Upping the weight and distance

Last week I just managed a few thousand metres on the rowing machine. That easy week meant I started this week quite refreshed, though I am noticing the residual tiredness after an easy week steadily increasing. I need to be careful not to end up being overtrained after my 3 week build-up cycles, which is difficult considering I still have about 6 or 7 weeks of tough training still to come.

I covered 50 miles this week on runs, run/walks and a walk, which started on Tuesday/Wednesday with a (respectively) 23.1 mile and 14 mile back-to-back outing.

The 23.1 miler was over the bleak Rombald Moors in the freezing cold with a 5.7kg rucksack, a weight which I barely notice now, covering 2795 foot of ascent in 6h16m and 3435 calories burnt off.

Colour in the sky with a black pencil,
remove the stone's shadow, and that's
about right!

This is a tough route I've designed for myself, beginning with a descent to the lowest altitude I can get before climbing all the way up to Bingley Moor, descending down the other side and coming back up and over Addingham High Moor, the plantations and through the village of Addingham. It was hard work across the very boggy ground; the exposed higher peaks of the moors were particularly cold and windy. This is the second time I've done this route and while it felt a little easier this time my legs certainly know I've done it by the time I've finished.

The 14 miler the following morning was largely flat, just over 1000 foot of ascent. To make it harder I carried my heaviest weight to date at 11.1kg and kept a speed-walk going with a few minutes of running thrown in: 3h11m. My upper back only felt tired for the last hour or so and I'd started feeling very comfortable with the weight.

Another walk today (just 8 miles) was with 9.7kg in the rucksack.

On checking my running diary I've noticed a few encouraging points:

- the last time I covered more than 50 miles in a week was almost 10 years ago when I did my last 24 hour track race (and had severe Achilles tendon problems thereafter);

- my fitness has improved so much that my heart rate monitor now regularly records a drop of up to 20 beats per minute on some of my run routes when compared with the same route just a few months ago (those of you who started reading my blog from the beginning will know that one year ago I was just finishing an enforced 3 week lay off as I couldn't actually run or walk much at all);

- in 10 months I've lost a stone in weight (and, unsurprisingly, 4lb of that in the last 3 weeks alone).

Crucially I need to maintain this work rate without getting injured.

This week I also decided to start panicking about all the other MdS kit I haven't ordered yet!