Saturday 31 October 2009

A wee WHW run

Had a lovely wee run on the WHW today and mostly on my own with the scenery all to myself . This month Pauline has been concentrating on road speed (while I’ve been concentrating on having a fat lazy chocolate and wine fest!) she did a hard session yesterday and is planning a long run tomorrow so she was happy to fling me out at Drymen. After having an easy month I took it at a nice gentle pace towards Conic hill, before reaching the hill a breeze swirled around me, I thought “Ooww, ma bum’s freezing!” then “Ooww ma bum’s wet!” Aw naw! A bladder malfunction and not of the old lady Tena moment variety before you jump to conclusions, my drinks bladder was leaking, my knickers were full of diluted ginger beer. I took off my backpack and checked out my bladder, I hadn’t screwed the lid on properly. Doh, what a numpty! Oh well, a sticky cold butt for me for the rest of the run then. Yeech!
I loved the colours of today’s run, all autumnal and a rainbow, but I never got any rain and I had a shadow a few times too. Pauline was meeting me at Balmaha, I tried phoning her on my way down but just got the polite wumin saying “the person you are calling is unavailable” so carried on down to find Pauline sitting in the car reading her mag and listening to her music, she was disappointed that she didn’t get to walk up to meet me, she did keep me company until the start of the climb out of Balmaha, I did suggest that she’d get some good photos at the top of the climb but there was a bit of a bus trip of folk on the way out of Balmaha so she just said I’ll just drive to Rowardennan and see you there.
The section between Balmaha and Rowardennan is one of my favourite bits of the WHW and I was happy trotting along today but one of the thoughts I had today was that on this run my Achilles tendons were a bit tight my hamstrings felt a bit tight too and I was glad that I was stopping at Rowardennan, just a piddly wee bit of the WHW. How the hell do I manage to run the whole flaming way in June? Because I choose too! That’s why.
Pauline was trotting out from Rowardennan to meet me looking for about an hours run and sure enough there she was after I’d got to the top of the steep, steep climb just after the university field station, she was faffing about taking a photo of a fallen tree, some how I knew she’d be there (nothing to do with going down the hill meant that you had to climb back up). We had a lovely wee run back to the car, then a flask of oxo, a couple of cheese pieces, a happy heart being back on the whw. Headed home for wine and pizza.

4 comments:

Ian said...

sounds like a cracking day out Fiona. I really enjoy doing that section in winter, when there are hardly any people about.

Debs M-C said...

Bet getting to Rowardennan on race day is one of your least favourites :-) I still have nightmares about the midges.

I can envisage you and Pauline stopping for afternoon tea on your runs.

See you Saturday, at Tinto?

Debs x

Subversive Runner said...

A flask of Oxo????????? UGH!!! That's called gravy here in England!!

ForwardMotion said...

Great wee run Fiona. No liking the sound of a ginger beer bum tho!!
Lesleyx