The rain arrived this morning but with classes last night no early running for me. I had a fairly heavy day Monday. Ran 15 hilly miles and then 2 hours martial arts. I was hoping to sleep well but didn’t for whatever reason. Likely because the wife closed the windows so the bedroom was stagnant but who knows. I feel  pretty beat up from the past few days, add in ”life stress” and noise and all I think of is sitting in silence. No cats meowing, kids bickering, iPads making noise, just pure silence. High in the mountains would be nice, but I’d settle for a sauna too! Time to get the day started. 

Finished the week off with 45 miles. Taking today, Sunday, off. Been feeling alright but darkness has come and soon the colder temperatures and rain will arrive challenging progress.

Severn Way entering Worcester

The other day the Worcester bridge was clogged up due to protests so I parked a few miles outside of town and ran the Severn Way in to work. Nice little three mile run to, and then a couple extra miles  on my way back. Nice change of scenery but will likely be muddy in the winter.

I managed to get a new rain jacket off eBay. A super pimp Arc’teryx Norvan running specific hardshell. Very excited to test it out. Their products have always been top notch however anytime “waterproof breathable” is mentioned I become skeptical especially when being used for high output activity. Nothing ever breathes enough. Initial impression, the fit is awesome as expected, however the hood could use an elastic adjuster to cinch it up a bit. It’s really stripped down to save weight. It does seem though if using a hat underneath or visor the hood will “track” with your head turns which is good. The Montane Minimus I have is fantastic for hood tracking however the durability is low overall. I was really tempted to try a Montane Stretch Minimus to avoid the plastic bag noise you get running in a hard shell but the Norvan peaked my interest because it’s a bit heavier duty without adding weight. Thinking and dreaming of high mountain European races a stout jacket would be nice.

Rad spinning elbow photo!

Mid day I had my second Muay Thai grading. It went really well. Compared to JKD it’s a lot less nerve racking. It’s much more physically intense and less mentally exhausting. Of course there’s proper technique to all of it but a lot more hard fast hitting. You walk away soaked in sweat. I earned my orange armband and of course had a lot of fun. 

Lots and lots of Thai round kicks 

I wanted to improve my speed and reaction time and this seems to be perfect. JKD is much more varied in what you do day to day which is super fun. However Muay Thai is far more focused, I feel I get more practice on the basics. 

Back up to normal mileage just about. Have yet to run today and finish the week off but I’m at 39 miles and wanted at least 40 so I’m happy. The foot issue remains but I’m still hammering away at it. I understand that it can take time to go, I’ve accepted that and am doing the work. 

I paid for the Lakeland 50 so will hopefully race that in late July. I’d like to enter sine other 50km races as training races as well. It’s a good way to get miles in but we’ll see. 

The first week of both kids in school was exhausting but good. I can easily get an extra 5 mile run after work which is great. Theoretically I can run 18 mile days Monday through Friday if I want or need to. Saturday’s I could get in up to 21. That’s with working Monday through Saturday. It’s nice to see time opening up and become available that doesn’t interfere with family. I have big plans for training however some of these ideas will interfere with family which I don’t prefer however they’d have great benefits. 

So back to easy base miles, strength work, and chasing this plantar fasciitis. I’ve fallen off the JKD habit which sucks but have been practicing Muay Thai at home. It’s less complicated and easier to jump in with a short practice session when I’m tired. Too much to juggle I guess, something always slips. 

The Tor des Geants has been going on all week so I’ve been obsessed with training for it, curious what other people do. I get down and lose confidence when I see people who live and train in the mountains or are able to fly to Italy or France for four weeks to train. Must be nice. I think back to when I could’ve done that but I guess when I lived that life I took full advantage of it, at least I hope, doing other things. Either way I realize I’m older now and life has other challenges and just finishing one of these events is unreal. 

A few photos from recent runs.

I’m making great progress with the plantar fasciitis. Went to JKD and Muay Thai last night as a test and I’m doing alright. I’m planning a run tomorrow to see how it responds. I’m excited. Hard work pays off for once.

I entered an unplanned lottery the other day. In 2014 I ran the Lakeland 100, one of the UK’s premier ultras. I had a miserable race despite finishing. I’d like to return and redeem myself but I figured why not see if I can get in the 50? I tried. I got in! So I have until tomorrow night to commit to it. It lines up well with any racing in late August or September and has a boat load of vert, nearly 10,000 feet over 50 miles, just what I’m looking for! 

Anyway, hopefully back to training tomorrow!