Between a Rock and a Hard Face

I'll complete this later when I have all the photos that I need but for now a quick update.

I crashed out of the 3 Peaks Race yesterday by tripping on a very rocky path at the top of Whernside and smashing my face on a rock. I was airlifted out, spent a few hours in hospital and have to see a maxillofacial specialist for a suspected fractured cheek.

I massive thank you to those that helped, especially Kate my angel Irish nurse who just happened to be watching the race, the two Graham's from two different Mountain Resue Teams (I'll try and find out which one's later), the magnificent guys from the North West Air Ambulance service and last but not least my mate Dave (who I was chasing at the time) who rescued me from the hospital and put me up for the night and Angie for putting up with Dave's rescued runners (i.e. me).

If you're squeamish look away now!



That's what I call red-eye! My thigh and shoulder are very sore and grazed too.

Shame, as I was heading to knock half an hour off my last year's time.

Boing ----- Spring is in the Air

Finally managed to do an evening run in t-shirt and shorts and daylight. I went from Whaley Bridge up to the Bow Stones then dropped down into Lyme Park (used as Pemberley in the BBC's production of Pride and Prejudice).



The sun was setting as I ran around The Cage, back through a herd of deer and past Moorside hotel to Whaley managing to get back before darkness fell.



All in all a lovely spring evening run. How many people just sat and watched TV programmes they didn't really enjoy and won't remember while I was out in the magnificent Derbyshire countryside? If only they knew what they were missing.

Snowed on on Chinley Churn

Doesn't quite have the same ring as Snowed on on Snowdon but I may have a theme going here if the weather doesn't improve. Just as we thought it was safe to go out (I was running in shorts and t-shirt at the weekend) the bloody snow and freezing temperatures make a reappearance.


I went over Eccles Pike and could see that snow had settled on the hills above 500m when it started snowing. By the time I got up Chinley Churn it was nearly a white out. Nearly froze my fingers off too.

Roll on summer.

Route Plotting - MapMyRun

I've been playing around with a few on-line route mapping websites. This seems to have the best mapping capabilities (including a very natty googlemaps flythrough facility) but it has loads of advertising on it unless you take out membership (which is fair enough I suppose). Here's my route from yesterday (Sunday 28/3/10).



This took me exactly two hours on a perfect running day, sunny with a cool breeze.

Leap Frog

I've just been out for a run in the dark and had a very weird experience. Coming down a country lane into a small valley (Kishfield between Kettleshulme and Whaley Bridge) I noticed what I thought was a leaf until it blinked at me. It was a frog. Then there was another one, and another. The whole road for about a hundred yards was covered in frogs. They just sat there as I tried desperately not to stand on any of them.

I think I managed to get through without committing amphibicide. Weird.

Update: Went back down thelane the folloing night withthe club andthere were even more (plus a few toads).

Snowed on on Snowdon

It wasn't really a run (apart from the bit I ran to escape the blizzard. More on that later) but it was up a mountain so I suppose it qualifies for the blog.

I'd spent the weekend at a Northern Soul Weekender at Prestatyn. This finished at 3:30 a.m. Monday morning (which was earlier than the 8 a.m. finish the previous two days) so I grabbed a few hours kip then took off for Llanberis. I'd not been up Snowdon before so I thought I'd take the opportunity being so close. I did toy with the idea of running it but after a weekend of a lot of dancing, little sleep and not a little beer I thought it maybe wasn't wise. So I walked.

The weather forecast was for rain clearing later and as predictied I set off up the main tourist path (route of the Snowdon Fell race) under an overcast but dry sky at around 1:30.

Rather than take the road I first took the very picturesque path through the trees that come out at the Pen Y Ceunant Isaf tea rooms. Up the road for a few hundred yards then its onto the Llanberis path proper. As you'd expect the path is well trodden and is currently under repair in several places (presumably getting ready for the summer onslaught).



Being a Monday afternoon in March there weren't many people out. I could see a couple in front of me and half way up a self confessed unfit and overweight runner caught me up. I overhauled the couple who I presume turned back later as I didn't see them again. That was it until I reached the top, apart from the runner coming back down through the snow about a quarter mile from the summit.

Three quarters of the way up the weather improved to the point where I wished I brought the sun lotion. However, the clouds that had been shrouding the summit remained I was soon into them. Just prior to that though I passed under the mountain railway and got a brilliant view down into the Llanberis Pass.



A hundred yards further up I found out why the trains didn't run to the top, and as a consequnce the cafe at the top wasn't open.



From here on in the path was mostly covered with snow plus visibility was down to a few yards. If it hadn't have been for a few footprints I might have lost the path. As it was I met the runner on his way down. He said he'd been to the top but I was a bit skeptical has I expected it to be much further. But there it was soon enough, some two hours after I'd set off (the fell race takes the winner just over an hour to get up and down!).

The summit platform and pillar loomed out of the mist. Right on cue as I got to the top the wind picked up and it started to snow. I came down off the summit platform before it blew me off and took a quick look at the very closed and shuttered cafe. A couple were huddled in the doorway having a drink. They'd come up the Pyg track which they said had some 'interesting' sections in it. I left them to their tea and took off back down as the snow had now turned to very painful horizontal hail. I jogged most of the way down to get out of the cloud but it followed me down. It finally stopped as I approached the Ceunant tea rooms. I decided to pop in for a cup of tea. Good decision. It's like a little farmhouse kitchen in there with a roaring log fire, a little table and bits of antique furniture. The proprietor came and joined me with his cup of tea and dog and we had a good old chat for 20 minutes or so. He's also got a small art gallery in there where he exhibits his collection of Kyffin Williams paintings. After I paid the bill and was about to leave he gave me an apple and piece of fruit cake. That's what I call a friendly cafe.

That just nicely capped off a great day in the hills. Having done that I now fancy a crack at the Snowdon Fell Race. The path is very runnable. Unfortunately, this year's race sold out in 12 days so I'll have to wait until next year.

As I was driving away from Llanberis I looked through my wing mirror and there was Snowdon and surrounding peaks with their crowns of snow in a completely clear blue sky!

Grindle(ford) Fruit Cake

A week after rediscovering Kendal Mint Cake (KMC) due to having no gels left for the Berkhamsted Half Marathon, I discovered Grindle Fruit Cake (GFC). The £12 entry fee for the Grindleford Gallop (21 miles, 3,000 ft ascent or 34km, 925m ascent in new money) was easily recouped in the drinks, cakes and soup available both on the course and at the end.


This was my first attempt at this event. I was hoping to get somewhere between 3 hours and 3:30. It was also my first run in Goyt Valley Strider's club colours (including my club coloured shorts which have caused much mirth in the club due to their shortness). There were 28 club members in the event so we had a good turn out. There were over 300 runners as well as a similar number of walkers who'd set off 90 minutes earlier.

It was one of those strange days weatherwise where it was difficult to tell how it would turn out. I'd intended to run in just a t-shirt, club vest and shorts. While killing time before the start the weather changed several times from sunny to cold. (We were also entertained by an usually large number of blokes applying vaseline to places that I didn't realise had friction issues.) I then swapped the t-shirt for a long sleeved Helly-Hansen themal top. This proved to be a wise decision although I did get too warm in sheltered sections. I even had club coloured gloves (which I'd found on a KIMM a few years ago). On the shoe front I wore my Salomon Speedcross 2s hoping that they'd be OK over this distance as I'd not run more than 5 miles in them previously. I had hoped to use my new Salomon XT-Wings but they were late in being delivered. (They arrived over the weekend.) As it turned out the Speedcross were brilliant. To top it all off I carried a large bumbag containing waterproof jacket, 500ml drink, phone, energy bar and KMC.

To start we all gathered in a field with no start line to speak off. The starter made the usual inaudible instructions before a hooter had us off over the field. A stile and narrow track after the first hundred yards explained the mad dash from those in the know. I don't mind being held up a little bit at the beginning on a long run as it stops me dashing off too fast.


My strategy for the race after last week's reasonable half marathon was to treat it like a half with a bit (a mere 8 miles) tagged on the end, rather than a marathon with a little bit (5 miles) chopped off. So once I got the chance I started moving ahead overtaking a few runners. Then it was up the hill from Froggat to Eyam. This was quite steep but I managed to run a large chunk of it. I'm beginning to think that I've made a small breakthrough in hill running. I don't seem to be overtaken quite as much as I used to and seem to be able to run more hills. Still a lot of room for improvement but nice and early in the year.



As usual I managed to pass a few on the downhill section into Eyam and onto the first checkpoint. Then it was out the back of Eyam and into a green lane which was soon spoiled by a gang of X-cross motorbike riders making a right racket and smell. I can't be doing with motorised off road vehicles ripping up the countryside.

This section was quite poignant for me as it was where my dad died nearly exactly 32 years ago (7 March 1978). He was out walking on his own and had a massive heart attack aged 47 and here I was aged 51 running through the same area. I suppose a little part of me runs to get away from a heart attack.

After crossing the A632 Stoney Middleton to Peak Forest road it was up over a series of fields, past control 2 and onto control 3 overlooking Monsal Dale. I started to nibble the KMC at this point. This section was now downhill via a farm track and road to Great Longstone where I spotted a trio of grey haired ladies(cauliflower heads as my mother calls them, and she's one too) that I'd also seen in Eyam. They'd reappear every few miles during the race. I was almost on first name terms with them by the end of the race. Again I claimed a few scalps on the down hill section and a few more on the flat section along the Monsal Trail disused railway line to control 4. This was the first cake stop. A large table was creaking under the weight of a variety of cakes wrapped in clingfilm. So I grabbed a large chunk of fruit cake and a drink. I used the remainder of the trail to ease off a little and eat the cake.

Just above Bakewell we left the trail and up the steep hill to Ballcross Farm (control 5). On the way up we crossed a golf course and had to ring a bell to warn the golfers. I bet they were sick of the bell ringing so much that day. I managed to walk and run my way up the hill. At the top we set off over the smooth grassy Calton Pastures as the sun came out properly. It had turned into a cracking day.


By this stage I'd gotten into a pattern of being caught by the same few runners on the uphills then dropping them on the flats and downs. So it was down through Edensor, past Chatsworth and onto Baslow and the second cake stop where I stopped to refuel (another cake and topping up my bottle). My chasers caught me up here and disappeared off up the Bar Road hill while I was refueling. I thought I'd lost them here as they disappeared up the hill. On the tops they were a good half mile in front of me.


I wasn't making any ground on them until we finally started to descend off Froggat Edge. I slowly but surely pulled them all back in until I was back in the lead. After crossing the A625 the path split and there were no signs so I had to wait for them to tell me which way to go. So off I went again and managed to drop them on the fast downhill section to the finish.

I'd hired a cottage in Hathersage so that my family could come up for the weekend as I wasn't going home due to the race. Unfortunately my youngest daughter couldn't make it but everyone else was there. So, I had a fan club waiting for me at the finish. My wife spotted a Goyt Valley runner approaching the finish. "Look, there's one of your Dad's clubmates" she said to Vicky and Lucy. "It is Dad!" they replied. I must have looked bad for my wife not to recognise me!


I dabbed my dibber at the finish and was handed my printout according to which I'd finished 40th (out of 40, so far) in 3:08. Not bad for my first attempt. I was third in our club (and first M50) after the amazing Andy Pead had won in a new course record of 2:24 and Julian (ultra runner extrodinairre) in 3:04. Looking at the result splits I'd arrived just one minute behind Julian at Baslow. I certainly didn't expect to be that close but if I'd known I might have made an extra effort to try and finish with him. The results when published had me at 46th. I'm not sure how that happened.


Overall, I really enjoyed the run. The course is nice and varied and suits me with its long downhills and flat sections. The weather helped of course. The organisation was good (apart from that missing direction towards the end) and the cakes were especially welcome.

I'll probably do that one again. After all that 3 hour barrier needs to be broken. (I wish!)

Berko Half Marathon

After many years of intending to enter this local race, the Berkhamsted Half Marathon, I finally suceeded yesterday and got myself one of the 100 places reserved for 'locals' (i.e. anyone who got to Berkhamsted and applied in person). I know the roads around there very well and have even done the course as a training run when preparing for my first Jungfrau Marathon. I also ran most of the course in reverse last week when I ran the 17 mile Gade Valley Harriers London Marathon Training Run. Thankfully the weather had made a major improvement on last week when we had freezing rain and snow (and some git in a BMW (isn't it always) who decided that splashing runners with freezing puddles was far better than driving round them.)

Today was absolutely perfect running weather. Cool and sunny. I'm not sure whether I actually broke out into a sweat or not it was such perfect temperature. I was dressed all in black in my Gore lycra shorts, Champion technical tee shirt, Gore running hat and black gloves. I wore my good old Asic Gel Kayano (14?) running shoes. Really must tie the laces tighter as I had to retie each one on the run.

As often happens when you're near to something, you think there's loads of time and end up being late. I parked up and ran the mile or so to the start and was still queuing to store my bag when the starting gun went off. I'd forgotten my watch in the rush but fortunately we had timing chips so I'll eventually get a chip time. So I started at the back amongst the virgins and ipod people. I spent the rest of the race passing runners. As I found last week the miles just ticked off. Since I've been doing longer distance weekend sessions (17 -20 miles) I'm finding a half marathon quite short. Having rushed to get to the start I'd not had time to do my ablutions and spent miles 5 - 8 looking for suitable place to hide. Local knowledge came in handy as I knew exactly where there were some decent bushes to hide behind. I had to watch about a hundred runners pass me as I was occupied. I finally reeled them all back in by the finish line.

I hadn't any gels left for today's run so I resorted to good old Kendal Mint Cake which I nibbled most of the way round. I'm not sure if it was the KMC or just that I'm getting fitter but I felt full of energy all the way round. As I said I was passing people all the way round (even on hills which is unusual for me).



Just as we ran past the marvellous Ashridge House (above) I saw a guy drop his hat so I scooped it up off the ground and gave it back to him as I ran past. I'll be resorting to the KMC a bit more often I think.

As usual, runners weren't using the downhills properly so I grabbed a few extra places on the last mile which is all downhill. Not having a watch I had no idea what time I was doing. I'd hoped to get under 1:40 on this hilly course and was delighted to nip under the clock just as it ticked onto 1:37. So I reckon my chip time should be 1:35 or less. Not bad considering the circumstances.

(Update 8/3/10: Clock time 1:37:07, Chip time: 1:34:48, Clock Position: 174 / 1200, Chip position about 130th).

Overall, a very enjoyable run made special by the weather. Might do that one again.

Salomon Speedcross 2 - Slippers with Teeth

Using the excuse of my Inov-8 Mudclaws cutting my heels to pieces I decided to invest in a pair of Salomon Speedcross 2s. As you may know I'm a big fan of Salomons having used their Raids and XA Pros for many years. Until now however, they have not ventured beyond trail shoes. The Speedcross have a much more agressive tread somewhere between Adidas Swoops and Mudclaws.

Finding my size (12.5 UK) was difficult but managed to find a pair from Wiggle at £10 off street prices. Ordered them on Thursday and they were waiting for me when I got back from Manchester on Friday. The fit has the classic Salomon cupping of the heel but the forefoot is a lot more snug than the XA-Pros, presumably to stop the shoe slidding around as it grips the ground. Admittedly I was a tad worried they might be too tight but after wearing them around the house in the evening I then put them on in the morning and they felt fantastic. Salomons really suit my feet.

So, Phoebe dog and I (matching dog and shoes) took then out for a test run over the Chilterns. Lots of slimy chalky mud. My test of good kit is that you forget you're wearing them while they're doing their job and these passed with flying colours. They've managed to keep the cushioning of the XA-Pros while giving them the required grip. If I'm honest the grip is not quite as good as the awesome Mudclaw grip but the fit (like a pair of slippers) and a excellent grip make them an amazing shoe. I can't wait to give them a longer run.

Meanwhile, I've also got some Salomon XT-Wings on order. What the hell. I've only got one vice, running.

There but for the grace......

At the risk of this blog turning into a depressing series of health scares and whinges I feel the need to write about a recent event. My mate Chris (my wife's cousin's husband) has just had a heart attack at the age of 49. Like me, Chris has the misfortune of inheriting some bad genes and despite a healthy lifestyle (not unlike mine although maybe not such a saturated fat facist) he went for a run on Saturday morning and came back with a heart attack. He was whipped into hospital where they put a stent in the offending artery and stuck him on statins and aspirin for the rest of his life. To my knowledge Chris has had no warning signs that there was a problem.

This was a reminder of the lessons learned when my dad died of a massive heart attack whilst out walking in the Peak District (near to where I'll be running in the Grindleford Gallop in 3 weeks time). Don't take life for granted for one second. It is far too precious to waste.

This put my intended run on Sunday in a completely new light. What if I'm on the verge of an attack? How would I know? Should I go? Of course I went. Better to drop dead out on a run pumped up with endorphins than in an office or railway station. My dad had the right idea. He was just about 40 years too early.

So off I went on a hilly on/off road 18 miler around the Chilterns. Had a nice time but was a little weary towards the end. Drank 1.2 litres of isotonic but lost 6lbs in weight. No chest pains though.

So, the next time you don't feel like going out on a run remember, that's one less chance if you don't go. You'll never get it back. And, who knows, maybe that run will add a few more days to your life. Touch wood.

Get well soon Chris.

Keep on running.

Events for this Year

As you may know if you follow this blog I'm not a massive race junky. I generally just like to run but it's good to enter the odd event as an excuse to run somewhere new or interesting. Last year for example I only did three events, the Ridgeway Run, the 3 Peaks Race and the OMM (Day 1 and day 2). However, this year I've already entered 2 (Grindleford Gallop (21 miles) and the 3 Peaks (24 miles, again)) and am eyeing up at least a couple more already, the Swiss Alpine K78 Ultramarathon (50 miles) in July and the Ridgeway Challenge (85 miles)in August.

I might get in a few others (Saunders LMM, OMM, etc) and maybe the Zermatt Marathon as well. That should keep me busy.

Bloody Pressure

If I was the "my cup's half empty" type instead of the "my cup's half full" type I could have a real good whinge about my lot. In addition to my dead kidney, urethral stricture (you don't want to know how I deal with that), bradycardia and high cholesterol it appears that I now suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) which is, amongst other things, not good for kidneys. This is despite having an extremely healthy diet and doing lots of running. If I'd left it up the doctors I'd be on cholesterol and pressure lowering drugs, have a heart pacemaker fitted and would have opted to have my dead kidney removed.

I know that there are people out there who are far worse of than me. That's one reason I run (because I still can and for those that can't), but with this new condition I'm getting less and less tolerant of people who abuse their health. I lost both my father and brother (aged 47 and 42 respectively) to diseases that were not of their own making so I get really wound up (I know, not good for my blood pressure) when I see people abuse their bodies with cigarettes, crap food and a sedentary lifestyle. The morbidly obese guy I saw last week being given the kiss of life on platform 13 at Manchester Piccadilly station will no doubt agree with me.


So, I've got myself a blood pressure monitor (Omron M6 Comfort)and am monitoring it twice a day for a month before taking the results back to the doc. I've done it for over two weeks now and the results are looking very interesting. It appears that running has a significant and almost immediate effect. After a couple of runs my pressure comes down out of the danger zone (For example it dropped from 156/103 to 124/83) and stays there until I have a rest day during which it shoots up again. So, that means that I have to run every day for the rest of my life if I want to stay off the drugs. Ron Hill must have known this all along (as he's run every day since December 1964!).

I'm getting some weird results in terms of the correlation of heart rate to blood pressure. All the texts say that if heart rate rises than so does blood pressure, but not mine. My very low pulse (35 in the mornings) may have something to do with it but I can't find anything that throws any light on this. Instead of the heart rate and pressure graphs following each other, mine are a mirror image of each other. The higher the heart rate (resting) the lower my blood pressure. As my wife says, I'm not normal.

Anyway, I now have another reason (aka excuse) to run. Can't complain about that can I?