And I thought I was just going to buy a back pack

I decided that it was about time to order a back pack for the race. So, I took a look at the English mds forum and found a link to a recommended store called Likeys. I gave them a call this afternoon and got a little more than I'd bargained for. I ended up talking to Matt Morris, one of the guys who runs the place, and with his help I pretty much bought the shop, or at least a shade under 700 euros worth. Matt and his business partner Martin Like both run ultra marathons and Matt was a world of knowledge when it comes to equipment. I thought I was going to have to buy each item after trawling through the forums, but Matt knew his stuff and came up with suggestions for everything I needed. I bought a selection of food to try out, first aid kit, pen knife, sleeping bag etc... All of it as light as possible. All in all it's a big weight off my mind and I can start trying everything out and making adjustments to the kit I'll be using in the main event. Now it's time to go and sleep and dream about my early christmas present in the form of a very large box, which should arrive next week with all my new gear.

Back to the grindstone

After coming back from vacation, I've had laser surgery in my right eye, again. It's healing fine and I can see better than before. I've been slowly building up my strength again and trying to improve my sore achilles tendon. I've worked out that it's scarred, since there's a swelling on the tendon just above the heel. It's always very tight in the mornings, so walking down stairs is fun until it's warmed up. I'm trying to stretch and massage it as much as possible. I'm also trying to strengthen the calf by doing calf raises. Fingers crossed that it starts to show improvement soon.

Last weekend I went mountain biking in Switzerland with group of guys from Work. It was amazing. We stayed in the house of one of the guys overlooking snow capped mountain peaks. The house was amazing. It was a typical Swiss mountain house, but way bigger. I ran every morning but one. On the morning of the long drive back to Holland, I ran 16 kms with a vertical difference of 590m. That was a tough one. I found it pretty easy to go to bed early since I've now given up alchohol for the duration. I've decided that my first beer will be as soon as possible after crossing the finishing line. The guys polished off the pre-requisite volumes of beer, while I slept. It was worth it though. Running in the dark with my head tourch and seeing all those stars. Then seeing the mountains as the sun slowly came up. The only vice I indulged in was a well earned cigar.

I've always wanted to hook my bike on a ski lift, go up high and mountain bike down. On this trip I finally got my wish ans it was amazing. We had some great falls, including one ending in a suspected broken rib, but all in all it was just laughs. We even ended up at 3000m on a glacier (we left the bikes at the bottom of the cable car ride).

Next week, I'm ordering the rucksack I'll be running with and putting in c. 80kms, starting tomorrow morning with a 20km run. I still haven't decided on the rucksack, but I'm down to a couple and post a link once I know.

Well, time to read a few more pages of 1984. It's a depressing book, full of hope. Quite a contradiction. Then it's time to sleep before a 05:15 alarm.

A walk in the rain

When we woke it was still raining and it didn't stop until late in the afternoon. We packed up camp and drove to the beach, where we paid 15 dollars to go on the beach for a walk. We both dressed head to toe in our rain gear and headed out into the storm. The beach was amazing. The rainforest ended with dwarf trees warn down by the wind, making an almost impenetrable barrier to the beach. Then there was a thick layer of drift wood and finally the beach and the wild Pacific ocean. We managed a rain and windswept walk, then drove the winding road down to Victoria. It was on 250 kms, but due to the rain, twisting roads, traffic lights on the motorway and rush hour traffic it took over 4 hours. We eventually found a campsite run by a German who likes to drive around in a golf cart (Thatis lake). Once settled we took a taxi into Victoria and ate at the Wharfside restaurant, where we'd eaten 7 years ago on a previous trip. Once done we had a walk through the town and caught a taxi back to the campsite. I like Victoria much more than Vancouver. I think it's because of the setting in the bay and it feels much more intimate and friendly. If I was to come and live in Canada, I think I'd want to live here. Well, time to get some sleep and hope for a dry day tomorrow.

Rain, wind and driving

We woke up pretty late for us at 08:00, had breakfast and headed off on a nearly 500 km drive to Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver island. People come here to see the rainforest and surf. Well today it's definitely getting a lot of water. It's rained pretty much all day and the wind is extremely strong, gusting to 120 kms per hour. All this means we haven't really done that much today except drive and have a look at Ucluelet and the nearby Tofino and take a quick peek at the beach and Pacific Rim national park. Tomorrow we're heading for Victoria and we'll either take the boat straight to Vancouver or hang around the city. Fingers crossed that it stops raining.

Eagles and whales

Yesterday we floated down the Bella Coola river looking for wildlife. I never thought I'd be in a situation where balled eagles were the most common bird in sight. They were everywhere. We also saw some massive salmon on their way to spawn and the footprints of a grizzly bear which weighed an estimated 600 kg. After the rafting we went on a cycle ride to Bella Coola, stopping off at a trail through giant cedars, a salmon hatchery and to watch salmon spawn and die in the river. We then had a meal which cost almost nothing and got an early night ready for the ferry trip the next day.

Next day

Got up at 5:15 and headed for the ferry terminal in Bella Coola. The clouds started coming in and by the time we were underway it was overcast and pretty cold on deck. We saw a massive group of dolphins, probably 100 plus, some humpbacks, orcas, gray and wright whales. Most of them were at a distance, but the dolphins came in close. Were now an hour away from docking in Port Hardy on Vancouver island after a 13 hour trip, which cost over 600 dollars. Once there we have a campsite booked and we'll be straight off to bed on a full stomach of fries, since they didn't have any vegi food on the boat.

Flying

Since I last wrote we've seen a black bear on the road just outside our campsite in Risk Creek. We've fallen out of a Canadian canoe in Nimpo Lake (lucky we'd only just got in and the water wasn't cold). We swapped the canoe for a motor boat which was much more stable. On the lake we saw Loons which make the most amazingly loud noise. I went for a 10km run near the lake which felt good. The campsite only took 1 RV and we were the lucky one. We were surrounded by log cabins right on the edge of the lake. I had a swim after running and the water was perfect. Some people staying there had flown in from Portland and their float planes were parked on the jetty. Today we got up early and flew in a Beaver over the ice fields and landed at Hunlin falls where we walked to the top of the waterfall. On the flight back we flew very close to the rainbow mountains, which were very colourful due to the volcanic rock. The flights were amazing. Once back on the ground we drove over the highway 20 which turns into a gravel road and zigzags steeply into Bella Coola valley. It was an exciting drive mostly done in the lowest gear with spectacular views. We camped in Gnomes home campsite and went down to the water to see what we could see. In the end we saw a bald eagle, heron and a couple of seals. Now it's time for bed. We have another busy day tomorrow on a wildlife spotting trip on the river.

Fun on the water

kayaked on a large lake near Jasper. It was a twin with a rudder and turned out to be a lot of fun. Saw an Osprey, some dear, some kind of giant goat but no bears. Walked up a very steep hill for 5 kms, then walked back down. Scenery is amazing, but I'm amazed by the lack of birds. We only saw about 3 today. I'm wondering if they were all shot! Anyway, time to sleep. I have a 700 km drive tomorrow.

Jasper

Today we drove 330 kms to Jasper in Alberta. It cost 39 dollars for 2 days in the national park. We found a camp site near town without electricity, but we can do without for a while. Once settled in we went up one of the mountains in a cable car, then walked the last bit to the summit. It was a steep climb, but the view was amazing. My cold is now coming out, so I'm sniffling a lot. Tonight, we cooked on the camp fire, potatoes, corn and vegi sausages. Now it's 23:30, which is really late for us, but of course we went over into another time zone and lost an hour. Well, time to blow my nose again and get some sleep.

A walk in the park

Today we walked some of the trails in Wells Gray Provincial park. It was wet from a night of rain, but luckily didn't rain and ended up with a clear blue sky. We saw 3 waterfalls. One of them, Heimcken Falls is amazing. We walked along a 4 km trail and almost fell over the edge of a massive cliff with the waterfall thundering below. The water gushes out of a shallow ravine and drops just over 141 meters. It really was worth the walk, although you can drive right up to it, but that's not the same. We also did some almost off road with the camper, driver over some really rough roads. Luckily, nothing dropped off. Later we camped on the same camp site as last night, the Country Inn in Clearwater. We cooked vegi sausages over a fire, did some washing and now it's time for some sleep ready for a long drive to Jasper tomorrow.

A long drive and more rain

Got up early and headed back to Whistler for some throat tablets and pain killers. I can't believe I have a sore throat. It's the kind I always get before a cold, or sometimes it just goes away. I'm hoping for the latter. We then drove over 500 kms to Wells Gray Provincial Park passing some pretty amazing mountain scenery on the way. At one point we were really high up on a plateau driving by beautiful lakes. It was very challenging driving, but my tom tom navigator got us here in time to find a campsite and build a fire. Then it started to rain, so we ate inside, had a shower and I think it's going to be a very early night. I'm also wondering when this will get to my blog, since I have no signal at the moment.

Rain

Today it rained. Not all of the day, but a big chunk. We woke early and drove north of Vancouver on the sea to sky highway 99. We stopped in Squamish and had a look around. I could see that the nature was amazing with high mountains and sheer cliff faces, but the town itself wasn't much. We headed north to Whistler and stopped off on the way at Brandywine Falls for a walk and a look at the waterfalls. We took a pretty challenging path through dense forest to a rope bridge, then took the main trail back to the car park. All in all about 10kms. We saw some pretty fresh bear droppings, so I was making as much noise as possible on the way down. We then drove onto Whistler and tried to book into the campsite Unfortunately it was full, so we ended up driving back almost 60kms towards Squamish until we found a nice campsite in the woods. Now we've eaten and its time to wind down for the evening. The weather forecast is looking better for the coming days, so fingers crossed.

Fort Langley

Today we woke early and got a call from my mother in law who is also on vacation in Canada. She was traveling from the rockies to Surrey just south east of Vancouver and would arrive between 16:00 and 17:00. So we headed to Fort Langley which is close to Surrey. We took a look at the old centre and walk a trail along the river. It is an old fur trade town with some nice restaurants and a fort museum. Once we'd seen the sights we headed off to Surrey and had dinner with my mother in law and her sister. Now its time for an early night. Tomorrow we're heading for the mountains I've been seeing in the distance for the last 2 days.

The camper

We got up early, mainly because of the jet lag, and headed off to pick up the camper. It's one of the smallest they have, but it's still massive when you're driving it. It's a Ford van conversion with shower, wc, microwave etc... The bed is above the front seats so not much headroom, but I think it will be ok. We went straight from the RV pickup to a camp site in Bernaby just outside Vancouver. We had our first "backing up" adventure and managed not to break anything. We then went to a nearby shopping mall, then onto Vancouver using a monorail they call the skyway. We had a bit of a stroll round, I bought a gps and some clothes from an outdoor shop, ate at a restaurant in gastown (oldest part of Vancouver) then came back to the campsite. It's now 21:30 and I'm ready for bed. No running today, but a lot of walking.

Long flight

It was a 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver. Luckily we were in comfort class, so I had room for my knees. I managed to watch 2 movies and read most of a book, but didn't sleep at all. I just have to stay awake now until a normal bed time (9 hour time difference). I think being pretty fit helps with the jet lag. Although I have a sore right achilles tendon and the flight didn't help much. I just have to stretch it a lot and hope it goes pretty quickly.

It's now 19:50 Canadian time and we're trying to stay awake until 21:00. It's not easy. We're staying the first night in the airport Raddison, then picking up the camper tomorrow. It was 31 degrees Celsius today in Vancouver. I hope it's as nice tomorrow for our first night in the camper. Well I'm going to carry on watching the TV to stay awake.

Going on vacation

I've been training hard. It's now vacation time. I'm off with the wife for two and a half weeks in Canada (BC) in a camper. I'll try to post from my blackberry while I'm away and of course I'll be running a lot.

Nice and hot

Finally, summer has arrived. It was 29 degrees today and I got a good hour run at midday. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of training, with just a little pain in my right achilles tendon. My mum was over last week and we enjoyed the nice weather, ate lunch at the beach and I made sure she gave her new knee some exercise.
Anyway, the sun just went down and it's time to go to bed ready for 2 runs tomorrow.

Slow recovery

I'm still in recovery mode at the moment. My mum is over for a visit and I'm running for an hour max per day. I hope within 2 weeks I'll be fully back up to speed. Right now I've got a bit of a sore throat again, so I'm taking it real easy. The weather is fantastic, so running in the mornings isn't a problem and having a week off from work is allowing the batteries re-charge and I've got a ton of things done which I've had on hold for months. I wish I could take off a week every month! I wonder what my boss would say to that.....
Well, today I'm off to Amsterdam with my mum to show her the Jordaan area. In the past, she's just seen the center, which is nice, but really geared towards tourism. The Jordaan revolves around the locals with lots of very good restaurants and tidy well kept houses. It's still within easy walking distance of the center, which is good since mum had a new knee not so long ago.
Anyway, time to go and enjoy.

Getting better

Time for another early night. My head is still full and I still can't train. I'm going to try a short run tomorrow and see how it goes. I guess it will be the same as always after a cold, lots of sweat, very high pulse and slooooowwww. Oh well, at least my legs have had a good recovery from the heavy training. It's now time to build up slowly again and enjoy the nice weather (if the Dutch summer isn't over already).

It's been a while

I didn't write for over a month. I'm going to use the usual excuses. Too much work, too much training. Well, I've done a lot of training, that's for sure. I did my first training run ever longer than marathon distance. Granted, it wasn't much longer, but 46.5kms isn't bad. During the run, I went through marathon distance at 3:54, which is a record for me. It was my first time experimenting with energy drink and plain water. I guess it worked. It was an advantage that I was running on the flat, mainly on roads during a visit to Friesland. Since then, I've run some really tough 40km+ runs on mixed terrain, including very soft, steep sand. Right now, I'm home sick. My last long run was a real tough one. It was last Sunday. I thought I'd just about got rid of a cold which had been threatening for a few days (lots of people at work are sick right now), so I went on a long run in the dunes. I managed to get lost in a part of the dunes which has a lot of very twisty steep soft sand paths. I ended up running in circles for 2 hours before I found my way out. I ran another 2 hours in the pouring rain. After the run I started feeling ill. It took a few days for it to develop into a really bad cold complete with an amazingly painful headache. But looking on the bright side, I got in a long run and learnt that it's probably not the best idea to run a marathon in the rain when you have a cold.

Earlier this week I saw a documentary following a few people running this year's marathon des sables. It gave me a good insight into what to expect and how the race unfolds. It also made me a little less nervous about running. I think because I hadn't seen any documentaries about the event, I'd built it up in my mind into something almost impossible to achieve. Now I see that my training is really going to help me when I get there and that I'll have trained a lot harder than some of the people taking part.

Well time for some more headache tablets. I hope I can run again on soon. I really feel like a caged animal right now (plus head/body ache).

Fun in the dunes

Had a really good run on Sunday. 42.5 kms through the dunes. I switched between the dunes and beach all the way up past Katwijk and back to The Hague. Legs were a little heavy at the end and I felt my knee a little the day after. But all in all a very good run. I didn't run today because I wanted to let my knee recover some more. I'll be swimming and running tomorrow, so a busy day ahead. I have to really start focusing my running towards carrying more weight, so tomorrow I am going to order the rucksack I'll be using in a years time. I also need to push a run up to 50kms, mainly because I feel like another milestone to aim for. I seem to need something motivational quite often, otherwise I get the feeling that my training is stagnating. 50kms should do the trick!

On another note, it's only 3 days until the next release of Ubuntu hits the mirrors. It's strange how some people can get a kick out of a new version of their favorite operating system. Luckily ubuntu releases a major upgrade every 6 months. As soon as it 's available I'm going to rebuild my pc. Last weekend I finally got around to buying a new printer which is compatible with Linux. The old one was a pain. The only way I could use it was to have windows xp running in a virtual machine.

Well time to get some sleep. At the beginning of last week I didn't sleep too well, but the last few nights I've had no problems. I have no idea why I wasn't sleeping, I just seemed to wake up sweating a lot. Oh well, maybe I just wasn't tired enough!!

Seeing is believing

Last October I had laser surgery to fix my short sightedness. I had to have Lazek as opposed to Lasek. They sound similar, but they're very different. With Lazek the top layer of cells over the eye are dissociated and pushed asside, then the lazer does it's work. The cells are pushed back and a bandage contact lens is placed over the eye for about a week. The first 3 days are hell. I could hardly sleep due to the pain. I laid on the couch and listened to audio books. Stephen Fry did a great job with Harry Potter. In the end I was two and a half weeks away from work. If I'd have had the lazik treatment, I would have been out of action for about 3 days, with hardly any pain, then back to work. I thought originally I would have lazik, but in the end my stigma was too strong, so no choice. Today, I had a follow up eye examination. It turns out my left eye is pretty much ok, but my right eye is still -1.25. This means I'll have to have the same treatment on my right eye. At least I'll be able to see through my left eye. Last time I couldn't stand any light for days. I'm just not looking forwards to the pain. The worst part is that I'll probably have to wait for the surgery until late May or June. So lots of time to think about it.

Well, I had a good swim today. Unfortunately I didn't get a run, since the drops used to dilate my pupils for the eye test make it difficult to see. Tomorrow is another day, and what a day. Friday, my favorite word.

Rotterdam Marathon

I seem to have skipped a few days. Happens sometimes I guess... Anyway, I ran the Rotterdam marathon on Sunday. I posted my usual time of 3:58. I don't know how I came up with my race strategy, but it went something like this. Run as far as I can with my heart rate at 170 (I normally run at 155). Once my legs explode, hang on and use the experience as mental training. What an idiot. At 32kms my legs went and the last 10 were not the greatest. I knew I needed energy, but the dates I normally eat on long runs just didn't quite fit the bill. I found myself craving extran energy drink at the water stations. So, I've learned a couple of lessons.
1. Don't make up your training strategy as you go along. Stick to the pre-race plan (I should have had one).
2. If I'm going to push it, I won't be able to eat solid fuel. So, I'm going to buy a second platypus and fill it with energy drink, that was I'll have plain water, dates and energy drink available on long runs.

The day after the marathon I ran again and felt good. Legs were a little sore, but not too bad. Then on Tuesday it got a little heated at work, so I only ended up swimming. I then made the mistake of not leaving work were it belongs, in the office. I got only a couple of hours sleep because work issues were circling around my mind. So today was an enforced rest day. I thought I sorted out how to leave work at work, but sometimes it just seems impossible. I'll just have to try better next time.

I still need to work on my training schedule. Something for the weekend, I think.

Sci-fi and tired legs....

I've just finished reading an amazing sci-fi novel. It's called Ender's game by Orson Scott Card. I've decided to read some of the sci-fi classics and this one came pretty high on the list. Anyone needing some diversion from aching legs, should give it a go. I guess changing my run style has hit my legs quite a bit. I was tired the whole day. Although the late nights this week haven't helped. Tonight I'm going to bed early, so I'm ready for a good swim tomorrow morning. I guess the moral is, don't watch too much football, especially champions league, since the games finish so late. Also, don't then read for an hour in bed before finally getting 6 or max 7 hours of sleep. But given that I was so tired I was really happy with todays 11 km run. I averaged 11.7kms per hour including very slow warm up.
I have to hit the forums and find out which rucksack I should buy for the main event. I think once I start collecting the equipment it will all star coming together. I also have to start pushing more for sponsorship. I will be running for the charity "Facing Africa" who send doctors to Africa to perform re-constructive surgery on people affected by Noma. The website is pretty graphic, but there's no hiding this debilitating disease. On the website you can also find a link to sponsor me (shameful plug).
Now it's time for that well earned sleep. Although I do have to start the next classic sci-fi novel "Peace and War" by Joe Haldeman. I hope I get some sleep tonight......

Another busy day at work

I had a very good swim this morning. I was tired after yesterday, but felt good. I was planning on a run after work. But in the end I was held up and decided I was too tired. So I came home and watched the Liverpool, Arsenal champions league game. Well worth it in the end. 4-2 to Liverpool. I normally have a lot of pain in my left knee after a long run, but I've hardly felt anything today. My achilles tendons are sore, especially this morning and when walking down stairs, but that's pretty normal. I still need to work out how to get to the marathon on Sunday. I hope I can drive and park somewhere close. The weather is getting worse and worse. Last year the Rotterdam marathon was canceled due to extreme heat. I get the feeling it might be snowing this year!

Making up for yesterday

It's hard when you miss a long training day. It's impossible to make up for, but ah, in the end I had 2 days of rest and a really good run today. I averaged 11.2kms/hr over 32kms. For me that's sprinting. I've changed my running style a little, in that I've started picking up my heels more. I'm really focusing on kicking my heel towards my bum at the end of each stride. I've noticed my pulse is a little higher, but I get a much better feeling from the stride. It's as if I'm running downhill even on the flat and my speed is on average 1km/hr faster. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep it up over 32kms, but in the end I didn't have too many problems. Even with a strong headwind (you get that a lot in Holland), I managed to keep the speed up. So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with today. Tomorrow I'm off to the pool again to race the Olympians (read, watch them lap me repeatedly). Then I'll do a run with weight. Feeling pretty energized, although just after the run I was so hungry and thirsty. I'm going to start experimenting with some more foods soon. I've had pretty good success with dried dates, but I'm bad a pacing my fluid intake. Oh well, still a year to learn...

Disrupted Sunday

I was planning on a 32km run today. I woke up, had breakfast and then I got a call from work. I spent the next 12 hours on a conference call. My run was out the window, which is really annoying. I'm planning on making up for it tomorrow, by taking time off work as compensation. Luckily this doesn't happen too often, but in my line of work, which means I need to be available 24/7, you never know. At least my legs have had an extra day of rest, but I want to get a long run in this week ready for the Rotterdam marathon next weekend.

Well, time to go and enjoy the rest of the evening (once the current conference call ends).

Friday

Always the best day of the week. I woke up at 05:30 and was running in the dunes by 06:00. The sun was still just making a smudge on the horizon and the birds were busy with the dawn chorus. The rabbits were everywhere and the dear were sprinting out of my way as a barn owl flew low over my head on it's final hunt of the night. I made my way to the beach for a 5km stretch before heading back inland. Really not a bad way to start a Friday. 16.5 kms later I was back home and ready for a typical Friday at work. Drive office, breakfast (cornflakes with chocolate soya milk), meetings, then a long lunch at cafe de wink with some of my team. Afternoon involved a few more meetings, then squash and the long drive home. Now it's time to kick back, open a bottle of wine and enjoy the evening before my only rest day.

In short, heaven....

Fun at the pool

Up at 5:45 and off to the swimming pool for a quick 3000m. It's pretty motivating swimming in the same pool and at the same time as the Dutch national team. I was doing my best not to be lapped too many times by the new 50m butterfly world record holder. Not a bad way to start the day. Rest of the day was work as usual. I manage a team of testers and a deployment/support team. We take care of provisioning new internet, telephony and digital tv subscribers in 12 countries across Europe. It's quite a challenging job, but I manage to fit in the sport (most of the time). After work I drove home with my wife, who works across the road from me at Microsoft (I'm a linux fan, so I'm always making fun of her). Then I went for a 11km run with 4.5 kilo rucksack (averaged 11.4kms/hr). Didn't get home until after 20:00, ate, wrote this and now it's time for bed. I'll be up again at 5:30 tomorrow morning for a 16km run before driving to work. But the good news is, it's Friday tomorrow. I run in the morning, have a nice long lunch with the team, play squash with some guys from work, then buy a bottle of wine. You see Friday is the day before my only day off in the week. Which means Friday is the only day I can have a drink! Getting used to this has been interesting, since I got very used to drinking wine with all my meals. But I find it fun to look forwards to it all week, then finally make a really big deal of the "evening before my day off".
Saturday will be back on the wagon ready for a long run on Sunday morning.
Well, time to get not quite enough sleep, before strapping on the heart rate meter and foot pod (I use a Polar 725x) and hitting the dunes.

First time out

I have a lot of questions about the marathon des sables. I've read the forums, read all the books I could find and tried to adapt various training schedules to my needs. In the end though, I have to admit that I'm flying by the seat of my pants and hoping I'll put together the right set of training to get me through. I figured writing about my day to day struggle with training, work, home etc... would help me get my head straight and maybe provide some useful information to other mad fools who suddenly wake up and wonder why they've entered this crazy race.
Today, I ran 11kms with no weight at a reasonable (for me) tempo, averaging 11.4 kms per hour. I'm relatively fresh this week, since I didn't attempt a long run on the weekend or Monday. I'm still getting over a bout of Flu and a sprained ankle. I sprained my ankle while running in the sand dunes near my home in The Hague. During the nice painful walk back to civilization, I managed depressed my immune system so much I ended up with the flu. I guess life likes to play these nice jokes now and again.
Over the coming weeks, I'm going to add some links which might come in handy fellow crazy people. I've already added a link to my training schedule/log. If you take a look the start of this year has not been amazingly smooth. I did manage a few good weeks where I built up to marathon length training sessions (handy living exactly 42 kms from work). Last year I did pretty well at sticking to the program. I just had some time off last October after having laser surgery, from which I still haven't recovered.
Well, wish me luck. Only a year to go and I've got to go from a plodding 4 hour marathon runner to a full blown multi day ultra marathon specialist.

Oh god, what have I done........