by Gordie12 » Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:23 am
Date walked: 04/09/2017
Time taken: 4 hours
Distance: 25.8 km
Ascent: 387m
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As usual the alarm went off at 4:30am but this morning I switched it off and went back to sleep. Eight hours later I was still annoyed with myself so drove over to Dunkeld to grab a walk before the predicted rain set in. I'm used to a 6am car park, not 1:30pm - it's busy.
Today was to be 16 miles rather than the 12 miles I seem to have been doing since July but the brain didn't send the message to the legs as they took off at 12 mile pace. I was at Mill Dam in 32:54, Raor Lodge in 54:24 and the bridge at the far end of Loch Ordie in 1:26. This is a minute under my record pace for 12 miles and it was tempting to turn round and try and beat 2:50 but I resisted.
I reached my turning point in 1:55, in the winter I'm delighted with anything around 2hrs but conditions are worse and underfoot conditions tend to be muddier beyond Loch Ordie.
A quick sandwich and I am on the return leg which is about a mile longer as I always do a big loop back to Loch Ordie. The clouds are rolling in on a strong wind and it's unlikely I will stay dry.
Keeping up a fast pace is hard back to Loch Ordie as the track is muddier and I use up a lot of energy, a quick check of the Garmin at Loch Ordie tells me I have a chance of breaking 4hrs for 16 miles so I have managed to keep a good pace on the rougher ground. I now need to give it everything I have on the last leg back to Cally Car Park. My stride is slightly shorter which is a sure sign that I am tired but I battle on as fast as I can.
At Mill Dam I see that I am at 3:28 so 31 mins for the last 2 and a bit miles will see me home so I bash on. Still dry I am at the car park in a total time of 3:58, the Holy Grail is achieved at an average walking pace of 4mph. I'm delighted but know this will not be achievable once I switch to this route in the winter months.
