Round walk (3rd attempt)

Today was my third attempt at the Round Walk route and my third saturday run over 20km in a row. I feel if I want to achieve an ultramarathon distance reliably I have to make my long runs more regular and with a more gradual increase in difficulty. Last spring I went form 20km to 30km to 40km in rapid succession and that didn't work out well. Likewise in September I achieved an over 30km distance but it was very hard going and I can still feel the consequences now. My plan is to do at least 4 weeks for each stage before going up; even if, as this month I approach the next block.

The Christmas tree in Porter Valley

The Round Walk today was much harder than last week's Blacka Moor run. I thought that it might be due to a greater elevation component but on Strava there is basically no difference in total height gain. It might be that the ascent occurs throughout the run whilst moor runs tend to be up outbound and down on the return. This could show that I'm struggling with lactate buildup; do we believe it this theory?

Overall though I'm happy with the pace as it seems to be my fastest attempt:

• April 2013; gaining lots of speed and strength, 2:25
• September 2013; not as strong as I thought I was, 2:34
• December 2013; improving again, 2:22