Brough Law fell race 10th March 2013 5m 1240'

Headed off to the Breamish valley this morning for my third attempt at the Brough Law fell race. Having had a very busy few weeks of heavy mileage training for my first Ultra marathon I was aiming to treat this as a training run. 3 hours and 22 miles of off road running yesterday made my legs quite heavy, hobbling out of bed yearning for a lie-in.

The forecast for the North East wasn't great reading with the prospect of wintry showers, wind and a chill in the air. The sun was shining en route to Ingram, the Cheviots white in the distance. The terrain would hopefully be firm. I reached the start area early for a 30 minute warm up taking a few snaps on the way. Collected my number (number 4) and got prepared.

the long first climb

The race has a very sharp start immediately climbing from step 1 for approximately a mile. I set off steady keeping the lactic acid in check, lungs working overtime. Reaching the top of the first climb I found myself around 8th or 9th spot. "Champion" I thought. I pushed on at a steady canter and moved up the field to 4th. "What am I doing here" I kept asking myself. "Focus and just enjoy", I kept telling myself as I closed in on 3rd. There was a canny chill on the tops with a few flurries of hailstone, quite nippy. Reaching the last descent, the guy in 3rd had enough of a gap just to bolt down to the finish.

I was most pleased with 4th, training is paying off at last, knocking 5 minutes off my previous best time. Now for another 75 mile week! Allendale challenge next.

The start ascent and finish descent

Lakeland 50 recce, Mardale to Ambleside via Kentmere

Met a few lads over in the Lakes to do another recce of the Lakeland 50 route. Having done the Ambleside to Coniston section back in December, we aimed to complete Mardale to Ambleside via Kentmere on a cold, snowy day. Around 14 miles on the actual route, but we had to get to the start first. In total the navigation experts calculated around 18-19 miles in total.

We arranged to meet up at Kirkstone Pass early doors, hoping to bag a few hills on the way to the start at Mardale. Had plenty kit but inadequate gloves let me down especially on the tops where the wind chill factor must have been -10. Numb, painful fingers for a good hour or so. Not pleasant. There was a covering of snow on the hills, several inches in places but due to the cold temperatures the snow had formed a crust and was quite firm to run on. Climbing wasn't too bad but the descents were quite tricky having to negotiate carefully to avoid any injury. I was grateful that a few of the lads were clued up on the map reading front, a skill I need to work on.

We reached the start of the section at Mardale after two hours of climbing and descending, thankfully the fingers warmed up quite quickly as soon as we reached the valley bottom.
The route was undulating as expected but was akin to running on a dry river bed, rock and more rock. Going to be hard on the feet and the quads. We passed some remote areas and areas I'd never been before which was refreshing.

We reached Ambleside after around 5 hours, great training for the Fling (8 weeks and counting).

"Why?"

Over the past few weeks I've had lots of people asking "why are you running an ultra marathon?" and "don't you get bored training so much?".

Firstly, I have a long term target and I'm training towards that target. We all have our own targets whether it's running or not. My training hasn't changed a great deal apart from the weekend back to back long runs. I'm still training with my club mates on a Monday (long reps) and a Thursday (track work) and fitting in some short easy runs in between. This hasn't changed for a long time (barring injury breaks :o( ). That's the bread and butter for regular races. What makes the difference and takes it to the next level is the steady build up of the back to back long weekend runs and some regular core work. Time on feet rather than distance is key. It seems to be a constant battle to try and explain this over and over. I run and train because I love what I do and I have things I want to achieve. Selfish? Probably, but running is selfish.

If you have a personal target, in my opinion you need to focus on it and achieve it no matter what. Friends and family understand that and their support is invaluable. Yes, it may irk some people now and again but in the end if and when I complete my first ultra I can say I have achieved something and worked hard to do so.

Enough of the serious stuff. I have a couple of fell races coming up and have also entered the Allendale challenge at the beginning of April as a perfectly timed training run. Looking forward to a Lakeland 50 recce in 2 weeks time with a few experienced ultra runners, should be good fun.

11 weeks to go until the Highland Fling and I'm feeling in good shape. 11 weeks doesn't sound too long at all!

Highland Fling elevation profile

Ultra training

3 weeks into my 16 week training plan for the Highland fling ultra marathon and all is going well. Two quality sessions at the club per week and back to back long runs at the weekend with some sort ones in-between mean I'm on schedule. The long runs are going to get longer. Need to read up on nutrition and what to plan for during the race.
I'm really enjoying the club sessions, especially the track. I'm maintaing some speed but it's a shame it's out of action at the moment with all the white stuff coming down recently.
I should probably get a race in soon before my form plummets!

Not even going to mention a certain football club performing like an already relegated team. Surely not....

Looking forward to a long run tomorrow, like running on candy floss! Hope it doesn't freeze overnight.

Chapel wood (19/01/2013)

Hillforts and Headaches 1st January 2013, 3 miles, 1020'

Had a grand New Year's day race this morning over in Rothbury at the Hillforts and Headaches annual race.

A bit of a breezy affair with a definite cold snap in the air so I was expecting to get a battering on the top.

I checked in at registration in the Newcastle Hotel and passed over 4 groats for the pleasure. A couple of miles warm up on part of the route helped loosen the legs and acclimatise to the hills somewhat.

We set off at a steady pace which was most welcome as I have a tendency to shoot off and spend all my energy early doors. I moved up the field concentrating on my own running and not worrying about other runners. I felt quite good and maintained my position after the first mile right through to the end.

It was blowing a hoolie on top but I was well chuffed with a 7th place finish winning me a bottle of ale. Now that's a proper prize! A great start to the year, have a good one!

2012 summary

STATS FOR THE YEAR OF 2012 FOR ALL YOU GEEKS OUT THERE

January - 209 miles, 3,986ft
February - 219 miles, 18,502ft
March - 237 miles, 21,910 ft
April - 168 miles, 18,856ft
May - 191 miles, 19,733 ft
June - 74 miles, 3,889 ft, INJURED!
July - 200 miles, 7,841ft
August - 181 miles, 12,367ft
September - 210 miles, 11,831ft
October - 163 miles, 6,509ft
November - 62 miles, 4,293ft, INJURED!
December - 202 miles, 10,126ft

Total - 2,115 miles, 139,840ft

Big year in 2013, glad to see the back of 2012 - Happy New Year!

Lakeland 50 recce, Ambleside to Coniston

Had a cracking day yesterday (23rd Dec) over in the Lake District meandering around the Ambleside to Coniston section of the Lakeland 50 race. This is the last 15 or so miles of the route and takes in Elterwater, Chapel Stile and Tilberthwaite also through Little Langdale. A combined climb of around 3,000 feet.

Bearing in mind that 35 miles would have been trodden when leaving the Ambleside checkpoint, this is going to be a hellish race. The terrain is akin to the Borrowdale fell race so the feet are going to be battered for much it. A wise choice of footwear will have to be mulled over, x-talon's for an ultra?? Doubtful

We set off from a dry Ambleside at around 9am using the published road book which I have to say was very descriptive and an essential tool. There are a few tough climbs along the way which will not be welcome come race day. It has put me off even considering doing the 100 one year (for now!).

The weather remained dry throughout although blowing a hoolie on the tops.

Final descent to Coniston

We returned to Ambleside via the road route as it was more direct. In total we covered over 23 miles. A welcome pit stop at the cafe above Lakes Runner for a pint of tea and some sugar before the drive home. Cheers JM!

Looking forward to the next recce. Aiming for the Hillforts and Headaches race on New Year's day. Approx 16 weeks to go until the Highland Fling. Can't wait.