I Told You So!

and so he did.... at least 7 times before bedtime last night!

Yesterday was the first day of our 4 day Easter weekend, and I decided to do my long run of the weekend rather than put it off until today.  Couldn't do it tomorrow (Sunday) as we are going to go up to Perth to watch the Anglo Celtic Plate 50km and 100km races and to support friends.  If I put it off until Monday then it's into next week's running so doesn't count apparently ;-)
So, up nice and early - who needs an alarm when the daylight is creeping round the edges of the curtains at 5:30am?  Up at about 20 past 6 and downstairs to put the porridge on.  I had sort of planned to run from Milngavie to about the foot of Conic Hill and back as I was looking for 24 miles but John who is now officially tapering for Boston in 2 weeks, decided he'd like to run with me but he wasn't enamoured with Milngavie out and back as he's done it a few times recently... I let him coerce me into running from Balmaha to potentially past Rowardennan and back!  I have done this once before way back at the start of my WHW running adventures in February 2011 and it nearly killed me that day!  I have since run twice from Drymen to Rowardennan on my own, once as a practice and once as the second leg of the Hoka Highland Fling relay last April.  I did much better on those two occasions than the first time I'm glad to report.  So I wasn't too phased about it, other than when we were driving towards Buchlyvie and it started to snow - we left the house in sunshine!  I realised that I hadn't brought any spikes for my shoes so had a wee panic that there might be snow or ice to contend with - I have real issues with icy roads :-(
Fortunately it was but a passing flurry and we arrived at Balmaha in dry if cold conditions.  A quick visit to the facilities at the Oak Tree Inn and we headed off down the path along the lochside.  First set of steps - god how I hate those stone steps that litter this route - and an unscheduled stop as I thought I was suffering from a leaky bladder... quick recycling of a zip bag as a precautionary measure and we were on our way.  The first 3miles were AWFUL!!!! This is where the I told you sos started.... you see I had done my usual 3 fitcamp sessions this week, Mon, Wed, Thurs and they were all tough!  However on Thursday I had a rare chance to get to the treadmill at lunchtime and decided to do a wee interval session which I thorougly enjoyed but which was the fastest running I've ever done... so.... as you can guess my legs were screaming!!!  Hey ho... At mile 3 John suggested that I decide whether I wanted to turn back - how dare he??  I said no I might not do 12 miles out and back but I would definitely go to Rowardennan and probably turn back there.
Now it usually takes 40min to an hour for me to warm up on this sort of terrain at my plodding pace, so things started to get better and even the 'dreaded steps' that I have had nightmares in the past about weren't nearly as bad as I remembered them... I even got a row for running down the path at 9:30 pace!  Though I don't think I was going that fast!
We got to Rowardennan and stopped to use the facilities and I changed my shirt there as I was too warm in 2 long sleeve tops as the sun had come out, so I swapped one for a short sleeve T and then proceeded to be quite cold on the way back when the sun disappeared and the wind blew in off the Loch!  Typical!
I'm still not getting the feeding 100% right, but I am getting better as I did say at the hour and 2 hour mark that I needed to eat something so that's progress :-)
John was running up all the big hills like some sort of Ibex or other fleet footed mountain climber - it was truly a sight to behold and at one point I stopped to watch him and wanted to woop and holler but didn't as I was worried he'd think there was something wrong and think he'd to come back to get me :-)
I much much prefer to run this route in one direction only as I think it's much tougher coming back the way - there are some big climbs on this section - cumulative climbing was 451metres - that's adding up all the Ups - so it's no wonder my poor legs were dead by the last hill... he only told me so another twice on the route, then another time in the pub when our friend Bob had the audacity to agree! Then I think it was another 4 or 5 times before bedtime LOL!
As I came back into Balmaha I met Karl Zeiner and Debbie Brupacher, they are running the full WHW on 3 days and various friends from our facebook community have joined them for part of it - we met some of them at Balmaha as they'd stopped for a break and were heading on to Rowardennan where there was a previously-planted car to drive back to Balmaha for some food at the Oak Tree, then back to Milngavie to pick up various other cars and head home.  Others are meeting them today to run some of the next part and yet more tomorrow I think.  Yes I was pretty gubbed at the end, and I'd only got 15 (tough) miles instead of 24 (gentler) miles, but as my wee mouse at the top of this post reminds me it didn't kill me, or to quote John in a recent post I'm not dead yet!!
So tomorrow will be a day of cheering and flag waving and watch the real big guns fight to keep the AC Plate in Scottish hands, Monday will be our fitcamp anniversary so I'll be heading to the morning camp, and that gives us the rest of our day off to do something - or not as the fancy takes us.  Then it will be one more week at work then we're off :-)

Happy Easter everyone  xxx

Tempus Fugit - again!

"again" as I'm sure I've used this title before but I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I last posted on here.  And a busy 3 weeks it's been!
After I last posted on 24 Feb we had 3 days off work which was bliss, on the Monday it was a 'jammie' day in so much as I stayed home and did some chores and tidied up the garden and stuff, we were really fortunate to get 3 days of glorious Spring sunshine if a little cold.
Tuesday we headed off to Tyndrum so that I could recce the last leg of the Fling course, we ran 22 miles - 11 from Tyndrum to Beinglas Farm and back again and boy was it hilly!  John told me after about an hour that 'those in the know call this the rollercoaster'  I understand why!  We had a fantastic day out in the most amazing scenery and another bright, cold, sunny day.  To see some photos of the day, look at the slideshow on John's blog the rest of his blog's good too :-)  The following day we had a day in Glasgow as John had an appointment to get his VO2 max and other stuff tested, again if you want to know the detail I'm sure he's blogged about it, it's all a bit geeky but basically just means for an old guy he's mega fit and healthy!  While he was away doing that, I treated myself to a manicure and a wee wander round the shops.  We'd a really nice lunch and then home in time for me to get organised and back out to fitcamp.  Then it was back to work for a nice short 2 day week :-)  Saturday 2 March, John was heading off for a long run and I went to Strathclyde parkrun, they do a pacer day on the first Saturday of the month, and although my legs felt kind of heavy and tired I wanted to go and see if I could get a sub29min time, the decider was that it was my friend Mike who was the 29min pacer and having run on his shoulder in a 10k at the tail end of last year I was hopeful I'd be able to stick with him and maybe make it over the line under the 29.  He did an awesome job of pacing me but I think he got a slap from another runner as he went off a bit fast and kept me steady until with about 1km to go he said he'd best hold back and I should keep on going, I'd no idea how fast I'd run as I'd mucked up  my watch at the start, so I was delighted to cross the line in 28:28 :-)  A quick coffee with some refugees from Falkirk parkrun (it's suspended as path upgrading underway) then home to hear about John's long run.  The next day - Sunday - we headed through to Mugdock to meet up with some friends of the 2 and 4 legged variety for a sociable run to the Beech Tree Inn and back followed by coffee and hilarity in Costa Milngavie.
I then had a really lazy week, I did my fitcamp sessions but didn't get any running done, until the Saturday when we headed to Dunfermline to do an out and back on the old railway - it was freezing, windy, sleet, snow and rain probably the worst weather of all winter, yet ironically it was my most consistent 10miler ever, I had a good run on all sorts of levels...
It turns out that the bad weather was fortuitous as this Saturday past 16th March, I completed the D33 ultra - in brutal weather! Freezing cold, headwind out and headwind back, sleet, hail and rain... all good fun :-)
What a FANTASTIC event!  Loon Dod and his amazing PA the lovely Karen and their team of willing volunteers put on a day to remember!  A unique medal - see pic above, a specially labelled finisher's beer, a D33 goody bag with beer, crisps & caramac in!!!  We travelled up to Aberdeen on the Friday afternoon after work and stayed overnight, which gave us the chance to meet up with some of the  folks we'd met through the Facebook group setup for the race, and then drove straight back down Saturday afternoon as we had the Alloa Half marathon on Sunday 17th.  I had entered the Alloa Half months ago when it first opened for entries, then on a whim on Hogmanay entered the D33 not realising it was the day before.  When I did realise I thought oh well it won't matter I can do the Half any year, it's our local race, then as my Fling training went well I decided to try to complete both, everybody - except for John - said I was mad and I decided I wouldn't commit until I saw how I felt after finishing the D33 but I felt great and as I could still walk when I got up yesterday morning decided to get ready and see how I felt after a wee warmup.  Mentally I was up for it, physically, my knee was a bit sore and big muscles were tired, but I didn't feel like anything was 'broken' just tired so I lined up at the start - still being told by friends that I was nuts :-)
I took it really slowly and easily, I was quite comfortable to be near the back and would have been happy being last as long as I finished.  The first 2 miles were really tough, legs were really tired and slow to respond, then about mile 3, the 'muscle memory' kicked in and the brain got kicked out :-) I just kept ticking over, and before I knew it was at the half way point and as well as never having being in last place I was now passing people!  Between miles 5 and 12 I managed to pass 8 or 9 others which gave me a huge boost and as it's a local route I train on I was able to keep ticking off the landmarks, though I have to admit seeing John in the distance as I passed the 12mile marker was a Huge lift of my spirits :-)  He told me how well I'd done then ran off to be at the finish, then there was Alan waiting for me and ran a wee bit with me telling me how he couldn't believe I'd done it, then on the last corner was James smiling, and shouting encouragement and as I turned the final corner and passed Janette, the announcer gave me the most amazing welcome!  It was a tad embarrassing as he proceeded to tell the cheering, if smaller by now, crowd that I had completed a 33 mile ultra the day before - it really was a very special finish line build up and for that I have to thank Murdoch who does a great job every year.
So there you go 3 weeks in a 10minute read - hope you're still awake!!!  My two medals signify something very special for me, 46.1miles in 2 days, or 73.76kms and still physically and mentally in one piece!  I was all set to go to fitcamp tonight til it started snowing this afternoon and hasn't let up since...
Next stop Boston :-)

Sometimes it's the little things...

...that give you the biggest sense of achievement!  Today was one of those days :-)
Last year we went to watch the Devilla races, a 5k and 15k trail run through Devilla Forest.  A great event put on by Carnegie Harriers, everyone ran out of the forest with muddy legs and mostly smiling, and I said then that I would really like to enter it next year.  Today was next year :-) I signed up at the end of last year, looking forward to it, but I must confess as the day approached my enthusiasm was waning.  I woke this morning with a 'snotty head' and a cough which wasn't the best start to the day, however by the time I'd had breakfast and got dressed, I had more of a 'race head' on.  We aren't far from Tulliallan Police College where the race is hosted, so were there in plenty of time to pick up number, chip and bottle of beer, say hello to lots of folk and then get a decent wee warmup done.  This race starts on a gently climbing uphill after which you get a wee descent and then it just seemed to keep on climbing!  Nothing hugely taxing but consistently climbing.  Now this is where the little things referred to above came into play, I am notoriously not good running uphill, I can fly down them with loads of confidence, but somtimes struggle with the self belief that I can actually get up them as well without needing to walk.  However today I did it!  I climbed all the hills at a nice steady even pace, and I even passed some people on the ups which is definitely a first for me - I usually pass them on the downs then they catch me back up on the next climb.  The other little thing which made a huge difference to my race, and this isn't something I have a problem with :-) is the mud!  At about 4km there was a queue!!! I ask you?  A QUEUE?  Yep a line of people - both ladies and men, lining up to take it in turn to walk in single file around the mud to avoid it wherever possible... Sorry, apologies if anybody thought I was rude, but I jumped the queue, I didn't push past anyone, I was considerate of others, I didn't laugh out loud at the poor girl who lost her bright pink shoe in the mud ;-) or had to hop in her lovely white socks, but I did go past and I DID go right through the middle of the mud.  It was only mid calf deep in the deepest places, and it didn't smell too bad, but it made my heart sing and my  brain buzz, it was a trail race after all!  After that I felt really strong and in control and that stayed with me the whole way today, that's another 'wee thing' that sense of working hard, but knowing that you're in control, never feeling stressed - it's a great place to be...
So yep it's been another learning day today and I'm pleased with the lessons I've learnt, I'm also pleased that I finished in a respectable time, a good few minutes faster than I had hoped for and in front of a few people that I thought I'd have been behind, that will teach them to join the queue ;-)
My fab friend Margaret who is training for her first marathon in 3 weeks time (and has been a star!!) came along with her Dad to take photos today - just before I saw them I had looked at my watch and realised I'd beaten my goals, can you tell from my phot I was happy???  :-)

Tired :-)

And a little bit like the guy in the picture... purely down to tiredness I think, but on the more positive side, I feel ok about being tired as I've just checked my Garmin stats, and in the last 7 days I have clocked up 52.86 miles which takes me to 205.2miles for the year so far :-)

I had two good runs at the start of the week, the River Leith Walkway on Sunday, and the West Highland Way on Monday, both of which I posted about earlier this week.  I didn't run on Tuesday or Wednesday, nor did I get to fitcamp.  On Monday we didn't get back from our run in time for me to go, and then on Wednesday it started to snow just after 7am, and it didn't stop all day!  I don't mind exercising in the snow, but I don't like the drive through to Cumbernauld on the motorway in the snow, there are too many idiot drivers on the roads and they all seem to come out in force when the weather is bad :-(
Thursday evening we went to Run4It in Bridge of Allan to pick up our Trial shoes courtesy of Brooks Running, this was an offer they advertised in January where you could sign up to trial a pair of the new PureProject2 range of shoes for a week and in return you get a whopping £25 off a new pair.  I had fully intended buying the PureGrit2 when it launched, in fact I've been watching for the release, so this was a bonus and the fact that it was on my birthday as well was a nice wee surprise :-)  Anyway, I got the new Grit2 and John went for a pair of PureFlow.  I already own 2 pairs of PureFlow which I have trained for and run my last year's marathons in and I really like them as shoes, John isn't convinced yet, he, I think prefers the PureCadence or his ST5s for racing. 
I took my new shoes for a run in the forest today :-)  Next week I am taking part in the Devilla Forest 15k so I thought I'd go for a recce round the forest and get a feel for the conditions, it would also let me see how the shoes compare to my current ones - the biggest difference is a new improved sole, my current ones are quite slippy on downhills in wet conditions, or as I found out last Monday, slippy on sloping rocks if they are wet...
I was taken by surprise by how hilly it was today, I only hope that it's not that bad next week!  I have looked at the course map and I think I was on the hilliest bit of the forest and the race stays on a bit of a flatter terrain - at least that's what I'm hoping for!  The shoes performed brilliantly, the legs weren't quite so good!  It didn't help that the first 1km was a fairly hefty climb and then when I crested the hill, my legs wanted to run like I'd been running on the treadmill on Thursday night - this was not a good idea!  As soon as I levelled out and then started to climb again, my calves and hamstrings started squealing!  I took a path at a fork in the road which led into a very muddy trail, good for testing the shoes, but again not great for the legs, this path seemed to run out at a field entrance, so I doubled back on myself and then when I got back to the forest road I headed off downhill which was great a really nice long downhill run, however, as we all know, what goes down has to come back up again :-)  So at the end of my hilly tiring run, when I got back to the car, I'd only managed 14km and I was wanting 20km so that I could log my Febulous runs.  Febulous is a motivational personal challenge organised by Marathon Talk, you say how many runs you'll do a week and what your longest run will be each week, folk sign up as individuals or as part of a team, I'm part of the West Highland Way runners team so I couldn't not do the miles :-)
I finished my run by running the last 6km along the cycle path back to Clackmannan where John picked me up.  My legs are tired, and I'm tired, hence why I'm a bit grumpy, but I'm sure I will feel better after a good night's sleep and will do a wee 3-5mile run tomorrow.  Then it will be a new week...
4 weeks today I will have completed the D33, my first ultra of the year, and if I'm able to walk, I might run(?) the Alloa Half Marathon the following day, if I don't run it I will be there cheering on John and James and the rest of our friends who are running it, some for their first Half :-)

here are my new shoes, before and after...

Just out the box

After a wee run in the forest

different sole designs

The other side of the hill...

Today was a day off for us and the sun was shining this morning, the hills were white with snow, and the thought of housework was just unbearable.  I'd a real notion to be outside and suggested we go and do a bit of a people watching - now this normally entails a visit to a coffee shop or wine bar where you sit, enjoy the wares, and watch your fellow men/women going about their day.  We both enjoy people watching so it seemed like a good use of a nice day off...
What did we do?  We went for a run :-)  We saw next to no-one, in fact I think we saw more wild goats than we did people.  We had no coffee and no wine, (but we did have some electrolyte drink), and I had a blast!  There are many, many reasons why today's run was very important, and why to complete it in a fit and healthy state means such a lot to me, and I won't try too hard to analyse it and write it all down, you'll just have to believe me when I say that it is very important... I mentioned last night that last week I'd had a wee bit of a psychological wobble when I had a recurrence of the leg pain which has plagued me for the last couple of years.  It hasn't stopped me doing the things I've wanted to do, and thanks to a great physio and my strength work at fitcamp, I'm not having the same chronic problems, never the less, last week gave me a fright and kicked off all the 'doubt demons' you know those little buggers that nip at your conscience and ask you if "perhaps you've bitten off more than you can chew", and "do you really think you can do this?"  You know the sort of conversations that go on in your head... anyway, today they have scurried back into the darkest corners, where they will hopefully stay for a very long time :-)
Today we ran 10miles - 10 very slow miles - in 3 and a half hours, but before you raise your eyebrows in horror at the time, you need to appreciate the terrain and that for any other than the racing snakes, this is a pretty normal time to do that distance on that terrain.  We did some more Highland Fling training, we ran North from Inversnaid to Dario's post and then back again, this is the 'scrambly' bit of the West Highland Way, there is little good running trail, and unless you weigh less than 9 stones and can fly through the air with the greatest of ease, you have to scramble up and down the rocks, this is what eats up the time, but what a challenge!  I was worried about this bit of the Way, as everyone talks about how awful it is and goodness only knows how I'll feel about scrambling after 35 miles but at least I know now what to expect.
The other really big thing for me about today's run was that it was tough, and I did it back to back with my 26miles yesterday, so in terms of distance training this was good.  I have run 40miles in the past 3 days and I am feeling great, healthy and happy and looking forward to the next challenge...
p.s. the hill in the title is a reference to the dark place I was but have come to the other side of :-) though there is something really special about being on the other side of a hill that you can't get to unless you work hard, there is no road in and out :-)

Ooops!

Oooops! Covers lots of things since I last blogged, not least that i should have worn trail shoes for today's run, not road shoes... however they will clean and be pretty and purple again :-)

Other Oooops moments - running a little too fast on my Saturday LSR (17.5miles) last week which ended up with my leg seizing up and causing me excruciating pain and meaning I had to walk the second half of Sunday's run from Milngavie to Carbeth with only a slow jog/walk for the first half of it - however, I did have lovely company on Sunday from Alan and Islay - John met us after he'd finished his second 20mile run of the weekend!  We also met some fellow marcothoners at the end of the route which was nice to meet some more of the people behind all the madness that is marcothon :-)
I woke on Monday feeling utterly crap, not sure if it was a virus type thing or if it was just accumulated tiredness - that coupled with snow and gale force winds meant I didn't go to fitcamp on Monday night, but fortunately by Wednesday both my leg and my general health was much improved and although I still hadn't run, I did get along to fitcamp and had a good workout.  I'd been to see 'Mr Magic Fingers' at luncthime (physio!) at LifeFit Physiotherapy and he'd managed to ungum my kneecap and do some digging in my muscles - what a difference - though it wasn't nearly as sore as I'd anticipated, and he did say he'd seen it much worse.  Thursday I managed a wee half hour run before fitcamp and then it was fitness test time.  We take a fitness test at the start of the 4 week block and repeat it again at the end, hoping for improved numbers, I'm happy with mine this time!
I was on holiday on Friday (and again tomorrow) but when I woke on Friday I still had a sore throat and felt a bit under the weather, so when I woke yesterday the thought of a long run didn't fill me with joy... we decided to leave it another 24hours and see how I felt but the trade off was that I had to go to they gym to do a wee session - glad I did, I ran a 4mile session just turning up the miles every half mile and had the intention of trying run the last mile at 09:20 pace all was going fine, working hard but not red-lining, when John who'd finished his workout came back on the treadmill next to me and said go on turn it up for the last 4minutes - I did and so the last half mile took me 08:45!  I couldn't believe I was running that fast and yes I could have gone another couple of yards more if there'd been a finish line ahead :-)  I was really pleased as I didn't have any further pain in my leg.  So this morning we got up and headed out for the LSR, we'd decided to drive through to Leith as I'd mentioned that I'd like to run on the Water of Leith Walkway, so the plan was to run from where the river joins the sea up to Balerno where the Walkway starts, and back again.  The aim of today's run was to try to teach me to run at the slow pace I will need to do to be able to finish the Fling in April, and to practice eating on the move.  We ran most of the day in snow, however it didn't lie on the ground just added to the wet and muddy underfoot conditions (see shoes!!) but it wasn't unpleasant to run in, neither was it too cold nor too windy so it wasn't a bad day out at all.  One of the biggest things for me though was that my leg is fine, it's a bit tired, they both are, but there's no great pain and it hasn't seized up so all is good again in my head - I had a wee mental wobble after last weekend and at the moment, those fears have been allayed.
Next week is what's known as a drop back week my LSR is 10miles, so to make it interesting and to get more Fling practice in the bag, I've to try to run up hills - this is something I really struggle with, whereas John just bounds up them!  There will still be midweek runs and fitcamp sessions but it will be a 'lighter' week...
Oh and on another note - we got our Condo and flights booked for Boston and I have entered the 5km race which is held on the Sunday before the marathon and finishes on the last km of the course so I will get a chance to cross the famous Boston finish line :-)

How time flies...

Wow it's been almost 2 weeks since I've been on here - how time flies when you're having fun (or training!)

I've done a few good runs since then, and some fun and tough fitcamp sessions too.

 

Alan

 

Last weekend some friends were running from Bishopbriggs to Falkirk along the Forth & Clyde canal, I didn't need a 20 mile run, so John and I went by train to Croy and met up with Alan Lindsay.  There had been some snow on the Friday, so the path was quite icy at the start - this gave me a chance to try out my kahtoola micro spikes which I'd got for Xmas and hadn't had a chance to use yet.  I kept them on for about 4km then the ice diminished so I put them back in my bag - it feels weird for first few minutes of running after you take them off!  John had run the first mile with us then he headed off at his 'slightly faster than me' pace :-) Alan and I trotted along quite comfortably, blethering away, and the time and the miles passed effortlessly.  We stopped to speak to the wildlife rangers who were trying to rescue a young swan which had managed to get himself tangled up in some fishing line :-(  His parents were watching from a respectful distance as he waddled across the frozen canal and just as the ranger thought she was going to be able to catch him, he took off and flew towards his Mum & Dad!  Her colleague who was in a rowing boat breaking the ice and trying to get to him on the water, was less than impressed!  With about 1mile to go, we met up with John who had run back to meet us, and then we headed off to the cafe at the Falkirk Wheel for a heat and some well earned refuelling.  The rest of the crew, Noanie, David and Angela joined us and after they were fed and rested, we all set off again to head up the hill and through the tunnelto join the Union Canal.  2.5miles took us along to Falkirk High station, where we had parked our car and where the others got on the train to head back to Croy/Bishopbriggs.  It was a fine sunny day and the chat was good, and I got 12.5miles in my legs.
Sunday, we went out in foul weather, it had snowed from about 4pm on the Saturday, pretty much all night, so it was slushy, grey, cold and windy but off we went... We had planned to go up the hill for a wee session, but I was struggling with tired legs so we did a 5.5mile loop around the hillfoots into a blizzard and home again.  I had had a sore foot on Saturday evening, from the base of my toe up towards my ankle, on the top of my foot, which on Sunday morning was swollen and slightly coloured so I rested it for most of sunday afternoon, applying ice and heat.  It is still a bit achy but the swelling and bruising have subsided and it doesn't cause me any pain when running... not sure what I've done but will keep an eye on it and if it doesn't improve over this week, I'll go to see my wonderful physio 

I had a good interval session on the treadmill on Tuesday, I was a bit worried about my foot, but it didn't hurt, then on Thursday I did another treadmill session, I'd a tempo run on my program, and the treadmill makes this much much easier.

Running down the hill

We had a great weekend of running in totally contrasting conditions! Yesterday we could have been in the Swiss Alps, it was glorious sunshine and deep, crisp, white snow - my legs are still cut from the ice-crystals!  We ran round the back of our local hill - Dumyat, up to the Sherrifmuir Road, then onto the hill itself.  We then decided to run down the back of the hill :-) There was no obvious path so we just picked a slope and headed down!  The snow was 3 feet deep in some places!  It was a fabulous day, the weather was amazing, I love being out in the snow and the sunshine there's something very special, and peaceful about being away up in the hills where there are very few other people.  On the walkable side of the hill, we met a few walkers in the full gear, and a couple of young Chinese students in totally inappropriate footwear - who were slipping and sliding their way back down!  I don't know how they managed to get up the path in the first place!  Scary stuff... though not quite as scary as the 4 30-something guys on mountain bikes heading back downhill!  There were ski tracks on the back side of the hill too, though the only other footprints were sheep and the highland coos.
Today it was a 4 seasons in 1 day run, 12 miles on the canal in deep puddles and real clarty mud - both tough workouts in their own way, but feels good to have done them!  I didn't manage to get quite as many miles as my program had for me this week, but I am pleased with the quality of the workouts and looking forward to next week's challenges...