23. A Week of Wins
Pushing Endurance While Enjoying the Ride
This past week has been a solid win overall. Due to work travel on Monday, there was no running action. However, since it wasn’t a day trip, I had the luxury of going to bed at 8 PM, ensuring a restful night without any kicks in the face from Coach Matthew. I was in London until Thursday, which gave me the opportunity to enjoy a few runs on British soil. Here’s the breakdown:
Tuesday: 25km
Wednesday: 20km
Thursday: 15km
I returned on Thursday night on the last flight of the day, which was, of course, running late. I made it home around 11 PM and was in bed by midnight. Despite feeling like a shell of myself on Friday morning, I managed to go out for another 15km. The work week went smoothly, and my running felt great. My endurance is improving, although my legs don’t quite spin as fast as I’d like. I plan to keep focusing on distance and, once that’s nailed down, I’ll add some proper speed work.
On Saturday, I tackled a 30km run for the first time in a while. Despite the cloudy sky, it was scorching, making the run feel like an open-air sauna. But I completed it, and my body felt decent, with no soreness—a definite win. Sunday was more relaxed; we turned it into a family adventure with Coach Matthew in his Thule and my wife on her Brompton. We clocked another 20km, enjoying some chatty miles with Powerade and water on demand, courtesy of support bike. This brought my total to a solid 125km for the week.
However, my current pair of Nike Alphafly 3 have reached the end of their life. With over 1,000km on them, they are visibly falling apart. The upper of my left shoe has a hole, and the soles are disintegrating with each step. Thankfully, my wife has already ordered a new pair—what a star!
On the reading front, I finished Abroad in Japan. It’s a fantastic book that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for something lighthearted. I also finished The Formula, a book about Formula 1 featuring a certain red car on the cover. As a fan of the sport, I loved diving into the stories about Enzo Ferrari, Bernie Ecclestone, and more. It’s a great read for any Formula 1 enthusiast.
Looking ahead to next week, I’m feeling ambitious with a 35km run on the calendar. My wife has kindly offered to come along as my support bike, just like old times around Paris, but we haven’t yet consulted Coach Matthew on his opinion!
Stay tuned for more updates as I continue to push my limits and enjoy this journey.
Photos below:
Coach Matthew pretty unimpressed after 20km along the Main. A bit patched up on his right eyebrow after taking a tumble at nursery. Apparently he didn’t cry and immediately resumed his running.
Big Ben at 6:30am.
Blackfriars Bridge at 6am.
Steak and spinach at Flat Iron, tasty but a bit small, I should have probably ordered two!
