Goblet – I am coming to get you!

In 2 weeks today I will be on my way to the prize-giving to collect my goblet. That’s what I dream about anyway and what I am busy visualizing! And visualizing is such an important part of preparing yourself I hear. So that’s what I am and will be doing in the next 2 weeks. I can see myself at various points of the route, the checkpoints, the meeting points with my crew, I can see myself running through Tyndrum and onwards to Bridge of Orchy. And I can see myself eventually on the last few miles down into Fort William approaching the finish …

My training has gone very well and all credit goes to Thomas. He has been a superb coach, keeping me calm when I wanted to panic, when the legs felt like lead especially during weekday runs after work or when other things got in the way of running. We had a general plan with higher mileage weeks pencilled in or scheduled around other events such as the fantastic Fling, but the motto was to listen to my body and adjust the plan accordingly, week by week to ensure enough recovery between my runs. And so most of my long runs were very enjoyable, I did quite a few on my own and then others in various company, the last one being the West Island Way on Bute last Saturday. This coincided with the Jubilee weekend, which I was using as a last high mileage weekend. It started off with 29M on Bute. These were a bit harder than expected due to the terrain so the next 2 days were changed with a rest day strewn in. Then I wanted to do Milngavie to Balmaha in WHW Race pace to ensure I was not getting too close to the cut off time at Balmaha if I took it easy. So all in all I managed to cover 85Miles in 6 days, my highest mileage yet!

And now the taper has truly started. Yeah! Long lie-ins and lazy afternoons at home to get the all important support crew lists and any other details typed up and ready for my support crew meeting next week! In fact since Thomas has been given an additional spot in my support crew he has taken it on to configure lists and schedules that previously were only in my head. I don’t think I would have bothered with too many schedules but as we kept arguing about what and when who of my support crew was doing, even though I had explained it to him, he came close to being banned! I guess he has had it really easy for the past years, just me and Nancy, if the schedule said he would arrive at 10:28, that’s when he would arrive, +/- 5min. Well, be prepared for improvising team! I am very glad though that he is not running himself as I am not sure how we would have survived race week with two of us getting ready for it. And now Thomas can concentrate 100% on me and if he thinks I am unreasonable I just need to remind him how he used to be during the weeks before the race and he keeps stumm!

I am getting excited about the race and I know I will be very nervous in the days leading up to it. My biggest worry now is to catch some stupid viral infection of a patient or anyone else for that matter and I am seriously thinking of working with a face mask and gloves, but I guess that would really scare people off! I love those kids that want to show you how bad their cough is and before you know it they have coughed right into your face and over your desk.

My crew will be briefed next week with Nancy and Katrina doing the 1^st shift up to Auchtertyre. Thomas will join them on Saturday morning and meet me at Bogle Glen and will then be there until the end. From Auchtertyre or Tyndrum depending on my arrival time Yvonne and Heather will take over with Thomas as back-up as they have never supported before at the WHWR. Katrina will then join me later again for the last stages after having had a rest in the B&B in Fort William. They are all ready for it and I hope I can do them proud and put in a good performance. It feels like such a luxury to have everyone just look after me. We have the added bonus of raising money for Ardgowan Hospice, Greenock and already I have had so many people supporting this great cause! So many well-wishers and people wanting updates on the day, it is quite overwhelming but I am sure a great motivation to keep going when it gets tough! And after Debbie’s adventure in the canal even a fall into Loch Lomond would not count as an excuse to stop!

I think I am as ready as I can be. For me it is a great adventure, a bit like an expedition covering 2 nights to get to your “summit”. It will be a journey that I can’t wait to start! I will share it with some of you at some points and I am sure at other times I will be on my own, concentrating on my own pace and the way ahead. But in the end we will all meet in Fort William to collect our goblets. What a moment that will be!