If the conditions for last weeks run were almost perfect then today's conditions actually were perfect. You could see for miles. No haze. Just miles and miles of glorious view. You could make out every feature of every mountain as the sun shone down its magical rays. It was the first time this year I've been able to wear a short sleeve top - mind you, there was one dodgy moment along the ridge from Graig Fan Las to Fan y Big where I almost stopped to put my pertex top on but I held off and within ten minutes the cooling wind eased off.
I followed my planned route from Cwmgwdi along the road following the Taff Trail - yes, it really is called that - to the Storey Arms and from there I headed up into the mountains. Y Garn, Blwch Duwynt, Graig Fan Ddu, Craig y Fan Ddu, Graig Fan Las, Fan y Big, Cribyn and finally - leaving the biggest till last - Pen y Fan were all on the menu in today's 22 miles with 5,000 feet of ascent.
I really went well. I felt it on the last two climbs but by then I was closing in on twenty miles run so that wasn't too surprising. Add in the slightly too ambitious pace early on and the fact that I didn't fade too badly all hints to the fact I'm getting fitter and stronger. I even managed to run far more of the climbs than I've been able to of late. I ran the entire section from Storey Arms to Blwch Duwynt and I don't think I've ever managed that before. And the icing on the cake, I even got wolf whistled by a group of partially sighted ladies.
Then it was all over, almost too quickly, 4 hours and 20 minutes after I set off. Back at the van I jumped in the back and got the cooker boiling up a brew. There I sat for a few minutes looking out at the view as I drank my coffee and all too soon it was time to head home...
I followed my planned route from Cwmgwdi along the road following the Taff Trail - yes, it really is called that - to the Storey Arms and from there I headed up into the mountains. Y Garn, Blwch Duwynt, Graig Fan Ddu, Craig y Fan Ddu, Graig Fan Las, Fan y Big, Cribyn and finally - leaving the biggest till last - Pen y Fan were all on the menu in today's 22 miles with 5,000 feet of ascent.
I really went well. I felt it on the last two climbs but by then I was closing in on twenty miles run so that wasn't too surprising. Add in the slightly too ambitious pace early on and the fact that I didn't fade too badly all hints to the fact I'm getting fitter and stronger. I even managed to run far more of the climbs than I've been able to of late. I ran the entire section from Storey Arms to Blwch Duwynt and I don't think I've ever managed that before. And the icing on the cake, I even got wolf whistled by a group of partially sighted ladies.
Then it was all over, almost too quickly, 4 hours and 20 minutes after I set off. Back at the van I jumped in the back and got the cooker boiling up a brew. There I sat for a few minutes looking out at the view as I drank my coffee and all too soon it was time to head home...
The route of today's 22 miles and 5,000 feet of ascent
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