Quad trashing

I wanted to make a positive start in the final build-up towards the Lakeland 100. That meant only one thing, HILLS.

Today, I went up Jenkins Hill (the steep bit of Skiddaw), cut off round to Sale How, dropped down to Skiddaw House YHA, took in Great Calva and enjoyed the long drop back down into Keswick.

The difference in the weather compared to yesterday was rather dramatic. Calm and sunny yesterday, howling cold wind today. I walked more of the hills than I would if training for fell racing as I wanted to make it more specific to the ultra-marathon and, to hopefully, keep the pressure off the Achilles tendon.

The boggy climb to Calva

I think I still ran too much, as my tendon has been a bit sore during the afternoon. I need to have more discipline on these long hill days if I am going to avoid any injuries. On the plus side, it felt like a good workout for the quads, which is the main point of the exercise. More days like that will reap rewards during the big race.

As I returned along the Glenderaterra path, I met a number of the runners on the official Lakeland 100 recce, running from Buttermere to Dalemain. They all looked to be enjoying the day out but I was glad I only had to drop down into Keswick and did not have another 20 miles to do.