Mountain Fever

After last year's Lakeland100 I was quite prepared to take a lengthy break from running to recover from the injury I'd sustained and to let body and mind recover from the experience.

What I wasn't prepared for was that, after a short return to training and racing, a slight niggle which I ignored as persistently as any previous niggle, should turn into a 'proper' injury.

At the beginning of March a pain in my heel was causing enough discomfort and referred tightness in other parts of my body that I DNF'd at a race and booked in at my physio.

Yet again I was prepared for a break from running, but had Roxy, my physio, told me then that I might miss the whole season I might have proven a less co-operative patient!

I've been working hard, not only on my exercises, the icing and stretching, but also on trying to keep this lay-off in perspective. I've met and heard of many a person who's suffered much greater hardship in their life than a temporary break from running.

It was when I watched the 2011 Lakeland100 runners set off that I suddenly realised just how much I wanted to be back out there on the local hills.

Twice weekly altitude training (also known as hypoxic training) sessions at the physio had kept me reasonably calm and focussed on recovery until then, but seeing hundreds of runners setting off on the adventure of a live time resulted in a bit of an emotional melt down. Following the race on the internet, spending hours at the checkpoint in Ambleside and watching a friend battling through at midnight only fuelled my cravings for such adventure.

Unfortunately I can still not report a return to training, but after another spell of intensive treatment I am at last noticing some improvement and I am starting to dream of future outings on the trails.

Tomorrow I will be travelling to Chamonix, courtesy of The North Face, to follow and report on this year's The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc® - UTMB for short. The enforced rest seems to have made me more emotional and just watching the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc® 2010 - Epic Moments on the The North Face® Journal brings tears to my eyes. So being on the start line and following last year's winner Jez Bragg throughout the event with The North Face team will be the highlight of my summer season, my taste of mountain adventure!

Keep checking back on Run247 to find out how Jez and the many other contenders fare on the epic trails around Mont Blanc.

There is a preview of the 2011 UTMB here

Click here to find out about the benefits of hypoxic training

Click here to check The North Face® Journal