Midweek Skyline

Photos PB

The trouble with running ultras is you buy all this food that when you're running you find disgusting. "Chocolate raisins? Gag. Fudge? Oh I'm so sick of this stuff. Chocolate Brownies? Oh no I couldn't." And then you bring it home and one fine night when you're sitting in the house watching The Killing on the telly and you haven't done anything even vaguely ultra...in fact you didn't even go out for a piddly wee run because you just couldn't be bothered, the goodies start calling to you from the cupboard.

And so it was that after a pretty lavish tea thank you we raided the ultra box last night and had half a big bag of chocolate raisins each. It was at about this moment that I had the brilliant idea that we should go and do a whole Skyline today rather than wait all day and go to club training at night. I was off work and Peter didn't HAVE TO be anywhere. And we do have the 2 Breweries race coming up in just over a couple of weeks, which is  long and hilly, so it made sense...

It was a pretty nice day. Bright and blowy. My legs weren't keen on the idea. I hadn't run since Sunday's long run and I was stiff and sore - probably worse than I would have been if I had run. Half way round I had a real dip but was rescued by eating something and the fact that we'd turned around so the wind was now behind us. We ran a bit further than the Skyline as we'd parked in the bottom car park at Hillend. So about 18 miles and 5 hours later the deed was done. I'm so tired, but never mind, its tea-time and The Killing's on soon and the ultra goody box is now empty.