Week 16 of the Tour de Newport commenced! It was another early start for a run around the Port.
The next 7 days sees the training plan reaching its peak with 12 miles today, 4 tomorrow, 6 on Thursday, the big 32 miler on Saturday, 6 miles Sunday and a 4am 14 miler on Tuesday.
As the big day looms on the horizon I’m both excited and nervous which is probably the best frame of mind to be in. I don’t want to be overconfident but confident enough in the training that I’ve been doing. And the training has gone as good as it could have with 765 miles completed out of the ~950 miles on the plan.
Tuesday – 12 Miles
Today’s run was a 12-miler and I followed the same route as the 12-miler a couple of weeks back which apart from the gradual pull out of Newport for a few miles is nice and straightforward. After having two days off, things were feeling good and it quickly turned into a speedier run and a negative splits run at that. Despite the heart rate registering high, things were feeling good for most of the run but then I had a stitch at mile 9 which thankfully didn’t last long. I maintained the pace right to the end of the run but it was feeling tough.
The Garmin watch at the end notified me that the the run was ‘Unproductive’ and I probably shouldn’t have run at the speed but with a 12 mile trail race in 10 days time it’s good to feel confident that you can pick up the pace.
Distance: 12 Miles
Wednesday – 4 Miles
The gorgeous skies are back! The sun is currently rising at 0454 in Newport but the best times to be out is between 30-60 minutes before sunrise when the skies are at their most colourful.
Today’s run was easier than yesterday’s 12 miler with just 4 miles to complete. With such a short distance I don’t need to stray too far so like last week’s 4 miler I headed over George Street Bridge to try and get some sunrise shots from a different angle. I got a few shots of the bridge but was rewarded running along the riverfront with the following shot. Unfortunately cloud is forecast tomorrow so unlikely to get any good shots.
Distance: 4 Miles
Thursday – 6 Miles
Was hopeful that perhaps I would have been able to see some of the colourful dawn sky this morning but was pretty gloomy out there. At least I missed the drizzle which appeared after I had finished the run.
6 miles this morning so a run out and over a very quiet SDR bridge. Uneventful run just ticking over the miles until the long run on Saturday. The tracker has arrived, the map has been loaded and looking forward to testing it out.
Distance: 6.22 Miles
Saturday – 32 Miles
In the three days leading up to my long run today I’d been feeling sick, had a constant headache and had generally been feeling run down. Usually I would be a bit weary about attempting a long run but I was convinced that the issues were being driven by nerves. This long run had been a fixture on the training calendar since day one and I had long wanted to try running to my favourite pub in Bristol so this was a perfect fit. Even before this training plan I had been curious as to whether I could run there.
To add to the pressure I had arranged to meet friends at the Small Bar so whilst it wasn’t necessarily important, it would be good to get there at the same time as them. I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem, but it was an extra target to keep in mind.
Apart from run-ins with cows and a closed road on my desired route which resulted in a detour through some fields and then along a busy A road with no pavement, which I had wanted to avoid, I managed to make it to my destination and almost at the exact same time as my friends were arriving.
Following a pretty bog-standard route the aim for the run was to just run (and not stop for photos!); I wanted to test how I would cope with a largely road-based 30+ mile run and I was really surprised with how things went. The legs felt really good for the entire 35 miles, which is not something I’ve been used to, and whilst the feet were becoming tired it wasn’t causing any issues (and could have been caused by the brand new Hoka Carbon X 2s)
I managed to resist the urge to take many photographs along the way and I was so pleased with how things went. The entire run was almost half the distance of the Tour de Newport (minus the elevation) and it was reassuring to be able to comfortably complete the distance and feel good post-run. And as I quickly discovered in the run, the three days of feeling ill were purely done to nerves!
Distance: 35 Miles
Sunday – 60 Minutes
After yesterday’s 35-miler the legs were feeling surprisingly good and the plan for the run was to stick local and run for around 10k and then head to the cinema. I selected a flat route around Nash which would be easy to complete but as soon as I started I felt a bit too good and found myself picking up the pace. And once I was going I figured I may as well keep going so ended up with negative splits throughout the run. Finished the run in just over 47 minutes and felt comfortable throughout. Now to rest until Tuesday when I tackle the longest 4am run in the training plan.
Distance: 6.22 Miles
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