I met up with my friend Adam for a gentle post-work jog yesterday evening around the roads, paths and trails of Guildford. It was probably the slowest we have ever run together on a route so short and tame but was just right, since Adam's legs are recovering from the brutal Snowdon race last weekend and I am supposedly tapering for the Lakeland 50... although tapering seems to imply that there has been an intensive training phase, which is something I haven't really managed! It was great to catch up, and we nattered away as we jogged round through Chantry Wood. Talk soon moved to the topic of the big race we have entered at the end of the summer: the Gore-tex Transalpine Run. The race is an 8 day stage race from Oberstdorf in Germany to Latsch in Italy via Austria and Switzerland. This year will be a 'short but hilly' route of around 250k with 15k of ascent.
Most days are about 35-40k, with around 2k of height gain. And I am only just recovering from a whinjury. And I haven't started training properly. Gulp. Frankly I am a bit scared.
So... the Lakeland 50 should be a nice long hilly training run which I hope will kick start an intensive month or so of training. The race is run in teams of two, and Adam and I are running together. Adam is a better runner than I am - not hard, I admit! - so I really need to pull my finger out and gain some fitness, especially hill strength and top end speed, so I am not trailing behind him too embarrassingly. Once I come up with a training plan I will aim to post it on here so I guilt-trip myself into sticking with it. Watch this space...
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