The wee village of Killin is a beautiful place, maybe one of my favourites in all of Scotland. I ‘discovered’ it fairly recently; it wasn’t a place I’d visited as a kid or at least remember visiting, and I’ve got a really good visual memory of places I’ve been before. I’m also convinced it is a place that has restorative powers or at least it has that effect on me and another weekend there a few weeks ago did nothing to dissuade me from this. In some ways it’s a place of contradictions or opposites. It’s a place I associate with happiness and laughter but also shock and sadness. It’s a place of peace and solitude but then there’s the crashing noise from a busy Falls of Dochart as you sit eating your breakfast on the rocks, or the sound of singing and revelry from the previous night in the nearby Inn still ringing in your ears. It’s a place to relax but more recently with the hill walking, a bit of Munro bagging and running, it’s been a place to work. It also has an excellent Chip Van which provided the essential carb load before my 16 mile run.

The pizza supper aside, I was well behaved the night before – soft drinks were as heavy as I got and I was asleep at a reasonable hour and awake again at a ridiculous one. Sixteen miles would be the longest run to date and it was also another solo one. I’d considered an 8 mile out and back along Glen Ogle; the view from and towards the viaduct stops me in my tracks metaphorically and literally (I’ve parked up and just stared at it plenty of times). But I thought I’d be sensible and plot an 8ish mile route for two loops, with a sports drink stashed at halfway. I’d recced or ran most of it before apart from the last section of the first loop which to my surprise and a few expletives, turned out to a be a steady climb.

The forecast had threatened rain and the menacing looking sky suggested it would deliver. But I gambled on it staying fair, left the waterproof behind and it paid off…barring a little shower about ten mins towards the end which was more blessing than curse.

I think my route takes in large chunks of the Killin 10k. I headed out of the village and turned left toward the power station on a looped single track road that would bring me back into Killin before heading along the banks of the Tay, through a woodland trail to the Falls and then that troublesome wee
climb (which fortunately I only had to do once) before near enough the same again. But that single track loop made up the bulk of the run and it was perfect. If you’ve run it before, you’ll know it’s not flat, few lumps and bumps and a right wee menace of a climb Beside the power station. But I had the road to myself and the place to myself barring a few curious sheep, lambs and cows and a salute from a farmer who was checking in on the herd.

As I reached the power station, I noticed my water bottles in my belt felt quite light…turns out they were empty. I’d focused so much on fuelling well at breakfast and on where I’d stash my sports drink that I’d forgotten about the water. A wee gel washed down with a glug from Loch Tay on Lap 1 and I was fine.

Normally the start of another loop is usually met with a sigh as you ponder more of the same, but no danger of that up here. None of my photos do the run justice, but I loved it. I smiled a lot, I spoke to myself out loud a fair bit. I allowed myself to think about race day and being back in Chicago (and felt a wee bit emotional as the prospect). And then I smiled a bit more.

Post race brunch was the pies I’d brought with me from Hunters of Kinross. Then we packed a bag of cans (my first beers for a while) and headed for a bit fishing. The fish obviously saw us coming and headed up stream and well out of rods way. And then when we decided to go for an easier option for a fish tea…the Chip Van was closed due to a faulty fryer! 😦

Speaking of Kinross, it seems to have become the unofficial training ground for the marathon. I had to bring the next long run forward to the Friday as we flew out to Turkey the next day. It led to a packed seven days starting with Killin and then twelve miles at Loch Leven with a hill session, a six miler and a seven mile session sandwiched in between. But I headed to Kinross feeling fresh (pre holiday vibes and a fairly strong run the night before definitely helping) and I was in good company; ultra running company to be exact. Louise and Darren fresh from the recent Glen Glen ultra where Lou picked up 2nd in the women’s race and Gav back from Iceland in an event that seemed to have all four seasons in one race. The sun was out and the pace was chatty.

I’ve been so preoccupied thinking that the knees might stop me that I’ve almost forgotten that it’s possible to get other injuries or knocks – either on the day or during the training block – that might do for me. Just after Mile 9 I felt the imaginary claw pinching the back of my calf. Captain Cramp just letting you know he’s in the neighbourhood. He’s not grabbing you yet but if you make the wrong twist turn or tweak, he’ll come back with the vice. I nursed it round the last few miles without much of a drop in pace but it was a wee reminder, along with the twinges in my back that have been a bit more frequent recently, that I need to be careful. Maybe a sports drink would’ve helped, maybe it was the heat or it was just a reaction to a busy week of running…or a combo of all three. Whatever it was, I took on about four litres of fluids and lay on the cool of my bathroom floor long enough for it to be as a hot a mess as I was.

If I was feeling the heat at Loch Leven, that was nothing compared to what we flew into the following day for a week’s holiday in Kusadasi. Arriving at the hotel around midnight to see that the temps were still in the high twenties and it would barely drop below 30 during the day all week. I’m writing this bit sitting outside on a lounger at the side of the pool at quarter to seven at night and it’s finally starting to feel a bit cooler. I’ve managed to stick to the plan and got out for a five and two sixes as well as a decent cross training session in the pool (which is three metres from my bed, so I’ve no excuse). The last run of the holiday was supposed to be a four but I had to move Week 10’s long run to the Sunday as we travel home on Saturday (and 18 miles here, even in the early morning heat would need some amount of stashed water bottles!). Even getting out before 7am, the sun is wide awake and already cranking up the heat but I’m really happy with how I’ve ran in these conditions, all good practice and I got progressively quicker throughout the week. Three and half days of rest (and eating) followed before the next long run, which I’ll tell you about another time – I’ve kept you here for far too long!

I am getting really close to reaching my fundraising target, that you again to everyone who has donated and for anyone who’d like to sponsor me, you can head over to my Team RMHC page. But I’d also love to hear from any running pals who would be up for running with me – either during the week on the shorter sessions (usually Mon,Tue,Thu) or for some or all of the long runs (usually Saturdays). If you get fed up of my chat on the run, you can just sneakily up the pace and I’ll go quiet quick enough!

Week 11 eh? Let’s go!