Building up to the SBU35

Some Background

In 2012 a group from the St Bees Trier’s running club embarked on a relay run following the route of the St Bega’s trail. They set off from St Bega’s church (usually the finish) which sits on the edge of Bassentwaite Lake near Keswick. The went onward from the church heading  towards St Bees along the edge of Derwentwater, up over the notoriously steep Honister pass onwards to open fell then down into Ennerdale valley. From there they continued on to Ennerdale Bridge, over the top of Dent; the last hill, before heading down towards Cleator with St Bees Head visible ahead signalling the finish just six miles further on. The relay was completed after a few days of atrocious weather including torrential rain which had made normally gently flowing streams raging torrents requiring much care to wade through. Even in these adverse conditions all those that took part loved the experience so the seed of an idea began to germinate in one of the runner’s minds...

St Bees Relay 2012: Bit Boggy and wet on the last bit

 

Once the idea had been given the first spark of life it grew and grew until the event was an inevitability and the brain child of Jon was conceived: An Ultra distance event following as closely as possible the St Bega's Trail route.

 

Spring 2013

Jon Raymond of UKanTrail envisaged the event and as soon as I heard about it I knew it was a must do one, one to aim for and focus on, one to help in the preparation of as much as possible; there was simply no question, no option it was a must.

 

While Jon, family and others beavered away behind the scenes on details of route, setting up the website and Facebook page, twitter account and getting sponsors interested along with all the legal requirements and health and safety issues associated with such an undertaking, I started to up my training and look at up coming events. My base endurance was already reasonably strong having trained for the Workington to Keswick Walk a 30 mile “walk” that includes Honister pass at around 20 miles. The day the Workington to Keswick walk (W2K) was meant to happen arrived but the resulting snow drifts from the previous few days heavy snow lead to the postponement of the W2K.

Snow on road postpones W2K Charity Walk

 

Rather than waste all the training; Jon, Dave Barker (also from St Bees Triers) and I decided to run some of the SBU route aiming to cover a similar distance to that of the W2K. We ended up covering over 30 miles in under 6 hours which was further than Dave had ever run before by over 8 miles yet still he wanted to go further once we arrived at St Bee's Beach. It was clear then that he had the Ultra bug with the associated bloody mindedness and mental toughness to keep going beyond that normally perceived as the limit.

 

Top of Ennerdale Valley near Black Sail YHA

 

Dave, Jon and I on St Bees beach after the run

The next few weeks and months included many runs and races, averaging over 70 miles a week with many feet climbed and descended. The main aim of all this was to build up endurance, stamina and mental toughness ready for the long one: the SBU35. This included from the start of April to the end of July 18 races: fell, road and trail races from less than 3 miles to 50 miles. The races were used as tempo training, tune up races or just for fun. To mention them all in detail would become a long  laborious and repetitive list so some of the key ones are listed below (links are to the Garmin connect Data):

 

14th April - Workington to Keswick Charity Walk (W2K): my fourth running of the event. The original plan was to run this as fast as possible but the weather said no! Instead I decided to run it at about the same effort as I planned to do the SBU35 and practise fuelling strategies. The strong, well at times gale force winds (65mph was measured) made for a tough run but a good result as I once again finished as first man having had my fitness and endurance as well as refuelling strategies well tested.



W2K - ascent of Honister

 

19th May - Scafell Pike Trail Marathon: This one I entered quite late on as I wanted to challenge myself on a tough trail race. This meant I had no time to reccy the route which cost me on race day. By the first Checkpoint I was well up the field and in 7th place having paired up with Kristof Nowicki from about three miles in (he was 6th at this point). It all went wrong from there as we got disorientated in the fog and made the school boy error of not checking the compass, the result? Running nearly 1/2 mile the wrong way and having to back track. On regaining the line what did we go and do? Yes you got it, we got disoriented once again and ended up too low in the fog and had to climb up a steep gully to get back on track. At this point I decided it was better to go slow and run with someone who new the route while in the clag and pick the effort up again once the visibility improved. I had dropped to 22nd by the top of Scafell Pike but once the we dropped out of the clag and the trail became visible again I picked up the effort and so pace, passing a few on the descent and many more on the final leg. In the end I was 10th overall but 3rd fastest over the last 12 miles. Lesson learnt - next year reccy the route!
 
5th June - Blencathra Fell Race: A blast out on one of the CFR (Cumberland Fell Runners) championship races. I was going really well until the old runners trots decided to say hello, but still a really good result, even if Steve Birkinshaw passed me in the last half mile as I could not descend for aforementioned reasons!
 
 

Steve pulling away on the final descent at Blencathra Fell race

9th June - Mabie Forest Trail Race: Susie and I decided to do this race as we were at Eden Festival on the same weekend and fancied a run out on the Sunday morning while most other people were still fast asleep. Absolutely shocked myself by finishing first so some speed was coming...

Juggling at Eden Festival


12th June - Gosforth 10: Bloody hell a new PB at 10 miles finishing in 59:17, finishing 3rd over all and first V40... Things were looking good!


Start of Gosforth 10

26th June - Bodyfit Paddle School 5K: Another PB and finishing in 17:19 beating my previous PB by nearly 30 seconds, who said you loose pace when Ultra Distance training?
 

First V40 and first Junior (SBU promoting!)

30th June - Lancaster Marathon: Last minute entry as I wanted to get a good for age time to be able to enter London Marathon in 2014 since Susie had an entry and I really wanted to be able to run it with her, well be there with her to be more accurate. Little did I know how hilly the route was with well over 1,500 feet of ascent. At the half way point I felt that my pacing was good as inside 1:30 for the first half but then ahead there loomed a hill, not too bad just one hill, oh there was another and another and my margins for success were diminishing. My confidence started to come back as my pace increased but then at around 23 miles another hill appeared in the distance and the GFA time was beginning to slip from my grasp. By the last mile or so I had to dig deep and really increase the effort practically sprinting across the line to finish with 13 seconds to spare in 3:04:47 in 5th place overall. This was not  meant to be a full on effort just a hard training run so I would still have enough energy for the marathon the following week but at least I had the time needed for a GFA London entry.

7th July - Lakeland Trails Marathon, Coniston: Really wanted to do well in this race but was not feeling great and it was a hot hot hot day! By about 10 miles in I was feeling the previous weekends marathon in my legs and was less than confident that I'd make a top five place which I really wanted so as to get a free entry for next year. Although I was slower than expected, others were suffering in the heat so I managed to pull into 4th place in the last couple of miles and stay there until crossing the line. Once again SBU T-shirt worn at the presentation to promote the event!

Lakeland Trails Marathon - 4th place so nearly the podium!



Eight Weeks to go...

Now it was into the last eight weeks before the SBU35 and time to focus on the up coming Lakeland 50 and tune up for the SBU. In general the mileage started to drop but the intensity on the runs was maintained. There was only one more race before the Lakeland 50, one last tune up then before the final big test.

23rd July - Fellside Fell Race: This was another counter for the CFR championship so a must do race. The aim was to take it steady at first and kick it in for the last couple of miles and this I did. Four of us ran together for the majority of the race as we were in cloud. Lessons learnt from the Scafell Marathon meant the compass came out early and we ran on bearings when no obvious path was visible. We were all together at the final checkpoint but as we dropped out of the cloud it was everyman for himself as we all took different lines down the fellside. Once again Steve Birkinshaw beat me but this time only by 3 seconds so I was getting closer and was 4th once again winning the V40 prize.

27th July - Lakeland 50: Having run this in 2012 as part of a corporate team (we had missed the main entry) and winning that category I, along with the other team members, had a free entry into the 2013 event. In 2012 Adam Lloyd had badly sprained his ankle at about the half way point but still managed to push on to the finish when most people would have pulled out. We both knew that we could go much much faster in 2013, Adam going for around 9 1/2 hours and me going for under 9 hours. The day was another hot one, so it looked like the target times may need adjusting but as long as we stuck to our plans and paced it well then anything was possible and all we could do was our best. We set off a bit quicker than the intended pace to avoid getting caught up in bottlenecks at the early gates and styles. Once we were on the wider path I eased back and Adam followed suit. Adam and I ran together to the first checkpoint as planned then as previously decided once I started to pull away on the first big climb Adam rather than force it (he had not been able to train well) stuck at a pace he felt he could maintain. The heat made for a hard days running but my pacing was working passing a few runners between the first and third checkpoints. I was glad of the race pack Dave Barker had lent me for the day and my new shoes (first time I had run in them) were doing a good job. The water bottle on the front became a cooling down tool being poured over my head when the heat became too much. Shortly after the third checkpoint I buddied up with another runner, Mark Russell, whom I caught on one of the climbs. 

Mark and I coming into the Ambleside Checkpoint

We ran together to the fourth checkpoint at Ambleside where I was surprised to see Marcus Scotney, later we were told that he had pulled out at the previous checkpoint so we were further up the field now... At the next checkpoint we were gobsmacked and incredulous when told only three other LL50 runners had passed through the checkpoint before us so the race was on. We were both starting to suffer now and although together decided to run at our own pace which meant we kept changing position as we went along, sometimes Mark pulling ahead, sometime me and occasionally running together. By the final checkpoint mild cramp was beginning to come but otherwise I still felt strong; just needed a bit more food and take the last climb steady while visualising the final descent into Coniston as I knew I would be able to pull away on that last bit.
 



Finishing the Lakeland 50

As I descended into Coniston I picked up the effort and speed to make sure Mark would not catch me in the end I pulled away by over two minutes over the last 1.5 miles which in hind sight makes me wonder how fast could I have gone? Finished in 4th in a time of 8:39:18 with Adam coming in 11th in a time of 9:17:50 so we both smashed our targets!

 

Five Weeks and Counting...

With the Lakeland 50 done and dusted it was time to recovery for a couple of weeks, then do one more tune up race before tapering for the SBU35. Would I actually do this, of course not this is me after all - give the advice but don't listen to my own, well rarely anyway...
 
7th August - Ellenbrough 10K: Equalled my PB of 35:52 finishing 4th and 1st V40
 
10th August - Edinburgh parkrun: New PB by 3 seconds 17:16!
 
Next up was the Col half marathon or that had been the original plan. Circumstances meant this was not to be so Susie and I both entered the Silloth Beach Half marathon instead...
 
18th August - Silloth Beach Half Marathon: I was looking forward to this event as it was different, an out and back along the beach at Silloth. The wind was strong on the day so fast times were not going to happen and looking around I could see none of the speedsters from the area... Derwent AC, my first claim club also had a team entered so we were hopefully there as well. There is a very good race report on the Tyne Bridge Harriers website so I will keep my race write up short! It was fairly clear early on that as long as I didn't injure myself the win was in the bag and at the turn I was well over half a mile ahead of the second placed runner Dave Young from Tyne Bridge Harriers. I ended up running just over marathon effort (based on WHR) as there was no need to kill myself on the run! The strong blustery wind had a massive affect on the times with my time out to the turn being 48:30 but it took less than 41 minutes to come back. I finished in 1:29:24 with Dave finishing just under ten minutes later in 1:39:20. The first lady was Helen Young from Wigton finished in 1:46:17 with Susie finishing in 2:06:43. Derwent won the relay prize with completing the full distance in 4 legs of 3 to 3.5 miles (approx) in 1:49:19. All in all an excellent day and an event well worth taking part in again, highly recommended!

Messing about at about 9 miles

 

The trophy winners

Now there was less than two weeks to go until the SBU but there were still a couple of races to do, one as a tune up and the other because it was once again a CFR championship counter. In both the Round Latrigg and Ennerdale Show Fell Races I got new PBs for the courses so felt ready to give the SBU a blast...

Had I prepared enough? Was I ready to do the SBU inside 5 1/2 hours as targeted? Were my hydration and refuelling strategies ready? Just one thing left to do: test my new race pack, to be continued...

 

Hadrian's Wall Run Part2

I left it with Phil and I running along the path towards Byker so to continue...

Wallsend to Heddon-on-the-wall

Phil was my pacer for this 15+ mile section. It was just before dawn when we set off but getting light, which had been the plan so as to avoid the need for head-torches! As you'd expect the first quarter of a mile or so was too fast but we slowed it down to a steady 8 minute mile pace which we managed to stick to on the flat, though slowing on the small climbs and speeding up on the descents. The morning temperature was cool and refreshing,  with Newcastle treating up to a double rainbow as we ran out of the centre passing two early morning fishermen. Apart from them all we met on this leg were dog walkers and a couple of commuters on bike and foot. Such a good time to run, I don't know why I don't do it more often, oh wait yes because it means getting up ridiculously early! The air was fresh, the slight drizzle welcome and the section eased through. The only climb of note is the 300 feet up to Heddon-on-the-Wall over the last mile and a half or so and the first place walking was the better option! At the top of the hill in Heddon we could see Tony's car but had another 3/4 of a mile or so to go as the path takes you around the town, we also tagged on about 100m so I could show Phil the first large bit of remaining wall. As we pulled up to the first pacer change over, I was feeling good. Jane was ready with the food and drink so I wolfed down my rice pudding, bagel and juice as the rest time allowed was 8 minutes.

Heddon-on-the-wall to Chesters Roman fort

Still feeling fairly fresh Tony and I set off, me with bagel in hand on the second section of leg1. This section was expected to be slower due to the step-stiles and gates etc. that add to the fun by breaking up any rhythm, well by making any rhythm impossible! The is a fair bit of monotonous steady climb too but Tony and I plodded along and quickly got into a routine where Tony would go ahead at the gates to open them and the stiles to warn if they didn't have grip. We passed the half way point about on time at a pace that felt maintainable and pasted though the first landmark distance of 26.3 miles in 3:57:50. By the time we dropped into Chollorford we were only about 1 minutes behind schedule clocking the fastest mile on the whole run a staggeringly quick 7:39! 

Chesters Roman fort to Birdoswald Roman fort

Adam was already waiting and stretching out - not because he was planning to run fast but because he was  carrying a groin injury! I was still feeling fairly good but knew the next leg was the one that would be the most telling. Seeing Tony and Phil off (Phil had driven Tony's car to this check point) Adam and I set off

Birdoswald to Rickerby Park

Set off with Chris and took about half a mile before my legs would work

Rickerby Park to Burgh-by-sands

By now I was physically pretty much spent

Burgh-by-sands to Bowness-on-Solway

By now it was grin and bear it, whether or not I would finish was not in doubt but if I could run more than walk deffinitely was. Steve cajoled me on to run to the next purple bush - "not that one the one up there!" and such encouragement. This was hugely appreciated 

Bowness-on-Solway

To quote myself from my fundraing page:

"On turning the final corner and the last few metres to the finish I was greeted by friends family and work colleagues cheering and clapping me in. The relief of finishing and the sense of pride in having such a good supporters would later bring me to tears but at the time I was just happy to still be standing."

What have i leant from this?

Firstly my body can take it - just, and secondly I need support to bully me into doing what I have planned, this I failed to stress as I didn't realise its importance. I should have rested longer to make sure I ate all the food and drank all the liquid I needed, carried more with me or at least got others to carry it and made sure I streached effectively at each rest break - too much time was spent sitting! 

Will I do something like this again?

You can count on it, and that it will be further, harder, longer and more ambitious! I have a few ideas rolling around my head for 2013 but for now the focus in on getting myself in shape for a fast BGR in May 2012

Over two years since my last post

It has been a long long time since my last post on here so where to start, what to include and where to go is tricky... Well I did the Hadrian's Wall run, then shortly after got stung by "something" just above the eye which led to a bout of chronic fatigue, low mood and generally poor running and mental health. This is almost certainly the main reason for the lack of posts here. The following year (2012) was a tough one, details available on request! Started back training properly around December 2012 and have recently achieved and surpassed many goals, a lot of this I can attribute to Susie's (not Sue) support of my running. Previously I have felt guilty about running so much but with Susie this is not an issue as she is herself a runner and one of capabilities much greater than she believes (yet) or admits. I am back running now enjoying it and with a less prescriptive training regime have started going faster, longer and stronger. Why? Probably because the enjoyment is back with enjoying running, being out and about feeling the wind, rain or sun on my face once again the most important thing of all. Yes it is good to get better times, finish a race in front of a Nemesis or just run further but without enjoyment (sometimes after rather than during) it becomes a chore and meaningless. Encouraging others and seeing them bloom and hopefully excel is the way forward. So I am running again, training again but most importantly I am loving it again!



Silloth Beach Half marathon and loving it :-)

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