Dec 27, 20224 min read

I Have a Plan!!

I hope you all had a good Christmas, and that's all I have to say on the matter. I celebrate the 21st of December because that means that summer is fast approaching (ish) but I am rather a bah, humbug sort of person concerning Christmas.

Let's move on to running.....yay! a much better topic.

How was your running over the festive period? As you may be aware, back in November I challenged myself to get my running motivation back. The four-week SMART goal worked and I think we can say my running mojo has returned - helped in part by signing up to Tinathon2022 - running every day for a minimum of 30 minutes during December is coming to a close....and I must say I am rather glad. These things sound like such a good idea in the beginning but hands up, I have missed a couple of days and will pay the £10 fine to the chosen charities.

What next then?

I am not one for New Year's Resolutions, I prefer not to make them, then I can't break them (I'm a poet and I didn't know it)

But worry ye not, ladies and gentlemen. I have a plan. Dramatic drum roll.......I am going to do a 50k, not a 5k but a 50k.

To be honest, when you put it into old money, that's 30 miles and I have done that a few times (albeit about 15 years ago), so I am pretty sure I can do it again. This time though I am going to follow a plan (a what??? you cry!!) yes, a plan.

Following a period of rumination on the subject, I took into consideration the fact that I haven't been back to running for that long and the fact that I'm getting closer to drawing my pension, although the Government keep moving the goalposts on that one, so to stave off the chances of injury from overtraining and lack of preparation, I decided to follow a plan.

Now, from what little you know of me, it may be apparent that I may start off following a plan, but within a few....days?....I may go off-piste, a little. BUT, as with my SMART goal, by recording my efforts and being accountable, I may be able to keep to it a little longer than I normally would.

What's the Plan?

I'm glad you asked!

it's a 24-week plan (which seems like a lifetime to me) running five times a week. It follows a rather acceptable regime, gradually building up the mileage, for example:

Week One

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 5 miles
Sunday - 10 miles

You can obviously change the days to suit your schedule but ensure you leave a rest day after your long run.

I did have another plan which was for 18 weeks but upon reflection, I decided to go for the longer one because I am so old and overweight!!

This means that, unless the wheels fall off, I will attempt my 50k in mid-June 2023.

When do I start?

No time like the present, so I started yesterday.

Therefore, according to The Plan, yesterday was a rest day and today I needed to do just 3 miles.

hmmmm, I still had to run for 30 minutes yesterday (Tinathon2022) so no rest and today I had run too far away from home to only do 3 miles so I did 4 miles - come on, I was close!!!

Which Race am I entering?

A pertinent question, I will give you that, but actually, I am not entering an actual race. Firstly, I can't leave the dogs all day to go and ponce off to some race and secondly, there isn't one in mid-June.

AMENDMENT: I have just checked and that's codswallop, there are a few ultras in June 2023.

The rather wonderfully named The Valley of the Owls, in Bury-St-Edmunds (too far)

The equally wonderfully named Race to the King in Arundel (too far)

And the Isle of Wight Ultra (I don't need to tell you....too far - but what a beauty!!)

HOWEVER.........remember me saying that I am shite at sticking to a plan and am liable to do my own thing?? Wellllllll, on 10th June 2023 there is the Salisbury Plain Half, Marathon and 50-mile run. Not 50k but 50 miles.

I know, I know, that is a whopping 20 miles more than I will be training for ....but it is on my doorstep, and my training may have been going really well. On the other hand, I may be injured, knackered and totally unable to do a 5k let alone a 50 miler......perhaps 2024???

What am I going to do then?

Back in the day, I did the Marlborough Downs Challenge a few times and having just looked it up, that was actually 33 miles, not 30 as I had thought (check me out!).

Unfortunately, their records don't go back far enough to tell you how long I took but I do remember it taking a flaming long time and at one stage I remember sitting on the floor of a barn at Avebury and refusing to move until a fight almost broke out between me and the two fellow runners I had persuaded to do it with me. Apparently, because I had made them enter the 'poxy race' (emotions were running high at this point) then the least I could do was finish it with them - fair point.

I believe the race is taking part again in 2023 but is held in May. I will therefore follow most of the route as it is on public footpaths, but add in some detours to local Ale Houses - bearing in mind that there will be no aid stations like you get in an organised race, so it seems prudent!

And that, my friends, is THE PLAN!

I hope you have something you are planning for the future, but at this precise moment in time, I am planning on recreating a Ruby's Pearl - a delightful cocktail I had down at home in Falmouth at the Greenbank Hotel (if you haven't been there you absolutely must go if you are ever in Falmouth).