A long errand

I’ve been a bit slow off the mark with this post, mainly because I’ve been lazy but also I’ve been injured as a result so I’m currently pouting.

Saturday was the Borrowdale Fell Race (for Ed, not for me). As he was being a hero up on the high fells, I was pootling around Derwentwater.

I set off from Rosthwaite and headed towards Keswick. I still felt a little tight from the Lakeland 50 but I’d managed a couple of 5K’s last week so I figured a long run would be good to shake off the cobwebs, plus I wanted to get Ed a treat for after his race.

I took the usual route by the river to Grange, picked up the lakeside path, through Portinscale and on to Keswick.  
   
I got to Keswick and bought Ed a couple of his favourite pasties for when he finished the race- steak and ale and beef and stilton. It was pretty warm and I’d only packed two soft flasks but figured I’d be ok and set off for leg two, up Walla Crag.

I always enjoy this section and I’d soon reached Ashness Bridge. From here I took it easy to Watendlath, my feet/ankles were aching a bit but nothing major. I stopped off at the tea room as I’d run out of fluids. It was a choice of bottled water or dandelion and burdock. Well, it had to be dandelion and burdock! My favourite! 

I ambled up the climb out of Watendlath and was soon at the finish to see Ed in. So it was 16 miles for me. The next day, my foot was bruised and swollen and continues to ache now. Can’t pinpoint knocking it or anything so I’m employing PIE right now- Pout, Ice and Elevate. Hoping to get out tomorrow.

10 Years

We chose today to celebrate the fact that we have been together for ten years. A blink, not even that in the grand scheme of things, but this less than a blink has been the most important in my life, how could it not be? He is my saint and I know that I will never measure up, but I also know that is ok because he loves me and my flaws.

On with the post. The GoPro has meant that I can take pictures very easily and so can document more of the route. This will be useful for us as we often get lost, a few more pictures will hopefully serve as little reminders. Ed also has a great laugh with this gadget and there is an extensive blooper reel that will never see the light of day- it has given us much hilarity this evening. You let me laugh at you, when you fall (off chairs, in the outdoors….on decking…), when you were electrocuted (a little…), your relationship with a certain antiques dealer….

The weather was great but clouds were threatening snow and there had been sleet on the drive in over Shap. We decided to take jackets just in case but no route map as this would be the fourth time we’d run it, following the KMF 10k route.

We started from the town centre and headed up towards Beast Banks.   
 
An insight into my navigation skills: 

Getting lost reminds me of the first time we got lost, walking back from a night out, over walls and fields, through schools and fences…it rained, we didn’t care.

  

We made it onto the fells after a steep incline, flushed or scorched with lovely fevers as I quoted Rimbaud to Ed at 4am as we sat on the floor of my room in Richardson Road, Newcastle University. 
  

 

We went off track, as usual. Thankfully, you can’t really go wrong once you get to Scout Scaur and we were graced with the most stunning views of snow-capped fells in the distance.
   
  

After a grassy field section and a footbridge, the route crosses a golf course (The driving range….enough said right!?) and then drops down into Kendal.

 

We’re now drinking champagne and watching the sunset. The same sun that bled into the clouds, as orange as a scallop roe (remember that meal?), the warm glow that makes everything feel so sleepy and calm, you took my hand on the rooftop in Udaipur and we didn’t say a word.

Lakes in a Day Race Report- Coming Soon!

Lakes Mountain 42 Helvellyn Recce

Parked at Wythburn car park for this one and quickly realised we’d have some issues from the get go. Extensive forestry work meant that the route we’d planned had to be amended, so instead of heading up we took a route to Dunmail Raise and headed up to Grizedale Tarn. This might be what we need to do on race day.

   

  

From here we headed up Dollywagon, Nethermost Pike and on to Helvellyn. It was the most stunning day possibly the best day I’ve had on the fells.

   

   

 

 We then headed to Whiteside and from there began the long easy descent to Glenridding. From Glenridding we jogged along the path to Patterdale and picked up a steep road that crosses farmland following Grizedale Beck back up onto the fells.

   

 

We lost the path a little here, just goes to show with maps and gps you can still get it wrong. This made for a rough section up Falcon Crag, I’m dreading this part of the LM42 I think it will be tough going with tired legs. Still with that done and the realisation that the path was a few meters to the right of us, we reached Grizedale Tarn again and dropped down the way we came past the waterfalls down Willie Wife Moor.

A beautiful day but a bit of a reminder of just how tough this weekends race will be.