Mainly just putting in training miles However I did sneak in the Wyre Forest Half Marathon. Took 2nd again, fun race, but tired after a heavy week of training. Maybe I should actually train and taper for it next time?
Wyre Forest Half screen shot
Wyre Forest singletrack
Early road running
My donkey friend
Annabelle at athletics, middle distance group
Annabelle wanted to try running (with no push from me) and has been going to athletics (ie track and field) for about 4 weeks now. She’s still smiling and seems to enjoy it. Could just be weather though as it’s been a fantastic summer with “heatwaves” and drought conditions for a long time. Yes, droughts are bad but I’m no way complaining about temps in the 80’s and sun! First time in 15 years I’ve had a nice tan!
Wyre Forest
Canalside - duckweed has exploded because of the heat
River Severn singletrack
New shoes from the Brooks rep
My old co-worker took a job with Brooks and now feeds me shoes. He has a big demo fleet which has been fun to sample and he recently gave me these new Cascadia 19 trail shoes. Brooks shoes are normally fairly solid and kind of dull but things seem to be changing, these were lighter, softer, and more flexible which was a nice change. I’ve also demoed the Glycerin Max and Hyperion Max 3, both “super stack” shoes with crazy amounts of cushioning. I don’t think they are for me and truly think in a few years we’ll look back and thing WTF! It’s great of him to let me test these all out though!
Severn Way
Still dragging my feet on one more race this September, 7 Valleys Ultra in the Lake District is about 70 miles. It starts early and I should be done before bedtime so no sleep deprivation is a big bonus! Just need to clear it with the wife and sign up.
And one last thing, I’m a certified Ultra Running Coach! Took my test last night, was kind of rushed with family running around but easily passed. Was about a 25 hour online course through the United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy, I believe the only certification for ultras out there. We’ll see where I take it. I can coach through my current job or start my own side hustle.
