...well why didn't anyone tell me that before the start!
And so it was, up bright and early, off we set to the edge of Snowdonia for the Ras Yr Aran fell race. Arriving in time for a short warm up I collected my race number and then headed to the start. I felt good but that, alas where it all went wrong.
The race was cut short on the advice of Yogi Bear - I'm the park ranger - Hey there, Boo Boo. Instead of 10+ in turned out to be 6ish - because conditions were felt to be too treacherous across the top ridge. Better to be safe than sorry. The race went off safely which is always good and it was nice to see the snow again but it didn't some to much. Alas, in the race, I struggled. In amongst the snow and ice at the top I found it tough going. Others in the race, namely HF, seemed to cruise effortlessly - swine.
I lost loads of places on the ascent but gained a few back on the descent - which was tricky to say the least. About half way back down I lost it and for five seconds before the 'incident' I knew the 'incident' was unavoidable. I'm pretty good going down. Reckless - yes - but also poised and graceful - the hell I am, but I usually stay on my feet - in some haphazard form. Anyway, this time I didn't in style. In those five seconds, timed slowed until I decided the best course of action was to use my head as a buffer, to slow me down. That worked well - apart from the massive bump and slight grogginess. I lost my glasses and more importantly my bright yellow hat. All ended well as I found it all. Regained my feet and piled on down the hill. Gaining a few more places before hitting the finish in a very poor 43rd place. Oh, well, there's always the next race...
Well done to Helen for 14th overall and obviously first woman by some margin. A cracking performance, representative of her current good form.
Off to Ashton Court tomorrow - hopefully - with some vinegar and brown paper for my head.
Thought for the day: If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.
No comments:
Post a Comment