Wednesday 22 January 2014

January 2014: The Year of Silly!


The Year of Silly: The Story So Far



New Years Day: Brown Willy
Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
I know, I know, it is maybe a bit early for a retrospective view of the year, but how have the first 3 weeks of this brand new year been for you? Wet? Well, yes, pretty much everywhere and most of the time! It has been the kind of rain that does not fear Gortex. Someone ought to tell Tlaloc & Zeus that waterproof clothing ought to be just that- waterproof. So please, stop sending down rain that makes a mockery of our wet weather gear  Soggy kit is scattered around the house, in a vain attempt to dry it out before next heading out of the door. A dedicated drying room would be fantastic right now, but  alas, funds do not allow for such right now. 

This year will be tough, but hopefully also fun. I hold out high hopes for this year. Towards the end of last year a few hardy / crazy few of us from the best running club in the world [BATs ] decided it would be fun (!) to enter a couple of Ultra's this year. So we did. Dartmoor Discovery , Race to the Stones and The Plague have all been entered. Oh, and also Dartmoor Classic sportive.

My race calender so far for 2014 is March The Grizzly ; April, Brighton Marathon ; May, Imery Trail Marathon ; June Dartmoor Discovery AND Dartmoor Classic ; July Race to the Stones; August The Plague.

I've only ever raced once above 26.2 miles, and that was at the Dartmoor Discovery in 2012. Now I plan to run 2 marathons, and 3 ultra's-- 2 of which will be 100km [62 miles] - in consecutive months. Some of these races will be brutal and will test my physical and mental strength in ways they have not yet been tested. Fun- really?!!
Hope I'm still smiling at the years end!
A short rest at Princetown
 
The year started in a manner it was to continue - wet; and the Brown Willy run on Bodmin Moor beckoned. Nothing clears the head more effectively than a 7ish mile run across , and up, wind and rain swept moorland on New Years Day. We nearly didn't make it though, as many of the roads were flooded. Glad we did- if only for the pint at the Jamaica Inn afterwards. It was the perfect start to 2014. Training in earnest was now very much on. 

Honest, this IS the footpath!
Georgie Enjoying a 15miler  
Training is now 6 days a week and occasionally  accompanied by Georgie . She has been transformed from a sprinter to  a long distance runner in little over a year. Go Georgie! I have so far managed to stick to a training plan for a 3 - 3.5 hr marathon time at Brighton, with an ultra training plan kicking in immediately after the Brighton Marathon. I'm stretching regularly, had a sports massage [something I had previously neglected until injured] , started circuit to improve strength and core stability, continued cycling for some cross training and am eating well. I'm feeling pretty good and my continued dedication to a plant based diet [29yrs veggie] is still proving effective as my training increases. However,  my hardest [and proudest] training achievement so far though is not drinking alcohol yet this month - well not since the 1st, but that doesn't count(!) - that's 21 whole days!!!
Burrator Reservoir: Early morning
An unusual light is seen in the sky!

How long can this enthusiasm for training last? Can I really do this for 8 months? Will  I stay injury free? Can I really run 100km? Really?? Positivity is the key. I believe I can do it.  A super friendly and supportive running club, training partners as dedicated / insane as you, a coach who feeds you cake and a stunningly beautiful wilderness in which to train, all help. But by far the most important aspect of my training programme is the love, unwavering support and wholesome meals I receive from Orla, my wife. Training [and life in general] would be so much harder without her support. Thank you my dear.

So, as the Year of Silly enters they dying days of it's first month, all, so far, is good. But why the Year of Silly? 2014 was named as such during a splendid New Years Party, in the first few minutes of the year. Others may have slightly different recollection, but I believe the combined facts that someone had just fallen into the hosts pond [head-first!] , many of us were running in a few hours and the races we had all goaded each other on to enter were now becoming very real, led to only one conclusion: 2014 was, quite clearly, the Year of Silly. Enjoy!!

Fellow BATs: Friends and training partners
Nuns Cross, Dartmoor