Training Log Archive: Mark3

Didn't get much sleep; but then never do on MMs so not that bothered/surprised. The climb up to Cold Pike was pretty tough but I was feeling ok; Tim was really struggling though and I was worried it was only the start of a pretty hard day. So far my knee had been fine and I was cautiously optimistic and surprised. Nice bit of corner cutting and contouring around Crinkle Crags, then we decided it was too rocky to contour Bowfell or Esk Pike so we took the hit on both of those.

Bit of an error going up to Great End, it was windy to the max and cutting the corner was climbing over boulders for about 500m, with each one a risk of getting blown off the ridge. Anyone with local knowledge here would've stayed on the path and gained at least 5mins here.

Great End to Scafell Pike was very rocky and unpleasant, the path was pretty hard to spot and even when you were on it, it was no less rocky than anything else. Again, the wind made it very hard to keep your footing so this was really slow going. Tim was much better at this than me having a mountaineering background. We then had an enforced route up to Foxes Tarn and then Scafell, rather than Broad Stand or Lord's Rake. To be honest I don't think I'd have considered them anyway, especially in the wind. The Foxes Tarn route involves losing a lot of height though, and I did manage to take quite a bad fall in the rocks and land on my wrist. It felt like it was broken for about 10 minutes...and then I forgot about it and it was fine. Phew! It was very slow up to the tarn and required hands for climbing a bit. But there was no drop to either side, so it was fine. But very steep, and very steep again from the tarn to the top. We lost 10 minutes on this leg in total (Great End - Scafell), probably a combination of wind and falling over and being generally tired.

Good route choice leg from Scafell to Harter Fell, probably the best of the three days. I had planned to cut across the minimum non-path land possible in case it was really brackeny/heathery, but actually it was really easy running so we took the straightest line to the river that I could. It was on this descent that my knee started to hurt again, dammit! But it was fine when walking, so I resolved to just keep running to the foot of Harter and then it would be okay.

Harter is a bitch. It has about 10 false summit, and just keeps on going. After 27k including some of the highest peaks in the country, this was not what we needed. It was really tough, I found this the hardest point of the weekend. Managed not to stop but the pace was glacial. Once we finally got there though, didn't seriously consider cutting the corner to the finish and was content to stay on the path and go a bit further. This looked like a good decision as the forest looked pretty thick when we got to it and would've been tough off-path.

Bit gutted to learn we only managed 2nd today (high expectations after the first day) - we basically lost 10 mins up to Scafell, then pulled back 3 of them up to Harter and another 5 on the descent to the finish - leaving us 2 mins down. So we knew we had an 8 min (and 2s) lead going into the final day...

http://live.sportident.co.uk/home/multistage/stage...

First mountain marathon of the year. I was extremely excited for this and was just hoping that my knee would hold up.
Got even more excited when we got the map at registration and could see the course for all 3 days (it's pretty informal) and saw we were going up Scafell Pike - I've never done it before and wanted to for ages. But that would be day 2.

Most of the controls were summits (Wainwrights; it was the Wainwright course after all) and so were straightforward to find, especially with great vis. I think non-navigators still struggled a bit though, because often the paths on the map didn't really exist on the ground. But first two controls were pretty straightforward.

2-3 had a bit of route choice (Grey Friar to Lingmoor Fell) but we chose the way with the straightest line and the best AP, even though it had a mile or so of road running down the Wrynose Pass which was a bit grim in trail shoes and we were overtaken by a woman here (who we had caught up, and we later re-passed, so that was ok :) ). Then #4 to Silver How I took us on the "orienteers' route" ie - straight line down a very steep slope through a thick forest - since the path route was a pretty long way around. Implemented really well although it was a bit sketchy at times.

Then Silver How to Sergeant Man was up an ascending ridge with basically no path; we did awesomely on this leg. Again, made much easier with good vis. Then some nice contouring round to Pike of Stickle before Loft Crag. Looked at the vertiginous drop down the finish and decided to take the safe round down - looking at splits I don't think anyone beat us on this leg so it was a reasonable call - although it's closer than a lot of others so we might've lost some time. But we had pretty tired legs at this point and didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

It was great to get back 1st (of 1!) and then spend a fairly anxious hour waiting for any teams who'd started after us to finish. But we finished the day 10 mins up and were very happy. Especially Tim in his first MM and having never run that far before.

An awesome day, marred only by Extreme Food being definitely sub-par to Adventure Food.

Results: http://live.sportident.co.uk/home/multistage/stage...

Pump #42

Pump #41

Default thing to do during injury - cycle to Bath.

Strength training has definitely had an impact here! Furthest I have cycled, and other than arse pain from the seat, body feels fine.

Knee still hurts.

EDIT:
http://www.ngoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#97&cour...
4th/39, although waay behind Tom and Kit, would have been 5 mins down even with no mistakes!

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Far more navigationally and physically challenging than the JK...

Annoying miss on 4, was within a few metres but happened not to glance to my left and then went right...60s.could've been avoided by reading the features on the edge of the circle better.
Same issue on number 5, didn't see the crags on the edge of the circle, another 60s.
Very lucky on 8.
Climbed too steeply on 11, ended up at crossing point way too high but didn't realise until came out at the very top of the hill; then very steep to climb down!3 mins lost I reckon.should've seen that the better AP was from below and went for the lowest crossing point.
Tried to contour on 15 and was going pretty well but was slightly too high and then distracted by ground shapes even higher.should've seen these on the map rather than assuming the map didn't include them - 60s.

So lost at least 6 mins which is more than at the entire JK! Disappointing, but it was definitely tricky today.

My knee was ok most of the way around but hurting a lot at the finish. Going to have to skip Offa's Orror and decide what to do about GL3D :( :(

Pump #40

15mins vario, 5mins crossover.
My knee is starting to feel pretty normal so will probably have a go at the NGOC on Saturday; I think Cribyn might be a bit much unfortunately if I want to attempt Offa's Orror on Sunday(which I do, because the cake is epic).

Pretty proud of this run from Day 3,
http://www.jk.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#69&course...

Pump #39

4th on M120+
http://www.sportident.co.uk/results/2017/JK2017/Da...

Doing well until #4; then annoying error. Good that I had the confidence to veer away from the pack, but bad that I hadn't been keeping close enough contact and didn't really know where to veer to. Relocated quite fast but was 150m away from the control by that point (2mins).

(30s) on 17 but I thought the contour mapping here was pretty poor; the ground looked nothing like what I was expecting. This was weird because I usually like Dave Peel's contour mapping. Another (30s) on 19 caused by following the line back to 15 and so overshooting a bit before realising.

Otherwise good, but the mistakes early on meant the pack of JK Trophy teams disappeared and I was on my own for most of it. Very impressive runs from Richard Cottle and Matthew Owen for the 4th place overall; luckily we were more than 3 mins down so I don't feel too guilty...

Nice area though, and a good JK in general; especially navigationally for me. Shame about the injury; not slowing me down but still minorly painful every step.

5th/29
http://www.sportident.co.uk/results/2017/JK2017/Da...
Less than a minute behind 3rd as well...

Other than the knee pain, to which I added hip pain about half way around, this went really well. I thought the mapping of the forest was pretty poor, especially on the first map (St Leonard's). Tried to cut corners several times mapped as open white forest and the level of brashings meant it was just ridiculous; would've been much faster to run 1.5x as far round the edge. Nav was good though; stayed with safe choices and implemented them well.
I don't think my route choice for the long leg was very good, will be interesting to see RG. Amplified by not cutting the corners and regretting it when the white in Holmbush was significantly nicer; annoying for it not to be mapped consistently with the other side of the road.
Basically no time at all lost in mistakes; I don't think I've ever typed that before! Maybe winsplits will reveal some I've repressed?

Looking forward to the relay and then at least a week, possibly two, of knee and hip strengthening exercises...

EDIT:
http://www.jk.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#69&course...

Pretty good run. Lost about 2 mins in total; two 30s mistakes and a 60s.

30s on #9; was looking on the edge of the broken ground but didn't take the veg change into account.should've seen the massive size of the depression on the descriptions, but didn't look at that column.

30s on #19, no idea what happened here but looks like I crossed a path without realising and then got confused and had to relocate.

60s on #20, took a safe route and had a perfect line, then saw a control to my left, assumed it was mine and started planning the next few legs - then realised it was on the wrong feature. Lesson here is to have a bit more confidence and not to run toward the nearest flag!

Beat Jack today, so will be interesting to look at splits.about 13 mins down on the leaders.

Unfortunately have to accept that my knee injury is a proper thing. Have transferred to M21S for tomorrow :(
The internet suggests patella tendonitis is most likely and recommends one leg squats on a decline, so will try that.

More-or-less perfect run in a big competition, very happy!

Tried to take the route with the easiest AP, slowed down on any of the technical bits to make sure I was doing the right thing, checked I was going to the right side of everything...really really good. Wouldn't have done anything differently.

29th/81 on M21E, 3:38 down on Kris. I will take that.
http://www.sportident.co.uk/results/2017/JK2017/Da...

Some bicep and tricep action

15 mins vario, 10 mins crossover. All I could psychologically cope with. Knee feeling a bit better which is good news, another day off tomorrow and should be all good for the JK. Probably.

Pump #38

Resting my knee. It doesn't feel any worse; but it doesn't feel any better either :(

8th/101
http://tvoc.org.uk/application/documents/events/20...

Dropped down to the blue since my knee felt pretty sore warming up. Actually running, felt quite bad at first but then gradually eased off and could barely feel it by the end - hurt afterwards though.

Can't blame it for the pretty poor result. Could definitely feel all the climb yesterday in the glutes, which slowed me a bit, but made some pretty poor navigational decisions.

Lost 90s on #1 due to taking a poor bearing. Could see loads of people to my left, including my 1 minute M16 who I caught after about 300m, but assumed they were all wrong. They were not. Hit a veg boundary and struggled to relocate because I couldn't believe quite how far I'd drifted. Split position: 72nd. Split position on #2 - 2nd.

30s on 5 trying to go North and and only managing NW for no reason I can understand. Must check compass isn't broken.

Lost about a minute on 7, happy with the route I took but retrospectively the AP of the reentrant was too far away from the control and the rootstocks/clearings were too numerous/indistinct to follow in to the control. Would've been better off picking up the earthbank. Need to spend a little bit longer on AP selection.

Lost another minute on 8 assuming would be able to see the massive reentrant on the way and didn't, and then stood next to the control for a while before Alice helpfully showed me where it was by punching it.

My split to 10 isn't too bad considering I totally misread and contours and climbed an unnecessary nettle-slope while John Simmons just ran along the path and I had to sheepishly lose all the height again.

The rest was pretty good. I am basically running fast enough through the terrain, and up the hills, which is good, but making too many little mistakes. 4 mins faster today would put my on the same time as Roger Thetford, which is probably about where I should be. Tim Morgan destroyed everyone by 7 minutes, which was as expected.

Really nice course, out and back with a loop at the end, slightly downhill out and slightly uphill back but nothing major.some bits of grass and wood chipping but only a few hundred metres.
Pleasant surroundings with a nice river, woods and lake.definitely one of the better ones.
Managed 2nd. Felt pretty good for 2k or so and then it got hard.

Quite enjoyed this. Amazing weather, great visibility and views. Ran most of the way up other than through the woods, took it reasonably steady on the road at the start and behind Mark and Ifor for a bit. Behind Richard until nearly the end of the long flat bit just before the final climb to the summit.

Passed by two girls on the technical descent which was a bit depressing; need to work on this.then couldn't catch them on the non-technical bit.eventually caught Helen just before the field at the end; phew!

These shoes were perfect for this race; sufficient cushioning to ensure the road bit wasn't horrible.

Knee starting to get pretty painful on the downhill.after the orienteering tomorrow I think I'll have a week off everything next week to ensure it's ok for the JK.

Pump #37
My boss told me that this class was effective cardio, but wore a HR monitor today and only burnt 279 calories.my HR reached the heady heights of 111.
Good for strength; good for little else.

It was meant to be trying a new gym class today, but my knee is still sore so elected to miss it.

Pacing Jason and Chris to a 5min/k training run. They don't appear to be training for anything in particular.
Good chance to test the new Garmin; nice to have HR and barometric altitude back in a watch that's not heavy/bulky. Hurray!

My knee hurts though, in a way it hasn't before - basically the whole kneecap. Currently icing it to see what happens. Thursday and Friday with no running I think.

Pump #36

Further than I wanted to go but Daryl's injury seemed to be improving...

Left hip aches a bit, otherwise fine.

EDIT: 15th/222

http://www.sidmouthrunningclub.co.uk/wp-content/up...

This was really hard:
https://www.strava.com/activities/925470923

Turns out the coast path is pretty hilly. There was some tarmac and stony paths but mostly grass/mud paths.

15th place, pretty pleased with this. The winner was 2:53 which is pretty impressive; 2nd was 3:00 and third was 3:07, and then everyone else. Just managed to beat the first lady...by 20secs. From Mercia Fell Runners. She was destroying me on the hills, but luckily there was a downhill and then 750m of promenade to finish!

These shoes are seriously bad; there was a few places where I had to walk rather than run since the grip couldn't cope with running. Also I fell over once which wouldn't have happened with any other shoe. Must make a mental note to never wear them again for anything that might be even a little bit muddy.

My left hip was aching quite a lot by the end, but other than that, no injury niggles. Maybe the strength regime is working? Will see how it is tomorrow.

Took the Salomon race vest for its first race. Pretty unnecessary on a day like today, but probably 80% of people were carrying bags and I thought it would be good practice. Had 4 gels at about 1hour, 1hour30, 2hours15 and 2hours45. Then a shot blok at 3hours10 ish because I'd carried them round. This was an adequate amount of nutrition. I had a backup SIS energy bar just in case. I had one gulp of water at each of the three waterstops and didn't feel dehydrated (although I was starting to get pins and needles in my hands/arms by near the end; I seem to remember this happened on the road marathon as well. I didn't lose hearing in one ear this time, though).

The only other things in my bag were a credit card and a coat...just in case. Probably wouldn't take a bag for this race in future unless the weather were worse - it was cloudlessly sunny today and at least 15degrees. I wore a Helly on the basis that it would be windy because we were on the coast. It wasn't.

2 laps, mostly gravel/dryish mud/woodchip stuff.
Lovely day for running.
The standard of children here is incredibly high.

Paced very well and quickest 5k I've done for a while despite the underfoot conditions.