Back in the Pentlands

Descending Monk's Rig

Another day when the morning run didn't materialise and I had to resort to a late afternoon outing. But I was determined to get in to the hills where, leaving at 16:00, the light was beautiful and the wind starting to die down. Left Ninemileburn and took the more sheltered route up to the Kips Col. Managed to fall flat on my face in the mud when my shoe caught on a staple when jumping off a stile. Felt very sluggish on the way up: Ninemileburn gives quite a brutal start and my stomach was still digesting lunchtime's salmon. Felt better on the last bit of the climb above the col and stretched out on the run down to Gutterford.

Maintained a good pace up Cock Rig and over the rough ground down to the Bore Stane. The run over Kitchen Moss was very wet and I fell once. The studs wearing out on my shoes also doesn't help. By the time I reached the drove road the wind had largely dropped and the silence and late afternoon light were wonderful. Such a privilege to have such a large space all to myself. Started to feel a bit tired on the run up the drove road and Cap Law. Descending Monk's Rig is always a pleasure and, even after all this winter's rain, it is firm, runnable and beautifully green. The gradient is perfect: runnable on the ascent and not so steep that it's hard to go flat out on the descent. All in all, this was a satisfying 14km (540m climb) in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Back home for a quick showe then off into town to watch El Classico with Spanish colleagues. This morning I'm a bit stiff with a slight ache in the right Achilles. Not a problem, I think.