Resurrection

I have decided that it is about time that I resurrected this blog, mostly so that I can document the great hybrid conversion project (see next post), but also to add a few running and cycling training notes.

The big goal for this year is the Lakeland 50 in July, which will be the furthest we have ever run. We entered a 50 mile ultra last year, but failed to even start let alone finish; hoping to at least reach the start line this year.

So far, as part of the build up we have the official Lakeland 50 recce at the end of March (and for some reason I have no idea how far this is), then the Allendale Challenge (26 miles) a week later in April, and then the  Swaledale Marathon (22 miles - ish) in June. Beyond that, the training is still a bit vague beyond get some long days on the hills under our collective belt; I'm working on the assumption that time on my feet is the key, and not the number of miles covered.

More importantly I now have the shoes I plan to wear on the big day. This is absurdly optimistic as most fell and trail shoes last me about three weeks before the uppers split, or my feet are shredded. This is entirely the result of  the bunion on my left big toe; if the shoes are soft enough to accomodate the bunion I split them, if not, then they are too uncomfortable to wear.

Shoes have become a bit easier with the latest Inov8 shoes now being made on a foot shaped last, rather than the narrow last they previously favoured... but I still split my Terraflys in about 100 miles in the same place as all the others (and to be fair, not just Inov8, but New Balance and Saucony...).

So the new shoes are Inov8 TrailRoc 255; the same shape as the Terraflys, but with a more aggressive sole, a 6mm drop, and a bit more protection than the other lighter TrailRocs. On paper they look like the right shoe for the job.

On their first outing today the TrailRocs were great; we did about 10 miles on track, footpath and road, in snow and ice and they were pretty much faultless.