In the words of Roy Castle...

I did it.

I ran further this week than ever before.

I ran further than I ever thought I could or would a few years ago.

To some the distance is not impressive and I envy them for it, but to me it was a huge moment.

What I love about running is that it makes you proud of yourself, it makes you appreciate what you have accomplished. Passing the16.5mile mark was a huge achievement for me but no fan fair played, no line was crossed and no ticker-tape parade ensued.

A glance t my Garmin, a wry smile to myself, a deep breath and increased spring in my step as I knew that every step forward was a step into the unknown. Big words, I know, for running around my home town, but 36 hours later and I'm still riding a high from it.

I will run marathons and I will run ultras, (there is still a little part of me that thinks I'll get quite good) but as with all things I am learning as I go. I get advice from great Twitter people and off the ultrarunningpodcast podcasts too. So far I've picked up the following pointers which have helped me no end:

After 90 minutes of exercise, the body needs supplementing. To date the best is the SIS Smart1 gel. Caffeine and Berry flavour.

Train to 70% of your max your heart rate when increasing distance, it stops you from going out too fast or too slow.

Hydrate well, my 2l CamelBak is maybe the best thing I own.

Get the support of your family. Without this, you'll never have the time you need to dedicate to running to train for it. After 18 miles, the best thing was returning to a home full of smiles and support and people impressed by my achievement.

Others can disagree, or may be built differently but for me the above are gospel.

My run was uneventful, it started at 05.30hrs, it was raining, cold and very dark. Waking up that early really makes you question just how much you want this. How hungry you are to run and train for an event. I questioned myself for all of 10 seconds. If you're gonna run a long way you need to put the miles in and respect the ones you do.

In the words of the late, Roy Castle... Dedication, that's what you need.