My ankle hurts

It had to happen sometime this year. Getting injured, that is. But it was a sickening feeling as my foot first slid from under me and then twisted sideways on the slippery descent to Boot after coming over Sail Pass from Coniston.

This is the first section of the Lakeland 100 and it had already taken me three hours to cover about 12 miles of rocky trails, rain-soaked bog and indistinct paths by the time my ankle gave way on me. That left another 20 to complete the circuit I’d planned back to Coniston. At the time I wasn’t sure I could make the final mile down to Boot, my ankle was hurting so much and swelling so fast. But by the time I’d got to the road at the bottom and rested and refuelled at the village shop, it felt like it might stand up to a mix of gentle jogging and careful walking over Hardknott and Wrynose Passes. Then there would be just a five-mile off-road journey with only one really steep climb to get me back to where I started.

I managed it without any major mishaps, although the one-in-four (or steeper) downhill stretches over the passes made me wonder if I wasn’t risking serious damage to the ankle. It certainly complained a lot.

The injury obviously put in doubt the 12k trail run at Keswick, the 26-mile Settle Saunter and the Windermere marathon, which I’d planned to do over the next few days. As it turned out, though, it was something else altogether that put the kibosh on my plans. More of that when I find time to write some more.