Great run out at Dalby Forest with Sarah, my rock! I'm very lucky as she keeps me grounded when I become obsessed with my training and it kind of makes me one dimensional.  She is brilliant though, as she supports me all the way but also reigns me in when I get a bit addicted.  I'm in a phase at the moment where things feel like there going really well and I'm improving at a good rate and I'm really feeling the benefit of the consistency and variety that my training plan gives me plus at the moment I'm loving putting in the efforts as the hard work is paying off.  Since the new year I've an effort to get my weight down, not because I want to be skinny but because I know I'm carrying a little bit more than I should and I know by dropping a few pounds it will make it better for me.  The weight has been coming off steadily and I'm now nearly at my target weight.  I started the year at 94 kg's and I'm now 88.5kg's with the goal of 83.  I now feel in a position to really start getting excited about the race as I feel I have put myself into a position of being able to complete it as long as I can stay injury free.  What I have to do though is remember I have a family who needs me and a gorgeous fiancée that needs me.  So my training needs to be done when it doesn't effect everyone else.  Sarah is great, she supports me endlessly and tirelessly even when I became unbearable lol!  It takes a lot but she's amazing as works full time and looks after the kids.  She deserves a medal putting up with me lol!!!

The training at the moment consists of hill reps to build my strength and lung capacity, speed work to try increase my overall slow pace to a little faster and long run endurance work.  I've recently been using a heart rate monitor purely because it interests me to see what is happening during my runs but also with the idea of it assisting my training.  When Sarah joined up at the gym she got one of these 'Blaze' belts which is a heart monitor with a special app that is used in one of the circuit training classes that uses heart rate zones to judge your level of effort during the class so you can push yourself harder and I guess become more accountable.  Anyway I haven't used it in the class yet although I intend to at some point but I am finding it good for when I go out on runs to see how hard I'm working and whether I can actually try a bit harder at certain times.  It is also quite good to see how hard my heart is working during exercise and the efforts.

What's next?  Well I want to now try and push a little harder in my speed work as I feel this is starting to become more important now I've increased my fitness levels.  I also want to maintain my long run once a week even a little trickier now with work, and I want to get the rest of my body stronger and more able to cope with the rigours of long distance running.  I also need to stay strong with my weight loss but maintain healthy balance of eating enough of the good stuff!

Happy days!!!

This is it now, I'm in this neck deep.  I'm now fully committed to this challenge, I've fully bought into this and I've put down the marker and said I'm going to do it.  I'm now in a great position, I've put the work in to build my base level of fitness.  For some reason, I never feel fit enough, I'm not sure why this is.  Maybe its my expectations of what I think I should be like or to be able to do what I think I should be able to do.  I don't know, but I'm going to keep working at it at pushing myself harder, further and more intensely.  I'm already using pretty much all my spare time trying to improve whether that's being out there and running, in the gym doing strength work or stretching or rolling or having massages or reading book after book after book about this stuff.  I kind of feel its time to put up or shut up, I need to succeed at this more than ever now.  I need to achieve this for myself, for me to carry on trying to achieve more and greater things.  I'm also going back to my first reasons for doing all this.  My daughter, she was my motivation once before and she is again.  She currently has her own battles going on that I can't do much to help her with.  I want to show her about committing yourself to something so far out of your comfort zone that you have put everything you have into to it.  I want to show her that we all have something inside of us that we can uncover, harness, and use to our own advantage.  I want to show her that even when it looks impossible you can still achieve things, great things.  I want to show her that I get up at 4am in the morning to train because I have to if I want to do this and achieve it.  I want her to see that if you commit yourself fully, doing all the horrible things, training early mornings, training in the wind, rain and snow and the cold, aching all the time and getting on with things then you can do it.  Most of all I want her to be as proud of me as I am of her.

The fire is truly lit inside my belly now. I  now feel ready for the task I have put in front of me.  So what am I going to do now, what can I do from here.  I want to keep on top of my training, do the right things to keep my body healthy and injury free.  I now know that this is going to be a mental game, and that is my strength!  Don't get me wrong, my fitness level needs to be greater than its ever been before and needs to be at point that I believe in my own ability to be able last the distance.  Those cut-off's are going to be my enemy and will be taking them on one at a time.  I have the mental strength to push on when others may stop but I need coping strategies that will empower me at the right times.  The times is now, and I'm ready!!!!

Bring it on!!!!!

The last few weeks has  been great.  Although I've had to manage a few minor injuries, which haven't necessarily held me back but I haven't been able to do exactly what is in my plan from Ronnie.  What I've really enjoyed recently is getting some long runs in consistently along with the shorter ones around near the house.  The long runs have been great fun and what I enjoy the most.  I get to use the map a bit and explore new routes and get lost now and again ha ha! The 160 is nearing, each day I feel like I am now on count down.  8 weeks to go till the 55 so its about 16 weeks till 160 eeeekkk!  The question is, am I any further on or in a better place than I was a couple of years ago.  Yes!  Without a doubt.  I feel more confident at the moment as my training seems to be improving each week and I don't just mean speed I mean the whole thing.  Fitter for sure, stronger yes, faster marginally, healthier definitely and not injured!  Whats the plan at the moment? Well I want to keep up with schedule Ronnie has written for me but I want to make sure I don't start over doing as is my way and get injured.  I need to listen to my body and rest when needed and work hard when I can.  My work schedule and family life are important to me so I am trying my hardest to work it around everything which means at times running when I don't want to or when its uncomfortable.  On the flip side to that, I think that is a good thing as it will make me stronger and more capable of coping with 'uncomfortable' which basically is Ultra Running!

How's it going at the moment? Well mileage wise I've just done a 60 mile week which is something for me.  I don't think I've ever done that many miles in a week for training.  Which is why I'm now being overly cautious about strains and niggles as I can feel soreness in my archilles tendon on both legs.  So as good as last week was I'm now just going to ease off again slightly.  My toughest part of training it seems is the speed work.  I just don't adapt well to it and I really have to force myself to push harder during a run whereas my natural state is go steady and save some in the tank because I want to make sure I finish comfortably.  I guess that's the clue right there though, 'comfortably' for me to improve my work rate and achieve the goals I've set I need to force myself out of these mind sets of comfort and make it more about long term improvement and not about short term satisfaction.

I'm now starting to think about the race more and more.  Just little things related to where I want to train more and what sections I really need to be doing better at.  A little test that I'm going to be putting myself through is pushing harder than normal on the 55 again to make it uncomfortable and to see what kind of time difference this will make.  This is mainly because on the 160 I want to be doing the first 60 miles ish a bit quicker than last time, either to give me more rest time at Ravenscar or so I can get Saltburn a bit quicker.  My plan is to not go crazy in that first section but not to be dilly dallying around which I felt I did last time and took too much time getting to Scalby and on to Ravenscar.  I need to put some measures in place for coping mentally after Ravenscar as this was the main problem last time, I just had a melt down and I need to prevent this from happening by putting coping mechanisms in place to deal with it.

One thing is for sure my amazing Fiancee is now also my amzing crew.  I couldn't do it without her and knowing she is there at each meet point is my drive to get there.  I just don't want to let her down.  Always supporting and pushing me to do more and letting me carry on doing this craziness ha ha!