Deload Week Done!

Yesterday I wrapped up my final run before the madness of next month begins – a blissfully lower‑mileage week to let my body “acclimatise” to the increasing load.

I had naïvely assumed that a deload week would be nice and restful. In reality, it’s been harder than my highest‑mileage week so far (and last week I clocked over 36 miles). My 5.6‑mile run yesterday felt suspiciously closer to 56.

I’m fairly sure it’s because my brain has switched off from “training mode” this week, so every mile feels like ten times the effort.

I’ll be starting the challenge on Monday instead of Sunday, as we’re delivering two full days of expedition training for our brilliant DofE participants this weekend. I’ll be logging my mileage in the activity tracker on this page, so you can follow along as the month ticks by. I’ll also post a weekly blog update here – lucky you, even more of my rambling to read.

Preparation for a 150mile Month

Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. I never anticipated such generosity, and I’m extremely grateful.

I’m now in my final build week of training before a deload week next week. What does that mean? Essentially, I’ve been steadily increasing my weekly mileage from around 20 miles before Christmas to the current 32–34 miles, working in four‑week blocks with a lower‑mileage fifth week to let the body recalibrate.

In March, I’m aiming for 36–38 miles a week for the first four weeks, with any remaining mileage made up on 30–31 March.

All of this is, of course, on top of a full‑time job and a few particularly busy weeks of volunteering with the two organisations I’m heavily involved with. And just to keep things interesting, I’ve discovered that if I run any later than about 4pm, I don’t sleep - especially after a long run. So most of this mileage is happening before work or in the mornings. Getting up early in the dark, cold, and frequently wet weather is a challenge in itself.

I’ll post here (with more brevity, I promise) after each run or hike so you can follow the progress over the month. To keep things light, I’ll add the odd photo. This one features the view I’ve seen most often on recent walks. Although, I should warn you: selfies are not my forte ;-)