After finishing (and winning) my first 100 mile race back in July this year, the last 3 months I focused on building up to Marathon Eryri in Snowdonia, the toughest road marathon in the world. Training couldn’t have gone any better. I maintained 100-mile weeks for 12 consecutive weeks and increased the length of my weekly tempo sessions so that I was running 30 miles at target marathon pace (<6:00/mile) including elevation similar to what I would be facing in Snowdonia. It's not all about the destination... But then, the taper happened. I’ve had the same problem once before - last year when I was tapering for my first ultra marathon. When my training volume decreased and my body started to find more energy to recover, I picked up a virus that my immune system decided to focus on. I missed the race I had been preparing for for so long on both occasions. I was devastated to miss Marathon Eryri as I was looking forward to putting in a good performance and being at the business end of things. But this year it wasn’t to be. After a week to get over the disappointment and start again with some gentle running now that the virus seems to be on its last legs, I’ve realised that it’s not all about the destination. Sure, I would have had a great day, enjoyed the race, and the whole weekend, but what I achieved over those 3 months is a much bigger reward. I’ve become what I would call an ultra runner now and I have an incredible platform to build on moving forwards. I enjoyed every step of my training and I have improved my endurance to no end. I also managed to maintain and even improve on my speed in the process. Picking out the positives has been a valuable exercise in getting over disappointment and is something I would encourage any athlete to do. I’m now looking for a medium-term goal to focus my sights on so that I can become an even stronger runner going into 2023. I’d like this experience to motivate other people and encourage them to look at what they have achieved on the journey, rather than focusing too much on the destination. The destination will be good and act as a great pit-stop, but it’s the journey that will determine your starting point when moving towards the next goal. The journey will determine your staring point for the next...
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