34 miles on the Ridgeway
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Wahoo! Somewhat tempered by the knowledge that some heroes had only just finished running the full 85 miles of the Ridgeway in under 24 hours non-stop running, I managed my longest run ever on Bank Holiday Monday.
Princes Risborough to just below Ivinghoe Beacon and back again - only missed going up the Beacon because I got lost in the woods above Wendover - very annoying! Brief route description: Parked at top of hill in the big car park and looked for the Ridgeway acorn post to start me off. Great up and down hilly route as far as Wendover - via Coombe Hill, and past Chequers. Lost in the woods above Wendover for ages, crossly consulting the compass at every turn. Bit of a slog then to Tring, then through the broad alley of trees shown blurrily on the left, down to the station, then uphill towards Ivinghoe.
Lots of stops - to find my way, to chat to college friends I hadn’t seen in over seven years, both on the way and on the return leg where I caught up with them. Popped into a shop as I ran out of water at 25 miles.
Mood: good until about 21 miles, tough thereafter, although near the end I actually felt I had more energy again. Food was a bit of an issue - my stomach shut down after 4 hours and I really didn’t feel I could eat anything more, even though I knew I would have to.
But that’s it - the longest training run required, from now on it’s taper time!