Pre Kielder 80k Ultra

So, this weekend is the High Terrain Events Kielder 80k Ultra, which will be my first race of the year. Unusually, I'm not really sure what kind of shape I'm in as I line up on the start line. I took a long break from running training at the start of the winter and only really began this year's build up at the start of February. Normally, at this time of year, I would have had four steady months of training in my legs rather than the eight weeks at present. Those eight weeks have only averaged about 40-50 miles per week over just four runs. However, I have had a longer period of core conditioning, something new to me, and also had a turbo session each week on my bike.

My hope is that, after the Kielder race, I can slightly ramp up the training (hence the easier/later start) towards the Keswick Mountain Festival and then again kick on to the TDS in Chamonix in late August. With this kind of periodisation, I have to accept that I will not be at my best this weekend (there is, hopefully, more to come) but I have to admit that I feel ready to race and I'm looking forward to seeing what difference, if any, the core work has made.

Kielder Water

I've had a few trips up to Kielder to have a look round the course. It's very fast, on really good tracks apart from one loop which has some good off piste fell/marsh/bog sections - something to suit everyone.

So, I suppose I'm looking for a good solid performance, having some strength in my legs over the later stages, I'm trying a couple of nutrition ideas in a race for the first time (thanks to the guys at Mountain Fuel for the advice) and really want to enjoy the experience to further fire up my mojo for the next stage of the year. We shall see.

Whilst training with Rupert from Mountain Fuel earlier in the week, we did a bit of filming and I put together this short clip. It's a shame that my (free) editing software and old computer can't make full use of the mega HD of the camera, but you get the idea of the gorgeous trails on my doorstep.