Ben Lomond - practice run - 2 weeks and counting

It was time to gauge how I was really doing and just see how bad I was. I arrived at the car park at 0705, changed and checked my watch. Breakfast was porridge and banana - I only had porridge last time so I'd need to see if there was a difference, intrinsic anomalies aside. I set off at 0709 and began the run through the forest, which has been severely decimated since I was last there. I didn't want to check my watch too often but I was really struggling and it was steeper than I imagined it to be. Out of the 'forest' and I was down to a walk and really peching. Eventually the gradient relented and I began jogging along the flat part but not on a constant basis - must rectify next time. The steep slog up to the summit was longer and steeper than I remembered (it always is). As I located the trig point, I was disappointed at my ascent time of 1 hour 17 minutes. I had hoped for something more like 1 hour. I didn't hang about and began the pad down. I felt strong and thought I could get down in 30 minutes. However, about 1 mile out, I really hit the wall and was reduced to a walk. What was going on? I eventually picked up the pace and got back to the car at 0905, with my descent time of 39 minutes. In total, 1 hour 56 minutes, which will get me a placing of 4th or 5th from last. Disappointed but I know I can do better. I have two weeks to eat well, drink nowt (apart from the night!) and do some more fitness work. I am sure I can shave 11 minutes off that time and hit the 105 minute target. If anything, apathy sure won't get the better of me.