Snow Pictures

Just thought I'd finally get round to adding some of the snow-related pictures taken since Christmas while there's still some on the ground and it is vaguely topical. Would have had more, but on the best day for photos I had in the hills (where the first picture comes from) I left the memory card at home limiting me to 3 pictures. Doh.

 Nearing the top of Pendle from the Downham side - early morning climb

Me looking very unsteady on my feet - probably trying to stay on the surface of the snow

Snow-bound socks with the beginnings of snow-burn/chafage on my shins

 

A later picture of my scabby shins - doesn't really do it justice

 

My lovely featureless cankle after turning it numerous times under the surface of the snow.

A Bit Peaky

I'm in!! Luckily 3 runners in a High Peak Marathon team got themselves injured or ill. When I say luckily, my thoughts are with them, obviously, but it does mean that with only a few weeks to go, I'm gonna get to have a crack at this event. The proof's here. We're team no. 24: Traversers.

A 42mi run over boggy, featureless wilderness, in a circular route out of Edale. Added to that is the difficulty of starting the race at 11 at night. So all mileage (and more importantly navigation) completed by headtorch-light. Really looking forward to it, and will be a great session to have under my belt given my ultimate aim of a BGR. An added attraction this year is the chance I might be able to speak to Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who is competing in the race with another team. Though whether I will say anything meaningful, or just stare, giggle and jibber like a schoolgirl at a [insert contemporary pop reference here] concert is another matter.

Soon after the euphoria had kicked in there was another feeling that started to creep into my mind. Took a while to identify this as panic. As I said in my last post, my training so far this year has been a bit hit and miss. I've since been out with my club on one of their headtorch runs over Pendle and found myself really struggling to keep up, whereas before Christmas, I was holding my own.

So with only 3 and a bit weeks to go between getting in the team and the race starting, I was desperately wondering where I would get my fitness back from. I had another week away with work, which limited the miles I could get under my belt. Had some really good CV sessions (e.g. 40min run/30min bike/20min row) but nothing really compares with hitting the hills for a few miles.

With that in mind I did have a couple of runs lined up this weekend. I was doing the 2nd half of the Full Tour of Pendle this morning (10mi, 3000+ft), then doing a route I've contrived called the Pendle Monster: the Pendle Cloughs and Full Tour routes combined (27mi, 7000+ft). So far so good. This morning though, get to Barley for 6, and whilst just listening to the end of a report on the Today program I fell asleep. I awoke 40mins later, still shattered so without having even set foot outside the car I turned around, got home and got back into bed. I reckon the last few weeks of driving and early starts has caught up with me. So I'm having a rethink. 

I may yet do the Pendle Monster, but with a 20mi recce of the northern half of the HPM route lined up next Friday, I might just satisfy myself with a few more modest runs, saving the Monster and another target - a Double FTOP - until after the HPM. Will no doubt update on here.

Kit latest: Looking back over previous posts, I made reference to a decision over a jacket. I plumped for a Rab Momentum jacket made from Event fabric. Very breathable, very light, and keeps me dry.  Not soft-shell, as there seems to be a fad for at the moment (these materials just remind me of cheap polyester tracksuits I remember wearing as a kid in the 80s - see 2010 OMM Kamleika), so it does rustle a bit when running, but this doesn't bother me. It's also got a hood that clings to your head like a cap, so it doesn't get blown off in the winds. Very useful this winter on the top of Pendle. Doesn't stow in the jacket when not in use, which is strange, but not a major problem. Absolutely loving it so far - even the mushy pea/baby poo green colour - but a proper review should wait until after the HPM where no doubt it will be thoroughly tested.

Before I disappear for now, if there's any missing Ls, it's not because I can't spell, but that particular key is highly strung and decides not to work sometimes.

Ain't Nothin' Gonna Break-a My Stride...

...well except for, er, quite a few things actually.

I've not done a lot of running since the last blog entry, and this entry is basically a litany of excuses. (You have been warned!)

It all started [cue dream like flashback with harp playing effects] at the Forum's Xmas On The Fells (XOTF). Was a bitterly cold run towards the end, and I was a bit too slow in putting on my warm gear at the last stop-and-wait-for-the-others point. I then decided to wait and run down with the backmarkers, which meant running a lot slower than I'm comfortable with and so I didn't get my body temperature up again. As a result I was sat in the pub, curry house and finally, the club that night all shaky and shivery. Not only that but my body seemed to take a while to recover from this.

Other than this what was there? Oh yes: 

• I missed an opportunity for a couple of decent length runs over the holiday period whilst at the family's, because I forgot my headtorch;
• I missed out on quite a few Sunday runs because Pendle was inaccessible (snow on the roads);
• Running on the roads as an alternative, or as part of my mid-week training wasn't feasible as the roads/pavements/lanes near me were lethally icy;
• Once the snow had gone, weekends were spent decorating our bedroom;
• Weekdays were spent mainly away from home - so I've not been to a Tuesday night headtorcher with the club since before Xmas.

It's not all been doom and gloom: between access to Pendle being granted and the snow going completely I was able to hit it a couple of times. Got quite a few pictures which I will get on here at some point. Absolutely loved running in the snow. Such a great training effort required as you go between running on top of icy, crusty snow, and falling through the crust (up to the calf/knee/waist). Ended up with shins totally shredded of skin where the crust took the top layers away on the way in and on the way out of the snow. Also ended up with an impressive cankle where my foot would sink beneath the snow and would turn on whatever bumpy, uneven terrain there was underneath. Brilliant fun!

I've been able to salvage something whilst I've been away with work as well. I've been in hotels with gyms so I've been hitting the treadmill (soul destroying, but necessary) and putting together some mad circuits for a total body workout, but really hitting the legs hard with some strength and plyometric work. Using the treadmill as a warm up then destroying myself on the circuits has been oddly satisfying, and a really good alternative to the running, and will probably try and use these more in my training in future.

However, all of this has meant that the momentum I was building up before Xmas has been lost, and as many of you probably know, it's the first steps back on to a structured programme which are the hardest. 

But not to fear. It begins again this week. Tonight a hilly road run with a weighted pack, tomorrow I am around for my club run over Pendle, Thursday I might be hitting Pendle for an early one. A bit further down the line I've put together a big 25mi run round Pendle (Sun 21st Feb), I'm still hoping for a place on a High Peak Marathon team (which to be honest has been a bit of a spur to get out of this funk), and am toying with the idea of a double FTOP in March.

So it all begins again. Bring it on!!

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

And two new pairs of shoes.

Got the OMM Adventure Light 20l for my birthday, a pair of Walsh PB Extremes with my birthday money, and a pair of Adidas Swoops with some money I got from work (some sort of thank you for a job well done type thing).

Gave the Walshes a run out the other night on a gentle headtorcher with Kieghley & Craven (KCAC). These are the Extremes, which aren't the usual light blue, they're a charcoal/grey instead. The material is harder wearing than the usual (made from Xymid, apparently). Given that my last pair of shoes (Mountain Bear Fell Dancers) were falling apart on the uppers, I thought I'd opt for these over the regular and more familiar PBs.

A very good  fit and comfortable to run in. It started off a bit sore around the heel cup, but this soon gave a bit (after about 10 mins running) and especially after the shoe got wet, it almost felt like I had nothing on my feet. It was a relatively flat course, with a couple of fast downhill fields, but nothing too steep to really test the grip on. But I'm already part way to becoming a full-on Walsh convert.

Not yet tried the Swoops, but with a weekend in the Lake District coming up in what is looking like some very cold conditions, I reckon I might be better off with these. Will take both anyway and make my mind up on the day.

As for the bag, I've not really had cause to wear it yet (outside the house, anyway). But again with a cold Lakes weekend, I might over-do the emergency kit I take just to give it a bit of a try. A few extra warm tops, a flask of Bovril, you know the score...

From what I have tried in the house though, it does feel very snug and stable and I can't see it interfering with my running stride at all. I've yet to properly figure out how to attach the chest pouch I got with it. This was really for the built-in map-case, as I've got my eye on a few long-distance events next year (High Peak Marathon, a couple of mountain marathons, the Fellsman?) and this would certainly come in handy if it works well. I shall report back once I've used in anger.

All I need now is a bivvy bag and a proper waterproof jacket. Currently deciding between the OMM Kamleika, RAB Momentum, Haglofs Oz, and Montane Evolution. With prices ranging from £90-£190, I hope Santa thinks I've been a good boy this year.

I Want My MP3...Or Do I?

Recently, my MP3 player broke. It won't turn on, so it's a fairly fundamental failing, as far as using it to listen to music goes. Now, this may seem trivial, but it has far-reaching implications.

For one thing, I now need to compromise my post-Xmas spending on fell-running gear as I divert some of the cash towards a very necessary replacement. It may also be the case that I have to finally relent and give in to the consumer behemoth that is Apple. Having successfully avoided it thus far, because of added compatibility with my car, and the lack of any immediately attractive alternatives I can see myself opting for an iPod.

However, there may be an unexpected upside to my MP3lessness. This weekend I had a 310 mile journey to Devon to suffer, with a return leg the next day. Obviously of the same length. In the absence of an MP3 player, I had to dig out these strange plastic discs called CDs (pronounced see-dees) to listen to in the car. I thought I'd use this opportunity to dig out a few albums I'd not listened to for a while.

In amongst some Cure, Radiohead, Suede, GnR, etc. I also found myself brave enough to reach for some albums that fall firmly into the guilty pleasure category. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of a guilty pleasure when it comes to music. In my case, these were albums I listened to over and over again as a kid, but now can't bring myself to listen to them. A couple of for instances from this weekend's trip was Kula Shaker's K, and Ocean Colour Scene's Mosely Shoals.

This is strange, as over the years my tastes have matured, and I can see the shortcomings of these albums when stacked against some genuine classics. But at the same time, I'm no longer precious about what constitutes 'real' music, and I can shake my money-maker to Girls Aloud with the best of 'em. These albums, and others like them, are gathering dust between these two extremes: truly great music from a diverse range of genres; and unabashed, inconsequential, pop fluff.

So I was very surprised about how much I enjoyed listening to these again. Aside from the novelty of listening to a whole album from start to finish rather than relying on the shuffle of my MP3 - which in the case of OK Computer is a spine-tingling experience - I found a whole load of memories flooding back. Mainly blasting these songs out getting ready for my first tentative ventures out after dark, hitting the pubs and clubs of Camden; then tapping my feet to them on the Tube (using my Walkman) in a state of nervous anticipation: would we get in or not? Would I get served or not?

As well as reliving my childhood, I also found myself thinking about how old I'm getting. You see, inbetween the CDs, I was also listening to The Early Music Show on Radio 3 - renaissance period choral music - and a dramatisation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on Radio 4. This sandwich between my youth and my premature middle age comes as I'm just a week short of my 30th birthday.

I'm just wondering if I dare regress any more: before finding my musical feet as a child, I used to really like stuff like Dire Straits, and played Stars by Simply Red constantly. I used to listen to my Dad's Police albums as a kid too. I heard Spirits in the Material World yesterday morning and thought: 'this ain't so bad'.

Is this okay? Or are these my first steps down the path to being the crazy old person at family dos that will dance to anything (Abba, Grease Medley, etc.) as my discretion goes the same way as my marbles? This is harmless enough, surely? Okay, so it's nothing ground-breaking and there's definitely better out there. But to exclude them completely means missing out on what are - if I'm honest - some fairly decent tunes. From time to time it can't hurt to reacquaint yourself with these old friends. Can it?

Viknee Vidi Vici: Tour of Pendle 2009

16.88mi/4,269ft

So, the plan was to get around uninjured? Mission accomplished. Target time of 3h30? Not quite. Here's the full story...

The night-time race the Wednesday before the Tour, you know, the one I said I was only going to sweep for, to save my niggly knee? Yup, that one. Well, rocked up and as soon as my feet were in my (still wet) shoes, I was overcome by the urge. Went at it at a decent pace. Not quite full tilt, but probably 80-85%. Still didn't stop me being beaten back by a pair of nippers (12 & 13 I think). The fact that they were brothers from a good fell-running bloodline - I forget who, but a previous Tour winner - and that one was the current BOFRA champion did little to salve my injured pride.

Anyway, I woke up the next morning facing a long drive and a very tender knee. On the Thursday I was in Birmingham entertaining clients with work and was in a hotel overnight. Got some funny looks checking in with my scaffolding pole and foam roller for some hardcore ITB stretching that evening. At this point I was in two minds about starting the race given last year's fun and games. I started 2008's Tour with a similar niggle and ended up out of action for 9 months. I did resolve though, that if my knee did start playing up, I would sensibly drop out and save my knee.

Overslept on the day, so my slow, easy preparation that I'd planned, as well as tracking down some forumites, went out the window. Did get to the start though, drew my number (250) and found that there'd been a couple of diversions to the usual route due to soil erosion. Post race estimates reckon this added 0.3-0.5mi to the route. Kind of anticipated this from my numerous recces of the route: it was getting very bad underfoot. Diversions were to a new CP1, and from CP3-CP4.

From the start it was the usual melee along the track past the village hall and the lower Ogden Clough reservoir. As the climb started up towards the trig the field started thinning out so we were only 3-4 abreast! (see left). There wasn't any rain at this stage, but there was a mist which reduced visibility and slowly seeped into my clothes. I was soon past the trig and on to where CP1 is usually located to pick up the first diversion. Instead of hitting the wall and turning left,  it was over the wall, and follow a path W to a gate where the new CP1 was. Through the gate it was turn S along the wall until hitting the fence at Ogden Clough and picking up the usual route to CP2. The ground after CP1 was very boggy (if you stuck to the path) or very tussocky (if you didn't want to get dirty).

My plan was to hold back some pace during this first half of the race to keep strong for the more demanding second half. The Tour is a route which is very easy to go at too fast, too soon. It almost invites you to. Despite this, I was able to pick up a few places along this stretch before making a conscious effort to reel it in again after CP2.


A gentler run down to CP3 then. At this point I picked up the second diversion. After the checkpoint where the route would normally climb NW to the path to Geronimo we had to take a less-direct N route to hit the path further down. This was a back-breaker of a climb now. Not because of the difficulty, but because it ran right under the overhanging branches of the edge of the woods. According to plan I took on my first bit of food on this climb and had my water bottle out. Took this climb at a modest pace and kept this up until crossing the ladder stile after which I picked the pace up again for the short dash to the joy that is Geronimo.

Geronimo seems to have acquired a bit of legend in fell-running circles. Personally I love it, but as a descent I'm sure there are longer/steeper/faster... Who knows why? All I know is I found myself at the top in good form, having taken the locals' line far to the right (as you approach) to avoid the muddy diagonal path that most others use. Go far enough right and there's a lovely steep bank of grass and bracken back down into Ogden Clough. My technique was perfected during my recces and having hit the top exactly where I needed to be, I went for it. After cutting in front of another runner, I jumped into the air, landed on my upper thigh...and just slid. In that one slide (about 15m) I took about 4 places. As I neared the bracken - now virtually all dead - I got my studs up ready. I planted them firmly into the mud and it took very little leverage to get upright: a combination of momentum and the steepness of the hill. In this stuff, with the bracken roots holding the mud together you can take sure, steady strides without fear of your feet disappearing out from under you. I then came across the next strip of grass and jumped into the air again, this time landing on my other leg to spread the grass burns. I repeated this all the way down, and by the bottom of the hill I'd taken about a dozen places and had some nicely bloodied knees and thighs to show for it. Great fun!! Despite all the spectators at the bottom of the hill, no-one's caught me in full flight. But it did happen.

I got a drink from the stream, rolled down my under shorts which had ridden up (a must on anything 5mi+ to prevent chafage) and followed the Clough up the hill towards CP5 (see right - climbing out the Clough). The first half out the way I was beginning to feel the benefits of pacing the first half, as I was feeling really good. As we descended down into CP5 I noticed the line of runners in front curving to the left as they followed the trod, only to end up directly in front of me. I just decided to go for it and took the brakes off to fly over the tussocks. This was the best I felt in this race: I was running fast, feeling strong, overtaking runners, a wind in the face...brilliant. Should have known it couldn't last long.

After chucking my tag in at CP5 I carried on down to the stream, got another drink, and a bit more food. Started the first of the 3 really big climbs up Pendle which make up the back half of the course, at this point still feeling really good, sharing a joke or two with a couple of runners on the way up (as I passed them!). Then, about halfway up, I felt a twinge in my knee. Bugger. I eased off a bit and at the top I had a bit of a poke about and decided to continue, but to reign it in on the climbs. I trotted off slowly towards CP6. Took on a bit more food before descending down to CP7. Did this sat down to rest my knee, which drew a few enquiries from a couple of runners. I assured them I was okay, just nibbling and moments later I was passing them on the way down.

The second climb was okay. Could feel the knee making noises each time I pushed off on my right leg, but it was manageable. It was only really on the third climb that I struggled, but this is a much steeper scramble. I was beginning to tire at this point too so I did pause a couple of times. At the top a Clayton supporter told me I was on for a 3h30 - my target, but I knew my knee would hinder this. I got it to CP10 and got some flapjack from the 'Trig Hotel'. Bloody impossible to eat running, so lost a couple of places as I struggled to get this down my neck. Once gone though, yet again I was able to pass them over the rough stuff. The recces paid off here as at this height the mist was still down which meant visibility was very poor. After flying down the descent - it still felt quick despite holding back - I got to CP11 and bumped into another runner and forumite who I'd recced the route with beforehand. We'd started together until he took off up the first climb on his own. I'd caught him again and in my mind I was going to beat him back to the finish. Whilst offering every encouragement, of course!

For the last run in I'd decided to deviate onto the reservoir path round the lower reservoir. The balls of my feet were hurting, and this was softer ground. It was also flatter so I was gambling on it being faster. I'm not too sure how this worked out as there were a couple of heads bobbing up and down on the other side of the wall and they seemed to be moving ahead of me, albeit slowly. When I rejoined the track I was able to take them again on the final 200m or so dash to the line. And as it turned out I'd beaten my mate by a minute or two!

A wash in the stream, quick dry and change in the boot of the car, and it was into the cabin for a soup, bread roll, bacon butty, and a sweet tea. I milled around for a while to see the presentation. Swapped a few stories with the my clubmates and a couple of other forumites and walked off with my t-shirt; a couple of bottles of rescue ale; 9mins off last year's time - despite deviations; head held high; and a sore knee.

This last souvenier would have to wait for the next day or so for a full assessment, but that evening I was still moving it, and it was still flexible the next day. After last year's race it wouldn't bend, so this was great news.

So I missed out on my secondary target of a sub 3h30 time, but I'm still running which was always the priority.

Next year? Sub 3h15!



Postscript: Someone did capture all the action from the bottom of Geronimo. You can see the results here. I'm on it at 6:04 (orange cag). Unfortunately, this isn't my genius descent, just the gate at the checkpoint.

Learning My Lines

Lessons learned from the Boulsworth fell race then:

1) The benefit of training; &

2) The importance of getting the right line.

On the first point, I was absolutely stunned to finish 11th on Sunday's race. The field was small - only 31 - but even so, this is a top third finish. I've never before finished top half in a fell race. The only thing I can put this down to is the number of hours I'm getting on my feet in the hills.

Last year I was only training with the club on Tues nights. I lacked the confidence to hit the hills on my own. This year I'm out on my own most weekends for some fairly lengthy runs over Pendle and I reckon it's these that helped on Sunday. Felt really good throughout the race. At one point I was even in 4th place. As the race went on I steadied my pace and was running in a comfortable 10th position all the way to the last CP, with a couple of clubmates behind me (who always beat me).

The second lesson was learned after this point. I took a bit of a gamble following a previous recce (which wasn't entirely successful - hit a completely different hill for CP1, but that's another story) that the longer way back through the farmers' fields would be quicker. It seemed more runnable than the direct line over the tussocky moor. However, when I finally got back to the finish - feeling really good - I find that one of my clubmates who was a few seconds behind me at CP3 had finished in 5th position and about 5mins ahead of me.

Given how strong I finished, I reckon I could have got that result if I'd recced and picked the right line.

C'est la vie. Still chuffed with the overall result. Just hope it bodes well for the Tour of Pendle on Saturday.

The Tour has been my target since I finished the race injured last year and spent the subsequent 9 months out of action. I'm determined to put in a good result. I finished 3h45 last yr and would love to break 3h30 this year (secretly aiming for a sub-3h15, but we'll see).

Decided that my training has been a bit lax of late, relying on the club run and my Sunday jaunts alone to get my fitness up. So thought this week I should put more effort into getting up in the morning and starting my early morning running again. Did that yesterday, a nice gentle 3.6mi followed by some burpees and last night my knee was a bit niggly. Given the Tour's only just around the corner I've decided to bin this idea and focus on stretching this week to ensure the race doesn't break me like it did last year.

Was supposed to do a headtorch race over Pendle on Weds, but I think I'll volunteer as a sweeper instead. Gets me exercising, but will minimise the risk of injury.

On the equipment front, I've finally decided on the rucksack that will see me through next year's anticipated Mountain Marathons, and long days in the Lakes: the OMM Adventure Light 20l. I've also opted for the OMM Trio Chest Pouch. I like the idea of the built in map case. I always find myself running round with a laminated map in my hand. Over 15 or so miles, and when you're trying to use your hands to scramble up a steep hill, this is a bit annoying. Plus your hands get sweaty. This has been ordered for my birthday. I will report back once I've had a chance to play about with it!!

Anyway, next stop: Tour of Pendle.