Apparently, running every day is called "Streak Running" or "Streaking". Amongst the running community, running without a watch is known as "running naked". The title of this blog entry really wrote itself.
Day 968 of my "Running Streak" was the 6th leg of the Borders XC Series in Peebles. I ran this race once before and one time before that I held Kata's bags while she ran it. We arrived in good time before the race and parked about a 5 minute walk away from the start. Somehow between arriving in Peebles and getting to the race we managed to make ourselves late and very nearly missed the start. It was a bit of a panic to find Sandra who had volunteered to look after Ruby while we both ran (thanks Sandra!), but we just made it with seconds to spare. Kata had forgotten her watch and was training for The London Marathon - her need was greater than mine and so she borrowed my Garmin. So it was that I streaked naked across Peebles.
Picture of me at Peebles XC
It's a good course, proper cross country, and challenging. The race starts with running around Haylodge Park. It was slippy underfoot due to the rain the day before, but mercifully it wasn't raining on the day. From there it's riverside trail and I managed to get into my stride and overtake quite a few runners. It's very picturesque indeed and the course takes you over a bridge where the runners behind you pass underneath. From here it's uphill through the forest and again I managed to make up a few places and overtake some runners who had already started to walk. The forest section comes out into a field with a gruelling uphill which makes MOST people walk. One runner next to me made a comment about walking it to "save energy". I think he was half joking but his strategy made sense to me and my aching legs and so I walked. The uphill slog takes you back into the forest before starting back down into a field again. I actually zoned out at this stage. You know when you are driving on the motorway and you suddenly realise that you don't remember the last 15 minutes or how you got where you are? Well that happened to me on the downhill forest section of Peebles XC.
Picture of my watch at Peebles XC. Also Kata.
Before the race I was wondering about whether to ear trail or fell shoes. I wore fell shoes and once again I gladly sing the praises of my Solomon Fellraisers. The downhill section was very slippy and a couple of times I slid down a metre or so before my studs dug in and gave me the confidence and grip I needed to push on hard.
This is actually the hardest part of the race. After running downhill through the field, it's through a stream and a gap in a wall, down another field then around and back up the same field! It's mentally and physical torture. I actually saw Kata at this stage nearing the first corner of the field just as I was heading out. I remember seeing her at this stage the last time we ran in this together and this time around she was much closer behind me.
The route
From here it's on to the finish. A narrow, muddy ridge through the tree root covered forest needs concentration then it's the home straight...or so I thought. I picked up to sprint finish the boggy home straight only to discover at the end that there was a hairpin bend and I still had another 100 metres to go. I glanced over my shoulder - no one in any danger of catching me and so exhausted I coasted until the finish.
I picked up Ruby from Sandra (thanks Sandra) and headed back quickly to support Kata who was not far behind. With Ruby perched on my shoulders we got a smile from Mummy as she ran by.
I finished in 33:54 - not bad. The distance (according to my watch which Kata was wearing) was 6.78km. Remarkably Kata was musing beforehand how long it would take to run the race. I made a guess based on a 5min/km pace. 6.78km is 33:54 is EXACTLY 5min/km.
After race snacks.
