Nasty rocks

Today's forecast was unseasonably excellent with sun predicted until mid afternoon. That was excellent for a long run. In line with my plan to do 45 to 55km per week over this 6 week block I decided to go to Hathersage and do just over 30km. The ground was drier than it has been for a few weeks but the streams were flowing rapidly and there were still many damp areas.

Hopefully the water is draining away well now

From Porter Clough to Stanage the wind was ferocious and forward progress seemed to be very slow. I was very glad when my walking minute came around every 10 minutes of running.

On the descent of Long Causeway in a combination of stepping on a sharp stone and traversing a cross drain I hurt the sole of my foot. An injury would not be welcome now!  I carried on thinking that if it got worse I could get a bus home from Hathersage (well I had to carry on as there was no other way home). Over those few km the foot settled and became only a minor niggle. I'm often told by the physio that it's OK to carry on with niggles but anything painful or causing loss of performance should be rested so on that basis I felt it safe to run home.

Sunshine!

It was hard work getting home and I ended up walking a little more often than scheduled as I got closer to the destination. I was guarding the sole slightly and I think that was affecting my gait and increasing the effort. I wondered what would hurt tomorrow.

As a 'long run' the pace isn't very important but I was very satisfied with my timing.

The Strava  moving average was 6:10 mins/km which is a great improvement for this route over the last 9 months. Even some of the sections I found hard work were good times, explaining why it was hard work. So the foot hadn't been to much of a handicap in the final reckoning.

The thought of doing the run twice agin is pretty scary though...