Less than 50 days to go . . .

It seems like forever but there are now less that 50 days of training and preparation to go. As I'm not planning to train right up to the day there are now under 40 training days left.


I had a day off work this week and did my first pacing walk. It wasn't as long as I would of liked (just under 20 miles) but long enough to get an idea of the real pace I'll be able to maintain. Things like taking off a fleece, looking at the map, getting lost, taking a photo etc all take time. Event action doesn't add much but added together they do impact the pacing. However my original estimates were not to far off so my stage plans are holding together.


Hopefully over the weekend I'll get in another long walk (hopefully longer than the last one) and a good run.

Planning

So far it looks as if the logistics might the the hardest bit to organise. Everything is dictated by the time I need to get to the end of the walk. If I get there too late then getting a lift home is going to be difficult, but I'm limited by the time I can get to the start and then by how fast (or slowly) I get from there to the end. The end time depends on pace - but I've never done anything like this before so I've not got an got idea of the pace I'll be able to maintain. Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to try and get a few longer walks (30 to 40 miles) in to firm up an estimation of my pace.

Now that was the easy bit. Along the routes are a few villages, I'm planning to get some food and water from these - but there is no point getting there at 2am when everything is closed. So I end up pushing some sections hard to get there before closing time (and hoping nobody has decided to close early) or end up waiting around until the shops open.

Of course it might just be easier to start when I get there and see what happens.

Good training run last night. Did a hard 6 miles around some of the Greenway with a few hills. With the exception of running in India it was the warmest run for a number of months.

The Challenge

So, time to come clean and go public.

In June I'm planning to challenge myself to the limit and complete the Ridgeway Long Distance path.

The Ridgeway National Trail is a 87 miles (139km) route through ancient landscapes from Averbury to Ivenhoe. It crosses rolling, open downland to the west of the River Thames and through secluded valleys and woods in the Chilterns to the east, following the same route used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers.

Just to make things a little harder I'm going to do it non-stop and might even run some of it. I've run a few fairly long distance runs in training (28 miles is my longest) so I know I should be able to do it - but I've never done anything so long and in one go so I have a real feeling of the unknown.

So now I've gone public there is not backing out. I'll update this blog on my training and kit and maybe if I can find a way actually provide live updates on the day.

Wish me luck!