Saturday 31 October 2009

Week 53, Day 1 - Toughest challenge yet!

Well then! That's a full year of training over with already! Where has the time gone? I'll post a full review of the first 12 months of training later in the week but for now the focus is very much on starting the 2nd year in some style. A very tough style at that!

5 weeks ago (Sunday 20th September) I ran 37 miles from Shotley Bridge to Blyth. That distance took me 09:40:28 to complete and I remember thinking at the time about how good I felt at the end of the run. I'll be attempting that distance and route again tomorrow. In order to keep things interesting I'll be doing everything that I can to complete the run in a quicker time than last time. That is not going to be easy given that heavy rain is forecast all day with a high of 11 degrees Celsius. So with tougher conditions than last time and a time to beat it's certainly going to make for a rather interesting day.

As per usual I'll be using my iPhone to update Twitter with my progress. This in turn automatically updates Facebook. If you follow either of those sites then you'll be able to keep up to date with how I'm getting on. I'll take a few snaps along the way too, which will be visible in the photos section further down on the right hand side of this page.

If I get enough unbroken sleep tonight I'll be aiming for a 10 am start. That start time would make for a 7 - 8 pm finish in the dark and wet streets of Blyth. Any later than that and it will start to become a bit depressing!

For those of you interested in the route, it can be viewed by clicking here. Any messages via Facebook, Twitter or emailed to sponsorship@rungeordierun.com would be greatly appreciated and will probably be the difference between success and failure. Believe you me, 9 hours and 40 minutes is a long time to go without any support. I was very grateful on the last 37 mile run for the messages and kind wishes. It was a throw back to the John O'Groats to Lands End run where I received thousands of messages over the course of 37 days and beyond. Hopefully, there will be more of the same tomorrow. I know you won't let me down!