For those of you who are new, this is the 40/40 thread, for people who are over 40 years old who run 40 miles/week or more. We give Free Passes to those who come really close or try really hard...

Here’s what I have for last week’s tally.

Here is my tentative plan.

Thanks Holly!!!

Thank you, Holly! I feel great, in fact I completely forgot about Lyme for now and attempted another difficult ultra. Well, it was another DNF, but with a completely different set of excuses.

Mon 3.3 mi (0:49) jog/hike

Tue 4.2 mi (0:57) jog/hike

Wed 2.9mi (1:41) family hike, no running

Thu 0

Fri/Sat 44 mi in 17 hrs, CCC DNF

Sun 0

Total: 54.3 miles

Very few miles of actual running this week. Most of it was just hiking, with walking sticks. Attempted to run the 100km CCC race (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix), which is an easier/shorter version of UTMB. Failed miserably and bailed out after around 45 miles. Physically I felt great. I was just not prepared for steep downhill mountain trails, especially in the rain and darkness (it was very cold too, but that was not an issue). The most challenging part for me was dealing with mud, which was incredibly slippery and the already very technical trail (narrow mountain path, covered with roots and stones) was just impossible because of that. Last 10 miles took me more than 5 hours. I fell only one time, but I had many more close calls. Which is not fun when you are walking on a narrow path between a vertical wall up on your left and a vertical wall down on your right. Walking sticks saved me on countless occasions, but I idiotically ran in old road shoes, which were incredibly slippery.