Making Mountains Out Of Mole Hills

With just a few weeks to go until the 112km TDS run around Mont Blanc I need to put the finishing touches to my training. Over the last few weeks I've been heading out to Magog Down just south of Cambridge and running around a very small hilly circuit. Someone had suggested to me some time ago that running whilst towing a tyre was a good way to train for a hilly race when you don't have access to hilly terrain. So this is what I've been doing.

On Saturday morning I first went to Cambridge parkrun to act as a volunteer marshal. I probably get as much enjoyment out of being a marshal at parkrun as I do running it. I also feel as if I'm doing my bit for the running community. After all, almost all the runs I do rely on volunteers and without them there would be no races to attend, so it's good to put something back.

Immediately after parkrun I headed over to Magog Down. Ruth came with me so that she could get out for some fresh air and to take some photos of the nutter with a tyre. I usually start with a 2km warm-up run, which takes about 10 minutes. After that I attach myself to the tyre using a dog harness and clipping it onto a ring that I attached to the tyre. Then I start my slow runs around what is roughly an 800m loop that goes up and over a hill close to the car park. I'm not so interested in the distance, my aim is to keep on going for roughly one hour in total. As each lap passes by it gets harder and harder to run up the hill. By the third and fourth lap I run up for a bit, then walk a bit, and so on. By lap seven it is pretty much a case of walking most of the way up. The tyre towing is a very good way to make a small hill feel like a big hill. The effort does feel like plodding up a steep mountainside, so I'm hoping it is strengthening up my legs and helping to prepare me for all the climbs in TDS. As the hour mark approaches I unclip myself and run a lap without the tyre, which feels so easy by comparison. 

Tyre towing to make a small hill feel like a big hill.

On Sunday I met up with a group of running friends at 8am at Magog Down once again (Jamshid, Paul, Mike, John, Lynne & Hattie) and we headed off for a 12 mile run along the Roman Road. It was great to be out with other people for a sociable Sunday run. I haven't had this opportunity for what seems like months. When we got back to the car park I once again hooked myself up to my tyre to run a few more hilly laps with slightly tired legs. This time the second lap seemed like a killer, so I called it a day at that point.

Next weekend my aim is to do two back-to-back long runs. Then it will be taper time.