Because it's there...

So, here we are in Lanzarote for warm weather training. Somehow we have got ourselves upgraded to a posher room and Free Stuff on tap - free food, free limitless drink and free extras like posh restaurants... Nope, no idea how that happened, but very nice it is too...

It is, however, playing havoc with the training regime. I've gone from the first day (late Sunday) to 'no, one glass is fine and I won't have dessert' to 'is there anything left in that bottle and I can't choose between the trifle and the tiramisu so I'll just have both' in 3 days. Heaven only knows what I'll be like by Sunday. The only teensy speck of hope is that the (free) wine in the restaurant really is like paint-stripper and two glasses is absolutely limits. Well, so far... who knows, with a bit of training?

And the seriously good news is that there is A Hill opposite the hotel.

If I could do funky graphics like Fit Mark and his '10.6k!!!' from last weekend there would be an arrow off to the left saying 'hotel' and an arrow off to the right saying 'track'. This is apparently Mt. Roja which I know, from my rudimentary grasp of Spanish to be pronounced 'Roger' and it's bang opposite the hotel. It's a volcano. Or what's left of one now that it's stopped erupting. [Note to self: check that it has stopped erupting before setting off]. The local map says it's 167. 167 whats I'm not entirely sure, but we'll go for metres... Hah, bigger than The Tardis then... And my plan is to run up it.

We've done a scout around to find the best route up (er, there's only one) and I'll either attempt it early in the morning or later in the day. Thursday or Friday. Really definite on the arrangements, then... Guy will stay in the hotel and take a piccy when I arrive at the top. The ground is volcanic (get away - that'll be because it used to be a volcano) and really loose, so stones in trainers could be a hazard, as could slipping and sliding all 167 metres back down again.

Slightly worryingly there is a wooden cross half way up the steepest ascent. Corpses of would be runners? Ex-tourists?

So, watch this space for news of the climb. On Thursday. Or Friday.

Depending on the consumption of paint stripper....