It's been a week since Rocky Raccoon and I've had a so many positive messages from runners that it's blown me away. Without being too gushy, I've been further impressed by how ultrarunning is such a friendly and supportive sport, without a lot of the attitude many sports have.
I'm back to running again, although only a gentle jog today to check out the state of the legs. Surprisingly it felt ok, but I'll be taking it very easy for another week to make sure I get plenty of recovery.
I'll need it with so many big races ahead and 2011 looks like being a great year for the Brits in ultrarunning. At the very least, we should expect some huge results from Nick Clark (4th at Western States and winner of Wasatch 100 last year, plus more) and Jez Bragg (winning the 2010 UTMB restart even with some injury problems early in the year) on the men's side. And from Lizzie Hawker (has won most stuff) and Ellie Greenwood (ditto) on the women's side.
I've got plenty of races lined up as training runs, but the fields will be fast at Way Too Cool 50k and American River 50 mile so those are worth a crack at racing. They'll also be great for preparation for Comrades, which is the main target. And the whole time from now until Western States (only four weeks after Comrades) will be about getting in plenty of vertical to make sure the rest of the mountain-dwelling field don't make me eat too much of their dust. It'll be difficult to be fully recovered from Comrades, and I wasn't last year, but it's easier to recover from the up run than the down run and I've had an extra year of learning what works for me and how to train and taper.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the comments on the blog and the messages. Hopefully see everyone out on the trails soon.
You might what to think about putting your number on your back, as you move too fast in the woods to catch it. It will give people a chance, a little one at that, to see your bib.
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