Training Log Archive: Mark3

https://www.dee.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#300&cou...

1st/7. Not bad considering. Legs actually felt ok on the flat bits, but very much unhappy on the climb. Made a couple of mistakes due to lack of sufficient detail in preplanning and not planning early enough (ie leaving it right until the end of the current leg).
Also once thought 'I've done that road combination on a previous leg; I'll just do that again' and then repeating too much of it rather than only the correct bit: concentration.
Feeling a bit nauseated throughout but I think I'm just dehydrated from yesterday. And still ill. Also have a minor eye infection since a fly got trapped under my lower eyelid 6 hours in yesterday, and I didn't have a mirror available to retrieve it for another 6 hours.

This sort of accidently became my goal race for the year - I never like having one but because I've done it before, I knew I could do it better, and it's really long, it kind of became the target. Unlucky to have a cold on that particular day but I don't think it made any difference.

Only a short queue to register the night before; nothing like the Lakeland 50. No kit check either which was a bit of a surprise (since I'd carried everything 15 mins from the car).

5.45am bus to the start with Jake. Saw Damian Hall on the start line but elected to let him get away from us, deciding we could catch him up later. Tried to start conservatively but it was tough with everyone around us. Ran (a lot of the way) up High Pike, not the steeper bits, with Jake, chatting to people around us. Cut the corner from the summit to gain 30s on him but he was right back soon. Glad I'd done the gpx as the trod up Coomb Height wasn't really there; saw a few people heading off into the clag up Knott. I think there's scope for a totally different route from High Pike to Blencathra but that's a whole nother recce.

From Coombe Height down, staying on the path down to the river was faster than cutting the corner - there's bracken and stuff right near the bottom which the path avoids, despite being a bit further. Due to the river depth being okay this year, they didn't install a rope. It was only knee-ish deep and not flowing that quickly. Other than the clag, it was shorts and tshirts weather.

Trod all the way up Blencathra and then the BG line at the top to miss Atkinson Pike. Still with Jake at the top of Blencathra. Stayed on the E side on the top part of the descent and avoided a lot of the rocky bits by staying on the grass. Had to cut back to the ridge after a while because my line was getting quite a long way away from it, and in the clag it wasn't possible to see if I'd get back or not! It looks like there is potential for a much lower line on this side which I've never heard anyone do, so checking that out would be fun on a better weather day! Back on the main line, slid slowly down the steep wet rock section but then avoided the next one (and the photographer) and took the steep grassy route since I knew it would come out in the right place. Jake was lured by the camera the hard way, and so I gained a few minutes. Smashed the rest of Hall's Fell (for a PB, in those conditions, which is pretty impressive) and was a couple of mins up at Threlkeld.

500ml water worked well for that first section. Filled three bottles (necessitating some faffing, so J caught me up). Dull route to the underpass and then another dull mile of road to the start of the "new" route up Clough Head to avoid all the corrosion on the BG line. Nice to do something new though. Pushed fairly hard on the Limb and was with J until a few hundred metres from the top, where he vanished into the clag.

From Clough Head, just thick clag, slight drizzle occasionally, bit windy but not too bad. Considered the coat a couple of times but kept it off. Successfully missed Calfhow, nearly didn't miss Great Dodd (totally missed the trod which cuts it, had to cut across a bit higher through the heather in order to join it again) but then standard from there. No issues all the way to Grisedale other than the weather getting progressively worse. Put my coat on going up Fairfield as it was now definitely raining and my hands were pretty cold. Off Fairfield, it looks like once you're going E you might be able to stay a little bit further N and so miss a few of the rocks - but not many. It looks from Flybys like someone contoured under Hart Crag but I don't know what that's like.

Stayed on the W of the wall on the High/Low Pike ridge this time, whereas I did the E last time. I've no idea which is best since I can't remember the E side. The W was boggy sections interspersed with awkward rocky bits which were avoidable but needed a bit of consideration and so it wasn't running at full speed. There were a couple of stiles on other walls too; I think the E might avoid these. Eventually you have to cross back anyway - and that's before the bit where there is an actual "bad step" (although my way around to the E worked fine). It did look like where we came out, there was more undergrowth on the E of the wall. But needs another recce :)

Caught by Nicky Spinks at the bad step but stayed ahead of her down into Ambleside. I thought I'd be able to beat her over 50 miles (quite short for her). I was wrong.

Good to see Emma and Will in Ambleside - very surprised to also see Phil which totally threw me! I was going to ask how far ahead Jake was (which was actually not that far at this point) but totally forgot.

Only drunk 1L on that section as I hadn't wanted to faff with changing the bottles. So just refilled the 1L for the next bit. Four Clif bars so far. Didn't have any food at the aid station, but the change of shoes and socks was awesome. Set off again as soon as possible. I knew I was up on last year and somewhere near the top 10, so that was good, and I was still feeling ok.

C • Great result 2

This is the point at which it fell apart last time, and sort of the same thing happened but to a much lesser extent. Coming out of Ambleside my feet felt awesome after the shoe change and I overtook a couple of people within the first 15 mins, stuff was starting to ache but I was handling it.

I think it was in the forest section just after High Wray when I started to struggle more, I think coming out of that forest section was where Nicky and a few others overtook me. I was with one of the guys who caught me (Hedley Fletcher [I know this from the results] - not sure where he was from [Northumberland? Somewhere North] but I could only understand about 50% of what he was saying, and just had to assume that something was a question if there was a long pause after it. Anyway we ran quite a lot of the next bit together including both of the bits immediately by the shore (section 1: ankle deep for a few hundred metres; section 2: mostly ankle deep but one section knee deep - wouldn't have been enjoyable in the dark).

Stayed together into High Dam where we both missed a sign (inside a tree, obvs). The problem was this coincided exactly with a place where the gpx they had provided was drawn really badly. Luckily after a couple of hundred metres we realised; looking at Flyby lots of people missed this too. Coming down from High Dam H got a few hundred metres ahead, but I only stopped at the CP for a quick portaloo visit and 500ml refill, so I set off a while before.

Didn't make last year's route mistake at Lakeside (although looks like a few did) and managed to stay moving through Summer House Knott and through Newby Bridge. Nearly went astray near Backbarrow and saw H behind me again, ran together up to the road but at that point I couldn't stay with him anymore - hips and knees just too painful to go any faster. I'd wanted to hold off putting the headtorch on for as long as possible as it would have been awesome to finish in the daylight, but unfortunately the thick fog was against me and it became impossible to see earlier than it might have in different weather. So in the woods just S of Bigland I relented. Through the woods wasn't so bad, but then the kilometre of Stribers Allotment open moorland was miserable since the torch just lit up the fog. But without the torch I couldn't see the arrows, so it was a bit of a catch 22. It didn't help that some of the arrows weren't actually on the path, they were on nearby trees in the middle of the terrain - so the tactic of locating the arrow with the torch and then running towards it without the torch didn't work as it took you away from the path...basically I wouldn't have been able to do this section much faster anyway. But it was only 15 mins or so - and then the 4k on the road at the end was fine with the torch (which felt pretty quick but it was about 5:30 min ks; which isn't).

I'm pleased with being more or less exactly 90 mins faster than before (2017: 13:06) but Jake being 54 minutes ahead of me hurts somewhat! His run was amazing.

I still feel I could probably be half an hour faster and that 11 hours would be a reasonable target - especially in more favourable conditions (unflooded lake, less clag) but tbh it was relatively nice for October; 95% uncoated is pretty unusual. The standard of this year was much higher than 2017; what was worth 17th/409 this year would have been 8th in 2017).

I think I'll be doing Langdale (which always clashes) a few more times before attempting this again.



17th/409
https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/lakesinad...

Walked up Nancy at lunch. Feeling pretty grim tbh; cold, headache. Don't really fancy 50 miles tomorrow. But c'est la vie

Easy, and felt ok, but my R hip is still aching pretty badly.

My normal Shining Tor loop (2 hours) isn't possible at the moment due to a closed path (tree felling due to them all having that disease) - I didn't realise quite how much longer this would take! Really struggling by the end. Probably too far to go in an evening without any nutrition.

Although the main problem was my tight hips again, which is not good news for Saturday.

Really enjoyed this though, nice to be out and not getting wet for a change. Although I did wear a LS due to the forecast wind - there was no wind and so I got really hot.

In the office. Official opening by Rishi Sunak - a proper celebrity! Sort of. He cut a ribbon with some giant novelty scissors; I didn't realise that happened in real life.

Also got to test drive a Tesla Model 3, and got a free lunch. If that was on offer every day, I might be more inclined to go in more frequently.

Took running kit in but didn't really have time at lunch, and then from 2pm onwards it was constant rain and I couldn't face it.

It wasn't raining when I set off!

Feeling good other than super stiff everywhere, especially glutes. The pace of the Red Screes climb from a cold (literally) start has broken me.