Tripped again!

The weather was much kinder to me for the drive to Yorkshire than it was last weekend and I arrived achy but in good spirits.

On Saturday I ran/walked/stumbled my way round the Wadsworth Trog with Andrew. I can honestly say it's the worst start to a race I've ever had; within 5 minutes my left calf had locked up painfully and I couldn't push off with my left foot. By the top of the first hill we were at the back, rapidly getting left behind, with the sweepers chatting as they trotted comfortably behind us. I was in despair as I just couldn't move any faster. The ground levelled out and became boggy, and the muscle pain eased, but we were well behind and the sweepers remained on our heels.
I was in fear of being timed out and losing the valuable training the race offered.

On the descent that followed I was able to push on properly and by the reservoir at the bottom the sweepers were out of earshot, presumably dismantling the checkpoint we'd just visited. The runners ahead were back in sight ascending a very steep hill. Andrew and I threw ourselves at that hill and I was thoroughly chuffed and much relieved to catch up with the group ahead at the top. My calf pain had gone and I felt strong.

As for the rest of the race; it was an amazing day. The sun came out, the ground was boggy and challenging and the scenery was lovely. There were even some tussocks thrown in for good measure! There was a navigation section that had us reading the map and we found our way reasonably well despite some initial uncertainty.

Thanks to the organisers, marshalls and supporters for putting on a great do, oh and the soup and cake at the end were yummie!

I lost count of how many times I tripped and stumbled. I fell over landing heavily on all fours with my right foot under my left knee squashed between a pair of tussocks. This hurt a great deal; Inov8 studs are not to be recommended as landing cushions! The resultant bruise is pretty impressive, much larger than the occasion deserves, and is very tender. I'm booked to see Suzi my chiropractor on Friday to assess the damage, check for popped ribs (yep you read it correctly!), get my pelvis straightened out, and hopefully get to the bottom of the calf trouble. Suzi is amazing, no matter what kind of mess I get myself into she always manages to squash me back into shape and get me going again. It seems that miracles are possible after all!

On Saturday evening Andrew and I celebrated valentines early with dinner and a lovely bottle of brut rose champagne mmm!

On Sunday we woke up to rain and Andrew, knowing how tired I get, let me lie in until mid morning. He'd planned a 10 mile hilly route crisscrossing the ridge between upper Wharfdale and Littondale, Starbotton and Arncliffe. This gave us four big climbs and descents with no flat running between. We started at lunch time and had three and a half hours of quality training. It was an ingenious route through beautiful countryside and I loved every minute despite the persistent rain and wind.

Of course now I'm back on my own in the south again. I can still call up images of the countryside and wildlife we saw over the weekend though. We heard our first skylark of the year wharbling away above and to the left of us. I saw a grouse up close for the first time in full breeding plumage with a traffic light red cap and rich rusty red feathers. There were two new flocks of lambs, looking tiny and vulnerable in the rain, sheltering behind walls or close to their mums. Another sign of spring were the Oystercatchers we saw dotted along the floodplane of the river Wharfe.