SPRINT Issue 59

I’ve been “running” since for a bit over 20 years, but I ran my first ultra (the
Green Man) in 2014, and since then have run about 8 more. I ran Endure 24
twice, finally getting to 100 miles for the first time in 2015 in a time of just
over 24 hours, so at least I knew I could do the distance!
I entered TP100 back in July 2015, and had a plan to do lots of slow long
distance training over the winter. I ran a marathon in October which I did a
lot of training for, but after that I seemed to lose my running mojo. I really
struggled to even get out the door from December to February, every run
feeling a lot more like a chore than anything enjoyable. I only ran 62 miles in
December and averaged around 20 miles/week for January and February –
not exactly the ideal mileage for 100 mile race training!
At the end of February, I decided that it was probably too late to start
properly training for TP100, but I had to make a decision whether to drop out
before the beginning of April (otherwise I would lose 100% of the entry fee,
as opposed to just 30% if I cancelled with more than 4 weeks’ notice)
So, I decided on a rough training plan for March. I knew running a 60+ mile
weeks would break me physically and mentally, so I opted for 2-4 runs per
week, with one of them being long or back-to-back over 2 days.
On 13th March I ran the Salisbury 10 mile race and got a 3 minute PB, tipping
just under 70 minutes for the first time. Then next week I ran from my home
to Winchester (46 miles) in about 8 and a half hours. This was a real
confidence boost – both the distance and the time (about 90 minutes quicker
than last time I did it), but I ended up with a knee problem on one side. I
didn’t want to immediately blame the Hokas I was wearing, but I took it easy
the following week and kept to different shoes.
The week after I ran a totally mind numbing 38 miles around the local
country park in 7 hours – bang on my planned target. I knew now I was going
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