Looming Large - Lakeland 100

So, dear reader, the end is nigh.  Just three weeks to the Lakeland 100.  Am I ready? Well I've not quite finished my preparations but more of that in a mo.  First a reminder of what I've got in store.  The route:

Map (c) http://www.cheaptents.com/

My original plan was to get my weight below 12 stones (76 kg) and increase my power-to-weight ratio.  My battle with the weight has been intersting.  I noticed that if I lost weight after a few decent training sessions then I'd put it back on even faster.  It was as if my body was a sponge which would over compensate for the enforced weight loss by sucking up everything it could.  I started out at the beginning of the year at almost 13 stones.  I've managed a gradual downward trend with a very fluctuating weight between 12 st 2 lb and 12 st 9 lb, with a norm of around 12st 5lb.  However, this is not as bad as it first appears as I've definitely lost the excess fat around my waist.  I think this weight loss has been countered by a weight gain in muscle mass on my legs.  I'm definitely stronger on the hills than I used to be.  My leg muscle definition is much more pronounced than it used to be. So, overall I feel and look to be in much better shape than I've ever been.  This is backed up by my recent performance on the Lakeland recces and recent local runs.  No complaints there.

Other changes I've made to help improve things is to get fitted with contact lenses.  The glasses were a major hindrance in wet or humid weather (classic Lakeland conditions) with steaming up and being covered in droplets. I did consider getting laser treatment but that seemed a step too far.  The run will take so long that daily lenses are good enough. I've had to resort to monthly lenses.  I've also had a couple of wobbly moles removed from my back.  They were getting sore from wearing a rucksac for several hours so my GP kindly whipped them off.  They've just healed nicely.

I've also invested in some lightweight poles.  They are amazing.  As soon as I start using them it's as if the hill flattens out.  I drop my friends and zoom off up the hill reaching the top feeling much fresher than without them.  I'm going to be very grateful for them in the second half of the event.  I'd recommend them to anyone, but if you do get some make sure you can store in an easily accessible place.  My rucksac is brillant for this.  I can reach back into the side pocket to store or retrieve the poles without stopping.

I've also noticed some interesting phsycological changes.  A 'short run' now is around 15 miles.  A longer training session is of ultramarathon distance.  I've probably done well over a dozen runs between 25 - 30 miles or more and thought nothing of it.  I noticed this last year when I did the Bullock Smithy run.  With 13 miles still to go I felt that it was all but over.  It's amazing how the mind works. 
 
So, with three weeks to go maybe I should start tapering.  Or maybe I should support my mate Dave on his Bob Graham Round attempt next weekend.  Sound like a good idea to me.  I can't resist the chance of a last minute trial (and trail) run so I've going to start with supporting him on Leg 2, (they're going clockwise so that's Threlkeld to Dunmail) at around 11:00 pm and then seeing how far I can get.  I intend to go all the way to Keswick (target time of 17:30 p.m. the next day) but will happily drop out if I feel it's taking too much out of me.  That will give me a good idea of how I cope with an overnight run and will allow me two weeks to taper/recover (and, if I'm honest, it gives me another excuse to get up into the lakes).  My only real concern is getting some sort of injury but that's a risk I'll have to take. 

Physically and mentally I feel that I'm in the best place I could hope to be. The recces have been invaluable.  I reckon that I can get round without having to refer to the map or route guide.  So, wish me luck, and I'll be reporting back on how I got on. 

Watch this space. 

P.S. If you haven't sponsored me yet, now's your chance.

Are we born to run? Christopher McDougall on TED.com

Are we born to run? Christopher McDougall on TED.com

Mick-ar of Dibley

....or Mickey Mickey Bang Bang.

Did a mini tour ofthe Chilterns yesterday, taking in the village used in the Vicar of Dibley and the windmill used in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which are within a half mile of each other. 


The village is called Turville and the Windmill is directly above it on top of the ridge. 



This route was further west than my local Chiltern runs but I fancied seeing somewhere new. I parked up near Princes Risborough and headed off up to Bledlow Ridge where I picked up the Chiltern Way. I followed this up and through Radnage to Stokenchurch (where every other building seemed to be a pub). Coming out of Stokenchurch the route took me under the M40 motorway.

  Coming out of the tunnel I found myself in Red Kite central.  There were a dozen or more riding the wind that was blowing up the hill.  I left the Chiltern Way here and dropped down a long winding path through woods in the bottom of a valley which brought me out below the windmill on the other side of the ridge to Turville.  A quick walk up the hill, using my new ultra lightweight poles brought me out at the windmill. 

A very steep drop down into Turville (past the vicars house from V of D) then straight out the other side only to turn right up to Turville Heath.  I then turned north up to Ibstone from where I dropped down into the valley containing Worksley Park with its cricket ground in the middle of nowhere.  Then picked up a lovely bridleway through the woods round the back of Christmas Common that brought me out next to a bridge over the M40.  This bridge is at the top of the M40 cutting that's in the opening scenes of the Vicar of Dibley.

Over the bridge then down the escarpment to pick up the Ridgeway path at one of the few drinking water points in the Chilterns.  I discovered this a couple of weeks ago when I ran the Western half of the Ridgeway.  It was about 50 yards from where I'd stashed a water bottle for my Ridgeway run.  Needn't have bothered if I'd known the tap was there. 

I soon left the Ridgeway and head back up into the Chilterns.  I picked up a long slightly downhill bridleway that brought me back to Radnage where I more or less followed my route out through some lovely spring flower filled fields. 

All in all a very nice 25 miler. I must get into this part of the Chilterns more often.

Edale Skyline - Tourist Mode

Spring has arrived!  After a miserable February, March has more than made up for it.  I managed to get a few days away up in Edale.  My youngest daughter Polly has been doing some work experience at the Chestnut Centre near Chapel en le Frith and staying at Edale Youth Hostel.   So, having a few days off, I took the opportunity to go and see her and get some training in by running the route of the Edale Skyline race, which takes place this coming Sunday (27th March).  This is about 21 miles (34km) long with 4,500 feet (1,500 m) of ascent.  As its name suggests it follows the skyline of the Edale valley taking in moorland, ridges and bogs.  I ran a slightly modified route by starting at the youth hostel and hacking my way through the heather up to the path along the edge of Kinder Scout, rather than starting at Edale.  

Southern Skyline from Kinder Scout

The weather was stunning.  The few clouds around in the early morning soon burnt away leaving gorgeous blue skies for the whole day.  Fortunately I had some sunscreen with me.  I carried a whole two litres of water in my Camelbak bladder and also had a litre stashed halfway round at Mam Nick.  I was going to need it. The temperature was only around 14 degrees centigrade but it felt much warmer after the freezing weather we had over winter.  Shorts and tee shirt were the order of the day.  It was too nice not to take lots of photos.  The following photos are all taken on the route and face the direction of the runner.  Most of the photos will enlarge if clicked on.

Above Crookstone barn.  Win Hill in the distance.

Hope Cross looking towards Win Hill

Win Hill summit looking toward Lose Hill and Mam Tor

Climbing Lose Hill

Lose Hill summit looking towards Mam Tor and Lords Seat

Hollins Cross looking towards Mam Tor 

Mam Tor summit looking towards Lord's Seat on Rushup Edge

Crooked tree going up Rushup Edge

Turn right here (to the left if you see what I mean)

Brown Knoll summit looking towards Kinder Scout

Pym Chair

Wool Packs

Top of Grindsbrook Clough looking South back to Grindslow Knoll

I then ran past Ringing Roger where the official race drops down to the finish and continued along the top then dropped down Rowland Cote Moor to the youth hostel some 5 hours after I started.  A fine day out.  

P.S. In case you're wondering, I'm not running the actual race as I'm doing a recce of the Ambleside to Coniston section of the Lakeland 100 on the same day. 

Grindleford Gallop (Re-run)

Had another crack at the GG (21 miles, off-road, 3000+ feet ascent) yesterday.  After last year's pleasing performance I thought I'd be able to break that time, hopefully cracking the 3 hour barrier, but apparently it takes a little more than hope to pull that off.

The weather was an exact repeat of last year where it was cold enough to think about putting on an extra or warmer layer but then turned out sunny.  Fortunately, I guessed right as I went for the t-shirt under club vest instead of the Helly.  I didn't go for the club coloured shorts which caused so much mirth last year.  I was in stealth mode (all black) apart from the club vest.

There was a good club turn out again of some 20 runners, with this being a club championship event.  There were some notable exceptions though with Andy (last year's outright GG winner) having to work, Neil (last year's club champion) not able to make it and Julian (Duracell bunny) also not in.

(c)2011 Caz Whittle

After getting held up in the bottlenecks near the start last year I made sure I was near the front this year.  Even so, Al (running as a very poorly disguised Mat) took off like a bat out of hell (clearly too much London Marathon training under his belt).  Pete D soon overhauled me after a mile and they soon disappeared over the first hill up to Eyam.

I thought I'd be stronger on the hills this year but was soon reduced to a walk as the stronger runners over took me.  As usual I retook some of them going down into Eyam but the old freewheeling downhill technique has well and truly deserted me after my major face plant last April.

This year I used a different feeding strategy.  I carried a 500ml bottle but instead of isotonic drink I started with 500ml of energy drink.  I also decided not to stop and top up at the checkpoints.  As with last year there were three drink stations, the latter two of which were also cake stations.  I had half a plastic cup of orange juice at each of them and took a piece of cake from both cake stalls which I ate while walking up to Ball Cross and Baslow Edge respectively.  I also popped the occasional glucose tablet. I'm not sure this was enough. Especially on the fluids.

Most of the walkers this year were very good, opening gates and waiting at stiles etc but I had a few cases of them blocking the route which brought out the trail rage in me.  I admit to expressing a few expletives in their direction. 
 
I think one or two bad words also slipped out as I slipped on one of the stiles and skinned my shin on the rock step on the way up to Longstone Moor.

Looking at last year's splits if I was to get anywhere near 3 hours I'd have to get to the third checkpoint (Longstone Moor) inside 1:05 and the sixth (Baslow) inside 2:10.  I managed the first (just, at 1:04:46) but failed the second (2:17:42), largely due to having trouble on my downhills.  I used to rely on them to make up ground but I really struggled this time with achey quads and a sore (only downhill) left knee.  Instead of racing down the lovely grass slope to Edensore I tottered down like an old man (yes, I have looked in the mirror recently).  

So, down through the lovely Edensore and into Chatsworth House grounds.  I remember running out of steam on this section last year but I found I was OK this time.  I could see the runners in front me and one o fthem was getting overhauled by the others.  As I approached him I suddenly realised it was Pete.  I wasn't expecting to see him again, although he had cycled from Whaley Bridge over to the start of the race so it was all beginning to tell in his legs.  (He cycled back after the race as well.) I offered him a glucose tablet and we went through the spinning gate at Baslow together.  That was the last I saw of him until the end but I was fully expecting him to pass me as I struggled over the last leg. 

The run along the edges was a little shorter than I remembered it but the run through the trees coming of Froggat Edge went on forever.  Then it was down the rocky path through the trees where I lost a good minute or two.  I nearly came a cropper on this path as I clipped a rock and tripped my self up (Pete saw a runner who did fall being seen to by some walkers and I saw him by the ambulance at the finish later.)  Safely reached the bottom, past the car park, over the bridge then finished ( a good ten yards shorter than last year).

My splits (below) show that I was up on last year (by a whole 19 seconds) at checkpoint 4 but gradually lost time over the next few sections ending up three and a half minutes slower.  All in all not too disappointed considering that the evening before I thought I might have to pull out due to a severe pain in my right side (suspect it was my bad kidney) which didn't disappear until I started the race.  I also think I allowed myself to become severely dehydrated which wouldn't have helped especially in those final sections.  

2010 Splits

46th

602

Mick Wren Goyt Valley Striders

M50

03:08:56

00:29:13 00:29:13

00:52:58 00:23:45

01:05:41 00:12:43

01:26:34 00:20:53

01:43:45 00:17:11

02:14:58 00:31:13

03:08:56 00:53:58

2011 Splits

61st

383

Mick Wren

M50

03:12:24

00:28:03 00:28:03

00:52:26 00:24:23

01:04:46 00:12:20

01:26:15 00:21:29

01:44:14 00:17:59

02:17:42 00:33:28

03:12:24 00:54:42

In terms of preparation for the Lakeland 100 I'm quite pleased with my level of fitness considering that I've been concentrating on core and short sharp stuff so far.  I was even able to go for a run over the Chilterns with the dog at 8 this morning.  Need to get some more miles in though.  

The rest of my clubmates put in some great performances with many breaking previous bests and others finishing their first attempts.  Notable amongst these was an amazing 3:29 from Katy (last years Ladies club champion).  There's been some serious training going on over in Whaley Bridge.  

High Peak Minithon

Had a very interesting night on Friday. Instead of going to bed like any normal person I joined 100 or so similarly inclined runners in the High Peak Marathon. As mentioned in my previous post on our recce this is 42 mile run around the Peak District (a big loop encircling Kinder Scout and the Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs to be precise). Our team, the Goyt Valley Striders (one of the less imaginative and humourous team titles) consisted of Clare, Paul and Will as well as yours truly. The event used staggered starts with teams setting off every couple of minutes. Our start time was 11:15 (yes that's p.m.). I'd travelled up to Whaley Bridge that afternoon to Paul's house where our team was meeting up so I'd not had any sleep since getting up at 6:00 that morning.

The night sky was clear and moonless as we arrived at the start HQ in Edale village hall. The temperature was down to a sharp -2 degrees Centigrade so everyone was crowded into the HQ hall trying to keep warm before setting off. The lycra, goretex and pertex density in that room was pretty high. I decided to go for the layered approach to keeping warm with two thin Helly Hansen tops and the event t-shirt that I'd just bought, topped off with my Salomon gore-tex shell jacket. On my legs I was wearing my compression socks, Gore lycra shorts and Gore leggings. Shoewise I went for my Salomon Speedcross 2s. Paul and Clare were similarly attired but Will had gone for the braver cool summer's evening look with sleeves rolled up and no outer shell.

Having hung around killing time for an hour our start time came up before I was ready so I was still putting my outer layer on as we set off into the cold dark night. Will, who had repeatedly asked that we start slowly set a stiff pace up to Hollin's Cross then up Lose Hill. I was hoping that this wasn't Will's idea of slow or else I was in trouble when he decided to speed up. At the Lose Hill checkpoint we came across the first of the fancy dress checkpoint marshals. There were two young lads (the event is organised and manned by Sheffield students) dressed in suits, ties and bowlers hats. They were also busy ironing (?).

Will kept the pressure on down Lose Hill and on up Win Hill. Clare kept on his tail, both lit up with gender specific (blue for boys, pink for girls) fairy lights (kindly supplied by Clare), with Paul and me in their wake. The Win Hill checkpoint was manned by a six foot teddy bear. A bit early for sleepmonsters.

Climbing Win Hill was a warm effort in my many layers so, on the way down, I unzipped my jacket and was immediately engulfed in my own personal steam cloud. Out of the wind it just hung around me and combined with my already steamed up glasses to make visibility a tad tricky especially trying to negotiate the very steep and root ridden Parkin Clough. It was here that I tempted fate and commented to Clare that "At least we don't have to come up this". More on that later.

So, down into and out of Bamford it was up New Road heading in the direction of Stanage. This 2 mile road section is largely uphill. The steady stream of other teams overhauled us as the fast boys caught us up. Steve Watt's team came through at this point. Well at least three of them did. As they disappeared we were commenting on whether they'd been given permission for a team of three when a voice out the dark behind us said "No, I'm the fourth, huffing and puffing at the back". This turned out to be no less a legend as Mark Hartell, holder of the record number of peaks in the Bob Graham Round. He similarly disappeared into the dark.

Our route came from the top right in the above photo, then to the right of the trees before coming up through the bracken where the figures (me and my wife) are. Remember it was pitch black.

Onto the High Neb checkpoint (manned I believe by Spotty Dog and Lubby Lu) then a steady jog to the A57 road and Moscar checkpoint where we grabbed a quick cup of tea and couple of sandwiches. It was at this point that Will started to go downhill (metaphorically as well as literally speaking). His stomach got the better of him as he dashed into the bushes alongside the road. As we waited for him at Cutthroat Bridge I could feel the sweat around my backside start to freeze. Not the nicest feeling at 2:00 in the morning with 9 hours to go. You'll be relieved to hear it thawed out as we got moving again up onto Derwent Moor. On the moor top we set off in a steady jog. Past the Wheel Stones and on towards the Salt Cellar we stopped to check we were all together. Will was missing amongst the mass of lights from the teams on our tail. When he caught us up he looked liked someone had pulled out his plug, drained. Paul said what the rest of us were thinking. There was a long hard 6 hour stretch ahead of us where it would be difficult to drop out without a very long cold walk so it was time to make a decision: continue or pack. We all concluded that it would be dangerous at worst and very miserable at best if we continued so we packed.

We backtracked down to the Cutthroat Bridge checkpoint where we deposited Will into the care of a pretty young lady who drove him back to Edale. (Someone has to do it Will). The rest of us then ran back to Edale via Win Hill (and up the afore mentioned Parkin Clough!), Hope Cross and Jaggers Clough (last visited by me with my dad (who, coincidently, died 33 years ago today. RIP Dad.)) The sleep monsters made an appearance on the track down to Jaggers Clough when a dark puddle lifted itself up and turned into a black panther.





It was then a couple of miles back along the road to the event HQ where we picked up our kitbags and back to Paul's and a very welcome hot shower. Bliss. The silver lining of finishing early (in addition to the early shower) for me was that I could get home early to celebrate my daughter's birthday. I'll also be a little less tired for next week's Grindleford Gallop.

Overall, we ended up having a good, albeit shorter, run. It was good practice in night running for the Lakeland 100. It was a shame not to have finished but I was feeling good and am sure I'd have had no problems finishing the event. I'll not be doing it again though as I believe, from what I saw on our recce, that the terrain on Bleaklow is in a very fragile state and I don't want to contribute to it's destruction. It's over thirty years since I was last up there and it's going to be another thirty (i.e. never) before I go back again.

Well done to all those that finished though. It was a testing night in those temperatures.

On the Road Again

Intended to do the London Marathon Training run from Hemel today but left it too late so I went out and did this on my own (saving a few quid in the process):






Calf muscles were a bit tight towards the end. More miles required.

English Fell Running Championships 2010

Just thought I'd share this excellent video. Enjoy.

High Peak Marathon Recce

Being a sucker for punishment I've somehow ended up entering the High Peak Marathon (42 miles of bogs, heather and rocks at night) as part of a four person team (with Clare, Paul and Will from Goyt Valley Striders). So, in an attempt to get a feel for what we've let ourselves in for (well me anyway, the rest have done it previously) we decided to recce the more interesting middle section of the route. Will was supposed to be with us but he opted to go to California instead. Can't imagine why.

This is the route:





This is the fly through:



And this is the video:



A grand day out. Let's hope it'll be a grand night out.

The Race is On (so get your wallet out)

As mentioned previously I'm going to raise some sponsorship for the North West Air Ambulance who were good enough to airlift me to hospital when I crashed out of the 3 Peaks Race last year. They saved 84 lives last year so please help them keep going.

I'll be attempting to run over 100 miles round the Lake District in one go in July. So please give me some encouragement. Thanks.

Feet First

I read 'Born to Run' by Chris McDougall ages ago and tried running barefoot on my treadmill. It did feel very different and I felt that 6 minute miles pace was much more comfortable without the shoes. (The bottoms of my feet were very sore afterwards though.)

So, today I thought I'd do some analysis and filmed me running both with and without shoes. The barefoot purists will hold their hands up in horror as they advocate special training and careful transition between the two styles, but I thought it was worth seeing what difference it makes without training in new techniques. Anyway, here's the result:

Wrapping Up 2010

All in all its been an eventful year but I'll be glad to see the back of it. I lost my favourite uncle in October and my mother in November, the first a credit to the care and attention of the health service for keeping him going for forty years after a major heart attack, the second a tragic, and all too familiar, tale of indifference and lack of care from the same health service.

This blog has been a bit quiet lately, largely because I've been resting my knee, in the hope that it will repair itself, since completing the OMM at the end of October. I'm not sure the rest is working as my knee has been making its presence felt in the last couple of days. We'll find out in January when I start training again.

The OMM was another of those "why the hell am I doing this again" experiences that are great in hindsight. Dave and I had upgraded to the A class this year, just when the planners decided that as the hills of Dartmoor aren't so big they'd up the distances. We must have done 32 miles on the first day and 20 on the second. Day one was tussocks, bogs and gorse with reasonable weather (cool and dryish) while the second was a day of more tussocks and bogs with a few swollen rivers thrown in all topped off with driving rain and hill fog. I'd invested in a new Terra Nova Laser Competition tent which is a nice one man tent but is very cosy for two. Even so I must have slept for the best part of ten hours. All in all a good weekend.

So, looking forward to next year, apart from a possible participation in the High Peak Marathon (40 odd miles of night time peat bogs)in March I'm going to stick to more runnable trails. I've entered the Grindleford Gallop again (go to go for that 3 hour time) and I've just gone and entered the Lakeland 100!

So watch this space.