Base Camp

It's now been several weeks since the Autumn 100 and I am back out running daily. Well I say daily but I didn't run yesterday so perhaps not quite back into the old routine yet. For the first 10 days after the race I didn't run at all. I took the opportunity to rest completely.. In retrospect this seems to have worked quite well, the immediate body aches and pains went fairly quickly and mentally I was ready to come back to do some 'jogging' but I knew from the last 100 that the first few weeks back running went fine but i didn't listen to my body. I have been using that approach to not push things until the recovery process had run it's course.

I've taken it slowly to rebuild the miles and with each run I've been tracking my HR data closely (as I often do post run) to see how my body is recovering. It's often the case that I am running MAF for pretty much every single run and have felt better with each passing day. I've been using MAF as tool within my training for several months and it's served me well given my recent performance at the A100. However as I'm now building up the miles again for spring racing and I am consciously aware that given a lack of faster running during my last training cycle perhaps it's time not adhere so strictly to this and actually look to run more based on feel.

Of course there is a long way to go before my next race and rebuilding base miles is about recovery not getting fit. With future plans now set for the spring with the London Marathon I have put together a loose training guide which of course starts with a good chunk of base mileage over the winter before moving into a hill phase in the new year. With this weeks weekly mileage on track for 40-45 miles I will be looking to increasing this a tad over the coming weeks compared to previous training cycles. I am aiming to be running anywhere from 9-11 hours when up to peak base mileage. I really want to give London my best shot and the only way that is going to happen is through hard work, sensible diet and smart training.

I would love to run another 100 miler next year but at the moment I am focusing very much on the London. I don't know when I will get another shot at it but as so often the case with runners we must always have something lined up otherwise our other halves I don't think would survive!          



1 comment:

  1. I agree on the MAF assessment. I stuck to it for 2 training cycles and neither subsequent target race was an unqualified success. Something was missing on both occasions

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