Hadrian's Wall Run Part1

A week ago I stood in a daze having completed the run from Wallsend in Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway; crossing the line after 16 hours and 21 minutes including more breaks than planned, some walking much food and water and three full kit changes. It’s sinking in more and more that I have achieved my goal and in a reasonable time, though of course slower than I would have liked! Back then, as I finished I could only think that I had done it little else made any impact on me as both mind my body were spent, but what about the build up and the run itself?

Finished

One month to go…

With less than five weeks to go before my Hadrian's Wall run it was time to get focused, but what on? Firstly what route would I take: would I follow the path exactly or closely? How would I sustain myself physically and mentally? What support would I need and all this while getting sponsors! It was obvious that I would need to reccy the whole route so that needed to be fitted in. Research on how the body works to give me the knowledge necessary to judge pace, fluid and fuel intake would be essential. Asking friends and family to support me on route with supplies, encouragement and maybe running was also essential.

The highest point on the wall

Hadrian's Wall Main Reccy

Over the Friday 24th to Sunday 26th July, my Dad and I walked (and in my case some running) from Prudhoe train station up to the Wall path then on to Carlisle. We covered about 55 miles of the wall which lead to the decision that I would run close to but not exactly on the Hadrian's Wall path. 

Poppy fields near Prudhoe

In some places this was due to the high density of stiles (in one place there were 10 in the space of around 300m)  in other places it was more to do with safety than speed - steep steps that would actually mean a shorter route (admittedly with more climb) but dangerous when fatigued - it would have been ironic to need the Great North Air Ambulance on a run that was 50% in aid of them.

My Dad demonstrating one of the gates

My dad showing off his calves on a ladder stile

In the areas of ridiculous numbers of stiles I planned to run in parallel on the road to miss them out so the distance would be the same  but speed greater. With the steps it depended on how I felt when I got to them along with the weather conditions. It may be they would be a welcome walking break if it was not raining, but the decision would be made on the day of the exact route taken in these areas. I also decide from this reccy to use three pairs of shoes with road shoes at the start and finish but trail shoes for the middle 20+ miles or so.

Continue the training

The next few days were really training as usual, with a club handicap race on the 28th where I was a wee bit slower than I should be, Intervals at 5K pace with tri Lakeland on Wednesday followed by Pilates. Thursday I switch my training to a progressive run due to time constraints and Friday some hills at recovery effort with another short one on Saturday.

Coniston Trail Marathon – Sunday 3^rd July

Yeah yeah I know shouldn't really have been racing this close to a big one so didn't I just ran it! The sun was strong and winds light increasing the need to carry extra water (only three water stations on route). This I thought would be ideal practice for fueling and drinking on the move. The route itself was spectacular and I stuck to my steady 7:45 average pace. About four miles from the finish I caught Adam who was seriously suffering from the heat and dehydration I slowed to give him some of my water and we jogged along together for a bit. Another runner started to catch us up with one mile to go so Adam pushed on but I just maintained my pace only picking it up a bit near the end to make sure of sixth place, after all it was only a training run!

Adam at the high point - Coniston Trail Marathon

'Hay-O' trail race – Tuesday 5th July

This one I had to race and was due a tempo run anyway and it was one of our club runs – more excuses justifying going fast and racing when I probably shouldn’t! At the start it was clear none of the speed daemons had turned up so there was a real chance of a top place, my only obvious challenge was Marc Penn from Blengdale but he had raced in a 5K and 10K over the weekend which I though would probably have tired him more for this kind of race than my marathon. We ran together for the first kilometer, and then on the hill I started to pull away and by the turn was at least 30 seconds ahead. In the end I won comfortably over a minute ahead of Marc but in a time that the previous year would have only got me fifth! Still it was a win and it got me a mention in the Times and Star

The next next few days the usual mix of training runs: Wednesday 8miles including 12x400m at 3K pace followed by pilates, Thursday 9 mile club run, Friday 14.5 mile run to work and Saturday a gentle 5 mile recovery run.

Start of Hadrian's Wall path

Final Reccy runs

At this stage I still had two sections of the Wall path to reccy; the section from Wallsend to Harlow Hill and the section from Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway. So on Sunday I drove out to Prudhoe and took the train and metro to the start of the Hadrian’s Wall path at Wallsend. The temperature was uncomfortably hot but the reccy went well, I tried to keep the pace down, close to what I’d expect to do on the day but probably went a bit fast at around 8 minute a mile pace. By Harlow Hill I was out off water so picked it up to get back to the car as quickly as possible! Felt fairly good after the run of just over 23 miles as finished still feeling fairly fresh if thirsty.

I rested the following day then on Tuesday took the train to Carlisle to do the final reccy. Again the sun was strong but the path was fairly simple to navigate but a worry was to come. Around three miles out of Carlisle the path started to go up and down steps by the Eden with roots ready to trip the weary runner on a sloping path. There was also what could only be described as a gantry across the new Carlisle bypass still under construction – not good for a fast pace on this section! By the time the path meandered its way to Burgh by Sands it was mainly road which continued for the majority of the remaining eight miles or so to Bowness-on-Solway. Unfortunately those eight miles became eleven after taking a wrong turning but better in the reccy than the run itself! In Bowness a swift pint was had and I told the landlord my plan to do the run inside 16 hours he just laughed and said I’d never do it as the previous fastest runner they’d had in the pub was 19.5 hours. He promised me £100 sponsor money if I could do it so the challenge was on!

The finish at Bowness-on-Solway

Wednesday 13th July BodyFit 5K

Yes yes yes I KNOW, I should not have raced this close to my run but it was only 5K and my schedule said to do 3x 1600m at 5K pace so I though what the hell might as well race it and run there and back to make up the miles. I knew I was in good shape but with a focus on endurance training wasn't very confident of my pace though felt a PB was possible. A PB I got and quite convincingly, going sub 18mins for the first time finishing in 17:54 and 9th place.

One week to go…

Now it was time to get serious with the taper so I only did 8.5 on Thursday and 7 on the Friday then went for a spa day in Ambleside part of a prize for coming first in the Langdale 10K (worth racing the same day as London!). This involved about 1:30 of aerobic exercise in the gym followed by sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and ice treatment – not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon. Then back to the running which went from 7.5 miles easy on Sunday down to 3.5 miles on Wednesday. I also had a pre-run massage on Wednesday to get my muscles ready for what I was about to subject them to. Disaster almost struck at this point as I lost one of my pacers for the run – Steve Angus had got the day wrong he thought I was running on the Saturday so I had a gaping hole in the middle with no pacers. I tried to move people around and posted a plea on facebook when Adam came to the rescue and offered to drive up from Worcestershire to be at Chesters roman fort for nine in the morning!

The day before…

A very distracted day off work doing the final shopping and preparations making sure my food and fluid intake was planned right and pace set correctly. I would need to consume at least 4,000 Kcals just to top up my glycogen stores to just above depletion level. I would need about 16 liters of fluid including a lot of electrolytes. The unknown was around 65 miles as by that point I would be going further than I’d gone before and had no idea how my body would react –there was a good chance that around this point no matter how well I planned it I would crash/bonk or whatever term you want to use for a drastic reduction in pace!

Sleep was hard to get but I managed a couple of hours in the afternoon, then at 19:30 Jane arrived in her campervan followed shortly after by Phil my first pacer. We loaded up the camper with all my supplies and changes of kit and set of for Newcastle, arriving just before 22:00. Jane managed to get permission to allow us to park close to the start on the promise that she would leave by 04:30.

Phil about to leave the camper van for the start

Hadrian’s Wall run day

None of us slept to well, me better than Jane or Phil thanks to the earplugs but at 03:10 we were up got breakfast and a cup of coffee. Kit was checked, bowels emptied and we headed for the start. I texted all the pacers and other who wanted to be kept informed that we were off and at 04:06 the run began. The run itself deserves its own post so for now I leave us running towards Byker...

The Forgotten Post

I wrote this on 21st of June then forgot to post it! So here is a late post...


Tuesday's "recovery" pace run
This was meant to be a gentle run at recovery pace with a distance of no more than 5 miles. I managed to an OK pace to start with but ended up going a bit too fast with 5 faster bursts. Probably on the whole went to fast and too far (~6.5 miles) considering there was around 700 feet of accent - not good preparation for a PB attempt at 10 miles the next day.


Gosforth 10
After what felt like a long day, drove down to Gosforth for the ten mile road race with three progressive targets of a PB, sub 61 mins and sub 60 mins. A sub 60 mins is definitely on the cards soon, though with all this endurance targeted training my pace over shorter distances is dropping. Ran 58:40 for the first 10 miles of the Brass Monkey half marathon in January so...


Arriving a good 2 hours early since I'd been working in Egremont, I decided to drive around the course to get a feel for the terrain, looked like the first 3 to 4 miles would be quick with slow miles at 6 and possible 10 though the finish in sight might temper the affect of the final hill. There was a good Derwent AC turn out with four competing, I felt good except for the muggy conditions which can slow me down a lot. Looking around at the start after my just under 3 miles warm up I saw Alan Bowness, Chris Steel and Russell Maddams so there were the top three. Marc Penn was also there who is getting faster and faster but I was determined not to let him beat me.

Start of Gosforth 10

On the off the expected three immediately made a lead pack along with another runner whom I didn't recognise. Marc Penn, Steve Garner and myself formed the following pack. It was pretty clear early on that the other runner (John Woodhouse) was racing well above his class and before the first mile marker was in the following pack and soon trailing it. Steve started to pull away at about two miles, I let him go as from experience he is a fair bit faster than me over the shorter distances and is an excellent pacer, Marc stuck with him for a bit but I wasn't overly concerned and  stuck to my pace. If Marc could maintain that pace he would beat me convincingly but I doubted he would, feeling sure he was going too fast. I feared disaster half way through mile five with a stitch developing, easing back slightly and relaxing a bit more the stitch eased but Marc had pulled away establishing a "massive"17 seconds lead: worry I did start. I needn't have as the gap started to close from around mile six. I was catching him significantly on the down hill sections, eventually passing him to move into fifth on the hill at about 6.5 miles. By this point sub 60 was unlikely but sub 61 was still possible. Digging in I managed to pull away from Marc and finish 19 seconds ahead of him with a new PB of 60:31, the Full results are on the Blengdale web site. The sub 60 will have to wait a while longer...

Derwent AC finishers, from top left clockwise: Me, Tony, Anna, Rob

Thursday's Club Run
After the failed attempt on Tuesday to judge what should be recovery pace with the probably knock on affect of not breaking 60 mins at Gosforth I decided to re-introduce my heart rate monitor to get a feel for what was the correct pace for different training zones. Without this knowledge there is a very real danger that the pace on the Hadrian's Wall run would be too strong and my glycogen stores would deplete way to early. I didn't know my resting HR nor my maximum HR, though this should lie around 185. Using this figure I approximated my maximum HR for a recovery run (75% Max HR) of around 138. I tried to stick to this for the cub run where we ran the Lambfoot loop in reverse. This was easier said than done as up the hills it crept over to about 145 and down the hills dropped to under 130 even when going at a decent pace of sub 6 min miles. Maybe more research is necessary or I need to do more up hill training! Pretty pleased with the 140 average at the end of the seven mile easy run.


Jane's BGR
Jane who joined Derwent last year partly to try and improve her basic speed on the flat after a 26 hour BGR attempt was all set for a second attempt with pacing all calculated to give her a 23:12 round.

Jane (on the right) and Angela outside the Moot Hall

Leg1
So at 21:00 on Friday 17th June of she set with Angela and me as pacers for the first leg, Angela was the navigator, I the pack horse and chief gate opener. The acent of Skidaw was straight forward and  with clear skys nothing like the forecast which was was terrible. We made the summit in a steady 83 mins, 12 mins ahead of Jane's schedule. The weather continued to be kind and the pace good to Great Calva with head torches only needed once we reach the bottom to cross to the accent of Blencathera - 11:20 switch on time was pretty good. By now the cloud was coming down over the top of blencathera and the moon was struggling to make any impact, still the ascent was relatively straight forward with Jane's excellent knowledge of the leg getting us straight to the top 15mins ahead. The decent to Threlkeld down Haws Crag was fairly slow going with the slippy rock and now poor visibility but threlkeld and a change of paces was reached still 7mins ahead.

Jane almost at Dunmail Raise

Leg2
After a 5min refil of water bottles, cup of tea etc we we off. For this leg there were four pacers, one navigator, one pack horse (me) an two for encouragement. For the whole of the leg it rained, so that the low cloud and dark means not much to say! A couple of minor navigational errors but maid Dummail Raise 7min up with Jane look very fresh. This is where I left the attempt.


Leg3
Unfortunately leg three went really badly with Jane's balance going and by the time she reached Wasdale she was over an hour down, very tired and demoralized so she decided to call it a day and come back again to crack the BGR.


Go Ape
After about three hours sleep it was time to join the Derwent AC posse for an afternoon at Whinlatter Go Ape. This was part one of Kirsty's Sten Hag do. Luckily the weather had improved and we all had a good time larking about in the trees!

Derwent AC with certificates to prove they had Gone Ape

Night Out and beyond
On the Saturday some of Derwent AC hit Cockermouth for Kirsty's Sten Hag do, a good night was had by all and copious amounts of beer, shots, cider etc. drunk by most. I manages to keep it sensible-ish but not down to a suitable level to allow me to do my planned run on Sunday - a reccy of the Carlilse to Bowness on Solway section of the Hadrian's wall path instead I rested. I was still tired out on Monday so rested again. It seams even a relatively small quantity of alchohol has a significant affect on my ability to run or was it the lack of sleep, two legs of the BGR, a day at go Ape and the night out...


Tuesday 21st June
On Tuesday I had my picture taken for the Times and Star who were running an article on my up coming Hadrian's Wall run - have a sneaky suspicion that the picture may be a bit cheesy as it was taken with me standing on a wall...


Running today was 4x 600m hill repeats to try and find max heart rate which was 183. I'll try this again sometime without the knowledge that I still have 4 miles to run home as I think this held me back a bit but it will do for now. Having this and mu resting heart rate of 41 mean I can now look at what zones I need to train in but more importantly how fast is optimal for Hadrian's Wall. 


Unfortunately the nights club training was hill skills!!!

Hadrian's Wall Count Down

With less than three six weeks to go I’m into the final preparations for my Hadrian's wall run. I will be following the Hadrian's wall path from Wallsend in Newcastle to Bowness on Solway on the north Cumbrian coast on July 22nd. The path is 84miles long but I will be taking some alternative routes along the way to avoid the more fragile parts, the areas with gates every 50m and some of the extra loops near the end when the road will do. I intend to have a rest break at Housesteads so that will add some back on so I expect it will be close to the full distance.

Since my last post I have been on a short break to Northumberland, raced three times, been to a presentation night and enjoyed Eden Festival near Moffat, and gone back to work for a full week and survived.

Northumberland

I manages to squeeze an interval session before setting off. Phil, Tony, Kirsty, Rob and myself met at 9:15 at Cockermouth school and jogged out to the Setmurthy road to do 6 repeats. I did 1K repeats the rest 0.5m repeats. The times were a bit slower than before the marathon but I suppose that's to be expected. The break in Northumberland was great though not as relaxing as I'd hoped and yes I did squeeze a few runs in along with the castle visits, coastal walking and visits to the beech. Catherine's parents had come over from France to join us so we had a holiday cottage full. On the Sunday we all trooped off to Warworth Castle and Warkworth Hermitage as I suggested it as a good place to go on a potentially showery day. The kid's loved it and I reminised! 

Catherine and Kid's at Warkworth Castle

Evening strolls became a feature of the holiday as once the children were in bed Catherine's parents could look after them while we went for a quiet coastal walk.

Red Beadlet Anemones

On Monday we had the day to ourselves so walked from Craster to Alnmouth along the Northumberland coastal way, taking our time and soaking up the scenery.


The obligatory visit to the beach happened on Tuesday (30th May) but it was too cold to swim, not really the water but the getting warm again after in breezy conditions. Harry and Jessica still really enjoyed themselves digging and making things.

Jessica's Mermaid

Harry playing in the sand Dunstanburgh Castle behind

Wednesday was my last day so after a leisurely morning I was dropped of at the train station at Alnmouth and headed back to Carlisle to do the Carlisle-Tri 10K.


Carlisle-Tri 10K
This should have been a good PB course but it didn't turn out like that on the day. There was a breeze true but still. There was a good Derwent AC turn out with five running which was encouraging. James Douglas was also warming up so everyone new the likely winner after his 30:36 at the Manchester 10K. Win he did by a good margin with Russell Madams coming in a good second. I along with a few others had a disappointing time though the run felt good the time showed otherwise, maybe the wind, maybe too slow a start may be still recovering from the marathon maybe just one of those days but 36:15 was still 30 seconds faster than last year.


A Slump and two races??
Not sure why but on Thursday morning (2nd June) I had a slump and dip in both mood and energy, I got up fully intending to go into work and get two days in but ended up falling asleep and the next thing three o'clock showing on my phone. The slump lasted until Saturday morning when I managed to get myself moving (just) to get to Staveley for the race. I new if I failed to get myself there, the real risk of the slump dragging into the next week was present...


Staveley trail race
Adam was at Staveley already and so were Russell and Pippa Maddams so I had we had the likely winners in the Maddams' and a top five in Adam. The weather was weird on the day both hot and windy  but somehow muggy as well - perfect sunburn weather and I had no cream! My race plan was flexible with the first few miles going to dictate the rest of the race. I'd decided to just enjoy it but if by five miles or so I was still in touch with the top five that I'd push for a top five. By five miles I was sixth (turns out it was fourth as two were 10K runners) so I decided to ease back a bit until the end when I would push for the finish. Five runners past me during my easing off miles with Pippa being one of them and cruising. I stuck to my plan and kept it steady then took two of the runners back over the last mile or so on the decent to the finish. Shame I didn't know I was in fourth earlier as I believe I could have held it or fifth at least. Russell and Pippa were first man and first woman and Adam was first Man. Adam will probably also win the spring series but he is tied on points but he ran the third race so should win on the tie-break!

Adam at the Staverly trail race

Abbeytown 10
The day after Staveley was Abbeytown ten a good PB course but a bad run again, partly due to the slump, partly Staveley, partly the wind and partly the toilet stop at 6 miles. Still a good race, came third in a slow 63:47 and the buffet at the end was exceptional. I highly recommend this local West Cumbria race.


Monday 6th June onwards
After the two weekend races I rested on Monday (well an hour of pilates instead of running) and did a six mile recovery on the Tuesday following the guidelines from my new marathon training book - Advanced Marathoning. For the next few weeks the plan was to follow this guide as much as possible ready for the Hadrian's Wall run with the correct enthasise on what to eat and drink and when to do so along with running at the right pace at the right times. I way to often do similar sessions too close together!

Fastest Man, Fastest Vet Man and most funds raised

On Tuesday night I was presented my trophy for the fastest man on the Workington to Keswick Charity walk. This was followed by a buffet and music quiz which Catherine and I managed to come last in with 11/40!


Wednesday was 6 x 1K intervals on the school field with Tri-Lakeland followed by pilates.
Thursday a reccy of the Cumberland Ale 10 route with the club plus a bit to make up to13miles
Friday a recovery run out along Setmurthy of 4 miles before heading off to Eden Festival


Eden Festival
Catherine the children and I set of for Eden Festival on the Friday night not knowing quite what to expect as it was not a festival we had been to before. On first sight of the festival Harry and Jessica squealed with excitement so a good start. The midges were a problem while pitching the tent but  once up we headed of to explore the arena. The camping area felt somewhere between Cockrock and Solfest both of which I'll be at later in the year. Squidging through the mud to the entrance we had our first views of the internal festival

Eden Festival Main Stage

We wondered through past the usual hippy shops and dodgy food out lets but gradually it changed as we moved towards the children's area the shops were less standard and reasonable prices the food more interesting and the entrances to the tents made from willow tunnels wrapped in ivy. We wondered around for a while and watched the fire show until just before eleven (cola helped) then of back to the tent for the usual unsettled sleep -ear plugs are a must!


Saturday morning was bacon butties and then off to explore again as festivals are often much different on the second day and early after the party animals have burnt themselves out on the first night. We juggled, walked on stilts, hula hooped, made endless things, played in the hay and occasionally stopped to listen to some music.

Catherine and Jessica near the circus skills area

Managed to get a run in in the afternoon a ten mile run out at general aerobic pace followed by 8 x 100m strides down by the river near the saunas (you have to keep the fire going yourself).


Late afternoon/evening was fancy dress more making of things and a spectacular fire show that revolved around circus skills with flames, dancing and stilt walking monsters...

My fly outfit

Fire show

Sunday was more the same with a 6 miles morning run squeezed in and very sleepy children but surprisingly little grumpiness! We stayed until Gomez came on as Catherine had heard a
lot about them from her sister. Not really my thing but the crowed enjoyed it and it put the kids to sleep!

The Gomez effect

Gomez crowd

Took a day of running on Monday as felt very tired and the 10miles scheduled would probably have been a bad idea went for the early night instead. Right better end it there for now as off to do a short recovery pace run with the club before tomorrows race: Gosforth 10

Onwards and across

Since the marathon I’ve taken it relatively easy though not as easy as I would have had I raced the whole distance not just 30k and run the rest. Mondays post marathon 3 mile leg warmer out and back on a standard route along Setmurthy road felt easy enough. This confirmed in my mind that the bad run on Sunday was not due to fitness.

Lambfoot Loop 10K – Tuesday 24^th May

Start of the Lambfoot Loop 10K

Initially I’d thought to run this one easy but by the time the gun went I found myself up in the top five so thought what the hell. As usual Carl Bell started to pull away with the Keswick trio of Russell Maddams, Phil Winskill and Ian Davis running as a group behind. Carl continued to pull away up the first hill towards embleton with Russell and Phil now ahead of Ian in confident pursuit and me a comfortable fifth. The positioning remained until the start of golf course hill where the inevitable change happened – the hill did its make or break on the top three. By the turn at about 6K Phil and Russell were still together with Carl quite a way back with Ian next and to my surprise me and closing the gap!


Phil and Russell neck and neck near the turn

I was almost incredulous (thanks steve) when I passed him with less than 3K left but I couldn’t loose him, every time I kicked he responded until the last 200m where he showed his class and pulled away from me eventually beating me into fifth by 5secs.My time of 37:00 on that course was very pleasing and to be only 5 seconds behind Ian when the previous week it had been 30 was very encouraging.

Ian Davis, fourth place in 36:55

Russell eventually won the race in 33:55 a clear 38 seconds ahead of Phil (34:33) with Carl finishing in third place in 35:09. Even more impressive was that Russell had only nine day earlier won the 33 miles Forest of Dean Ultra Marathon!

Carl Bell finishing in 3rd in 35:09

Ellie Ulyatt from Derwent was first lady and junior in 44:28. More photos can be found on the Derwent AC Facebook page, and full race results on the Derwent AC website.


What now?
Did a 3 mile run on Wednesday morning, a fartlec session with Derwent AC on Thursday and a steady 3 miles this morning. Tomorrow morning is a possible interval session then it’s of to Northumberland for a few days with hopefully a lot of coastal walking (maybe reccy some of the coastal marathon route) but little running. Should be refreshed by next Wednesday and the Carlisle Tri 10K which is a PB potential course if everything goes right on the day…

The coming few weeks
The next big thing is my planned Hadrien’s wall run in mid July, there is still a lot of planning to do and some reccying to carry out but I feel confident that I can do it and in a reasonable time, before that there are few more races including the Coniston Trail marathon which also needs a quick reccy oh and I’m supporting Jane on her BGR on June 17^th. Just need to get that online fundraising sorted out oh and...



Edinburgh Marathon

Bag packed for the finish, food and running plan set so set off up to my Dad’s in Blairgowrie on Friday night with Catherine and the kids. After a poor nights sleep but decent breakfast, I set off on a final gentle run of just over two and a half miles, a loop down to the local river along the track beside it and up a steep but short hill back. It felt Ok but my legs didn’t feel as fresh as they should have – maybe too much training in the last week?

Sunday Morning

Terrible nights sleep, with Harry (my partners little boy) waking at three and coming into our bed, little chance of much sleep after that with a wriggling kicking buddle next to me. My confidence dented a bit further, but the weather forecast looked  better than at the start of the week with the winds not picking up until later in the morning and only about 30mph gusts. My Dad drove me down to Edinburgh so I could take it easy and so began the final preparation before the gun and the off. First stop toilets (and second and third…) then to meet up with Marc Penn from Blengdale Runners AC (based in Gosforth) who’d been following a strict schedule for the last few months including no beer (such a good source of electrolytes and carbs). A couple of photos, drop the bags off, gentle warm up and stretch then to the start.

Me and Marc in our fetching bin bags at the start

The Race Plan

Basic plan was to go for 6:20 pace which would give me a time of around 2:47, but the wind meant this needed to be adjusted. Since the first four miles of the course are predominately down hill with a net decent of 40m and you always have excess adrenaline at the start I planned to run these at an average of about 15 seconds per mile faster than race pace with the first mile being the fastest. This would put me 1 minute ahead as I eased down into my race pace running. The miles out were to be around 6:15 pace which would be to about mile eighteen meaning by 30K I should be about 2:15 ahead before turning and facing the wind. What to expect and plan for the last quarter was difficult – running into a strong head wind at the hardest part of the race is hard to plan. I guessed it would cost about 30secs a mile into the wind with about another minute lost in the last few miles due to fatigue and a final kick for the last half mile or so with negligible effect on the time but a good psychological benefit. With luck the plan would get me around in 2:50 and hopefully inside that time or three minutes behind the 6:20 pace.

The Race

Immediately I made a mistake by positioning myself too close to the front. The obvious affect of this was to go off too fast (5:56 first mile) though I managed to reign myself in to go through four miles at just over one minute ahead of schedule only a bit faster than planned. First part of the plan achieved now to the steady running, this went well until a slight twinge in my left hamstring luckily that was all it was and it didn’t slow me down much or for long. By now I was enjoying it chatting with people before moving on, the temperature was about right the wind as of yet not too bad and the occasional heavy shower refreshing. Hit 10K at 38:27 and half marathon at 1:21:28 both a bit fast but not massively so and by the turn; earlier than I’d thought at just over 17 miles I was about 2:35 ahead meaning about 1sec a mile faster than planned and still feeling strong going well and picking off runners one by one. After the turn the pace slowed with the head wind by about 30 seconds over target pace as had been expected this I maintained for the next couple of miles still picking people off…

Last Quarter

Disaster struck: after taking a mouthful of lucozade at a fuelling station almost immediately I felt a twinge in my right abs a bloody stitch. Was the same thing going to happen to me as happened to Steve Angus at London? The only thing I could do was ease off and try to control my breathing, stamp it out and massage the area. A quick change of plan was needed as the people I’d passed started to stream back past me which was very disheartening as my stitch wouldn’t allow me to give chase though my legs and heart wanted too. My pace had dropped significantly with the 2:50 time almost certainly gone. By mile 23 my heart had gone and my legs decided to follow. I just couldn’t get back into my running with the constant ache where the stitch had hit home. Every time someone passed me I tried to pull them back but the ache would get worse in my deep abs and the effort was mentally tiring. Disheartened I just tried to continue enjoying the race though that too was hard with the knowledge that the chance of a good position and time had evaporated and running was no longer comfortable. I still managed to pick it up a bit for the last half mile though nothing like my former pace crossing the line in a PB time of 2:52:42 in 70^th place of over 8500 runners so not bad for a bad run!



Well deserved beer

 The Wind

At the finish nearly everyone said they had suffered in the wind, one guy from Motherwell AC ran 2:48:31 last year and ran 2:52:44 this year but felt fitter and stronger which goes to show the affect the wind was having. Even in the conditions the top five men all were inside Steve Littler’s winning time of 2:26:30 in 2010 and nine women went under three hours compared to only three in 2010, though with a slower winning time. Marc also had trouble in the wind but managed to break the three hour barrier, his target for the race, finishing in 2:59:06 and 141^st position.



Marc first beer since January

 Post mortem

A few things went wrong some that can be controlled, some that can’t and some that can be minimised. Off the weather nothing can be done so 2:50 was always around the best to be expected. The stitch is a tricky one, maybe the pre-race food or drink? Since it kicked in almost immediately after having a drink of Lucozade that is the most likely cause, the only solution I can think for this is to carry my own hydration tablets and just drink water as I did at Langdale Marathon last year. The tailing off of the pace could be partly to do with lack of race pace longer runs so that is something else to be improved on. The major positive is that even with all these set backs I still got a PB and feel the 2:45 is now a serious possibility, if not this year then soon!

Build up to Edinburgh Marathon

Lows
The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs both very high and very low. On the Tuesday (3^rd May) after my BGR reccy of leg two I did a short leg freshener of 4x 1K intervals as gradually increasing effort to keep them ticking over. Then on the Wednesday I fell ill nothing too bad just hot and cold with fatigue. Unfortunately this dragged on for a few days and with my predisposition to bouts of depression and the marathon looming just over two weeks away I started to get very low. Managed to get out for a run on the following Monday but it was a disaster, one of my usual 10 mile routes but a good minute a mile slower than usual and not one mile at marathon pace! My partner was having difficulty dealing with this low episode and since she had a job interview lined up for Thursday we decided it would be best if I stayed out of the way until after that. Camping within walking distance seamed the best solution, as it would mean time to think and still be able to have home comforts during the day. Additionally it meant I got a bit of cross-training in having to walk up the fell near the house to the tent just over two miles but still exercise.

Mini Tent on the Hay

The club interval session on Tuesday was a much better than the Monday run, though the old runners’ trots kicked in on the third repeat inducing some despondency. I decided to give Wednesday a miss and try to recuperate a bit more, though still very low and still off work at this point, though physically OK, mentally I was lost. Decided to tackle the same route on Thursday to see what improvement I’d made. We went a bit further than my Monday run as we started at the club house and I did some looping back to the slower runners. The first four miles or so we ran as a club then I kicked it in for the remaining seven managing to average 6:30 pace with 200m+ of climb so felt much better still a bit slow on the last three miles but a definite improvement.

How to get the mental side ready for the marathon?

The best thing I could think of doing was racing at Long Marton and Moorclose 10Ks to get my pace back and hope my endurance would hold from all the training put in so far this year. The plan was decided, so no running on Friday and a short 3.25 progressive run on Saturday: 6:44, 6:02, 5:32 and final quarter of a mile at 5:07 – a massive confidence boost ready for Sunday.

Long Marton 10K – Sunday 15^th May

The weather was poor with heavy showers and gusts; I hoped there would be a good turn out and some fast runners at this, the first running of the race. The trail section at about six to seven kilometres looked like it could be tricky in road shoes but I had no alternative. On arrival I spotted a few decent club runners most obviously with his bouncing locks of brown curls – Carl Bell of Howgill Harriers. As usual Carl dismissed his chances as he’d raced at Fairfield Fell race the previous day finishing in fourth! From the start he took off at his usual fast pace, the unknown being would he be able to maintain it or “blow up” as he himself admits happens a lot on road races. I let him and another three runners go as the pace was too strong for me, hoping some of them had set of too fast. By mile two I’d caught and past one of them, a junior from helm hill who finished in sixth place by the end. At mile three I’d passed another, this time from Hoad Hill Harriers. Carl and Stuart from Arragons Cumbria Tri Club were still a good distance a head, but although Carl was pulling further ahead on all the descents I was managing to maintain if not close the gap on the Stuart in second. The trail section was pretty tricky with a surface of wet slippy mud over a still solid under-surface; I think I lost about 20 seconds or so here due to lack of confidence on the terrain. After that section Carl was no where to be seen, his fell expertise showing; Stuart was about the same distance ahead and I started to close the gap then he kicked with just over a mile to go and was gone. Third was a very pleasing result especially after the previous week or so of disappointment. Although it measures long and has about 200m of climb, I’d highly recommend this friendly inclusive, child friendly event.

Third place abd a trophy!

Moorclose 10K – Tuesday 17^th May

Confidence coming back now so a 3.5 mile progressive leg freshener on the Monday ready for a PB attempt at Moorclose. The plan being to go out fast, stick it in until the turn, take the hill a bit easy and kick in again after the hill on the last two miles to the end, but not all out as need to be fresh for the Marathon all in all the plan was to run at about 5:45 pace with a target time of around 35:50.



Start of Moorclose 10K

 There was an excellent turn out with 12 Derwent AC members there accounting for almost 10% of all the runners (126). Carl once again was racing his third in four days, this time I believed him when he said he wouldn’t do too well!

Derwent AC Posse after the race

Two surprise runners were Paul Watham from the up and running shop in Keswick who had run and finished 18^th in the Genève Marathon on Sunday and James Douglas who I had down as the winner! As it turns out James was just spectating after racing on Sunday in the Manchester 10K finishing 36^th in a PB time of 30:36. Though I’m sure if he‘d decided to have a “gentle run out” he’d have still won, that honour went to Phil Winskill of Keswick who once again looked strong in a time of 33:28.


Phil Winskill cruising...

Carl “blew up” this time dropping from first to fourth over the second half of the course falling nearly a minute behind Phil but still in a PB time of 34:22, one to watch on the roads in the future! I ran in the second pack for a while with Steve Angus who said at mile two he was going for seventh and seventh he got 26 seconds ahead of me in tenth in a PB time of 35:52 at pace of 5:44 so very pleased as almost bang on my target! Paul managed to hold onto eighth and then ran at Latrigg fell race on Wednesday taking it “easy” and finishing in tenth!

 

Now for Edinburgh

On consideration I decided not to run Latrigg fell race on Wednesday (18^th May) not because the distance or climb were too much before a marathon but because the injury risk on that course would be too great. Instead I joined Tri-Lakeland on a middling interval session of 6 x 400m. Ended up being 6 x 465m as the track was inaccessible on the school field due to cricket practice, so we ran round two football pitches instead. The first five were all around 88s with the last at 81s which felt good. Pilates afterwards was definitely a good decision! Thursday was a club run to mark out our next club race the Lambfoot Loop on Tuesday, I decided to run four of the miles at tempo treating it like an interval session as most of the marathon advice is taper yes, but keep the intensity there! Today is a rest day, tomorrow 2-3 miles at race pace then the Marathon on Sunday. The forecast isn’t good with a 15mph head wind predicted on the last six miles or so with up to 30mph gusts, that could cost me as much as 3mins so let’s hope it’s wrong as I’m not sure how my fragile mental state will handle a bad result!

It's real and it's happening

Until next time…

BGR Leg2 Reccy

Bob Graham Training

May 2^nd 2011

Decided since it was such a nice day to do a reccy of the BGR leg2, the plan being to park in Keswick, jog along cycle path to Threlked do the leg and run back from Dunmail raise either to Wythburn church or the King’s head pub in Thirlpot to catch the bus back to Keswick. Guessed it would be about 20miles so would treat it as a long run and carry water and food accordingly for a five to five and a half hours day mainly in the fells. The mountain forecast said gusts of up to 50 mph but otherwise a good clear day for running. Cereal bars, fig roles, energy drinks and water along with the standard kit packed I set off. The only problem was I was going to have to run in my old Walshes (550 miles+) as the studs on my mudclaws were dropping of and cracking so they were back at the shop to be checked out…



Start of BGR leg2



Got nicely warmed up along the cycle path to the start and was ready for it. From looking at the map before hand there appeared to be very few navigational decisions to make on this leg, the first being at the start as to which route to take to the top I chose the line to the left of the first main craggy outcrop, which turned out to be a popular route as there was a well walked trod all the way up. Clough Head was reached with no problems just a quick pause for photo’s and extra clothes then off round the horseshoe to Great Dodd. I Considered cutting a tighter bend and going up the ridge without the path but thought better off it, that was an option to try on another day and on the run itself the visibility by this point would most likely be poor with the morning mist still clinging to the fells and/or most probably it would still be dark.



Great Dodd



Navigation from Great Dodd to Helvellyn was relatively straight forward, a slight error at Stybarrow Dodd following the path round meant about 50m cut back to the cairn an the top. Google Earth shows I missed the top (has me missing raise, nethermost pike and Fairfield too!), though this may be down to GPS inaccuracies or map placement errors on Google earth! Either way this bit needs looking at again. I took a more direct line down from White Side to the col before ascending Helvellyn Lower Man and on to the top while being buffeted by the wind. On the decent of Lower Man I tripped going automatically into a Jitsu roll coming up with only a grazed elbow and two tops with holes in – could have been a lot worse!



The Helvellyns



Took it the top of Helvellyn was the trig point and carried on to Nethermost Pike, then Dollywagon Pike, where the two cairns made in unclear which was the top, so I decided to go to both to make sure, though the one before the peninsula looked the most likely.

Now for the next navigational route choice, down to the right or left of Grisedale Tarn? I chose to follow the fence posts down and go round the tarn to the right then on up to Fairfield. It was here where the Walshes failed in their job as I kept slipping on to my arse and sliding for a bit on the decent making what should have been a faster section a slow one! They failed on the way up Fairfield too so I took it slow and refuelled on my way up the heavily eroded slopes. Another top covered in cairns so went to three possible but Google earth says I missed the real one! On the decent once again slow due to lack of grip my Garmin ran out of battery so had to use my mobile to record splits etc

For the final accent of Seat Sandal, I took a route to the right of the path as the path looked like a surface my old walshes would struggle on. As it flattened out I followed the wall to the summit and descended Ok until the steeper section where once again the walshes gripped badly meaning a slow decent. Not too bad a time for a first reccy in the end so fairly pleased with the run and just enough time left to run to the King’s Head to catch the inordinately expensive bus the last few miles back to Keswick, I think I’ll drop my bike of next time and cycle the last bit back what a rip[p off!

Splits:

Clough Head – 0:44:44

Great Dodd – 1:13:15

Watson’s Dodd – 1:20:36

Stybarrow Dodd – 1:28:47

Raise – 1:44:23

White Side – 1:50:20

Helvellyn Lower Man – 2:01:26

Helvellyn – 2:07:48

Nethermost Pike – 2:13:56

Dollywagon Pike – 2:31:14

Fairfield – 3:02:28

Seat Sandal – 3:21:38

Dunmail Raise – 3:39:37