This weekend was meant to be a long one as I’d taken Friday off; I’ve been under pressure at work since Christmas and needed a rest. I received a phone call on Wednesday for a job interview on Friday. Not only did I lose my day off as it was spent attending an interview and driving to Yorkshire, but it also added to the stress and pressure as I had a report to finish which meant I was already committed to working long hours as well as having the interview to prepare for. My training on Thursday and Friday had to be sacrificed, and I went without some sleep.
I was up at 6 on Friday morning. The interview was at 9:30 and lasted nearly two hours. I left for Yorkshire at lunch time and arrived at tea time. So much for a nice relaxing day! It felt as though the interview went well and I’m now waiting for feedback; they’re intending to make an offer today. Needless to say, I’m sitting over my phone feeling more than a little bit anxious right now! I hope it wasn’t a useless waste of time.
In the evening Andrew and I joined friends for a delicious Thai green curry dinner followed by an evening of entertainment at a local village pantomime. It was a mad dash to get there on time but I soon calmed down and settled into weekend mode after a couple of glasses of wine. I’ve never been to an event like it and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The hall was small, the stage large and the cast were clearly enjoying themselves and really connected with the audience. These Yorkshire folks know how to enjoy themselves and put on a good do!
By 10 pm I was completely shattered and had no trouble getting to sleep. When I woke up at 6 and Andrew suggested we abandon our trip to the lakes I almost agreed! We did manage to rouse ourselves though and made it to Borrowdale just in time to squeeze in our run in daylight.
We followed the route of the Lake Ridge and Wainright event which gave us about 22 miles (including getting to the start and back from the car) and 8000 feet of climb. It was a clear day and the sun came out at times, we had stunning views across hills and dales. There were two heavy but brief hail showers and one longer heavy hail/snow shower; these arrived suddenly without much warning and tested our skills at speed dressing in waterproofs!
I experienced some trouble part way round the route. As we started the descent into Buttermere I had stomach pain and felt a bit sick. I wanted to eat but we’d been eating on the ascents so I put it off. I twisted my right ankle descending on grass but recovered well; it actually felt looser and more comfortable than the left one once I’d recovered from the shock and the pain had gone. It was a lovely long runable descent which I should have enjoyed racing down, but I suddenly felt very sleepy and grumpy and although the nausea had passed I ended up walking it (dare I admit this?) in a bit of a sulk! I watched Andrew disappear down the hill with no will whatsoever to join him in the fun. He was waiting for me at the bottom wondering what could possibly be the matter, and thinking I must have twisted my ankle again!
I couldn’t explain what the problem was except to admit that I’d just become tired and grumpy. We decided I needed to eat, and after a warm never mind kind of hug I gobbled my way through an energy gel, a finger of fudge, and a couple of Jaffa cakes. By the time we’d made our way around the back of the lake I’d recovered. Valuable lesson learnt; if hungry eat immediately!
I found the next section a real challenge as I stumbled clumsily between rocks and stones. Andrew has suggested that I focus my Lakeland training to some very specific technical work including some rocky traversing and descending. I’m not looking forward to that but I know conquering this will be key to my getting round the Bob Graham Route. It was a relief to get back onto the more grassy slopes.
I’ve not seen the Honister slate mine before although I’d heard and read much about it. It was getting near to the end of our run when we arrived there. I was focusing mainly on the descent into it and the next ascent, so I didn’t really pay much attention, but I have a lasting image of gravel and dinge and memories of mechanical noise that haven’t left me. It seems to me that no effort has been made to soften the impact or make the public access areas attractive which is a real shame. It’s a place to which I would gladly never return….but for BGR purposes it will be unavoidable!
Our run finished as the sun set and it was dark when we arrived back at the car. I fell asleep on the way home and was relieved to crawl into bed after a shower, dinner of pasta, hot baguette and tomato sauce. (And a glass of Bacardi and coke of course!!!)
On Sunday we had a lazy morning then headed up the Beamsley Beacon for a few rounds; enough to bump up the weekend climb to 10,000 feet. I was surprised at how strong I felt on the hills on both days, and feel reassured that I’m still steadily gaining fitness.
Off Course Phalarope
Monday, 28 February 2011
Monday, 21 February 2011
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
After a tough week with several sleepless nights I seem to have regained some inner peace; for now at least.
'Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling
The lion sleeps tonight'
I seem to have been permanantly cold since Friday. It doesn't matter how many layers I put on, my hands and feet are cold and are refusing to warm up. I've increased the heating in my flat and am sitting writing this with a hot water bottle stuffed up the back of my jumper. There are no radiators to sit against here, only night storage heaters.
The weekend seemed to pass by very quickly. We celebrated Tom's birthday (my eldest son) on Saturday, which involved lunch in the pub (mmm feta and tomato salad and baguette, and two glasses of white wine and soda), followed by a walk and ice creams on the sea front, birthday cake in the afternoon, and Mum's home cooked mexican dinner, yom yom! In the evening we watched Shakespeare in Love; a great film but rather too many sex scenes for comfort given the presence of my sons. Andrew missed the rude bits as he'd nodded off!
Andrew and I had been out for hill reps at Branscombe at 6am and managed to squeeze eight climbs into the two hours we had spare. The first couple of reps were done in the dark. As the sun rose the low cloud formed an inversion in the valley which gradually sank away to nothing as the sun gained height and warmth. It was a beautiful sight.
The hill starts as a gradual slope on short grassy pasture, then ramps up a bit through a second field to a style and a flight of steps. The steps are pretty big and are rough cut into the earth with wooden retaining faces that stand proud above the treads. It had rained a lot overnight and the treads were full of water. After the steps its back onto a short but fairly steep section of pasture to a low earth wall which marks the top. Interestingly, it's the least steep section of the ascent that I find the hardest. Descending I find the steps require a huge amount of concentration as they're quite big and its really easy to allow my knees to lock up giving a tendancy to pitch forward; I'm wary of tripping over the wooden faces and hurtling downwards head first.
Mum had made us a picnic breakfast of sausage baguettes. There was something really special about eating these by the sea under the canopy of the not yet open tea shop. There was noone else around but we had plenty of company as we shared the cover with a colony of chirpy sparrows.
On Sunday we were up early again for a 6:30 start. Andrew, Sam and I ran to Branscombe along the cliff path and back. We started with headtorches but didn't need them for long as it became light soon after we set off. The run went well and at a faster pace than last time; I was proud of Sam for keeping up without complaint, even managing a sprint finish with Andrew!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Tripped again!
The weather was much kinder to me for the drive to Yorkshire than it was last weekend and I arrived achy but in good spirits.
On Saturday I ran/walked/stumbled my way round the Wadsworth Trog with Andrew. I can honestly say it's the worst start to a race I've ever had; within 5 minutes my left calf had locked up painfully and I couldn't push off with my left foot. By the top of the first hill we were at the back, rapidly getting left behind, with the sweepers chatting as they trotted comfortably behind us. I was in despair as I just couldn't move any faster. The ground levelled out and became boggy, and the muscle pain eased, but we were well behind and the sweepers remained on our heels.
I was in fear of being timed out and losing the valuable training the race offered.
On the descent that followed I was able to push on properly and by the reservoir at the bottom the sweepers were out of earshot, presumably dismantling the checkpoint we'd just visited. The runners ahead were back in sight ascending a very steep hill. Andrew and I threw ourselves at that hill and I was thoroughly chuffed and much relieved to catch up with the group ahead at the top. My calf pain had gone and I felt strong.
As for the rest of the race; it was an amazing day. The sun came out, the ground was boggy and challenging and the scenery was lovely. There were even some tussocks thrown in for good measure! There was a navigation section that had us reading the map and we found our way reasonably well despite some initial uncertainty.
Thanks to the organisers, marshalls and supporters for putting on a great do, oh and the soup and cake at the end were yummie!
I lost count of how many times I tripped and stumbled. I fell over landing heavily on all fours with my right foot under my left knee squashed between a pair of tussocks. This hurt a great deal; Inov8 studs are not to be recommended as landing cushions! The resultant bruise is pretty impressive, much larger than the occasion deserves, and is very tender. I'm booked to see Suzi my chiropractor on Friday to assess the damage, check for popped ribs (yep you read it correctly!), get my pelvis straightened out, and hopefully get to the bottom of the calf trouble. Suzi is amazing, no matter what kind of mess I get myself into she always manages to squash me back into shape and get me going again. It seems that miracles are possible after all!
On Saturday evening Andrew and I celebrated valentines early with dinner and a lovely bottle of brut rose champagne mmm!
On Sunday we woke up to rain and Andrew, knowing how tired I get, let me lie in until mid morning. He'd planned a 10 mile hilly route crisscrossing the ridge between upper Wharfdale and Littondale, Starbotton and Arncliffe. This gave us four big climbs and descents with no flat running between. We started at lunch time and had three and a half hours of quality training. It was an ingenious route through beautiful countryside and I loved every minute despite the persistent rain and wind.
Of course now I'm back on my own in the south again. I can still call up images of the countryside and wildlife we saw over the weekend though. We heard our first skylark of the year wharbling away above and to the left of us. I saw a grouse up close for the first time in full breeding plumage with a traffic light red cap and rich rusty red feathers. There were two new flocks of lambs, looking tiny and vulnerable in the rain, sheltering behind walls or close to their mums. Another sign of spring were the Oystercatchers we saw dotted along the floodplane of the river Wharfe.
On Saturday I ran/walked/stumbled my way round the Wadsworth Trog with Andrew. I can honestly say it's the worst start to a race I've ever had; within 5 minutes my left calf had locked up painfully and I couldn't push off with my left foot. By the top of the first hill we were at the back, rapidly getting left behind, with the sweepers chatting as they trotted comfortably behind us. I was in despair as I just couldn't move any faster. The ground levelled out and became boggy, and the muscle pain eased, but we were well behind and the sweepers remained on our heels.
I was in fear of being timed out and losing the valuable training the race offered.
On the descent that followed I was able to push on properly and by the reservoir at the bottom the sweepers were out of earshot, presumably dismantling the checkpoint we'd just visited. The runners ahead were back in sight ascending a very steep hill. Andrew and I threw ourselves at that hill and I was thoroughly chuffed and much relieved to catch up with the group ahead at the top. My calf pain had gone and I felt strong.
As for the rest of the race; it was an amazing day. The sun came out, the ground was boggy and challenging and the scenery was lovely. There were even some tussocks thrown in for good measure! There was a navigation section that had us reading the map and we found our way reasonably well despite some initial uncertainty.
Thanks to the organisers, marshalls and supporters for putting on a great do, oh and the soup and cake at the end were yummie!
I lost count of how many times I tripped and stumbled. I fell over landing heavily on all fours with my right foot under my left knee squashed between a pair of tussocks. This hurt a great deal; Inov8 studs are not to be recommended as landing cushions! The resultant bruise is pretty impressive, much larger than the occasion deserves, and is very tender. I'm booked to see Suzi my chiropractor on Friday to assess the damage, check for popped ribs (yep you read it correctly!), get my pelvis straightened out, and hopefully get to the bottom of the calf trouble. Suzi is amazing, no matter what kind of mess I get myself into she always manages to squash me back into shape and get me going again. It seems that miracles are possible after all!
On Saturday evening Andrew and I celebrated valentines early with dinner and a lovely bottle of brut rose champagne mmm!
On Sunday we woke up to rain and Andrew, knowing how tired I get, let me lie in until mid morning. He'd planned a 10 mile hilly route crisscrossing the ridge between upper Wharfdale and Littondale, Starbotton and Arncliffe. This gave us four big climbs and descents with no flat running between. We started at lunch time and had three and a half hours of quality training. It was an ingenious route through beautiful countryside and I loved every minute despite the persistent rain and wind.
Of course now I'm back on my own in the south again. I can still call up images of the countryside and wildlife we saw over the weekend though. We heard our first skylark of the year wharbling away above and to the left of us. I saw a grouse up close for the first time in full breeding plumage with a traffic light red cap and rich rusty red feathers. There were two new flocks of lambs, looking tiny and vulnerable in the rain, sheltering behind walls or close to their mums. Another sign of spring were the Oystercatchers we saw dotted along the floodplane of the river Wharfe.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Just a bit of wind!
Another action packed weekend.
The drive to Yorkshire was the hardest I've done, with the wind buffeting my car all the way. After Sheffield the rain started and passing trucks became really hazardous. At one point I could see nothing but a wall of water and could only keep parallel to the truck, put my foot down and hope for the best. I arrived with aching hands, wrists, neck and shoulders from gripping the steering wheel constantly for 5 hours.
Andrew and I did our shorter run on Saturday afternoon. It had been raining all morning but we were lucky and managed a mostly dry run. We arrived at the car park to find I'd left my waterproof jacket behind. I put on my spare warm layer and was preparing to set off without the coat but the wind was blowing through the layers and I had a sudden doubt. Andrew took me home to fetch the coat and a head torch; we were going to be a bit late.
That was the best decision we could've made. About half an hour into the run I tripped and fell forwards into shallow water soaking my arms and legs. I would have been very cold and miserable, and possibly in trouble without my jacket. Later on we lost the light and the last 20 minutes or so were run with the headtorch and compass. We had a large reservoir to aim for and were pleased when it loomed out of the gloom below us. The ground was wet and quite boggy in places so it will have been valuable strength training for me. I had a stiff calf and felt rotten for the whole run. More whinging I'm afraid!
In the evening, after a warm up sitting against the radiator with a hot water bottle, we went to Ilkley for an Indian. It was a lovely evening, the food was good, the restaurant was warm (very important for me), and I enjoyed a Bacardi & coke and a large glass of red mmm!
On Sunday we were up early and running by 8:30. It was wet and blustery but we had a good long hilly run planned and weren't going to be put off by the weather. We had a full set of kit and I headed up the first hill with determination not to let my stiff calf get the better of me. I felt much so much stronger than I did on Saturday; it remains a mystery to me how my performance can vary so greatly from day to day. However, this run was not meant to be.
As the morning went on the wind picked up and was so strong climbing Gt Whernside that we couldn't communicate properly as we couldn't hear each other above the din. Andrew had said something about changing the route and I'd agreed not knowing really what that meant. On the summit he had to hold on to me. The wind was very strong blowing from behind us, I was afraid, and had tried to duck behind a rock to avoid being blown away. As we turned to retrace our steps (avoiding the planned ridge route) Andrew said 'now keep close and don't go running off' I laughed as the only running I was in danger of doing was going to be backwards! We had to force our way against the wind back down the hill.
I became cold on the descent. I was soaked to the skin despite wearing full waterproofs and my hands were frozen. I asked Andrew for a plan b; I needed to abandon the run. We arrived in Kettlewell and paused to get food out of Andrew's rucksack, but this was enough to reduce me to a shaking fit and he agreed readily to use my emergency first aid kit money to get a takeaway hot drink.
The small cafe cum bed & breakfast across the road from the car park drew the short straw. We arrived sodden and dripping, and shivering in my case, in the entrance lobby, and despite our wet protests we were encouraged to go in and sit down. There were no cushions on the chairs and we were told we would do no harm. What more of a friendly welcome could we have had? We had tea and shared a big steaming bowl of vegetable soup. I'd reccomend this place to anyone http://www.kettlewelltearooms.co.uk/ .
Warmed from outside in and inside out, we set off to climb over the ridge back to Arncliffe. The wind had not dropped but the rain had eased and we returned in good spirits despite being disappointed at losing half our run.
We still had half a day to enjoy so after another warm up by the radiator with hot water bottle we set off for shopping in Skipton (for outdoor gear of course) and fish and chips in Bizzie Lizzies (spelling?). Did you know you can get champagne there? It's on my list of things to do now....champagne and fish and chips in Bizzie Lizzies overlooking the canal!!!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention....we saw LAMBS hurrah!
Last week I increased my stair climbs to 15 flights and despite being really under pressure at work managed 4 days of these and three 10 mile runs. The Monday runs in my schedule are not happening; some rescheduling is necessary there.
This week I have increased the stairs again to 20 flights, yesterday they went really well. Today I'm not going to be able to fit them in but I'll be out for a 10 miler later on. I got on the scales this morning, I've lost half a stone.
The drive to Yorkshire was the hardest I've done, with the wind buffeting my car all the way. After Sheffield the rain started and passing trucks became really hazardous. At one point I could see nothing but a wall of water and could only keep parallel to the truck, put my foot down and hope for the best. I arrived with aching hands, wrists, neck and shoulders from gripping the steering wheel constantly for 5 hours.
Andrew and I did our shorter run on Saturday afternoon. It had been raining all morning but we were lucky and managed a mostly dry run. We arrived at the car park to find I'd left my waterproof jacket behind. I put on my spare warm layer and was preparing to set off without the coat but the wind was blowing through the layers and I had a sudden doubt. Andrew took me home to fetch the coat and a head torch; we were going to be a bit late.
That was the best decision we could've made. About half an hour into the run I tripped and fell forwards into shallow water soaking my arms and legs. I would have been very cold and miserable, and possibly in trouble without my jacket. Later on we lost the light and the last 20 minutes or so were run with the headtorch and compass. We had a large reservoir to aim for and were pleased when it loomed out of the gloom below us. The ground was wet and quite boggy in places so it will have been valuable strength training for me. I had a stiff calf and felt rotten for the whole run. More whinging I'm afraid!
In the evening, after a warm up sitting against the radiator with a hot water bottle, we went to Ilkley for an Indian. It was a lovely evening, the food was good, the restaurant was warm (very important for me), and I enjoyed a Bacardi & coke and a large glass of red mmm!
On Sunday we were up early and running by 8:30. It was wet and blustery but we had a good long hilly run planned and weren't going to be put off by the weather. We had a full set of kit and I headed up the first hill with determination not to let my stiff calf get the better of me. I felt much so much stronger than I did on Saturday; it remains a mystery to me how my performance can vary so greatly from day to day. However, this run was not meant to be.
As the morning went on the wind picked up and was so strong climbing Gt Whernside that we couldn't communicate properly as we couldn't hear each other above the din. Andrew had said something about changing the route and I'd agreed not knowing really what that meant. On the summit he had to hold on to me. The wind was very strong blowing from behind us, I was afraid, and had tried to duck behind a rock to avoid being blown away. As we turned to retrace our steps (avoiding the planned ridge route) Andrew said 'now keep close and don't go running off' I laughed as the only running I was in danger of doing was going to be backwards! We had to force our way against the wind back down the hill.
I became cold on the descent. I was soaked to the skin despite wearing full waterproofs and my hands were frozen. I asked Andrew for a plan b; I needed to abandon the run. We arrived in Kettlewell and paused to get food out of Andrew's rucksack, but this was enough to reduce me to a shaking fit and he agreed readily to use my emergency first aid kit money to get a takeaway hot drink.
The small cafe cum bed & breakfast across the road from the car park drew the short straw. We arrived sodden and dripping, and shivering in my case, in the entrance lobby, and despite our wet protests we were encouraged to go in and sit down. There were no cushions on the chairs and we were told we would do no harm. What more of a friendly welcome could we have had? We had tea and shared a big steaming bowl of vegetable soup. I'd reccomend this place to anyone http://www.kettlewelltearooms.co.uk/ .
Warmed from outside in and inside out, we set off to climb over the ridge back to Arncliffe. The wind had not dropped but the rain had eased and we returned in good spirits despite being disappointed at losing half our run.
We still had half a day to enjoy so after another warm up by the radiator with hot water bottle we set off for shopping in Skipton (for outdoor gear of course) and fish and chips in Bizzie Lizzies (spelling?). Did you know you can get champagne there? It's on my list of things to do now....champagne and fish and chips in Bizzie Lizzies overlooking the canal!!!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention....we saw LAMBS hurrah!
Last week I increased my stair climbs to 15 flights and despite being really under pressure at work managed 4 days of these and three 10 mile runs. The Monday runs in my schedule are not happening; some rescheduling is necessary there.
This week I have increased the stairs again to 20 flights, yesterday they went really well. Today I'm not going to be able to fit them in but I'll be out for a 10 miler later on. I got on the scales this morning, I've lost half a stone.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Where does the time go?
After a hectic week last week it was a relief to drop into weekend mode, and a special weekend it was.
It was Mum's birthday so my usual car load of clobber was increased by one freshly baked coffee and walnut cake filled and decorated with coffee flavoured fresh cream. Needless to say, my driving was a little more sedate than normal!
I planned my training to cause as little disruption to the weekend as possible, which ment getting up and running at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday and 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. Saturday morning was a two lap road run with head torch, and I had the honour of hearing the dawn chorus from the ducks and waders on the river Axe. It was a great way to start the day.
We walked into Seaton in the morning and had a pub lunch (I was good and had a tomato and feta salad and baguette). The cake was cut in the afternoon, then we had a fondu in the evening finished off with Mum's home made meringues...mmmm! A day of lots of yummy treats. We watched Robin of Sherwood in the evening; a good film that I hadn't seen before.
Early Sunday morning I took my youngest son Sam for a cliff top head torch run. It was absolutely freezing with a biting northerly wind but we'd wrapped up warm and watched the sun rise over the sea. We met a gentleman of senior years on our way back who was running in shorts. He must've been numb as the cold was biting my legs through my tights. We soon warmed up after showers and a cooked breakfast.
By 11 I was back in a fresh set of running kit and at the City of Exeter Hash with my eldest son Tom (Sam had gone off to paintballing with his mates). It was a good long hilly hash with few stops and I felt I ran strongly despite the morning run.
We had roast beef for dinner and, perhaps not surprisingly I struggled against tiredness in the afternoon. By tea time I was fading rapidly and didn't put up a fight when Mum said I should head for home and get an early night!
Monday morning should've seen me up early for a 5 mile morning run. I was so tired I switched the alarm off and went back to sleep. That's one run I won't be able to claw back but I obviously needed the rest.
It was Mum's birthday so my usual car load of clobber was increased by one freshly baked coffee and walnut cake filled and decorated with coffee flavoured fresh cream. Needless to say, my driving was a little more sedate than normal!
I planned my training to cause as little disruption to the weekend as possible, which ment getting up and running at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday and 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. Saturday morning was a two lap road run with head torch, and I had the honour of hearing the dawn chorus from the ducks and waders on the river Axe. It was a great way to start the day.
We walked into Seaton in the morning and had a pub lunch (I was good and had a tomato and feta salad and baguette). The cake was cut in the afternoon, then we had a fondu in the evening finished off with Mum's home made meringues...mmmm! A day of lots of yummy treats. We watched Robin of Sherwood in the evening; a good film that I hadn't seen before.
Early Sunday morning I took my youngest son Sam for a cliff top head torch run. It was absolutely freezing with a biting northerly wind but we'd wrapped up warm and watched the sun rise over the sea. We met a gentleman of senior years on our way back who was running in shorts. He must've been numb as the cold was biting my legs through my tights. We soon warmed up after showers and a cooked breakfast.
By 11 I was back in a fresh set of running kit and at the City of Exeter Hash with my eldest son Tom (Sam had gone off to paintballing with his mates). It was a good long hilly hash with few stops and I felt I ran strongly despite the morning run.
We had roast beef for dinner and, perhaps not surprisingly I struggled against tiredness in the afternoon. By tea time I was fading rapidly and didn't put up a fight when Mum said I should head for home and get an early night!
Monday morning should've seen me up early for a 5 mile morning run. I was so tired I switched the alarm off and went back to sleep. That's one run I won't be able to claw back but I obviously needed the rest.
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