Recovery Time & The Devil O’ The Highlands
The legs are already back to normal after an excellent spin bike session last night. This seems to have eradicated the last of the tightness that I had been feeling since finishing the 40 mile Clyde Stride Ultramarathon. Considering that the 43 mile Devil O’ The Highlands is now just 10 days away, it’s probably just as well!
It will be somewhat strange to return to Tyndrum and the start of the Devil O’ The Highlands given that my last time in Tyndrum was en route, by foot, to Fort William and the finish of the 95 mile West Highland Way Race. I was only just starting to get myself back in the game by Tyndrum following my projectile vomit session at Auchentyre Farm. While I am hopeful that the Devil will be considerably less traumatic, I do have some concerns about the terrain, and, especially that of the later stages of the race. It is all too fresh in the mind, etched there by the memory of the pain I endured as I ground out a finish at the WHW Race.
Whilst, after the disappointment of my first non PB of 2012, I am revising my expectations for the Devil, it would be great to finish with another PB. However, I am all too aware after this past weekend that the body has taken a considerable battering over these past few months and it is finally starting to rebel. As much as it pains me to say it, I will have to consider cutting back the runs in 2013 and, almost certainly, will need to consider the space between runs. This is especially true of the WHW Race, should I sign up for 2013.
One positive is that a finish at the Devil O’ The Highlands will see me complete the ‘Triple Crown’ of Fling, WHW Race & Devil, something I would never have even dreamed possible only a few short years ago.
I can then turn my attention to the Speyside Way Ultramarathon, the climax of my own ultramarathon series in 2012. It’s hard to credit that it seemed such a short time ago I was sitting here considering the D33, the 1st race of the series. As they say, how time flies when you are having fun!
Once the ultras are done and dusted it will be time for me to turn my attentions to weight loss and to speed work, with the aim of improving on this years PBs. Soon enough, it will be time to get the entry in for WHW Race 2013 and I reckon I owe it to myself to lose approx. 2 stone before even considering an application!
All the very best to everyone running the Devil. See you on the start line.
