A Devilishly Good Day Out

With Vikki running the Fling and the Devil O The Highlands next year and me also giving the Fling a go as a solo runner, it was high time to get some West Highland Way training under our belts - well, any excuse for a day away from the kids amongst some great scenery!

We decided to run from Kings House up the Devil's Staircase and over to Kinlochleven, then back by the same route to Kings House but keep on going to Ba Bridge, then back to Kings House again. Vikki, Annie, Laurie, Jonathan, Matt "Tutters" Tutt and I set off in the car with the plan to meet Minty (if his tent hadn't been washed away by the rain) and Mike at KH. After the usual faffing around - arguing with hotel staff who were a bit reluctant to let us use the toilet (even when we promised we would be back for food and beer) and taking the mick out of Tutters for his matching clothes and very white shoes - we set off in the sunshine towards the magnificent sight of Glencoe.

The run to Kinlochleven was great fun, nice and easy paced to take in the scenery and chat to everyone, with a quicker charge down the track near the water pipes. We passed a few walkers including an elderly German who was becoming angry because he couldn't find the right path to Loch Eilde Mor - I hope he found his way although I don't think we were much use! I think it took us 2 hours overall which seemed fairly reasonable. We stopped for a while to get a cup of tea at Ice Factor and checked out their shop for lots of nice jackets I can't afford, before we set off again on the return - a long steady climb back up into the hills. Mike suggested a race down the Devil's Staircase but nobody took him up on the offer - as it happened he flew down with Vikki close behind him, I jogged down on tired legs but got overtaken by Minty and Tutters; J had a wee fall but we all made it safely to the bottom. Back along the track towards the hotel, I felt a wee pain in my hip again (getting slightly worried about this now) and despite some Ibuprofen, the last couple of miles were pretty slow and I decided at that point not to keep going, so waved off the other runners and went to the bar with Tutters to meet Annette (who had been out taking photos) and Annie and Laurie (who had had a nice gentle walk while we'd been running) and drink some beer while waiting for the others to return. Matt had actually been thinking about continuing the run, but considering that he'd never run more than about 7 miles or been on any trails before, he probably made the right decision.

By the time the other runners got back to the hotel, it was time to pile back in the car and head for home so we said our good-byes to Minty and to Mike and Annette, took some photos of deer grazing near the hotel (not sure if they were the same ones we saw on the ridge earlier but they might have been), and headed off into the sunset (actually the sunset was in the other direction, but let's not let reality get in the way of a decent cliché).

Overall, it was a lovely day out in some great scenery with near perfect weather (despite a week of unpromising forecasts) and great company - a lot of nice blethering with many a laugh...

Click on the picture above to see more pictures.

A Run of Two Halves

2010-09-25 Lairig Ghru

When Craig suggested a club run over the Lairig Ghru, I was well up for it - here was a route I’d wanted to walk for many years without ever quite getting round to it, and a chance to spend a weekend away with some pals. The original plan had been to get a lift to Linn of Dee, run to Aviemore and get a train home the next day, but the train option got dumped in favour of just running back the next day. Yes, George got involved.

The rest of the group comprised Conor, Andrinne and Mags, so we all set off in the wee shanksi bus to Linn of Dee, faffed around a bit, and on the trail before 9. Not that we got very far before I realised I hadn’t locked the car and had to double back. We got some good running in as we made our way up the valley, despite the wind in our faces and the cloud that seemed to be just above our heads - we got a good view of the Devil’s Point (and a few laughs when we talked about the literal meaning of the Gaelic name) but the rest of the peaks were shrouded in mist. It got much colder as we approached the boulder field around the Pools of Dee - extra clothes were deployed (including the gimp suit which did the trick for me). This bit was slow going, picking our way across the damp rocks past the pools - Craig described it as like a scene from Lord of the Rings, and we joked about monsters in the pools waiting to grab unsuspecting hikers - and it was a great moment to reach the other side where we could see Aviemore in the distance up ahead and know it was downhill from there on, and there might even be a runnable path before long. My hands and feet got badly cold on the descent, but it wasn’t too long before the temperature rose a wee bit and we found ourselves coming down into the forest at Rothiemurchus with just a few miles of easy running to take us into the town.

The hotel was nice enough, once they’d figured out how to turn the fire alarm off, and we had a fine meal at Roo’s Leap (served by Wednesday Addams). There was a band on in the hotel so no point in going to bed early and we all sat up drinking and chatting for a while. I think I had 7 pints of Guinness but somehow felt better at breakfast than I had any right to after that amount of drink. In any case, breakfast was eaten, bags were packed, Tesco was visited, and we were off on our merry way, pretty much on schedule.

The weather on Sunday was much better than Saturday, and we were soon sweating out the alcohol as we headed back through the forest. My hip had been a bit sore by the end of Saturday’s run, and it started hurting again so I took some Ibuprofen which kept me going up into the pass. Someone had removed about half the boulders at the top - or so it seemed, we possibly followed a better route through, but definitely crossed more quickly thanks to dry rocks underfoot and generally feeling more positive because the sun was shining. Back on Deeside we made good progress down the path with great views of Cairn Toul, Devil’s Point, and Cairn a Mhaim beckoning us on until we turned the corner and could look across to Lochnagar. On the outward journey, we had taken the bridge across the Luibeg Burn; on Sunday we waded across which was much more fun. Before long, we were back at Derry Lodge, enjoying the last stop on our 44 mile picnic. There was a bit of a feeling that noone really wanted it to end, but it was time to get going on the last few miles back to the car. Sunday had felt like a much quicker run than Saturday, but it still took as long; probably because we took longer over each stop since we didn’t have to worry so much about the chill.

All in all, a really fantastic weekend - good running in wonderful scenery, just about perfect weather on the Sunday and the company of a great bunch of buddies. When’s the next one?

Nathan Michael Bedford

 

The wee fella in the picture is our new nephew, Nathan Michael Bedford, with his proud parents. We spent most of the week down in Beverley so we could say hello.

We also found some time to visit the York Maze where we had great fun running around the maze and playing in the park.

And of course, Vikki and I managed a couple of runs, on the Beaver Trail and the Hudson Way respectively.

Don't Trust Trusta

This morning's run was a bit of an adventure. I had decided to have a shorter weekend run this week (the next two will be ramping up miles in preparation for the Speyside Way Race) but thought it would be good fun to cycle out to the woods, run around for a bit, and then cycle home. And it was good fun, despite almost getting lost thanks to the map being wrong (I think - if anyone knows better then I hold up my hands and apologise, but I'm pretty damn sure about this).

If anyone is interested - you can follow this on multimap here.

I started out from the red circle with the intention of taking the fairly direct track up Hill of Trusta, and then seeing if I could do a bit of total off-road heading East. However, I soon hit the junction that is marked Foggy Moss on the map and thought I must have missed the track so I kept going thinking I would take the next left and cut back towards the hill that way. Except that when I did turn left, I knew I'd gone too far so I decided to get the map out again, and cross-reference it with my phone's GPS to find that I'd arrived in the area of Hurlie Bog. Oh well, I thought, just keep going, left at the next junction and that'll take me back in the right direction. So I plodded on for a bit before I once again got the feeling that the track was not going the way the map said it would, so I checked the GPS and it told me I was just to the West of the track to Hill of Trusta marked on the map. Clearly I was on a track that despite being a proper forest road wasn't on the map but I decided to follow it a wee bit further until I could see that it was following the contours round the hill to "Moss of Anaholans" and points beyond - completely the wrong direction for me.

Thankfully, I noticed a muddy looking track down the divide between some older trees and newly planted ones which was heading South, back down towards the track I wanted, so I ran down that way and back to the car park where I'd left the bike, and headed for home.

In some ways it was quite good fun, but a little disconcerting thinking that I might have been lost and might have had to retrace my steps, just as the rain was coming on. Be careful if you're running, walking, or cycling around that bit of the woods - it looks like the maps are wrong.

Center Parcs 2010

Well, it seems like a wee while ago now, but we had another holiday at Center Parcs Whinfell Forest, near Penrith.

As usual, it was good fun - the weather was somewhat changeable; generally warm but with a rain shower never far away. The boys had a lot of fun, with swimming, tree-trekking, canoeing, bowling, and messing around on pedalos. I also tried to teach them to play pool but even the short cue was too long for Calum and it didn't help that the table was too close to a wall.

Calum had a nice morning fishing with his grandad - not as successful as last time but they caught a couple of tiddlers anyway.

Vikki and I went out for a couple of runs - the first was supposed to be a trip round Skiddaw, Great Calva, and Blencathra but we turned back before the summit of Skiddaw as it was so cold, wet, and generally horrible. For our next expedition, we drove to Caldbeck and followed the Cumbria Way South for 9 miles into the valley between Great Calva, and Blencathra before coming back the same way - http://www.multimap.com/s/uYlNjOdc. All jolly good fun!

Thanks as ever to my lovely in-laws for a superb holiday and for their company and their babysitting skills.

Lots more pictures here:

2010-07 Center Parcs 2010

Just Swimming In The Rain

(What a Glorious Feeling, I'm Happy Again)

My main target for the Stonehaven Half Marathon was to get round in a decent time, quicker than last year, hopefully quicker than my 2008 Clova time, and definitely ahead of any really old blokes. And I almost succeeded!

In fact, I felt like I had a really good run and paced it well. I ran quite a bit with Jonathan whose company helped eat up the miles. Like with Finlay from Livingstone on the club run on Thursday, it was good to be reminded by someone from further afield how nice the countryside around Stonehaven is to run in - even in the dismal weather.

Nice to see Fiona and Annie at the Fetchpoint and to be able to ditch hat and gloves (I want them back at some point, though).

We hit the 8 mile marker (just as the long downhill starts) at about 1h15 which meant roughly 9mm to the finish would do for a sub 2 hour. The previous mile had been 9:20 ish but that felt distinctly doable so we pushed on. The next couple of miles went well, but I felt I was slowing slightly so urged J to push on himself and gradually watched him pass other runners and disappear into the distance (great run by him, especially when he'd done 11 miles the day before). I felt that I was still going at a decent enough pace and passed a few groups of runners myself (not generally something I'm used to at the end of a race). I was raging at the wind a bit, worried that it was slowing me down so I was going to miss the 2 hour mark, and it sapped my strength a bit.

The last mile back through the town felt tough but it was good to see some familiar faces, marshalling or out spectating in the rain. As I swung into the park, someone confirmed that I was just about 2 hours so I gave it a last push to get over the line and into the welcome seats to get my chip sorted out. Just over 2 hours by my watch but I hadn't stopped it immediately so I wasn't sure but the timing screen was showing 2:00:18 against my name. Damn. Still, not a bad time and better than I'd dared hope so I was actually quite chuffed.

Regrouped with mrs s who'd smashed her PB, then spent a little time catching up with a few other runners - great PBs from Conor, Mike, Jo and Jonathan, club standard for Jane (who also won her age group), and probably others but my memory isn't great - before heading home through the increasingly heavy drizzle.

Later on we took L and C for a swim in the outdoor pool - we could hear thunder and the rain was stotting off the surface of the water but it was fun and not too cold as long as you kept moving.

The day ended with the traditional trip to the Marine for drinks and a blether. Good times were had by all, despite the spilling of drinks and mrs s almost coming to blows with our youngest drinking companion :)

I also found out that my chip time was 1:59:56, so I had sneaked under 2 hours :) although not quite good enough for a PB (not that I really care that much about such things). Sadly I think that I was again beaten by the oldest man in the race - I might be wrong but we think the oldest runner finished in 1:27:58 taking the 60+ prize and ahead of most of the field!

Stonehaven Half Marathon 2010

Sunday was the Stonehaven Half Marathon. It is our local race, run by our club and marshalled by lots of folk I know. I really look forward to it as I feel like I'm saying hya all the way through and waving all the time! I spent an hour the day before helping to make up the goody bags. My job was to put a banana in each bag - 400 odd in total.

Last year's race was run in extreme heat, probably the hottest day of the year and I wilted. Ran it in 1:58. So this year my targets were to beat that time and enjoy the race. And get some points in the club championship. The weather had been hot leading up to the day but as Sunday dawned we had a storm brewing. It was raining, muggy, and very windy. Not good conditions for spectating. Or for meeting up with Fetchies unfortunately. Sorry glypta, RedSquirrel, and sheri3004. Everyone was queuing for their numbers then sheltering in the pavillion. We did see Ultracat before the race and Bousn Tony in the distance.

This year Neil Easton from our club did the pre-race chat and was very good at it. I lined up with Jo, Nicola, and Nina from my club. Iain, Jonathan, and Richard were behind us. The first 4 miles of the race have some brutal hills and the first climb is up Belmont Brae, just round the corner from the start. George was there with words of encouragement, which was great. On Evan Street the hill is known as Beefy Brae and I was already feeling puffed out and hot so I followed Nicola's example and stripped off my helly hansen layer and flashed my bra at everyone. Ran with it tied round my waist for the rest of the race. Pretty soon Jo and Nicola left me behind but I stayed with Nina. I expected to be beaten by all three of them so I wasn't concerned.

Here are my splits:

8.14 7.47 8.28 9.49 7.41 7.39 8.43 8.09 7.37 7.45 8.25 7.30 7.45 1.22

I was very pleased with my pace for the first three miles despite the braes I was going quite fast for me! The 4th mile you will notice is a lot slower but that involves the steepest hill which I had already decided to walk up. So Nina overtook me as I walked up the hill. In the club championship that meant I was looking at 17 points which is one more that I got last year for this race so :-)

Got to the top of the Swanley Hill and heard the piper. Great feeling at that point as I knew that was the worst of it over and it was mostly downhill for the next 9 miles. I speeded up and overtook Nina on the downhill. I was feeling really good now with the wind helping me on. 5th mile was 7.41! Shocker! I was looking forward to seeing Annie's Fetchpoint by now at mile 7. She had promised jelly babies and balloons with Laurie's face on them. Big cheer from Annie and a couple of jelly babies, but the Laurie balloons had all burst :-(
Another good moment was turning on to the Slug Road for the last few miles back in to town. I always get a boost when we turn and head for home and it's also downhill which suits me. Mile 9 came and I saw Jo in the distance. I must admit I was spurred on with the thought of perhaps overtaking Jo. I managed to catch up with her just before the last big hill. So of course I walked again and she ran past me! We had a wee chat and both said we were knackered. At the top of the hill I picked up the pace and managed to catch Jo up again and ran for a bit using her as a wind-break. I felt I had a bit left in me and at the next downhill I decided to go for it and put on a burst of speed to overtake Jo and try and go for the finish. Of course I felt totally sick and had to keep saying to myself "just keep the legs moving". The wind was very strong in my face and at times I felt like it was going to blow me over. I managed to keep it up and did the last two miles in 7.30 and 7.45 which is totally unheard of for me! I thought I might get a PB which was so unexpected. Was great to be shouted over the line by George and Annie among others and I didn't even collapse at the end or throw up. Finish time was 1:46:58 a PB by 3 minutes!!! The chairs were a nice touch and I sat down to take my chip off. My parents had come to see me finish which is unusual for them. I congratulated Nicola on an excellent time of 1:44:06. Next cheered Jo over the line in 1:48:34 which was a PB too. Many folk from our club PBd including Conor and Mike who took quarter of an hour off or something! I was looking out for Iain and watching the clock. He really wanted to beat the 2 hour mark, and the clock went past it :-(. But then I saw him come storming in, no octogenarians in sight and he finished strongly. Later on we found out his chip time was 1:59:56 so he beat the 2 hours! Saw Jonathan and Jane too, both ran great races. It turned out that Jane had won the prize for her age cat but left before the presentation. Also Nicola won first local female prize (I think I was 2nd local female) and Iain Steel from our club won his age catagory and came 21st overall.

We walked home in the torrential rain to relieve Iain's Auntie from babysitting duties. Then we dropped the youngest off at my folks so we could take the older two swimming in the outdoor pool as we got free entry with our race numbers. There was a thunderstorm while we were in the pool and the wind was a bit cold but still good fun.

Lovely take-away pizza for tea then we were off out to the Marine for a few drinkies. Met up with lots of club folk and drank far too much gin and wine. Made it home by 11:20pm as ordered by the babysitters. All in all a very good day.

Thanks to all the organisers and marshals and I can't wait til next year! And Dave, Maz, and Laurie book your hols for a different time next year!

Click here for photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=185821&id=716929703&l=eab4bd17e4