Training Log Archive: Big Jon

From Aboyne towards castle then round golf course, back of loch and Deeside way from there. Trying to keep legs turning over fairly quickly and working on good (ish!) posture. Dripping wet from the humidity - must be close to 90%... Picked a few raspberries on way - getting the hunger wobbles by the end, not enough lunch.

Day-3 Scottish 6-Days. M55L. Started feeling fairly good but not warmed up enough (unable to manage this nowadays!).
Clean for all course apart from a wee overshoot at one control then complete brain fade on a later leg - overshot by 150m, lost 3+ minutes and any chance of win... Ended 3rd so lucky not to be further punished.
Fantastic area, really technical and lots of good running, though marshes were minging!
Hope we can have a Scottish Middle here in the near future, best new area in Scotland for a while.

A bit of jogging round, to start and back plus more in assembly field. Feeling a bit lethargic in the sun and heat.

Even managed to do a wee warm down trot... :-)

Helping with GPS tracking stuff. Walk to finish and back.

Waking controls and taping a few crossing points. Undergrowth fairly lush and very wet!

Collecting controls (2 loops), much drier and the grass well trenched!

Helping at start for 4+ hours.

Sorting stuff and travelling to Perthshire for the 6-Days

Driving home from Newcastle and spent rest of day sorting stuff.

Driving to Amsterdam and a lunch stop in pleasant town, but still hot hot hot.
Ferry pleasantly cool!

With S early morning from Scharnitz up towards Brunnsteinspitz. Steep steep hill with a couple of scrambly bits then had to turn at subsidiary top (main top still 250m above) ‘cos running short of time. Great run back down.
Then 11 hours driving (well with a couple hours breaks) north through Germany in the heatwave...

With S up a Via Ferrata from Passo Gardena. Managed without any hyperventilating and avoided touching wire on descent - it was a 1A, but you’ve got to start somewhere ;-)
Then headed East along some paths over a couple of cols and up Sas Ciampac. Very pleasant route out and back the same way. Out for about 4.5 hours total.
Then drove north - got v hot once in valley heading to Austria - 38.5c ... Found a nice campsite in Austria north of Innsbruck - only 29c :-)

Passo Pordoi to Passo Sella over race route for most of the way. Tough climb to start +600m straight from start. Can’t say I ran much but power walked and passed maybe 150 people. Through the snow gate at Forcella (cut path through a big snow bank) then more crowds all the way to top of Piz Boe + 260m, felt good for most but struggled when I put in surges to get past walkers -probably the altitude. Passed another 150-200 people (there is a cable car option to high up). Topped out at3152m - record for this trip. Met another runner descending off Piz Boe towards Refugio Boe, he gained on me on scree but I was quicker on rock. Chatted and showed him map and route at the Rifugio then he stuck behind me - I think he didn’t have much of a clue about the route! Wonderful run from hut over a wee ridge then onto a real moonscape of bare rock and the descent started in earnest. We were moving fairly quickly and smoothly with occasional stops to take photos or check map. Little chat as very little of each other’s language! Split off when I turned right to head to the Passo Sella road and-he to head down to Cenezai. Path dropped and I missed a turning so ended too low on road, called S for a lift up to avoid the last 100m climb!
Great run out and pleased at how I felt throughout, only started to fade in last 15 mins ( didn’t eat and drank about 700ml of water.

From Passo Pordoi to Cenezai after seeing S through the carpark. Lovely descent(800m drop) mostly on fairly gentle ski runs. Right knee bad for about 5 mins then eased off and enjoyed it. A marmot ran across in front of me then stopped -I got within about 5m of it before it dived down its hole, looked a bit scabby - I think it was moulting.
Then spent a bit of time at race finish waiting for S.
Men’s race won by an Italian 21 year old- he appeared to be cruising down the final valley and women’s race won by Judith Wyder, taking about 7 mins off the old record...

Easy jog with S at Canazei by the river. Legs felt terrible to start with but eased off a bit. Decided against another run later in the day.

Walk up from col (pas de Guai) - mostly fine but a bit steep via ferrata slowed me somewhat.
Decent track down from second Refugio. Out for about 3 hours

Wander from vilage down to closed road ( assume it is because river has destroyed road along gorge) and back up - about 45 mins walking, hot.

Walk with E through valley from near Misurina, fantastic flood channel - path followed debris stream for much of climb. Then lovely open meadows at top -some horses in meadows. Top of climb was in superb glacial valley with huge crags and alluvial fans below gullies in the crags. Nice picturesque ruin at pass then a bit of a shock - path disappeared down a horrendous gully. Managed to slide/shuffle down this, nae very nice! Then a decent track down to a river valley and road. Out for about 3 hours.

Went up Monte Piano and Monte Piana from campsite. WW1 trenches on top (Italian and Austrian positions). Feeling pretty dreadful on climb and right knee not at all good on descent.
Out for about 3-30.
Running a wee bit of climb and most of descent.

Rest day, a bit of a potter to view some new bridges/washed out old bridges. Impressive storm damage from last October.

Easy (!) day walk up Lagazui exploring WW1Italian tunnels - amazing stuff. Then long long plod down the hill +700m from pass. Out for about 4 hours, moving maybe 3.

To start and a wee bit extra. Right knee very painful on top outer part just above kneecap.

Day 3 middle distance. 3.6k 210m... plus start was 115 above assembly...
Tough, seldom walked so much of a course! 7 mins down with a 1 min error near end
Forest was horrendously steep early on and the superbly detailed for most of second half (discounting the long transport legs to finish). Would have appreciated 1:7,500 map for all three days but especially today!

A bit more warmup today, felt a bit better but knees achy.

Day 2 same assembly/finish, start about 40 from yesterday. Started into same intricate spur/reentrant area, clean through first 3 then long leg, OK. Kept going cleanly, maybe one or two slightly poor micro routes but all OK. Ended 4th about 4mins down!
Felt alive today and enjoyed it much more.

A brief attempt at a warm-up. Felt tired, drained and achey.

Day 1 Dolomites 3-Day
Seldom have I felt so poor physically at the start of a race. Took it steady and missed only a fewcontrols by seconds and not sure of some route choices. Ended up 8th just over 4 minutes down. Others must have been struggling physically too!
Anyway another day another race tomorrow.

Walk up hills near Vigo di Fasso ( some side valley) headed up steep forest and nice small paths then reached the via ferrata. Didn’t think much of the memorial board for a dead local climber at the start - perfect for removing any possible composure I had. Spent most of the next hour focussed totally and fixedly on a small steel rope, clipping on and off at bolt points. Can’t say it would be my personal choice of a route up. Ended up on a lovely grassy hill top with amazing views all round. Descent was down a horrific gully - steel ropes were on the side of the gully so we basically descended a cliff going sideways. Arms wasted by end from holding my body weight most of the way down. Next summit (2670m) had even better views. Then a leg pounding descent to the van - 1200m lower down. Stopped en-route for apfel strudel and berries in yoghurt at a lovely homely refugio.
Felt fairly drained by end - out for 7 hours in sun and heat and also the stress of the via ferrata.
On the plus side saw several Marmots - seemed to be a bit like large rotund rabbits!
Another plus was that I only almost lost it completely on one occasion- steep outward sloping rock and steel rope too low to pull on.
About 5 hours moving time ( though some of this was very very slow in the horizontal dimension).

C • Via ferrata.... 1

Walk/jog withS & E above Vigo di Fassa. Lots of climbs, legs felt strong - cycling? Downhills not so good, felt awkward and trying to protect right knee. Some pretty severe mountains around but paths mostly fairly easy.
Well dehydrated by end despite drinking 2.5+l water.
Out for 5-30, probably about 4 hours moving time

Up bloody great big hill from a Dolomite pass. Really struggling to keep moving. Knee OK on uphill

Down the hill, R knee not happy - seems to be muscle/tendon above knee that is causing problems.

Earlier in the day. Walk around 3 castles near German border - mix of medieval and more modern, plus a wander across a suspension bridge (about 500m long and 179m above the valley) a bit twitchy at times as it swayed sideways a bit... Out for about 2.5 hours

Run near Göppingen, southern Germany with S & E. Right knee struggling (too much driving).

Travelling all day

Ran out of time, too much on.

Home to Aboyne on Deeside Way. Legs flt OK so gradually pushed pace up till moving along quite quickly and fairly (for me) smoothly.

Easy lap of Dess Woods with S. Legs tired from yesterday but feeling OK.

Cycle hill intervals. Same old, 6x4 with approx 2+ mins recovery. Very windy so distance poor until last one where wind dropped and I got ~100m further.
Legs not great on first couple - probably needed to do some exercise yesterday. Felt best on 5 & 6.
Even though wind was mostly side (from left) if still slowed me significantly.

Usual - down drive, A93 (quiet), past DAP and towards Crossroads. Extra loop past Bogloch farm for warm-up.

Deeside Runners, Glen Tanar, usual warm-up then paced Warren along 15 min tempo towards Tower O'Ess, until his calf cramped at 13 mins. Never high pace so pleasant run out.

Rest day - too much on feeling pretty washed out after weekend.