2010 - Explore your limits!

This will be the motto for my New Year. O.k. I have “borrowed” it from the UTMB website, but only because I have in fact applied for a place in the CCC! OMG! I must be as crazy as my husband! But admittedly this was my idea.
We have already booked a week’s holiday near Chamonix for the time of the UTMB to soak in the atmosphere and explore what looks like stunning scenery. And we were talking about walking the Mont Blanc Circuit one day. So I thought, why not entering the CCC and try to walk/run half of it together in the allowed time. We would be part of the race and could make good use of the aid and feeding stations. And if we happen to be timed out (i.e. if I am too slow) we would try and walk the rest together on our own. So it is about a big joint adventure on beautiful mountain trails in hopefully good weather!

If that is not enough to test my limits, I have also entered the Devil O The Highlands again. Rather than trying to improve my time to near 9hours I might just take it easy as the CCC will only be a few weeks later.

Then I also find my name on the Fling’s entry list. I am not sure if I will be ready for it but it gives me something to aim for. I would like to do it “unsupported” with drop bags.

For May 2010 we have planned a 3-day run/walk along the WHW. This will coincide with being the last long training run for Thomas before the WHW Race and it also happens to be the weekend of the Edinburgh Marathon. So he will definitely have no chance to run that one! We have booked 2 overnight stays and will use the drop bag service from AMS. This 3-day run will also be to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. When we walked the WHW in 2005 for our honeymoon, we had said that we should do it every 5 years as we both enjoyed it so much. Little did I know then that only 3 years later I would practically live on the WHW, spending hours on it, day and night, either waiting in some lay-by or even running half of it myself! So the usual 5-7 day walk was no option…

I have not entered any “shorter” races like marathons, HM or 10Ks yet. I do tend to get caught up in training plans for weeks or months and I want to try and avoid it next year. I’d rather see how my running is coming along and maybe enter one or the other race on the way, but I don’t want to focus on these. Although I was quite pleased with my HM and Marathon times for 2009, I did not achieve my targets of getting under 1:50 or under 4:00. I was close and the courses/conditions were difficult so I was happy with what I achieved, but I’d rather not focus so much on these times.

What else will be happening in the crazy German’s house? More crazy Germans are due to arrive in July for 2 weeks! They are Tom’s sisters and cousin and families – 12 altogether! We have booked a nice converted stable near Glen Affric. We are hoping to get enough “free time” away from all the crazy kids to run up and down those Munros!

For now though we are looking forward to a week’s skiing in Austria, in Obergurgl, at the end of January. Let’s hope all bones and joints will be fine afterwards!
I wish you all an exciting New Year and happy & injury-free running!

Merry Christmas

This is how our Christmas Eve looks! We will soon get to open our presents (according to German tradition this happens on Christmas Eve). I am just waiting for Thomas to come home from work.
So have a MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone and a happy & healthy New Year 2010!

Wilson Trophy Race

Today saw me running in the Wilson Trophy Club Race, a 4.5M handicap race above the Greenock Cut, true cross-country style.
To cut a long story short, I just managed not to come last! Well I started 9 min later than the first runner and knew that this was rather optimistic, especially as the girl I started with has brilliant race times that I could just dream of. Anyway, we started with horizontal sleat into our faces - a very painful free facial massage! Up the hill the wind was in our back and we had to watch all those icy bits. Thomas was marshalling and taking photos and by the time I reached him I had already been overtaken by quite a few. There were 2 laps and soon the rest of the field stormed past. Coming to the turning point I thought I was last and the marshal confirmed it and packed up his cone and ran back with me. But then there was someone else appearing, so I knew I was not last after all. I just hoped to keep him off so I would not embarass Thomas too much and have the Loehndorf name on the bottom of a race result list! Well, if I think about it: still better than a DNF! :-)
Anyway, then I saw someone in front at the bottom of a hill just before the steep hill up to the finish. So I closed in on him and managed to overtake him on that last steep bit - et voila: I was only third last!
I did enjoy the race though and loved the route so I did not care that my handicap had not been quite right (my excuse anyway...).