Geelong went well, really well.
I comfortably ran 1:55 for the half marathon meaning I took a three minute chunk out of my previous Personal Best and still felt like I had enough in the tank to keep going — I definitely could have run faster, but then I would be out of commission for the next week or so.
That would have be bad.

The next day, Monday 9th, signalled the beginning of my training for Run Larapinta and Surf Coast Century.
It’s a rest day on both plans — a blessing.
Tuesday’s run eventually comes around and I take my legs out for an early morning spin just to ease them back in to things.
There had been a tiny bit of stiffness on the Monday but the usual morning dog walk had loosened things up enough.

The hardest part of this plan is going to be the three long runs; the mid-week long run and then the back-to-backs on the weekend.
Week 1 was be a good test to see how I cope with this.

Both weekend runs were fun for different reasons.
On Saturday I sandwiched River Run into the long run, running 5ks up to The Pound before the River Runners 5K, then finishing off with another few kilometres — to the bridge and back to complete the allotted ‘time on feet’ for the run.
Sunday morning, the weather was damp and it rained for the whole one hour forty-five minutes I was out.
The thin trails I picked to run were tricky in the wet and have suffered from erosion so I had to take it real slow in places.
I finished the week feeling really positive about this training plan and the tasks I have set myself.

Looking ahead

Week 2 is all about the hills, and whilst I review Week 1, I am well entrenched in Week 2 and still loving the plan.
I also experimented with race nutrition on the Week 2 mid-week long run – eating a box of sultanas (26g of carbohydrates).
I can confirm there was minimal intestinal discomfort and I think boxes of sultanas might actually work for me — but more on this next time.

Advice sought

I am also currently contemplating whether or not to sign up for the Trails Plus Princes Park event May 19/20 — I am looking at taking part in the 6 hour event.
This is an excellent opportunity to test my race day nutrition in race condtions but my concern is this is very early on in the training to be running a 6 hour straight run – even slowly.

However, the concept of a 6 hour run is not alien to me and IT IS the perfect opportunity to test my body in long endurance race conditions, with the advantage of it being:

a) flat,

b) a 2.5K loop with toilets – so easy to manage and I don’t have to carry 6 hours worth of supplies on my back,

c) a great chance simply run for 6 hours and know I only have to focus on pacing and fueling.

To be honest, the more I try to work this through for the blog, the more convinced I am that this is the right thing to do.
But I am keen to hear from the running collective,  this is new territory for me.

Any thoughts on running a 6 hour event – as a tester – this early on in the plan (about week 6) would be appreciated.

I am confident I can complete, and that it will be a valuable educational experience for me – but it is early in the plan and I do not want to sabotage my main goals of Larapinta and Surf Coast.