Im beginning to think Im mental

Today was the last day of my summer break. Oliver started school today and Joanne was resting, the housework was done....one thing left to do, you guessed it RUN! I really needed a full day away today, its been a lot for me mentally over the last month and I desperately needed a session on my therapists couch - aka A long run miles from anywhere. What better than to recce a section of my forthcoming ultra. I had a 13 mile run to do today on my training plan, so looking at the route, the Ambleside to Newby Bridge section looked about that.
What an epic day out, read all about it below. I returned and picked Oliver up, he hadn't had a good first day he told me. Hed had a great first day. Wonderful, I cant tell you the amount of stress it can cause an autistic child if they have a bad day. They are ok at school but bring it all home with them. Im so proud of the way hes maturing and finding ways to cope with his Autism. After we got home I made dinner and became the greatest ever Dad for managing to download Stampys Lovely World (Helllloooooooo)  onto the Xbox Minecraft edition!!!! Whatever that means!! Joannes been bad all day again today, shes having a tough time of it.

Running: 16.92miles   12.08 / mi avg     3:25hrs

After planning the route last night I had a decent enough Idea of where I was headed. Start at Ambleside and keep Lake Windermere to my left and everything will be ok (yeah Right!). I parked the car at the Swan, Newby Bridge and went to catch a non existent bus service. 30mins later another bus turned up and took me to Windermere where I caught a very expensive one way ticket to Ambleside £5:20 ffs for 5 miles!!! Anyway it is the lakes and they like to rip people off. I alighted the bus and made my way to the start of the run - Rothay Park.
A quick stop at the toilets and I walked into the middle of the park, the sun shining, the bird singing, and my mind went back to the epic event that took place 10 weeks ago there. It had been the start and finish to my first Ultra Marathon. I grinned from ear to ear as I watched myself crossing the finish line in 11th place with the commentator saying my name. Goosebumps crept up my arms and I pulled myself back to the job at hand.
The first few miles were a nice easy start to the route, pulling away from Ambleside on gravel trails that led parallel to the B roads. It was a good start to proceedings and a nice way to warm up. The sun was blazing in the sky, hardly a cloud in sight and I was feeling great. The views were simply stunning all around and I stopped to snap a pic overlooking Blelham Tarn:

 

Blelham Tarn at High Wray

I made my way through the tiny Hamlet of High Wray, its elegant houses and bungalows standing out in the green countryside.
 On the far side was my first real ascent of the day, up into Claife Heights. It started on a wide gravel track, steeply rising into the lush and dense woods beyond. I had a thought that hill this would be a "walker" come race day. If you didn't know, there is quite a lot of walking in ultra marathons! The track soon thinned out into a fairly technical trail through the forest. The thick branches sprouted everywhere making progress slow, but lots of fun, stepping and jumping across them. I re-joined a fire road but it soon stopped in the middle of nowhere, yet the trail on the map showed that it continued south.

Looking West from the Top of Claife Heights
 

 I searched around and found a footpath but after a hundred yards it didn't feel right. It was veering off towards the lake far below. I backtracked and studied the map from a high point and took a picture of the incredible views of the western hills and mountains. The path I wanted was lower down the track so I backtracked again and found the trail I wanted.  It now felt "right" and I carried on, not realising until I opened a gate, that it was private land. Im sure the race notes said they have permission to use some land for the race.
I dropped off Claife Heights into Far Sawrey and my first real glimpse of Lake Windermere. She was looking very inviting at this point as I ran along her banks on the winding trails.Cool, refreshing, still and flat, I could have jumped in there and then. After a while the path joined the road again as it passed some private land and shot up the hillside on a very steep section. So far on this run I hadn't felt the need to walk up a hill and this was no different. Although it was steep I cruised up the hill, panting but in control. Then it was a Left turn Clyde! into a forested area above Windermere. It dropped sharply down to the lake on some tight and twisty paths through lots of ferns and undergrowth. I set the camera for a rather gratuitous photo opportunity of me coming out of the ferns!



Its a jungle out there!

Hunger pangs were upon me as I reached the shore line so I kept a vigil out for the perfect spot to have lunch. I found it shortly after, on the side of a boathouse, overlooking the lake and hills. Id brought a chicken wrap and orange juice from Tesco on the way out (I hadn't been shopping since holidaying). I really enjoyed sitting there watching the lake in a lovely tranquil setting. Two Swans came closer for a bit of lunch but got no joy from the hungry Ultra Runner!



What a Lunch Break

I was getting close to the end of the run now, so I ploughed forward skirting the lake one more time before shooting up to Finsthwaite Heights. I came out of the YMCA drive and straight across the road onto a steep and rocky trail. It was a sheer climb (this is gonna hurt on race day and take a lot of energy, I thought to myself). I power hiked to the top, up some steep and gnarly handmade steps. At the top anther labyrinth of tracks an trails awaited me. I picked what I thought was the right one and it took me straight to High Dam, exactly where I wanted to be. I had a look at the dam as I crossed over and down towards Finthswaite. It was a really good trail to descend on, letting my stretch out my legs as I flew down.
There wasn't much more distance to do but little time left as I passed the Church and made my way into Knott Wood. I didn't have time to search for the race path there so I followed the large footpath to the road by Lakeside Hotel. I used to work there so I knew it was only a mile to Newby Bridge. I put my foot down and plodded back to my car. What an amazing and epic run but I still had much more left in the tank. Training is going really well. My mind was really clear and calm when I returned to the car, ready to start back at work tomorrow.

This is definitely why I run!

Food Diary:

Breakfast:
Oatso Simple Porridge with Chia Seeds, nuts and sunflower seeds

Run Nutrition:
2xGels, 2x Oat Bars, 1x Ltr water with 2x electrolyte tablets

Lunch:
Chicken Wrap

Dinner
Homemade Bolognaise with Wholemeal Spaghetti and grated cheese

Large bowl of berries and chopped fruit with yoghurt and nuts and seeds

Snacks:
Crackers and Humus, apple, small bar of dark chocolate, bowl of olives

Drinks:
Coffees, Orange Juice, Water, Malted Chocolate Horlicks to finish my day!