The Start is Almost Here

Today:
Morning:
Distance: 20.0 km in 2 hrs 9 mins 48 secs @ 6' 29" per km
Weather: sunny, cool, temp 6-8 degrees, humidity 60%, wind calm to start then NW 15 kmph
Afternoon:
Distance:  7.0 km walk
Week:  48.6 km, August: 106.85 km
Year:  3090.5 km in 34 weeks at ave 90.9 km

This morning was my longest outing since the end of July. I haven't struggled with the recovery, more it's been the rest I needed after doing the 24 hour in April and the 48 hour in July.
There have been plenty of kms covered, mostly with heaps of hills & mountains.
August is definitely winter in the nation's capital, so a good time to take it easy.
The problem with the time off is the returning to previous fitness levels. Today with the increase in distance, double anything else in August, I needed to walk the hills. I would have once ran up them as if they weren't even there.
Let's not mention getting up a mountain. Mt Tennent looked frightening from a distance today. How could I do have done doubles just a few months ago.
I met Softshoe this morning for a short version of our Two Fruits loop. He had only 2 weeks ago finished Tan 100 km, and is just a month away from another 100 km at Centennial Park in Sydney.
We took it easy, chatted a lot as we hadn't really caught up with each other for a while.
Later this afternoon I walked around the monthly handicap course at Mt Taylor with the course organiser to put a few markers and check the course.
It is rocky in places with a good dirt fire trail to run/walk on. It should be interesting to see how I go. There are no great expectations at all, just don't finish last.
Serious training starts in Sept, only 10 months until the next real big challenge.