Stornoway Half Marathon

The weather forecast was predicting heavy rain and wind all weekend. With the prospect of a ferry crossing, 2 nights in a tent, and a half marathon, we were undecided whether or not to go. I'm glad we did, as an awesome weekend was had!!

We drove up to Ullapool on the Friday and met with the others to head over on the ferry. High winds were forecast, but we were pleasantly surprised by how calm it felt. After tucking into our pre-race dinner and Caribbean tea cake, it wasn't long at all until we docked at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. We registered for the race and bought out post race ceilidh tickets and then it was off to the Laxdale campsite to set up our tents. We were lucky to get them up in time before the rain started.

The next morning we had our pre-race breakfast and headed down to the start of the race. Just 5 minutes before the start the rain came pouring down and was so heavy and cold that it took your breath away!! I felt sorry for Neil, who at this point, was starting to question my / his sanity. I reminded him of the post race buffet and curry we'd be having later on to try and make him feel better?! Not sure how much it worked! The on and off rain and sunshine was to be the theme of the day. We set off at 10am and the first mile was downhill so was good to get the legs turning. I actually felt quite good and went through the first mile in 6:50, much quicker than I normally do for a half marathon. Dean and Gillian headed off into the distance (I didn't even see Keith). I really enjoyed the course, it was a mixture of running through the town, and along the coast and through the grounds of Lews Castle. Some parts were trail and slightly undulating, so it was tough in places, but I really enjoyed it. I knew I must be fairly high up the field but not sure where. I had a lady from Helensburgh not far behind me, so once I'd heard from a marshal I was 3rd woman, I was determined to keep pushing the pace and maintain my position. I had a tough time through mile 9 and 10, but an energy gel perked me up a little and I just crossed off the miles to the finish. I came in at 1:33:49, a PB, really pleased. Keith had some in first male, Dean 11th, and Gillian 2nd lady! A good result for all. We jogged back to cheer on Neil. He'd unfortunately had problems with his ITB band which was causing him a lot of pain. He completed the race though and was smiling as he crossed the line! A very much deserved medal!!

With the race completed, it was time for the post race buffet and cake extravaganza, prizegiving (possibly the best prizes ever, Lewis Chessmen, and a black pudding spot prize!), pool and jacuzzi, curry, pub and ceilidh!! As always the island hospitality it second to none, with the race organisers taking us on a mini-bus tour of the island on the Sunday before the ferry home. It was pouring with rain, but that didn't stop them showing us their island with pride.

A great weekend, and I look forward to going back there again, maybe one day when the sun is shining :-).

Meadows 1 mile

A quick one on Wednesday - a lap of the Meadows as fast as possible! There was hardly any wind compared to last week, and conditions were good. Blasted off a bit too fast perhaps (glancing down at my Garmin it read average pace 5:22/mile). It caught up with me about half way round, but managed to hang on for 3rd place (thanks to frantic shouts from Grant and BC!! "There's a girl right behind you...here she comes!!! Run!!")

Time: 5:45 (PB)
Position: 3rd

Another 2 miler

Quite a few of the usual CAAC boys turned up for the second 2 miler at the Meadows. It was blowing a gale on Wednesday evening. The direction of the wind made the second lap and finishing straight hard work. My legs were a bit tight from last night's track session. I felt ok, but my time was reflected by the conditions. A fair bit of work to do if I'm going to get under 12 minutes this year.

Position: 3rd woman
Time: 12:50

Self Transcendence Meadows 2 miler

Wednesday night was race number one of the 2011 Self Transcendence Edinburgh race series and it kicked off with a 2 miler. There was a good CAAC turn out, including Pilky, BC and Dave from Moray’s squad, along with the Pegsters and Mike A. I was the only CAAC lady on this occasion. I was wondering how the legs would feel after the week of hill walking. I’d just done an easy 4 mile jog last night rather than track to ease them back in gently. Was a slight shock to the system being back in such a fast race, and my right ankle was feeling a bit peculiar on the second lap, but I was pleased with how the run went, only 5 seconds off my fastest time last year. A good base to improve on over the summer. My aim is still to get a sub 12 minute before 2011 is out!

Position: 4^th woman

Time: 12:23

Gairich (919m)

Sunday was the last full day in our cottage and we decided to finish off the week with a final Munro, this time heading to Gairich, a solitary Munro between Glen Kingie and Loch Quoich. I think this may have been the hottest day of the holidays so far. This looked like an ‘easy’ hike in the book, only 780m of ascent and 10 miles of walking. All relative after the long walks we’d been doing in the week!

The walk started by crossing a rather impressive dam, and then over some boggy ground. I think most of the time this section would be a nightmare to get across, but given the time of year and dry weather we’d been having, it was relatively straightforward. There was a path all the way to the top, and the ascent was gradual to begin with, with a last steep push to the top. It took us just under 3 hours to get to the summit and we met lots of walkers on their way down as we neared the top. We had our lunch on the summit enjoying yet more stunning views. The descent was much quicker and easier than other walks this week. We were back to the car by 6pm, which worked out perfectly for stopping at the Cluanie Inn for our dinner. The Cluanie burger with chips for Neil and the Venison burger with chips for me! Dinner never tasted so good!!!

By the end our week, Neil has reached 96 Munros, so hoping to reach the century later this month!

The South Glen Shiel Ridge (the day of 7 Munros)

After a couple of days rest and recuperation (whisky tasting on Skye, a gentle coastal walk in Applecross and seafood dinner in Plockton), the big day had arrived! Neil and I had discussed wanting to do this walk for some time, so we were excited about the day that lay ahead. We’d managed to coincide it with the day of the Royal Wedding (not on purpose), but both of us were pretty happy to just catch the highlights that evening. We watched the build up on BBC as we tucked into our breakfast, and then packed the car (complete with bikes) ready to head off.

We parked the car just up the road from the battle of Glen Shiel, donned our walking gear and jumped on the bikes. We had a 6 mile cycle (mostly uphill) up the road to reach the Cluanie Inn, the start of our walk. My legs were feeling fairly fresh as I started cycling up the road. I very much enjoyed cycling along; occasionally looking up to my right to see the spectacular sight of the Glen Shiel Ridge, and realising that very soon we’d be hiking back across it. I spotted a sign ahead, Cluanie Inn 400m ahead – we’d almost made it, the bike ride felt much easier than I’d been expecting. After a quick photo and locking up the bikes, we headed off on the walk.

The first 4 miles is a gradual ascent along a very good stalkers path. The ascent then rises more steeply and the first Munro is reached with relative ease. It was great to reach the top. Another couple of people were at the top, it appeared they had come from another direction and were probably only doing a small section of the ridge that day. They were the last people we saw on the ridge all day! Maybe we were the only ones missing the wedding after all?! The views were slightly hazier than previous days, but either way, we couldn’t complain, we could still see as far as the eye could see! Quite a daunting prospect when we could see the ridge which lay ahead of us. The hike to the next one was fairly straightforward and took us no time at all, however getting between two and three was quite tough, with a bit of a hill in between which added to the challenge. The sun continued to shine throughout, though it was pretty windy at times, almost sweeping you off your feet on occasions! It was great to get to number six and see where we’d come from. We had a quick check of the map to see which our last hill was. At this point we were pleased to see it was the closer of the two we could see before us. We had a last push to the top of Munro number seven for the day! And felt a great sense of achievement on getting to it! The sun was starting to go down, and once again the light off the surrounding landscape was spectacular. After revelling in the joy of having completed the South Glen Shiel Ridge, our thoughts turned towards the next part, getting down! The start of the descent felt pretty good – my legs must have become stronger after the Saddle a few days before I thought. But then about half way down the fatigue started to work its way in! A few mini-eggs later and I had a return of energy, but there comes a point when no amount of mini-eggs will restore the energy levels! Again, we could spot the red dot of our car on the road. The last little bit was through some boggy woodland which made for some hard walking, but we made it. Back on solid tarmac, we headed back to car. It was 8:45pm. We drove back to the Cluanie Inn to pick up our bikes and then headed back to the cottage. It was time for some pasta and to catch the Royal Wedding highlights on TV. Another fantastic day!

The Saddle (1010m) and Sgurr na Sgine (946m)

After a great weekend in Braemar with CAAC for the Balmoral 10k, Neil and I drove across to the West, where we had a cottage booked in a small place called Conchra – just off the main road a few miles past Eilan Donan Castle. It was a great base for our week and perfectly placed for our planned adventures. The first of which was a Munro double, the Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine – 2 adjacent hills, with the first, the Saddle incorporating the Forcan Ridge, a great scramble. We couldn’t have wished for a more perfect day weather and view wise. The first part of the walk involved following a stalkers path up to the ridge before the scramble began. I really enjoyed the challenge of the scramble, and felt quite safe throughout, as there were some good hand holds and rocks to support yourself on. There were routes around to avoid the scramble if wanted, but as pointed out in the Munro book ‘this would defeat the object of the ascent’. I was pleased to see the cairn come into view on the last section – a hard climb, but one of my favourites to date. We enjoyed our lunch on the summit before continuing onto hill number two for the day.

There was a fair drop between the two hills and a challenging rocky descent off the Saddle. We arrived at the top of Sgurr na Sgine when the light off the hills was beginning to look quite spectacular. We could see across to Syke, Knoydart, the South Glen Shiel Ridge to mention a few. After spending a bit of time on the summit, (this was number 60 for me) we started the walk down. The route followed a ridge for a way, then back up a bit before the real descent began. I could see our car; it was a tiny red dot, some 900m below us! I’m never a fan of the descent, although my Leki walking poles which I got last birthday are proving to be invaluable, especially with keeping my ankles intact! Neil recently got some walking poles too and is feeling the benefits. I enjoyed watching the sun setting over the surrounding mountains on the way down; the ever changing colours were beautiful. We spotted a couple of wild campers who had pitched their tents along the way. I envied them, as I looked down on what we still had to do to get back to the car! We arrived back to the car with weary legs, but I have to say, one of my favourite ever hill walks. I’ll remember this one for some time.

Lochnagar 5

On last year's Balmoral trip we attempted to do the Lochnagar 5, but the weather was against us, and we only managed one of the 5 Munros on this loop. This year, the weather was with us and we decided to give it another go. We went the opposite way round this year, meaning we had a longer walk in to the first hill, but a much more gradual ascent. With this being an 18 mile hike, it was nice to get some of the easier miles in early on, rather than face a long walk out at the end. The sun was shining, with great views, and loads of fun walking round as a big group. We reached summit number one with ease, and then continued round, ticking each one off as we went and admiring the stunning scenery at each one. With a food / easter egg stop on each summit too! A few of the CAACers who'd gone off ahead made a slight error and headed in the wrong direction at one point. Tom, Keith and Dave therefore had to break into a bit of hillrunning to bag that Munro and rejoin the group, while a few of the others decided they would miss that one out. It looked like Tom could have run around the whole loop! The grand finale was Lochnagar - where we could look back at where we'd come from.

Really enjoyed this hillwalk and a good start to the week of hillwalking Neil and I had planned for the week ahead...

Balmoral 10k 2011

This was the third year I headed up to Balmoral with fellow CAACers to do the Balmoral 10k. and this time Neil came along too. It would be the start of a week's long holiday in Scotland. After loading up the car with all our gear in the morning, we headed off to Braemar. The CAACers stayed in the bunkhouse, but Neil and I stayed in a B&B just up the road which turned out to be a little gem of a place, which we'll certainly be returning too!

The race seemed busier than previous years, I think it's become more and more popular. The gun went and we all piled across the start line. The first few kilometres are merely a formality, as you wait in anticipation for the start of 'the hill'. Before I knew it, it was upon us, and I started the long climb to the top, listening out for the piper at the top. This was definitely the best I'd ever felt on the hill, though I was still pleased to get to the top knowing the hard work was done and the rest was mostly downhill. I had a bit of a battle with a girl from Aberdeen, unfortunately what I made up on the uphills, she always cruised passed me on the downhills, so she just got me at the end. Pleased with my position of 7th woman, and time of 42:33, my quickest on this course to date. Neil had not done as much training as he would have liked for this race, but nonetheless had a really good run, coming in at 45:59. There were great CAAC performances all round, Grant won first vet and Dean dipped under 40 minutes. Some of the CAACers ran back to Braemar, while the rest of us took the car or cycled, before getting ready for our night in the Fife Arms. Another great 10k in Balmoral.