Witton Park Trail Relays

The Witton Park Trail Relays is an event that unfortunately I missed out on in 2015, as it fell on the day of my birthday and I was otherwise engaged (I don't think Moll would have been best pleased if I had have asked her to come along and watch me race instead of going out for a meal!). This year however, having heard lots about the success of the event from everyone involved the previous year, I made sure I left my diary clear to allow me to take part and see what it was all about for myself. 

If I'm being completely honest, I didn't really quite know what I had signed myself up for, having never taken part in any trail races previously. But I had figured that it couldn't be too dissimilar to crosscountry, and loving that event as I do I was pretty confident that I would enjoy the challenge. So much so that during the week, as other runners had been forced to drop out, I volunteered myself to run an extra leg for one of our other teams. At just over 2.35 miles each leg, how hard could it be?

On my first team, I would take the first leg before tagging on to James Mulvany on our second leg, with David Taylor bringing us home on the third and final leg. 

Arriving in plenty of time, I borrowed a pair of fell shoes off one of the other club members (I'm glad I didn't try running it in my road shoes!) and set about on a reccie of the course, with about half an hour to go before the race start. I'm glad I did, as it prepared me fully for what was ahead of me, the only problem being that a wrong turn meant that I ended up doing a longer 3 mile warm up and having to hurry up a bit on the last mile in order to get back to the start in time!

It was only once at the start that I realised just how many teams Wesham had entered into he competition, with some 16 of the 120 teams participating being Wesham blue! Being on leg one meant that my leg for the 'A' team was pretty much just a normal race, however as opposed to many races on the road, I didn't recognise many of the front runners, with the exception of Chris Singleton of Barlick. This meant I wasn't sure what to expect pace-wise or how the race would unfold. 

I decided that the best course of action was to try and grab the race by the scruff of the neck and run the first half of the race hard, in an attempt to get to the summit in first, with the idea being that it was all downhill from there...

...easier said than done! The first quarter of a mile is fairly flat, across field and up onto the trail path which began to wind its way through the woodland. I had successfully managed to get myself into the lead by the time we entered the woods and began the incline. The first half of the incline was fairly gradual, and aside from having to be aware of branches and roots and the uneven nature of the underfoot conditions, it was very much runnable.

This section of the race also saw you have to pass through two gates, but that was made simple as the marshals had opened them by the time the runners approached. At the top of the first section of the incline, we passed under a little tunnel and into the upper woodland area, where the hill began to get steadily steeper. A hundred yards or so after the tunnel, you had to take a sharp turn back almost upon yourself and straight up and onto the toughest climb of the course. It is difficult to know how far exactly this climb went on for, but according to my watch readings the total elevation on the whole run was 488ft and my first mile was down at 7:30 pace.

I managed to reach the summit just about in first place, but by this stage I was really blowing - I like hills, but this was more than I am used to! - and I didn't take the best approach to climbing over a tree stump that was led across the path near the top (I didn't notice the gap that was runnable between them!) and lost some time and momentum manoeuvring my legs over it.

Almost immediately as we reached the top, Chris Holdsworth of Clayton-le-moors Harriers - who went on to win the leg in the fastest time of the day, surged past me. I tried my hardest to keep him within range throughout the descent, as we plummeted back down the other side of the hill. In trying to keep myself in with a shout of first place I probably cost myself both energy and momentum as we came through the fields and into the final section of the race. I struggled with my foot placing as we negotiated a tricky section of a dozen or so wide steps, and at the bottom of those I was quickly passed by two Barlick Fell runners, despite finishing fairly quickly (my last 0.35 miles were recorded at 4:50 pace), I was unable to reign them back in and as such I found myself finishing the leg in fourth position.

I passed on to James Mulvany, who had an excellent leg and managed to gain the team a position as Wesham found themselves in and among the top three after leg 2, a position that David Taylor very nearly maintained as he was passed agonisingly on the finish line as we got pipped for a place on the podium and finished up in fourth place. It was an excellent showing and a great result for us, up against some of the top fell teams and teams much more used to this type of event and race. For Wesham to be up there competing with the likes of Clayton, Barlick and Blackburn on their own patch was fantastic. I loved being a part of a team in a relay environment again, having missed out on the 12 stage earlier on this season.

For my second leg, I learned from my first lap and took it a little easier up hill and had a bit more energy left for the down hill section. I decided not to bust too much of a gut second time around and to try and enjoy it, which I managed to - using those in front of me as motivation to keep on going throughout. I gained some 25-30 places for the team and recorded the 8th fastest leg of the night on my second attempt, despite being nearly a minute slower than my first lap.

Overall I loved the experience and would love to take part again next year - and this has shown me how good hill work is, I really need to find a big hill near me to practice on! My calves were in bits for a couple of days afterwards though, and knew that they had been in a real workout!

The rest of the week saw me do a steady 11.5 miles on Monday, a 2 x 2 mile tempo on the Tuesday (at 5:09 average pace) finished off with 4 x 200 metre strides at 30 seconds a piece. Wednesday I got out for an hour and ran 9 miles at a comfortable pace, Friday I went out early before work and plodded out 4 miles to try and get some of the lactic out of my legs from the previous evening. Saturday was a rest day and Sunday saw me do a long run at 6:15 pace for 17 miles with Rob Affleck, with a mile cool down giving us 18 miles in total.

Total mileage for the week: 62

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:40

Total mileage for June: 254

Total mileage so far this month (July): 22

Total mileage so far 2016: 1776

Average miles per day 2016: 9.70

Looking forwards

I have been fortunate to have hit a period of form over the last 4-6 weeks and have been running consistently and racing well, topped off by a solid showing at Freck Half last weekend.

Having come through a difficult spell during late March/April I am more than aware that form is of course a very temporary notion, and that soon enough it may be the case that my recent improvements plateau off once more. If that is he case then I will have to step up the training programme again and build towards the next target races.

In two weeks time I will be off on my summer holidays with Moll and the family for a fortnight of sun, I have banked on using the first week as a complete rest week from training, with some light running in the second week to try and see me ticking over and not losing too much fitness. I think the holiday is coming at a good time for me, to allow my body to recover from all the recent races and to allow me to freshen up ahead of what I hope will be a big second half of 2016.

So the next couple of weeks will see me trying to train hard and eek out every last ounce of energy to try and get myself in the best possible place ahead of the upcoming break.

I haven't completely set in stone my races for the second half of 2016 yet, but I have now begun to turn my attention towards these targets. It is likely that I will look for a September half, in order to give me something to really get my teeth into after my holiday and to have a target to strive towards. From there, I will look for a 10k to aim at - possibly Leeds Abbey Dash, despite not enjoying that particular race last season, or maybe Cheshire 10k if the current course measurement saga is resolved in time. Hopefully I will also finally get to have another crack at a 10 mile race, having last raced over that distance in 2014.

This week's training was hit by more chronic tooth pain, which saw me take a couple of days off from training and affecting my weeks work. I took Monday off after the half marathon and went out to watch the football, then Tuesday saw me racing again, with a comfortable win at the Thornton interclub, with a pleasing time of 26:23 for the 5 mile promenade loop, despite having also raced just some 48 hours previous. Wednesday saw me do a steady 7.5 mile recovery run, whilst Thursday was an enforced day of rest. Friday saw me do a swift 7 miles.

Saturday was my 26th birthday and I chose to celebrate by having a real crack at the Preston Park Run, before working in the afternoon (as you do). I knocked 14 seconds off my previous best display on the course and finished in 16:03, with my calves battered from a third hard run in 7 days.

I finished the week with a very wet 18 mile long run through the lanes at 6:20 pace. Due to the lack of mileage I tried to ensure every run through the week was a decent sort of pace.

Total mileage for the week: 49

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:12

Total mileage so far this month (June): 214

Total mileage so far 2016: 1714

Average miles per day 2016: 9.63

Mixed emotions

5 years to the day from my first effort (and first ever race) at Freckleton Half Marathon, today's attempt was my sixth time on the course. A far cry from the usual conditions at this race, this time around he weather was cool, wet and blustery in places. It represented a different type of challenge, but made for more favourable running conditions to the usual heat and humidity.

It was a day in which records were broken, titles changed hands and personal bests were set. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't quite able to do that, but I certainly wasn't far off. It made for a day of mixed emotions for myself, as I managed to seal a place on the podium here for the first time, on the day that my junior record was smashed to pieces 5 years to the day on from me setting it.

Back then I was an unattached bit of a kid with only a handful of 10 mile training runs to my name. I didn't have a clue about pacing, or even if I would finish it, but somehow got around in 1:24:32, breaking the old record by some 8 and a half minutes! 5 years on and a young lad from Blackburn Harriers tore that particular record to pieces - beating it by some 9 minutes! 

At the same time, I was able to set another little piece of history myself - and this one is one that can never be taken away from me, as I became the first Junior title holder to go on and take a place on the podium at the race.

In order to earn my top 3 position I had to beat some serious runners, as there was a quality front end assembled at the race once more. John Mason made his way over from Canada again, to try and de-throne Ben Fish, who was looking to win the race for the tenth consecutive year. My coach Rob Affleck was there too, with club mate Gary Pennington - on the back of his 2:29 marathon. 

But it was Dave Rigby of Salford Harriers who ran home as a convincing winner, beating the field by over a minute to claim the title.

The early stages of the race saw all of the front 6 in a tight pack through he first mile, as everyone sized each other up and race tactics cam into the equation. The group began to break up through the second and third mile, as Rigby and Mason pulled away from Fish, with myself a bit further behind, ahead of Affleck and Pennington.

At mile four, I continued to be running strong and managed to pass Ben Fish and set off trying to keep Rigby and Mason in sight, which I managed to do as we approached the green at Wrea Green around 5.5 miles. I received a lot of encouragement from the spectators around the green and also from Richard Davies and Chris Barnes on their bikes and it focused my mind on making sure the gap to the next runner didn't get too big to close up. By this point Dave Rigby had broke clear of John Mason and was now out in front on his own.

I didn't panic, and didn't make a move too soon, instead gradually chipping away at the gap between myself and Mason, eventually catching him up at around the 8.5 mile mark and then moving ahead of him and into second place at around 9 miles. Once I was in second, I was determined that nobody would pass me, and for a short while even had a small belief that I could reign in the leader and close that gap too. Unfortunately I began to slow up from around mile 10. 

In the last 5k, when I would have hoped for a strong finish, instead I tightened up a bit and my pace slowed up by approximately 10-15 seconds per mile. The weather deteriorated around this point too, which may have impacted on the times a bit. Still I managed to hang onto second position quite comfortably in the end, and just missed out on a new half marathon pb, finishing the race in 70:49.

My mile split times (bearing in mind I had targeted running at around 5:20 pace) were: 5:17, 5:07, 5:11, 5:15, 5:19, 5:23, 5:24, 5:26, 5:27, 5:29, 5:36, 5:33, 5:29 before running home the last 0.12 at 4:52 pace.

I am proud of my performance and would probably say that this is one of the best paced and tactically raced efforts that I have put together, particularly over this distance. It shows that my endurance is improving and that I am getting stronger. It also means that I am finally able to put the horror of Cardiff Half to bed at last.

Hopefully I will be able to continue to improve and kick on further from here after my holiday which is coming up soon!

Total mileage for the week: 55

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:30

Total mileage so far this month (June): 165

Total mileage so far 2016: 1665

Average miles per day 2016: 9.85

An almost perfect 10

It is almost 5 years ago since I first ran in a Wesham vest at an interclub race. I finished in 17th position and was very happy to come in so high up the field. That was the start of things for me, and I have been hooked on racing ever since. Back then, I couldn't have dreamed of winning one of the interclub races, let alone winning the individual title last season.

Yet, after years of hard work, here I am now, having just completed my tenth successive interclub that I have raced without defeat. The only blip on the record is that I had to miss the final race of last season due to my summer holiday, so the ten races aren't all consecutive. But still, it is a huge achievement for me, and I feel as though I am getting stronger with each race. I am working hard and am hoping to continue keeping the run going as long as possible, and looking to keep on improving as much as I can.

Thursday night provided me with the latest interclub fixture to get my teeth into, and with it being a 5 miler, as opposed to the others so far this season, which had both been 4 mile courses, it would put my endurance a bit more to the test, against Rob Affleck and Gary Pennington who both seem to be able to hold a pace on and on with ease.

Fortunately, it was a test that I passed with flying colours. Despite feeling extremely leggy and lacklustre in my warm ups, something seemed to click into place as soon as the starting orders were given. Without really putting any serious concious effort to pull away - I didn't feel as though the start was a particularly fast one - I quickly opened up a bit of space between myself and he rest of the field. Again, throughout the run I tried to hold a consistent pace, rather than putting any thought into upping it at any stage. 

I ran home in first place, and was staggered (particularly considering how I had felt before the race) to find that I had ran some 30 seconds faster than the previous year on the same course - and had finished in a pb time for the distance, breaking 26 minutes for the first occassion with a time of 25:49. The best thing about the performance was the ease at which I felt during the run. I felt as though I had an extra gear that I could have gone into had I needed it, a feeling that gives a lot of confidence ahead of Freckleton Half next weekend.

Perhaps, after the heavy mileage winter, the recent period of reduced mileage may have allowed my body to recover and feel fresher on a race day. Having said that, my current mileage is still equal to my marathon training from last spring!

It has been a long, but very worthwhile journey from my first full season of interclub a 4 years ago, to where I am at now. I am proud of how far I have come so far, and am determined to keep improving!

I am fortunate to have banked a consistent block of training without injuries over the last few months, and feel that this is the most important aspect of my training that has led to the upturn in form I am now experiencing. 

This week's training was once again pleasing for me. Monday provided me with a steady 9.5 miles at 6:45 pace. On Tuesday I headed to the track at Sports Arena, Cottam, but since there weren't many down there, I did a session of my own - putting together 5 x 5 miles, off two minutes recovery, at an average of 5:04 pace. Wednesday was an easy 5 at 6:55 pace, Thursday provided me with 12 miles in total, with Friday seeing the working week end with a 7 mile recovery run at 6:38 pace. Saturday was a day off, as I headed off to Parklife with Moll, before catching the tail end of the club day festivities and the football at Kirkham cricket club. I ended the week with a very enjoyable 17 mile long run with coach Affleck, with us starting gentle and building up the pace progressively throughout to finish up with an average pace of 6:22.

This week now is about ensuring I make it to the startline at Freckleton in the best possible shape ahead of the Half Marathon, and I have to admit this is the hard part for me now, as I always feel guilty when I taper back my training as it almost feels like cheating - I always feel as though I should be doing more!

Total mileage for the week: 61

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:29

Total mileage so far this month (June): 110

Total mileage so far 2016: 1610

Average miles per day 2016: 9.82

Heatwave

This last week has seen some of the hottest weather we have had in some time, and I sure felt it, particularly on today's long run.

Having been to watch Coldplay with Moll last night, we stopped over in Manchester and took advantage of being a stones throw away from the Trafford Centre to get some bits and pieces ahead of our holiday next month. That meant that my long run was delayed until late afternoon. 

I had hoped that having waited until half 4 to set off on my run, that I might be through the hottest of the weather. That seemed to be far from the case however, as the conditions became more and more humid and difficult to come with, eventually becoming unbearable and leaving me having to stop and walk my way home the last mile and a half, having stopped at 15 miles feeling dizzy and dehydrated.

I tend not to take water onboard on any of my training runs, choosing not to carry a bottle. Usually this doesn't prove to be a problem - today however I really struggled from 13 onwards and really should have taken some with me.

It does at least provide me with a good dummy run of the conditions that I am likely to be faced with at Freckleton Half Marathon in just two weeks time. The race continues to be run at mid afternoon on what is always one of the hottest days of the year.

On bank holiday Monday, I did a steady 8 miles in the evening, having been out for the day at Cartmel races with Moll, slightly less Han I do on a usual Monday. Having to work on a bit on Tuesday meant that I missed my track session, so substituted it for a 10k tempo run through the lanes at 5:34 pace, with a further 8 miles progressive tempo banked on Tursday with Rob Affleck, at 5:40 pace. Saturday saw me do another 8 miles, with the Preston Parkrun acting as an extra speed session in the middle of the session for me, with 16:44 for the 5k being exactly what I ran there last week too!

I love getting out into the lanes away from all the traffic and busy roads in the summer, but unfortunately there is one big drawback for me - I suffer quite badly from hayfever and in the months of June and July it always seems to peak over a six week period, leaving me with itchy eyes and a streaming nose. This last week it has been particularly bad and despite taking my medication it doesn't seem to have eased the symptoms much at all. If anyone has and remidies that works for them, please let me know!

A break from training for a brilliant night out watching Coldplay with Moll at the Etihad, Manchester.

Total mileage for the week: 67

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:23   

Total mileage for May: 282

Total mileage so far this month (June): 49

Total mileage so far 2016: 1549

Average miles per day 2016: 9.92

Gung-Ho

Last summer I managed to set a course record at Catforth 5k, one of the more local courses to me on the road racing circuit. It is a fast, flat course and as it is a race series that is run through the summer season, it tends to lend itself to being held in favourable conditions too. With the right competition and level of runners it is, in my opinion, a possible PB course.

On the back of Chrisleton 5k last week, the weekend just gone provided me with the first opportunity of this season to try and defend this record, and indeed improve upon it too.

There was very good competition to pit myself against too, with the returning Dave Rigby, of Salford Harriers now back fit again, and Ben Johnson of Southport - on the back of an outstanding run at the London marathon last month. So I knew I would have to perform well if I was going to be able to compete.

In the early stages, after a little confusion on he start over the signal, I was content to settle in behind Ben and allow him to set the early pace. I had intended to stay tucked in for a while longer, but after half a mile or so and the first couple of corners I found myself getting itchy feet as the going was already starting to feel tough. I took the decision to try and push the pace on even more in order to try and stretch it out a little. It didn't work much and instead the three of us passed through the first mile marker in 4:40!

Obviously I didn't look at my watch, and if I had known how fast we were going I may have tried to reign it back a tad, as that pace was some ten seconds faster than my target pace to try and run sub 15. That early pace was just too fast to make a 4:50 average possible - if anything, by going off too quick, rather than getting ahead of the rate I had used up too much energy too soon.

The second mile at Catforth is the slowest, with a very gradual incline catching many unaware - being a regular I know what to expect there now and put a little bit extra in through that section, but I still found myself unable to pull away, and we were all still packed tight through the second mile. 

Luckily, despite tiring and slowing through the final mile, I managed to open up a bit of a gap behind me and broke clear to run home in 1st place by 10 seconds in the end. Plus despite slowing I had still done enough to beat my previous year's best effort on the course, setting a new course record of 15:20. It is a good starting point for the series, and I am confident that with better pacing, there is still a fair bit of improvement I can make on that time in the coming months.

During the week, I enjoyed a tough track session on Tuesday, with 8 x 1000 off a 1 minute recovery with Helen's group. It was one of the longer track sessions I've done, and I really enjoyed it actually - it made a nice change after 4 or 5 weeks of 400 metre repeats on my own anyway!

On Thursday I did a 8 mile progression run with Rob, averaging out at 5:45 pace. Then on Sunday, I completed my week with a very leggy 15 miles at 6:45 pace the morning after the 5k race - it was hard going, but at least I got it done!

Catforth proved a successful night for the Danson family and Team Wesham, with the men winning the team prize, being followed up by the women also taking the team prize - with my mum forming part of the team and also bagging herself a pb in the process too! Well done mum 👏

Total mileage for the week: 69

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:29

Total mileage for the month so far (May): 264

Total mileage so far 2016: 1482

Average miles per day 2016: 9.88

One for your diaries...

Having struggled to find form and rhythm in my running for some weeks since Cardiff Half in March, this week saw my running take a turn for the better once again at last.

Don't get me wrong, apart from that one disastrous run out in Cardiff, I don't think I have necessarily been running particularly poorly. However I haven't felt as though I have had quite the same bounce in my step in training in general, or quite the same zip in races for the last couple of months. 

It hasn't been something that has overly concerned me, although I have obviously been trying everything that I can to bring about a return to form as soon as possible. It is impossible to maintain the same levels of performance consistently throughout an entire calendar year without any dips, peaks or troughs, especially when you factor in any injuries or illness that you might encounter. 

So it has just been a case of keeping my head down, banging out the sessions, playing around with my routine a little bit to freshen things up and having a little bit of rest to allow my body to recover. It has been a slightly frustrating period, but I think I am gaining from it - mentally I am becoming tougher all the time, but also I am learning and becoming wiser about how to construct my training and race plans. Sometimes I think it is good to step back and evaluate what you have been doing and what you can change for the better.

I have been training hard, but off reduced mileage in an attempt to leave myself fresher for races, and have been racing a bit more in an effort to 'race myself into form'. The best way to describe how I have felt when running recently would be 'flat', not necessarily suffering from any pain, discomfort or niggles, not exactly underperforming either, but just not quite feeling on it. I've been missing something, even if I'm not quite sure what that thing is.

For whatever reason, this week whatever it is, it seems to have returned. With a Friday night race in the diary I decided against a midweek track session and instead opted for a steady 10 miles on Monday and another quicker 10 mile run on Tuesday at almost tempo pace. For the first time in weeks, it felt effortless. It is a wield feeling, but it is what I had been striving for, running at a decent pace, but feeling as though I could just run and run and crank it up at any time.

It was certainly a timely confidence booster, and just in the nick of time too ahead of my latest targeted race. I ran easy on Wednesday and Thursday in order to taper off ahead of Friday evening and the Christleton 5k road race.

For anyone that hasn't heard of it, or done the race, I have just one piece of advice. Get it booked in for next year now. Like right now! I have to say, it is one of the most professionally organised races I have had the pleasure of participating in. For a 5k, with a limit of 500 runners, to be chip timed is a rarity in itself, but everything from the marshalling, to the number collection was absolutely spot on. I couldn't speak highly enough of the whole experience.

Most importantly though, I'm sure you will understand, was that the standard at the front end was top notch, and also the course was one of the best that I have come across. When you put both of those things together into one race, and get decent conditions too (which we were fortunate enough to have) then you will produce fast times. Christleton is on the way to Chester, so it is a long way to travel on a Friday night, straight from work, for just 5k - but it is 100% worth the effort.

During he race itself, the winner led from the start and left us all standing, running some 30 seconds clear of the next man home in 14:24, but other than that, things were fairly close at the front. 

I ran the first 2k loop - it is a 1 and 3/4 lap course with the the start 1k from the finish - sensibly and sat bang in the middle of the chasing pack, which was about 6 or 7 man strong. The first kilometre was fairly flat, followed by a gradual downhill kilometre. At this stage I felt very strong, and with hindsight I was in a very good position sheltered in the middle of a good sized pack, but as we approached the 2k mark I made a move to the front of the pack and tried to draw the pack out through the middle stage of the race. The third kilometre is all uphill, with the climb being more noticeable than the downhill sections. If I had stayed in the group I may have expended less energy, but I am happy with my decision to be brave and attack that middle section as I like the hills and on another day it could have paid off.

I came through the 3k mark in second position, but was soon passed by the guy that went on to finish in 2nd by a considerable margin. A bit further down the road, at about 3.5k Joe Vass and Nigel Martin, both of Sale, passed me and I managed to latch on to the back of them in 5th position. From about 4K  my legs began to feel a little bit heavy, as the pace began to take its toll. I didn't wear my watch, but it would be interesting to see what pace I was on for at that point of the race. I lost a bit of ground through the last kilometre, but still managed to hold on to my position and finish 5th in 15:08, missing out on a new pb by just one second. The extra 10 metres from last week's remeasure of the course cost me dear! But at least I know this time it won't be scratched off.

My dad also travelled for the race, and had a superb run, knocking some 80 seconds off his time to record 25:28. Well done dad!

The rest of the weekend saw me take part in the Preston park run, before doing a 17 mile long run on the Sunday.

The little collage above is a snippet of the information that my new tomtom watch feeds to me through the accompanied mobile app. It allows me to trace everything, from my average pace, to a map of my run, through to my heart rate through the activity. I have been using the watch for 5 weeks now and I have to say I am very impressed with the range of options that it allows me to use and play around with. I have been able to use it to set myself interval sessions and rep work to good affect, whilst keeping tabs on the effort I have been putting in to my training to ensure I am working to my optimum levels too. It is early days, but I am enjoying using it, and not missing my garmin so far!

The picture above illustrates how my heart rate and pace looked through a session of 8x400 metres off a minute recovery a couple of weeks back. I thought it was worth sharing to show how useful a tool the app is proving to be, as I am able to reflect on hard I was working and how fast I was running through each rep, but also how my heart rate recovered through the 60 seconds rest.

Total mileage for the week: 62

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:24

Total mileage for the month so far (May): 195

Total mileage so far 2016: 1413

Average miles per day 2016: 9.88