Ray's 60th Birthday Glee Run

Most of the gang during post run tea and cake

It was the legend's birthday....the infamous Ray McCurdy was turning 60 on 21st December, and Stan had quite rightly started the ball rolling on a Glee Club run with Ray in attendance to celebrate (and then there was a pub visit, but I wasn't able to make that).

So, a cold, wet, windy morning saw 21+ intrepid runners rock up to the Braeval carpark just outside Aberfoyle, in anticipation of a run which was billed to be anything between 15 and 20 miles, depending on who you were talking to.  After the usual amount of faffing about, introducing ourselves to people we previously only knew on Facebook (or people who knew me because of my lovely black/turquoise running tights), being aghast that Noanie and Lorna were still in shorts, and debating that 'most' people really only wanted to do 15 miles,  and that 'of course' Donald and Alan knew the route, we were off!

The speedy ones shot off up the hill at their usual chipper pace, while I quickly fell into a more sedate pace, somewhere near the back! After the first big climb, we regrouped and bumped into Stan and Ray, who had taken the sneaky wee 'short cut'...this gave me the opportunity to fall into pace with Ray and the start of what turned into a good long chat!  Whilst I knew he was 'the legend', I have to say until this run, I really wasn't quite aware of his achievements - 119 ultras completed, 17 marathons short of 200 and many other things I'm sure I should remember.  And he has a wee story about all of them, with dates, places, people.....jeez, I'm lucky if I can remember where I ran last week, never mind the last 30+ years of my life!!

Somewhere not many miles into the run, the split happened....the speedy ones (remember, they knew where they were going) disappeared, and there were about 6 of us at the tail end, until Jason headed off up the wrong track, didn't hear us shout....Lorna, Johnny Fling and Stan went to find him, and Ray and I kept a wee shuffle going...until the next junction where I couldn't remember where to go.  Then the heavens opened, Ray and I stood about for 5 mins, and then Stan appeared.....Jason was lost, Lorna and Johnny were hunting him down...and we 3 would carry on, unlikely to catch the big group...but at least Stan knew where we were going!

And so it would continue like that for most of the run.  The pattern emerged (because Stan knew..), that we should mostly run 10 meters behind Ray (not because he's a legend, but because that was the best way to keep him moving), so we had a good blether, climbed over several massive fallen trees, had a wee sing song (well, Ray and Stan did) on the way up Dukes Pass ("Oooo-weee Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" and "When I was younger so much younger than today" etc...you get the picture...Ray has quite an extensive back catalogue) and never saw the others again.  Naturally, we assumed they were way ahead of us, and would be there when we got back to the car park....even if they'd taken the 20 mile route....

Well, you know what they say about assuming.....

As we shuffled back down the final slope, dreaming of tea and cake which we thought would be there waiting for us....not a soul to be seen..... Hmmmm, are they hiding in the bushes/in the cars as a surprise (at this point Ray still wasn't aware of cakes or pub visits)....but no....

On checking phones, it became apparent that the remaining 19(ish) people had been lost...not just once....and ended up being a good 20 minutes or so behind us, and doing 21+ miles..... Oooops! (and a sigh of relief I wasn't with them...that might've killed me!)

Much hilarity and cake munching, and another great Glee run.  Cementing in my mind that running is a great leveler, and great fun.  It was also pretty humbling, when you think about how materialistic many of us are (me, I definitely hold my hands up at this), with our fancy kit, new shoes every few months, GPS watches, etc etc...and there's Ray, running along quite the thing with odd trainers on each foot, not a care for fancy kit, just gets on and does the job - and what a job he's done, with a race history like his, no wonder he's "the legend"

Ray, I salute you!

Another step closer to the goblet

The coveted finishers goblet

Good things have happened this week!  After an anxious month, and then several over-excitable days, the entry list for the lucky 265 individuals was drawn, and I was lucky enough to be offered a place in the 2014 West Highland Way Race!!  

The excitement was immense...I didn't know whether to laugh, or cry...or both (I think I did)...and then had several drinks to calm my nerves whilst catching up with the Facebook frenzy, hearing the news spread around the country, of those lucky (and some unlucky) in this next stage of their quest!

So, that's that then.....every run from now truly takes me another step closer to my 2014 goblet....a challenge I'm ready to face head on, one step after another!  (I'm stealing that 'another step closer' from Sarah Self who I think said it to me in the early hours/last laps of Glenmore this year....another step takes you closer to your goblet... (Sarah thankfully will be part of the Hamilton WHW Pit Crew in 2014!))

There's no hiding place in training for this, stepping out into what could ultimately be a life or death situation (cheery huh?!) and not wanting to let myself, my support crew, or the race organisers down!

Following my successful entry, I was asked by John Kynaston if I'd take part in the WHW podcasts - a wee 15 minutes or so chat every couple of months to follow my progress as a newbie in the race!  OMG!  Exciting, and scary...but John very quickly made me feel at ease on the Skype call (and I'll almost forgive him for taking my picture (I was just back from a run, fresh out the bath, wearing PJ's and a hoody!!)).  I've not summoned up the courage to listen to it yet! 

So, the training gains real focus now...I'm still in the Marcothon after 13 days (beating last year's performance), although some days have been a challenge!  Clark is going to draw me up a training plan for WHW, taking in the delight that is the Highland Fling in April, and dealing with the complications of life and work in between....and I'll do my best to follow it!  I'll be getting back into the gym to build up some strength as well as properly putting my mind to shifting a few pounds!  Main thing is getting some good long runs on WHW scheduled in (some of these come from the WHW training weekend, and 2 fling training weekends), some back-to-backs, and some more night running!

Can't wait!  Feckin' excited!!

Designed by Clark Hamilton

Cimmerian Conic Canine Caper (or crazy things you'll do for a pint!)

Anyone who knows me well, knows that mostly on a Friday night I'll be horizontal on the sofa, by the fire, glass of wine in hand....well, not last night!  

David Ross (he of the best big hugs in Scotland...the world??) had organised an Ultra Dafties night run from Drymen to Balmaha and back (via Conic Hill of course!), with a wee pit stop half-way in the Oak Tree Inn (log fire, hot soup, friends and beer!)...what could be nicer?!

There should've been a cast of around 20, plus many many dogs...as the date drew closer, and the weather more minging, people dropped out one by one (including David himself due to injury), and by 7pm there was a short-list of 7 hardy souls and 2 dogs jiggling around the car park in Drymen trying to keep warm (whilst waiting on Ally, who appeared to have taken the scenic route!).  Cori dog had been relegated due to the conditions (sheep, steep hills, ice underfoot and being harnessed to me doesn't make for a happy combo!)

David had come to see us off, and count heads for soup (he was staying in the Oak Tree with Lorraine, along with the Munro's and would be there to see us at our half-way point!), and with hugs all round, we set off up the WHW path, where we quickly bumped into John Munro, who had run over from Balmaha to meet us.  John warned us of ice, and fallen trees...oh, there are fallen trees he chuckled, as he bid us fairwell, opting for the road route back to the Oak Tree!

We very quickly came across the first trees, which, with headtorches made for entertaining path finding.  Brian was chief trail blazer, quickly finding the best routes and guiding us through.  The early pace was pretty brisk...and having eaten before I came out, had a busy and over-indulgent week, and carrying enough emergency kit to save me from starvation, hypothermia and ice slicks, I felt I was going to have to work hard to keep up for the duration!

It's always strange in the dark trying to work out where you are, but a great feeling to be exploring and adventuring, with the scary sheep eyes peeking out of the darkness at you!  

The path got increasingly icy the closer to Conic we got, and David, Noanie, Gannet and I got into a wee convoy calling out warnings of 'Step' and 'Ice' with almost every breath.  As we got near the summit, the sleet and snow started, and we were slipping back every few metres...but the ice never deep enough to justify getting the kahtoolas out!  Pretty much everyone slipped, stumbled on fell on the steep descent, and we split into 2 groups, heads down, and off piste, with the grassy tussocks a safer option than the slick path!

So we made it to the Oak Tree, its welcoming glow shining across the Balmaha car park.  We were later than planned, but the staff welcomed us in, let us strip our wet gear and hang it by the fire, and quickly brought us drinks and their delicious homemade tomato soup.  Islay and Sam were not so lucky....the no dog policy meaning they had to stay outside...Islay was less than impressed! 

Before too long, it was time  to head back out into the darkness, having agreed the sensible option was to take to the road back to Drymen.  The front group set off at a blistering pace (sub 7 min miles I later found out), and there was no danger I was keeping up with that!  RG, Islay and I took our position as back markers and trotted along, chatting away.  Big thanks to RG for waiting on me when I needed a wee walk when the soup and cider were sloshing too much in my belly!  My knee was also starting to ache at this point - it's been a bit tetchy since Glen Ogle...bit of tight calf issue, ITB, and the impact of having had heels on all day I think!

We survived our great Friday night adventure, making it about a 12 mile round trip!

The drive home was foggy, sleety and icy...so sufficient amounts of driving like a granny required!  Surprisingly found it REALLY hard to get to sleep - my knee was throbbing, so a rub of biofreeze and some paracetamol required to finally knock me out.  Today I've felt burst!  Managed a wee 3 mile run to keep ticking off the Marcothon requirements...and then had a wee disco nap.....ahhh it's a hard life being old......

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/413181602

Reflections

Loch Ard

I thought November had been a fairly 'light' month of training, but I've just checked the trusty Garmin page (you have to allow me some leeway, I am a statistician/analyst to trade!) to find I actually ran over 21 miles more than I did in October (same actual number of runs, just a bit longer on average (I guess that's the Glen Ogle influence), and at a faster average pace!)

And over 10,000 calories burned from the running alone...although somewhat disappointingly, I just googled to find out something relevant about that, and it's only equivalent to 27 glasses of champagne.....how sad!?!?

It's been a strange month - been trying to get a bit of 'routine' back (as I'd lost a wee bit of oomph in the run up to Glen Ogle), which usually means early starts for me to avoid getting bogged down by work later in the day. Training has ranged from 6am frostbite on 'killer hill' with Bob to 5:30am running through Braco Castle estate just me and the dog (worrying about monsters hiding in the woods) and a lot of days thinking it would be cold, when really it hasn't as the skies were blue and the sun shining, but still a chance to rummage through the kit drawer and look out some winter favourites...including the fluro jacket, and also some forgotten gems (like just how many buffs I own!)!  No chance to use the kahtoolas yet unfortunately - bring on the proper winter!! 

I've also been trying to get back in a better eating plan, and thus, back to Slimming World....the lure of a glass of wine by the fire in the winter does my waistline no favours!  And there's been some lovely runs at Aberfoyle with Glee Club and separately with Clark, who, even when injured remains a great supporter of my training, even when I feel guilty for going!

Image from www.marcothon.com

And now it's time for Marcothon again (or Marcothin as I keep typing...which would be no bad thing....I'm still fighting to shift some of the extra pounds I added over the summer!)

It's great to have the motivation to get out on some of the more challenging days in December...and hopefully I'll succeed this year (I missed about 3 days last year!).  

It's amazing how challenging it can seem some days to get out for 25 minutes or 3 miles!




Entries for WHW have closed, and our fate is now in the hands of the selection panel, and most likely a ballot, given there are over 300 entrants for 265 places!  
It's great to be part of the build up this year as a potential participant, rather than my previous position in organising/doing the sports massage! And either way, I'll be there again in 2014, whatever the outcome of the ballot is!  I'm already looking forward to some great days out training in the spring - wishing the days away already - and have signed up to the WHW training weekend in January, and the Fling Weekends in Feb and March....thank heaven Clark is soooo understanding (crawl, crawl....)

Anyway, enough mindless ramble....I'm just waffling, trying to fill time until Glenmore 24 entry opens in 94 minutes......EEEK!!