So my count down on the blog says that the NDW50 is only 2 months away, slightly inaccurate but still it’s just around the corner! This was the first week of the training plan to build me back up to running fitness and although it didn’t go completely to plan overall I am pleased

Cycling wise, I commuted as planned 4 days of the week and covered the planned 92 miles for the week. The weather was relatively ok although every morning I was met with a strong head wind which would just make things that little bit tougher. The route I am now taking to work has a but more hill than before and rather than being 10 miles is around 11.5, the route home is pretty much up hill all the way back.

Running for the week consisted of a 2 mile run at (for me) a fast(ish) pace along a pretty flat route on the roads and just under 13 miles on the Sunday.

The run was along the North Downs Way and the trail had improved with the drier weather, but there were still sections of quite sticky mud and I ended up turning back along the section that runs just before you hit Oxted Downs. Where the ground is clay, it was like an ice rink with slippery wet clay meaning I was tip toeing along and I just decided that I would rather turn back and extend my run the other way or risk walking the whole of that part of the trail. As it was this decision was a good one as about 2 miles from home I got a call from my wife saying that one of my boys had caught that bug that his brother had been suffering with earlier that week, so I opted to cut the run short.

Although I had to cut things short I was pleased with my run, this was one of the first long runs where I had felt comfortable and felt as though I had the energy to keep going longer if I had wanted.

With a bit more confidence in my running and my Achilles seemingly sorted, I am looking forward to more long runs.