That morning, I awoke energised and ready to go. I kept checking the sky as I got my kit ready, the sky was overcast and grey, this was not what the forecast had promised. Normally I\u2019m quite stoic, I try not to get too emotional about the external things I can\u2019t control (such as the weather), but that day it got to me. As I drove North to the base of the mountain, disappointment started to set in. Glancing up at the sky, all I could see was cloud, none of the beautiful warm sun that I had been promised. Ever the optimist, I kept telling myself it would burn through the cloud cover by the time I got to the car park at the foot of the hill, and it would turn into a glorious summers day for my most enjoyable and memorable Ben Wyvis run ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, the sun didn\u2019t burn through the cloud cover, so I started winding myself up about the tremendous Scottish summers we always seem to have here. I parked up at the start of the trail and opened the door. Instantly the car was filled with a mass of ravenous midges. I jumped out and started getting changed while being eaten alive. Being so distracted with the weather that morning, I had forgotten my midge repellant. This obviously fuelled my anger about the whole situation. By the time I left the car park to start my run I was spitting rage, and midges; I was NOT happy. Negative thoughts flowed through my mind like a torrent unleashed. Everything was annoying me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not long into my run, these feelings of anger and annoyance began to dissipate (running tends to do that). I started focusing on my breathing and my stride pattern, my senses heightened, and I became more aware of the terrain underfoot. My thoughts calmed and my mind relaxed. I started to smile at how things that were so infuriating a few minutes ago now seemed so inconsequential. I had fixated on things outside my control and paid the price. I had let myself go on an emotional rollercoaster for no real reason at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I made my way up the mountain, it started getting very misty. I continued to ascend, moving through the thick fog, focussing on each and every step. By this point nothing was bothering me, I had accepted my situation which had allowed me to enjoy the experience for what it was. By the time I reached An Cabar (marked by a cairn near the top), I had travelled through the murk to where it was clear. and I raced along the top of the hill to the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The view from Glas Leathad Mor was not the one I was expecting that day, it was better. There is something truly magical about being above the cloud line. I never got the warmth of the sun on my face, but I got a perspective you don\u2019t get very often, a sea of clouds below you. Ben Wyvis means Awesome Mountain, and it certainly was that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n I think the moral of the story is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you pin your hopes on external factors that are out with your control, there\u2019s a very good chance you\u2019ll be disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If things don\u2019t go exactly as planned, don\u2019t dwell on how your expectations weren\u2019t fulfilled, but look at the situation for what it is, recognise the beauty, and enjoy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Running diary July 2019 Every Cloud\u2026 In preparation for the Great Wilderness Challenge 2019 (a 25-mile mountain race), I was planning a run up Ben …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-running"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1507,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/1507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/macsweenfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ben_wyvis-300x225.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n