Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

If the first month of 2018 is anything to go by, then the rest of the year is going to be simply amazing! After ATY, I had a couple of easy weeks where I spent time walking the pups and then gently jogging to allow my body to recover from its exploits in December. It felt so good to be back just jogging although the legs did still feel a little tired, but it was nice to get back out on the nearby trails and enjoy the views and being outdoors. Back on the trails and enjoying the recovery runs :-) It also gave me some time for reflection and as I looked back at my performance at ATY, I decided that I would put my name forward to the GB team selectors anyway - as coach Adam said, the worse outcome would be that they would say no which wouldn't exactly be the end of the world. So I pinged an email and put things out of my mind - the team would be announced on January 25th so no use spending all my energy thinking about it. That same week, I had some exciting news - I ...

There was no secret about my goals for Across the Years 2017 edition - as a minimum I wanted a PR whilst my ultimate goal was to reach 139 miles which would give me the A standard for British 24 Hour Team. Whilst I didn't make it to 139 miles, I still achieved far more than I could have hoped for. You see, it wasn't just about the final result and how far I could actually run - it was also about the journey along the way, how I coped in the entirety both physically and mentally, it was about my pacing, about stayed focused the whole time, having the confidence to go off at a pace that was far quicker than originally planned, making sure I stayed fueled and hydrated in the heat of the day and maintaining that when the temperatures took a tumble and got much cooler overnight. A 24-hour race isn't easy. As with any distance race you face highs and lows more than once, but the mental challenge is far harder due to the endless loops of the same course over and over and ...