Lenham Cross Trail Marathon

I've upped my training. The Plantar fasciitis is still there in the background......I'm never sure it will go away, like an unwelcome drunk relative.....showing up when you least need it and you've bought your girlfriend round for the first time to meet the parents. Over the last 8 months my mileage has never been so low. My recovery has never been so long. Mentally it has crippled me and this has impacted on my belief, my work, my energy and undoubtedly my mental health. I hate it. I hate the injury. I hate it and I want it to go. I have tried everything and now having dropped all speed training...the aggrevator.....it seems to subside into the ethereal mist of my mind.

With a slightly sketchy drive with the M20 closed and almost missing the start, I squeezed on to the back of the start line......oh bollocks it was the front! It was a great opportunity to catch up with podium pal Johnny Melbourne. He was "taking it easy" as he had a 50 miler in Utah next week. Nevertheless he was looking as good as ever and ready to take on Tremayne 'Dill' Cowdry's inaugrual event. Now Dill is a veteran 100 miler and a fast one at that. He organised the race with all proceeds going to Mark 'Thorners' Thornberry's Liver cancer charity. Awesome.

Superb weather and a bloody  hilly and horribly beautiful 4500ft of climb on this 27 mile race. We were promised that it wasnt a PB course. We were right. Great to see Allan Rhumbles manning a few checkpoints. He is a running legend. I'd love it one day if he would be a belligerent pacer for me on the Grand Union 145 or similar. Gent and legend.

Anyway, this was a warm T-shirted February day, such is our global warming climate. Oh bloody hell this was hilly. It was great though. I ran with a few new faces...all super people...too many to mention although I really really enjoyed running with Richard Woolley. The out was hard.....but the back was not bad. I ran conservatively in the first 13/14 miles as I wanted to nurse the bitch in my foot. No dramas so I let the muscles do the work and I banged out the last 10 miles much harder. No issues! OMG!!! Am I better? Well I needed to think longer term but mile 23-27 I let loose and banged out some 7 min miles. It felt great. It felt like the old days. Marathon 99!!!!!!!!!!!!