Insane in the Membrane - Insane in the Brain.....

Right.  So, I had Monday off from all activity and by Monday evening I was feeling fine, and feeling guilty for not doing anything, but went home, put the feet up and took it easy. 

Plan was to have Tuesday off as well, but as I was feeling ok, I thought I'd just do a nice flat run and see how the ankles were feeling.  All was well but I am still not getting any faster, even on the flats.  However, I read recently that you either increase distance or speed, but not both.  And I have ramped up the distance with the last week  67km and the week before 92km. 

Now - the dilemma.  What to do this weekend.  Long run?  How long?  Should I begin to taper?  Hills or no hills? 

Then last night I got an email from another North Facer saying they were doing a night time run from the start of the race and then the last two checkpoints.  Now I know the last two legs of the race are pretty tough going and includes Kedumba (large, cliff like and 7km of freaking big hill - last time I went up here I fried my achilles).

I went to bed pondering this opportunity.  I had one of those dreams about running in the mountains again, this time I dreamt it was a 64km run and it was fine and nothing bad happened and I woke up feeling refreshed and happy.  I think my mind is messing with me.

So - Pros for doing the Friday night run:

• Organised runs with others are a heap more fun than just plodding along on your own
• An adventure!!  In the dark!
• Good training on a tough piece of trail
• Gets my long run over and done with for the weekend, all day to recover Saturday then can fit in another longish one on Sunday
• I have no plans for Friday
• It is going to put me WAAAAAY outside my comfort zone - which will be great for my confidence - AFTERWARDS!!
• The snakes should all be in bed

Cons for doing the Friday night run:

• I am terrified.
• It will be dark, what if we get lost?
• I am terrified
• What if it is too much too close to the actual race and I don't recover in time?
• I will really slow down the other runner
• Did I mention I was terrified?

So I sent a note back saying if I can cut my bit short to 30km (i.e. leave my car at the top of Kedumba) I would be in.

He did say that if need be, he could pull me up Kedumba with a rope.  Note to self:  Pack Rope.

My heart is absolutely racing at the thought of this, a mixture of excitement and fear.  The scary bit is the pointy green line to the right on the map below - basically going across the Jamison Valley at night in the dark.  Am I mad?  But then I think about all the crazy mad things that people do and in the grand scheme of things, this isn't really that mad.  So it isn't.  Potatoes.

Course map - the entire course