Training Log Archive: OJ

Did almost nothing today. I wish I lived in a bungalow.

Three Peaks Race. Another classic route which I have long wanted to have a crack at, especially as I have never made it up either Pen-y-Ghent or Inglebrough before. Also my longest ever race. I was very up for it but had no idea how it would go after a less than ideal three week lead in in Moscow. But I decided to start assertively and see what happened.

The first kms were surprisingly sedate, particularly in comparison with Edale, so I sat near the front, running easy along with JD. The Pen-y-Ghent summit came quite quickly and without any excessive effort and I ended up in 2nd here, which was a good job as the pace ramped up considerably on the fast descent. I decided to go with the flow and tried to hang onto the back of the lead group, but I had to let them go after a couple of kms and ended up running the interminably long, undulating and dull stretch to Ribblesdale on my own. I felt pretty bad all the way, not helped by the significant headwind, and I was telling myself that if I could just make it to the face of Whernside then I would get some respite on the steep climb.

Took a good drink at Ribblesdale, where I came though in 4th, and then sat back a bit while a small pack reeled me in - Rob Jebb, Ben Abdelnoor, Graham Pearce and Ricky Lightfoot. My plan was to tuck in and get some help from them, but I struggled to stay with them and they took a bit out of me on the first half of the ascent. As I had been hoping, the reduced intensity of the steep climb allowed me to gather myself a bit and I got a second wind about half way up and managed to start making inroads into the group again. Passed Rob on the way down, as he seemed to be having some cramping issues, and tried to gain on Graham who remained about 50m in front.

Another drink at the foot of the hill and I steeled myself for the last big climb up Inglebrough, which looked impossibly big. There was a sizable gap behind me by now, so I just hunkered down and tried to keep up a steady and solid pace. It was good to see Jenny on the steepest part of the climb for a pep talk and a bit more drink. I suspect that she could easily have outpaced me from here to the summit. I was still about the same distance behind Graham, but more concerningly, Pete Vale was now gaining from behind.

Made the summit and decided that I had broken the race. Downhill all the way to the finish and looking good for a decent placing. I set of with renewed enthusiasm and ran the first couple of kms fast and well. But I had seriously underestimated the distance remaining. I came over a crest and saw an endless flat desert of limestone pavement stretching slightly uphill into infinity. The path may well have been shimmering in a heat haze with tumbleweeds blowing around. This was a massive psychological blow as I was running seriously low on gas. I made it into the first rocky section and promptly stacked it. No harm done, but it shook me up and I struggled to get back into a rhythm. This part of the race went on for ever, and the distant Sulber Nick stubbornly refused to get any closer. By the time I crested the next horizon and caught a glimpse of the still distant finish, I felt like I was getting nowhere fast and was hemorrhaging time. In fact, I probably only lost a couple of minutes, not quite enough for Pete to catch me, but enough to ensure that I was a right state by the time I stumbled up the run-in.

So I finished 7th. This was a tough race on a dry route, but a combination of heat and strong winds all the way made things harder than they could have been. I'm not happy with my run, and felt like I never found the strong, comfortable rhythm that I managed in Edale. That's not surprising after the last few weeks, and too much tiring tourism, walking and traveling in the past few days. Today I mainly just felt weary. So I'm happy with my performance and result under the circumstances. You can't always do everything well, and there's no way I would have missed any of it out. In any case, I definitely want another crack at this race to try to break 3hrs.

C • Nice One! 10

Cursory and no warm down - too broken.

Up to the cricket ground at Thornton to loosen off the legs. Felt quite light and bouncy.

Early mornig jog to Victory Park across the Kiev-Moscow main railway lines and past a few wild dogs - Jenny was not impressed. Lovely morning again, followed by a sweaty and slightly stressful journey to the airport.

No training - too busy all day. Spent a lot of time walking and probably covered a good few kms. Round VDNKh, the Park of Economic Achievements, then around the city centre and finished off at the Bolshoi for an evening of ballet. All very cultured.

Evening run after another day of hardcore walking, I thought there was no way that my legs were going to be able to cope with it, but it probably helped in the end. Out through the Sparrow Hills to the viewpoint near MGU, then over the river to Luzhniki and explored the Olympic park a bit.

Lots of walking - probably covered 14km or so. Novodevichii monastery and graveyard, then Red Square, then out to Tsaritsino for an evening stroll with some firends. Made it home at about half midnight, shattered!