The Walker With Heart

Hottest day of the year - check 30 miles planned - check Hard climbs at the hottest parts of the day - check... That was possibly the toughest event I have ever done, physically and mentally. Physically, it was about balance - knowing that by going slow I would keep going and that if I went at anything like a pace I'd burn out long before the end.  Balance against that was my desire to do a good time for me (GTFM), GTFM is different than a PB - its just that feel runner get about what should be do-able and you'll be happy with. Mentally, it was best part of 13 hours on my own. Occasionally, chatting with the other back of the pack people as we leapfrogged each other for much of the day and talking to the marshals at the manned checkpoints.  Other than those moments and the arse-hole of a mountain biker... I'll explain in a bit... very little conversation apart from that in my head.  13h in my head - not recommended! The first 21km were good, enjoyable, a known...

I set myself a challenge, 2012 km in a year - a nice round 1250 miles. That's 250 more miles than I've done in a year before... And we're 4 months in so time for a review and a tally up... It's been the finest 4 months running I think I've ever had. The MadDog 10k took 2 min out of my PB for that distance The Knowsley Harriers Saturday 5 km took 2 min out of my PB for that... The day after that I took 5 min off my 25km PB I've done 3 PB's for 5 miles taking a total of 5 min off... My last long training run was a 15min pb over 20 miles and last week I went out for what was going to be a gentle half marathon distance trot... The first half I barely looked at my watch and when I did I was running at PB pace... So may have decided that nothing ventured means nothing gained and took 6 min off that PB.  2:30:31 for a half marathon, is close (32s close) to a challenge I set myself years ago... Throw in the insane delights of the Excalibur Marath...

Ah, the scent of my sweat in my nasal passages, the scrawled on spreadsheet of a training plan, the desperate search of a matching pair of running socks (or at least a left and right one)... Phase 1 of the training has begun... As its icy out I'm in the gym (see posts from last winter for how much I hate the bloody gym)... But I'm pounding through the miles, yes I've lost a bit of fitness but not as much as I feared. However, I've now run a fair bit, and walked many many miles so I now know what I need for next years exploits... I'm also a champion bargain hunter, so I hunt down cheaper stuff... I say cheaper, as the tent and jacket between them are north of £300. Ultralight tent - bought:-) @38% off - Laser Competition Light (my dream tent for many a year) Fell Running Association compliant smock - just won on Ebay :-) @40% off Paramo Velez Adventure New hydration sack - spotted the probable one, an Osprey talon 11 want to try one more (North Face Boa Enduro ) bef...