Easy does it

This is a clear tapering rest week. Yesterday I ran to circuits in a fair time and today went around the runs at a pretty average pace. Today I'd really hoped to go for a swim but it didn't work out around appointments.

The main thing about today's run was that I added the very thin footbeds from my Ultra 290 shoes into the size 9.5 RocLite 315s. I was hoping that the slight extra height would prevent pressure around the right lateral malleolus. It might have worked a little but at the cost of reduced height in the toe box, so not a clear improvement. I've now got myself in the 'too many choices' footwear wise for the Intro Ultra. I'm also full of aches and sore spots, not just the usual left knee and right ankle. I really wish that I knew what's going in with the ankle! Looking back through the blog the ankle/peroneus has been an issue for best part of 4 months now. That's not good especially as, if anything, it's become worse over the last few weeks.

Hopefully these are just pre-event niggles. I must try to be positive.

Final route check

At 07:55 I rushed out of the house to run to Dore Station for the 08:21 stopping train and made it with a minute to spare. Luckily I was able to buy a ticket onboard. After only 15 minutes I alighted at Bamford and set off to test the final third of the Intro UTPD route. I've been on sections of it previously and know some of it very well and I wanted to do it as a contiguous stretch.

Looking back at Hope Valley from below Winyards Nick

Quite deliberately I went for a slow pace even on the level and did my best to power walk the ascents. I found the route hard work although in part this might have been due to a late night and some drinks after work. On checking my timing I was very close to my 7 hour target pace which isn't great since on the event I'll have done over 30km before starting this section! Hopefully the drive of an event will help keep me going.

I wore my size 9.5 RocLite 315 shoes which aren't especially high at the ankle but still found that they were rubbing after 12km or so. This isn't a good sign. The lateral malleolus/peroneus longus tendon area isn't especially tender to touch so I'm finding the whole thing little mysterious. I don't know if this is going to be a limiting factor or not. Hopefully over the next 2 weeks I can rest the area and determine which shoes I'm going to use for the event.

Win Hill recce again

During the week the routes for the UTDP were emailed to us and I found that this year's track used a different set of lanes to descend from Win Hill to Hope. Today I practiced the ascent and intended to do the updated descent. Unfortunately I misread the map for a path just beside the caravan site north of Hope and so did a little detour. The key thing is that I now know that and shouldn't be confused on the event.

I ran in some just-purchased Roclite 315 in size 9.5 to see if they didn't rub around the right lateral malleolus. I think they are an improvement although I did detect an irritation every so often.