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1. Welcome to Tempered Strength & The Ultra Marathon

15th August 2024

Firstly Welcome to the Tempered Strength Newsletter.

Welcome to Tempered Strength. A place where we plan to build fitness tools to help you on your fitness journey wether that be strength or long distance running! Whilst the site is still work in progress stay tuned for up and coming content and tools.

Now on to the Ultra: Whilst this starts off on a sad note this is where I will post updates on both the Tempered Strength project and everything else fitness I have decided to run an Ultramarathon. The entry-level ultramarathon is 50k, but it’s still an ultra nonetheless!

At its heart, this run is in memory of my brother, Aidan Venison. Before I forget, here is a link where you can donate. He was involved in a road traffic collision (RTC) in Surrey and, unfortunately, passed away at the scene in July 2024 at just 19 years old. Although he didn’t survive, the KSS Air Ambulance charity gave him the best possible chance. Without charity, services like this simply cannot exist. So, the decision to run an ultra is rooted in raising money for KSS Air Ambulance.

Shortly after the accident, I left my local gym and started running to clear my head. For the first time, I followed a running plan and actually began to enjoy the runs.

My running experience is pretty average. I rarely run, but when I do, it’s five to 10k at most. I once did a half marathon with minimal training, and it took me a week to recover. This time, I want to do it properly. The goal: 50k at some point in November, date TBC.

The running and training plan is custom and ever-evolving—an 18-week plan that I’ll share over the coming days and weeks. It includes 4 days of running (Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun) and 3 days of recovery.

I created the training plan myself, using AI to better tailor it. The plan takes into account my best 5k time to set initial paces and guide progression.

This is not an official ultra at a race event. I’m training for it and will just go out and run it in November. I’ll plan the route, reveal the date, and organize my stops. As the date approaches, I’ll share both the route and my estimated times at key points of interest (POIs) if you want to stop by and say hi! I will, of course, track the full run and distance to ensure it’s officially 50k.

I’m currently finishing Week 1 of training and starting Week 2. Week 1 has been a great start with a series of short, easy runs—all under 10k—totaling 19.5k for the week.

The biggest lesson this week has been trying to keep my heart rate (HR) under 160 bpm on average; I’ve learned that I can’t sustain higher rates for long. This week, I managed to complete 19.5k with the following stats:

  • Weekly distance: 19.5k

  • Weekly RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) average out of 10: 5.7

  • Weekly average VO2 Max: 48.4

  • Weekly elevation gain: 46 meters

  • Weekly HR average: 154 bpm

It still feels like there are mountains to climb and a huge amount of training ahead, but please stay tuned for updates. Also, check out my other social media platforms where I’ll be posting regular updates.