New beginnings.....

2009 saw me finally pluck up the courage to have a go at the BG. I'd been thinking about it for a couple of years but, despite having walked on the fells since I was a wee small lad, I didn't have the confidence to consider myself a serious contender.

June 2009 changed all that.

Despite not completing (I baled out after 4 legs, at Threlkeld), I gained so much from that day. I then knew I could do it. It isn't beyond me at all. I learned some very harsh lessons, mostly about nutrition and about the need to stay mentally strong at all times.

The truth is I COULD have done it that day. I talked myself out of it at Dunmail. It certainly would have been close and it wouldn't have been pleasant, having felt sick most of the day. But I could have done it. Put me back at Dunmail again now with just over 9 hours to go, and I'll do it. The BG, I know so completely now, is as much in the mind as in the body.

I did some things right as well. The training was nearly spot on (a few tweaks this time, but nothing radical). The old "10,000ft a week" rule certainly works. And regular sports massage in the weeks leading up to the attempt also worked.

I have a couple of leftover niggles from the summer. Most noticeably, a lumpy achilles which still troubles me at times, but seems better when I am training harder.

I actually set off on another attempt in mid-July, knowing I had the achilles problem and I had a whole heap of personal change going on. Mind you, as soon as we headed out from Keswick, all that seemed to melt away and the 1st leg passed by so easily and 15+ minutes up on the previous attempt. I thought it was going to be my day.

But coming up Great Gable, I felt the first cramps in my calf and the tightening of the achilles. By the time we were heading over Kirk Fell, the achilles felt like it was going to snap at any moment. I decided to call it a day before I did more damage. I shouldn't have started, I knew things weren't right. But this BG does funny things to you, and I tried to put it all aside for the day.

So 2010 is THE year. I will complete the BG this year. The summer has been more relaxed, easing off the mileage. More unsettling personal upheaval, but the test is whether you can bounce back from knocks and lows in your life. I will.

The calendar is out, the training programme being constructed....and I CAN'T WAIT!!!