MILLY VOICE

Well, I am pretty happy, it’s safe to say, to see definite signs of Spring.

I really am not a winter person. Friends find this hilarious, given I spend the majority of my time in the snow covered mountains. But actually, the snow is not only incredibly picturesque, it does have its uses for training.

No, the issue with winter is the shorter nights, colder temperatures, and the fact that you have to be a bit creative with both training, and with motivating yourself to still get out there.

What is motivating me - is the summer. Both the racing element, and overall, the adventures of running by myself or with friends in beautiful, mountainous places.

A certain reason to get a wriggle on with training is the final confirmation of my CCC place. 101km with 6000m positive. Like the Tour du Fiz I did last summer, but a bit more stretched out ( an approximate marathon distance longer) and another 1000m or so more climbing. Hmmm.

This will be, by no means,a walk in the park, (absolutely not, it’s up a mountain) and at the moment I am trying to get my head around it.

The ambition to race is strong, but the journey to get there is really hard. Working full time in a job that is not your usual 9-5 schedule, the challenges of winter, tiredness, winter illness and general commitments, makes things a bit more challenging. I am not alone or some kind of hero in this though. Trail running and mountain racing is becoming more and more popular, not to mention the countless other sports, hobbies and passions that leave determined people trying to work out just how to fit everything in. But, I live by the hope that it is possible - you just need to give it a go and see what happens.

One thing I did want to do, is begin to keep a bit more of a record of adventures and training. So I had an idea, which was to very informally film some of the training, over the seasons, simply on my iphone, while on the go. Nothing special or extraordinary (there are a lot cooler videos out there let’s face it) but something to look back on, partly to remind myself on harder days that training is fun, and that for moments of feeling low like during illness/tiredness etc, there are the highs of awesome days on the mountain and great things to do.

So here’s a snapshot of some of my winter training. I make no excuse for the less-than-professional filming. All I can say is you try and run while filming on your iphone… ;)

Enjoy Spring.