Training Log Archive: Mark3

6th/93
https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=20...

Very nearly didn't come to this due to Duddon yesterday, planned run tomorrow and forecast looking bleak. But since there was a fete as well, braved it, and it was a good decision. Drizzle throughout only.

Actually a really nice route. First climb up a track for a bit before turned into grass, first woman got ahead of me although I passed a few others after the inevitable initial sprint. Overtook the guy I keep seeing all the time now (Matt Owens from Chorlton) and the woman on the steep down/first ascent. Ascent was run/walk (definite walk 0.9Bl toward the end) and then a tiny bit extra on a 20m out-and-back before a glorious grassy descent for ages followed by a steep technical part and then some road at the end. Bit of everything!

3rd SM; 3 U18s in the top 6 which is good to see :)

The shoes were perfect for this race.

21st/123
https://www.sportident.co.uk/results/BCR/2022/Dudd...

PB by 33 minutes so can't complain :)
It was significantly easier in bright sunshine, despite being boggier than last time.

Splits rounded to nearest minute Vs (last time):

1.Harter 44 (45)
2. Hard Knott 25 (27)
3. Little Stand 30 (32)
4. 3 Shires 19 (21)
5. Swirl How 30 (33)
6. Dow Crag 22 (28)
7. White Pike 15 (21)
8. Caw 19 (26)
F. 10 (12)

So consistently faster throughout, but moreso in the later stages. That makes sense since I was navigating on my own in the fog last time.

If anything the surprise is that I wasn't faster to Harter, given last time I took it easy and this time I very much didn't.
Not concentrating though and ended up at the front of a little group on the run out after 2k or so, and crossed the ford before thinking it looked wrong, and then saw the people behind me turning left. Last time we went through a gate to avoid the farm totally but I hadn't been looking for it. Not sure what the group in front did. So lost 30s and a couple of places here.

Matt was ahead of me after a few hundred metres for a few hundred metres, but I got him back as soon as it got a bit hillier.

Whole section really boggy. The guy just in front of me went in one leg to his waist, so I was glad he'd indicated where to avoid. Then trod all the way up Harter so nav straightforward.

Very top bit off Harter I came more E then turning N than before, but it's much of a muchness as all come out on the same trod. Then it looks like I did a slightly different route to last time but the only important bit seems to be bearing right to get parallel to the wall.
This time I came to the left of the bump immediately prior to the road, but last time I was right and right looks better.

Trod all the way up Hard Knott so that was straightforward although there are quite a few false summits before the top. From the top I carried on NE until there was an obvious re-entrant to turn E into; that seemed to work. Then straight across more bog and over a farmer-guarded stile. Little Stand defo felt like the biggest climb of the day and went on relentlessly, but went round the left of the big rock like last time and the summit isn't far from there.

Little mistake here, went NE and continued off the rocks and had to downclimb a bit. NE then N to go around the rocks worked well last time. It's longer though, so not much in it. After crossing Gaitscale the trod is good and obvious pretty much to Rough Crags, then it's just important not to go down one spur too early, wait until after the massive reentrant. Luckily I was with a few people here.

I could see Lawrence E who'd passed me at the start and had a bright orange vest. I caught him after Three Shires Stone as he'd had a bad line, but he accelerated away from me up the next climb.

Saying that, I did the climb well up to the edge but was over obsessed with contouring Great Carrs after going over it last time and ended up halfway to the Fairfield col before I realised and turned S. Actually not a terrible line but it really is only the top couple of contours that need be avoided. Then Swirl How is a really obvious ascent to the E which I was worried about missing on Turner Landscape but it would be pretty hard to miss in reality. The map makes it look like it's an undulation on the ridge but it feels more major than that.

Good line down from the summit. Need to remember that I can take the same on TL because all the lines join up on the pointy bit of the ridge before splitting again.

The guys ahead of me took a nice line to skip the rocky part of Goat's Hawse that I think I found last time. Then my line to under Dow Crag was similar to last time, so my rock-tolerance must have improved somewhat as it was fine. Successfully stayed high to Walna Scar and avoided the scree lower down though, which was excellent and the reason why I gained so much time to White Pike.

Off White Pike, I knew the race map had a note to say pick a way down through the quarries, so when the guy ahead turned W immediately after the S gully I decided it was worth a shot. And actually that way was fine, a bit of scree at the bottom (like 1% Jura) but relatively fast.

From here one guy headed to the wall (recommended line) whereas I stayed a bit further left using my Caw o map from 2010. Well in theory, except that going straight from 1:25 to 1:10 messed with my head and I couldn't locate myself on the o map until it was basically too late. But anyway. Contoured just N of 'Pikes' and then the Caw trig was visible from miles away. Overtook Lawrence which made me very happy as I consider him pretty much out of my league. The guy who went to the wall ended up pretty much where we were so there isn't a lot in it.

Caw descent was where the o map was awesome. More or less due N directly from the summit got me past one guy who went further NE the way we'd come up, so I was now at the front of a group of at least 4. But I like o. So I wasn't influenced by the micro decisions I was aware of them taking around me, because I could tell from the map that I only needed to veer right just before the lump next to the wall to avoid falling off something. The others all headed to the wall far too early which is much slower. When I got to that lump though I should've checked the map again since I only needed to go to it and not over it - staying on the spur would have saved a few seconds over the rocky gully by the wall.

Still looked for an SI box just in case they'd added one since last time, but still no, so maybe I won't look next time! Route was flagged from here but they weren't massively easy to follow. I'd forgotten the route bends round to the left and then suddenly goes right and crosses a stream - very slippery rocks where I nearly pulled something trying to stay upright - and then down to the right of the finish field and curling round into it.

Good race! Very pleased with time. Despite conditions, I'm sure it's still better. Upto maybe Hard Knott I hadn't felt I was running very well, but the feeling gradually went away and by halfway I was feeling like I was doing well.

I don't think there's too much scope for radical improvement now but sub 3:30 should be doable.

C • well done, nice writeup. 1

Showing Em the stepping stones. Lovely in the sunshine. Surprisingly un-busy until the cafe at halfway, then the railway path back was packed.

Trying some new lines which I'm pretty excited about tbh. Anyone following will get a bit of a shock, though.

Post-race walk up Cave Dale and round back via the top of Winnat's Pass and the sketchy descent (someone has put a rope in) back to Castleton.
Meant to be a bit longer but we wanted to get back for our dinner reservation, plus we didn't really have enough water for an extra loop.
Dinner at a sushi place in Buxton which was excellent, highlight was the salmon kimchi starter.

Arrrrrgh took a wrong turn and ran an extra 1.1km (at least).
I haven't seen any results but my position will be atrocious.

Shame as I was running well given the race last night. First 2.5k flat, spent the first half of that being overtaken by overenthusiastic people and the second half passing them all again, so just back ahead of first lady before the climb.

All 300m of ascent in one go and pretty steep; lots of it uneven steps. 300m in 1200m ish so 1:4? Overtook a few more people, then a couple more down from the trig.

Then there was one guy just ahead who was running more or less exactly the same speed who I passed eventually and then I immediately went wrong,carrying on around the hill to the right. He dropped off to the left and once he'd done it, I saw other people below him so I immediately thought ah, this guy knows the course (there was no tape at that junction but the whole thing had been really badly taped anyway, and the tape they did use was yellow and black which is a terrible choice for race tape).

Anyway he was now ahead again and I didn't want to get past, I just thought I'd follow him and overtake him on the road at the end. But he turned sharply left (no tape either direction) and said it was that way, so I went with him, and a few people followed us. After a few hundred metres it became pretty evident that it wasn't that way! And then it was more tedious cycle path back we'd come on the out in order to get back to the race route.

Very annoying. My fault for following kind of, but with no published map and bad signage... Still, guaranteed pb next time at least. Paul told me before the race that he'd gone wrong in the past and it turned out I did exactly the same - clearly marking has always been an issue.

Still, if I can get all of the getting lost out of the way today I'll be happy that none of it's carried over to Saturday.

Schooled by Allen today.
16th. Allen was 7th, nearly 5 mins up.
Steep start, then runnable trod for a bit before a contour across bilberry stuff to Bowscale. Given the contour really doesn't save much height or distance. I reckon over the top might be a better choice.
Then boggy down from Bowscale to the col. Climb up Blencathra over surprisingly fast, before the very fast descent that was also boggy on the flatter sections. Easy corner cut across downhill bilberry was a good choice. Steep downhill section at the end off-trod was tough and I lost a bit of time there. Good race though! Enjoyed it.

The heavy hail put me off going out today.

Fairly easy trails to Lyme park and back over the Gritstone - Allen pushing the pace and so had to put some effort in.
Always feels good post-illness just to feel normal :) nice evening too.