32m WHW Solo Run

Yesterday I managed to spend a great day out on the WHW running from Tyndrum over and across to Rannoch Moor and back, altogether 32M. My running time was 7h:15min and I was on my feet for 7h:35min but decided to have a couple of stops as it was just too nice to rush past especially near Ba Bridge and Bridge of Orchy so I stopped the watch then.



It nearly did not happen due to work but I guess you've got to get your priorities right! I had been asked to swap my day off from Thursday to Wednesday but when I checked on Tuesday I realized instead of being off one day I was down working on both! Well I was not pleased at all. I had set my mind on doing a long run and the weather forecast was for a dry day. And I had originally planned to do a long run with Karen R at the weekend but then felt unwell and there was no running at all for a few days. So I was very keen to do this run. I did offer to come into work half-heartedly but was told "If you want to..." - I certainly did not and as there was no expressed pressing need I decided to stick with my planned run.

My "coach" has been really great in making sure I don't panic when the loose training plan he has made for me must be changed and adjusted if and when required so when I could not run last week he just reassured me to get over the virus and take it from there. So by Monday I was feeling much better and made up my mind to do a solo run. It actually turned out I had done the same distance on the same route on my own exactly 2 years ago to the day when I trained for my 1st Fling. Spooky or what?

So I filled my backpack with far too many goodies, fluids and other items I might need and set off with it weighing 3.7kg! Won't happen in the race but I was out there on my own after all. Met a few nice walkers and chatted. Took photos, had a wee picnic, tried out a few food items, got a text from MtM just when heading back up from Inverornan over to BoO! Where were the jelly babies?! Ah, I had some in my bag and took them passing the top!

I arrived back in Tyndrum and immediately took my recovery shake as instructed by my coach and after a prompt reminder from him after my finish! Nice vanilla flavour - only afterwards my Pizza and chips cravings from hours before were gone... Thanks! Thomas is a firm believer in these recovery shakes and he has started to convince me. Today after work I did 4 easy miles and it was not too bad.

Tomorrow is a rest day, then we have a 10M Club Handicap Race and I hope to do another 20M on Sunday to give me another higher mileage week.

Exciting times ahead

We have just returned from a fantastic warm weather training camp (or should I say holiday) on Gran Canaria. In 6 days I covered my highest training mileage ever, 72 miles and 16.000 feet ascent. My legs have felt fine throughout - surprisingly! Thomas thinks it was due to the recovery shake he made me drink as soon as we were back at the hotel. Or maybe the beer later on in the evening?! In any case, this should set me up nicely for the times ahead.
We are well into March now and the Fling is getting closer, but before I turn everything to all things "ultra" I am planning to run a flat 10K on Saturday. I had 5M PBs recently so I want to see what I can do with my 10K time.

After that I will be concentrating on the Fling. I am really looking forward to it. Next Sunday will also be the next Glenpark Fling Relay training run, Rowardennan to Inversnaid and back. Then a number of back to back runs at the weekends should see my weekly mileage increase steadily to a peak. We are having visitors over Easter so I will have to build up to a peak around this.

After the Fling we will be off to Skye for one week in May, i.e. 5-6 weeks before the WHWR. I will be attempting the Cuillin Ridge Traverse with a friend (and a guide). This should give me plenty of time on feet, lots of ascents/descents and hopefully a great adventure with an overnight bivvy on the ridge as we plan a 2-day traverse. Thomas will stay at base camp due to his fear of heights! :-)
My highest mileage peak will then coincide with the Diamond Jubilee weekend 3 weeks before the WHWR when I will be joining the West Island Run on Bute. After that it will be tapering down for the race.

Apropos WHW Race. I have decided to fundraise for our local hospice in Greenock, Ardgowan Hospice. I was asked by a number of people if they could sponsor me for my WHW Race. It had crossed my mind before but I felt a bit awkward about it. But then I thought it really is a huge challenge for me and my support crew, so why not using this team effort to also raise important funds for a very important charity here in Inverclyde. So, please click the link on the right side of the web page if you would like to donate to Ardgowan Hospice. It will take you to my sponsorship page.