A bit of a run

It was grey, cold and miserable yesterday, but today was one of those blue-skied, crisp and clear days on which I just couldn't stay indoors. A walk/run was called for. I had spotted a 20km circuit on the map which included sections of the GR7b and the GR du Pays d'Olmes and which would take us from the house, up to Montsegur and then over the hill to join the road from the Gorges de la Frau and finally home.

It was a steady climb up through the woods from Fougax but the paths were excellent. We arrived at la Croix de Morenci....The cross has been restored/reconstructed following it's almost total destruction in 1972 when a hunter blasted its face with his gun .... on purpose or not, I have no idea! It is thought that the cross has links to the nearby Roc de Fougasse which it is believed was used as a sacrificial table in pagan times. Needless to say, the site is the subject of much local legend.

We made it up to the Col de Montsegur which was the half way point. Further on, we had a lovely view of Montsegur village and back down the valley towards Fougax
But we were not heading back down the valley that way.... oh no, that would have been too easy! Nope we were carrying on 'up' for another couple of kilometers, veering away from what felt like the 'right' way home which was disconcerting, but we eventually hit the very welcome 'down' section of the route, through pretty wild, wooded and craggy terrain. But the path was always good which made the running fun. The legs did however take a hammering on the descent and I had to take the final 4kms back along the road at walking/jogging pace to try and mitigate any damage. But after some stretching this evening, my ITBs feel OK and I think I have got away unscathed from my longest outing (20.5kms/850m+) for some while which I am so relieved about! I can now start thinking about maybe doing some proper training for the Citadelles .... I did say 'maybe' ;-) Stats would be on the usual site if my Garmin hadn't played silly buggers and corrupted the data file!