Wanted: Some slack from the weather Gods please?!

Not again…!
 
It’s worth reminding readers that last winter I did the full BGR in 24:22, all of which was in sub-zero temperatures and about a quarter of which was in an increasingly menacing blizzard.   This provides the context for my nervousness around this cold snap which is gripping the UK.  With less than two weeks to go, and with forecasters talking about a two-week cold snap, it’s entirely possible that the conditions will repeat themselves.
 
Oh dear…
 
I’m going a week earlier than last year – still technically a mid-winter round but slightly further away from the solstice.  Last year, the week before my round was chilly but not arctic and I would have made it round in sub 24.  I hoped that I’d enjoy slightly less hard conditions this year.  Now, it appears that they could be worse. 
 
Last year was a completion rather than an abandonment because the ground conditions were generally OK, with some VERY notable exceptions (the gully up to Foxes was very icy and not a little scary).  This was because the extreme cold (minus 16 for much of the night and at least minus 5 at best all the way round) and blizzards later on, were the start of a cold snap where the cumulative affects of huge water-ice sheets and widespread verglas that can render darkness descents so dangerous were only patchy and mostly avoidable.  That wouldn’t have been the case two weeks later and I fear it won’t be this time.
 
In truth, it doesn’t matter because I can’t control it.  If conditions are unsafe for a winter BGR but the weather is good, we’ll just have a winter walking and running weekend instead.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d be very disappointed because I’ve trained as much as life as allowed and I feel strong, but what will be, will be.  Either way, it’ll be a great hill day with some good friends and some new friends.  Also, with a baby on the way, watching Alison bloom and the bump grow (and feeling it move), I’m finding perspective easier to come by thesedays.
 
Training-wise, it’s been a week of tapering and running for fun.  The climbing and descending totals are right down, but the quality sessions and mileage less so, which means I still have the post exertion endorphins to keep me sane.  The final, completely inactive period will drive me insane.
 
On Monday I ran with the Redhill Road runners in Nottingham and did a brisk, hilly 8 miles.  I enjoyed it, was pushed hard and was humbled by a couple of very very strong road runners who seemed to float along – you know the type.  I thought negative thoughts because if I’m fit enough for a BGR I shouldn’t be passed so easily whilst I’m working hard.  Turns out that these guys were sub 2:40 marathoners, and that there were a few sub 3:00 marathoners well behind me in the session – a useful barometer I suppose. 
 
Tuesday was gym work.  Specifially, quad power work.  Last year, the descents on hard ground thrashed my quads on scafell.  I decided to work on them to create more muscle mass and resilience to add to the endurance from the running.  I worked very hard indeed, moving between the cross trainer (full gradient, max resistance, no help from arms – a very good method for working your legs hard) and the leg weights (the one where you sit and straighten your legs).  I could barely walk back to the car after an hour of that.
 
Wednesday saw another Redhill session, this time a combination of short, sharp hill efforts and one mile tempo runs.  This was knackering and there were some fine runners there to try and keep in sight!  Another 8 and bit miles were knocked off and I felt great.
 
Thursday was very cold and very enjoyable.  I managed to leave Nottingham a little early and get back towards home at a civilised time.  This meant that for the first time in many months, I was able to run with my club at the main club session.  We did a cold 9 miles nice and easy, just chatting all the way round.  It was without any doubt the easiest 9 miles I’ve ever done and amongst the most enjoyable.  It was good to be back.  Much of my training has been done alone, so it was lovely to be back and running with friends.
 
Friday would normally be the big hill day.  I decided to run up a big hill, but not run all day.  The most northerly 3000’ summit in Wales, Foel Fras, makes for a very good training run from Aber as the gradient is steady but the distance is long, making for a grinding but runnable climb.  I thought an out and back up there would be a useful run to get in a sustained climb and descent.  I did indeed run every step on the way up, but the deep snow and whiteout conditions meant retreat from the summit of Drum, which is still a respectable 2600’.  I was just pleased to be able to run all the way up the mountain in these challenging conditions with relative ease.  I was by no means tired when I got back to the car, covered in icicles.  I think it was about minus 5 or 6 up there.
 
The weekend saw no running, just a brilliant NCT ante-natal class and a terrific reunion with some old uni friends.  Perspective by the bucketloads this weekend, after a good week’s work.
 
2 weeks to go and the pendulum is hanging on the right side of neutral.  Let’s see how it is after next weekend’s Cardington Cracker, which will be my last run before the big day.
 
 

The Confidence Pendulum

A snowy Catstycam and Ullswater from Helvellyn

No it's not an act from a John Peel session.  But it describes my feelings towards this impending winter BGR.  One moment, i'm sure i'm fit enough, prepared, knowledgeable, experienced and as ready as anyone can be and the next my talent to ambition ratio kicks in and i know i'm doing this because i'm by no means a cert, hence the challenge.

Last week was another good week's training, but yet again without a massive day.  10,000 feet were duly knocked off and I managed to do so whilst feeling like i was well within myself.  12 Tattenhall railways on Thursday (4000' of steep up and down with no respite - a headbanging session for sure) and then a snowy out and back on leg four with Nick on Friday which picked up almost 6000' of ascent.  Some gym work and local running (thank you Redhill Road Runners) made up a decent week.

Incidentally, if you set a cross trainer to the maximum resistance and gradient, and don't use the hands/arms bit, it simulates a steep fell-type gradient very well indeed, but without the rain and wind!  It's a useful thing to know and a dark and wet night in Nottingham when you need to get some training in.

Anyhoo, so i didn;t manage a huge day as the house has been a building site (have has 18 windows ripped out and replaced) and i didn;t want to leave Alison to cope with all that for too long, esp as i work away for much of the week. That has been the story of the prep for this round: opportunistic training rather than total committment.  I think that's why i feel undercooked, but the truth is that life is about keeping all the balls in the air and so the winter BGR training campaign has had to find its place amongst working away, looking after my pregnant wife and getting the house ready for Jan 25 (ish) when Smith Jnr joins the world!

So, i'm left feeling that I've done a good job of getting in plenty of training and keeping life and work moving too.  Some of the sessions i;ve squeezed in have been madness.  12 railways is 4000' near the house, a session which isn;t ideal because you're not out on the fells but has meant maintaining a balance.  So i can pat myself on the back for that, but the problem is that the BGR doesn't allow for circumstances.  You're either fit enough or you're not.  I want it enough, that much is certain.  I just hope that i get better luck with the weather than on my successful summer BGR (13 hours of torrential rain and high winds from the Langdales onwards going c/w) and and last year's freezer/blizzard/black ice affair that resulted in that agonising 24:22.

Three weeks to go and the taper starts now.  I'm going to have a couple more runs in the fells for 4 or 5 hours, and some 2 hour runs around Moel Famau and then a week of absolutely nothing before i go.

Wish me luck because i;ve done my best, but i really need better luck that i;ve had before.  Six degrees. overcast, light winds....perfect.  Who am i kidding...

Wobble over, now let’s knock the b*stard off….

It’s on, again
 
I really don’t know what came over me last Friday.  Driving home from the Lakes with my tail between my legs having been blown halfway back down Robinson again was a dispiriting experience and I just lost all confidence.  I think there are some demons in there from last year and they need exorcising.  The only way that is going to happen is to do it, and a good friend did remind me that we most regret the things we didn’t do rather than those we did.  To not try would have been tragic.
 
Several friends and family members badgering me to do it helped hugely.  My wife, who I thought might be relieved (she’ll be 8 months pregnant when the BGR comes along) was very keen for me to reconsider.  She knows how much I’d have regretted calling it off.  Some nudging on the FRA Forum also put things into perspective. 
 
But the real boost was the weekend’s training.  I decided to go and do a hard and fast timed run over Moel Y Gamelin and ran a course pb (8 miles, 3200’ ascent).  The next day I did the Roaches fell race (15.5 miles, 3800’ ascent) on tired legs and was 10 mins faster than last year.  Fears of not being fit were eased.  Yes, I need some long days, but confidence was restored and I decided whilst running through calf-deep slurry during the Roaches that it was on.  I am fitter than last year, and as Clive King pointed out to me, last year’s lessons weren’t about fitness, they were about tactics, food and drink and weather.  Similar fitness and a better winter plan would be enough.
 
Now there are less than four weeks to go. This week I’ve got Thursday and Friday off and have a great chance to do two consecutive big days out.  I’m going to try and do 10 hours on Thursday and 6 or 7 on Friday.  One more big day the following week and I’ll be on the taper, and that will feel very scary.

Crisis

There's a world of difference between feeling fit after 7 or 8 hours on the fells and being ready for a 24 hour round, especially a mid-winter round.  Bad weather has meant that i'm probably four or five big (8 hrs plus) runs short of where i need to be.  Up till now, the strength i've felt at the end of the moderate 7-8 hour runs has been an nice endorphin fuelling experience and i;ve been writing the blog happy in the knowledge that i've been training and feeling good.  But it's not enough, and i'm seriously thinking about pulling out.

I've promised i'll sleep on it, so i will.  I do feel undercooked.  I'll go for a run tomorrow and see.

Week 15 - OMMG - 6 weeks to go!!

Dartmoor was my 8th KIMM/OMM and my 5th Long Score and my 4th with my erstwhile partner Paul 'Metronome' Miller.  We had a great time, coming in 49th after a bit of a late arrival on day 1 (oops!).  Best of all was that I felt brilliant throughout and felt like I could have gone on and on and on after the end of both days.  Paul, who is 18 years my senior, ran his butt off and was as strong and metronomic as ever, making for a really good workout and a good test of discipline and pacing.  The OMM usually wipes you out, whereas I felt warmed up.  No pain on Monday and ready to run straight after - brilliant.

The OMM is a very complete workout, mental and physical.  It tests your ability to withstand discomfort (esp at the overnight camp), sleep deprivation, bad weather and also running for many hours over bad ground with a heavy pack.,  Dartmoor didn't hold the climbs for me that I would gravitate towards, but it provided enough tussocks and bog to keep me honest.

A brilliant bonus was a little relapse after the OMM.  Paul and I stayed down in Devon with Dave, Jon, Martin and Graham - four fellow OMMers and all good men and true.  They have a tradition of a post OMM beer or 6, and so i decided it would be rude not too join in. 6 pints of real ale in a brilliant pub, CAMRA recommended and everything.  I might be getting fitter, but my drinking ability is poor.  The hangover was awful.

Now it's November and 6 weeks to go.  I feel fit and well, strong even.  I really want to work hard this month, with a 2 week taper in early December.  More than that is too much in my opinion. 

It's time now for 12 hour days, about four or five of them.  I think that is all that seperates me from the round.  That and getting the logistics in place...