GOATS



An informal meeting of East Lothian Jam Makers.

Andy - dressed for the weather.

Did the Goats Gallop on Sunday and, by my reckoning, had a fairly good run.

Conditions were near perfect. A little bit of a chill - but nothing too bad. There was, however, quite a bit of ice on the boggy section near the top that I had fun cracking my way through.

 

I had forgotten how long the drag up from Longyester to the foot of the “proper” climb up Lammer Law really is. A couple of miles of stony, uneven ascent – and the race pretty much goes straight into it. Certainly got the old heart rate up.

The drop down to Hopes Resevoir wasn’t that bad this year…still came down like a big nancy though. The heather on the side of the cliff was very lustrous this year and while I was having to lift my feet quite a bit to get through it, it did offer a bit of purchase on the hill and, I dare say, would have provided a nice soft landing if I did fall.

Once I was down onto the flat along by the reservoir I was able to put the hammer down a bit.

Finished in 1:00:45 – slightly quicker than two years ago (wasn’t there last year). So happy enough with that.

It’s a very informal event and it was nice just to meet up and chat with others before and after the run.

One more run “off road” coming up (Peebles XC this Sunday). After that I’ll be sticking to roads, or at the very least well defined paths, try to get this toe problem sorted out.

In fact. Until Portobello on New Year’s Day I’ve nothing in the pipe line. Might try to drop the pace a wee bit as well. I won’t have a “rest” as such, but perhaps a bit of a quiet month won’t hurt.