Entered, Training Started. Sort of.

Well hello.

Since last blog, my achilles has gone to pot and the irony of it all, is that on New Years Eve, as a kind of encouraging momentous last gesture of 2009, I entered The North Face (that 50km mountain run I was going on about in previous posts).

So now I am wondering if I will get value from my $300 entry fee.  But it is wayyyyy more than that for me.

I have had the belief that I could do things, only to get injured, get sick or get the lucky draw prize of a trip to Ireland contracting the worst of the latest pandemics known to man.


However, I need to hold on to that belief.  


That I can actually achieve something.


So, our entry is in (we are doing the marathon pairs), and I need to run 54 km and my partner needs to run about 50.  Maybe 46.  He will work it out!


He is marathon fit, bike fit and gym fit.


I am slow, prone to injury and frankly, quite ancient at 42 to be getting into this sort of caper.  I also tend to fall over a lot on the trails these days.



However, today I researched 50km trail running race training plans.  I freaked out a bit over the weeks past week 11.  Week 14 has a 39km run on the Saturday followed by a 10km on the Sunday.  I am wondering where I am going to find reasonable enough routes to satisfy my training plan, not only from a distance perspective but also from a terrain perspective.


So today I bought the "Blue Mountains Best Bushwalks" book (Sydney Morning Herald, $29.95, from all good bookstores).


Tomorrow, John and I are both off work, so I told him to take his pick of routes.  He looked pretty happy until he realised I was talking about bushwalks. 


We will only be walking, as I want to suss out terrain, and anyway, my programme says a 3.2km run tomorrow.  The more time I spend on my feet out and about on bushwalks the better.  And with a still upset achilles, I cannot afford to run up big hills as yet.  


I took it (my achilles) for a short but undulating run this afternoon, only 5km, slow, and it felt better than it has, but still sore.  I am on Rob Standens (my physio's) waiting list, after freakily running into him at Glenbrook Pool yesterday - poor guy was hoping for a quiet Sunday swim and ended up giving me a half a consult.  Nice guy.  I have faith he will help show me what I need to do to get it better.



Good ideas I have had for midweek runs / climbs are running to work and running home again (a moderate climb up Mitchells Pass) and Lovers Walk steps 10km return.  I know I will struggle with the longer runs on the correct terrain and fear I will either spend all my time on Woodford to Glenbrook or doing reps of the Kedumba Pass, which, quite frankly, fills me with dread.


I guess I can venture on to the Six Foot Track but my memory of the first 8km and return is not that challenging (apart from the steps at Nellies Glen).  Perhaps I need to start at Megalong Road.  I am scared of doing all these things on my own, but I am sure I will be fine, work it out and find some other eejits to come along for the ride!



Anyway, I have 18 weeks to work it all out.  Here I am stressing about the whole thing right now. It will evolve, I am sure of it.  Just have faith, stick to the plan, do the training. 



However feel much better with a plan, it will test me. I am lucky to have lovely people up here who are happy to run with me on the trails and some special people who have been very encouraging on my quest!!!  They know who they are!!  

This is what the first 18 weeks of 2010 are all about for me.  A test.