Peaks and troughs

The week after the Haworth Hobble, I ran the Wrap up Warm 10k at Harewood House with a number of colleagues, clients and friends as part of Team Savvy and despite heavy legs and hilly course, I managed to start  at the front and hang on for 6th place in time of 39 minutes and 42 seconds with Matt finishing 12th.

 The next race wasn't so successful as I attempted to complete the 3 Peaks of Yorkshire race in under 4 hours. The first time I ran the 3 Peaks was in 2010 and despite getting severely de-hydrated coming down from the final peak, I finished in a respectable time of 4 hours 10 minutes.

So, two years later on a sunny (but still cold and windy) day I thought my chances were good. That was until I reached the bottom of Pen-y-Gent and a sudden stomach cramp meant an urgent sprint behind a farmer's wall was neccesary, along with the sacrifice of a compression sock.

I struggled on to the specatator point at the foot of Whernside but had to run straight past my mum and dad and into the portaloo. 10 minutes later and feeling sick as a dog, I set off again and crawled up Whernside but I wasn't in good shape and after hobbling down the other side and along to the final peak at Ingleborough, I was dead on my feet.

Mum and dad were there again to lend their support and I set off again but after another hundred yards I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to attempt the final climb in the state I was in so I reluctantly called it a day. It would be my first DNF (did not finish) and a low point in my running life so far.

Following the disappointment of the 3 Peaks Race, I had the chance to make amends two weeks later at the Leeds Half Marathon. Despite it being a warm day, I managed to maintain a good steady pace and got round in 1 hour and 22 minutes and 7 seconds, only 30 seconds outside my PB and in a respectable 28th place finish.