So I'm over a month out from Autumn 100 and am feeling alright. I took a week or so off and pretty much jumped right back at it feeling positive likely due to my finishing place. I had an offer to join a group of people attempt the Paddy Buckley Round and am signed up for the Thames Path 100 May 5, 2019. I also figured a pretty solid plan for running more miles.
 |
| Run commute selfie, normally I'm in jeans! |
I'm working 6 days a week now and my commute is comprised of a 30 minute drive and then a 1.5 mile walk into Worcester. Parking is expensive in the city so I park where it's free. I have anywhere from a 15-30 minute window to cover the 1.5 miles in the morning. I've began running in at a super easy pace trying for a minimum of 2 miles. If I walk in I'm usually borderline late and running I can go a bit further and arrive on time or early. On my run commute back to my car I've actually got a bigger time window and, on paper, I am able to cover up to 5 miles. "On paper" because if I go for 5 I'm cutting it really really close as I need to be pick up the kids at school at 315. I've yet to go for five. So if I run commute 6 days, about 2 miles each way, that gives me an extra 24 miles a week! The seemingly impossible goal of high mileage weeks are in reach!
 |
Run commute, Worcester, River Severn
|
In other "mileage news" the wife has started in at the gym. I think I mentioned this already but she prefers to go in the morning. I'm all for that, getting her out and active doing something other than work, but it makes my time management more difficult. Her alarm goes off at 510am, she usually hits snooze, and tries to be out the door by 530. With the kid factor, I need, and like, to be home from running by 510am just in case kids wake up. Previously I was home by 6am, I've now lost 50 minutes.
 |
Yep, that’s right I hit “start” on my watch at 3:57am
|
My alarm clock now goes off at 4am, sometimes 350am, and I shoot for 8 miles in the morning, I'd prefer 10, but I'm happy with 8 for now. Granted it's not everyday but my flexibility has to be in top form. When I begin doing long runs I'll likely take a day off work and go really long which is better than squeezing in quasi-long runs, possibly a fault in my training for A100. The positive is the wife is the happiest she's been in seemingly years. She's always just worked and watched kids. No hobbies. No escape. I've always encouraged her to do SOMETHING but she always claimed she didn't have time or was too tired. It's great to see and I'm happy to accommodate her as I've always told her. The good thing is she's deterred from drinking or staying up late because it interferes with her gym time!
 |
| hill |
A couple weeks ago a guy I used to work with at the outdoor shop in Birmingham got in touch. He was really the only "real" outdoorsy type there. He alpine climbed, skied, did mountain marathons, etc. I liked him. He cheered me on briefly at my first ultra, North Downs Way 50, as he lived nearby, and recently saw my finish at A100. He lives in Zurich now and I see on Strava he's fairly active in the mountains, shit, who wouldn't be there! Anyway he got in touch asking if I'd like to join him in an attempt at the Paddy Buckley Round.
In the UK there are three big "rounds," one in each country on the main island. They are fell running "challenges," not official races, and are on your honor as far as actually doing them. Each is a loop of ultra distance, unmarked, off trail, needing navigation, and summits many peaks. The Paddy Buckley Round is supposedly the most difficult and is in North Wales. It covers around 61 miles and goes up 47 "tops," or summits, comprising of 28,000 vertical feet.
Anyway, my friend has crew lined up as well as other people interested in doing it. Sounds like one hell of an opportunity and adventure so I'm going to try my best to make it happen. This opportunity has trumped my "want" to run Western States again and made me realize there's a lot more cool races out there closer to the UK. I do all these things alone and this could open up other things similar that need other people involved.
I used my once in a lifetime bye for the WS100 lottery this year but the reality is it's a commitment to get there and do it. The kids are in school, wife's working, and I've done it. As much as I'd love to have family there, there are comparable races in Europe that would more sensible to focus on such as Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc or any of the Andorra races. Anyway, I can't expect to take a week away from my family every year to race in the US so I need to expand my options and worry less about lottery qualifiers.
 |
Running country lanes
|
And off we go, running in the dark, and lately really enjoying it. A few photos during the day, the little guy had a doctor appointment so I couldn't justify going to work for 2 hours so I ran an easy 15 miles! The others are from my daily run commute. I normally wear jeans but an opportunity to run a bit further warranted running shorts!
