Volcano Chaos

Consider this: at its most powerful, Iceland’s most irritable volcano is sending 750 tons of ash into the air every second…enough to fill an olympic sized swimming pool in just 3 seconds. The giant cloud is grounding flights in more than 20 countries. The total number of stranded passengers is in the millions…all over the world. That pretty much sums up the chaos Europe has been experiencing these past few days but at least my running week wasn't impacted in the same way.

12-04-2010

Mon:PM 5 miles (:37) Hornchurch Country Park, Speed session averaging @7:34 min/mile pace including a repeat up Ingrebourne hill (200ft ascent)

15-04-2010
Thu:PM 8.25 miles (1:08) Hornchurch Country Park., Weather was amazing with clear skies all around. 2 loops including x2 Ingrebourne hill repeats @8:20 min/mile pace

16-04-2010
Fri:PM 4.5 miles (:35) Hornchurch Country Park., Decided to do a fartlek session today with 5 mins fast and 1 min recovery and a 1 mile warm up, 1/2 mile cood down but cut the hill section of my usual loop. Very gusty wind conditions made this feel tougher than it was @7:48 min/mile pace.

17-04-2010
Sat:AM 13.25 miles (1:57) Hornchurch Country Park., Due to missing out sessions on tuesday/wednesday I decided to pack in the miles at the weekend. Did this great run on the reasonably flat 3.5 mile loop of the country park @8:52 min/mile pace. Felt very comfortable throughout and the legs felt good after.

18-04-2010
Sun:AM 22 miles (3:19) Hornchuch Country Park., Long run today was the highlight of the week. A friend of mine joined me for 5 miles from the13 mile mark so average pace was a little slower for those miles than the rest but still averaged @9:04 min/mile pace. All done before breakfast and felt pretty good afterwards.

Total
-Miles 53
-Hours 7hr 39min
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Another great week all round. Given that I have now averaged over 50 miles for the last two weeks and feel remarkably fresh I am fully intent on pushing things further to see where my limits are. I am having a rest day today however to ensure I am fully charged for another 6 sessions this week.


The highlight of last week was definitely the weekend sessions. I haven't run 22 miles since the "50 mile challenge" last year and have only done 20 miles this year about 3 times (a few 18's as well). This distance will become my standard long run over the coming months however with the Lakeland 50 and Ridgeway 85 races coming up in the summer I do intend to bump the long run up to between 25-35 miles every 3-4 weeks to ensure that I get at least 4-6 hours on my feet.. I also am planning to run the Tunbridge Wells Circular Path in May as a great training run with a few other runners including Jerry S 


Finally before I leave I have to say a big "Well Done" to both Alex Flynn and Jonathan Hall for successfully completing the Marathon Des Sables event finishing 528th and 180th overall. A massive challenge and in my top 5 races to do. Both Alex and Johnny are taking part in some amazing events in the near future so take a look at their plans.
Also I want to also bring to your attention Mark Cooper who will be shortly embarking on his 50 marathons in 56 days journey across Europe starting on May 1st. A truly epic challenge so do visit his site for more details on this.


Have a great week guys. Richard