making preparations

Spent much of today getting things organised for the trip to Poland at the end of the week.  We fly out on Thursday afternoon, race on Saturday and Sunday before flying home on Monday afternoon.  I'll be leaving home at 9.30am on Thursday and arrive back at about 7.30pm on Monday.

As well as getting all the kit, food and gear ready to pack tomorrow I also made a 1kg batch of flapjack.  I think homemade flapjack is ideal for ultras ... oats, golden syrup, sugar and whatever else you care to add.  I've added extra vitamins and minerals to this batch ... iron, selenium, zinc and vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B9 (folic acid), B12, C, D

It doesn't taste too bad, it's definitely better than you would expect.

flapjack and racing

That flapjack ... well, it wasn't unpleasant and it was very slightly salty.  No problems at all on a 24.5 mile run (39.5 km) through Airedale and Wharfedale.  In fact I don't envisage any problems for a long ultra too and it seems to me to be a convenient way of taking on board the necessary electrolytes.

I found the basic recipe on the BBC website to which I suppose you could add almost anything you would want.

Anyway that trial happened on Tuesday morning and later that same day I took part in race two of the Harrogate District Summer Race League -  a fantastic series of six races between early May and late July.  This race was in Thirsk over a course described as 'a little under 10k'.  Last year I ran that in 37:28 but wasn't expecting to get too close to that time this year because of the morning's long run.

So my 37:01 came as a complete shock.  I started conservatively and seemed to get progressively faster with each passing mile.  Although in reality I guess that everyone else was slowing down at a far greater rate than me.  Still, I've got to be happy with Tuesday's training:  over 24 miles in the morning, 9.5 km (?) in 37 mins in the evening.

This morning I went for a run in the rain again and felt myself perversely enjoying it.  Perhaps I'm getting used to it ... or perhaps it's a different type of rain.