That's more like it!

Wow, what a week. It's been a long time since I hit all my mileage and this was a strong one; 40 miles covered which was a staggering 24 miles more than covered last week!

After the recent disappointing weeks with runs missed to due work or sickness I was determined to get a full week of training behind me. Despite starting the week with a tight right calf muscle I pushed through and set some strong times throughout including an 8 mile run at 7m30s pace which is dead on 1 hour. That was an anomaly, we're getting into the serious mileage now so I need be careful. My long run this week was 16 miles which is not something you can afford to mess with!

The 'Norterra Running Club' is started to gain some steam; we are now three! I am delighted to say that 'Brett' is our newest member, we met yesterday at a community event.

A Trade Show for local residents was held on Saturday in which residents displayed a variety of home businesses and services. My wife in fact debuted her new business Lemonade Events and had some positive feedback which is exciting. Whilst my wife worked the stand I walked between the other displays with our daughter and right opposite was a stand for a local race which I naturally made a bee line for...

TriPhx is run by a Brett and Kristin, a Connecticut family who moved to the area around 1 year ago. They set up the company as a side business and are organizing an adventure trail run within our community.

Brett is a serious athlete; he has completed over 40 triathlon, 5 marathons (including an Ultra) and many shorter races. Although currently on the recovery stage after the Ragnar Relay in which he ran 33 miles of a 200 mile relay he joined us for a period of today's long run. Ironically, whist out on our long run two weeks ago Trevor and I caught the tail end of this race but had no idea what it is! I am hopeful that Brett and Trevor will continue to meet up for long runs in the next two weeks whilst my family and I are visiting the UK.

My training is going to be challenging these next two weeks. We travel to London on Thursday, and stay for 10 days. I have some serious mileage scheduled during the trip. Naturally I will aim to do as much as possible but it's obvious I will miss runs. That's another reason why hitting my mileage this week was so important!

The last 3 weeks

Those who know me well will not be surprised to hear that I am starting to have some aches and pains. As of writing, I have a sprain on my right calf. Not too severe however it's annoying. This is the same injury that caused me to worry about the 2007 New York Half Marathon however, history shows how it didn't bother me!

More annoying however is the cold I have had for the last 2-3 weeks. I just can't shake it. I've had various moments of hot/cold flushes, nights of waking bathed in sweat, aching bones and joints, sore throats and the latest is a runny nose. All this together has made the last 3 weeks a challenge!

I have kept up with my training to a degree however am starting to miss important runs. This last week I will have missed my two 7 miles runs and only complete my long run of 10 miles and two short runs of 3 miles. That means I am 14 miles down on my weekly goal. The previous two weeks run similar stories; 3 miles missed here and there, and one long run being cut short due to an inability to breathe easy with the cold.

Aside from the calf strain I am physically feeling OK which is good. My long runs are mostly going well. This upcoming week will however be a challenge as all my midweek runs increase mileage and my long run is 16 miles.

My long run partner Trevor is getting close to his event (a half Ironman in California) and this will be last time we run together before then. His race is actually in three weeks however I am travelling with the family to the UK and will have two long runs scheduled whilst over there.

There is still a long way to go, 11 weeks to be precise, so these little set backs in the last 3 weeks are not of concern. Being strong here on out is the key!