NYE! and silly goals

I've finally reached my mile goal this year of 3500. I ended up doing 3514 :) Had to do 34 today which is kind of last minute and makes me laugh but it was kind of worth it for my silly goal. I ran to Alsager and back, which is a run I till now used to do to visit my great aunt who sadly is spending the last of her day's in hospital at the moment. At 92 year's of age she definitely had a good life. I think I'll still run this route if not just to remember her.

Some plans for next year, in no order.
3120 miles! (ha)
UTMB (if I get in)
London silly road running marathon, just to say I did it..
Fellsman (shortly after silly over populated road jogging)
Anglezarke amble
Bob Graham round+ lot's of training on the fell's before hand!
Dovedale dipper
Round Rotherham
No run further, too much else to do!
Marlborough Downs challenge for my birthday :)
Cader Idris
Summer series
Spring Treble
And anything else along the way that I might have forgot..

Happy new year!

Bat's day out at the Christmas Cracker

My impression of a bat (although it just looks like I'm wearing a bin bag), closely followed by Elvis at the Christmas Cracker. 

Collectively we kind of look like bat's:

I hopped around with Mark and ran back before we crossed the finish line so the whole club finished together :) Great fun, bloody cold but good. 

As much as I love the snow it seems to be slowing down my miles, that and falling off my bike is getting old very quick. 

Well I did it, I've put in for the UTMB ballot.

And now I wait...

Has it been drawn yet!!??

Leek xc and Xmas miles

Saturday was the North Staffordshire Cross Country League last race: Westwood High in Leek. Featuring THE KILLER HILL!! This year the killer hill was moved slightly to the right, making everyone's time's 2mins slower (at least that's my excuse). When I checked the results I released even the winners were quite allot faster last year. The header image for my blog is from last years race. And this year I looked somewhat worse:

If you look at the train of people behind me making the same face I don't feel quite as bad. Going up that hill 3 times in a row, at speed for a bit over five miles was tough. Yet at the end I still felt like I enjoyed it. It's probably the same feeling as tooth ache and then the relief after the tooth is finally pulled. I don't think I'm built for speed, it did make me laugh though how many quick road runners I took on the hill :) All those fell's and ultra's are starting to pay off even if most of them caught me on the flats. Luckily we finished at the top of killer hill.

Next: I need to start/find time for reccying a section of the BGR. I decided which part. I can't remember the exact's now although I know a guy who has done it and assisted on quite a few. He's given me some sound advise. So I just need to start driving up and plodding away. And next Sunday I'm planning on running the Xmas Cracker dressed as a bat :) Providing I'm not too hungover to run after the club's xmas do.