Too busy running!

The last few weeks have been quite hectic so I’ve not had time to post here.  In brief, I went to the far north west of Scotland  to take part in the Cape Wrath Challenge from 17th to 22nd May.  It finishes with a marathon and my longest runs since January had been two half marathons in March plus a couple of “doubles” days when I did a total of 17.5 miles maximum for the day. It didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. 

My aim for the week was to finish the marathon so I reluctantly decided to opt for the 10k on 17th.  The reluctance was due to two things: it is my favourite half marathon course (2 miles downhill at the start and the views are wonderful) and the last 10k ….. well……… think of a roller coaster with an uphill finish. The views are glorious, the weather was beautiful and the gorse was the best I’ve seen it. I was passed by the front runners in the half and then cheered in the rest after I’d finished. 

Tuesday, 18th – the Hill run. This is possibly the worst course ever for me. It’s mostly off-road (where I’m even slower than on road) and it’s mostly uphill for three miles. At the moment it takes me three miles to get properly warmed up. Then the downhill return has fantastic views and a stony track and I slow down to admire the views so I won’t trip. The last quarter of a mile is uphill. No records or bones broken, probably a course pw but nobody cares.

Wednesday 19th – Round Durness Run. 8.5 or 5.5 (approx) multi-terrain run. I had my sensible hat on and opted for the shorter distance, partly because I’ve not done it before. A good choice, as for once I had someone to follow for a good part of the way, as the longer course runners started to pass me after about 3 miles. It gave me the incentive to get up most of a steep hill along the cliffs. Then it’s along a track into the village and the cheers got louder.  The usual welcoming party was there: half the primary school, all 12 or so of them. The older children were out marshalling at various points along the course. High-fives all round, then a second lap of them, as they all looked so very impressed that someone old enough to be their great-grandma can be so completely barmy. On through the village then up the short cut (think Nine Tree Hill with a Z-bend). My aim was to run as much as I could without stopping. Again, having someone to follow gave me enough incentive to get nearly to the top, then it’s only a short, mostly uphill, run to the finish.

More to follow!