New plan and tapering for the big day

Having got back from the Lakes at the beginning of May I had mixed feelings. I was very pleased with how well I had been going when I did 3 legs of the BGR in one day and felt that there was more in the tank. I was disappointed not to be able to finish the other 2 sections at the end of the weekend and that I finished the weekend with a nasty tummy bug and feeling pretty knackered.

I had 3 days rest though and then went for a trial run to test myself. Although I still didn't feel 100% I ended up doing the best (only by a few seconds) run I had done over 6 laps of my 3 mile hilly course getting in just under 3 hours. This was a further confidence booster that I took as a good omen and decided that I would do a standard week of training and follow this by 2 weeks of tapering.



I now had brought my Bob Graham Round date forward by 3 weeks to 25th May 2008.

Since taking the decision I have felt really excited and good about the commitment and the fact that after a long time of waiting I am going to get a really good go at the challenge.

I have a whole week off on holiday that week and originally had planned to walk part of the south west peninsula coast path with a friend and would have treated that as a start to my tapering phase. Unfortunately due to work commitments my friend was unable to make it and so then I had planned to do some gentle walking in the Lake District instead.

When I felt so good at my last visit to the Lakes I felt that my fitness was unlikely to improve substantially with 2 or 3 extra weeks training and that I was as ready as I needed to be. To continue to push with more training would just invite the possibility of injury.

I think a large part of success in the BGR is about things beyond training and pure fitness. Whilst I might have got better familiarity with the route from an extra weeks reccying - motivation and mental toughness coupled with weather conditions, avoiding injury and ill health, and staying well hydrated and properly nourished on the day are all more important in terms of a successful outcome. As I now have a few days in which to select the best conditions I hope that I am able to optomise all these factors.

In short - I am ready.

I am watching the weather forecasts avidly hoping that conditons will be suitable on the 25th. Ideal would be overcast and cool with good visibility, little wind and no rain. A slowly building but not fully stablished high pressure area would do nicely - typical end of May conditions but we all know how unpredictable the Lakes weather can be.

Am I fully commited as advocated in Richard Askwith's excellent 'Feet in the Clouds'?

I am in some ways - when I get on the fells I will give it my all although I will still have one eye on safety. Before I get to the fells though I will stay flexible. So if there is a storm forecast I shall be waiting for a better opportunity - this is an advantage of a self contained attempt.

I think that I am nearly resigned to the fact that I will not be eligible to join the Bob Graham Club. It is possible that a group may start at the exact same time as I do but the chances of this happening are fairly remote and even if they did, they might not want me tagging along or we would most likely be travelling at different speeds.

I am a bit sad about this as I think it would be a wonderful club to be a member of and it undoubtedly contains some amazing characters.
The main aim though is for me to complete my Bob Graham Round successfully after all this time and effort.



Week 19 5-11/5/08

Monday Rest (ill)
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Rest
Thursday 18 miles x6 250m hill circuits 2 hrs 59 mins 1500m ascent
Friday 6 miles x2 250m hill circuits 59 mins 500m ascent
Saturday 12 miles x4 250m hill circuits 2 hrs 4 mins 1000m ascent
Sunday Alton 10 mile road race hilly 71.26 ?400m ascent

Total 4 runs, 46 miles, 3400m 10,940 feet ascent


Week 20 12-17/5/08

Monday 18 miles x6 250m hill circuits 3 hrs 24 mins 1500m ascent
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Rest
Thursday 6 miles x6 65m hills 68.30 475m ascent
Friday Rest
Saturday Rest
Sunday Rest

Total 2 runs, 24 miles, 1975m 6560 feet