Trail Running Diaries #4 (Week 37)

Weekly distance covered: 24.35 km

Time spent running: 1h30m

Number of runs: 2

Training this week

I brought my running mileage down this week to avoid overloading the Achilles tendon some more but managed to do 3 sessions of calf and soleus calf exercises to strengthen it. After my Saturday ride, my legs were too sore to run on Sunday. I’m very mindful of how my body and legs feel, considering I have my race in just two weeks in the Lake District, UK.

Upcoming race plans

The race in the Lake District is a 22km, 500m elevation trail race, called the 13 Valleys Ultra. My specific race covers 2 of the 13 peaks that make up the event. The event lets you choose from several different distances.

13 Valleys celebrates the 13 unique valleys of the Lake District National Park which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site status, by linking them all together. You can choose between one trail distance: 2 Valleys (21km) and three ultra distances: 5 Valleys (55km), 7 Valleys (110km) and 13 Valleys (180km). Each of them will take you through spectacular trail running around the magnificent lakes and valleys of the Lake District.

Source: https://www.13valleysultra.com/

My original plan before my injury was to run the 55km version, which would have been my first ultra-marathon. But that is the thing about plans. Life doesn’t care about your plans.

The goal of this race for me is to finish and to push myself if my Achilles feels strong. I suspect I will have to run/walk parts to avoid injury, so I will power-hike uphills and downhills and make some tempo on the flats. So in summary, I’m not going there to be competitive and get the best result, but simply to enjoy the environment and have fun.

The week before the race, my girlfriend and I will spend a week in Keswick, enjoying the outdoors and eating good food.

Races I enjoyed watching this week

Copenhagen Half Marathon

Jakob Ingebrigtsen took part in his first half-marathon in Copenhagen on Sunday the 15th of September. He ran with the front group for about 10km before the blistering pace became too much. Having to stop at times to catch his breath, he still managed to run it in just over 63 minutes, which was good for 34th place. He mentioned post-race that the jump up in distance was not something he was ready for. Considering he’s a 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m runner on the track, I don’t blame him. He put in an incredible performance nonetheless.

Golden Trail Series — Headlands 27k

The 7th race in the Golden Trail Series took place in Headlands, USA. It was a 27km fast course that saw incredible action. In the men’s race, the battle was fought between Elhousine Elazzaoui, Philemon Kiriago, and Rémi Bonnet. The race ended with Elhousine winning an all-out sprint against Philemon. On the women’s side, Joyce won the race after a hard-fought battle between her and Madalina Florea from Romania. We also cheered on Nnormal athlete and YouTuber, Allie Ostrander. She is new to trail running but very fun to watch on her YouTube channel.

That is it for this week.

I hope you enjoyed this article! Leave a comment and tell me about your training and upcoming races!