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Farewell to 2017... Hello to 2018

2017 has been a good running year for me. I love stats and being on Strava and having Garmin Connections gives me loads of data to oggle over. I set myself a goal of running 2017 km in 2017 that goal is now 2018 km. A good early year of long runs meant I was ahead of my target by a good margin. This would prove to be a benefit later on as I seemed to lose my motivation from August and not get it back until November.
Monthly Distance 2017
Three of the four ultra distance races were also in the first half of the year, again adding to the overall distance for the year.
I like to finish the year off with a good old run and this year was no exception.
Having signed up for both the 50 mile and 100 mile Chester Ultra races I need to put in some serious training to make the 'events' as painless as possible. Oh I'm not kidding myself, I will have low points in both events but I'm hoping the physical and mental training will help me survive them.
Therefore, the last run of the year was a recce run which starting at Barns Bridge car park in Delamere Forest followed the last section to the finish line in Waverton. It was then cross country back to where I started.
Running towards Beeston Castle

To mix things up more I decided I'd try to simulate the condition I'd be in on the day by reducing my calorie intake during the run, (I seem to fade when running at the long distances even if I graze food throughout the run).
So I found myself worse for wears as I joined the canal path at Warton's Lock for the final leg back into Waverton. This will clearly be an emotional section back to both finishes... It was horrendous! Flat, muddy and boring all equal to a challenge I can't wait to overcome on the respective race days.


For 2018... As I write this I've signed up to four ultra distance races so that should keep me busy with either the training or recovery between them. I'm hoping to smash my running distance target for 2018... Who knows we'll see.
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