22 October: ...and rest

A third day without running: a cold one too, damp and foggy - the weather prognosis is still good though. As usual, my body is playing tricks on me, with a nearly-cold, an insistence on feeling sleepy, and a headache today. The legs never lie though, and for the first time in weeks there's no tiredness in the muscles. I practice not forcing anything on the bike ride to work and back.

Now I need to think about the second part of the race: mile 3.5 to 12 - Pen y Pass to Beddgelert. This is going to be all about Control - a bit like an early-hours pee, it's going to be easy to lose concentration and direction on the first four miles of the descent, start feeling a bit too overjoyed about an early resolution, and get left with a lot of clearing up to do lower down.

On the other hand it can't all be about holding back: I'm going to need to get back some of the time lost on a slow start. Half marathon pace should be about right. This is also the part of the race where we start to meet traffic (the road will be closed as far as Pen y Pass) - and where race-followers start to make themselves heard. I won't have the benefit of Lindsay's poetry recitals this year either, so better concentrate on the fantastic scenery down the Vale of Gwynant - surely one of the most beautiful valleys in Wales, or anywhere.

This is where the road starts to pass through trees, a change after the bare slopes of the Glyderau and Crib Goch on the way up to Pen-y-Pass. By Llyn Gwynant, the road levels out. This is going to feel hard after nearly half an hour's descending, but it's going to be important not to let the pace drop too much. As far as Beddgelert, it's the easiest part of the course, and while I want to have plenty left for what lies ahead, I don't want to have to make up too much time on the hard road onwards.