Training Log Archive: Frostbite

Seven Arches, in about 4 inches of snow. A bit better I suppose. Carrying about half a stone of excess water. Very cold but I wrapped up warm including a cag, and I wore my dobs.

Still not right. Spent half of yesterday in bed feeling sorry for myself. Better today but not running well. I put a lot of effort in for not much speed and struggled up every hill even though this run only has the gentlest hills.

Headed for the Dales with Evie. Grassington, Grass Wood, Conistone Dib, Dales Way like we did on Boxing Day. Evie suffered a bit of an energy dip after we left Grass Wood and struggled for five or ten minutes, then picked up again. We just plodded steadily back and were a handful of seconds quicker than last time.

Still feeling bloated and struggling a bit.

Spen Lane and Adel. Started off slowly and not feeling too good - a combination of having to breathe very cold air and feeling bloated. I wasn't too bad up to the top of Spen Lane but got slower and slower on the way back, worrying about the contents of my belly exploding one way or the other. Not good.

Aire lamppost score from the Hyde Park. Started steadily, and it's not very good for your flow when you have to stop and write down lamppost numbers. I got into it once I left the crowds behind and headed into Woodhouse - I think I was doing this bit in the opposite direction to everybody else so I didn't see any other runners for about 15 minutes. Then Meanwood Road and finally the ridge but things started to go wrong here. I had only charged my light for 20 minutes and when I turned it to full power to go into the woods it objected and I had to turn it down to low again. Cleverly I had left the woods until the end. It was a bit tricky. The worst thing was standing right in front of my last control in the woods and somehow not being able to see it (it was against a graffiti covered concrete wall so that wasn't helping). I only saw it when I climbed past it and looked back. That cost me at least 10 seconds, and then I sprinted for home and finished 10 seconds late. Bah.

Anyway, got a nice map that nearly reaches my house, which was the only reason I went really.

To and from Hyde Park

Parkside and Weetwood.

Sourby, Dearncombe Beck, Round Hill. Steady.

C • Don't be 'sorry' 3

Plantage, Niewe Diep, Flevopark. Early morning jog with Tasha.

Spen Lane and Adel, quite fast but always quite comfortable. It was a bit icy up at altitude, so I was holding back a bit in the middle section.

A few easy days coming up.

Cumbrian Galoppen, Black Beck and Dockney Parrock. It was very physical, with plenty of climb, bogs, fallen trees, very wet and slippery underfoot. A few small mistakes, and after I went waist deep in a marsh between 7 and 8 I could not longer read the detail on the map - the colours all become dulled. It looks fine again now it has dried out. Also struggled to identify crossing points on the map, the overprint seemed a bit unhelpful in places.

#2 description said spur top, so I stood on top of the spur but couldn't see a control. Looked at my map for a few seconds, walked forward a few paces and there it was, hidden below a little drop in the spur. 15 seconds.

#7 unable to identify the difference between wall and path, followed the wall for a bit before veering back towards the path. 15 seconds.

#8 tried to go too straight across the marsh. Got wet.

#9 tried to cut the corner too much and then had to go round the marsh which was actually a pond. 20 seconds.

#10 not sure about my route, I was tempted by a bit of road running.

#11 paths were very vague here and there were more on the ground than on the map. I took a detour before the wall crossing but got back on line without (much) time lost

#13 came round too low down the slope, had to climb up to it from the south, 15 seconds

#14 I was dead on line, I could see where the crag was but got distracted by the control on the boulder which looked like it might be a crag from where I was. Checked the code then turned round and went straight back to the crag. 30 seconds.

#16 I was aiming for somewhere higher up the slope before working it out and ended up coming downhill into the re-entrant. 20 seconds.

#23 and #26, slow going uphill. Winsplits claims I made mistakes here, but I was just slow.

I caught Niamh Hunter at #7, then she ran away from me and took a completely different route to #10, but I caught her again at #11 and got 20 seconds or so when she lost more time than me at #14. After the drag through the fields to #15 she was back in front again, then she left #15 in the wrong direction and I never saw her again. Looking at splitsbrowser I guess she might have been able to see me in a few places but not close enough to catch me, and at the finish I had 2 minutes on her.

Didn't see anybody else.

19 minutes down on Matt Elkington. 2nd old man behind Stevie B who did 78.

Not intending to try very hard and my quads were feeling a bit domsy and it was very muddy. So slow. And then about 2/3 of the way round I gave up putting any effort in at all. So even slower.

4 x 1k, Hospital loop.

Not exactly speedy.

4:17, 4:26, 4:27, 4:23.

Struggling.

Potternewton, Chapel Allerton. With Evie, but she wasn't feeling great so we went slow and missed out the Gledhow Park loop. By the end I wasn't feeling up to much either.

Parkside and Weetwood. Cold.

Weetwood and Lawnswood. Intentionally slow, but also feeling a bit out of it and not liking the cold.

Wolds run, Greenwick Dale, Horse Dale, Fridaythorpe, Brubber Dale, Wayrham Dale. Started off in snow but feeling quite sprightly. The snow soon turned into drizzle. I slowed a bit after Fridaythorpe but not too much. Very wet in places, especially Wayrham Dale that was all churned up by big vehicles.

6 x Dunny Hill. With evie this week.

2:01, 2:02, 1:58, 2:12, 2:04, 2:05

Evie's pace pushed me along for the first two. On the third one I thought I had got away from her and pushed a bit too hard to the top, and paid for it on the 4th. Last two were good though.

Evie only did 4 but in a much more consistent manner, all between 2:01 and 2:03.