oh no more pain.....

While sleeping on Thursday night i managed to pull a muscle in my neck!, nothing too serious and it only hurts when i turn my head to the left or right but it has left me with a headache that will not go away, it hasn't stopped my going out for a couple of runs but a swollen ankle and pain on the top of my foot has, these are new injuries and i will monitor them over the next couple of days, i can't help but think that at some point my body is going to say enough is enough and just stop working!!

What next.....

Well the 6633 is over and done with for another year, I've still to conquer it so will be back next year, over the last couple of years i have done the first and last 100 miles, now i need to do the middle 120 miles and put it all together and get my sorry ar$e over that finish line....
The immediate plans now switch to the London Marathon at the end of April, and then onto the Grand Union Canal race in the end of May, so their is no let up on the training front i need to start losing the few extra pounds that i put on for the 6633 and also concentrate on my stretching and see if we can have a reasonably pain free couple of months.....just looking at the sunrise/sunset times and the rise in temps, it looks like i will be soon be able to start cycling to work which i'm quite looking forward too.

And the winner is....

Chris Todd, chuffed to bits that Chris completed the 352 miles 6633 Ultra it was an awesome achievement, he is the only the 3rd person to complete the course and the 1st for 2 years, i completed 100 miles of the ice road with him which was good to get that sort of mileage in and i felt reasonably fresh as we strolled into Tuk at the end of his amazing journey...

The Ice Road

After consultation with the Ice Road authorities we are unable as non racing individuals to race up the Ice Road, we can however support Chris (who is the remaining racer still in the 352 mile race) and walk with him, so myself and Keith are going to take it in turns, it's going to be quite a shock to the system as we have been inside in the warm for the last couple of days and it is currently -40 and it is only going to get colder as we get further up the ice road, I've got the first 12hour shift so once Chris has woken up we'll be off......

Well that didn't go to plan.....

well after months of training and planning it all went horribly wrong after just 35 miles....I had not been feeling 100% for a week or so and had had very little sleep in the days leading up to the race, for the first few miles i felt great with the temps around -40 and was moving well but very rapidly i got very tired to the point that at one point I'm pretty sure that i fell asleep while walking and i hadn't even got to the arctic circle!! at the arctic circle i took too the support vehicle and had some food and set off again but with little change after a few more miles i withdrew from the race...so that it's another year and another failure, the plan is to see how i feel in a couple of days time and then give the 120 miles from Inuvik to Tuk along the ice road a go.

Are we there yet.........

Yep, after 10 hours from London to Vancouver, 6 hour layover in Vancouver, and the a 3 hour flight from Vancouver to White Horse we finally arrived at the hotel, the temp at the airport was -30, just off to the shops for a little last minute race related shopping and then i shall start sorting out the sled ready for tomorrows kit check, We will be in White Horse for the next couple of days before we start the long drive up to the start at Eagle plans.....
The weather today is -30ish but over the next couple of day rising to -15, but once we get to Eagle plans it will be back down in the low -30's...

Here we go again.......

I've had a restful couple of weeks, concentrated on my stretching, had a physio session on Friday my flexibility is getting better but is still a long way off where it should be, not sure the physio fully understood the 6633 Arctic ultra as she wants me to keep up the twice a day stretching while racing 352 miles in -50, I've also indulged in my favorite past time of eating and will be hitting the start line at 87kg (2kg heavier than last year), i read somewhere that i can expect to use 7000 calories a day during the race of which I'm likely only to replace about 2000 a day which is quite a deficit, so the few extra kilo's should help out.
Just been checking the weather in the Yukon area, current temps on the race route are -30ish, the first part of the course is currently closed due to drifting snow but the long range weather forecast is for continuing low temps but the wind and the snow will subside.
I'll update my blog as and when i can, wish me luck......

looking forward

Now that the Arctic race is almost here it's time to start thinking about the Grand Union Canal race, this is a whole different challenge, I'm reasonable happy that injuries permitting i can walk 352 miles in roughly 6 days in the arctic circle, what I'm not sure about is running 152 miles in 42 hours from Birmingham to London, now that is a big ask but as always I'm up for the challenge, my 5 mile run tonight is a good start just need to do that back to back 30.4 times and i would have run 152 miles, oh and did i mention that is is only 8 weeks after i get back from the Arctic!!!!
I'll be using the London Marathon as a training run(!) as that fall's between the Arctic and the GUCR.....

A week before i fly.....

No long run/walk this weekend so it was good to not have to get up at 05:30 which i have been doing most weekends for as long as i can remember, from now until Friday i will do short runs just to keep the legs moving and have a bit of a rest.
At this late stage i have decided to change my trainers for the race, nothing wrong with my normal race trainer of choice, just the new inov-8 roclite 320's I've been trying out are just so much more comfortable and when you have 352 miles to cover comfortable trainers are the top of the priority list.....
My front room is full of kit, sled, food etc, i have a new bivvy bag and have been sleeping in it for the last couple of nights just so i get the hang of it, all i have to do now is get the whole lot to north western Canada and get on with the real business of racing 352 miles.....