Training Log Archive: Mark3

Going to rest for a few days, loads of places ache unusually at the moment, particularly my hips, and it feels like I'm right on the edge of getting an injury. Maybe for the first time ever, I'll try and be sensible so that doesn't happen.

Until Saturday.

C • Wise move. 3

51st/167
https://www.sportident.co.uk/results/MerciaFR/2021...
Could've been 6 places higher without making a silly mistake from the last CP to the finish... Annoying. Standard really high as usual for a champs race. Would've been 5th woman... Maybe I should transition.

Bad choice at the start. Good route choices (big OOB area between start and #1 means big decision literally on the start line - makes for good Strava labs viewing) on the course but disadvantage of the way I chose was that 1-2 goes that way so you have loads of fast people running towards you. Failed to factor that in. Also recognised some of the people running towards me as people I should've been ahead of - reckon it's less the a minute difference but still; bad call.

Next CP had two steep dusty descents, first was ok but struggled with the second, suspect contouring around a bit more might have been nicer. Good contouring along a trod in between that I didn't realise sounds be there, so that saved some accent.

Other than the surprisingly steep descent from 6-7 that might have been faster just to go around the track, rest of the race fairly standard. Some nice views etc, and good running, and steep climbs, and some more runnable ones; bit of everything really. Then the mistake; coming back from Pole Bank to Pole Cottage, turned left before the reentrant rather than afterwards (not navigating precisely enough; probably just tired) and so failed to cut the corner properly and had to cut a load of head high bracken and bog in order to regain the path; maybe 2 mins or something. Really annoying so close to the end. Otherwise though, that route down was a good one. Tim K told me a Barrister's Plain cut before the start which I implemented and saved a bit of ascent.

Good route around some lesser visited terrain. My body felt a bit of a wreck though, stuff hurting that shouldn't hurt after these distances. Need a really easy week before Saturday I think.

Results:
https://www.fellrunner.org.uk/results.php?id=6448
24th/162.

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15 seconds faster than 2018. 15 seconds! But 10 mins faster than 2019.

Had been looking forward to this as it's one of my favourites. The forecast could be summarised as "very probably dry" and so it was a bit of surprise when it was raining for the last hour of the journey, on the walk to the registration field and for the first half an hour of the race. So damn that I did consider starting with a coat on - but 99% of the field took theirs off a few mins before the start, so I went with the crowd. This was a good call - despite being damp, it was really really warm. Definitely the warmest September race I've ever done.

Note to self - at the start, don't need to go on the higher section just before the bridge which is slippery and has awkward trees, because there are steps up just before the bridge itself. I forget this every year.

Started straight into the clag. We took a higher line than previous years and so ended up on the rocky tourist path sooner - I imagine this is because whoever was at the front wanted to play it a bit safe and not risk ending up too low, given the conditions. Given the rain, rocks were really slippery and it was slow going.

Someone very near the top talked to me for a bit, and so I trusted him. I need to work on this mentality - I followed him off Wetherlam NW (didn't check my compass, I assumed we were going the SW that I wanted to go) and then he got to what looked like the edge and stopped - this gave me pause for thought and so I did glance down and realised we were way off line - I was gracious enough to tell him about it before correcting and getting back to something more reasonable; Stava makes it seems like only about a 90s loss but it felt like more! Also I was annoyed with myself.

Swirl How ascent goes on for ever and has plenty of false summits (in the clag it does, anyway). I've just checked and it is nearly 200m ascent, which I had no idea. At one point there was a guy riding a bike down (!!) and the squeak of his brakes I thought was someone at the top blowing an airhorn to guide us to the checkpoint. It wasn't. And that wasn't the top. Turns out the first ascent from the col, you can contour around - you have to climb eventually so you just gain grassyness rather than anything else. Looked like a good option for next time.

Used the map/compass to pick a nice line around Great Carrs, just to the left of the scree worked fine. This was much harder to get right in the clag than it was last year, though! I couldn't see anyone ahead of me; there were some vague shapes to the right but I decided (correctly) they were too high. Actually I could have gone very slightly lower, especially near the end, but it was pretty good. Loads followed me anyway. Then Allen caught me up, who I hadn't seen since the start, and he told me he hadn't expected to see me again. Which I don't think he would if it hadn't have been for the Wetherlam error.

Tiptoed along the rocky ridge losing places left right and centre as I kept leaving the racing line to find grassier options which all turned out to be slower; lesson - don't do this. Fine down to Three Shires Stone though and repassed Allen just after the pass (post Clif bar. I think this race is probably possible just on bloks so might try that next year - happy with 500ml although I did drink all of it this time).

Up Blisco I didn't cut the initial corner since no-one around me was; just stayed on the path until the stream, then up the stream. I've definitely done this at least one year but I can't remember which. I don't think it makes too much difference.

Led a group down Blisco after taking the correct (ie, farmost) way down from the top. Managed to remember the way to the fence crossing OK. Climbed Lingmoor strongly but a bit confused by the new fence just before the carin at the top (which didn't look new but I've definitely not crossed a stile to the CP before). After crossing the stile back again (the lap of the cairn and the stile has to add a minute!) made things hard for myself by going across the heather - would have been faster to stay on the trod from the top along the fence and then just take the first trod to the right.

I went past the old buildings which I think it what I've always done. It looks like it's possible to stay on the wall until the corner, then continue on for a bit and end up on a parallel trod to the main one but a bit higher, though what looks on satellite like some other building and a quarryish thing, and then this trod joins the main one after the buildings and avoids the very slight down and up again. There might be 30 seconds there so I'll have to try it :)

Standard way all the way down although a bit tentative since it wasn't flagged anywhere near as high this year! Basically get along the spur as far as possible and then turn right when it starts dropping off.

Think I was in the top 30ish, which I think was a good result. I don't think the few minutes I lost would have meant anything other than one position. The fact that I was only 15s up on 2018 shows again how randomly good that 2018 performance was! Conditions then were similarly claggy but this was much much warmer.

Really looking forward to this again next year now because I know I can beat this time! Still one of my favourites despite it not really being long enough for me to do well.

Went for a walk. Well, planning on going for a walk after dinner anyway.

Put some effort in and finally got the uphill to Nancy segment. Feeling a bit sniffly and hip still sore, but at least well rested now after getting loads of sleep last night.

Easy loop, got a bit tempo-y in the middle.

Was supposed to be at a race tonight. Hip is still sore from the Segway incident but it's more about the lack of motivation and the hour drive there and back tbh. Bit despondent for no reason; probably getting a cold or something. Or a Covid.

Easy loop with Em. Hip still a bit sore.