Well, That Were 'Ard Work

There comes a time when you just have to head to the mountains for a fell race. The Cwmdu Fell Race. It was cracking weather. Sun shining, birds, um, making bird noises? There was even a cuckoo to be heard echoing in air. It was almost too cracking, too hot but after all the rain we've had, I'll not be grumbling. I'd been sensible enough to lather myself up - ooh matron - with sun cream.

Half a mile into the race...

I set off steady. With almost 16km to cover and 900+ metres of ascent it was not a day to be getting too carried away. The views across the entire Brecon Beacons were fantastic. Not that I was really taking them in, mind.  I was in the racing zone, focused on the task at hand. Namely, breaking two-hours without, well, breaking.

I wasn't entirely sure if I'd pull it off - here we go again - ooh matron - as I haven't been training enough at all in the mountains, and my leg strength isn't there yet when it comes to those steep ascents. But as they say in the astronautical industry, shoot for the stars, and if you're lucky, you might not blow up thirty seconds into the flight, like one of Mr. Musks rockets...

Almost at Mynydd Llangorse (and not walking!)

The first half was okay. I held it together quite well. Running out from the Mynydd Troed trig at 1:05, I thought I was quid's in. Then after the descent, my legs felt smashed, and I was far from sure. The final climb hurt bad, and my pace slowed to a crawl, the tank emptied fast. The run across the ridge and down seemed to go on for an eternity and I'd stopped looking at my watch. By that point I just wanted the pain to end.

So, to the big question - or more accurately, the answer to the big question [drum roll] - yes, I nailed it. In the end I made my lowly target look silly. Two hours? Pffft, 1hr 59mins 13secs. Don't know why I was so worried...

That's me finished - quite literally!

Totally wrecked now. There's a low no chance I'll be fit for even a gentle recovery run tomorrow. To be honest, I'm just hoping I won't be reduced to walking downstairs backwards - come on, you know we've all been reduced to that at some point...