Twentysomething

Looking out from Llandegla forest to Eclusham Mountain

22 in fact. Miles that is. First decent, longish run this year. I decided to run East along Offa's Dyke instead of West. I started out a bit late in the day after a very frustrating day's struggling laying a bathroom floor. The floor won. I got my kit sorted out in a rush, which usually means forgetting something essential. Slapped two sandwiches together (Ham and cheese for Dot, cheese and mayo for me) I popped two small bottles of fluid in the sack and off we headed East. I followed my regular route for the first 10 miles not really enjoying it, I hadn't cleared my mind from the DIY pain from earlier in the day, plus a tad too much red wine the previous night. I knew though that as I pushed on and clicked off a few more miles my mood would change for the better. At 10 miles we stopped for a top change and to take on a bit of fuel. I then decided the run needed pepping up a little. I had about an hour of twilight left, the weather was warm 'claggy' and misty up high with occasional drizzle. I decided to follow an unfamiliar narrow moorland path which wandered up and across a hill to the summit of Cyrn y Brain Only a small hill which was easy running with great views when the mist allowed. I must take more pics! Navigating by common sense I ran a big loop back to familiar ground and found it just as darkness fell. 7 miles home to do in the dark with only Dot's super-white coat glowing out of the darkness, no torch. Less than a mile from the car we happened upon a family of Badgers out enjoying the beginning of their evening feasting. I grabbed Dot quickly and led her away from a possible head on with the Badgers. They would have had her for breakfast.

That was a few weeks ago and the draft has been sitting in the drafts folder since. I've managed no long runs since, only managing to squeeze in shorter 'tick-over' stuff.
With only a few weeks to go before Cadair Idris and not so long before Osmotherley Phoenix and the Lakeland 50 I need to get some distance runs in. I was briefly tempted to join 'Collie Dave' on his Coast to coast challenge just short of 200 miles of cross country running. If you're reading this CD - sorry I couldn't join you and all the best for the run. I have to focus my efforts on getting the house finished which in turn will free me up for more running. I'm going to be dusting my road cycle down for the summer and getting out with my wife (Just bought her a nice road bike too - hope she takes to it!) not sure the cycling will add much to my running fitness but it surely won't hurt. Latest run was yesterday early evening. I did a 2000ft 13 miler across my local hills, the view out to the west was different a snap photo wouldn't have done it justice (that's my excuse for not taking them!) UK and Europe's been under the shadow of a volcanic dust cloud which has come down from Iceland. Apart from affecting air travel across Europe it made the sunset turn a deeper red than usual, above a blackened sky line, and below a blackened upper atmosphere sat a dull red slash of colour. It was a strange sunset, once again the power of nature. I've decided taking pictures is a problem for me when I'm out running because I only stop to lift Dot over gates etc. I do like to get on with it and not get distracted. I'm a bit muscle sore today proving that I really must be getting on with it!

Winter, say hello to spring.

Since my last post time's flown. Fresh on the back of the thinking and planning I've been doing for a future attempt at a PBR I decided to log how much climbing I was doing a week, something I never really thought about during the training for last year's ultras. I kind of knew I would have to get some hill work done but didn't record or think too much about the amount. In fact I'm pretty sure I didn't get enough consistent miles or height in prior to the Phoenix 33, that along with the heat is why I suffered on it so badly. For the PBR I've been reading that some say that 10,000ft a week's needed! My local hill run gives me about 1,000 - 1,200ft from the start the the first summit, then once on the top I can roller-coaster up and down a chain of connected hills. I can rack up some height without 'repping' the same hill via the same route which keeps it nice and interesting to run. For a few weeks I started clocking 4,400ft - 5,000ft over 30-40 miles a week. I think it caught up with me early last week though, as I had a poor run. There again it could have been an unpleasant encounter I experienced with a mutilated sheep that ruined that particular run. I won't go into detail but the thing suffered longer than it should have at the hands of nature.

I'm picking this up a couple of weeks on. Still aiming to clock the height as mentioned above. We're moving into a bit more sunshine and spring at the moment, so my feet have actually been dry of late! It's time to lay off the red wine a little now and think about shedding a few more pounds and get myself at a decent running weight. I need to drop 8lbs fairly quickly. Vince my occasional running partner is back from a second injury and pushed me hard- this last weekend, he led the way over 16 miles of 3,000ft. I also need to rearrange my running week in order to cope with the extra effort that's going to be required over the next few weekends as I increase the LSR's in distance, height and effort. Winter running up on my local hills has been brilliant this year, now I'm looking forward to spring erupting under my feet as I run the trails and passes. Time to keep an ear out for the first cuckoo. And on the subject of Sunshine...

...Welcome Little Miss 'Mary Sunshine' - what a lovely name.

Have I got a plan?

A few days have passed since the thought of doing the PBR entered my head. I've had my head down gathering information on the route, and have read a few accounts and even watched a poorly made but sunny home video - which to be honest only served to disguise the harder realities of the challenge. (No disrespect to the runner in it intended) I've now got the route in my head in terms of how the mountains fall according to the downloadable suggested timing plan. I've matched photographs from different angles of each of the 47 peaks as they appear on the timing plan. This with a little knowledge of parts of the course gained from my mountaineering days has given me a clearer picture to visualise. I've also studied the OS map in detail of each leg. It's a lot of very rugged ground!. It's also 3 times more running climbing than I've done in one session to date. The plan at the moment is to develop my current Ultra running experience with a couple more Ultras in the late spring and summer this year and maybe add another towards the end of the year. Next year all being well, I'll aim to do the Fellsman in May which is 11,000ft over 62miles and then for the run up to Autumn 2011 I'll spend time on the PBR course itself. I'll also look at covering the first leg later this year, after that I'll know if I'm capable of a serious attempt or not. The more I look at it the more I can see putting a reliable pacing and support team together being an equal challenge to the run itself. As I progress this year and speak to people etc this problem may sort itself out. Meanwhile its back to nosing around to see what i can find on the subject.

The Paddy Buckley Round could be the one

I've started the year feeling I need a bigger plan. I already intended on doing two Ultras this year amongst other stuff, but I've begun to feel I need to set my sights on something a little higher, something a lot more challenging. I looked around and didn't really see much that I fancied. I've now found something that's certainly out there - The Paddy Buckley Round takes in 47 Welsh peaks over 60 odd miles with 28000ft of climbing, most runners aim to do it in 24 hours. It's said to be 1hr tougher than the Bob Graham Round. Having spotted it, I've since read a few accounts by people who've run it. I'm beginning to realise the size of the job. It looks like a lot of runners organise a team of support people to do various jobs on the day. So the first task for me would be to establish a support team, difficult enough in itself when the event would have to be next year. I'm thinking of a 2011 date sometime in hopefully settled weather in late August or early September. There's no way I'd like to do it in the heat of the summer. So, I have plenty of time to plan towards an effort. As part of the training I could do with completing something tough later this year, I'll have a look at possibilities soon. Many things may happen to hinder between now and a date that far in the future, I suppose every runner faces that. I'm attracted to this not least because it's Wales. I've mountaineered in the Welsh Mountains for years but still haven't seen a lot of them. I haven't fully decided to do it yet because I haven't read up enough on it. But the fact I'm blogging about it tells me I'm likely to commit soon. Out on my local hill run last night I could see the snow streaked gullies of the hills and mountains that make up the Paddy Buckley course approximately 60 road miles into the distance - I felt a little nervous pang in the pit of my stomach when I thought that's how far the PBR is!

"Can we get on with it please?"

Dot and I enjoyed the melting snow and ice last night during a 2 and a half hour run on the hill. Still a bit cold and very difficult stuff to run on. (Even harder to sit on says Dot!) Once again my busy weekend went fast and before I knew it I only had an hour of daylight left of the weekend. So I tailored my plans to a slightly shorter route. Not quite! During the decent I was enjoying it so much I decided to traverse the hill for a couple of miles gradually gaining height again before heading down and home. This meant an hour and a half of running in the dark using Dot's bright white coat as a guiding light along the sometimes snow packed, sometimes thigh deep soft stuff and loads of ice cold melt water streams. Feet numb with cold I got to thinking this was like 'ice therapy' as you run - can't be bad. A glance back to the summit ridge revealed a beautiful new moon with a bright star to its left sitting above the pitch-black curved land back-lit by a peach/orange sky - At that moment all was well in my world.

A Decent Winter Run Out

The top of Moel Famau - In very rare winter conditions

This is a recent post I put up on a thread, not sure if it's the done thing but I thought it worth recording here.

Saturday morning in beautiful sunshine and sub zero temps - up early and put a simple pack together. Dot, Vince and I were off on the hill. Vince piled on the pace running uphill from the start on perfectly compact snow. We wound our way up the very steep approaches to the more exposed shoulder and summit of Moel Famau. Not a sole about at 9.00 o'clock. The running here was hard straight from the car because the ever enthusiastic Vince set a crisp pace. Once out of the protection of the forest the compact snow path vanished into something a little more like snow. Still the sun shone and the wind blew, we were in good spirits and soon standing on the very top. The wind up here was keen, but in the sunshine it didn't feel so bad. I pulled my fleece hat over the windward facing ear and led off down the North facing slope. The running here was tough - no visible path as the drifting snow had covered any tracks from any of the previous days walkers. We 'ploughed' on for another couple of miles to another notch between two facing summits. Here the wind is usually brisk, today it was blowing very brisk from the North East and was packing an 'icey' punch' I estimated - 15 - 20 wind chill could have been colder. Within 2 minutes of us being in this exposed notch, Vince was feeling it badly. I was fine Dot was fine (I asked her) - except she was struggling with the 3 foot depth often crashing through the crust and re-appearing with frozen eyeliner and frosty nose caused by the moisture instantly freezing the second it was exposed to the vicious wind. A quick check on Vince who was not happy, I made a half decision to knock off the top at the very next opportunity. Half a mile or so on Vince picked up and was warm again. Cancelling the half decision we decided to do another mile and half or so of the exposed ridge. The running became tougher here and Dot had to be carried. Vince was soon in trouble again. There was no way off for at least half a mile or so and the wind was back and it was biting. No choice but to continue and make ground. I was comfortable with the situation knowing that we were less than a quarter of a mile from the decent path to lower ground and easier running and weather. The head of the path soon became visible or invisible! due to the drifting snow which was up to 5 feet deep in parts. After half running half swimming through the snow choked decent gully for 10 minutes we were standing sheltering behind a road sign. Vince was very cold and very unhappy. He refused to drink and took one bite out of a half frozen banana - not good. Best to keep going. So off we trotted back on better snow dropping height all the time. We we're still on the North side of the hill in its deep shade and heading into a slight but freezing breeze. Ironically I got cold here for the first time, Hands! Hands! Hands! (Especially recently cut finger!!!) It was decision time again - would we cut out and head for the near-by village or plan a return loop back to the car. We were both warmed up now and back in the sunshine our spirits were lifted. I planned a sensible hill route back keeping mainly to the sunny side of the hill and avoiding the very exposed tops. The running now was superb if not very exhausting. After 5 or so miles of this we were both glad to see the car. Dot seemed a bit disappointed the fun had stopped! 3 and half hours of the toughest winter running I've done so far. Back to my house for porridge and brown sugar and a gallon of tea. Vince warmed up enough to drive home. I had a joiner working in the house, what he must have thought when I squeezed past him in my hall explaining that I needed to get my core temperature up again by burying myself under my duvet for a couple of hour - it being the middle of the day he looked at me worryingly.

IT'S2000&TENTHEN.

The last time I ran was the last time I blogged. Another 'freak' injury stopped me in my tracks the week before Christmas. I had decided to run through this Christmas and New Year. (In previous year's I'd 'fatten up' during the holiday right through to the new year. The 'freak' accident involved DIY, a Stanley knife and my finger. It's always the way when you're rushing - slight lack of concentration and the male of the species propensity to be brave (carefree) with dangerous tools. The resulting cut or to be more accurate 'chop' was down to the bone of the joint of my wedding ring finger - which took a couple of days to properly hurt. There was no chance of running through Christmas. So I took the opportunity to 'fatten up' once again. Christmas was busy right through to the New Year for me with travel North and South with a New Year's Eve wedding consuming most of my time. So here we are into the New Year, my finger's healed, I've packed on 10 lbs and enjoyed every calorie. I'm now ready to roll (so to speak) Britain's been in a state of deep freeze for a few weeks and I've been desperate to get out and run some snow. Yesterday work was cancelled so I took the opportunity to coax Dot from under her duvet and we both headed for the nearest hill. Running in a foot of perfect powder snow and climbing through a frozen hillside forest, this was my reward for making the effort. I felt really good considering the extra weight, remnants of throaty cold and a couple of weeks being well lazy.

I decided before Christmas to cancel my C7 disc operation that was booked for the 12th. It was a fairly serious operation and would have stopped my running for at least three months. I consulted my Doctor yesterday and he agrees that for now I've made the right decision. This is a very positive start to the new year for me, so I intend on making the most of the reprieve. Time to start planning some events and getting some entries sorted. Cader Idris http://www.cader-race.co.uk looks like a starter. I fancy some Welsh mountain running. Will hope to do a better time at the Osmotherley Phoenix 33 in July. Then a 50m somewhere and will certainly do the Snowdon Marathon for the 4th time. I'll be looking for a flat marathon at some time to get a time. along with that, I'll have to see. If I have as good a year's running as 09 I'll be happy. I'm still busy finishing projects in the house, but there is light at the end of that particular tunnel. Next year when the chores are done, who knows what adventures lay in wait?

No real New Year resolution for me, other than to run when possible!