Last night at running club I FLEW! I don’t know if this had something to do with doing 20 miles Sat and 10 on Sun rather than the other way around, that little bit extra rest perhaps? Either way, I kept the D-group boys in sight all the way, and managed to keep my lovely friendly rival Katie behind me most of the way too, score!

So I cycled to work this morning in a glorious sunrise and felt super strong too, then I’ll run home tonight. I’m just going to text my coach Rory Coleman (recently on TV with Ran Fiennes who he’s training for the MdS!) to ask him about the 20 v 10 miles Sat and Sun thing, and make sure I don’t suddenly over do it. I must admit as every car came speeding past I did shout at them in my head, “Don’t knock me off today I’ve been training for The Coastal Challenge Costa Rica for 6 months now and I’ll be devastated if I can’t run those 6 marathons in 6-days!” Today no one did, but I gotta be careful!

Also, a big up to Saucony is required, I wore their Exodus 5 shoes at the weekend, recommended by Rory, and they were good straight from the box for a whole 20 miles! I’ve completely muddied them beyond all recognition, so here’s what they really look like:

Very surprised to discover that these were comfy for 20 miles straight from the box! I had planned 2 x 10mile loops from my house for a potential tyre stop. Saucony’s Exodus 5, they got 9/10 in Trail Running magazine‘s latest shoe review

I got them in a size 6, which are on the large size, so I’m going for a 5.5 for the race, but I’ll keep the size 6’s in case my feet swell up a few days in.

I also still have my Brooks Adrenaline ASRs which are my trusty training shoe, and because I’ve worn down the small amount of grip they have (they’re brilliant support shoes for my pronating feet but they don’t have enough grip for muddy trails sadly) I decided to try using the ice screws that my colleague Sarah reviewed in this issue’s Trail Running mag (on sale now!) WOW! I’ll post a pic on here sometime soon, but they now grip in mud and grass like a charm. Only problem is they crunch horribly and feel like football boot studs on roads and hard paths! So only good for gloop now! I might take them out, or alter the ice screws so they don’t feel uncomfortable.

Getting the kit right for this race is going to be a mind-game, I’m taking the whole of this weekend coming to organise myself…I’ll let you know my complete kit list on here soon!