Because of all that, training has taken a bit of a back seat! The Croatia trip has led to reshuffling dates with the kids and, conseqently, the Terrible 10 I wrote about last October has (with a nod to Tarantinio) become the Hateful Eight! The 2 events to bite the dust are Cemmaes to Cemaes and the 4 x Welsh 1000 routes. I'm quite relieved about the second one as that would been a beast!!
Fast forward...
Today is 21st Feb and I started to write this post on 11th Jan. I did mention at the start of the blog that I had been a bit indifferent on my G2G one and hoped that I could recapture the inspiration I got when writing my MdS blog. I suppose I must've had a lot more time on my hands then as the days seem to fly by without any recollection of idleness. Anyhoo, I have a slightly free Sunday so I'm taking time for a bit of a catch up.
Having just returned from a week's road trip to Interlaken, Switzerland (where Claire and I got engaged by the way) I thought I should get down to the business of completing the latest of the G2G Facebook group challenges. These have been building up in their intensity with the latest being quite ominous and requiring more than a touch of planning. The challenge is to run on 3 consecutive days - 12 miles with 500 feet of ascent, 6 miles with 1500 feet of ascent and finally a one hour steady run. Oh, and the small matter of only being allowed 1500 KCals per day!!
I decided that the weekend would be ideal to knock this off and, I sit here typing om Sunday afternoon having just completed the one hour steady on the treadmill. As I said, the challenge proved to be harder to plan than to execute, especially the eating!! Finding 1500' of ascent inside 6 miles is not easy either but Snowdonia only an hour's drive from home, there was an option.
I feel compelled to expand on this part of the challenge as it was both brutal and beautiful in equal measures. Somebody had posted a straw poll on Facebook a few days ago asking people to choose between Snowdonia and Brecon Beacons. In my mind there is no contest and as I ploughed my way up the Pyg Track in driving wind and rain that felt like a million tiny needles stabbing my face, I smiled and wondered why I didn't get up here more often! It truly is one of the most harshly beautiful places on Earth. Some places are stunningly beautiful but lose something in poor weather however, in the case of Snowdonia, the beauty is only enhanced. Streams and rivulets become torrents and add their own palate to the landscape and the sight of sheets of rain below you sweeping across valleys threatening to drench anything and everything that stands in its path is awe inspiring!
Once again I am guilty of not having any pictures worthy of backing up my words so you will have to use your imagination.
The Hateful Eight that I mention above has now actually become the Severe Seven as I had neglected to account for the loss of 5 marathons in 5 days, which I simply wasn't up to at the time. The 7 metric marathons in 7 days became 7 half marathons ultimately became 4 half marathons. I'm not disappointed by this and don't consider it to be a setback, it was merely all I was capable of at the time without flooring myself. Training is moving on and, with the concept of eating to a plan now established, I can begin to shed some unwanted poundage, which is slowing me down.
Next up on the challenge front is whatever the G2G Challenge Chairman schemes up and, on a personal challenge note, on Easter weekend I will be looking to run the Welsh 1000 course out and back in a day. This is a distance of 64km with 5000mtrs of ascent. My PB for one way is 6:50 so it looks like I'll be finishing in the dark. A report on this and the latest G2G challenge will likely form the next post as I doubt I'll have much to write about before then.
Now it's time for 676KCals of Sunday dinner!!
Good, better, best; never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best
St Jerome
