Training Log Archive: ba-ba

Event: British Fell Running Relay Championships (FRA Relays)
 

3rd on leg. Winner: OJ and Lloyd 1:23ish (107.7%). Out in 12. Back in 3rd. Team 5th (last year 18th) How did that happen?!

Teamed up with Nat WInfield who is running well, not far behing Lloyd at Windgather last weekend. We were well matched, strong at the end and bulky enough to deal with the wind!

The usual Fell Runners do navigation palarva, including the wrong version of the maps being printed (at poor quality)last night as they'd forgotten to get our leg printed with all the others! As well as running well, you need to ride your luck and, at times, be a little liberal with the rules.

Set out by Ad and Simon with a big pack of good teams within 2-3min ahead. I wasn't expecting to see them up close as they were all at least at our standard. Punched #1 (found in the warm-up) and followed the tapes, which suddenly diassapeared, so just went up the hill. Eryri and Helm were just ahead, but then DP2 (Malley and Pete), Ambleside (ToddO), Leeds (Tedwards) and Mercia (GG) popped up on our left. Have I unintentionally cut a corner? Bollocks to it, in a good pack, lets go! Eventually work out where we are and off to #2.

Over the spur and can see the stile we want on the ridge, follow GG's line and ensure we're heading due S. Ambleside and DP pull away a bit and we sight Eryri and CV vets, with Bingley not far behind as we punch 3.

Big train taking a slightly wider line to save height over the ridge to 4, following Eryri, Ambleside and DP2. Can't relate what's going on on the map to the ground and vis versa so just sit in. Hit a fence not at a crossing point, but everyone else is crossing it. We're all racing each other so fuck it, over we go. It's a bit tall and in avoiding a castration my R calf spasms. Fall to the floor and Nat has to stretch me out for 20secs but the terrain is runnable so I can get into a smooth style, and the delay means we can sight everyone heading into/out of #4, hidden in the reeds at the bottom of the valley under Congoryion, a bitter gale blowing down it.

Onto a track run and we're with Ambleside and Bingley, Eryri, CV and DP having gone ahead. Spot the gate with Todd's help and properly wurzel Bingley. Looking for a boulder on a hillside full of boulders. Others are off to the right, but I watch as GG comes, clear as day, along the ridge and dives behind something that may be a boulder. A quiet nod to Nat and we sneak up and punch for a fastest split. 50m to our right DP2, HBT, 2xCV, Ambleside, Eryri and HBT see us and we have a big pack of good runners with 2 checkpoints left.

Up the fence line (taking a chance that the map is a work of fiction and we can get through legally. It is and we can) and Nat and I are near the front of the pack. Onto the contour and DP2, Ambleside and Tim Ellis are with us. Feeling good and just as we get above #2 I stretch my legs out. Nat comes with and no-one else does, and we're both charging. Over the ridge, there's my catching feature and, yes, there's the kite, boom! Out towards the pyllon I know we want, quick glance behind and DP and Eryri are right on us. Down to the stile, punch the last control and over, as Anwen and Rach, almost as an afterthought, say something about being in 3rd. WTF?

We by no means push the tricky, slippery section through the quarries but we pull out a bit of a gap (fastest leg3 finishing split). I let Nat go ahead as my shoes ain't that grippy no more but we're soon together and running past a couple of spectator groups who are generally going 'what the hell are Pennine doing in 3rd'?

Chris has a good run on 4 but, in this rarified air you're always going to have some really good runners right behind, and we slip to 5th. Still, after saying 10th would be an amazing result you can't complain.

V40s about 6th, and V50s and ladies both 4th. After DP that's got to be the most consistent across one single club? We're generally seen as a good social fell club with not much of an 'elite' section, and are punching well above our weight!

C • boulder on a hillside full of boulders 5

legs and guts felt pretty rubbish before this, but feel much better afterwards.

More than I thought we'd do. Around Leg 2 (missing out the hands-on-knees of Cyngorion) with Adam, Rhys and Alfdog. Some brisk weather at times. Followed by 2.5h in Pete's eats, for 2 of which we definitely did not have a dog with us. Nope. Not at all. No dog here.

Quite enjoying cyclocommuting now, be a while 'til I risk the clipless again though!
Rest day from running - walk out to the supermarket to ease the legs out (and buy pizza)

C • Simply 2

lap of the block on my own.
29min out-and-back with the group, getting a bit quicker on the way back.
A handful of strides
8x400 (90) in 70,70,69,69,69,69,69,64. In future maybe should go a bit harder from the start.
9min easy warm down.

Tried to reclaim a segment, missed out by 4 seconds but only put effort in for the last 2/3rds of it after forgetting where it starts. However, the effort had a bit of an effect on me and I felt pretty rubbish for the rest of the run. Perked up a bit after 30min though and got a few climbs in.

Progression run
mile WU round the stadium, then easy start getting a bit quicker heading out for 30mins (finished down at 4:30m/km, cruising at 4:00m.km for the last bit of this). Then back the 5.8km to the bus-stop. Mark, Crory and another eased away after about 1.5km, then was with Jeremy for quite a while, feeling good but not able to increase my leg speed too much. Maybe 200m behind Mark, closing in on Crory and the other up the little ramp at the end, feeling strong.
Then a good long warm down.

Explored out east. Found Hanley Park, that's about it. Then worked my way back and had a bit of a play on (what I'm calling) pottery bank.
Legs felt good as soon as I got going after feeling tired all day, so kept going