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...
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 be holding up. I'm definitely feeling more positive than ever that I'll be on the start line in just under 4 months time. Just need to build up more time on my feet so I can do that sort of mileage in 4 days, not 4 weeks!
These long runs, as well as increasing my endurance, are giving me the opportunity to test out my equipment and routines. Things like which pockets in my running pack to use for which things; how to unclip my poles off my hands at a gate without breaking my stride; what pace can I sustain whilst preserving my legs; and what foods to eat. All the things I wanted to do last year but am now having to compress into these last few months.
They're also testing my resolve. Reaching quit points and going through them means the next quit point is further. Think of it as stretching a piece of elastic. Well, I had two dramas to deal with on this last endeavour that both stretched the elastic a little.
Treemageddon started as I was passing through a forest. The path was blocked by some fallen trees. I tried to get around but just got deeper and deeper into fallen debris post Storm Éowyn. Over and under the lying trunks, sometimes needing to climb 10ft high, falling between them into the abyss of branches a couple of times, thankfully not twisting anything or getting impaled. Forty five minutes later I emerged the other side.
Marmitegate started a bit later when I reached into my side pocket in my running pack to see the rolled wraps I'd previously laced with marmite oozing through the paper sandwich bag I'd wrapped them in. I was testing out a carbohydrate and salty combination to see how my stomach would cope. My ultra pack, and therefore me, was sticky and smelly for the rest of the journey. The stomach coped and I got my energy top up. But I'll wrap them in something more secure next time. I'm not sure marmitegate counts as a quit point, but it certainly was messy and avoidable.
Why the wandering tongue twister at the start of this blog and who the hell is Wanda? Well I'm pretty sure as I was out and about last week, that I came across someone looking for a fish called Wanda. It was Michael Palin. Out for a walk, taking in the view from the Cleveland Way. I'm not entirely sure that he'd find a fish up there, or indeed whether it actually was him, only I convinced myself it was as our eyes briefly connected. That was enough though to set my mind off pondering what Wanda was wondering for the rest of my wander. As the wild wet wind whooshed, the distraction was wonderful.
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