Well hello....

.....has it really been nearly two months….opps

Anyway what have I been up to? Well after the Exmoor 50Km I needed some down time so early November was a combination of rest, parkruns & Cross Countries. Mid November also saw my last trip to the pool & also my last ride on the bike (note to self – that`s too long for both bearing in mind what`s coming on this year).

The End of November was a long awaited trip to Cyprus for the fantastic Cyprus 4 Day Challenge. This event had been on my wish list for ages – I guess since I started running – I wasn`t disappointed. We stayed at the Coral Bay Hotel which also was the Event HQ which made this a lot easier. The 1<sup>st</sup> race was a 6Km time trial with runners going off in alphabetical order 10 seconds apart. The next day was the 11Km Hill Race – I loved the 1 km that went downhill – it was a brutal uphill race but stunning scenery. Day 3 was the Half Marathon – another great course with the 1<sup>st</sup> 3Km going up, then 3Km downhill (some nice 7 min milling there) then following the coastal paths till the finish. The last race was a fast, yes fast 10Km around the town of Paphos – I was really pleased with a time of 00:46:45 but closer to 45 mins would have been amazing. There was a Half Marathon in Paphos just a few hours later – I do think it`s possible to do that one too – maybe next time J Great week away – getting in some sun, being with other friendly runners from all around the World with well organised races & staying in a great hotel.

December is normally my quiet month with less than 100 miles, BUT I had seen an nice event over Christmas week that looked good. It was the White Cross 50 Km Ultra, along the South Downs which was too good to ignore. My week away in Egypt was great – they had a wonderful gym with a couple of new treadmills (next year remember to get a Garmin foot pod). A couple of training laps around Caesars Camp when I got back & the now traditional Boxing Day Beer Run finished off my pre-ultra-training. Ok it wasn`t going to be a fast one but my legs should hold up against the lumps & bumps of the South Downs. It was a great event – very relaxed. The route for the 50Km option was 3 legs of a Cross so plenty of opportunities to see other runners coming the other way (the 45 mile option covered all four legs of the Cross). A cheeky sub 6 hour finish was pleasing including a downhill road mile at 29M of 07:15 . 

All in all I December turned out to be a 177 mile month & that contributed to a new yearly best of 1,644 miles.

What`s coming up….well continuing getting in the miles with the Winter Tanners 30 – wonderfully hilly & muddy LDWA event (7hrs 40mins) which was more pleasing as I self-navigated around the course. The Farnborough Half Marathon this weekend – maybe not a PB effort J but a good effort nevertheless with 35 other Cove Joggers – not bad for a small club. A couple of  XC races & a return to The Punchbowl `Marathon` & The Grizzly. Fleet Half Marathon & a couple of Twenty milers – Bramley 20 & the Thames Riverside 20 should get me into good shape for the Alexander The Great Marathon (Thessaloniki) – well all these Brighton, Manchester & London Marathon runners can`t have all the fun can they?????

The end of April is the Three Forts Marathon (27M) which should set me up nicely for the Guernsey Round the Island Ultra. 

It`s not going to be all running, running, running as I need to get back in the water & do time on the bike to be ready for a boy`s holiday cycling in Majorca – oh and the 70.3 UK Exmoor (half) Ironman in late June.  After that will depend how that Half Ironman goes…………………but hopefully a full distance one. 

:-)