Long weekend in the Peak... again

We made a long weekend of the long weekend and headed down to the Peak for 4 days. On Friday we had a lunch planned with P’s wonderful 93 year old Grandad who is still going strong. I nipped out in the morning for a short half hour run. I had wanted a bit of rest during the week, but after one day I got frustrated and so rode to work 2 days in a row and put in a run straight after the second ride of 5 miles. I think I was trying to make myself suffer after Sunday.

On Saturday we rode down the Tissington Trail and back along the High Peak trail with P’s parents. We must have looked a pretty motley crew as they were on a hardtail old fashioned mountain bike and a hybrid, and we were on our full-susses! We managed to all but miss the large heavy showers which were flopping around.

The next two days were ours and we got two full days on the grit in. Sunday was forecast very strong westerlies and showers so we headed to Ramshaw rocks. It was really quite sheltered there and we only caught the edge of one sharp shower, which wetted everything and then the wind dried it all off again. I’d forgotten how much I don’t like rounded Grit thou!! On Monday we headed to Stanage with friends Kevin and Alice, an old running friend of mine from years back Clare, and their friend Jo, in slightly less windy conditions, and again the rain missed us until 4-ish. I would never normally head somewhere like Stanage on an August Bank Holiday, but with the weather as it was pretty quiet!! 

Getting a grip!

Having just re-read my previous post, I realise just how much I must have thrown my toys out the pram on Sunday at Sedbergh! To be honest in the cold light of day I’m being more realistic and more pragmatic. Its not like I’m a honed athlete and I don’t take this as seriously as it sounds like I do in that post!! I don’t Train with a big T, although I am continually looking to get fitter and faster I do have more to my life than running and realistically I’m not prepared to give up all that!

Still doing worse than expected does lead to a bit of navel gazing and I have been doing that. I’m not sure what the outcome will be but in the short term I’m just going to enjoy the next few weeks, the LDMT is in mid-September, I might do a local 10k race before that, and see what else comes my way! Its then into the longer dark nights and I always find this allows me to refocus and I will probably end up doing a bit of Training with a big T!

Sedbergh Hills - a race to forget or learn from

I have just started to come to terms with Sunday’s race and my appalling performance. I finished outside the points so have no long counter for the English Championships. I am bitterly disappointed. In the cold light of the day after I can make a few excuses, but also I can see that I have taken my eye off the ball, so to speak as well as loosing out on a split second decision.

This started well enough and although I knew I wasn’t up there I was doing OK, it’s a tough route so I knew I’d benefit from being strong in the latter stages. This meant I didn’t panic and set off too fast, and true enough on the off path part between checkpoints 3 and 4 I started to pick people off, and make up ground. I kept this up on the climb up the Calf and that was where it all went really wrong. The mist was down and I didn’t concentrate hard enough and managed to cut the wrong corner off coming off the Calf. By the time I realised (and I took another lass with me who followed) it meant we’d lost a fair amount of height and in gaining the route again with height, the wind went completely out of my sails. I started feeling very tired, and to be honest hadn’t probably eaten enough either. So all in all looking at the results I lost over 10 minutes from this one stupid error.

Once back on the right route, I struggled to keep any pace up as I knew that it was over. I managed some effort but there was too much lost, and finished well down the field feeling angry and upset. I have started to get over it and maybe it will give me a kick up the ass to re-focus, but for now I have sore legs, and feel tired and deflated. 

Quiet week

With Sedbergh Hills coming up this weekend I’ve had a fairly quiet week, riding to work and back on Tuesday, and short runs Wednesday and Thursday, and a rest today although actually that’s more down to seeing the Osteo again. Luckily some progress is being made with my back and the soreness is reducing.

So looking to Sedbergh – it is going to be my only long counter as I DNF’d at Duddon. I’m not keen on Sunday races as I feel restricted in what I can do on the Saturday, if the race is important and long or hard that is. I’ve recced the route in clear visibility, but there’s a chance that it will be cloudy on the higher summits at least on Sunday. I’m not where I want to be fitness wise, but then again, I never will be and I’m not unfit either. So we shall see.

Wallowbarrow Trad

P felt sufficiently revived to go trad climbing at Wallowbarrow this evening. We just prayed for some wind to keep the wee midges at bay. We had a lovely evening ticking Thomas, S, Paradise VS, and Western Wall, MVS. But that was all as the wind died and the midges came out in force and we retreated speedily to the car.

No Plans, then Plan A, then Plan B then...

The week felt very short this week having had Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday was a very wet day and I was drenched when I got to work on the bike. So much so I had to stand in the shower to get my outer layers off and left a trail of wet footprints across the office floor, despite having towelled myself down! Thursday disappeared without a run or a ride as I had an osteopath appointment. My back has been getting stiffer recently and I have apparently a very rigid upper spine. Needless to say after 30 minutes or so with the Osteo I felt 12 inches taller!

At the weekend, our first with no plans for a long, long while, we headed out on the mountain bikes for a local ride. Originally we were going to head to the Duddon or Coniston area but I needed to do a few bits of fettling with my bike, and time ticked on. So we settled on the tracks and trails close to home including a stop at the pump track in Seascale. I’ve never been on a pump track and have to say a bunch of 8 – 14 year olds on bmx’s hanging around was daunting to me! Still I got into the groove, and was having fun. We decided to have one last burn around the track, before carrying on, and P managed to stack his bike on a jump! He came off fairly lightly with bad gravel rash but was otherwise OK. Still, this put an end to our planned route and we pootled back home via the roads.

He had managed to wrench his shoulder and neck which stiffened up quite badly overnight, so on Sunday I got a pass out to go for a run. I timed it well, waiting until after the last shower in the morning and ran up Miterdale to Burnmoor Tarn, Illgill Head, Whin Rigg and down. It was very wet underfoot which made it hard going, but I was happy as I pushed myself hard on the climbs and felt good.

Scotland Van Trip

We drove north on Friday evening to Tyndrum as we’d been invited to join a friend and his Dad on their last Monroe, just north of Bridge of Orchy. We made the By the Way campsite our base with several vans and tents rocking up along with those staying in their little camping huts. Tyndrum is one of those places I have always just driven through, maybe stopping to use the facilities at the Green Welly Shop, so it was lovely to stay there and seen a bit of the area.

Saturday dawned bright but the forecast was for rain to arrive. We were on our way from Victoria Bridge about mid morning and it was a hot, slightly midgy climb up Stob a Choire Odaire, their last Monroe. We all congregated just below the top to witness the culmination of 20 odd years work for Rich and many more for his Dad! A certain symmetry was lent to this as its neighbouring mountain Stob Ghabhar was Rich’s first Monroe many years ago. A couple of bottles of whisky were produced as well a summit cake, and the sounds of a piper came from a well placed iphone!

View from near Victoria Bridge

After all the whisky was consumed along with some truly rank lethally strong beer – if you could call it that! – we turned down for the col and then back to Victoria bridge. The first shower actually met us as we arrived back at the cars. The whisky that had been drunk was then washed down with various drinks in the not oft’ open Inveroran Hotel.

On Sunday people all went their separate ways, some back home, others headed off to the Outer Hebrides for a summer holiday, and we hung around in Tyndrum! The forecast had been for a wet day, all day, and it came as no surprise to us that that is exactly what it was! We were tired, two late nights after a very busy few weeks meant that we were pretty happy for once to chill out in the van, drink tea and read books! After a cooked brekkie that is! The forecast was for improvement on the Monday and Tuesday as well which helped the idle day pass well.

On Monday, P and I rode along the West Highland Way from Tyndrum to Glen Coe and back, stopping at the Glencoe Ski area café for a bacon buttie for lunch. I’m not normally keen on an out and back ride, and it certainly was not a very technical ride but this was great – it really is beautiful scenery, and crossing Rannoch Moor was something else. We passed a fair number of walkers, many obviously walking the whole of the WHW but saw no other bikers. Once back at the van and re-hydrated with copious amounts tea, we drove west and down the side of Loch Awe to find a kip spot, and watch a beautiful sunset illuminate the fells there in a stunning orange alpenglow.

Rannoch Moor, Glencoe in the background

The morning dawned sunny too, and we drove round to Arrochar to go climbing on the Cobbler. We had previously walked in this area a few years ago on the way home from some friends wedding in Invergarry, in very windy and wet April conditions. That day we crawled over the summit of Beinn Narhnain and Beinn Ime, and did not venture across to the Cobbler. On this day, the sun was out although the warmth was tempered by a stiff northerly breeze. We just crossed our fingers that the north peak routes would be sheltered enough, otherwise it was going to be a long walk with the climbing gear!

The walk up was dispatched in well under guide book time – and we thought Gary Latter’s times would be fairly tough! And luckily for us the route we had planned Punsters Crack was wonderfully sheltered! This is a 3 pitch Severe, which has a reputation for being good value for the grade – and I am very much in agreement with that!! The ‘step’ on the second pitch is interesting!! But the top slab was beautiful!! After returning to our packs and having some bait we left the packs hidden and walked across to the Central Peak and South Peak before heading back down to the valley and heading home, taking full advantage of the newly opened M74 extension through Glasgow, meaning we avoided queues on the M8 – Bargain!

Top slab of Punsters Crack, South Peak in the Background, The Cobbler

Ellenborough 10k

Yesterday evening evening I made the journey up to Maryport for the Ellenborough 10k. I’d ridden to work on Monday and rested on the Tuesday, more out of lack of time in the day than real proper rest. My legs felt fairly heavy warming up, as I tucked myself away before hand.

It was a warm evening again, and again I set off too quickly, but for the first 3 miles everything was good, I settled into a good pace and rhythm and enjoyed the long climb away from the town, and was happy to find myself in 2^nd place, but strangely just as the route took us down hill again, my legs started tying up and I got stitch. This meant a miserable mile 3 to 5, when I dropped down to 4^th place, and then dropped another place on the run in down the main road. In the end I was still tired from Saturday and couldn’t sustain the pace. I finished in 5^th place in a bit of a disappointing time. But looking on the bright side I finished first V35 – my first vet prize ever! I was behind a V40 and a V45 but we’ll gloss over that…! I then felt ready for a rest! It was lovely to be treated with homemade pizza at friends afterwards!

Whittle Pike English Championships Race

The week before this race, I’d ridden to work and back twice on the bike, and been for two short runs, so felt reasonably fresh for the race. It was a warm humid day although it was also quite cloudy. For me this is the worst type of conditions as I hate humidity!!

We rocked up fairly early for the race, the ladies being at 2pm, after the men’s. P was with me as we were heading south to my parents for a family gathering on the Sunday. He was going to head out on his mountain bike and check out Lee Quarry and other riding in the area, while I was racing.

It was great to watch the men’s race start and to see the front runners come in, but I did have to drag myself away to concentrate on my warm-up. I’ve been playing around with different warm-up strategies, and have finally found some things that seem to really help me, and really seems to make a difference.

At 2pm, before all the men had finished their race we were off. As usual I set off fast and soon had to reign back in a bit on the first climb. The descriptions I’d heard of the race all said something about if you’re on the flat you’ve gone wrong – and I now know why! The whole route is either up or down, often quite steeply so, but at the same time, no ascent or descent lasts very long. It was a hard run for me – I pushed hard and consequently hurt all the way around, and really suffered towards the end with knackered legs. The final climb up a very steep short gravel bank then grassy slope really made a few pay for earlier speed, and I made a few places up here!

I was neck and neck with a lass on the final run in down the tarmac, and unfortunately she had more in her legs than me for the uphill finish! I had no idea where I had come, but knew it was enough to get some championship points – so I was really surprised to find out that I’d come in 12^th – my highest ever placing in a champs race by miles!! I do know that this is more to do with quite a few better runners being absent but, hey you have to be in it to win it!!

After the race we travelled down to my parents, and before a mighty buffet lunch to celebrate my cousin's not so recent nuptuals, I trotted out for a gentle 4 miles around their town in lovely warm early morning sunshine. I probably then undid all that exercise with too much food – but what lovely food!