Cairngorms, Chew Grit and Black Combe fell race

Been a busy week this week!

The week started up in the Cairngorms on a Winter Skills course run by Glenmore Lodge. Me and my friend Martin had booked onto this hoping to learn some winter skills to help progress our hill knowledge and push on with our climbing skills. Although there wasn't a lot of snow much fun was had and we managed to learn alot of new things, will be going back again to do something else in the future, i would highly recommend the place if you are interested in advancing your hill knowledge and they offer courses that would benefit anyone who gets out in the hills and mountains. This was the first time i'd been to the Cairngorms and i loved it, a really wild place, hope to head back up later this year for a proper look around.

College was cancelled on friday and the weather being good i decided to get out on the local rock and headed up to Dovestones Edge, the first time i've climbed outdoors since going to Thailand for christmas and new year in 2008! Alot of the routes were slimy and a bit wet but we managed to find some dryish ones in the lower grades, this being the first time Martin had climbed outside i hoped he wouldn't be too put off! We manged to get up three routes, Central tower (Vdiff) , Question Mark (HVD) and another route that looked dry but i wasn't sure what it was. Having been climbing indoors for the last few months it was great to get out and actually do some real climbing again! Hope to keep getting out regularly on the local grit and get out on some classic mountain routes in the Lakes and Snowdonia over the next few months to get a good grounding for the Alps.

On saturday i finally managed my first race of the year. Black Combe fell race (8 miles / 3400ft ascent) is a really tough early season race starting from the village of Silecroft on the Cumbrian coast. The route heads straight up towards Black Combe before skirting around the back and over onto White Combe before dropping down and reascending Black Combe again and then a great descent back to Silecroft to the finish. I felt good early on before fading somewhat on the hard second climb. Despite losing a few places on the final ascent and the descent i finished in 31st place out of 197, which i am quite pleased with early in the season, need more ascent in my legs though!

                                        

A bit of a stall

After a few good weeks with the winter weather being kind and managing to avoid any nasty winter cold viruses, it was inevitable that something was going to go, and maybe a blessing in disguise both came at the same time! After planning on running the Long Mynd Valleys race last weekend and opting out due to a heavy snowfall locally i wanted to do the Winter Hill race this morning near Horwich, but the ice and a dose of man flu put paid to that.

Found out this morning that i have got a place in the Ben Nevis race on September 1st, which is very pleasing as i haven't raced it for two years and in my view is the finest race in the UK, not the route as such (although there is something about racing up and down the highest mountain in Britain) but more about the history and atmosphere, that's not even mentioning the great night on the beer afterwards. This also confirms my travel plans for the summer, seeing as i can fly from Geneva to Edinburgh for 40 quid there doesn't seem much point in going home until after the Ben so i will extend my trip by another week and head up to Fort William straight from Chamonix. My main racing aims now being the British Championships , Sierre - Zinal and Ben Nevis, I will be playing it by ear as to any other races i run this year.

This gives me a bit of a focus now and i hope to get as much ascent in as possible locally throughout the week and then races or long runs at the weekends aswell as pushing on with the climbing. I have a great route i can run from my front door that is all off road to the top of Alphin pike and back, it works out at around 9 miles with 2200ft ascent that is mostly runnable all the way and usually takes between 1:25 to 1:35 at a steady pace depedning on conditions,it is such an enjoyable run in that it has everything apart from any flat!! Nice fast tracks, bogs, steep climbs, gentle climbs, and really good descent as you can see from the picture below.  I hope to run this route a few times a week for the next few months to get a good solid base in for going to the alps. And maybe i'll finally get a race in at some point as it's been 4 months now. The pictures below show my favourite local hill, Alphin.                                                     

                  (Photos from wildaboutbritain.co.uk and geograph.org)

January Stats

Kind of going against my last post but hey ho! Been keeping my dairy for a month so thought i may as well share it on here......

Miles run - 151.7
Feet of Ascent - 29750 ft
Number of Runs - 20
Climbing or Hiking days - 8
Rest days - 3
Longest run - 14 miles / 4000 ft ascent

Pleasing start to the year,want to keep up this level of mileage and ascent for Febuary then push it on a bit if things are going well at up until Coledale race. Going to race at Long Mynd Valleys on sunday but wont be tapering for it as my first goal race isn't until April 14th at Coledale.

2012!

A tad belated but Happy New Year

Things have been progressing well, have been steadily increasing the miles and although the weather has been a tad grim at times i've enjoyed every single run since the new year.

I have been thinking more and more about structure in my running..... and have decided not to bother.

It just goes against every single reason why i run, i have tried in the past to do specific training sessions on specific days of the week and find i soon get bored, very quickly. I had ideas of periodising my training up until Sierre - Zinal this august but i was getting obsessed with stats, how many miles, how much ascent etc etc and thought that this was just not me. Yeah maybe i would run quicker and progress more if i did 'train' properly ( I have started to hate the word training) but then again maybe i wouldn't, if the enjoyment factor isn't there would i retain the motivation? I'm not sure that works for me at all. I have felt a significant shift in my attitude towards running since getting back out there, and it's most certainly not results driven, it's about exploring new places and feeling that sense of belonging in an enviroment i feel at home in, day to day challenges and experiences and feeling more in tune with my surroundings. Having said that i still haven't lost the desire to race, i hope that this new way of approaching my running, that of running as and when i feel, will actually improve my performances in the races that i do. This last month i have been deciding on the day what i feel like doing, if i have felt good i have run long and fast if not short and slow, and i have never been so motivated to get out and run as now, so something may be working, only time will tell.

I have deciced to open my 2012 racing account next weekend at the Long Mynd Valleys race in Shropshire, 11.5 miles / 4500ft ascent , a race i haven't run since 2007, it's a real tough race with 3 steep climbs in the last 5 miles, I am really looking forward to pinning a number on my vest again and hope it will give me a good indication of how i am running at the moment.

I have also got back into climbing after a 3 year break, and am really enjoying it again, only been indoors for the last couple of weeks but hope to get a bit stronger and confident and get back outside in the coming weeks. Me and my climbing partner have booked onto a winter skills course in the cairngorms at the end of febuary and i hope to combine this with a crevasse rescue course in the spring and then hopefully with my rock climbing experience can make a nice step up into the alps this summer as well as getting out on the rock more.

All in all it's an exciting time at the moment,  and with work, studies, running and climbing i am really busy. I will also hopefully know soon where i am going to be living for the next 3 years of my life, would be nice to know!

Absence

Running......just running,I never thought something so simple could capture my imagination and bring so much to my life. It's something i never used to give any consideration....why i run,it was just something i did a few times a week,it's only when you cant run and you feel the frustration building up inside over many months that you realise what this simple action means to you,as was the case with me this year. It's only when i couldn't run that i realised what a postitive impact it had on the rest of my life,and that when i dont run i don't feel right,as if something is missing,something out of place.Being injured for a fair amount of time in a way,has been a blessing in disguise,i never used to really think about what i was doing or why i did it,i just did it.I know now that i will never take the time i happen to be fit and healthy for granted,as you never know what is around the corner.

At this time of year i have always looked at the calender and planned the following years races,and this year is no different,i have races i want to do and ideas of where i would like to finish in each one of those,races and times are what i've always been driven towards,but they only make up a small amount of what i do, i have never thought about all the other runs,the day to day runs and small adventures that i have always discounted as just training runs,but i have gradually realised that this is why i run,this is what makes me who i am,and why as runners we shouldn't just discount what we do in between the races as this is what shapes us and makes us who we are,at least that's what running feels to me,running completes me,it makes me who i am.

I have never been one for new year promises,but this year is going to be different,i am going to make a big effort to stop moaning as much and to stop being negative,i want to focus away from the bigger picture and swing my attention to my day to day life, and to make everyday a positive experience,for the first time in my life i am going to keep a hand written diary, maybe just for this year ,maybe longer who knows,i dont want to say,i intend to stop when it feels right.

I was always reluctant to start blogging but after reading other blogs i changed my mind,it is a nice way to record experiences and share those with like minded people,i have gained so much inspiration and motivation from seeing what other people get up to and if anyone finds what i write remotely interesting then great, if not then i feel it will be something nice to look back on myself in the future.

Anyway i am rambling on....

Happy Running

In praise of Apple....

I have never found running on the roads much fun,but this being the first winter that i have actually decided to train through i am going to have to learn to or else it's going to be a long one! Seeing that i can get out for 1-2 hours on the fells or trails most wednesday mornings and for a 2-4 hour run on saturdays i have come to the conclusion that if i can get 2 or 3 good quality road runs of around an hour in duration (works out at about 7 or 8 miles at a steady pace as it is very hilly around here!) in the week this should give me a nice base going into the spring. I find it quite easy to drum up the motivation for running off road but to force my arse out of the door after work or college in the dark and the freezing rain for some tarmac abuse is hard! I have never thought of running with music but on tonights run i shoved my ipod into my cag pocket and put it on shuffle.Well what can i say,it made a very dull,wet and cold 8 miles pass very easily,although i would never run in the hills with my ipod,i think i've found the key to making road running more enjoyable,although i think i will have to make a playlist to get tunes better suited to running!

So get your ipods out this winter,i know i will be,it's the only way i can cope!

Speaking of good tunes to run too....

This is off the new Black Keys album 'El Camino' which was out yesterday,still eagerly awaiting the postman dropping it through the letter box......

Progress....

After 3 frustrating weeks out with my back it's very nice to finally be on the mend,It's been a real effort to stay patient after the year i've had but sometimes you have to just take it easy,after trying to run for the last 3 weeks and it just flaring up again you just have to take a backseat and let it heal.Went for a spot of indoor climbing today taking it very easy,it seemed to work a treat,feels alot more loose now.Hoping to slowly get back into the running this week and then build up over the winter.

The plan for next years running seems to be falling into place now.My main aim is to run a fast time at Sierre - Zinal on August 12th and all of my running and racing will be geared towards this, and this also allows me to fit in a good effort in the Britsh Championships and to try some new races,i plan to race alot less than usual,focusing on getting the miles in and enjoying just getting into the mountains and hills more often,my provisional racing plan is as follows.......

05/02/12 - Long Mynd - Shropshire - 11.5 miles/4500ft ascent
03/03/12 - Black Combe - Lake District - 8 miles/3000ft ascent
14/04/12 - Coledale Horseshoe - Lake District - (British Champs) - 8 miles/3000ft ascent
12/05/12 - Slieve Bearnargh - Northern Ireland (British Champs) - 4 miles/2700ft ascent
02/06/12 - Ennerdale Horseshoe - Lake District - 23 miles/7500ft ascent
07/07/12 - Arrochar Alps - Scotland (British Champs) - 15 miles/8000ft ascent
22/07/12 (?) - Dolomites Skyrace - Italy - 12 miles/6000ft ascent
12/08/12 - Sierre - Zinal - Switzerland - 19 miles/7000ft ascent
08/09/12 - Moel Wnion - Wales (British Champs) 4.5 miles/1800ft ascent

Really looking forward to trying some new races such as Ennerdale and Arrochar and am looking forward to putting some good miles in the bank over the next 6 months,super excited about going out to Europe for a month or so next summer and not just for the races and running some awesome alpine trails. I'm planning on taking some climbing gear out there and hopefully climbing some 4000m peaks, so will be hopefully getting up to Scotland over the winter and out on the rock when the spring somes around to prep for it.Alot to look forward to next year.

Happy Running