Sleep

Yesterday I didn't need to drag myself out of bed for my early morning run. 

On Thursday I'd resorted to a latte to aid concentration at work because I've been struggling to sleep recently and was tired. I normally avoid caffeine so it works like rocket fuel when I need it, but can result in a totally sleepless night.  On this occasion I was wide awake all night and didn't even make it to bed.  This was great in terms of being up and about for an early morning run!  I ran well to start with but came unstuck with heavy legs quite suddenly about half way through and struggled on the hilly section.  By 7am when I should have been bright and bouncy after my run, I was absolutely shattered with a day at work and a long evening drive still to come.  I made it through the day by drinking a latte in the morning, two small bottles of coke during the day, and another latte at the motorway services in the evening.  This can't have been good for me but my eyes had been closing involuntarily and falling asleep at my desk or behind the wheel of my car would've been disasterous!

I was worried that I wouldn't sleep again after drinking all that junk but I needn't have been.  I slept deeply and was still fast asleep at 10:00 this morning when Andrew brought me a cup of tea. 

I felt much for a good sleep!  We went for a short run at lunch time today, and I ran much better even on the hilly bits.

Sleep deprivation is a major problem for some people.  Fortunately for me it doesn't happen often.

Up before the sheep

This morning it was a bigger struggle than ever to get up and out for an early morning run.  My legs felt as stiff as tree trunks for the first half mile or so and I was sorely tempted to vault a wall and hunker down with some very huggy looking sleeping sheep.  I don't think the sheep (or Andrew for that matter) would've been very impressed!  By the time we were onto the home straight my legs had loosened up and I was beginning to feel something close to normal.  I still wasn't properly awake, and took too long getting showered and ready for work; Andrew ran me to the station so I wouldn't miss my train.

Anyway, the purpose of the early morning run was to allow us to catch up with friends at the Goose Eye night run without having to run; two nights of hilly headtorching seemed a bit much on tired legs.  It was great to see everyone and I even felt a bit envious that I'd missed the run!  Lime and soda is boring but relatively low in calories and I'm sticking to my 'no alcohol in January' challenge...so far so good.

My thoughts are turning to the spring....when does the camping season start?

Back to work and headtorch run

Over the Christmas break my body clock has gradually adjusted to accommodate late nights and a bit of a lie in.  Those of you who know me well will be aware of my reputation as being a smidge sluggish in the morning and maybe a wee bit grumpy too.  This morning was no exception; the alarm went off announcing the return to work routine and I woke up feeling sad, and...yes ok I admit it...grumpy!

The feeling stayed with me all day until this evening, about a mile into our social head torch pub run.  We'd taken a route to include a rock known as 'The Dragon Stone'. The rock has a smile and an eye and looks rather friendly for a dragon.  Visiting it did a great job of cheering me up!  It's amazing what a good run with friends on a dark drizzly evening can do to lift the spirits (and ease out the aches from post ultra legs!).

Hello 2013 and Hardmoors 30

Today Andrew and I started 2013 with the Hardmoors 30; a 31 mile ultra marathon on the North Yorkshire coast.  For once it didn't rain and the sun was shining so it made for a lovely day out.  The run was tough because it was windy and the coast path was extremely muddy, and also because I haven't done much distance training lately.  Needless to say, we both ache a bit now!

I've decided to try a month with no alcohol.  This is primarily because I recently caught up with a friend I haven't seen for many months.  He looked really well; slimmer, younger and more full of life than I've seen him before.  He said he's given up booze and feels better for it.  I don't think I drink too much but I'd like to know whether I would also feel better if I went without, so I'm going to give it a try.

Thanks, and Goodbye to 2012

Andrew and I decided to run every day in December, and although it’s been tough fitting this around work and social arrangements we've managed it. Hurray! Thanks Andrew for sharing the mad challenge with me and making me stick with it when the going got tough. The lowlight has to have been the accidental 10+ miler I half stumbled half sprinted round in blind semi panic when I got lost running in the lanes around Chichester with an inadequate tourist map and a headtorch that I’d forgotten to charge!  I’ve most enjoyed all the runs shared with friends; I’m a little sad that I haven’t written about them here but I’ve had a tough few months and haven’t much felt like blogging.  Onwards and forwards!

Today’s run was one of those much treasured social outings with friends preceded with coffee and stolen and followed with pie peas mash and gravy. It was definitely the wettest muddiest run of 2012 which takes some doing considering what a soggy boggy year it's been! The pies etc were delicious and the company and the hospitality were top notch.  Thanks to Brett and Sue; a lovely way to finish a month of running and say goodbye to 2012.

I mentioned today an ultra event Andrew and I have entered and was asked....'but why would you want to run all that way?'....the first thought that sprang to mind was.....'I have no idea, why not?'  The response I managed was 'it's what we do'. What a pathetic unsatisfactory answer that was, but the real reasons are far too complex to explain.

It's a mystery where the inspiration to run comes from.  It seems to creep up almost unnoticed but has been known to vanish over night without warning.  It definitely cannot be called up on demand.  I’ve been giving some thought to this on and off over the Christmas break.  I’m fairly sure that the most powerful drive to succeed in running is the one that comes from within; an inner determination to conquer your body, overcome all obstacles and push your limits as far as possible.  This is a level of commitment and drive that is bordering on obsession which few people can find or would want to have.  

To complete the Bob Graham Round, The Lakeland 100 and The Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc are all challenges that are up there on my wish list, but to achieve any of these I know I need to be at my absolute fittest and that this is going to take an enormous amount of training and commitment.  To date I’ve been a bit worried about this as my running enthusiasm has not been up to the mark.

I caught up with a good friend’s blog today and whilst reading I realised that my running mojo has snuck up on me this month.  To be able to inspire others is definitely right up there at the top of my list of special achievements because it gives motivation, reward and fulfilment. I’ve been inspired by what I read and I’m itching to get back out in the hills.  

The Hardmoors 30 is my first challenge for 2013 and its tomorrow.  Goodbye 2012; bring on 2013!

The RAB 2012

Last weekend was spent in the Cheviots at the RAB Mountain Marathon, with my mountain marathon partner and friend, Dave.

I haven’t been to the Cheviots before and was looking forward to exploring a new area.  I took Friday off work so that I could get ready and travel without a mad rush, so I started out with that lovely holiday feeling. 

We stayed in the youth hostel in Berwick on Friday evening.  Our pre event dinner was fish and chips (well, sausage in my case!) eaten sat on a bench on the town walls watching the sun set with a view of the sea.  The weather was cool, bright and dry with a light breeze and this lasted for the whole weekend; perfect running conditions. 

On Saturday we got off to a bit of a ropey start in terms of navigation and route choices, but we soon tuned into the map and landscape and the rest of the day went well.  We found ourselves knee deep in heather for most of the day which made the going tough; I bet it looked stunning a few weeks ago when the heather was still in bloom.

The overnight camp was in a beautiful remote valley.  We’d started quite early so had plenty of time to settle in and enjoy the peace of the area.  I was particularly pleased to see a male hen harrier patrolling up and down the valley (well at least I’m pretty sure that is what it was).

It was cold over night but I was warm enough in my new PHD sleeping bag, RAB power stretch tights, OMM top and crux down jacket …with hat, buff, and gloves too!  It took ages to get to sleep as I’d accidentally eaten a gel with caffeine in about an hour before we were due to finish.  I did eventually get to sleep and although I woke up frequently I slept pretty well.  There was ice on the tent in the morning and our socks were frozen.  I warmed mine on the pot before putting them on!

We had a great run on Sunday.  There were no navigational difficulties and the route we chose worked really well.   For the first few controls we saw only a few solo runners, and really enjoyed navigating without the distraction of other runners nearby.

The post race food was delicious, a Scottish recipe; Stovies made with chicken.  I’ve not had it before and will definitely have a go at making it at home.

Thanks Dave for joining me for the weekend, for being a gent, and for rescuing my water bottle from a particularly revolting muddy bog, carrying it up the hill and cleaning it for me.  I suspect the outcome might have been slightly different if it had been me that fell in the mud instead of just the bottle!!!

All in all a great weekend in the hills…roll on the next one!

Exploring around Appletreewick

This weekend I'd planned a camping trip to Borrowdale but work got in the way; I was late home from a meeting and the weather wasn't good, very windy and grey.  Andrew had had enough of mad rush Friday packing, pulled rank and called it off.

On Saturday we reached a compromise; to camp for one night at Appletreewick and run from there.  Our friends Martyn and Helen invited us to join them for their long run on Sunday so we only needed to organise a route for Saturday and arrange our accommodation.  After a quick search on google we discovered that the main camp site was full, but we found Howgill Lodge which is about half an hours stroll along the river from the village and had space for us.  By this time it was early afternoon and we were running out of day, so packing was another rushed affair.  Andrew looked at the map whilst I assembled the camping gear; it didn't take us long to pack, and we were soon at the campsite with the tent pitched in a lovely quiet corner.

Andrews route was on trails and footpaths along Howgill Lane to Skyreholme, past Rabbit Hill then crossing the B6265 road just below Stump Cross Caverns and up to Grimwith Reservoir.  the return route was along Skyreholme Beck and past Parceval Hall.  We worked out we had no more than two and a half hours spare for this.  It was mostly uphill on the way out and was rather slow going as we frequently needed to check the map.  By the time we reached the road crossing we were getting concerned about the time and decided to cut out the reservoir loop and follow the road to join our return route.  The road was not the nicest of places to be running as it was a fast stretch for drivers.  I was much relieved when a chicken that strayed out from a farm scuttled back into the yard and not under the wheels of an approaching car (I hid behind Andrew as I was convinced it was going to be flattened!)

It's odd how you can bump into fellow fell runners in the remotest of places.  As we ran down a lane off the main road, a car pulled up in front of us.  Mark and Emma (new friends met on a Bob Graham Round we were supporting) got out to say hello.  Mark had been running on part of the route we'd be taking the next day.

The rest of the run was uneventful except for the discovery of a promising looking teashop located in the entrance to Parcival Hall.  We didn't have time to drop in but we'll definitely try it out some time soon.  We arrived back earlier than expected and realised we would've had time to visit the reservoir after all.  Ho hum!


There are two pubs in Appletreewick, both are excellent.  We ate in the Craven Arms.  Despite arriving early it was busy but we were lucky to find a table straight away and had no trouble getting served at the bar.  The food was tasty and the atmosphere was cheerful.




We saw two Tawny Owls on our way back from the pub in the evening, one of these was quite close and seemed still to be learning to call. Back at our tent we were treated to owl calls that seemed to come from all directions. We slept well in our tent, and in the morning woke up to a chorus of birdsong.  We loved the campsite and hope to return in the spring when the new lambs are in the fields. 

Sunday's run was a 14 mile route from Thruscross Reservoir taking in the Bolton Abbey Estate grouse moors and Simons Seat.  It was cool and blustery and being really good runnable route I should have felt good.  Despite carrying only a light pack, I had to work hard to keep up with the pace, alternating between feeling quite strong and struggling to keep going at all.  I felt stiff and achy and am hoping this was just the after effects of a long day travelling on Friday.

Thruscross reservoir.
The construction of the reservoir in 1966 flooded the village of West End, which was mostly derelict following the decline of the flax industry. The remains of a flax mill are still standing in the edge of the reservoir.  Much of the village ruins still remain below the water.