Headed off to the Breamish valley this morning for my third attempt at the Brough Law fell race. Having had a very busy few weeks of heavy mileage training for my first Ultra marathon I was aiming to treat this as a training run. 3 hours and 22 miles of off road running yesterday made my legs quite heavy, hobbling out of bed yearning for a lie-in.
The forecast for the North East wasn't great reading with the prospect of wintry showers, wind and a chill in the air. The sun was shining en route to Ingram, the Cheviots white in the distance. The terrain would hopefully be firm. I reached the start area early for a 30 minute warm up taking a few snaps on the way. Collected my number (number 4) and got prepared.
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| the long first climb |
The race has a very sharp start immediately climbing from step 1 for approximately a mile. I set off steady keeping the lactic acid in check, lungs working overtime. Reaching the top of the first climb I found myself around 8th or 9th spot. "Champion" I thought. I pushed on at a steady canter and moved up the field to 4th. "What am I doing here" I kept asking myself. "Focus and just enjoy", I kept telling myself as I closed in on 3rd. There was a canny chill on the tops with a few flurries of hailstone, quite nippy. Reaching the last descent, the guy in 3rd had enough of a gap just to bolt down to the finish.
I was most pleased with 4th, training is paying off at last, knocking 5 minutes off my previous best time. Now for another 75 mile week! Allendale challenge next.
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| The start ascent and finish descent |
