I had a very busy weekend doing non-running stuff and sadly never managed to get out for a long run, but did get the afternoon off today. I was still under some time pressure so a jaunt on the Wrekin had to do.
Photos and more route details later but for now I'll just record that I went round from Forest Glen to the Firing Range, then out to the far side of Little Hill. I went up the steep end of the Wrekin and came down the main drag to the top of Beeches, returning to the firing range and then to the Little Hill/Wrekin col. From there I ran back past the bottom of the Goaty path to Forest Glen.
7.0 miles, 2,020', 1hr 29mins.
Week's total (this counts as last week!!): 22.3 miles, 6,950'
Rolling four week total: 110.2 miles, 26,050' (down 9.2 miles, up 50')
Month's total: 110.2 miles, 26,050' (down 6.3 miles, up 2,680')
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
LMV Recce (part 2) - 23/02/2011
Good day today - off work, and out on the fells.
I met up with Owen Mills, who works in Atkins Leeds office and is planning a BG attempt this summer. We're going to do some recce for that at the weekend, but thought it'd be good to run here first...
We decided not to pound round the first few miles, so set off from the top car park onto Cow Ridge. My poor choice of paths at the top gave us half a mile of heather bashing, but we eventually got out onto the road, and up to Boiling Well to join the race route. This is about 4 miles and 1,250' of climbing into the race, we'd done only about 1.5 miles here, and probably about 870' of ascent. We saved about 2.5 miles and 380' of climbing.
From here, down Ashes Hollow past CP2 and up to Barrister's Plain was straightforward. The descent into Callow Hollow is initially very steep and was slippery - I stayed on the dead bracken but Owen did a bit of sliding down the slick grass by the path. I find the drag up Callow Hollow quite hard work - the path isn't great and I think it must be steeper than it looks. Thanks to John's excellent lead from the previous recce I found the route up and over Minton Hill down to CP4 nicely and we were soon running down Minton Batch. This is nice - I'd not been on this bit of the Mynd for years...
The hard work starts at CP5, the junction of Minton and Windy Batches. You launch up a steepish ascent of Windy Batch, forking right into a side valley. The section up to the headwall of this was very steep and slick with rain: extremely hard going. We stopped and snapped a couple of pictures. At the top we went between the 395m knoll and Packetstone Hill. Working out a descent from here, I bet wrongly. In the race I'll follow the stream down initially before crossing the spur low down where there's a trod which lead across Callow Hollow in two short strides, on to the ascent of Callow.
Callow is another plod, but with a half decent track. The bottom section is very steep, then there's a slightly more gently graded section which leads to the top (CP6). The way on from here to Grindle is the main route decision on the race. We went for the most direct option, following the path steeply at first up to the flat area at 430m between Grindle and Nills. From here we headed down the stream to pick up the spur to the left. This is a good, quick descent.
At the bottom, going straight over Ashes Hollow leads into the valley between Yearlet and Ashlet. After the gorse we headed up past some hawthorn trees, but traversed too far right on the ascent (it's another killer, but the last big one), and ended up coming out 200m north of the top. Not a mistake to make on race day - that's cost 3 or 4 minutes. It's an easy and very fast descent to the Ashlet col to pick up the green path, which is again a fast way down. This only leaves the 40' pull out of Townbrook Valley and the run-out to the finish.
The GPS has our route as 9.0 miles and 3,530' of ascent. Adding on the distance and height saved by our shortcut at the start would give 11.5 miles and 3,910' of ascent. The official mileage is 11.5 miles and 4,500' - maybe my GPS (unusually) under-read on the ascent, or maybe the race info overstates the climbing. Who knows?
Our time, at a gentle recce type pace and with a couple of very short stops, was 2h:41. At that speed, race time should be about 3h:18, but I expect to be going faster... Based on the Canter race pace vs. recce speed I should be looking at around 2h:48.
Photos and map/profile to follow tomorrow.
I met up with Owen Mills, who works in Atkins Leeds office and is planning a BG attempt this summer. We're going to do some recce for that at the weekend, but thought it'd be good to run here first...
We decided not to pound round the first few miles, so set off from the top car park onto Cow Ridge. My poor choice of paths at the top gave us half a mile of heather bashing, but we eventually got out onto the road, and up to Boiling Well to join the race route. This is about 4 miles and 1,250' of climbing into the race, we'd done only about 1.5 miles here, and probably about 870' of ascent. We saved about 2.5 miles and 380' of climbing.
From here, down Ashes Hollow past CP2 and up to Barrister's Plain was straightforward. The descent into Callow Hollow is initially very steep and was slippery - I stayed on the dead bracken but Owen did a bit of sliding down the slick grass by the path. I find the drag up Callow Hollow quite hard work - the path isn't great and I think it must be steeper than it looks. Thanks to John's excellent lead from the previous recce I found the route up and over Minton Hill down to CP4 nicely and we were soon running down Minton Batch. This is nice - I'd not been on this bit of the Mynd for years...
The hard work starts at CP5, the junction of Minton and Windy Batches. You launch up a steepish ascent of Windy Batch, forking right into a side valley. The section up to the headwall of this was very steep and slick with rain: extremely hard going. We stopped and snapped a couple of pictures. At the top we went between the 395m knoll and Packetstone Hill. Working out a descent from here, I bet wrongly. In the race I'll follow the stream down initially before crossing the spur low down where there's a trod which lead across Callow Hollow in two short strides, on to the ascent of Callow.
Callow is another plod, but with a half decent track. The bottom section is very steep, then there's a slightly more gently graded section which leads to the top (CP6). The way on from here to Grindle is the main route decision on the race. We went for the most direct option, following the path steeply at first up to the flat area at 430m between Grindle and Nills. From here we headed down the stream to pick up the spur to the left. This is a good, quick descent.
At the bottom, going straight over Ashes Hollow leads into the valley between Yearlet and Ashlet. After the gorse we headed up past some hawthorn trees, but traversed too far right on the ascent (it's another killer, but the last big one), and ended up coming out 200m north of the top. Not a mistake to make on race day - that's cost 3 or 4 minutes. It's an easy and very fast descent to the Ashlet col to pick up the green path, which is again a fast way down. This only leaves the 40' pull out of Townbrook Valley and the run-out to the finish.
The GPS has our route as 9.0 miles and 3,530' of ascent. Adding on the distance and height saved by our shortcut at the start would give 11.5 miles and 3,910' of ascent. The official mileage is 11.5 miles and 4,500' - maybe my GPS (unusually) under-read on the ascent, or maybe the race info overstates the climbing. Who knows?
Our time, at a gentle recce type pace and with a couple of very short stops, was 2h:41. At that speed, race time should be about 3h:18, but I expect to be going faster... Based on the Canter race pace vs. recce speed I should be looking at around 2h:48.
Photos and map/profile to follow tomorrow.
Tuesday Night Run - 22/02/2011
Another Tuesday and another good run from Church Stretton. Not a classic tonight, but just what I needed after a ridiculously busy day. We went out along Madeira Walk and then round Novers Hill into Cwmdale, then we turned up the Batch.
I was just enjoying how comfy and grippy the xTalons were, and having a nice chat with Sandy, when I nearly missed the little bridge, tried to side-step onto it, lost my footing on the slippery wood and went for a burton. I bashed my right hip and knee (good grazes apparent later when I took my tights off), but got up pretty quickly and just kept running. I find this is the best way with knocks and bruises...
Anyway we cut up onto the ridge the LMV descends to Jonathan's Hollow, and then worked our way up in thick mist to the top of Haddon Hill.
The descent was via the Portway and straight down Mott's Road.
6.3 miles, 1,400' (according to the OS map, the GPS said about 1,800' but that seemed high to me) and 01:21.
I was just enjoying how comfy and grippy the xTalons were, and having a nice chat with Sandy, when I nearly missed the little bridge, tried to side-step onto it, lost my footing on the slippery wood and went for a burton. I bashed my right hip and knee (good grazes apparent later when I took my tights off), but got up pretty quickly and just kept running. I find this is the best way with knocks and bruises...
Anyway we cut up onto the ridge the LMV descends to Jonathan's Hollow, and then worked our way up in thick mist to the top of Haddon Hill.
The descent was via the Portway and straight down Mott's Road.
6.3 miles, 1,400' (according to the OS map, the GPS said about 1,800' but that seemed high to me) and 01:21.
Monday, 21 February 2011
Gym Nite - 21/02/2011
I took my stepson James up to the gym again tonight. We were a little pushed for time (he's off to a mate's place for a night chilling which probably means mostly xBox with a little bit of something he shouldn't be doing but that we all did when we were his age).
Anyway, we had a good session. I warmed up with five minutes of rowing, then went round most of the legwork weights machines (quads, hamstrings, adductor and abductor) on 3 sets of 20 reps at moderate load. I also used the back machine and for a change the triceps machine - jeez, that burns on the third set.
I warmed down for 20 minutes on the treadmill, running five minutes at 6mph and slope setting 10 (is that 10 degrees or 10%??) and then reducing the gradient and increasing the speed, finishing with 3 minutes at 8 mph on the level, then easing off gently for five minutes to warm down. I always get a real sweat on using the treadmill - am I working harder than out on the hill?
Total running (assuming the gradient readout is % rather than degrees): 2.0 miles and 270' of ascent in 20 minutes.
Anyway, we had a good session. I warmed up with five minutes of rowing, then went round most of the legwork weights machines (quads, hamstrings, adductor and abductor) on 3 sets of 20 reps at moderate load. I also used the back machine and for a change the triceps machine - jeez, that burns on the third set.
I warmed down for 20 minutes on the treadmill, running five minutes at 6mph and slope setting 10 (is that 10 degrees or 10%??) and then reducing the gradient and increasing the speed, finishing with 3 minutes at 8 mph on the level, then easing off gently for five minutes to warm down. I always get a real sweat on using the treadmill - am I working harder than out on the hill?
Total running (assuming the gradient readout is % rather than degrees): 2.0 miles and 270' of ascent in 20 minutes.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Stretton Long Run - 20/02/2011
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| Caer Caradoc from the track below Cwms Cottage |
This is the first time I've been out and really felt like I was comfortably within myself but still running well all the way (I only walked the headwall up onto Ashlet, which is very steep).
I had a nice run round some of the Stretton Hills, keeping it fairly short due to the highish climbing total this week and the likely demands of next week (LMV recce and a BG Legs 3 and 4 recce). The weather was pleasant enough, overcast but not misty, wet, or cold. My route was from Church Stretton up to Cwms Cottage and then onto the col west of Willstone Hill.
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| Battle Stones, Willstone Hill |
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| Caer Caradoc from Battle Stones |
From the Battle Stones I returned to the col and took a traversing line to pt. 393 (labelled Hope Bowdler Hill on the OS Map), then beelined on very thin sheep tracks to the 426m summit, and down to the Gaer Stone.
I headed up the road and onto Ragleth Hill, traversing the ridge to the post, and then enjoying a real swooping descent (with just one slip despite very wet ground) down to the A49.
From Little Stretton I headed up Ashes Hollow and then into the valley between Ashlet and Yearlet. I took the right hand fork towards to top of the valley and had to hike the last 100m or so onto the ridge, but was soon running well again around the path which traverses the north face of Grindle. I swung round the top of Townbrook Hollow and down the path, which makes for a very quick descent at the moment if you can avoid the walkers and dogs!
A quick blast over the "little sod" and down the path into CMV, and then a jog down to the car near the Social Club finished off a good morning out.
Todays stats were 11.5 miles and 2,400' of ascent in 2 hours 23 minutes. The weekly total is 31.9 miles (-2.0) and 7,000' (+470'); the four weekly total moves to 119.4 miles (+11.3) and 26,000' (+2,250') as the taper week and Kinder Trial drop out.
I'm pretty please with how it's going so far this year. I won't be looking to measure any progress at the LMV, just to get round in reasonable shape. Of more concern is whether I'm yet fit enough to give a decent account of myself on Owen's BG recce next weekend.
The map and profile for today's effort are below.
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| Hazler Hill (with mast) and Ragleth Hill from above the Gaer Stone |
From Little Stretton I headed up Ashes Hollow and then into the valley between Ashlet and Yearlet. I took the right hand fork towards to top of the valley and had to hike the last 100m or so onto the ridge, but was soon running well again around the path which traverses the north face of Grindle. I swung round the top of Townbrook Hollow and down the path, which makes for a very quick descent at the moment if you can avoid the walkers and dogs!
A quick blast over the "little sod" and down the path into CMV, and then a jog down to the car near the Social Club finished off a good morning out.
Todays stats were 11.5 miles and 2,400' of ascent in 2 hours 23 minutes. The weekly total is 31.9 miles (-2.0) and 7,000' (+470'); the four weekly total moves to 119.4 miles (+11.3) and 26,000' (+2,250') as the taper week and Kinder Trial drop out.
I'm pretty please with how it's going so far this year. I won't be looking to measure any progress at the LMV, just to get round in reasonable shape. Of more concern is whether I'm yet fit enough to give a decent account of myself on Owen's BG recce next weekend.
The map and profile for today's effort are below.
Friday, 18 February 2011
Edale Recovery Run - 18/02/2011
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| Misty dark trig point on Mam Tor |
It was quarter past five when I got going. The aim was to run up the bridleway to Mam Nick and then head round the latter stages of the Edale Skyline route, but I realised I'd blown this fairly early on as I saw how thick the cloud was near Mam Nick and realised that while I had the map with me, the compass was in the car...
I had a storming run up to Mam Nick noetheless, running all the way at a reasonable pace without feeling unduly knackered. I turned right onto Rushup Edge and ran up to Lord's Seat, and then continued on down towards the point where you turn to pick up the path towards Brown Knoll. It was getting pretty dark now and I got the headtorch out, but the mist was thick enough I needed to hold the torch low in my hand to get good contrast for running on the path.
I continued along the fence and wall as I didn't want to get lost without a handle on the plateau. When I got to the Chapel Gate track I turned north and followed this (skipping round the enormous puddles) until I reached the point where the southern of the two paths to Brown Knoll crosses. Without the benefit of a compass, I had a quick route rethink and decided that rather than dropping down to the valley, I'd backtrack to Mam Nick and then head on over Mam Tor to Hollins Cross.
This was all straightforward and done at a steady run, including the steps on the way up Mam Tor. The descent from Hollins Cross is obvious because there's a big round stone plinthy thing at the path junction. I took the hard left option, which is a nice (but rutted) bridleway leading down to Greenlands, where a little lane gives an easy route back to the Edale car park.
I wore the xTalon 212s again and was very impressed with the comfort levels, except perhaps that I could feel the studs under the ball of my right foot after a mile or so of the slabs on Mam Tor. I understand why the path has been hardened, but it's dreadful to run on now, quite unlike the lovely soft sand and peat of the rest of the route. Other than that I enjoyed this (mostly) night run - I find that running in the dark is a good way of making sure I don't go too fast on easy runs!
Todays stats were 7.3 miles, 1,620' of ascent, 1hr 44mins. The route and profile are below.
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Cannock Chase Pace - 17/02/2011
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| The Glacial Boulder near my second trig of the day Angella Streluk [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
I had a meeting over near Milford today, and knew I'd be in work late tonight, so I pinched an hour in the middle of the day to get a training run in on the Chase, the first time I'd been out here since the Trig Points Race.
I ran from Milford Common and did a loop which was effectively the northern part of the race route, using Graham Gristwood's excellent map. I started fairly steady, but ran all of the ascent on the way up to the rifle range trig point. From there I put in a few 100-pace efforts which took me down into the head of Sherbrook Valley. I ran steadily up the west side of the valley to the glacial boulder trig, and then down and across the house fronts at Brocton back to Milford Common.
A nice pacy run on a warmish feeling afternoon (running helps - it was flippin cold standing around at the site meeting earlier on). 7.2 miles and 1,160' of ascent in an hour and ten minutes.
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