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23. Gate spotting

Eight weeks to go. The training is progressing though sometimes it feels like really hard work. I've been going through these gates a lot recently. But are they the gates of heaven or hell? Going one way leads through into the deer park. Past the church and the obelisk. It can lead to a wonderful world of antlered deer stags, ice houses, world heritage, buzzards, the foothills of the dales, and a cafe with scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Heaven on earth.  But it also leads to a very long mile uphill - the 'Studley Mile', up to it's very own Barkley gate at the top which I have to touch to complete a strength sapping speed interval. Eight minutes of hell doing each hill effort. Only to have to turn around and repeat, again and again. Or onwards through those gates at the top to do another 23 miles to complete a back-to-back-marathon-long-slow-trails-weekend. The thought of doing it is daunting.   Going the other way through the gate is usually good. It'...
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22. 3000 miles of advice

I had some good news from my recent webinar with the crew and participants for the run in June.  The longest day is shorter than I thought!  40 miles rather than 44.  That will make a huge difference.  That made me smile.  Also, I'm not sure whether this is good news or not, but with all the mileage I'm doing, everything else but my knee hurts! How to prevent injuries and treat anything that does occur has been part of my learning. With this in mind, a while ago I had a chat with Chris Finill (thanks for the introduction Graham).  Google 'The 3000 mile men' and watch on youtube.  'Wow' is all I could say.  He got me to read James Shapiro - Meditations from the Breakdown Lane: Running Across America - the book that inspired Chris to run across USA in 2011.  3100 miles in just under 80 days.   Not that this is Chris's only achievement.  He is no ordinary runner.  He's the Guinness World Record holder for consecutive sub 3 ho...
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21. Committing

No. Not a crime.  Today's the day I'm committing to doing this challenge.  It's three months to go and my training is going well. Various long distance hilly, slow and steady  jaunts in the bag. The knee is holding up. Back-to-backs and triple back-to-backs planned.  190 miles ticked off in February.   Quite frankly, up until now, there was always a grey doubt-cloud hanging over me with my knee. I can't believe how far I've come, both in distance and confidence,  from only a few months ago.  A few days in Scotland on the Applecross Peninsula. 18 miles over the pass in the rain, making new friends with the animals.... ...to be rewarded with a lovely view of Skye as the rain clears and the run ends.  This is why I do it.  Another 26 miles back near home, running down memory lane as I do a loop around the Washburn Valley, up and along the Chevin, down to Menston (where I grew up) along the moors to Ilkley, and back to Timble.   Su...
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20. Wonderful

I think of Wanda as I wander.  I wonder whether walking really works wonders for wishes, or whether wishing whilst walking really is the real wonder. I ponder what would Wanda wonder? More on Wanda, whoever she is, later.  Whether it's walking or running, my wish does seem to be coming true.  I've been spending more time on my feet, getting the miles in, whilst still doing hill repeats, strength and speed work.  The long sessions have increased week on week, with my latest venture being 22 miles, after which I felt remarkably OK.  Plenty of time to wonder whilst wandering.  These long routes have been a mixture of running on the flat and downhills, and marching up the hills, getting the right ratio of elevation gained to distance for the hardest days on my petit LEJOG.  All with a focus on enjoyment, whilst using my muppet poles of course, and keeping within the cut-off pace for LEJOG.  I managed 141 running miles in January and my knee seems to b...
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19. Odd one out

So, the training is going well.   The miles are ramping up, slowly but steadily.  Still with plenty of strength work, stretching and some speed sessions.  I'm doing something everyday.  The knee is holding up (although there's an annoying ache which seems to come and go unexpectedly, and not related to what the session before had in stock).  I've got some new friends to help guide me though: I look a right muppet carrying these poles around but they're light, sturdy and help take the load from my knees on hills and provide some forwards propulsion on the flat. When running 1030 miles I've got to be efficient with the load on my legs by spreading the forces around the rest of my body as much as I can.  The clip is for some gloves to hook into, by the way.   I can't decide if they remind me of Beaker or a rooster? .  See if you can spot the odd one out from the selfies below.  One's taken on an early run on Christmas Day, before the t...
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18. Carry on

Any recent doubts are beginning to subside.  I think I may be able to do this.  The knee is behaving and allowing me to not only do the heavy strength exercises and cycling, but I am actually running. Outside. Any surface.   The cycling is continuing - but now with the added endurance and sprint sessions.  My coach is confident. I'm confident.  The running distances are building.  Carry on - onwards and upwards.   Forget the Great Reset back in August, this is no conspiracy theory - it's actually happening.  It's 'Reset: take two'.  I'm not going to be able to test out as much as I would have wanted, but there were times I didn't think I'd get here, so I'm thankful.  My aim is to give it my all and then reassess in March for the final push, hoping that the knee is up to it.  The animals are out in force to guide my way again, although some more as spirit guides than others.  A run/walk around Dallowgill moor was led ...
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17. Heavy

I stagger as I jump off the treadmill or the static bike after a hard session. It's not because I've pushed it too hard.  It's motion sickness - but it only lasts for a couple of seconds.  It's a weird sensation due to the brain thinking the running/cycling action is actually propelling me forwards. Then the reality kicks in as I dismount the motionless machine and the inner ear and cerebellum realises and resets. It feels like I've taken something spacey that I shouldn't have, and I look like something out of the Wolf of Wall Street.  Heavy. Its not helped by the techno beating sound that's pumped into all gyms - certainly all the ones I've ever been in.  The moment you open the door it's 'Oontz. Oontz. Oontz. Oontz', mixed in with the TV blaring out something like Bargain Hunt.   I've been trialling different headphones to try and block it out and get to my own state of nirvana whilst pounding the treadmill or pedals.  Over-ear head pho...
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