A busy week..

...Apologies for going missing.

When I first set out to do this blog I expected to be posting about twice a week, but that seems to have slipped recently. I got reprimanded via email today by my mate Dan (of first PW completion fame), and I promised I would post tonight.

It's been a busy time over the last 10 days or so, returning to work, and trying to undo all the bad stuff that went on at Center Parcs.

Well I am delighted to announce that this week alone I have got in 24 miles of training over two stints already, and that doesn't include the 8 or so I did last Wednesday, so all in all things are progressing well.

As mentioned last time, my normal Wednesday night session last week changed as Steve was away, so I arranged with the usual regulars rather than do drills, lets get out and pound some pavements. All in all we covered about 8 miles and it was nice to get out in the evening while it stayed light for a bit. Remember, the clocks 'spring' forward (see what I did there??) on 25th March, so once more I will be saying farewell to training sessions in the dark and will be able to get some good post work miles in whilst taking in the scenery of our beautiful Island. Who knows, I might actually remember to take my camera out with me and be able to post some photos. I've been threatening to do that since January.

Although there won't be much more dark night training, I'm hoping to finish this year before the sun comes up, but I'll wait and see what the day delivers before getting carried away.

So, back to training, I went to the NSC on Saturday to watch the Manx Harriers walks, and to [hopefully] give some encouragement to those guys taking part. A big well done to those who took part, in particular Michael George and Richard Gerrard who once again underlined just how good they really are, although they finished second and third respectively, I'd love to see the bloke who won try and mix it with them over 85 miles - well done fellas. I'm kind of glad that I didn't take part myself as it would only have meant delaying the start of masters 3k which would have had to wait til I finished dragging my bones round the track. I almost got persuaded to take part in the 3k as I had my PE kit in the car, but this was for the circuit training I was about to embark on at Onchan Community Centre.

Big respect to those who do this kind of exercise on a regular basis, I was absolutely worn out by the time I'd finished and could hardly move. Only snag with this was my right ankle and left achilles flared up again and I think I may have narrowed the cause down to the trainers I was wearing, so I think they are about to be confined to reserve reserve pair!

With the effects of circuit training still in my muscles, I did the Lezayre Church to Lonan leg of the Parish on Sunday morning in just over 3 hours 10 minutes which equates to an average of around 5.2mph. Bearing in mind the hills involved (Ballajora, Glen Mona, Dhoon, and Lonan) and the obvious muscle fatigue, I was pleased with the time, and it was another worthwhile workout.

Monday night saw us detract from the usual NSC laps as I wanted to try and make the most of the time, so we did a loop from Onchan down to Cronkbourne, back along Peel Road, Circular Road, cutting down on to the prom and back to Onchan. In total, just under 7 miles at a relatively sedentary pace, but still knocking on the door of 5mph average.

Next up is tomorrow's Laxey Prom session as Steve is back from his jollies, and then I may be able to get a few laps of the NSC in on Thursday as the kids have hockey and Caroline is keen to get out and do a few laps. Hopefully Sunday will be a biggie, I arranged with Richard Wild a few weeks back that we would walk from his in Bride to Peel which is around 20 miles. Only slight snag is he has pinged his hamstring which kept him out of the 20k on Saturday so we'll have to wait and see what gives.

Hopefully by now, those of you who are serious are well into your training regime, as the big day is only 15 weeks on Saturday. If you haven't then you need to start and soon. Not only do you need to get your body in to shape and used to incessant pounding, but you also need to start trying out what will work for you.

Everyone is different, and therefore different things work for different people. Things to consider are your kit, not just trainers, but socks are extremely important too. I use 1000 mile twin skin socks - I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but they really work for me. You also need to consider things like the best underwear. Believe me, walking in inappropriate undies for over 20 hours is going to leave a mark. The last thing you want to do is have to rush at the last minute, make a rash decision and hope that it will work, only to find out that by Rushen something is rubbing and you have an open flesh wound that means you are going to have to stop, and wait til next year wishing you'd spent a bit more time considering your options.

A couple of kit tips that work for me, and are worth trying:

I usually avoid traditional undies such as briefs and boxer shorts for walking, and wear a pair of lycra cycling shorts underneath my normal shorts. These provide good support, and keep chaffing to a minimum (don't forget the vaseline though).

Break in two pairs of trainers, and wear them alternately so that you have a spare for the day, unless you're like Jon Wild (blogger from last year) and I think he had about 16 pairs to choose from. A spare pair or pairs are really handy to keep in your backup vehicle in case it rains and your feet get wet. Also, if your feet become really painful, a change of shoes can apply pressure to a slightly different area of your foot and therefore relieve soreness (albeit temporarily).

I suppose I must caveat what I've just said and that what works for me may not work for everyone, but at least you have time to try things out now for yourselves and make up your own minds.

If anyone has any of their own tips that they'd like to share, feel free to send them in, and I will publish them all in due course, obviously giving people time to try them out.

Finally before I go, it's great to see the entry numbers up over 800 already. It never ceases to amaze me how many new entrants join in the fun each year. If it continues to attract numbers at the rate it has thus far, then not only will we be on to a record entry, we are likely to get the number of finishers over 200 for the first time.

Keep up the good work !