22 miles on the West Highland Way
A glorious day and a remarkable turnout for John Kynaston's first official training run on the way. 35 in fact almost too many runners to catch up with on the narrow and difficult path along the east side of the Loch so I did not manage to chat with all those I had wanted to. It was extremely cold at the beginning (therefore my somewhat disputable pose on the group photo) and I was envious of Eileen's ski gloves. Once we were off and running it was becoming more comfortable and the social sense warmed up but it was not all about chatting and running. It was about keeping your head down and watching every single step of the way. Many times I had to learn that some of the stones were not just wet, but icy. Although they looked "just wet". I slipped a few times and once almost fell into one of the many streams crossing the path. This was indeed a technical run and I noticed that some runners coped much better than others. For me a valuable lesson. Running a fast Marathon is all about stamina, this, that is along the loch side, was different. I did have a problem with my contacts. Was it the cold air or was I emotional again? My eyes did not stop tearing and I struggled with blurry vision throughout the race, sorry training run. The field started to stretch almost instantly after the start. Very understandable since probably everyone was freezing. The path to Inversnaid is narrow so naturally the field stretched even more. The first view of the Loch was stunning
(see Tim's photo) and I waited for Silke ta catch up since I wanted to share that moment with her and give her some encouragement on her second training run. She had found some company and despite the fast pace was still enjoying the run as the day was just marvelous.
I picked up the pace slightly and caught up with a few runners ahead and reached Ian. Unfortunately he stopped for a break so I passed him and moved up the field slightly. Once we reached the Loch the serious technical running started and most runners slipped here and there and so was I but apart from wet feet and a few bruises I survived the day without injuries. Eileen was leading our group into Inversnaid. Here I hoped there would be a break and possible a reformation of groups and some chatting with one or another runner. Mike Tomson was there (he came from Rowardennan) who I ran with last week but there was not much time for chatting - before I had half of my energy bar the first group left already. I could not see exacly who was in it but I spotted John Kynaston and Marco in that group and I decided to follow so I rushed to catch up. When I reached the group the course was technical again and it was heads down and watch every step. The group was lead by Caroline and she kept the pace high and steady until we reached the end of the loch.
I had a long chat with John Kynaston and it was great to catch up and discuss. I think it was due that I congratulated him again for his superb performance in the 2008 WHW Race.
We reached Beinglas and had a small stop to regroup. Tim caught up with us carrying a strange horn in his backpack. That surely was not a Mars bar.
I had hoped to see some runners from the leading pack, e.g. Davie, Marco, Sharon and a couple of other runners but there was no sign. They had already left towards Derridarroch.
We headed off again towards Derridarroch and I ran a mile or so with Gavin who seemed to have no luck with his training after his WHW Race and had his first long training run.
John caught up with us and I decided to pick up the pace. I think mentally I had prepared for this. Empty my carbohydrate storage at the end of that run. Here I was in my element again on the wide path with its ups and downs. Enjoyable running and despite sore legs I felt great and there it was again the runners high. The cold, clear fresh air and the snow powdered surroundings, the crunchy noise under my feet and the wide open valley with its little hills and streams crossing the path and I was floating in it. Just before Derridarroch I met Marco, Davie and Sharon who were on their way back already and later just before Carmyle Cottage I met another 2 runners.
On my way back at Derridarroch I met Ian and another runner (sorry forgot who it was) who wanted to continue to Carmyle Cottage and then I joined Caroline and ran the rest together with her. She still kept a steady pace even running most of the uphills.
We joined a few runners at the gate and finally had a deserved snack in the Drovers.
This was another great and memorable day on the Way. I'll be back!
