The Walker With Heart

And so it ends... The three weeks of rest, recovery and finding my focus I promised myself. Don the Trail26 at Rivington, wait for 3 weeks and then start again... By my math its eighteen weeks to my date with destiny, the start line at Greenwich. As I've ranted and moaned about before this a run six years in the making, six years of marathons, ultramarathons, worn out trainers, worn through shorts, not too many blisters and far too much chafing!!! So this is the year where I'm hoping it all comes together, I'm fit - but not race fit; I'm lighter than I was - but not as light as I can be; I'm focused - just about the right level. I've got the endurance in spades, I can walk all day (and have done many times...) The early spring races are booked, a fun fast 10k in Southport, my Mad Dog three times its been organised, three times I've loved it. The Cambridge half, flat fast and fun... and last year nice and chilly. The cardiologist is content with my ...

I'm done... The math is simple 4000km in a year equals 77km a week for the year. The challenge was to equal 25 miles a week for the year to celebrate the Children's Heart Federation's 25 years of supporting families and children born with heart conditions. Seventy Seven? Yes, that's rather more than the 40km that 25 miles would require... but as normal its the extra steps that I count, my baseline distance a day walking to work, popping to the shops ect is 5k, so taking 35km a week hurts, but is right for me... 42km, just a bit extra to make sure, and make it a Marathon a week (just cos it feels right😁). So, I could vegetate do nothing but sit on my rump, but that's not really in my nature... and I have one bugbear that I want to itch the scratch of.  The night hike, the pushing brain and legs through the night, pushing my control of tiredness to the limit. So my final hurrah is a night-ultra distance hike... 35miles around the Wirral Circular Trail, starti...

So that was it, the last medal for 2013, the last t-shirt, the last finish line... It was hard, partly because of the rubbish taper I'd had, partly because it wasn't the best of weather and partly because it was never, ever going to be easy. The first half was the hilly half, up and along and up passed Rivington Pike and then up towards Winter Hill, the TV tower looming surrounded by radio towers.  Already the terrain had been a mix of cobbles, leaf strewn cobbles, bog and tarmac... And then the first three of the 10k runners went past me, hell and high water these guys were fast - 40min 10ks on this terrain well, well beyond anything I'm ever going to consider but a joy to see. At this point a "motivational" text from a mate turned up - You're going to die in this weather. The gods hate you.  Nice, and it worked, I wasn't feeling at my best and the little prod of defiance the text provoked was all I needed. Apart from anything else I'm a stubborn ...