The hills from Spean Bridge

The view from the Commando monument

Two views sketched today. On Friday I was quite surprised to see wet sleety snow falling in the morning.Surprised and a little disappointed since having  a day working out doors ahead of me  I had hoped it would be dry. In the event the cheery nature of the guys I was working with made the hours out in the cold fly by as did the spectacular countryside we were in . In between snow showers it was actually quite pleasant.
This morning there was more snow then a little sun. The mountains looked amazing ! I expect that the ski slopes were busy . Frustratingly my back is still very sore; walking is painful  and running out of the question.
When I started this blog one year ago I had hoped to regale the reader with tales of mountain adventures and ultrarunning exploits . Unfortunately since that time I have struggled with various back injuries and illnesses. My running has been mainly reduced to runs in the forest and commuting to and from work. However I'm still hopeful that I will be able to regain my fitness and that 2015 will be a good year. I think it is unrealistic to expect to be able to stay in top form year in year out especially when trying to juggle a demanding job with ultrarunning.  In contrast to last year 2013 was a great year for me with a p.b on the West Highland Way race. I also won a race for the first time in my life-  this was  a small race and more due to luck than talent but all the same I will treasure the memory of that day forever.
Frustrating as my recent lack of fitness has been I still get a tremendous amount of pleasure and fulfilment out of my running I believe that being able to run at all at any speed or over any distance is a privilege and a gift especially in the gorgeous countryside around here, many people are not so lucky .I hope that I never take it for granted.