Friday 15 February 2013

Long Mynd Valleys 2013

I usually try to get more than 20 miles training in per week but I thought I'd rest up before the Long Mynd Valleys (LMV) as I know it's a tough race since I did it last year. The hills are brutally steep and unforgiving. If ever you hear a marathon runner talk about 'hitting the wall', well I challenge them to hit the wall while literally hitting a great big grassy wall. As I read this week on the FRA internet forum, the LMV really sorts the men from the boys.
When I did this last year I got given advice from fellow Glossopdale Harriers to save some energy for the latter half of the race as it's where the race really begins. I did this and had a relatively good race in 2012 and got round in 2 hours 34 minutes. The conditions were snowy but most of it was pretty run-able and the downhills were great fun, just sitting down and sliding down on your arse.
Profile for the LMV fell race
This year there was no snow on the ground but it was pretty muddy in parts. I decided to ditch the save 'something for the end' approach to this race and decided to just go for it. I felt like I'd paced myself pretty well and was suprised when I'd caught up John (a much faster runner from Glossopdale) after about 3 miles. Turns out he wasn't feeling too well and was boardline hypothermic when he came into the finish. The weather was pretty harsh all the way round, mainly snowing on the tops and raining down in the valleys, the wind added, it made things harsher. I'd opted for just wearing one layer for the race and not bothering with wearing my coat unless I felt cold. I did get a bit nippy at points but just ran harder to warm up (I still had full waterproofs & emergency kit in my bumbag just in case). Throughout the race I was mainly gaining places until the last three hills where I stayed pretty level with other runners around me. Where I lost places on the uphills, I gained them back on the downhills. Just shows I need to work on getting myself uphill faster & lose a bit more weight to help me.
I came in with a time of 2:21 this year, an improvement of about 13 minutes. As with last year, I've been aching for the whole week afterwards, and 5 days later my legs are only just coming right... it's the downhill running that gets your legs. Looking forward to next year and hopefully more improvements.

About 4.5 miles into the race.
10 miles  in, about to start the last ascent.





Sunday 3 February 2013

Off The Fells - 10k & 5k

Glossopdale Harriers Handicap 10K
The club puts this race every month during the winter, runners are set off in accordance with their predicted or previous course time so that everyone should, in theory, come in to the finish at the same time. I've only done this once before, back in December 2011 in a time of 43:13. Runners with slower times set off before me and I had faster runners chasing me down... I'd say I'm about mid-field. Last winter when I did this I'd set off too fast so steadied myself in the first few kilometres. I began catching runners in front of me at about the 5km mark but I was labouring at this point. I think I was still tired from the big week of fell running in the snow and I had the tail end of a cold. Then began the sounds...
I've only made audible sounds when racing once before, on the Shelf Moor fell race, coming up James's Thorn, determined to beat Andy A & Dave H. If you imagine the sounds that someone who is possessed by the devil would make, then you're not far off. So, carrying on on the GDH 10k sounding like a wounded devil dog I got to the hard bit, the big hill up Park Road, Hadfield and kept going all the way to the top... I don't do walking on road races, that's reserved for redonkulous hills on the moors and fells. From the top it's all downhill to the finish, the best bit as you can let gravity do it's work. There is a little flat stretch halfway down, which is when I got demoralised when I was finally caught by the chasing hounds (Mike, Neil and Steve). I came in at the leisure centre with a time of 42:15. That's about a minute off last winters time and only 7 seconds off my flat 10k PB.... according to some, the GDH 10k is 2 mins slower than a flat course, so next flat 10k could be sub 40 minutes. I'll have to give the handicap course another go when I'm fully rested and haven't got a cold!


South Manchester ParkRun
I'd been looking forward to giving the ParkRun at Platt Fields Park another bash. My fitness had dropped a bit since I got my PB (19:16) back in September and have only just got some of it back. On the chilly morning I met Caity, a fellow Glossopdale Harrier and friend, and warmed up with a little jog round the park. After all the usual spiel from the organisers I got myself to the front of the pack for the start. Then as the organiser shouts "Go!" I watched all the excited runners leg it off in front of me while I kept a steady pace. Even after the first minute I was picking people off and leaving them behind.
My km splits were: 3:52, 3:58, 3:53, 4:01 and 3:41, giving me a time of 19:25. Not bad as there are no ridiculous puddles in two places on the course... and when I say puddles I'm talking several metres in diameter and at least 40cm deep. If conditions were good then I reckon I'd have matched my PB.
Just got to keep up the hard work, train smart and keep losing the weight.

Monday 28 January 2013

Snow Week

Over the past couple of months I've waned a bit on the fells and seem to have done more road running, especially after talking to our club coach, Jeroen, who's suggestion was that I run with a purpose each time I go out, such as setting target paces and distances, doing intervals and tempo runs. I've been sticking to this ethos rather than just plodding out the miles. Starting from last weekend has been different though, with a lot of snowfall on the hills in the Peak District I've found myself draw back to the fells.

Firstly I ran on Saturday with the Glossopdale ladies (+John), setting off from Old Glossop over Glossop Low to Torside Reser, Crowden, up to Lads Leap and back though Tintwistle and Padfield. About 12 miles in total with 2500ft ascent. I took Bessie with me for the run, she seemed to love jumping about in the snow and eat it too! Overall a nicely paced run and great company.

 (L-R) Caity, Becky, John, Sue & Elsa the dog
Bessie enjoying the snow
The following day I headed out again with more Harriers, again from old Glossop, taking the same route up Glossop Low but then we hit the Pennine Way we headed east and over to Bleaklow Head. The weather was much worse this day, the blizzard driving from the east into out faces. Once we headed back west and down Yellowslacks, stopping briefly while we all checked out a little shelter under a rocky outcrop (further west of Dog Rock), then we all belted down Lightside. A shorter run on that Sunday, toting up to about 8 miles, with 1500ft ascent. Bessie stayed at home on that run, I didn't want to over-run her.
Glossopdale Harriers at Glossop Low

























Poor  conditions heading over to Bleaklow
After resting on Monday I headed out again with Neil and took Bessie. There had been more snowfall so the going was much tougher. Our route was from Glossop, up Wormstones, Mill Hill, Kinder steps, over to Kinder Downfall. It took us an hour and a half to get up to Kinder steps and feeling a bit knackered after trudging through fresh snow and I'd wanted to turn head back at this point but I was easily convinced by Neil  to head on to Kinder Downfall, which wasn't much of a downfall! The view was great and it was nice to have a sit down on a boulder at the top and take it all in with Bessie at my side. Heading back the way we came to Mill Hill I was suffering a bit, possibly due to tiredness from previous runs and bonking ('hitting the wall' - not rumpy pumpy!). Our plan was to head along the Pennine Way then find the path down to Moorfield but it soon became apparent that sticking to the path was harder work than heading through the snowy heather. The top of the hill was ok, but as we got down in the groughs it was just as hard on the PW. I was glad when we got on the track that lead us back to the roads. A slow 12 miles with 2000ft ascent, in 4.5 hours!

Neil heading up Wormstones
Bessie with Kinder Scout in the background
After the run with Neil on Tuesday I began to feel run down so rested though to Saturday, the day of the Kinder Trial (orienteering) fell race....

Caity, Neil and myself had decided to run together on the Trial. Runners were set off at intervals of a minute or so, between 10am and 11am. Our time was 10:14. You got given the map with the control points to visit printed on it and you had to visit all of them, but in any order you want.


Our route went K6, K4, K9, K1, K2, K3, K10, K5, K7. So an anti-clockwise route. The opposite way round to which most people had gone... this meant we were running in fresh snow a lot of the time which made the going tough, until after K2.
I felt pretty rough for this run, even before we'd left Kinder Road my legs were aching and I was lacking any power for the hills. The views were good though and I had great company all the way round. We had an extra harrier to run in with as we met Lins at the top of Snake Path and we were all egged on by Neil who raced us into the finish together.

Caity & Neil on Sandy Heys
Lins, Caity, Neil & myself
Results here: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/temples-bin/hc.pl?a=list&d=hc&f=kinder-trial-2013

Great fun, as are all the Hayfield races ( http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~temples/hc/ ). I'd highly recommend taking part in them if you don't already...