Darren
Preparing your thighs for the steep ascents of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is paramount. With this in mind I swapped the running for a mountain bike this week and hit the South Downs Way. It was fantastic - miles of trails and hills, with a stunning view down to the coast. I covered over 80km in all and my legs had a good taste of what's required for hill fitness.

It's back to the trail running this week, although I've got more hill work planned. I'll be resting on Saturday, though - to celebrate the twins' birthday!

Steve
I thought it was time to get back into a bit of light racing this week, so I entered a seven-mile run in my local park. When we were out in the desert we were all fantasising about a nice little 5K fun run or a quick sprint triathlon - to be honest, anything that would last less than 24 hours and be cooler than 44°C.

The first half of the run felt fine, and I was just jogging along at the front. After a four-week break from serious training, getting a bit of adrenaline back in my system felt great. Then my ego took hold and told me, 'You should probably have a crack at winning this.'

Unfortunately my body disagreed. Just maintaining my pace suddenly became difficult. A couple of miles later I found myself wishing that the race would somehow transform itself into a 52-miler, just so I could let myself slow down a bit. In the end I gritted my teeth and got on with it - a good sign that I'm ready to start training for the pain of Mont Blanc.

Nick
This weekend I headed north for some serious hill training. On Saturday I did a bike race up the Bealach Beag in the west of Scotland, the highest mountain pass in Britain - a 625-metre climb with gradients nearing 20 per cent. The temperture was just above 0°C and the sleet was torrential, so the conditions were pretty much perfect for the climb!

Then on Sunday I ran up Beinn Alligin with my mate Henry, who's one of the best mountain runners in Scotland. Running after him was like trying to catch a mountain goat, and the conditions varied wildly - we were running through snow at the top and peat bogs at the bottom. Then in the afternoon (for a warm-down!) we cycled out to a remote beach and went body-surfing in the sea. It was the maddest weekend of training I've done for ages. I can't walk now - so that means it was good.

On Monday I turned 30, and celebrated by going swimming in Loch Torridon with my mates at 7.30am. Brrrr.

Thanks to Berghaus for supporting Team Men's Fitness.