Training

It’s been a month and a half since my last blog, and life has certainly kept us busy. In that time my husband officially retired, and we celebrated by spending a blissful month in Lanzarote. Now we’ve back to reality with a bang – or rather, a paintbrush. While I’m staying at my mums to dodge the dust, Chris is currently up a ladder tackling the ceilings. It’s a race against the clock, as our new kitchen gets fitted next week.

Lanzarote was more than just a break for the sunshine and relaxation; it was a total reset for my body. My remaining hip flexor niggles finally settled down completely while we were there. I’m not sure if it was the climate, the daily walking or simply the culmination of all my hard work in the gym, but I definitely felt better. I’ve finally been able to start ramping up my training and increasing my running miles again.

We spent a lot of time exploring some of the island on foot, tackling the dusty, stony trails that wind up and down the local volcanoes. Since the weather was mild, we could head out for long morning runs without the usual heat and humidity. Naturally, we also joined the local gym. What started out as a necessity for injury prevention and strength has become a true passion of mine – I’ve genuinely come to love the feeling of getting stronger.

Since returning home, I’ve been staying at my mums and keeping the momentum going with my runs and my gym sessions. I hit a milestone this morning with a 17km run and felt great, so the plan is to keep adding distance to my weekly long runs. Chris and I are training toward a big adventure in September: a multi-week run covering 30-35km a day while carrying our own gear and tents. While our running fitness is getting where it needs to be – with Chris a bit ahead of me – it’s been a while since we’ve hiked with heavy backpacks. That’s our next hurdle but it feels doable.

I’m hoping to reveal the details of our September adventure in my next blog post; for now, I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that everything stays on track. But the challenges don’t stop there. I’ve also signed up to the Winter Spine Race in January 2027. Don’t let the ‘short’ 46-mile distance fool you – it’s a brutal undertaking. This takes place on the Pennine Way – starting in Edale and finishing in Hebden Bridge. Between the rugged terrain, extensive mandatory kit list to carry and the Artic-like conditions, it’s a difficult day out. Recent races have seen everything from deep snow drifts, sheet ice, gale-force winds and -10 degrees at night. Plus with a lunchtime start in the dead of winter, I’ll be navigating most of it in the dark.

The Spine Race has been an obsession of mine for a few years now. My ultimate goal is the full Winter Spine – a 268 mile journey along the Pennine Way that is widely regarded as one of the most brutal races in Britain. While I was originally signed up to the full Summer Spine race, the injures I’ve faced over the last six months were a wake-up call. I’ve realised I need to climb my ‘Spine Ladder’ more intentionally. By starting with the 46-mile sprint and building through to the 100 mile race and then on to the full length distance over a few years, I can give myself the best chance of being able to complete it.

A little pic from Lanzarote to brighten the page

*I didn’t take pictures this week so included this lovely one from a hike a few weeks ago.* It’s taken on top of Kinder Scout.

Wow I’ve not written in ages. In fact my last post was about the Ironman that became a long distance duathlon due to some lovely little algae in the swimming lake.

This year I’ve signed up to a big race in August called RAS (Race across Scotland). It’s 215 miles ish with plenty of elevation and you have just 100 hours to complete it. It’s what they call a non-stop race. You can sleep but ideally only for an hour or two here or there. It would be difficult to make the cut-offs if you slept a full night.

I’ve done multi-day running before but I’ve never run further than 60km in one day and I’ve never run at night. I’ve also never run with a support crew. So a lot about this will be new for me.

I will need to cover at least 85km a day (circa). Ideally I’d prefer to cover 100km per 24 hours but we will see (it’s all new to me so it’s impossible to know what I’ll be capable of). I should mention there is at least 50% failure rate on this race. So it’s tough!

My support crew will be my lovely husband, who will be driving a camper van and stopping at various points to help me out. He will carry change of clothes, food, water etc. There are also 12 check/food points but having someone to stop either at the check points or in between is invaluable. I may prefer to nap for 30 minutes in the van, rather than at a check point.

Apart from this big goal there are a number of other races this year that I’ve entered (some with Chris together).

In May we will run the Maverick Merlin race. Chris is taking on the 28km and I’ll be doing the 55km. As he is already faster than me, he will be hanging around at the end for some time! Hopefully there is a nice pub nearby! 😉

One month later we will be doing a 100km hike together in the Peak District, starting and finishing in Bakewell. This will be my first chance to hike through the night. This will be great practice for RAS but is no small task! It will be the longest distance either of us has ever covered on foot.

One month after RAS we are going to hike the Bullock Smithy race with our friend Emma. This is about 58 miles and is also a non stop race. It’s very hilly and I’m told particularly hard.

In between all of the planned official events we intend to walk the Limestone Way (probably in May). This is just 46 miles long and we will walk it over 3 days (most likely) and camp. It’s great practice for all the other things but really a holiday and chance to enjoy the outdoors with nice pub stops on the way.

Training

This year I decided not to hire a coach. I’ve actually recently quit my job so paying out for a coach isn’t really an option anyway. I’ve learnt a lot over the years though and have developed my own training plan., which largely reflects the kind of thing I used to be given.

Since the beginning of February I’ve been building running and hiking mileage based on a 4 week plan where you build for 3 weeks, then have 1 easier week (recover week). This allows the body to absorb the training and recover ready for the next build month.

I’m doing only 4 runs a week (which is typically less than most multi day training plans) but we are also doing a long hike each week so it seems enough to me when added together. One run is short and hard (either with intervals or hill repeats). Another one is short/medium and very easy/slow. A third is medium length and easy and the last is long/getting ever longer and will include some faster intervals in places.

In addition to the running/hiking I’m doing 3 gym/strength sessions and 2 further yoga classes a week. It’s a lot, but my body seems to be handling it reasonably well so far (although I do nap a lot on the weekend 😆).

So thats it for now. I’ll update in a while on progress.

Lorna Runs

Training and planning for the next adventures

Ultra training underway