Bit of BGR, bit of Paddy

Monday : 5 miles rough ground, but no major hill with Richard who at his best was running 2.30 marathons. We were not running that fast though.

Tuesday : rest

Wednesday : in London

Thursday : Leg 1 of BGR including the parachute jump decent from Blencathera. Total time of 3.40 in line with my aim of a little faster than BGR pace. Could have done with more water and was the parachute jump took 30 mins to Threkeld on account of holding 2 sheets of A4 and reading from them every minute or 2 to ensure I was on route. Visibility on top was about 10m on account of the mist. I also slightly overshot the place to get over the fence on Skiddaw, but only by about 30m. Back to Keswick via the old railway/cycle path. I would have done a 2nd leg, but it would have been unfair for the folks I was pacing on the Paddy to have turned up wreaked.

Friday : rest and recovery after a evening at the Tan Hill Inn watching Drunk in Public with Mr. C. being so drunk he could not remember the words of "Just the One", despite 3 attempts. Just how it should be.

Saturday : Yak and pacer for a log of the Paddy Buckley attempt for 6 people, 1 of which I knew in passing via some work I had done over the last 3 years at the University of Edinburgh and the rest I had never meet before. I did leg 3 over Snowdon with 1 other pacer. These folks were hardened long distance runners. All had done the BGR, most had done the Ramsey Round, so it was quite hands off as a pacer, no force feeding or setting the pace. My contribution was carrying a load of water and doing the navigation from Snowdon to Moel Enion. 2 of the 6 had dropped out by the start of leg 2 and 1 more dropped out during leg 3 (why you need multiple pacers). I was in shorts and light t-shirt all night from the 9pm start to the finish at 2am. I set of up Crag-Wen a little before them on account of my 20 pounds of water, etc which was a wize move. Learned a lot about doing a round, the fact it was a different course was irrelevant .

1. Hydration is very important and there is still stuff I need to learn. I put some s2p in my water and I struggled to drink it after about 5 miles. I need to find something I can drink later on in the BGR and diluted mango juice might work.
2. Have some trial runs for the road change overs
   
3. I eat and drank too little(just not enough time), pacers need to look after themselves to look after you.
   

I was much more tired at the end of the leg than I was on the BGR leg 1 on thursday, most down to extra weight I guess and a little to still recovering from thursday. Also probably a bit of moving with 1 runner to attend to their needs, then catching up the 3 others and then dropping back a few times which takes it out of you. The pace was slower than thursday, but I found it much tougher.

I went home at 2am, but I got a text the next day that 2 finished in 23.25 and the other in 23.42. I am very pleased for them, they worked hard for it on a hot day.

A weekly total of 11,500ft and about 35 miles.