week seven: a section of struggle street

It has only taken seven weeks, but I have finally managed a full week of actual training.

I didn’t skip a session. There was a small speed bump on Friday, when other things got in the way of the scheduled 35-minute run-walk, but I didn’t make one of those promises to myself about doing it later in the evening. I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

I got it done early on Saturday instead.

That meant going into Sunday’s long walk without the rest day that was supposed to be between them. It also meant that, one way or another, all four sessions happened.

the first full week

Monday’s 20-minute recovery session was a gentle walk. I was stiff and sore after the previous day’s 14 kilometres, and my feet were still sore, but I was moving reasonably well.

Tuesday was a full rest day. My legs were still a bit heavy.

Wednesday’s 35 minutes started with heavy legs and a cold wind in my face. I eventually warmed up, then had the wind behind me on the way home. I got it done, and that was the main thing.

Friday became Saturday, then it was straight into 14.5 kilometres on Sunday.

You can follow the full training plan on Runners Gateway, including my session notes and activity links.

a long, flat out-and-back

I left home at about 5:30 on Sunday morning and tried something a little different. I went straight down the hill, turned left and headed west along Safety Bay Road, past the salt lakes.

It is a long, broadly flat stretch of bitumen. Not quite as flat in places as I remembered, but much closer to the surface and profile of the True Blue Ultra course than wandering up and down the hills around the local housing estates.

I have made a mistake on that route before. A year or two ago, I had a crazy moment and decided to walk a half-marathon distance before I was ready. It set me back several months. This time, 14.5 kilometres was what the plan called for.

The route also made the distance simple. Walk out for 7.25 kilometres, turn around and come home.

the mental noise starts again

The first part felt pretty good, especially considering I had done the 35-minute session the day before.

At about 8 kilometres, not long after the turnaround, the mental games started again. Last week I had been only a few hundred metres from home and could have bailed out. On a simple out-and-back, there was no short way home. I still had to cover the distance.

The questions started anyway. If I feel like this after 8 kilometres, how am I supposed to do 50? This isn’t even one full lap of the event, and I am planning to do four of them.

I managed to switch off some of that noise and keep moving. Then, from around 10 kilometres, it became a bit of a sufferfest.

My feet were sore. My back was sore. The thing I noticed most was my hips.

I don’t know how much of that was my weight, being 57, doing the previous day’s session, or simply using different walking mechanics on a long flat stretch instead of the local hills. It was probably a mixture.

The final 1.5 kilometres came down to putting one foot in front of the other, getting home and getting it done.

a few hours makes a difference

I finished shortly before 9 am. Since then, the day has been a mixture of pottering around doing domestic jobs, sitting down to rest, having a couple of naps, drinking plenty and trying to warm up.

If I had written this immediately after the walk, it would have been much more tired, negative and probably a little down.

A few hours later, I can see the positive signs. My body is adapting, and I am covering much more distance than I was seven weeks ago.

The doubts are familiar too. I had them while training for my first marathon. I had them in London when I was wondering how I could possibly cover 5,400 kilometres across Australia. I had them during the three-day walk back from Bunbury, when struggling for three days made four months seem ridiculous.

It doesn’t mean the questions disappear. It means this isn’t unfamiliar territory.

Week eight is a cutback week, with 12 kilometres next Sunday. First comes Monday’s 20-minute recovery session. Recovery walk, let’s be honest.

Then I can aim for two complete weeks in a row.

Touch wood.