Racing Coos

Back running again this week although little to blog about. Achilles Tendon responded well to some self massage, RICE, and some damn good stretches sent to me by Billy the Shoe I will also be using the more advanced exercises in future to strengthen the tendons. They can be found here.
After an easy run on Tuesday, when I skived off the club group after a couple of miles, as they were heading for them thar hills and I just wanted to run without risking injury, I had the unexpected bonus of bumping into Debbie, out without Cairn and having a nice easy run. That made two of us and I spent just over a couple of miles in her company. JogScotland on Wednesday, and another couple of runs both off road has well and truly tested the suspect tendon and my calfs are fine too.
I used the experience to do some nosing about some new routes and met a couple of new friends as a result. Funnily enough they are mothers too and had their off spring with them as I tried to pass them on my ascent of the Kipperoch Road from Cardross. The farmers had been out in their company cars and the going underfoot was reminiscent of the farm at Crianlarich with which all WHW runners will be familiar. Suddenly I was face to face with the two mothers and their calves, on a narrow section of road and no passing places. Fortunately the mums were in training for the bovine WHW and set off ahead of me, although I left one of the calfs trailing in my wake. Then one of the mothers tail's raised as if by magic. Sidestepping like Mike Blair round an Irishman, I just managed to avoid an unwelcome spray of the stuff we think of as a good country smell. They soon decided I was too fast for them and they ran off into a field. I made the descent towards the Renton Road but, about 25 yards before it, turned sharp right on a track marked Hawthornhill 1k. That should have taken me behind Castlehill, a wild west outpost in Dumbarton that I used to patrol as a Dumbarton beat cop. Never used this path though, and as the track split giving me a choice, and taking probably the wrong option (me?) soon found myself running out of path and into waterlogged fields. The other path might have taken me through the Knowetop Community Farm and would have been a slightly longer option to the route I took. It would have been drier anyway. The path should have come down behind some houses and onto a known right of way, but unfortunately the cooncil signs about dumping had been ignored and the local alkies had turned it into a glass strewn deathtrap, so I used some stairs and paths down through the houses and back to the village by road. A really strong wind gusting to over 50 mph made it a slow turn back to Cardross slowing me to a stop on two occasions. I'll bet the guys and gals doing the Glasgow to Edinburgh double marathon will set some cracking times given that breeze at their back.