This wasn’t one of the main races I was training for, but as I love taking part in events I wanted to do it anyway, whilst being at the mount visiting friends, I thought why not!
My training wasn’t ideal for this as I got quite sick with a virus a couple of weeks out and had a week off training. Normally I would push through feeling a little unwell, but in this instance, it wasn’t possible.
Although I lost some fitness, the benefit was giving my body some time to rest, which I haven’t done in a while (this was my 6th running event this year) so any niggles I had were rewarded with a break, and I was able to find new energy once recovered.
The other benefit of being sick for a week was I was able to do running related research online and watch some good videos. Ever since running my first marathon I have been fascinated with mental strength for running and it’s something I’ve been researching and learning a lot about ever since.
Some of the best videos I watched (links below) included, David Goggins (toughest man on the planet), an ultra-marathon runner (among many other things) and motivational speaker who talks about pushing through pain and various other mindsets to master getting the best out of yourself. Even if you aren’t a runner i’d highly recommend watching it as it applies to everyday life as well.
I also watched a documentary on Courtney Dauwalter (my idol) as she tackled a 200-mile (320km) race (wow) and at the same time Ultra Trail Australia was on, so I watched that also and added it to my to-do list for next year.