For once on a Sunday I was up and out early for what was the first run of week 43 of the USA 2011 training campaign. This was thanks to arranging to run with Mike Lewis who got to Shotley Bridge at a time when I'm usually tucking into my bacon sarnies. On the breakfast menu today was porridge and 2 bananas and this served me well on the run as energy levels never wavered.
This morning's route was an extension of the now familiar 11 mile route that I do quite often. There were a few extra hills thrown in for good measure and all in all it was a very enjoyable, scenic run done at a comfortable pace. It would have been über comfortable for Mike as he's used to running a lot faster than the pace we managed today. At the finish line my immediate thought was that I'd felt more tired on some of the 7 or 8 mile runs I've done in the past few months.
All in all, it's a better than usual start to a running week. I'm looking to get 90 miles done this week with an average of 8 miles per session. This particular run gives me an excellent chance of hitting those targets. Once again, though, my focus will be on nutrition as much as running. Grazing on wholewheat pasta salads after a lunchtime run will be the key to being able to have the energy to do the run on the evening session. So there is now only 74.6 miles left to do this week! Watch this space for further progress over the course of the next 6 days.
