After the Highland Fling I did a few wee runs but nothing structured, spent a lot of hours on the bike making the most of the good weather. I gave brief consideration to entering the Mourne Way Ultra, but decided it would be better to get some cycling done and focus on the 39 mile Causeway Coast at the end of September. Towards the end of June and into July I began to pick up the frequency of runs, but generally nothing more than 8 or 9 miles. Rare access to a car for the final weeks of July meant I could travel down to the Mournes on free days and get plenty of hours done. While the mileage may not be as high as when preparing for the Fling, the hours and the elevation have been far greater. This culminated in Sunday's running of the Mourne Wall. Craig put the idea into my head so obviously it had to be done! With a rough goal of 7 hours, Craig, Christian, Matt and myself did the 20.4 mile loop with over 8,100 feet of climbing in 6 hours and 56 minutes. Turned out to be an incredible day, all sorts of weather, super steep climbs and treacherous descents which my knees certainly don't agree with!
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Descent off Binnian
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Last few climbs - Bearnagh, Corragh, Commedagh and finally Donard
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| Craig, Christian, Matt, Me - Summit of Donard |
Taking it easy this week - then off to Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands next week for a few days running with Craig. It will be good to get a bit of a break from work, do some camping and get some good back to back days of running in the Cairngorms.
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