Training Log Archive: IanW

Saunders Day 2 - rtd after control 3; the downhills got the better of Stu's quads.

Well outside the chasing start so got to experience the Saunders train. Queue up to and through the start, a few courses split right but most headed straight up the stream. The slopes eventually shallowed here and trods/elephant tracks meant good progress was made - directly via controls on Harter and Carrock, as it turned out. The early hill fog was lifting all of the time and although we were a little high to #1, with the map not quite representing the ground as I'd expected, the slight wobble into the flag wasn't significant.

Straight up and north over Lower Man towards 2, the cloud cleared enough to check that the slope was grassy enough to descend at the col. Stu's quads not liking the descents here. Managed a bit of a jog down the path to Helvellyn YH, missed 3 slightly as cut up a bit too late - wasn't too keen on the description here either (shoulder?).

Route choice to 4 was very similar to 2-3 the day before, went for the round option this time, the early descent on a bracken-y slope was the decider really. Made it to the path/road junction in Grisedale and decided that heading back along the roads was the sensible choice, with a steep descent off Deepdale Hause in the offing between 4 and 5.

Another good day out in the Lakes - in hindsight I underestimated the effect of the descents and dropping down a course or two would have been a more sensible option given this year's location...

Saunders Day 1 - Kirkfell

Warm day, even early morning, and probably ate breakfast too soon before starting. First hill ok but not great, then chose the uphill wall route 2-3, which in hindsight was worse than going round (+225m vs 2.5km on paths). Felt shattered climbing here, and initially on the zig-zags below Whiteside, but it clouded over and cooled off a bit and eventually started to perk up.

A bit too much contouring 3-4-5-6-7, all the same way on the slope, and the thought of more of the same/the mapped scree made the up/down route to 8 more appealing. That, and Stu wasn't getting on well with the areas of the terrain where the sheep hadn't been doing their job. So up the path towards Lower Man, skirted the top (though might still have been faster to go over) and straight down at the col between Nethermost and Dollywagon. Sounded like most ignored the planner's route on that leg...

Found a few holes on the downhill to the boulders by Grisedale Tarn but fortunately the grass is soft. Another path route then contour (the other way) to a dry stream to flukily spike 10, and then slowly down the steep slope north of Seat Sandal to the Day 1 Finish.

Usual home from Derby route. Feeling ok ahead of the weekend.

Burton river/canal loop anti-clockwise. HR a bit high for pace, bit breezy in places but not as bad as I'd thought. Good to get the legs turning over again.