Mid-Channel....

Mid-Channel....

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Another month closer...!

Yet again I am failing in my blogging duties but, as I outlined in my previous post, things have been somewhat hectic! The move went well and we are settled into Lincolnshire and I have, so far, found the new job to be interesting which is great! I'm not sure my new Boss was best pleased when the first thing I did was present him with a list of requests for time off for racing and training camps though! The great thing about being in the RAF though is that, for the most part, people are very supportive of the challenges I am attempting and support me however they can; I am very fortunate.

On Thursday I am flying out to Lanzarote for the Enduroman Lanzarote Ultra, a half A2A distance race in the challenging hot and windy conditions of Lanzarote. Lanzarote is one of the toughest places I have ever trained and I am definitely going to be found out on the bike. As I have intimated, training hasn't gone entirely to plan for this. I have met most of my key run and swim sessions with upto 26miles run in preparation (as much as for the Double IM run of 52miles) and upto 12kms swum in the pool in one session (7.5miles, 4hrs 17mins) but I have been lazy in between these session, sometimes having up to three days off in a row which is unheard of! I have been a bit sloppy with my diet too and have put back on the half a stone I lost in Double IM training which is not good for the run. I don't know where the motivation has gone, whether I didn't take enough time off after the Double or whether I am just sick of training every day for two years, I don't know. I am hoping that Lanzarote will give me a good kick up the backside and reinvigorate me as I have some pretty big training sessions planned between now and the 18th August 2011!!

I will, of course, let you know how it all goes and promise to give myself a bit of a talking to over the next fortnight so I come back refreshed and refocused. I have been trying to build a little support network and have met a wonderful couple up here, Robert Hodgson and Hannah Whitney. Robert is a cross-channel swimmer himself so his advice is invaluable and they have both kindly agreed to come and 'walk the beach' or even join me in the water, during some of my long swims. Support like this is invaluable as poor Adam will find it all a bit much if he has to do it all by himself, day in, day out. I have also been talking to Jo Kilkenny (www.jokilkenny.com) a very accomplished ultra runner who will attempt the A2A a month after me. It is great to have someone to share the ups and downs with as very few people understand exactly what you are putting your body through. I hope to get some training sessions in with Jo over the next few months as I think the key for me will be not to try and do it all alone!

Ok, that's all for now, I'll let you know how everything is in another few weeks, hopefully with the Enduroman Lanzarote Ultra under my belt!!