Steven's desert dash

It's been a while, in fact too long since I last up-dated the blog, partly because my training has also been neglected. and with only 2 weeks before I race in trail Ticino panic sets in. My main worry is that this may be harder, much harder than the MDS. Yes, its shorter, no it does not involve sand or heat, so no I am not going to be tortured by the conditions in the same way. But, the running in the MDS is in manageable chucks, you can see the end most days. Trail Ticino is not billed as anything more than a trail run. However, what does this trail run involve? 1 stage (up to 31hours) 3 marathons, 8,500 meters of vertical ascent and 8,500 meters of vertical descent, 12 mountain passes, o and not to mention its all above the altitude line. In short, I run up and down the side of Everest and complete 3 marathons in a day in thin air - ouch. They tell you not to sign up to things when you are on the come-down from the MDS, now I see what they mean. If I do it, and finish well, what a great thing to do, and as I am only one of 2 Brits stupid enough to enter, I will be 1st or 2nd GB runner, one of the top British finishers may be possible (if I finish) J.

Training has been a bit of a mixed bag; with a week on holiday with involved lots of drink and dancing I did not get too much (any) training done. I did take the 3 days off for Henley, on was a bit of a drunken affair, the other, quite the opposite; I decided to run out to Henley RR from London, about 36 miles in total, a bit off the cuff but good training for the 70+ miles I am going to run, it started really well, managed to include a ~3:15 marathon in the middle before dyeing a death on the hills into Henley, dehydrated and dead on my feet I hobbled into the town.

The rest of my training has been shorter, sprint racing, it is summer after all and short distance is fun, It seems the shorter I go, the higher I place, maybe I am just not made for this ultra running, it’s all a bit too much hard work, 1 mile has been the shortest race I have entered and the highest I have places, winning the bronze in the 3x1mile relay, an inter London club event with 48 teams. After trail Ticino I have 3 weeks to teach myself everything I need to know about triathlons, then another 4  weeks to get ready for Berlin, all a bit go go go.

We a quickly heading back to the world where lack of training is meaning I will need to pray, hope and just be stubborn enough to keep going with nothing in the tank. I have 2 weeks, if I get motivated this week, I can get some good miles in and hopefully do well. Stay positive, anything is possible, or the new version  ‘Impossible is Nothing’