Well, its the last week before the World Championships in Las Vegas, and I took the weekend away from the searing heat of Scottsdale to take in some of the lovely scenery and slightly cooler conditions in Sedona. Its one of my favourite places in the world, but I have yet to the make the most of it. Last time I visited straight from the finish of my first marathon in Phoenix, and was reduced to hobbling around so I saw the delights from a Pink Jeep tour. This time I was hoping to actually hike one of the trails. But yet again, it was not to be....
I drove up on Saturday morning after yet another baking hot run, this time with hills at race pace, so that was yet another milestone ticked off. I can't say it was pretty by any stretch, but it was important mentally, and it meant I had earned my trip away to cooler climes.
When we arrived and took a drive to look at my bike route for the next day, it became clear that the sunny blue skies I had come to expect were not on the plan for this weekend. It started raiming really hard, so we did the most sensible thing possible, and stopped for a bit of wine tasting....
Bizarrely, it then started to hail. So a few local Grenache/petite syrah blends and a lovely goat/sheep/cow's milk cheese later, we set off to Sedona again, with a few stops on the way to admire the clouds. What??? you may well ask. Coming from an island where clouds are the norm, I couldn't really understand this, but my host Ben, who is a photographer, was pleased that the red rocks had clouds in the background. I can't quite see it myself. You decide...
Anyway, the things I love about Sedona are: the laid back atmosphere, the gift shops, the slightly crazy people into all their new age stuff and of course sampling the local delicacies, like deep fried cactus, rattlesnake meatballs, and of course the ubiquitous Prickly Pear Mojito. Just the one of course. I also had some of the best bison steak I have ever tasted.
But it wasn't all touristing. I headed out for a ride climbing 2000ft to Sedona from Camp Verde, and then running off that on one of the hilliest roads I've ever had the displeasure to toil up and down. But of course the views were spectacular, and I put some extra effort in when I realised that people were shooting just off to the side of the road. I only hoped they hadn't been drinking as well!
And on the last 1.5 miles downhill, where the radar gun clocked my speed at 9 miles an hour, I managed to sprain my left ankle. So the rest of the viewing of rocks in Sedona has been done while resting and icing it. I could react by being panic-stricken this close to a race, but I know I've done all the hard work and my body feels absolutely like its coming into race condition exactly as planned, and I have sprained this ankle many times before, so I am calm. I am of course taking daily guidance from coach Tom Bennett as always, and I was already scheduled to have 2 days off running, so I think it will make very little difference to my buildup - if anything possibly forcing me to spend time resting will be a good thing.
Compared with all the other things that can go wrong before a race, this seems to be a small hitch, and I have a strong belief that it will heal in time, given the right regime.
It also means I have no excuses not to watch Andy Murray's journey in the US Open. He looks like a different player since he won Olympic gold. I wish I was watching Paralympics of course, but sadly there is no network coverage here in the US. A real shame.
Back to Scottsdale and 38 degrees again. Cactuses abound....but no trail running for me ;-(
I drove up on Saturday morning after yet another baking hot run, this time with hills at race pace, so that was yet another milestone ticked off. I can't say it was pretty by any stretch, but it was important mentally, and it meant I had earned my trip away to cooler climes.
When we arrived and took a drive to look at my bike route for the next day, it became clear that the sunny blue skies I had come to expect were not on the plan for this weekend. It started raiming really hard, so we did the most sensible thing possible, and stopped for a bit of wine tasting....
Bizarrely, it then started to hail. So a few local Grenache/petite syrah blends and a lovely goat/sheep/cow's milk cheese later, we set off to Sedona again, with a few stops on the way to admire the clouds. What??? you may well ask. Coming from an island where clouds are the norm, I couldn't really understand this, but my host Ben, who is a photographer, was pleased that the red rocks had clouds in the background. I can't quite see it myself. You decide...
But it wasn't all touristing. I headed out for a ride climbing 2000ft to Sedona from Camp Verde, and then running off that on one of the hilliest roads I've ever had the displeasure to toil up and down. But of course the views were spectacular, and I put some extra effort in when I realised that people were shooting just off to the side of the road. I only hoped they hadn't been drinking as well!
Compared with all the other things that can go wrong before a race, this seems to be a small hitch, and I have a strong belief that it will heal in time, given the right regime.
It also means I have no excuses not to watch Andy Murray's journey in the US Open. He looks like a different player since he won Olympic gold. I wish I was watching Paralympics of course, but sadly there is no network coverage here in the US. A real shame.
Back to Scottsdale and 38 degrees again. Cactuses abound....but no trail running for me ;-(
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