highland fling

finally home after a bus, train, car, coffee, car, coffee, car combination. feeling very broken and a bit deflated. please don't let the following colour opinion of a an extremely friendly and very well organised event. every runner, marshall and associated fling person was absolutely lovely and made a disappointing weekend slightly less painful.

first 20 miles were pretty uneventful. a bit of chat and a bit of a hill. despite slipping on the downs my knees were grateful for the road shoes. i was eating and drinking well(ish). reloaded at the bag drop and ready for the next 7m.

again, nothing much happened. felt ok, no knee pain but hamstrings starting to feel very tight. just podding along really. next drop bag. over an hour up on schedule. ooops. start the next 7m.

going a bit slower now. how long should 7m take? an hour? hour and half? my mind starts to wonder to the 'big one'. if i'm feeling tired now, how am i going to manage the full length of the whw? it's hot. i'm probably not drinking enough. time passes slowly, unlike the runners going past. eventually i reach the drop bag.

the views across the loch are stunning. but i don't care, it's a bloody long loch and i've still got to follow the shore line for another 6m. this is where the wheels (trainers/legs) fell off. 2 hours, that's how long it took to cover those 6m! folks say this is the most technical and difficult section. it was the longest 6m of my life.

and what better way to follow this soul sapping leg but a wee 12m to the finish line. i'd completely lost it by now. i walked for most of it. i don't know what happened. the only way i can describe my feelings is apathetic. i kept waiting for a second wind but it never came. i think the only reason i kept going was the knowledge that my car keys were in my kit bag at the finish! it took me 11 hours and 55 minutes to grovel along the 53m route. i was hoping for sub 12hrs but i was also hoping to be feeling a lot better at the end as well.

one of the reasons i love long days out is the feeling of freedom, a sense of weight being lifted, realising how luckily i am to be able to do such things. sometimes this is just fleeting but usually it lasts days. this didn't happen during the whole day. after an emotional phone call to jane after i'd finished, she explained that i always say these things immediately after. but honestly this time it's different.

this race has just scared the living daylights out of me. it's clear to see what effect all those missed sessions have had on my strength and fitness. but most importantly i need to do some kind of mental training. right now the whw seems an impossible feat.

i was really looking forward to meeting up fellow blogger-flingers but i was so broken at the end that no booze passed my lips and a ceilidh was totally out of the question. i even carried some choco twist chews for charlie... next time...

gratuitous foot shot...

gulp....

kit packed. an obscene amount of food is bagged up. i've even had a hair cut. so, about as prepared as i usually am for these things. saw the physio again on tuesday, who's given me further stretches and strengthening exercises to do. she understands why i need to run on saturday and, i quote, "it will be make or break".

unfortunately jane's a bit poorly so i'll be going up on my own. at least i wont be jealous about her peak baggin' without me. but it does mean a slight logistical hitch on the return journey. oh well, that's the least of my concerns.

despite this i'm starting to get really excited. whatever happens it's gonna be fun, i get to visit scotland, have some more audio book and i'll get to meet some more virtual buddies. i hope everyone else has a good run. i'm going to take it easy, too much discomfort and i'll stop....

wk20 & 21 'the plan' round up

wk20 - no running. stretching and strength exercises and some indoor pedaling.

wk21 - knee didn't feel too bad after highlander but there wasn't much running! again, deviated from the actual plan and just took opportunities as they came. the weather was good and the hills were calling.

....TAKING ADVICE.....
my right knee still feels 'weak'. it's only really problem when running at a consistent pace on a hard surface. like last night, at run club. hmmm.

hoping that i get round the fling then it's time to abandon the original plan. less road miles, shorter distances but two runs a day. i've also been looking at pilates and swimming, both things i can fit in around work and will help with core strength. i'm also going to start back at the climbing wall-this is the only time i don't mind stretching!!

so thanks for all the tips and advice. i think it's slowly starting to sink in.

outside but closer to home

we met in the back garden, no rush to leave. lucky, as i have a puncture. soon repaired, water re-filled and bags repacked. wheels rolling and it's already past 2 in the afternoon. not to worry, we're out for the night.

the four of us snaking along, single file, road on the left, housing to the right. following the slither of trail winding between. the afternoon was hot but the pedaling was an easy, dusty affair. alex's home baked carrot cake went down a treat.

too late for the tea stop and another two punctures. not to worry, we're out for the night. more woods, more swooping and whooping. a gratuitous tunnel then a brief stop to regroup and check injuries. ok. but decide to take the road for a while but not before chris rightly gains 'riding god' status. fixie fully loaded, 5ft skinny crossing a creator deep enough to be painful. straight over without even thinking. too quick for the camera and not to be repeated.

rolling on and reaching the forest. alex leaves and heads back to town. simon leads us deeper into the trees. our bed for the night is chosen but first food and beer must be found. to the pub. and blimey what a 'pub'. faux william morris wall paper, everywhere. mini chandeliers, everywhere. cheap regency reproductions mixed with 50's retro. a sensory over load. but amazing burgers and a decent ale.

suitably full we slipped into the woods. following the singletrack back to our heathery beds. star gazing and whiskey sipping, sleep came easily. a clear night leads to a cold, frosty morning. breakfast cakes and beans consumed with the rising sun.


relaxed and tired and no longer thinking about the miles, just doing. everything flowed. outside pedal hard down, rubber biting, weight shifting over the bars, fingers hover on brakes. speed maintained. repeat. all the way home, back in time for brunch....i fell asleep on the sofa and jane had to make me dinner.

more hills

of the welsh variety. everything on a strict schedule. picked after work yesterday. slept in climbers hut. early start, on the hill by 7.20. join paddy buckley route at moel meirch. start the stop watch and go.....

simon plans to complete the round in late may. today we reccie'd the section i'll be supporting on, gareth came along for the fun too. they are both fast. very fast. simon is also a mean descender. a very mean descender. 12 tops later we're basking in the sun on the top of cnicht. the final top and as harsh an ascent as it sounds. watch stopped. all on schedule. head back to notts.

another hot and stunning day in the hills. i hung on. there was some polite waiting. it's hard to feel to disappointed with ones fitness when you've had just a succession of fantastic big hill days out.

highlander mountain marathon

the mattress felt hard and unfamiliar. the room seemed strangely purple. we were still along way from home. inverness' finest premier inn. i rolled over and was reminded of the asymmetrical sun burn down my left side. jane was already awake. eyes wide open, sun burned nose plastered in moisturiser. apart from her heather scratched shins, burnt limbs, swollen ankles, sore thighs and bruised shoulders, she said she was feeling ok. my list of aliments slightly shorter but legs no less scabby. despite the previous nights three course meal, at inverness' best/only turkish restaurant, we both woke with empty bellies. the morning after the race before.....

the location for this years highlander was gairloch. from nottingham drive north for 8 hours, turn left at inverness, then just pop down the road for another hour or so. with a p.d.james audio book and stunning views there can be worse ways to spend a friday. reaching the sea we had to get our feet wet and watching the sun setting we couldn't help but feel this was the start of a good weekend.

no clouds. no wind. no midges. map marked up and double checked. there were going to be no mistakes this time...after some searching we found the first check point. ok, from now on there were going to be no mistakes. contouring round a small knoll we were greeted with proper hills. snow capped and waving hello. a steep up and an even steeper down. no paths and no one else in sight.

picking our way through vertical bog and losing legs down hidden streams, progress felt slow. jelly babies and mountain vistas kept our spirits high. but finally it seemed we were making good decisions and not wasting too much time. avoiding unnecessary ups and using terms like re entrant and lochen outflow. we felt like real orienteers, just without the harlequin lycra and headbands.

the big fiery ball was high in the sky. the only thing we weren't carrying was sun block. streams provided drinks but there was no escape from the heat. i'm not complaining. we just weren't prepared!

mid camp was a surreal affair. a bar and celidh band, down jackets and plastic bags as socks. the event seems to attract the friendliest of folk and people with a real spirit of adventure. listening to tales of previous races and big days out it felt like we were being welcomed into a secret club.

finding out that we hadn't done as badly as we'd thought meant day two started with a bit of pressure. could we really make those seven minuets up on elizabeth and her partner? probably not and certainly not if we keep taking the 'interesting' lines. they soon over took us. and we concentrated on not getting heat stoke, falling down holes and getting too lost in amongst the numerous knolls and lochens.

we covered nearly 45km of rough ground over the two days. our feet only touched probably about 3km of actual path. apart from a few other competitors out on the course we didn't come across another soul. a remote and wild place. we were so lucky with the weather. if the clag had been down, i think we'd still be out there somewhere.

definitely the toughest mountain marathon we've done as a pair. the planners made really clever use of the location. the event was faultlessly run. i'd return in an instant...or make that 9 and a half hours.


scores on the doors... 12/20 in c class. dead pleased with ourselves and already planning where to make those lost minutes up...whilst doing lots of stretching as well!!

physio says yes

'you have a muscle imbalance and poor core strength' said the physio, which pretty much equates to 'turn it off and turn it on again'. simple but true. i have (relatively speaking) massive, over developed quads causing tiny and pathetic hamstrings-this maybe from singlespeeding but lets not play the blame game. coupled with my inability to regularly perform simple stretches, stay hydrated and not run when really tired has led to easily avoided knee/hamstring pain.

a good 20minuets of pleasure/pain kneading from sally and a promise to stretch 3 times a day, with added strength exercises and i've been given the all clear to run again. she just laughed when i explained about the highlander and booked me in for next week for some more pain. i'm not sure if her smile was for all the money she's going to make, or she was quietly questioning my sanity!

anyway, highlander it is! neither of us are the lean mean running machines we hoped we'd be. we're treating it more like a mini break than a mountain marathon. hopefully a trip to the hills will good for the knees as well as the soul.

is it possible to eat too much cake?

it's been a while. training is not going to plan. i'm too bored and fed up to describe the tedious details of not doing anything. hence the lack of blogging. seeing the physio tomorrow....at first i had big ideas of completing the whw in a 24 hours, then my goal changed to getting round in the allotted time, now i'm just hoping to get to the start and see what happens.

anyway....jane's been running. so have her sisters, cat and lizzy. ruth, cat's partner, had a really impressive run coming in 7th, having never raced before and only deciding to that morning. in fact all four did themselves proud, the running bug seems to be catching. if i keep hang 'round them maybe i'll come down with it too.

my legs might not be working but luckily my mouth is. which helped at my first university interview last week. surprisingly it went well and i've been offered a place. it's for my second choice, still got one interview to go. i guess things could be a lot worse but i think i might have reached my limit of chocolate cake!

wk18 & 19 'the plan' round up

wk18 - lots of pedaling. didn't seem to make my knee worse....but it didn't make it any better.

wk19 - did nothing. it feels like a golf ball is being pressed into my hamstring and sending shooting pains down the inside and outside of my knee. a week of rest. unfortunately the physio was fully booked.