Gobi …
Over the last 9 days I have ran the Lairig Ghru mountain race , the Pentland Skyline and the Hawick Circular , everyone of them could be considered Epic runs and in between I have thrown in a few hard hilly half marathon length runs from my house and some long , long mountain bike rides … its been a very tough finale to my training and my groin which has hampered me for weeks is screaming for a rest but finally its here , my taper !!! time to cut back on my training to allow me to recover in preparation for whats coming up ,the Gobi race !! 5 days , 30 miles or more every day and across the Mongolian Gobi Desert , one of the harshest environmnets on the planet , far more remote than my Sahara run and with longer distances every day I am expecting it to be my toughest run to date , I am ready , I feel fit and right up for it !!! Unlike when I arrived at the Scottish Ultra with only 3 weeks rest from the Marathon Des Sable , exhausted and with feet full of tender skin , this time I feel 100% and I havent even tapered yet !! I hope that after my taper I will be fitter and better equipped for this challenge than I have been previously, I feel a madness coming and one that will see me through the first couple of days running before the real ” hurt “ begins !! ….. it all seems a world away from when I first went off road ….
I look back to November last year when I found out I had a last minute entry to the Marathon Des Sable , the realisation that I’d need to work so very hard to be ready , its been a long yet short journey , from non runner to road runner to Hill runner and then ultra runner , the throwing myself into every race I could in preparation , the madness and obsession that was needed to keep me running through a harsh winter and the hard decisions required in my life regarding my business ,then all of a sudden it was there !! the fantastic journey that is the Marathon Des Sable , an experience right up there with some of my best Kayaking epics , all the work was worthwhile then there was the Scottish Ultra , a hillfest of huge proportions and one where after 120+ miles of running bad luck caused me to DNF , best of all though has been the amazing people I have met on the way , some real characters , its been a pleasure , and now the finale to my hat trick the Gobi approaches , this time I am not nervous , this time I am confident ……… Bring it !!
You’re gonna kill it mate. Look after your feet and the rest will be fine.
Almost think that despite the stress of the groin injury you probably needed something like that to give you the rest you needed after 2 huge multi-dayers. I reckon you’re stronger now than you would have been due to the enforced rest followed by the hard work you’ve put in over the last few weeks.
Enjoy the taper mate.
Paolo 😉
I think your right Paolo , thank you 😀 , Im feeling good about this one 🙂