sustain that mileage or add another 5 miles on as per my original schedule. I'll make that decision nearer the time.
