Appealing Prospect ....

It's the Three Shires fell race on Saturday and I'm looking forward to it. Shameful as it might sound, I've never actually done an AL category race before so I'm hoping to put that right with this, plus the Langdale Horseshoe and Full Tour of Pendle races later in the year. I think I've prepared as much as I can, I did a course recce a few weeks back then went back with some Dallam A.C. mates on Saturday to do it again. Weather wasn't quite as nice as first time around, but we nonetheless managed to pick a much better line up the side of Wetherlam (still a tw*t of a climb), but the clag was down and it was a wet and windy descent down to the col and the rocky ascent up Swirl How. I see why they call it "Swirl" now, because the wind up there was insane! Everything else went pretty much to plan, I got the line off Blisco spot on, which I damn well ought to considering this was my fifth time up Pike o' Blisco in recent weeks! The line up Lingmoor Fell was hard, but more than compensated by a wonderful run down, it was raining heavily and myself and my host for the day charged on down to the Three Shires pub like our collective arses were on fire, it was brilliant - I hope I feel that good on race day.

Went back to Arnside YHA afterwards via Pete Blands where I picked up a small Platyplus water bladder, been after one for a while. A quick cuppa at the YHA and then it was round to mine host's gaff, an lovely home overlooking Morecombe bay, for a little soiree to celebrate Dallam A.C.'s 2011 BGR successes. Needless to say I had far too much of the red stuff and to say I had a baggy head next morning is only hinting at my abject misery. Helen was being heartless again - women generally are, in my experience - and kicked me out and into my wet fell shoes for a quick bash around Coniston Old Man and Dow Crag. I won't bore you with details, but it wasn't the happiest time I've spent on the fells and the weather was terrible. It was a relief to get into some dry clothes and get some hot coffee into me, I will never again venture into the hills in quite such a hungover state again ... it's not big and it's definitely not clever.

I will report later on how the race goes!