Up to my "rab haws" in the Clyde

Some weeks are better than others but this weather is really making sticking to the training plan very difficult.  Gale force winds, snow, icy roads and floods have meant the plan has been adapted.  I even had to spend 1hr 20min on a treadmill which was mind numbing, but good practice for ultra running.
The highlight of the week, or low light, was yesterday's run from Hamilton Palace Grounds up to Chatelherault.  There's an underpass as you leave the grounds and we had to wade up to our knees to get through the flooding - the water was freezing and this was the start of a 2 hour 40 min run and we were soaked.  Slightly further on the path goes under a bridge.  The only way through was to scramble up the embankment and hold onto the underside of the bridge.  When we got out the other side the path was completely flooded as the Clyde river had burst it's banks so we waded up to our "rab haws" (cockney rhyme!) in freezing cold water and make sure we didn't get swept into the river.
The wind was blowing and sleet was smacking me in the face as we continued and my body doesn't like freezing temperatures and was starting to close down.  My feet and hands were numb.  And then the sun came out as we reached the shelter of the trees and I began to warm up but I was tired from the weeks efforts and fell back from the other runners.
Then I reached the flooding at Chatelherault where the path narrows and you can't see it for the water.  I went off the side of the path and landed in even deeper water cutting and bruising my knees.  I was now really cold and my pals were all long gone so I said to myself this was good practice for when it gets tough in a race.  However at the top of the biggest climb in the park, my pals were waiting.  We normally do this to pick up the slower runners and today it was me however they were standing freezing as the sleet was hammering down.  I was so grateful to see them and we headed off but very quickly I dropped behind again as I limped home.  Perpetual forward motion was the phrase I kept repeating to myself plus it was too cold to walk!
Michael, who'd started the run early with me, waited further down the track and we agreed that rather than run back to the start, due to the conditions, it would be safer to get a lift.  It meant the run was cut short but sometimes you have to be sensible enough to call it a day.  Had we been sensible in the first place, we wouldn't have headed out for the run.  There might have been dry spells and blue skies but when you're soaked to the skin and have no feeling in your hands it's no fun and it can lead to mistakes and injury - two cut and bruised knees.
Today I looked at the forecast as I listened to the wind whistling by my bedroom window and thought here we go again.  I decided to ignore the forecast, which was saying the afternoon was better, and headed out in the wind and the sleet.  5 minutes later the sun came out and while it was bitterly cold and I still had to get my feet wet with the floods, it was a great morning to be out.  A few aches and pains from yesterday but I'm pleased this weeks training ended on a high.  Chances are I'll end up with webbed feet at this rate!
A tough week but we are training in Scotland and this is what we need to train in to achieve our goals.  At least I'm not needing to spend hours on a bike in these conditions which I did when training for Ironman!