We are in! In August Anna and I will line up to take part in the CCC (Courmayeur, Champex, Chamonix). This is half an anticlockwise lap of the famous walk of the tour du Mont Blanc. Starting in Italy, crossing Switzerland and finishing in France. The course is 98 km in distance and will involve 5505 meters of up and then 5690 meters of down to be completed in 26 hours!
The draw results came out yesterday and with both the CCC and the full lap Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) being oversubscribed it felt like opening a website with exam results on it, ‘in or not in...Pass or fail?’ The true exam will be those 5500 meters of up and down later in the year but we are enjoying passing that first test right now.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Sunday 17 January 2010
Highland Fling
The first race entry for 2010 I filled out was for the Highland Fling. This is a 53 mile off road event that runs the first half of the West Highland Way in April.
It was great to see on the race website that I had been registered. Due to an accident of birth I had the good fortune of seeing myself one place above Jez Bragg. I know my legs will not keep me in front of the man who has won this event for the last two years but I will enjoy seeing my name next to his until the starter’s gun goes off.
It was great to see on the race website that I had been registered. Due to an accident of birth I had the good fortune of seeing myself one place above Jez Bragg. I know my legs will not keep me in front of the man who has won this event for the last two years but I will enjoy seeing my name next to his until the starter’s gun goes off.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
It's (a) cold!
The early year enthusiasm has been hit by two factors. A) A Cold. B) It is Cold!!!
A). A Cold – I am sure I have been suffering from the worst cold in the history of mankind. On Saturday 2nd January I felt the old glands in my neck...then came the sore throat and two days later my nose started to run...much more than my legs have been since.
B). It Is Cold – While I have been recovering from the worst cold in the history of mankind the UK has been pummelled with the worst weather since (depending which weather forecast I watch) 20 years, 30 years or 60 years.
The combination has meant only one run in nearly two weeks, although that was another beautiful snow covered experience, and a couple of trip into the garage for indoor rows.
On the positive side the final pieces of the big jigsaw for 2010 are now coming together and soon I should be able to give the timetable.
A). A Cold – I am sure I have been suffering from the worst cold in the history of mankind. On Saturday 2nd January I felt the old glands in my neck...then came the sore throat and two days later my nose started to run...much more than my legs have been since.
B). It Is Cold – While I have been recovering from the worst cold in the history of mankind the UK has been pummelled with the worst weather since (depending which weather forecast I watch) 20 years, 30 years or 60 years.
The combination has meant only one run in nearly two weeks, although that was another beautiful snow covered experience, and a couple of trip into the garage for indoor rows.
On the positive side the final pieces of the big jigsaw for 2010 are now coming together and soon I should be able to give the timetable.
Saturday 2 January 2010
A new year a new crunch
2010 started with a crunch. 20 minutes into the new year, while I stood at the sink working out how to deal with the mess I had created during the last cooking expedition of 2009, I could see the snow was falling again. The temptation of a run there and then was overruled by the first washing up marathon of the new decade.
By 11 am, and following a good sleep after that first marathon of the new year, we hit the tracks. Anna was up from London and we headed out for a straight forward 10k or otherwise known as the pea field run. We had done the same run the day before but now the roads and paths held an underlying ice covered with snow that made them treacherous, soon proven when I put my hand on the road to prevent the first fall of the year within 10 minutes of setting off.
100 meters on from the slip we hit the proper off road section of the pea field and were greeted by that magical crunch of running on fresh snow and imploding iced puddles. The clouds that had brought the snow had long gone and the sky was a light blue with a low sun blazing down to greet us.
Back home within 50 minutes we soon chilled and needed to be warmed again with coffee and tea. The first ultra race we have planned for the year is the Highland Fling in April shortly followed by Anna's first 100 mile event over the second bank holiday in May, again in Scotland. Before then many cold, wet and muddy miles will be plodded. Hopefully with less ice but if the snow comes again bring on the training!
By 11 am, and following a good sleep after that first marathon of the new year, we hit the tracks. Anna was up from London and we headed out for a straight forward 10k or otherwise known as the pea field run. We had done the same run the day before but now the roads and paths held an underlying ice covered with snow that made them treacherous, soon proven when I put my hand on the road to prevent the first fall of the year within 10 minutes of setting off.
100 meters on from the slip we hit the proper off road section of the pea field and were greeted by that magical crunch of running on fresh snow and imploding iced puddles. The clouds that had brought the snow had long gone and the sky was a light blue with a low sun blazing down to greet us.
Back home within 50 minutes we soon chilled and needed to be warmed again with coffee and tea. The first ultra race we have planned for the year is the Highland Fling in April shortly followed by Anna's first 100 mile event over the second bank holiday in May, again in Scotland. Before then many cold, wet and muddy miles will be plodded. Hopefully with less ice but if the snow comes again bring on the training!
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