The final countdown…

The hidden trails after Rowardennan. Definitely worth hunting out.
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The swimming term is coming to an end and just as well as I am completely exhausted. The kids have been bouncing off the walls for close to a month now, knowing that the summer holidays are fast approaching and my staff and I are counting down the minutes until the term ends! Then it’s straight on to fitness class cover which isn’t really the perfect preparation for a huge race, but needs must and I’ll just keep the impact low and my drill sergeant voice on top form!

As ever, I’ve found the whole work/life/training balance hard and I’m still not getting it quite right. I took on a few more 1-2-1 swimming lessons in my own time, so even on beautiful nights I found myself heading home after work, putting a cushion over my head on the couch to block out the light and passing out for a good 20 minutes before getting out to do my training. I’ve been following a Neil MacNicol training programme now since March and I’m definitely feeling stronger and leaner, but also 10 times more knackered and still haven’t found my love for speed work. Does anyone ever? I do struggle with speed work on my own, but with very little time to now get to running club I find if I have a plan I will (mostly) follow it even if I don’t really feel like it. My speed will come back, for now it’s all about the endurance.

Yoga is not my forte and stretching hurts. But I’ll keep trying!

The Great Glen Ultra is now a mere 10 days away (or 9 really, as it starts at 1am on Saturday!) and I’m about as ready as I’ll ever be. I’ve clocked up over 1200 miles for the year so far, over 130,000 feet of elevation, lost 3kg and a battered my body with cross training. I’m not quite as lean as I was before the West Highland Way last year, but I’ve gained muscle mass and done a lot more core work so hopefully that will work to my advantage during the climbs in the latter stages of the race. I’ve done some epic routes with with fab run chums and also many a lonesome long run which I’ve fair enjoyed. Hopefully I won’t have as many lonely lows during the Great Glen – if only I could remember where I put my ipod though…

When I look back at all the training I’ve done so far, I’ve definitely had a few good adventures so far this year! I panic and think I haven’t done enough and then I look at these pictures and remember that I’m probably doing OK!

Keswick. All the weather in one day.
Matchy, matchy skorts!

Munros at the beginning of the year. Silly, silly idea.
Planking with a friend.
Even pretending to be a triathlete.
Tough climbs, horrific descents. All worth it eventually.
Sunshine, runshine. This weather on race day please!

A few more tough training sessions to go and then there is nothing else I can do except my best. As long as we don’t have weather like we did at the West Highland Way last weekend, but I’ll leave that for another story!!

Here we go again…

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