week one: not as bad as i had feared

At the end of the first session in my new training plan, I wrote: “Not as bad as I had feared 😆”

By Sunday morning I had completed all four sessions: three 20-minute easy run-walks and a 10-kilometre walk. That makes week one complete. It feels pretty good to be able to write that.

an actual event to train for

This will be my first running event as a participant in more years than I can remember. For the past two years I have volunteered at the True Blue Ultra. This time my so-called friends Ron and Gaby decided I should be a participant instead.

Peer pressured, enabled, encouraged, persuaded. Any of them will do.

If all goes well and I complete an ultra distance in January, I will be thankful to them. During the event I will probably be calling them every name under the sun.

The longer version of why I am doing this is in six months to fifteen years. The shorter version is that having an actual event in front of me gives my brain something concrete to work towards.

why the plan says 50 km

I have entered the 75-kilometre event, but the training plan is aimed at 50 kilometres.

The 75-kilometre event starts at midnight. The 50-kilometre event starts at 3 am. Entering the longer event gives me three extra hours in the cooler conditions before the sun comes up, and the maximum available time to cover whatever distance I can.

I have covered 75 kilometres at this event before, but I also remember the training and fitness it took to do it. I am not pretending that is where I am now. Fifty kilometres is the realistic target. If the training goes particularly well, 75 can remain an option rather than an expectation.

I built a 25-week plan around becoming capable of covering 50 kilometres on foot, even if I walk it. You can follow the full training plan on Runners Gateway, including the session notes and activity links as the weeks unfold.

what week one actually looked like

The week began gently and deliberately:

• Monday, 27 July: 20 minutes of easy run-walk. My verdict was “not as bad as I had feared”.
• Wednesday, 29 July: another 20 minutes. I ran a little more and covered about 500 metres further in the same time.
• Friday, 31 July: 20 minutes again. My legs felt tired and heavy in the second half.
• Sunday, 2 August: a 10-kilometre walk in just under two hours and fifteen minutes.

The shorter sessions were mostly walking with brief bursts of a “pale imitation of running”. Roughly 90 per cent walking and 10 per cent jogging.

The 10 kilometres were always going to be walked. I headed out just before 6 am with a rough route in mind, made adjustments as I went and wandered around the local area, including a short stretch of the local parkrun course. Most of it was very pleasant.

the final two kilometres

In the last couple of kilometres, my feet became sore and my lower back began to niggle. I could feel a couple of hot spots; thankfully there’s no visible sign of blistering. Afterwards my right thigh was tender to touch.

That is part of what these early weeks are for. My feet, muscles and the rest of my body need time to strengthen and adapt to this kind of work again.

The last time I walked 10 kilometres, a little over a month ago, it took two or three days to recover. The next session in the plan is a 20-minute recovery run-walk on Monday (tomorrow) morning. Whether I can do that, and how it feels if I do, will tell me more than pretending the soreness is not there.

one week done

Earlier this year, or perhaps late last year, I had more or less sworn off using an event as a training goal. I needed a period without goals or pressure, when walking could simply be something I did for enjoyment. That gave me a mental reset, but it did not become a sustainable training rhythm.

The reality may be that an event is a stronger source of motivation for the way my brain works. True Blue has given me a date, the plan has given me the next session, and this week I completed what was in front of me.

One week done. Twenty-four to go.