Having run my 3rd Puma Hawkshead Trail Race in a personal best time,it occurred to me that it's a little while now since I started doing this off road running lark. Not a long time in the global scale of things but long enough for me to have run races more than once or twice so that I should know better than to run them again.
So as I stand at start of my 4th Grisedale Grind, I realise that older is definately not wiser. You see, this is where it all started, only 3 years ago, it seems like a lifetime. I'd done a bit of running, 2 half marathons & 2 ten milers in the space of 8 weeks plus the training, I'd split from my wife so had thrown myself into getting fitter as a diversion to take my mind off it. Always fancied a go at fell running after all those years of walking them. How hard could it be?
Spurred on by Richard Asquith's 'Feet in the Clouds', I entered the Grisedale Grind race. Foolishly thinking that 2.5 miles would be a reasonable introduction, surely I could manage that.
Manage it I did, what I couldn't manage was walking downstairs for the next two days which is a bit tricky when your place of work is spread over 5 storeys. Oh how my colleagues laughed.
And so here I am again, the race is a little shorter than the 1st time as the start has moved over the road but it's no less steep. I know about category A,B & C races now & L,M & S, so I know now why this is an AS race. Wish I'd known 3 yrs ago.
And then we're off, no time to contemplate life now just concentrate on putting every muscle in your body to best effect. A short run on forest track brings us to the gate out on to the fell, then it's only up for the next mile. A lung bursting 27 minutes for me, by the time I get to the top the leader has finished & is probably getting changed. A quick thank you to the summit marshall, 10 minutes down & I'm finished too. Another one completed & another PB, drive home with the biggest grin on my face imaginable and even now a week later I'm still grinning because tomorrow is Lords Seat on the other side of the road and I get to do it all over again!
Rock on.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Saturday, 11 April 2009
My Two Step Shuffle aka The Anniversary Waltz.
Saturday dawned bright & sunny, a relief after a dull cold Friday, as it was Anniversary Waltz race day. A drive via Penrith to pick up one of the other mugs, I mean runners, then on to Stair to join a long queue of traffic that we assumed were waiting to get parked as well. Eventually we made it on to the car park field & were very efficiently directed into our parking space, 'in there, backwards please'.
Numbers collected & pinned on, familiar faces greeted, old acquantances renewed, we made our to the start field. Now, whether people weren't listening or just didn't get the jist of what was going on with a lap of the field first to spread people out BUT it seemed to me all the fast people started at the back. I say this because for the next two & a half hours an endless stream of people went running past me no matter how hard I tried. In fact it was not until 30yards from the finsh when someone else had the temerity to try & get past that I said to myself, 'enough's enough, buggers not getting past me now' & sprinted past 2 other people in the final yards as well.
The bit in between the start & finish is all a bit vague other than loads of people passing me, I felt I got a quick start but not quick enough, the climb seemed to be immense but didn't last as long as I thought & the route was much longer than I imagined but only took 3 minutes longer than I'd estimated. I have however never felt as ill at the end of race, never not been able to face free food or free beer, maybe it was just too much sunshine. That's my excuse & I'm sticking to it.
Well done to the hundreds that took part & all my fellow Eden Runners. What next? More training I think.......!
Numbers collected & pinned on, familiar faces greeted, old acquantances renewed, we made our to the start field. Now, whether people weren't listening or just didn't get the jist of what was going on with a lap of the field first to spread people out BUT it seemed to me all the fast people started at the back. I say this because for the next two & a half hours an endless stream of people went running past me no matter how hard I tried. In fact it was not until 30yards from the finsh when someone else had the temerity to try & get past that I said to myself, 'enough's enough, buggers not getting past me now' & sprinted past 2 other people in the final yards as well.
The bit in between the start & finish is all a bit vague other than loads of people passing me, I felt I got a quick start but not quick enough, the climb seemed to be immense but didn't last as long as I thought & the route was much longer than I imagined but only took 3 minutes longer than I'd estimated. I have however never felt as ill at the end of race, never not been able to face free food or free beer, maybe it was just too much sunshine. That's my excuse & I'm sticking to it.
Well done to the hundreds that took part & all my fellow Eden Runners. What next? More training I think.......!
Monday, 6 April 2009
Where the hell did that come from.....
Saturday saw the weather return to standard Lakeland fare after several lovely sunny days, of course it was bound to be wet & cold for the Askham Fell race.
The race started in the village with a reasonable climb up the road onto to Askham Fell, from here it was a fast paced gallop over rolling hillside, me going a completely different way to everyone else, but eventually rejoining the crowd for a long fast downhill to checkpoint one. At this point all was going well, no disasters, nice easy running, of course it wasn't going to last. Left turn at CP1 brings a near vertical climb to get to the top of Arthurs Pike. Now those of you familiar with this bit of the Lakes probably know Arthurs Pike as the easy start of what becomes High Street if heading south, to be confronted by this climb was not really something you'd expect but hey, that's fell running. Apparently.
So a relatively short flog uphill, into the weather, brought us to CP2 and a long, long downhill with a short uphill then loads more down led to the finish. Although last out of the the Eden Runners (pipped in the last half mile) I was pleased to have finished at half way through the field. Exactly half way as it happens.
So what next? Well it's the Anniversary Waltz next Saturday, another new one for me. Hundreds of people apparently, wonder if I can manage half way in that one. Watch this blog!
The race started in the village with a reasonable climb up the road onto to Askham Fell, from here it was a fast paced gallop over rolling hillside, me going a completely different way to everyone else, but eventually rejoining the crowd for a long fast downhill to checkpoint one. At this point all was going well, no disasters, nice easy running, of course it wasn't going to last. Left turn at CP1 brings a near vertical climb to get to the top of Arthurs Pike. Now those of you familiar with this bit of the Lakes probably know Arthurs Pike as the easy start of what becomes High Street if heading south, to be confronted by this climb was not really something you'd expect but hey, that's fell running. Apparently.
So a relatively short flog uphill, into the weather, brought us to CP2 and a long, long downhill with a short uphill then loads more down led to the finish. Although last out of the the Eden Runners (pipped in the last half mile) I was pleased to have finished at half way through the field. Exactly half way as it happens.
So what next? Well it's the Anniversary Waltz next Saturday, another new one for me. Hundreds of people apparently, wonder if I can manage half way in that one. Watch this blog!
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