Well, here we are; all systems go.

On the 18th of September, Joy and I will fly out to Japan. We then jump on a domestic flight, followed by either another domestic flight or a long train journey to the very tippy-top of Japan. The hope is we’ll be in the right place to start the run on September 20th.

🚂 Training Summary

Training has continued. Any semblance of a training plan has long been discarded at this point, and I am back training by feel. I know as a personal trainer and coach, I should be advocating for sticking to a well-laid-out plan, but that’s never quite worked for me.

I’ve done a gentle 75 km of running this week. Definitely feeling a bit more myself after the past month, and if it wasn’t for a friction burn on my foot, I’d have probably gone on to 100 km. Instead, I am being sensible, or at least trying to after doing something stupid…

The latest stupid happened on Friday, I was having a great run in my new trainers around the lake, looking to do a half-marathon in just under 2 hours. Then I noticed a little rubbing. I stopped, moved my sock around, discovered a little hole in it, and kept running. The rubbing continued. I kept running. The burning sensation grew. I completed a half-marathon in 1h 58m. I got home, took my shoes off, and noticed the blood stains. I now have a rather sore spot on my ankle that I need to heal quite quickly.

If I had to run 50km on that sore, every day, there’s no way it would recover. Another lesson learned, or rather re-learned, but really I shouldn’t have needed it.

☀️ Photo from the Road

🗓️ This Week I Have Mostly Been…

🎵 Listening to: Pure Morning - Placebo (and other songs on a Spotify 160 bpm playlist).
📚 Reading: Zinn & The Art of Road Bike Maintenance - because someone’s going to have to fix Joy’s bike.
🎥 Watching: Biking Japan On A Brompton: A Day In The Life - Checking out long-distance cycling videos to help get Joy set up for her cycle.

📺 In Case You Missed It…

I wrote a blog article about how I’m actually quite an average runner. We also uploaded the second video from the Laos trip.

🚀 Next Up

Our next jobs are to get the luggage setup for Joy’s bicycle sorted and work out exactly what we’re taking. Then off to find myself another pair of running shoes that are a little easier on my calves than the 4mm drop Altra FWD Via that I’ve been trying out.

After that, we need to find some people to meet along the way in Japan, and plan out a route. So we’re getting to the fun stuff now.

🏁 Finish Line

It’s been an eventful week, and now I’m off to relax and watch another episode of Silo while drinking another Vietnamese beer.

I hope you’re all having a great weekend.

Take it easy,

Phill