Exploring Aroun' th' Top Barn

Lead legs today meant another easy run with Ruby.  I didn't intend to go far, just to the barn and back but I found myself being a bit inquisitive and exploring down very short little paths I haven't been down before.

It's a bit hard to explain where they were really, so I have marked them as colours onto a screen print from my route...

First was the green path, which brought me out by the gate behind the top barn where I had to climb over the fence as there was no stile or gate.  Probably not actually a real path but has definitely been walked over a lot.

The second was the purple one, which was something of a trod through the field off the diagonal path which goes from the house on Sheephouse Lane to one of the roads up to the barn.

The last one was a little path off Rivington Road, which went up to a house but then skirted round it and came back out onto the road up to the barn.

Nothing exciting really but they're all little paths I pass all the time but never go along so it's nice to have a change of scenery, however short that may be.

Total distance - 4.25 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/201531750

Noon Hill and the Pike

A leisurely run with Ruby today.  

We set off down dog poo alley in the direction of Rivington School but, when we got to Green Lane, we ran up to Tiger's Clough instead.  After running up the Devil's Steps we took the short route which brings you out near the cattle grid on the concrete road up to the farm, which is part of the Pike Race route.  We then ran up through the farm where, despite previously thinking I had made progress with Ruby and her sheep fetish, she started dragging towards them so I spent the entire run through the field yelling at her and yanking her back.  When will she ever learn?  I think the answer to that is never. 

From the top of the field, we turned left onto George's Lane and headed towards the Pigeon Tower, then along to the stile up to Noon  Hill.  

Once at the top of Noon Hill, I stopped to take some pictures and, as I was doing so, Ruby pulled suddenly towards a load of sheep, taking me completely by surprise and almost dislocating my shoulder.  She really jerked me back and I dropped my camera (phone) onto a rock but luckily it appears to have survived.  My mood was not improving.  It should be fun to go out running with a dog but some days she really tries my patience.  

View from Noon Hill...

From Noon Hill we headed cross-country to the Pike, where we bumped into Josie and a runner who I don't know having a natter on the top.  After having a bit of a natter myself, we carried on off the Pike down to George's Lane, with Josie speeding off in the opposite direction.  I had thought about doing the curly route down because Ruby has a habit of tripping me when I go the steeper more fun route but I decided in for a penny, in for a pound and let her off the lead and ran down.  At one point I did feel my heel making contact with her.  Why does she run so close?  The dog's a menace... but a lovely one! 

Once back on George's Lane, we just headed along to the kennels and back down the Two Lads route to home.  

Total distance - 5 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/201158246

Thieveley Pike Fell Race

My first fell race of the year!

What a tough little race.  Only 4.3 miles but with one hell of a climb in it.

I learned a valuable lesson right at the start of this race - start further up the field.  I took my place on the start line near the back of the pack because I didn't want to get in anyone's way but this was a huge mistake because, once we got through the field and along the track, people started walking straight away at the climb.  I would have preferred to run as far as I could before walking but I couldn't get past most of the time so was stuck behind people even slower than me!  I managed to get past a couple of people but I feel that if I had started further up in the pack I would have been much better placed for the climb.

The climb itself was really steep and at one point I was pretty much crawling using my hands too.  I felt like my calves were going to explode!

Once it leveled out, I found it quite difficult to get running again, but I managed, although shuffle is probably a more appropriate word than run.  There was then another big climb and the pressure in my calves now worked its way all the way up my legs and they felt like lead.

It was such a relief when I finally got to the pike and started my decent.

Just after coming off the pike there were absolutely stunning far reaching views so I took a moment (not literally, I kept on running) to take it all in.  It would have been rude not to.

When I had reached the pike, there were quite a few people around me, but I left them all for dust on the descent.  Nobody passed me at all and I gained quite a distance between the others and overtook another runner.

Then came the sting in the tail, another climb.  I found this one a bit easier but it was still hard work.

Relief came at the top when I knew that the rest of the race was downhill.  Again, nobody passed me on the down but I passed another three runners.

I actually felt like I was descending quite badly because I felt like I had my brakes on a bit too much but seeing as nobody passed me and I passed quite a few, I must have done OK really.

I passed another bloke on the run back in but he started to gain on me again, however I managed to hold him off and out sprint him at the end but it's probably nothing to be proud of as he looked quite a bit older than me.

I haven't seen the results yet so I'm not sure how far up the field I was but I'm sure there were more than ten people behind me, which sounds a bit rubbish but I'm OK with that.  These are all serious athletes after all.

Despite the tough climb and the fact I felt like I was going to chunder, I really enjoyed the race and would do it again.  I'll just make sure I'm further up the pack at the start next time.

Photo by Steve Bateson

Total distance - 4.3 miles (+ 1.1 mile warm up).

http://www.strava.com/activities/200347689
http://www.strava.com/activities/200347686

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Tonight's 'run' consisted of me trying to teach Ruby to stop chasing after things.  I'm sick of it now and really want to try harder to sort her out.  She has never really been treat motivated so it's quite difficult, however I have found a treat (from Lidl!) which she absolutely loves so I decided to take some out with me and use it to try to train her.

Professional trainers will tell you that you should treat the dog when ever she doesn't do the thing you are trying to stop her from doing.  The problem with that is that she NEVER doesn't pull after an animal she sees.

The tactic I therefore used was that whenever there was another dog that she was pulling to get towards, I would get the treat out and try to get her attention onto that instead, which did seem to work.  It's not ideal but it's a starting point! It worked on a couple of dogs we saw so I'm going to keep it up every time I take her out and hopefully try to get her to a point where she realises that she will get a treat if she doesn't run after the other dog.

Watch this space!

As for the run itself (if you can call it that - there were MANY stops in it), we just ran a loop around Rivington, nothing exciting.

Total Distance - 5.1 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/199364250

Ridgmont Run

Easy run with Ruby this evening and we set off up through Wilderswood onto George's Lane.  For the first time in a very long time, when we got to George's Lane, we turned right instead of left. I had no idea why really, I just wanted to go a different way.  After passing the top off Factory Hill and Foxholes, we turned off on the right and ran down to the fishing lodges and out onto Wallsuches.

From Wallsuches, we crossed Chorley Old Road and ran through to Ridgmont House, passing the house and turning left just after passing through into the cemetery.  This goes through some woods and comes out by a farm, where we then ran through the fields, eventually coming out onto Higher Barn.

We then ran back to Chorley Old Road and retraced our route back home along Wallsuches and George's Lane.

Quads and hamstrings were really tight today and a visit to Maria is long overdue so think I'll need to book myself in to keep on top of things.

Total Distance - 4.7 miles 

http://www.strava.com/activities/198947984

Two Runs Today, a Speed Session and an Easy One.

This morning I drove to Rivington for a one mile warm up before a speed session along The Street.  The intention was to do three sets of four quarter mile repeats with 30 seconds rest between each rep and two minutes rest between each set.  My main aim was to try to keep a good form and at least a 180 cadence for each set.

The results of each rep are shown below:

Rep	Time	Pace	Cadence
1	1.44	6.56	186
2	1.47	7.08	184
3	1.50	7.20	182
4	1.49	7.16	182
5	1.44	6.56	186
6	1.49	7.16	186
7	1.50	7.20	184
8	1.51	7.24	184
9	1.45	7.00	188
10	1.51	7.24	182
11	1.50	7.20	186
12	1.48	7.12	182
Average	1.48	7.06	184

As you can see, I managed on every rep to get over 180 cadence so I'm pretty pleased with that. I did feel that it was getting harder and harder to keep a good form towards the end though and I was really trying hard to not sink in at the hips.

I'm also quite pleased with my average pace for the reps and am hoping to get to a point where I can keep up that kind of pace for the whole three miles without the stops in between but I'm a good way off that yet.  My best 5k race pace to date has been 7.50 so it's going to take quite a bit of work to get 40 seconds per mile off that.

NB. on my second two minute rest, I had stopped my watch and, without warning, it went into key lock and when I turned the key lock off, it had lost the session I had set it to, which is why my Strava is in two halves as I had to reset it again.

Run 1 Distance - 5.15 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/198306416
http://www.strava.com/activities/198306429

Today's second run was just an easy one with Ruby to the top barn, up to George's Lane through the terraced gardens, along to the kennels and back home via Wylderswoode Stud.

When we set off it was absolutely hammering down with rain and Ruby was really funny.  As usual, she was excited to leave the house and ran out as soon as I opened the door but once she realised how bad the rain was she turned round and ran straight back in again.  I stood with her at the open front door for a while and she wouldn't go out, so I took her back in, closed the door and took off her harness.  She then started jumping on me in the way she does when she wants to go out, so I put the harness back on and opened the door again.  She ran to it wagging her tail and then stopped dead again and wouldn't go out.  She kept looking at me as if she wanted me to turn the rain off for her.

Eventually, I made her man up and we just went out.  We were soaked before we even got to the end of the drive but I love running in the rain so didn't mind.  Ruby didn't seem to mind after initially getting out either and we had a good run with her mostly off the lead because nobody else was around in the bad weather so no other dogs for her to chase.

Run 2 Distance - 4 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/198483434

Today's Total Distance - 9.15 miles

Back to Reality

Well, as the title says, it's back to reality and back to running the same old routes.  Not that I'm complaining, I quite enjoy some of my routes round here, especially the short five miler I did today.

I ran with Ruby up to two lads via the kennels, then cross-country up to the mast, cross-country to the Pike then home via George's Lane.

On reaching the turn off from George's Lane towards home, I noticed that Ruby was holding her left back paw up and wouldn't put it down.  I had a look at it but couldn't see anything so we just started to walk back.  She limped a bit and I thought I was going to have to carry her but after a few minutes she seemed to be fine again and started trotting off ahead of me.  Not sure what had happened but she doesn't seem to be limping at all now, although she is very down in the dumps as I think she knows that it's back to the norm tomorrow and she'll be left on her own all day, after having spent the last two weeks with us 24/7.  I feel really sad for her, she can't stand to be on her own and loves human company.  The company of Croker (the cat) just isn't enough for her.

Total distance - 5 miles (approx - accidentally stopped Garmin at top of Pike and didn't start it again until kennels so lost around half a mile)

http://www.strava.com/activities/197683877

Laggan Wolftrax

Our last full day of holiday today :(

Duncan wanted to go for a ride at Laggan Wolftrax so to pass the time I went for a gentle run with Ruby.  I was supposed to be following a route up a big hill but I missed the turn off as the signpost was torn down so I ended up just running along a road, albeit a very scenic one.

It was a good job really as Ruby was quite tired today and trailing behind a lot.  I had her off the lead and was running along quite happily when I suddenly realised that there were sheep on both side of the road, without a fence between us.  Ruby was completely ignoring them though.  At one point, they even bolted when we came past and she just looked at them and didn't give chase.  Could this be a breakthrough, or was she just knackered?  Usually, even when she's tired, she still pulls on her lead after livestock and other animals so I'm hoping that she has been yelled at so much now that it has finally sunk in.  I really hope so.

Last night, when we were at the cottage, we were sat outside and Ruby was with us.  A chicken had come into the garden and, again, Ruby was just looking at it and didn't run for it, even though it was only about ten feet away from her. I was so proud of her and really hope this is a sign of things to come.

Positive comments - made a breakthrough with Ruby(?)

Total distance - 5 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/196656966

River Oich and Torr Dhuin Hill Fort

A nice easy run today near Fort Augustus.  I did another of the waymarked Forestry Commission trails but must admit to having got a little 'temporarily misplaced' along the way.  I started by following the red waymarkers which should have taken me round a trail called 'Pine Trees Trail', however I soon got to a crossroads which had no waymarkers on it.  I decided to carry on straight ahead which was obviously the wrong decision because, after about half a mile, I picked up a waymarker but it was green not red.  There was no green way marked trail from the car park I had set off from, only red, yellow or white.  I decided to continue following the green trails which would hopefully bring me back to my current position, where I would then retrace my steps back to the red route and the car park.

I ran around the green route, which took me to another car park so I carried on running the loop.  I then came across some blue waymarkers!  I was tempted to follow these as they went into a nice woodland but decided I'd probably end up getting hopelessly lost if I did so I just carried on with the green route (after having a quick nosey down the blue trail first).

After a short while, I started picking up both green and yellow waymarkers and, knowing that the yellow ones would eventually take me back to the correct car park, I followed these.  This was a good route choice as it took me down some lovely narrow forest trails and out to the side of the River Oich.  It then meandered  along the edge of the river and by the side of a man-made waterfall.

After a few miles, I eventually arrived back at the car park but had only done 4.5 miles so decided to follow the white route, which was supposed to be around 1.2 miles.  This climbed a big steep hill up to a hill fort named Torr Dhuin, where there were excellent views.

On running back down, I again seem to have gone wrong somewhere and ended up running about half a mile in the wrong direction before realising my error and retracing my steps to the route.

When I finally arrived back at the car park, I had done nearly six and a half miles but should really have only done about five and a half.  Ah well, Duncan had only just arrived back a couple of minutes before me anyway after having taken Ruby on a walk up the white route.  I would have passed them on my way down had I not taken a wrong turning.

All in all, despite my navigational errors, it was a lovely run and, yet again, a sunny day, especially when we arrived at Fort William later on.  It was so hot I had to change into a pair of shorts as I was melting!

Last full day of the holiday tomorrow, hope it's another sunny one!

Positive comments - felt nice and fresh and got a pretty decent pace on, considering how steep the climb to the fort was

Total distance - 6.4 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/196246772

Glen Affric - Dog Falls and Coire Loch

This morning I left Duncan and Ruby in the cottage and I headed off in the fog to Glen Affric.

Even though it was a sunny day, the fog was awful in places and visibility whilst driving was very poor.  It made for a very long journey but should have only taken twenty minutes.

I finally arrived and set off running through the narrow windy forest tracks which were full of rocks and tree roots so I really had to watch my footing.  The tracks were also alive with spider webs!  They were everywhere shimmering away and I had to keep running through them.  By the end of the run I was covered in bits of spider web.


Note the massive spiderweb in this pic, along with all the white bits of web everywhere...

The first place I ran to was Dog Falls which was absolutely beautiful.

After arriving back at the car park, I then continued on another loop, which took me up to a view point from which I should have been able to see Tom a' Choinich and Toll Creagach, which are both Munros, however all I saw was a blanket of fog with some peaks sticking out of it, which was absolutely beautiful!

As you can see from the photo, despite the fog, it was yet again a beautiful blue-skied sunny morning and the rest of the day was OK too but a bit overcast.  No rain and still quite warm though.

Looking at my Strava/Garmin trace is quite odd.  There are three lines at the north of the route, all running pretty parallel with each other and one being much higher than the other two.  The reason this is odd is because on all three of those parts of my run, I was on exactly the same narrow trail through the forest but on the trace there is quite a distance between each one.  GPS and forests clearly don't mix.

Tomorrow we are going across to Fort William and Fort Augustus so I'm off to search for somewhere to run en route (no, I won't be climbing Ben Nevis on my own - I definitely need a friend to run that with).

Positive Comments - Arrived back at the car three miles in absolutely knackered and could have stopped there, but carried on for another loop.

Total distance - 5.9 miles (however, I think it was more than this and that my Garmin lost signal in the forest)

http://www.strava.com/activities/195807107

Easy run with Ruby Through Contin Forest

The weather today started off a bit grim again however by late morning it was back to the beautiful sunshine and I was regretting not having taken my shorts with me to change into after my run.  I had only taken my combats which weren't even the zip off variety, which I had brought two pairs of on holiday with me, typical!

Duncan went for a ride this morning round Strathpeffer so I took Ruby on a short run around Contin Forest. It would have been a bit longer but parts of the forest were closed as they're improving the routes so I should only have been able to do around 3 miles but I managed to make it up to 4.5 with a bit of improvisation.

The run started by climbing up to the top of the forest where there were beautiful views but, unfortunately, my camera was out of battery and Duncan had my phone with him so I had no means of taking a photo.

Once we had finished our run, I drove back to Strafpeffer to wait for Duncan to return from his bike ride.  I had only been back ten minutes when he arrived covered in muck and the odd bit of blood.  He had had an interesting ride which took him through a swamp at one point!

We then went for a drive up to Dornoch, via Tain, where we sat on a beautiful beach and played ball with Ruby for a while whilst, at the same time, trying to read our books, which was a bit tricky.

Later on, as we were driving along a very remote road in the middle of nowhere, two deer popped up and started running alongside the car. Duncan managed to get a few pictures, although none were great...

Positive comments - Felt great on climb right at the start*

Total distance - 4.5 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/195408974

*Something has occurred to me whilst I have been away - I think a lot of my trouble with climbing back home is in my head (surprise surprise I hear you say).  I think that, because when I first ran up the hills near me I couldn't do it without walking, I still have that in my head and so still now think that I can't do it.  Not sure if that makes sense in writing but I know what I mean.  I'm finding the hills round here much easier, even though a lot of them are much longer and steeper than the ones I struggle with back home.

The Black Isle (Monadh Mor)

A trip to the Black Isle was the order of the day today so I had my morning run along a forest trail at Monadh Mor.

The trail was quite boring really and reasonably flat so I took the opportunity of getting a bit of speed in my legs and left Ruby behind with Duncan.  It was hard work as I was feeling quite tired this morning but still I managed an OK pace after a mile's warm up.

Monadh Mor is described as follows:

Around 14,000 years ago, as the glaciers retreated, they left ridges and hollows here which gradually filled up with pools of water.  On ridges between these boggy areas, pine and birch trees took root, growing slowly because of the poor quality of the soil.  Monadh Mor is the largest remaining bog woodland in Scotland.  In the 1960s this area was planted with commercial forestry, which made the bog dry out.  Recent conservation is restoring the bog woodland by removing planted trees and allowing the bog to fill up with water again.  Today Monadh Mor is a beautiful woodland, home to a range of wildlife: darting dragonflies and damselflies, crossbills and even ospreys. 

Later on we had a wander around Cromarty where we had a cake and coffee in a pub, which also sold a thing called a 'potato dog' which apparently is a hot dog sausage coated in a hash brown type affair, in a hot dog bun (these were only on sale after 12.00noon on the lunch menu though so we didn't sample one as we were there in the morning).  We then visited the Black Isle Brewery and then Culloden Battlefield, before getting caught in rush hour traffic in Inverness on our way back to the cottage.

The weather hasn't been great today, it's been grey all day with a bit of rain.  Ah well, we can't complain seeing as we have had 10 days of excellent weather.  Lets hope tomorrow gives us more sunshine.

Positive comments: good steady run.  

Total Distance - 6.2 miles 

http://www.strava.com/activities/194915597

Round in Circles in Abriachan Forest

Yesterday we travelled to Balbeg near Drumnadrochit for the second week of our holiday.  Our cottage is amazing!  It's right on top of a hill with beautiful views far and wide, you can see all the way over to the mountains on the west coast  (here's a link to it in case you're interested http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8082263).  I could sit in the conservatory for hours just admiring the scenery.  As I'm typing, there's a beautiful red sky overhead, which I've just sent Duncan out to get a photo of...

This morning, we drove out to Abriachan Forest, which is only down the road from the cottage, on the way to Inverness.

Duncan walked Ruby whilst I went for a run up Carn na Leitire at 434 metres (1424 ft) which had some lovely views from the top.

I did end up going round in circles a little, as you can see from my Strava trace, as I followed a sign which sent me down a 'peat path' towards the Great Glen Way, but then when I got to the Great Glen Way, I followed a sign which pointed me to Carn na Leitire, not realising that this is where I had already come from so, when I did realise where I was, I turned round and retraced my steps as otherwise I would have gone back down way too early and not got much mileage in.

The route down was awesome, I really loved it and got a good bit of speed on.

Positive comments - managed to not get 'temporarily misplaced' and had a brilliant descent.  Also felt strong on the ascent which was quite steep in places. 

Total distance - 5.2 miles 

http://www.strava.com/activities/194566427

Cairnbaan Forest Trails

This morning – yet another absolutely beautiful morning I might add -  I dropped Duncan off in Ardrishaig at the end of the Crinan Canal so that he could ride the length of it, ending up at Crinan Harbour.

After dropping him off, I drove along to Cairnbaan which is on the way to Crinan so that I could run the forest walks there with Ruby.  There are a few different walks at Cairnbaan but the longest is only three miles so I decided to do this one, plus two others, one around a mile and a half and one around two miles. 

They were pretty hard work!  The first one involved a good climb to the trig point on top of                                         .

Ruby, as usual was pretty tired so I did have thoughts of calling it a day after the three mile loop but then she seemed to perk up so we did the other two loops, which were much nicer anyway because a lot of the longer loop was on forest road and I prefer the narrow trails which the other two shorter trails had a lot of. 

You might be reading my holiday blogs thinking I’m a right wimp for doing a lot of these forest trails instead of just heading off into the mountains and, to be honest, you’d be right.  I just think it would be highly irresponsible of me to go off into the mountains on my own, with pitiful navigation skills and a compass which points in the wrong direction.  There’s also the fact that there is no mobile signal so a simple fall resulting in a sprained ankle could be disastrous, given that other walkers/runners are very few and far between out here.  Ruby is no Lassie and I’m pretty sure wouldn’t go running off to find help.   I really enjoy the forest trails and, believe it or not, some of them are pretty challenging so that’s good enough for me, I am on holiday after all!  I have no fear of getting lost so can just relax and have a good run. 

It was our last day in Argyll today as we’re off to Drumnadrochit tomorrow morning for the second week of our holiday.  Hopefully I’ll find lots more good run routes up there and the weather will stay good for us.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be in shorts for this amount of my holiday!

Positive comments – felt great on the climbs and there were quite a lot of them on this one.

Total distance – 6 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/194578393

Cnoc nan Gabhar and Carradale Forest

Today we decided on a long drive down to Campbeltown, going via Carradale so Duncan could have a ride whilst I had a run. 

We set off together and headed straight up to the summit of Cnoc nan Gabhar.  Unfortunately, despite being a very warm day again, it was very foggy and so the views were not very far reaching, which is a shame because apparently you can see over to Ben Cruachan (Argyll’s highest point) and the Isle of Arran from there but we didn’t see any of that. 

I had left Duncan on the way up as it’s quite difficult to ride up but he overtook me a couple of miles later on on the forest road and I didn’t see him for a while after that.

I had to stop quite frequently because Ruby was really tired but eventually I found Duncan again, who had been waiting for me further along the trail. 

We then all went off together to head back to the car park.

The rest of the day was spent driving around the Kintyre peninsula, which is very picturesque.  As I said earlier, it was another really hot day for this time off year in Scotland and it was lovely to again be in shorts and t-shirt.  We also saw a fox in a field full of cows and there was a frantic rush to find a camera to get a picture.  Duncan eventually managed a pic of it running off into the distance.

And a piccie of our own little hound...

We drove to a café at the Gigha Ferry point where we had a coffee cake and a caramel cake which were well deserved and to die for!  It was 5pm by now and there were lots of school children at the ferry point who were getting on the ferry to the island of Gigha after their school day on the mainland and I thought how bizarre it must be for your daily trip to school being on a ferry as opposed to a bus, although to these guys it’s just the norm. 

Later on, in the pub a few miles from our cottage in Kilmichael Glen, there were a couple of blokes trying to get a taxi into Lochgilphead as they were up in Kilmichael Glen working and had been there for two weeks and were bored to death of just going to the local pub so wanted to try somewhere else.  We had been in there over half an hour and they had spent all that time ringing various numbers trying to get a taxi to no avail and you could see the anguish on their faces.  Eventually, Duncan offered them a lift, even though it was in the opposite direction to our cottage and we had just come from there on the way back from Kintyre.  They were so grateful and bought me a glass of wine because I would be staying at the pub as there was no room for me in the car due to Duncan’s mountain bike being in it so I just sat in the pub with my wine, Ruby and a Kindle and enjoyed a quiet read.  Bliss!

Positive comments: felt really fresh, would have been a lot faster had Ruby not been with me being a slow coach.

Total Distance – 6.95 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/194577679

Dalavich and the Tick

This morning we drove out to Dalavich Forest, which is just down the road from where we’re staying.  Duncan planned to walk Ruby, whilst I went for a run. 

When we got there we found that a lot of the trail/forest was currently closed so I was quite limited on where I could run. 

I found a two mile route and a 1 and ¾ mile route so I did the two mile route twice and the other route once. 

The two mile route was pretty hard to if I’m honest.  It was really undulating but the climbs didn’t go on long so I was giving them my all and after the first two mile loop was already pretty tired.  I set off onto the shorter route and stopped to take a selfie by a waterfall.

A short while later, I passed Duncan and Ruby taking photos by another waterfall and offloaded my bum bag onto them as I didn’t feel I needed it for such a short distance.  I then carried on with the shorter route, before a second lap of the two mile route.  By the time I arrived back at the car I was exhausted, having only done 5.15 miles in total. 

The weather was amazing today, the car thermometer reading 28 degrees outside.  Erm, this is Scotland isn’t it?  We’ve been really lucky with the weather so far this holiday, it’s been lovely and sunny but this has been the warmest day so far and after my run I got into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, something I haven’t done for a good while now. 

We had a drive out and we stopped at a posh hotel for a coffee, which is where I noticed an unwelcome little creature on the back of my leg, just near the knee joint.  It was a tick!  My first ever tick!  The lady at the hotel told me she had a tool for getting rid of them so she got this out and tried to get it off me.  The little fella wasn’t for shifting though and it took a lot of attempts to get it off.  In fact, we just ended up killing it, but it was still suck in and there was getting less and less of it to get a grip on.  After a while the lady went and got a pair of tweezers and Duncan had to get a grip of it, twist it anti-clockwise and pull it out.  He took half my skin with it I think but eventually got it out, it was in really deep!  I didn’t realise they went that deep. 

After a bit of driving round and stopping at various places, we ended up in the pub at Ardfern.

All in all, the best day so far of the holiday… save for the tick!

Positive comments: Kept going on steep climbs and didn’t walk, even though I was exhausted.

Total distance – 5.15 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/194577015

Achnabreac Forest Climb

Duncan wanted to go mountain biking today and there is a Forestry Commission trail not far from where we’re staying called the Firetower Trails.  There are also waymarked walking routes there so I decided to go with him and run with Ruby whilst he rode. 

When I got there I found that the waymarked walking routes were very short, the red one being a mere half mile and the yellow one being only a mile and a half.  I had chatted to a bloke from the Forestry Commission though and he told me that I could carry on up the fire road and head up to a good view point so that’s what I did.

Ruby and I followed the yellow route up the hill and then got onto the fire road and followed this all the way to the top of the forest then climbed up onto a view point and took some piccies. 

And a selfie...

We then retraced our steps back down again where Ruby was being a bit of a slow coach, feigning tiredness.  I say feigning because once we arrived back at the car and I got changed, she found her tennis ball and made me throw it repeatedly for her.  So much for being tired eh Ruby! 

Duncan didn’t arrive back at the car until around an hour after us, by which time we had played a LOT of ball and had also walked around the half mile red route and partially along a forest track, where we collected some blackberries as a treat for Duncan when he got back.

Positive Comments: first three miles was all uphill and I felt absolutely fine. 

Total Distance – 6.5 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/194575359

Ford - Out and Back

At long last our holiday has arrived! 

We spent Friday night at a dog friendly B&B in Annan to break up the journey and yesterday arrived at our first cottage in a little village called Ford, which is between Oban and Lochgilphead.  The cottage is lovely and secluded and is in a 900 acre estate.  The caretaker, Phil, told us yesterday that we can feel free to wander the estate grounds and that, as long as the weather is good, we shouldn’t get lost. 

Last night we went for a brief walk up the hill behind the cottage and the views were amazing.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken my camera with me so I’ll have to go back up there and take some pictures.

This morning, however, I decided to go on a road run, just to get a feel of the area before exploring the off-road on my own.  I ran out of the estate grounds and onto the road into Ford.  From Ford the road splits and goes round either side of Loch Awe.  I chose the north road, which I ran along for three miles before turning back and retracing my steps.

On the return journey I stopped a few times to take some piccies…

When I entered the estate grounds I decided to stop and walk the rest of the way, taking pictures of the cottage on my way towards it.

On the entire six mile road run, I only passed one car and that was in the village of Ford, where the lady driving gave me a friendly wave.  I love places like this where everyone is so friendly.  I’m pretty sure that running around the roads of Horwich no stranger would give me a friendly wave, probably more a loud beep on the horn and then a laugh when I jump out of my skin. 

Positive comments: Felt really good and ran quite fast for me without even realising

Total distance – 6 miles

Out - http://www.strava.com/activities/194573600

Back - http://www.strava.com/activities/194573961

Up and Over to Belmont

Duncan had to drive to the Black Dog at Belmont this morning to await a lift into work and I had to get to Belmont to pick our car up and take it back home, so what better way than an early morning run over the top.

I ran with Ruby and we went via Two Lads and then cross-country to the mast.  We then ran down 'the ramp' to San Marino and along the road to the Black Dog car park, timing it perfectly as Duncan was just getting into his lift's car when we arrived.

It was a lovely morning for a run and it's a shame I didn't have a camera with me because it was so beautiful and sunny.

Off for a full English breakfast now...

Positive comments: lovely early morning run, really enjoyed it.

Total distance - 4.4 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/190087191

Ooooo, a new little path, how exciting!

Whilst walking Ruby last night with Duncan, we discovered a short track that neither of us had been down before.  It's at the far side of the 'secret' reservoir and just drops you back down onto Coal Pit Lane.  Not very exciting I hear you say but, to me, all new routes are exciting!  It also means that when I run to the reservoir I can loop round, rather than turning round and retracing my steps or going up the dreaded boundary wall to the top of Winter Hill which I really don't like when I'm with Ruby as she sinks all the time and I have to drag her out of the mud.  I'd still like to know how I can continue a route from Egg Hillock though, without having to fight through bracken.  Anyone know a good route?

Anyway, I decided to use my new found track on tonight's run with Ruby so we set off from home, straight up through Wilderswood, up the path towards Two Lads, but turning right at the water tanks and across to the gate on the other side of the mast road.  We then ran towards the farms and out onto Coal Pit Lane and we went up the new found path to the secret reservoir.

After chilling out at 'the beach' for a few minutes whilst Ruby had a paddle, we ran around the reservoir and down the steps and along to the Trespass Stone.

We then ran back partially the same way but came out higher up on the mast road and ran up to Two Lads then down to the dog hotel and along George's Lane down Old Rake.

It was a lovely evening for a run and I really enjoyed it, although Ruby drove me mad for the first mile as she was sniffing and spraying everything.  I've never known a girl dog scent mark like Ruby does.  She cocks her leg like a boy dog and sprays everything.  Nice!


Positive comments: a lovely run and always great to find a new path, no matter how short. 

Total distance - 7.1 miles 

http://www.strava.com/activities/189885629

What's with all the flies?

My second run of the day took Ruby and I along to the top barn, up to the Pigeon Tower, along George's Lane and home via the field opposite the dog hotel.

For the second night running, I was getting attacked by flying insects.  They were all over me, flying around my head and attaching themselves to my t-shirt.  It really wasn't nice at all.  People seeing me must have thought I was a right freak, flailing my arms all over the place trying to get them away from me.


Positive comments - second run of the day and felt tired but did a longer distance than I had planned. 

Total distance - 5.1 miles (7.5 miles total today)

http://www.strava.com/activities/188888211

12 x 80m Hill Sprints

First thing this morning I ran along to the lane off Green Lane which leads to the stables and to Tiger's Clough (Devil's Steps).

After a half mile warm up I did some hill sprints which were 0.05 of a mile long each (i.e. around 80 metres).  I had set off to do 8 but, as it wasn't that long a distance, I decided to do 10 instead.  Feeling really good though, I ended up doing 12.  I'm not going to lie, it was hard work but I feel like I did really well, even though I got very close to chundering.

I cooled down by running up to the stables, along to the corner of Wilderswood and down Brownlow Road to home.

Positive comments: Felt really strong sprinting up the hill, could have carried on longer if I wasn't pushed for time. 

Total distance - 2.4 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/188747010

Dangerous Corner Climb

Tonight, Ruby and I ran down to Rivvy School and then along towards the top barn, but turned off half way there and made our way towards the Pigeon Tower car park.  We then ran along to Dangerous Corner, going through the woods, where we saw two beautiful deer who just stood and stared at us for a while before running off.  

From Dangerous Corner, we ran up the hill called the something (camel, sheep, snake???)'s back. We then just ran along to the Pigeon Tower, along George's Lane and home.

One of my thoughts during this run was... how well would Mo Farah do in a fell race?  Any thoughts on that one? 

Positive comments: Actually got out the door even though I was obscenely tired and just wanted to go to bed! 

Total distance - 5.45 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/188526043