Monday, 1 June 2015

The Longest Run

The cold, cold wind negated the warmth of the sun as I walked to the start of my run first thing this morning. The forecast for the week, and indeed, the weather as I speak, is dreich. A low pressure system out in the Atlantic bringing an Autumnal storm, on what is meant to be the first day of summer. It seemed to me that if I did not take advantage of a relative window in the weather today, I would find it difficult to fit a long run in later this week.

Following my schedule, I knew how far I wanted to go and had worked out a route on the computer, starting from where the Bronte Way leaves Wellheads. I seem to have trouble with the idea of the LSR but I knew today that it was all about going the distance, not about getting there quickly. 

At the start of the run. The highest point on the route is on the horizon.

The first couple of Ks were hard - they are always hard on that route and I can't quite work out why. The bitter wind was really evident as I toiled up the track from the old velvet factory, but the trail over the moor seemed to be less steep than I remembered and the bog-trotting section, although frustratingly slow, was enjoyable.

The route was almost like a tour of our Victorian industrial heritage - through the mine workings on the top of the moor, at the edge of the escarpment - which, from a brief bout of Googling, I think were stone mines, and along an impressive and substantial stone conduit, one of several running for miles across the moors, connecting and managing water from the equally impressive reservoirs. 

The conduit photographed last summer on the way to see the Tour de France

The gentle uphill along the conduit was pleasant, I was sheltered by the escarpment and allowed my mind to wander as I thought about those who had designed and built these engineering masterpieces at least 150 years previously.

The wind seemed to have changed, so that it was again in my face, as I made my way along the track running beneath the high banks of the reservoir, and the last kilometre, climbing up the steep fields to where I began, was really tough. My legs felt heavy and tired as I reached the road but I was determined to ensure I had completed my full distance. With very little left in the tank, I was very pleased, after a few hundred metres more, to draw to a halt at the junction.

My average pace was within my target training range and barring the unavoidable pauses for gates and stiles, I ran all the way - 14.24 km with somewhere between 209 and 218 m of ascent. 

But more importantly than any of those stats, today I ran further than I ever had done before. That, I think, is something to be proud of.

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