Training, finally...
So I thought it was about time I got some words down about training ahead of the Big School Run. We're 33 days out now and I've got a really solid 9 weeks (and 350+ miles) training behind me.
When I first told people about the BSR I was convinced that I didn't have enough time to get the physical adaptations needed to do it without some serious risk, so in my head I would do a couple of months mild training and rely on my mindset to get me through the event. I didn't really disclose this to many people, although their initial reactions to the event cemented these thoughts in my mind.
Eventually I found a couple of days to sit down, look at a calendar and consider what I really had to do and I was faced with this:
- 14 complete weeks until Day 1 of BSR
- furthest run to date: 14 miles
- full time job minimising time allocated to training
I decided that, given I had an incredible support team of sports scientists and physios around me on a daily basis at work, I had to get a training programme together to minimise the risk to my body through the BSR if nothing else!
The past 9 weeks have consisted of a periodised running plan, supplemented by a prehab programme with the simple goal of getting as many miles into my legs as safely as possible. This has been an incredible couple of months, with my mind being conditioned as much as, if not more than, my body. The mentality behind ultra-running cannot be underestimated and countless comical conversations with my sister, who went through a full ironman training programme, have highlighted this on a number of occasions. Topics such as 'the best way to get through an ice bath' (porridge or a cup of tea) and 'the joys of 1000 mile socks' (if you haven't yet, then find them) provide a genuine if lighthearted reprieve on a regular basis.
So as Day 1 from Marlborough College draws nearer I urge everyone who has managed to get this far down the post to share the event - tell your friends, your family, your colleagues, the guy who serves you coffee, anyone! PR is most definitely not my strong point and I've relied on so many people up until now to help spread the word - if we can all tell one more person then who knows how big we can get this thing!
Thanks for your ongoing support this far and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible around route, hopefully still with a smile on my face.
www.facebook.com/thebigschoolrun
www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/bigschoolrun
