Counting down to 13 Valleys

5 days remaining until the start of the inaugural 13 Valleys 184km/114 mile (ish) ultra marathon, weaving around the lake district, and covering 7500m/24600ft of elevation.

A few weeks ago it all seemed well planned out; a final recce of a section of the 13 Valleys route, the 34-mile Gritstone Grind race as a decent length practice, and then 4 weeks of gradually tapering and lots of rest. But it all got a bit muddled, and I have no idea how to taper. Life is busy. The recce gave way to family stuff, so was delayed until after the Gritstone, eating in to the 4-week taper. I didn't follow the plan with the Gritstone, and raced it (as much as I could in the fierce heat) rather than trotting round. A week later we were up in the lakes, and did an overnight practice from Ambleside up to near Keswick. I had run three marathon or above distances in 2 weeks, and felt ruined. It was definitely time to taper.

For me, tapering is just a void. The committed routine of daily running disappears, and all sense of control and focus goes with it. I've mostly filled the void with eating, and not running daily has just made me more acutely aware of what a sedentary job I have. I should have been following a plan, but instead have capitalised on the extra available time by catching up on DIY. My mind has drifted away from running, but there is a background worry that I'm about to take on the most monumental challenge of my life and I'm not doing anything to prepare. If there is one thing that would put me in the best position for the race, it is good sleep, yet that has eluded me for yet another week. The nerves are building, but I'm also excited.

Let's return with some perspective. Until I started these weeks of tapering, I'd been knocking out daily miles with great consistency for months; I'd been getting plenty of hills in, and fairly regularly throwing in a big run without breaking out of the daily routine. Every big run this year has been a success - the first 24-hour practice run (75 miles), the first century on the Scotland 100, and a best position on Gritstone Grind. My recently purchased Garmin watch has crunched the numbers, and determined that my endurance and hill climbing abilities are at a very good level. I'm as ready as I could hope to be, but there is always a mental battle, which I am now quite familiar with, where you just can't quite accept the facts. I don't feel ready.