Training Log Archive: RichT

Birkrigg x-roads, Bardsea, beach, Baycliff, Sunbrick Lane, Birkrigg trig.
Humid day - sunbrick lane now full of head high cow parsley, nettles and brambles. Maybe last time on this loop for a while.

First dip in Coniston. Swam to one tree island, and then on to tip of Piel & return with Rachel.

Loop of Coniston via Brantwood, Coniston, Torver. New tarmac by Torver garage is awesome.

Kirkby Moor loop. Warm day although breezy so just in shorts - moor drying out. Included heather bashing loop. Trying to keep good stride & higher knees.
Curlew buzzed me on Shooting House Hill.

Warm day - easy jog around Birkrigg from the x-roads to turn legs over.

Roseisle - Scottish Relay Champs with Carol McNeill (leg1) and Nick Howlett (leg3) in 20+ class.

Spiked #1, navigated to within 50m of #2 in the green but then did an extra 2 minute loop :o(. Back on track for most of it apart from poor exit direction out of #10 cost another 1.5mins.
Fantastic bit of woodland with great course planning.

Finished 3rd team in our age class.

Waited through an hour of prizegiving to find out that they weren't giving prizes to age classes in the relay.

Then had 7 hour drive home . . . tired.

Scottish Champs - Achagour & Dulcie. M60L
Very average area, very average run.
Graham McIntyre caught me 2 minutes in way to #2, but didn't spike the control whereas I did. He passed me again on the way to #4, and #5, and #10. Neither of us going well through the bogs.

Unmapped gorse towards the end was minging.

Nairn Pool 25m. 3 x 250m w/o pb. 250m with pb. 250m w/o pb. 1250m total.

Darnaway WOC2015 Relay. Lovely day, lovely woodland.

Culbin - Jog to start of course.

Culbin 2007 S6D course. Warm day. Parallel error at top of map.

Jog back to car.

Nairn Pool 25m. 40 lengths - 1000m

S6D2013 Day4 Loch of Boath.

Jog from car onto map as warm-up.

Course 23 #1 to #9.
Very wet woodland anf feeling weary meant not going much quicker than in 2013 when I was only 6 weeks after chest surgery.

Bumble back to the main fire trail through the terrain.

Back along the fire trail to the car.

Nairn Pool 25m - 46 lengths - just over the km. Feeling chilled.

started raining for 24hrs

BRC2018 - Torphantric - M60 with Graham Capper (1st) and Simon Filmore (2nd).

Graham came back around 10th about 10 minutes down so knew we didn't have any podium ambition. Unknown to me at the time Simon missed out a control ;o(.

So I started off and although a path right and left decided to follow the red line. Unfortunately there were quite a lot of brashings so not so quick underfoot. But nailed the route and spiked the control. Then two short legs on compass both ok.

Another long leg to #4 and again caught out in brashed slopes. Struggled to make the contours fit on long leg but concentrated on compass and after a couple of minutes recognised veg boundary. Then found ride and spiked control, and short leg to #5.

Rest of course passed easy and happy to run it all albeit slow.

After finished realised that "gaffling" was pretty rubbish with each team having a short final loop amongst the 3 members. So Simon and Graham had 4.4km to my 3.8km.

BOC2018 - Balmoral - M60 - 12th.

My best placing ever at the British Champs.

Preparation good in 4 good nights sleep of previous 5. Journey up on Friday and chill in Banchory at Gordon Arms Hotel worked.

Short warm-up as concerned how legs would cope with 7km.

Longest leg was to #1 - ignored the path route away from red line and took on the climb. Passed #4 hoping I would find it at 2nd attempt. Continued on through terrain and nailed re-entrant. Turn and followed marshes and then spur uphill to find boulder at #2. Decided to try and keep close to red line on long leg to #3 and took in climb up slope. Managed to recognise controls on crag and boulder on map as I climbed slope, and then bearing to 3 boulders and adjust bearing downhill to find boulder & crag below. 3 spikes !

Planned to descend between two huge crags and then contour below second. Found veg boundary, could see boulder field below and pair of boulders above so knew I was online. Found top of spur and dropped into rocky spur. Please to find #4 again.

Headed almost due north down spur, crossed two paths, found x-point and used path to bypass hill and spike control. 3rd fastest split as people struggled to find crossing point. #6 due east was simple, across river and up onto next hill. Boulder easy in reentrant at #7.

Planned to run over tops but legs tired already so contoured around to path and struggled uphill until close to crag. Uphill again towards #9 and right achilles began to play up. Nailed control in reentrant on farside of hill and planned to contour towards #10. Unintentionally dropped onto path and used it to reach cairn and then over small hill into crag.

Nailed short downhill to #11 and decided there was enough detail to go direct to #12. Vegetation changed at the end of the leg without being indicated on the map. Although hesitated recognised the gentle spur and found control. Now with another runner towards #13. Rushed the direction, plan a bit poor and missed the control at the end.
30 secs error, 30 secs recovery.
Caught by two other and followed them back onto track. Decided to go left of line so cut off track towards broad reentrant. Bit surprided by just how bouldery and difficult the climb was to find path, and real struggle to get going to run over hill and bear off to find marsh. But managed to reach control before two competitors I had dropped at #11 but had caught and passed me at #13.

Shot down hill across path, through green and contoured below spur to find my reentrant - spiked another. Struggled downhill over bouldery slope and drifted slightly west of north. Saw a control on a path and ran to it. Realised it was on a bend but couldn't make it fit shape on map. Few steps away and then realised it was different path, so about turn and hare across to control at #16.
30 secs error 30 secs recovery.

Tore down to #17 and finish.

Very happy with preformance considering average fitness level.

Ulverston Pool. Good nights sleep. 32 lengths. Strggled breathing at first then easier.

6 hour drive from Ulverston to Banchory.

DJ Massage

Right eye still getting the drops.

Ulverston Pool. Good nights sleep. 40 lengths w/o pb seemed much easier.

BattleAxe #2 - Esthwaite Intake. Rough & tough on sunny evening. Taking it easy before BOC.

Right eye still sore this morning so went and bought some Optrex.

Went out around Birkrigg & Sea Wood as an easy leg shakeout at the end of a lovely day. HR still a bit high but Sea Wood full of bluebells and wild garlic.

Didn't sleep too bad but still felt pretty dreadful most of the day.

Newton Fell Galoppen - Blue Course.
Warm day - clear skies - very technical and much climb.
Took some very safe routes to stay in touch with the map through terrain. Right Achilles started pulling two thirds of the way through the climbs back up towards the end.

Had a very poor nights sleep - awake every couple of hours.
Right eye began to be troublesome immediately before the race.
Had a bad eye infection straight after race. Felt very ill rest of day.

NWJS Newbie Day - Bouth.
Shuffled around 3 loops very slowly. Tired.

Ulverston Pool. Wasn't the best nights sleep. 30 lengths w/o pb seemed hard - breathing a struggle..

Rachel not so well so running between the two houses.
Up to Birkrigg for a potter out - along side of little Birkrigg, down to Bardsea, along shoreline to Baycliff, climb back up Sunbrick Lane and over top back to x-roads.
Cool breezy day - HR seemed high perhaps reflecting lack of sleep.

massage

Putting kites in Dockney for Saturday.

Ulverston Pool. On own in lane. 30 lengths w/o pb.

BattleAxe - Bishop Woods.
Heavy rain and breezy - out in full waterproofs. No zip in legs, bit of a struggle to keep going.

Normal Kirkby Moor loop.
Trying to keep things steady and look after calves, which felt tight this morning. Included heather bashing loop by the windmills. Rain started about 20 minutes from the end. First time this year I have felt I was able to jog consistently up the final climb.

Rode out to east side of Coniston with Rachel via Llamas, and stopped at 11am at Swallows & Amazons tea shop. Exellent scone & jam & cream with mid morning coffee.
Very warm for a bank holiday Monday and many, many tourist cars with canoes.

Return trip via Broughton Beck - side of lake manic with cars.

UTC Aquathon.
So this was meant to be a Sprint Triathlon but unfortunately an hour before the start there was an accident below Sea Wood which closed the coast road and meant dropping the bike leg.

Very warm sunny day must have been pushing 25deg.

Started steady in the pool to try and complete 10 lengths in good order but tired on last couple. And then they wanted the swim caps back which meant taking off my prescription goggles. And then faffing to put them back on before I could see where to exit poolside.

Much faffing in transition cost a couple of minutes of this time.

So out onto the run trying to make sure calves didn't suffer too much, nor break down completely. Bit disappointed with time but happy to finish ok.

Dunnerdale loop from Broughton Mills.
Clear and warm in t-shirt & shorts.
Normal race route - right knee and right Achilles tweaked towards end.

Katy Taylor in Skipton.

Massage with DJ. Seems to think it is my right calf and not right Achilles . . .

Ulverston Pool - 25m. Second lane in - busy.
10cr(pb); 10cr; 10cr(pb); 10cr; 10cr(pb) - 1250m.

Rusland Beeches Technical course.
Missed #2 at first but after that was in the groove. #6 on crag below re-entrant where it should have been, and #11 in reentrant on wrong side of spur, but enjoyed being out.
From #6 with Jo Cleary & John Britton, different lines on long leg #9 to #10 and then back together again. John missed down to #13.

Kirkby Moor.
Started off over Out Park and traverse across to Brunt Riggs didn't feel too bad despite the bitterly cold south-easterly wind. However walk/stumble through heather by windmills at Brunt Riggs seemed to suck the strength from my legs.

Along back of Gunson Height to Shoooting House Hill was into the wind and I seemed to be jogging at the same place. Probably faster than walking but not by much.

Legs started working on descent from S-H Hill and climb back to car not as bad as feared. Right Achilles sore and surprised to only be 2 minutes down on last weeks time given I missed the heather at the windmills then.