Happy New Year!

Happy New Year one and all! Many thanks for all of your support during 2013 :-) Mixed emotions to say goodbye to this year, it is one that has given me personally many fantastic experiences and memories, lovely people met, goals reached, money raised. But it's also been a difficult one for my family and big changes which have been difficult too....

So here's to 2014, may it be a good one all round for everyone!

Of course, training over Christmas and New Year went according to plan. Only kidding. 

I will just skip over the aspects of my training schedule I might have missed in favor of mulled wine and mince pies on the sofa safe and dry out of the cold torrential rain, and move swiftly on to.....Andrew and me did most of The Great Glen Way over New Year! It's 80 miles, from Inverness in the east to Fort William in the West. We arrived in Inverness on Thursday and on the way decided that it would be good to finish the year with one last challenge. We thought that 20 miles x 4 days would be OK to do. And there were just 4 free days in between parties, it was a sign!

Preparations.... On the Friday we tripped into town to get a map, running tights for Andrew (finally, you are wearing tights, ha ha ha!), water bottles etc. Friday evening was spent consulting the newly purchased map and planning each day's run and calling B&Bs....

Now all that was left was to cross fingers for the weather, maybe somehow we will avoid the storms and rains that have been battering the country.

Day 1.... Woke up early on Saturday and the rain was only light, perfect! Andrew's parents were really kind and got up early to to drive us to Drumnadrochit which is 20 miles along the trail from Inverness. Plan was for Day 1 to run backwards from Drumnadrochit to Inverness, due to some logistical hitches with finding accommodation in Drumnadrochit.  And then get a lift to Drumnadrochit again on Day 2. 

Day 1 route:

First couple of miles were along the road we just drove along and Andrew's Mum and Dad waved cheerily at us as they drove back to a nice warm house. Sigh. Still, scenery is stunning, am so excited to be out in the highlands that I don't even care it's cold! The route then goes up into the forest above Loch Ness. 

Beautiful! Had a little break here, half-way up the hill, looking for Nessie, not because was tired. Sadly, even after extendinging the break, there was still no sign. Must carry on then. Ugh. REALLY big hills here! I suppose that's where 'the Highlands' comes from now I think about it. Oh.

Well Day 1 was very hilly! The toughest day according to the Great Glen Way guide. First few miles were a big climb through pine forests to the top, fab views though, totally worth the effort. Christmas cake tastes even better at the top of a hill.

Snow at the top of the hills! The route then left the loch side and went behind the other side of the hills through more pine forests, they look magical! The floors and fallen trees covered in bright green moss like a carpet for fairies and imps, and tree stumps for their houses, and frosty fronds of pine branches to swing their fairy wings on. OK - getting carried away here, but it's true! Everything feels like a different world up here, clear and still. It's difficult to remember why everything that stresses me out back down at the bottom of the hills, which looks so small from up here could ever be important.

The last part of the day was down into Inverness, along the Caladonian Canal and along the River Ness up to the Castle, which was the official start of the run, but confusingly at the end of the first day!

Then home for hot tea and butteries! 

Nice hair do.