It's the end of the year. I started this post earlier, and now it's time to finish it. This time last year I was hobbled with a stress fracture in my foot and wondering what on earth 2013 would be like. One thing I vowed to do once fit again was to race more, and I did that. Mainly fellrunning, though there have been some unexpected highlights on the hard black stuff too. Lots of fellrunning fulfils my other promise to myself which was to enjoy my running rather then push the mileage. So here they are, my running highlights
Salford 10k - March - new PB
This was my 10k PB attempt after recovery and a fine example of how competition pushes athletes to succeed. My training buddy Caity and I were both gunning for PBs and our clubmates egged us on, not least as I was racing in the colours of my 'road club'. I was ready to use her as a rabbit and mentally up for a slog of a race through some of the less scenic parts of salford. Cold, dry and still conditions at the start and we headed off shoulder to shoulder. She pulled away at 2k but I settled into my natural 10k pace which I'd practised at a club handicap run a few weeks earlier. I caught her at 7k and we muttered encouragement to one another, Caity telling me to pull away and get the win, though by then I was giving it a lot and just hanging on to her pace. I hung on until about 800 to go and she steamed off. I chased again and crossed 4 seconds behind her, we both PB'd. Job done. That's the last time I got that close to Caity as her stellar rise was beginning. She's now up there amongst English fell champions and we have to fight off the teams trying to poach her. She's still a hell of a rabbit to train with.
Back to the fells - March
By January I was capable of running for an hour and I was taking good advice and staying on the cautious side. I had a half marathon in the calendar for the end of March and I was pretty confident I would be up to it by then. Early March I was invited to Wales with the Glossopdalers, to the Rhinogs, a lovely overlooked part of the Snowdonia National Park. I figured I'd join the shorter/slower runs and perhaps have a day off if it felt too much. I'd not run at all on the hills at this point either so I was slightly worried it'd do my foot no good. How wrong could I have been - I managed to stick with the group for 2 of the 4 peaks on the long route and have immense fun in the freshly-fallen snow. I was surprised to spend 4 - 5 hours out in the snow and yet not get cold feet at all. The pace was a good 'social' pace, plenty of stops for photos and navigation, the kind of fell-running which is basically fast hiking. The second day we did a short run up Moel Famau in mid-Wales and to my delight, I managed a good run up it with the group. It was as if I'd never been away from the fells, and set the tone for the rest of the year.
Midweek Madness
In the summertime, all the little village races start to pop up in the calendar. My idea was to toughen up for the triathlon and I thought it'd be a good idea to do a many of them as possible, to get a kind of speed session in once a week or so. There were a good few around and about the peaks and I can't remember how many I did in total but I enjoyed them all with the exception of Goyt's Moss which just seemed to have too much flat/runnable terrain in it. ah...'runnable' ...the bane of the midweek race. It's the stop/start/up/down/walk/run/hurtle which I think appeals to me in the 'short' category races. I think my favourite may have been Cracken Edge, or maybe Hope Wakes..either way I love the social side of the midweek races and had lots of fun with club friends. Got a few bottles of wine for ladies team prizes as well, thanks to the amazing Caity, the super strong and determined Lindsay, and my foolhardiness and competitive streak.
Cross Bay Challenge - Zen running
I had entered but not run this race before. Injury had prevented me from doing it, so I Had Business with the race. I'd spectated before and wondered what it'd be like, running on sand completely exposed to the elements. It's a once a year, tightly scheduled race across the bay which you're only safe to walk on when following a guide. I was frankly afraid it might injure me but I was fit and in the middle of triathlon prep and was really looking forward to running a race as part of the plan. At the start I did my usual sizing up of the competition/nervously eating and checking my gear. I wasn't sure how cold, hot or windy it'd be at all. Anyway the first challenge was that the start was delayed half an hour because 'the tide hadn't gone out fast enough'. Nothing like a reminder of the fact that we were at the mercy of the notorious Morecambe Bay tides to put the willies up us. Anyway, off we went led out by a quad bike. Mud, sticky mud, and lots of standing water. I set off at 8min miles as I felt like pacing it easy and just enjoying the scenery. Running across a massive tidal bay is so quiet. Very quiet, and very peaceful. Even in the fells it's not that peaceful. The view is very samey so I kind of zoned out and became very calm, very good for running. The field quickly strung out and something made me want to greet each person I passed or who passed me, don't know why, I guess it had something to do with the loneliness of the place. After crossing some channels I was joined by a barefoot runner, nice and chatty, and we spied the main river crossing up ahead. We had a right old laugh trying to plough through the water and slowed to a walk as we all had to, the water being waist deep at the middle. Mike and I chatted and I told him I was feeling good, that I reckoned I could catch a couple of ladies, and with his encouragement we drew up to a group ahead containing a veteran lady. I had eaten a little Soreen banana loaf about 45 mins in and took a gel. The ten mile point approached and I felt good, so I bid Mike a 'see you at the finish' and took off in pursuit of a younger runner in a bright vest I could just make out in the distance. I thought I had no chance of catching her but to my surprise I did, in the last mile, and I squelched through the sucky mud at the shore a happy lady. Turns out I was the 'first veteran' which I find an odd prize, as it seems unfair to take a prize which doesn't feel like mine, but I now have a pretty trophy and it rounded off a very enjoyable race. Afterwards I debriefed with a colleague of mine who said she found it tough going underfoot. I think the amount of fell racing I'd been doing has set me up well to cope with that although I wore road shoes because wet ,compacted sand is not soft. The men's winner was a fellrunner too. I'm hoping that my club will have got so fed up hearing me evangelise about this excellent race that it will be in next year's Club Championships races. It's a well organised race with very friendly volunteers, the drinks and safety stations are quad bikes with trailers staffed by local people and their kids. You can even get proper ale at the end and sit by the sea drinking it . Overall a race to make you smile.
Kentmere horseshoe - learning the lakes
It's all well when you're reasonably successful in your backyard and I wanted to see how I matched up in a 'proper's fell race against 'proper' teams. Off to the lakes I went with the Glossopdale crew, feeling a little nervous at the prospect of my first Medium rated fell race on proper Lakeland terrain. I decided that taking it easy was the best option over 12 miles in the heat. I don't think I've ever sweated as much as I did on the ascent up to Yoke via Buck Crag but I found a good pace over the first few tops. I lost my mojo entirely on the first rocky descent and cursed my inner chimp as about five runners passed me. I cursed my inner intestines when I got stitch after a speedy descent down from high street summit, and two ladies passed me as I gasped and winced along. The last few miles were a fab grassy descent to tracks through farmland and I picked up my pace, knowing the end was close. It wasn't that close, but I felt good enough to catch one lady and hurtled down to the finish and straight into the stream for a cooldown. We all ambled up to the hall for tea and cakes and the presentation. Then someone told us the presentation'd be in the field so we strolled down to hear who had won. We came through the gate to find the prize giving already underway, and the ladies team prize being announced. I know we all thought we'd heard wrong when he said 'glossopdale ladies' ..wow. against real Lakeland clubs! We knew we'd got a strong top ten finish from Caity but mine and Lins' much more humble times, really? A great learning race for me with a lovely surprise at the end, I'm proud of us all for that one race above many others.
Ups and Downs
It's not been all superb success and fun though. I think my worst race was the Rivington Trail Half. A few years ago I ran it and to my surpise was in the top 20 ladies. I thought that given my improving form and my good summer on the hills I'd be in good shape to bother the top 5. Oh yeah pride comes before a fall, the saying goes. I arrived after a week during which I's been feeling a bit snuffly and dizzy, but looking around the size of the field, and knowing from experience that it'd be mainly road runners I still thought I'd be in with a shout. I had a good first mile which is all a steady climb, and did some tricksy tactical overtaking at the end of descents and climbs, but at about 7 miles in I just started to go backwards. I even got a stitch. From there on I just hung on grimly. My time was ten minutes better than last time but I just felt rotten. A lesson learned about setting my sights high, I won't do that again.
It's not only at races that I've had fun. Day-long tours of the region around Bettmeralp on the club holiday, hill reps in Reddish Vale with my clubmate Tom and his dog, off-road lone ambles along the river Tame in the early morning and a torchlit dash around the local park have all kept me happy. My abiding feeling is that even though I set out just to have fun, I did achieve some good results. I worry that when I push up to marathon distance again in 2014 that I might lose my edge but I'll just have to try and find the right balance.
Salford 10k - March - new PB
This was my 10k PB attempt after recovery and a fine example of how competition pushes athletes to succeed. My training buddy Caity and I were both gunning for PBs and our clubmates egged us on, not least as I was racing in the colours of my 'road club'. I was ready to use her as a rabbit and mentally up for a slog of a race through some of the less scenic parts of salford. Cold, dry and still conditions at the start and we headed off shoulder to shoulder. She pulled away at 2k but I settled into my natural 10k pace which I'd practised at a club handicap run a few weeks earlier. I caught her at 7k and we muttered encouragement to one another, Caity telling me to pull away and get the win, though by then I was giving it a lot and just hanging on to her pace. I hung on until about 800 to go and she steamed off. I chased again and crossed 4 seconds behind her, we both PB'd. Job done. That's the last time I got that close to Caity as her stellar rise was beginning. She's now up there amongst English fell champions and we have to fight off the teams trying to poach her. She's still a hell of a rabbit to train with.
Back to the fells - March
By January I was capable of running for an hour and I was taking good advice and staying on the cautious side. I had a half marathon in the calendar for the end of March and I was pretty confident I would be up to it by then. Early March I was invited to Wales with the Glossopdalers, to the Rhinogs, a lovely overlooked part of the Snowdonia National Park. I figured I'd join the shorter/slower runs and perhaps have a day off if it felt too much. I'd not run at all on the hills at this point either so I was slightly worried it'd do my foot no good. How wrong could I have been - I managed to stick with the group for 2 of the 4 peaks on the long route and have immense fun in the freshly-fallen snow. I was surprised to spend 4 - 5 hours out in the snow and yet not get cold feet at all. The pace was a good 'social' pace, plenty of stops for photos and navigation, the kind of fell-running which is basically fast hiking. The second day we did a short run up Moel Famau in mid-Wales and to my delight, I managed a good run up it with the group. It was as if I'd never been away from the fells, and set the tone for the rest of the year.
Midweek Madness
In the summertime, all the little village races start to pop up in the calendar. My idea was to toughen up for the triathlon and I thought it'd be a good idea to do a many of them as possible, to get a kind of speed session in once a week or so. There were a good few around and about the peaks and I can't remember how many I did in total but I enjoyed them all with the exception of Goyt's Moss which just seemed to have too much flat/runnable terrain in it. ah...'runnable' ...the bane of the midweek race. It's the stop/start/up/down/walk/run/hurtle which I think appeals to me in the 'short' category races. I think my favourite may have been Cracken Edge, or maybe Hope Wakes..either way I love the social side of the midweek races and had lots of fun with club friends. Got a few bottles of wine for ladies team prizes as well, thanks to the amazing Caity, the super strong and determined Lindsay, and my foolhardiness and competitive streak.
Cross Bay Challenge - Zen running
I had entered but not run this race before. Injury had prevented me from doing it, so I Had Business with the race. I'd spectated before and wondered what it'd be like, running on sand completely exposed to the elements. It's a once a year, tightly scheduled race across the bay which you're only safe to walk on when following a guide. I was frankly afraid it might injure me but I was fit and in the middle of triathlon prep and was really looking forward to running a race as part of the plan. At the start I did my usual sizing up of the competition/nervously eating and checking my gear. I wasn't sure how cold, hot or windy it'd be at all. Anyway the first challenge was that the start was delayed half an hour because 'the tide hadn't gone out fast enough'. Nothing like a reminder of the fact that we were at the mercy of the notorious Morecambe Bay tides to put the willies up us. Anyway, off we went led out by a quad bike. Mud, sticky mud, and lots of standing water. I set off at 8min miles as I felt like pacing it easy and just enjoying the scenery. Running across a massive tidal bay is so quiet. Very quiet, and very peaceful. Even in the fells it's not that peaceful. The view is very samey so I kind of zoned out and became very calm, very good for running. The field quickly strung out and something made me want to greet each person I passed or who passed me, don't know why, I guess it had something to do with the loneliness of the place. After crossing some channels I was joined by a barefoot runner, nice and chatty, and we spied the main river crossing up ahead. We had a right old laugh trying to plough through the water and slowed to a walk as we all had to, the water being waist deep at the middle. Mike and I chatted and I told him I was feeling good, that I reckoned I could catch a couple of ladies, and with his encouragement we drew up to a group ahead containing a veteran lady. I had eaten a little Soreen banana loaf about 45 mins in and took a gel. The ten mile point approached and I felt good, so I bid Mike a 'see you at the finish' and took off in pursuit of a younger runner in a bright vest I could just make out in the distance. I thought I had no chance of catching her but to my surprise I did, in the last mile, and I squelched through the sucky mud at the shore a happy lady. Turns out I was the 'first veteran' which I find an odd prize, as it seems unfair to take a prize which doesn't feel like mine, but I now have a pretty trophy and it rounded off a very enjoyable race. Afterwards I debriefed with a colleague of mine who said she found it tough going underfoot. I think the amount of fell racing I'd been doing has set me up well to cope with that although I wore road shoes because wet ,compacted sand is not soft. The men's winner was a fellrunner too. I'm hoping that my club will have got so fed up hearing me evangelise about this excellent race that it will be in next year's Club Championships races. It's a well organised race with very friendly volunteers, the drinks and safety stations are quad bikes with trailers staffed by local people and their kids. You can even get proper ale at the end and sit by the sea drinking it . Overall a race to make you smile.
Kentmere horseshoe - learning the lakes
It's all well when you're reasonably successful in your backyard and I wanted to see how I matched up in a 'proper's fell race against 'proper' teams. Off to the lakes I went with the Glossopdale crew, feeling a little nervous at the prospect of my first Medium rated fell race on proper Lakeland terrain. I decided that taking it easy was the best option over 12 miles in the heat. I don't think I've ever sweated as much as I did on the ascent up to Yoke via Buck Crag but I found a good pace over the first few tops. I lost my mojo entirely on the first rocky descent and cursed my inner chimp as about five runners passed me. I cursed my inner intestines when I got stitch after a speedy descent down from high street summit, and two ladies passed me as I gasped and winced along. The last few miles were a fab grassy descent to tracks through farmland and I picked up my pace, knowing the end was close. It wasn't that close, but I felt good enough to catch one lady and hurtled down to the finish and straight into the stream for a cooldown. We all ambled up to the hall for tea and cakes and the presentation. Then someone told us the presentation'd be in the field so we strolled down to hear who had won. We came through the gate to find the prize giving already underway, and the ladies team prize being announced. I know we all thought we'd heard wrong when he said 'glossopdale ladies' ..wow. against real Lakeland clubs! We knew we'd got a strong top ten finish from Caity but mine and Lins' much more humble times, really? A great learning race for me with a lovely surprise at the end, I'm proud of us all for that one race above many others.
Ups and Downs
It's not been all superb success and fun though. I think my worst race was the Rivington Trail Half. A few years ago I ran it and to my surpise was in the top 20 ladies. I thought that given my improving form and my good summer on the hills I'd be in good shape to bother the top 5. Oh yeah pride comes before a fall, the saying goes. I arrived after a week during which I's been feeling a bit snuffly and dizzy, but looking around the size of the field, and knowing from experience that it'd be mainly road runners I still thought I'd be in with a shout. I had a good first mile which is all a steady climb, and did some tricksy tactical overtaking at the end of descents and climbs, but at about 7 miles in I just started to go backwards. I even got a stitch. From there on I just hung on grimly. My time was ten minutes better than last time but I just felt rotten. A lesson learned about setting my sights high, I won't do that again.
It's not only at races that I've had fun. Day-long tours of the region around Bettmeralp on the club holiday, hill reps in Reddish Vale with my clubmate Tom and his dog, off-road lone ambles along the river Tame in the early morning and a torchlit dash around the local park have all kept me happy. My abiding feeling is that even though I set out just to have fun, I did achieve some good results. I worry that when I push up to marathon distance again in 2014 that I might lose my edge but I'll just have to try and find the right balance.
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