Wednesday 24 March 2010

The biggest test of 2010 is almost here.

I've had a quiet couple of weeks since running 7 marathons in 7 days. As a result, I've been able to catch up on some Run Geordie Run admin and planning, spending a lot more time in the office and doing general family stuff. It's been a case of of ticking over for the last few weeks but that is soon about to end!

The next couple of weeks will see me embark on the biggest test in training in 2010 yet and arguably of the whole USA 2011 campaign. On Saturday, I'm going to run 32 miles from Carter Bar right on the England/Scotland border to the A68/Military Road junction just north of Corbridge. I'll be carrying my own supplies of water and food so the aim is to complete the run in around about 8 hours.

The last time I ran this route was on day 14 of my John O'Groats to Lands End run back in 2007. I had shin splints at the time and I went to Shotley Bridge hospital afterwards for some strong pain killers! Happy days!

Of course, 32 miles is the distance I'll be running on a daily basis in the USA. It's a distance I hope to get used to over the coming months! Regular readers will remember that I did a couple of 37 mile runs at the back end of 2009. This 32 mile route is lot more hillier than the 37 mile route I ran. It should be quite a test!

The scheduled start time is 9am. If you're travelling around that area then why not say hello. Even better! Why not drop off some supplies or even run a few miles with me! The route is shown below.



There will be little time for recovery after this 32 mile run and on Sunday morning I'll be doing the 10.5 mile Peter's Pies 6 Tyne Bridges Challenge again. I can feel my legs aching at the thought even now! 

I'll be having a rest day on Monday and on Tuesday I hope to make my face known at my local running club; Blackhill Bounders. After that I'll be ticking over with a couple of 6 mile runs. Following another rest day, I'll be starting 7 days of running 16 miles per day. 

So I'm sure you'll agree that the biggest tests of 2010 are only days away. As ever, I'll keep everyone up to date via Twitter, Facebook and my blog. Any messages of support would be greatly appreciated between the hours of 9 and 5 on Saturday in particular! I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in to the hills in Northumberland!