The weather, well, it was weathery. We were fairly lucky until about 2.30pm when, as forecast, the downpour started and didn't cease, so our last 3 hours were through rivers that used to be paths, slippy rocks and death defying wooden bridge crossings. (Well, perhaps that's a little over-dramatic. It was pretty horrid though!)There'll be no running pictures to illustrate the tale this evening! (Until someone posts the group pic from the start of the run and I might edit it in!)
After leaving the house slightly later than planned, I arrived at Beinglas just in time for the second last parking spot, and the group picture. There was a great turn-out, many familiar faces, and many others who were new to the race, and this section of the route. Some quick hello's with Katie, David, Dave, Carol etc and we were off. I was aiming to do 30 miles....and no-one else seemed to be talking that distance (apart from the speedies, who I would never keep up with)....uh oh....this could be a long day.
On the first wee climb, behind a chap called David who I didn't know, and some chat with Katie, Andy Johns came speeding past and told us slower folk to get out of the way and that caused a wee bomb burst and broke the group up, letting a load of speedies through and they skipped up the hill. I caught up with the lovely David Meldrum again here, and that was to set the course of the day. David was one of my support crew last year, getting me safely from Bridge of Orchy to Glencoe, and is one of life's good guys. We were keeping a pretty steady pace, and quite evenly matched, chatting away and having a good catch up about everything and anything. While David didn't have a set agenda for the day, he was keen to aim for 3 hours out before turning back, and I was grateful that would be great for company for me, even if I ended up with a few extra miles on my own at the end. As the day progressed, and we both were running well, David got into the mindset of aiming for 30 too. I'm hoping I didn't railroad him too much, as he was later than planned for his dinner (sorry Susan!!)
Heading for Inversnaid (where a lot of folk were turning) we ran with a guy called Scott that I had run a wee bit of WHW training weekend with. It was his first time on this section, and it was great to hear his thoughts on the views, even on such a yucky day...and hopefully we were able to share some of our 'wisdom' with him! The terrain was as tricky as I remembered, and there's a few more fallen trees (and dead goat) to contend with since I was last there in June! We arrived at the hotel in hardly any time (it seemed...bearing in mind some of those tricky miles can take 20 minutes to cover!) and sheltered under the porch with others who had arrived just ahead of us to get some scoff on board. I think by this point (7 miles in) I'd had a mini oatcake and one of David's oat/brekkie biscuits. I had a wee swig of Irn Bru and a packet of Haribo before David and I continued over the waterfall and onwards to Rowardennan.
There weren't many folk out on the way..we saw a couple of runners we didn't recognise (who then passed in the opposite direction on our way back), and bumped into Keziah and Lorna near the top of the hill outside Rowardennan, and stopped for a wee blether (and I think I started on my tattie scones at this point!). David and I agreed at this point to run on to the car park at Rowardennan for a 'luxury pee' and then head back. More snackage at Rowardennan - some banana cake, cheesey nibbles and fresh Nuun - along with a dry buff and gloves. It wasn't overly cold at this point, just getting wet! So, 14 miles and about 3.5 hours on the go!
I felt ok/strong as we headed back. I was probably walking more of the inclines than David, but not struggling, and still working hard. I was drinking and eating regularly, with no problems with appetite, stomach or energy levels. I didn't have an energy gel all day, which is quite unusual for me. And probably eating more savoury than sweet, or a better balance certainly...maybe the banana bread is one to try again (and I don't even like banana!!)
We took turnabout at the lead, and with only a few moans about the end of the loch never getting any closer, and surprisingly little moaning about the torrential rain, we plugged away at the miles, passing many a stinky (live) goat , pausing briefly to pat Dario's post, and got back to Beinglas at just over 28 miles..... Our tired brains did the sums (well, David did) how far out we had to go to get to 30 and we marched/ran on past the farm and northwards....naturally the turning point was the top of the next 'big' hill! A wee quad trash back down and we were done! 30 miles! And feeling AMAZING! Dripping wet, but brill!
It's while since I've felt so pleased with a run of that length, and yesterday I truly did. And so chuffed to have David's company all day too, as it would've been so easy to bottle it, or have a very sad day out instead.
There were no other cars left in the car park as we peeled off soggy layers in the fading light, said our goodbyes and headed off home. Getting my socks and calf guards off was a challenge...getting my dry trousers on, an even bigger one! The drive home was hideous....two near death aqua plane moments on the Loch Lubnaig road, and many crazy drivers not taking enough care!
So:
Cheese - good
Tattie Scones (actually they were Paul Rankin Farls I think) - good
Irn Bru - good
Haribo - good
Banana Bread - good
Mini Oatcakes - good
Kona Kola and Lemon Tea Nuun - good (remember to pack spares)
Congratulations if you've read this far and not died of boredom.
Just to round off the week I did my back-to-back today of 8.6 miles (plan said 8 but I decided 50 would be a nice round number to end the week). A flatter soggy bimble with the dog, with tired legs which still kept moving. Definitely needed my granny nap this afternoon though!
Other stuff this week:
1 x 30min gym strength session
1 x hour of pilates
1 x steady 6 miler
1 x club speed/hills session
yay!! woop woop!
ReplyDelete