RackOfftober

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

When the Sandman doesn't show...

Week three of the Almeria campaign comes to a close, with just three of the scheduled four runs completed, thanks to the return of insomnia and three nights of little to no sleep.

Despite the loss of a run I still completed my target of 26kms for the week, continuing the gradual increase of weekly mileage in this base-building phase. The third run was, by necessity, doubled in length to ensure I reached the mileage goal. It was however, also by necessity a slow and easy run, rather than two, shorter but tougher work outs. At this early stage of proceedings it doesn't really matter so much; time on my feet and miles logged is the key for the moment, so I'm not unhappy to have at least logged the miles. In fact, I'm very happy to have covered the requisite distance in spite of the absence of Sandman, who I can only imagine skived off to the pub somewhere in a wanton and reprehensible dereliction of duty.

Having caught up on some sleep with one decent night's kip, I now have a weekend of night shifts (ending at 6 a.m.) to contend with, followed by the tricky transition to early shift (starting at 6 a.m.) next week. This is always the toughest part for me: combining a tough, body-slamming transition of nights to early mornings with a race training schedule. Regardless, it is worth pursuing, as the increased general fitness thanks to regular running does definitely help me cope with the demands of shift work.

Four challenging runs are on the cards for next week: it's going to be a tough one, but if I can get through it well enough, then I have a step-back week after that to catch my breath and recover some sanity.