I'm feeling very inspired at the moment and my running ambitions are probably getting a bit carried away but why not hey its not hurting anyone and its making me fitter and healthier than I've ever been.  I just can't get enough of that feeling of trying something that seems so impossible (for me) that its actually mega appealing.   Crazy I know! I love the idea of extreme training for an extreme event. The harder it is the more I want to do it and enjoy the process.  Whilst in lockdown I've really tried to basically do as much as I can do with everything else.  I've honestly pushed myself to the extreme I feel, and anymore would have resulted in injury without being able to get massages etc. There is something about testing myself and setting that ridiculously early alarm and forcing myself to get up and prepared for a long run.  In my head they're like my mini-adventures.  I might not ever be able to climb up Everest or trek to the North Pole but I can have my own mini-adventures that push me to exhaustion and achieve things that others wouldn't even dream of trying.  I read constantly books on people achieving this, and that, running the length of Great Britain, across America, The Yukon, Badwater and treks across the artic, and all I can think about is why not me? So all I'm trying to do is have a go and get as close to what they've achieved as I can.  Preparing for an event is great, deciding on what kind of training I'm going to try and see how hard I can push myself physically and mentally and how determined I am at getting my body in the best shape possible for the attempt.  I'm now at the lowest weight I have ever been, or at least since I was about 14 lol!  I've dropped down from once bordering 16 stone, to hovering at 14.5 stone to now being not just under 14 but under 13.5 and heading towards the target of under 13.  This isn't me trying to be skinny and look better in clothes as I've never been motivated like that, its about me getting fitter and better prepared for long distance Ultra events.  I seriously want to achieve greater things and I've always been held back a little by my weight.  I never let it stop me don't get me wrong, but its now at the point where its one of the things I can do something about. I'm not a naturally fast runner so I have to work with what I've got and my theory is that I have to deal with the things I can do something about and not worry about the rest.

Along side these long runs I've been boshing out over the past 6-7 weeks which has been great but taken its toll on my body somewhat, I've been doing small workouts at home using bits of kit I've either bought or made.  This would be along the lines of doing a bit of a warm up so running on the spot incorporating star jumps and jumping split steps.  This would then progress to a routine of skipping say 100 jumps, 10 press-ups, 10 air squats followed by 10 burpees and sometimes adding a couple of laps of the garden or kettlebell swings or dumb bells or bar bell.   This has worked well in improving my overall fitness and calorie burning but also my mindset of running while tired or drained.  I've also used the stairs quite a lot as I think this really helps with cardio training and continuous effort for climbing those long drawn out inclines.  A new part to my training has arisen from getting Bertie the dog.  We head out for our walks with me car a ruck sack weighing 19kg.  The funny story to this is that for at least 3 months I thought it weighed more like 15kg, then one day I weighed myself wearing it and it turns out it is 19kg!!! Great for the legs and core muscles I've decided.

What's next? What's my plans for training and races oooo I'll let you know next time :)