I'm writing this between yawns; it's been a frustrating and challenging day at work and I'm tired from that and a weekend of fresh air and exercise.
One of my favourite dishes is ratatouille with some feta cheese stirred into it. Andrew cooked a big pot of this and had it ready for my arrival on Friday, bubbling gently and filling the kitchen with mouth watering aromas. We ate it with cous cous and a glass (or two)of Australian Shiraz. Mmmm!
The Four Lakeland Passes is an informal LDWA event which takes a route through some stunning valleys and passes in the Lake District. Andrew and I ran together with friends we encountered at the start and also managed to make two new friends. It was a lovely day and with great company thrown in and plenty of chat I thoroughly enjoyed it. This has to have been one of my most special experiences of the lake district; one I'll remember for a long time.
I ran with a relatively heavy pack and felt a bit slow and sluggish to start with, but that soon wore off. I struggled a bit on the rocky descents but felt strong and comfortable on the climbs. The stair reps are working well.
The race organisation was informal but very well put together. There were no race numbers and no start or finish times and no stress. This suited the event perfectly and we just formed an informal group outside the event headquarters and set off when we were ready. There was tea and toast at the start, food/drink stations en route, and tea sandwiches and cake at the end. Everything was just perfect.
We arrived home at tea time. For our post race/pre race dinner we had more ratatouille this time served with sausages and freshly baked baguettes, oh and we finished off the Shiraz.
The Heptonstall Fell Race is a new event which I believe was set up as a warm up event to the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. The proceeds are going to the local church. The start was outside the church on a steep and narrow cobbled street. Some of the local residents were watching from windows above which for me added to the great atmosphere.
There was a great turn out of 202 and plenty of fast runners present, not so many middle to slow participants. It was a very runnable course with plenty of strength sapping rough grassy tussocky terrain and a healthy scattering of short but steep hills. We passed through some beautiful deep ravines with clear rocky rivers flowing between banks that will soon be covered with a carpet of bluebells and wild garlic.
I managed to sink in bogs on two occasions, the second time going in over my knee. That reminds me; I still have a muddy pair of fell shoes to deal with!
Andrew and I ran/walked/stumbled round, me on legs heavy from the effort in the lakes and again loaded up with a fairly heavy rucksack. We were mostly on our own but the route was marked well and we were happy just to enjoy the scenery and finish. I would like to return and try this race on fresher legs, so I'm hoping it won't share a weekend with the lakeland passes next year!
What was for dinner? A very naughty portion of two jumbo sausages and a chip butty, followed by a Tunnock for pud.
There was still some daylight left after we'd eaten so we nipped out to visit the village pond to feed my friends the ducks. Ok I know it's childish but I love feeding them. There's one that used to come up onto the footbridge we feed them from, if I didn't give him any bread for a while he'd get my attention by stepping on my foot. Last time we visited he had a nasty limp, and this time he wasn't there. I hope he's ok. There was a noticable absence of females so I'm hoping they're tucked away somewhere safe sitting on clutches of eggs.
Andrew sometimes takes me out at dusk before I leave for Hampshire, to see if the little owl is on one of his regular perches and to look for dippers on the Wharfe. I'm yet to see the little owl and the dippers had gone to bed, but we did see a goosander standing out brightly against the darkness of the water, and there are plenty of lambs now for me to ooh and aah at!
No comments:
Post a Comment