I am going to start this one with naming & shaming a woman who quite simply should know better at (dare I say it) her age & a professional too!
Having set out on a ‘new’ running route last Wednesday I was two thirds through a 20 miler & battling a ferocious headwind between Llanwrst & Betws when two gentleman cyclists passed me from behind. Having kept diligently to the right hand side of the footpath there was no need for them to ring bells or yell ‘get out the way runner’ allowing the 3 of us to concentrate on that nasty wind. However soon a third cyclist drew near, next I heard a woman who will remain nameless but was not in the company of her dog Elsie yell shamelessly ‘I’d recognise that backside anywhere, Paul’ & then rode on without so much of a buy your leave.
I next bumped into her at the Conwy Mountain race on Saturday (fabulous so well done to Michael Corrales & his team), there was no attempt to apologise for her tawdry re-mark as she seemed to gloat in her powers of perception & then chastise me for choosing such a boring running route (I had my reasons which still in my humble opinion meet ‘Paul’s logic’) so here goes Ellie Salisbury can I please ask you ‘why were you cycling such a boring route & on the pavement too? Answers at the Sheeptracks this weekend please.
aTalking about the Sheeptracks I awoke on Sunday with the DOMS (clearly not fell race fit despite all the recent stamina stuff) to soon be picked up by Steve & Judy as we headed off to recce this weekends race on the Clwydians. Maggie was soon picked up too & as Steve drove we began to study the race route in detail. I was soon realising just how much navigation would be required & to be honest thinking s… Paul what have you let yourself in for this time. However over the course of a three & a half hour recce of two thirds of the course which included many stops for discussions & a couple of you go that way Paul & I’ll go this things began to make sense so a mighty thank you to Steve for sharing his knowledge & thoughts throughout the recce. I am now feeling confident that I can find the checkpoints even if I do not find them by the fastest route. If the mist stays away all may well be clear on the day.
Running 11 miles on legs with the DOMS is I have to say a great way for worse DOMS the next day but thankfully by yesterday they had receded a little leaving my physio with Sam in Betws only audible as far as Dolgellau but as ever it worked as today I enjoyed a lovely 10 miler with Ian Pagington in a windy drizzle otherwise known as ‘typical Welsh weather,’ thanks for pointing that out Ian but I think I already knew that!
It was good to see so many friendly faces over these recent runs, Cho Oyu it’s not all about you!
Finally, in between all of this I made a short excursion down to my home city of Bristol last week to cut my Father’s garden (chain saw & bravery required, ‘Dad, John, Geoff don’t stand there because if I slip I’ll be trimming you too’) & fitted in a couple of runs around the city’s Docks. Two comments ‘why wasn’t Bristol such a fabulous city when I was growing up there?’ & ‘their runners are fast, I can use them as speed training targets, I could live in a place like this if I really had to’. Back in Snowdonia common sense has prevailed, Bristol is a city break & no more, that said I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to cut my Father’s garden next year.
