Tuesday 31 January 2012

Winter wonderland

Following a very encouraging MWIS forecast for the weekend Rosie and I drove to the Lakes to take advantage of the incredible weather last Saturday. I don't think i've ever experienced such a still, dry and clear day in the lakes in January.

The intention had been to run Leg 2 of the BG, but wanting to spend some time with Rosie and Riley (and having left my pre packed running bag full of food and kit in Newcastle!) I decided to walk up to Grisedale Tarn with Rosie and the Riley from Dunmail. The views were INCREDIBLE with a fresh dumping of snow from 500m upwards which Riley thoroughly enjoyed playing in.

The views from around Grisedale Tarn were stunning and the hills were busy with walkers fully equiped with axes and crampons. At the path junction above the tarn Rosie walked back down to the car and I popped for a swift run up Fairfield (a tough 18min climb running through a mix of well trod and 1ft deep drifts of snow) then down and up Seat Sandal (12mins - a fast but tentative downhill on the sections of well compacted snow, but attacking the climb well) before a recce of the route down to Dunmail (21mins - fast and long open strides through the virgin snow, avoiding the boulder fields as I dropped to picking up the correct trod down the WNW shoulder back the car.) Rosie just beat me back to the car. It had been a worthwhile run to get the descent into Dunmail nailed but without doubt the panoramic views of the BG routh over the Dodds to Helvellyn, across Dunmail, over Raise, the Langdale Pikes and a distant Bow Fell made it for me.



It also made me reflect that the definition of a winter BG, one attempted during the period starting on 1 December and finishing on 1 March, by no means defines the increase in the challenge that one would face. Typically a winter BG demands significantly more respect that a summer BG: the combined effects of more adverse weather, wet/snowy/icy terrain and significantly reduced daylight hours only add to the challenge. Despite the need to be good friends with the dark, I would have taken this weekends weather hands down compared to the weather we had on our attempt on the 15th July last year..!

Friday 20 January 2012

Hong Kong Trail

Last week I was fortunate enough to be on a business trip to Hong Kong. With a view to seeing and experiencing more of the sights and culture of Hong Kong, I booked my flights to allow two free days after my work commitments were finished.

Hong Kong is fast paced, efficient and full of life. The whole city shouts boldly that it is a place to prosper: Either side of Victoria Harbour the world’s leading companies seem to compete for their share of the skyline with their modern and iconic buildings, the brand names proudly lighting up the night sky with a wash of neon.

Whilst the buildings and the infrastructure in Hong Kong are incredible, it was the lush green backdrop of the hills that impressed me most. The densely forested and steep sided hills surround the cities, restricting Hong Kong’s expansion so that the only way it can grow is upwards. Taking the tram up to the top of Victoria Peak provides an easy way to climb and experience the omnipotent views of the city, some 500m below. Despite being popular with the tourists, is an immediate and welcome escape from the busy streets.

The peak tram terminal also marks the start of the Hong Kong Trail, a 50km trail run that meanders itself in, around and over the spine of the island’s forested hills. Of course, I thought it would be rude not to run it whilst I was there, and welcomed the chance to squeeze in a long day in the hills! The signed route, split into eight sections, was very easy to follow and offers significant variation in both terrain and views. The large sections of concrete and paved paths were excused by the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the proximity of the forests they cut trough. The many sections of easily runnable undulating footpaths proved great fun, especially the climb up and over ‘Jardine’s Lookout’ and the last section over ‘The Dragons Back’.

After a few short backtracks to return to the official route (carrying a map is advised!) and stopping for countless photos I made it to Big Wave Bay, the finish, in 5hrs 21mins. It was a great run out in the hills and I am pleased that my first marathon length run of 2012 enabled me to experience a side to Hong Kong that I'm sure few others would see, in a part of the world that I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to visit.

Thursday 19 January 2012

Andy's 2011 Review

2011 was a year of two halves for me, starting with some great achievements following some casual and predominantly hill focused training, but suffering from the end of August onwards after tearing my ankle ligaments badly.

2011’s recipe for success: Train regularly but not religiously and when I do train – train for, or in, the hills.

With this approach in mind I deliberately didn’t complete a running log for 2011, so stats are few and far between, however even as soon as mid January it was evident my 2011 approach seemed to be working:

At a fast paced and very enjoyable race at the Kielder off road duathlon my feet were the first to break tread into the 2” of fresh snow in the finishing field below Kielder Castle, however I narrowly missed out on my first ever career victory to come 2nd by 2 seconds.

When dropping down to the C class at the Highlander MM due to Adam’s knee injury we were jokingly warned not to win by the organizers and were, in some part, relieved to come 2nd having taken it easy both days. The speed boat back to the mainland capped off an awesome weekend.

Taking out a few Munro’s after the HMM, including Uncle Dave’s last, put some strength in my legs and a PB at the Yorkshire 3 Peaks of 3h33m showed that my approach to training was working. I continued to focus on longer off road runs and getting into the hills at weekends to recce the Bob Graham.

Despite being nothing short of boring, my 9 mile pavement pounding commutes to and from work proved the ideal distance to keep the legs ticking over in between longer weekend runs in the hills.

2011 running highlight:

My previous long term goal of a top 10 Elite MM finish would suggest that coming 7th in the LAMM Elite ought to be the winner; but the 61 mile Fellsman was definitely my running highlight of the year. It was a brilliant race covering new and unfamiliar territory for me – The route took in many first time hills, typically full of Yorkshire Dales's rugged beauty. I also found a new level of determination and strength; not just to continue moving for long days in the hills as I always have, but to continue pushing 100% and running strongly and quickly. I surpassed all my expectations finishing 7th in 12hrs 18minutes.

The summer after the BG attempt was my most enjoyable ever, and I didn’t run once! After an awesome stag do I married Rosie on the happiest and most perfect day of my life. We spent an equally enjoyable 10days in the Italian lakes on honeymoon, both deciding that we could happily live there…

2011 running lows:

I was confident that all the great preparation and new found ability to ‘MTFU’ would lead to a successful BG attempt in July, despite the ‘unhelpful’ weather conditions. It wasn’t to be – I am still gutted to this day but will be back in 2012, lessons learnt.

On my second run back after the honeymoon I badly tore the ligaments in my ankle, giving me no choice but to rest completely until the end of September. I hobbled off the hill back to Rosie, fueled by pain and the anticipation of the inevitable injury induced frustration, which I knew would plague me for the rest of the year.

With the strength and fitness drained from my legs a couple of tentative fell races in September suggested my ankle would hold out on the OMM Elite at the end of October. It didn’t. My fitness and ankle survived the first 3 hours before both failing me seemingly in the same stride. The rest of the weekend was tough for me, but my determination and Adam’s support, patience and accurate navigation got us through in 16th, my 100% mountain marathon success rate intact.

Despite this, attempting the OMM was a mistake; as of January my ankle is only just fully recovered, but my 2012 training can now begin.

Sunday 8 January 2012

Reflecting on 2011

So I've not had a great start to 2012. My training through December yo-yo-ed between low and high mileage weeks and between short and long runs. I raced 3 out of a planned 5 but should've probably not raced at all. A chesty cold in late November/early December was ultimately my downfall and it seems to have cost me the start to the year I very much desired.

The final straw was the annual Guisborough Woods race on December 27th. I knew that I should be on good form with recent rep times and race results pointing towards a strong run. The lack of snow also meant that the course would probably be the quickest in recent years. I therefore set off hard and maintained a strong pace through the race to finish in 8th place in a course PB of 41.02, over a minute up on my 2007 performance (the last time I raced the course in more favourable conditions). All good on the surface but all bad below. I'd pushed too hard for my fragile post-cold body and had a tight chest. Breathing deeply was painful and I knew I'd have to take it easy for a few days. I ran and cycled a couple of times before the new year but even relatively gentle exercise wasn't helping.

I've not run since except a short semi-risky venture out yesterday to test the state of my recovery, only to discover a new dodgy ankle pain. Even more rest required. Still, it forces me to take a few more days and really build up the strength to get back into training properly, albeit a good few weeks behind 'the plan'.

On a positive note, I've had time to look back over 2011 in more detail than I usually would. I've logged all my races, tot'ed up my weekly mileage and come out with some interesting stats and thoughts on the year just passed.

First to the stats - 1878 miles run, 846 miles cycled, 33 races including 3 wins, 5 podiums and 18 top tens. Of course that doesn't really mean much without the detail of which races that was, how many ran, who ran, how far etc. etc. but it is quite a nice overview. For me, the most amazing stat of all though is that those 33 races took 4 days, 10 hours, 3 minutes and 33 seconds to complete. That's A LOT. Maybe I should've been quicker? If I'd won every race (in the sense of matching the winner, which might not be so accurate a reflection of performance - in the score based RAB MM for instance) then I'd have still been racing for 3 days 15 hours, 40 minutes and 55 seconds!! So overall, I dropped just over 18 hours on the winner across the year (or 17%). That list of winners does include some well know names such as Haile Gebreselassie
(Birmingham Half), Jez Bragg (Fellsman), Steve Vernon (National XC) as well as lesser known but equally impressive athletes such as Mark Palmer (Brecon 40 - who went on to run a sub 15hr Bob Graham), Tom Brunt (LDMT - beating a quality field) and Duncan Archer (LAMM and OMM). I think I'm pretty happy with those stats and doubt there's many people out there who've spent more time against the clock.

Second to the thoughts....

Rather than go through the year on a month by month basis, I thought it best to focus on a couple of positives and negatives for the year in summary. Purely from a running point of view of course!

Positives - Winning and being competitive
Winning is an amazing feeling and I was fortunate that nobody quicker than me turned up to 3 of my races last year! The races that I managed to win were quite broad ranging in terms of quality, distance and the number of entrants but the one thing that ties them together is that they were all off-road, over rough but ultimately quick terrain. The number of bogs to skip across also seemed to be quite high.


The major one on this list has to be the Grizzly - branded as "Twentyish muddy, hilly, boggy, beachy miles of the multiest-terrain running experience you will find this side of the end of time", it's a very popular race with in the region of 2000+ entries. Hitting the shingle beach in the lead, just ahead of team-mate Graham Robinson meant that I ran scared up the cliffs and along the tops but running into Seaton with nobody in sight was just unbelievable. To be subsequently named in the World's Ultimate Running Races was a nice surprise and I'll forever have that book on my coffee table [Note to self - buy house, buy coffee table].

Coupled with these top results I've found myself in a much more competitive position in many of my races, at least those where I've been fit and healthy. I've found it helps to not be hanging from the night before too. This is more difficult in Mountain Marathons, where both parties need to be on form. As Andy said in his biog, the ambition is to 'compete' and not just 'complete' and this has become much more of a reality in 2011. A chasing start and final 7th place on the LAMM Elite whilst Andy and I were both just off top form is testament to this.

Positives - Man-ing Up (or MTFU)
Very much a mantra of our 2011 Bob Graham round attempt (thanks to Rob for the initialism), this, to me, is stepping up to take on the biggest challenges, running when the body screams 'walk' and generally not mincing around when things get a little difficult. I've noticed a big step up here, at least on paper if not in practice!!

Of all the Mountain Marathons entered last year, only one ended up being one of the children's courses [Highlander C course] and that was mid-injury. All the others were run at Elite or equivalent. Running the Fellsman, post-injury and off a max 9 mile training run, was tough but I got through it. Completing the Brecon 40 the following weekend meant 100+ miles of racing and amassing the points to qualify for the UTMB in a little over a week.

I've noticed this amongst my peers too. Notably an injured Rob on our BG and Andy on the OMM - jumping straight into Elite level competition having had a couple of months off with a wrecked ankle. Oh, and how can I forget my friend Lucy completing the last half of the Everest Marathon with a broken arm!!

Negatives - Injuries
I had one major injury last year and a scattering of other 'weeks off' with illness, tight quads and tight hamstrings to name a few. I lost about 8 weeks training and missed a couple of races with the main injury, some sort of inflammation around the top of the patella. Funnily enough, the injury occupies the period between two of the most positive events of last year - winning the Grizzly and man-ing up to get round the Fellsman. I actually had the injury on the start line at the Grizzly and it's likely this race was the tipping point into the world of non-running misery. Not getting it seen to straight away is certainly a lesson learned and I won't be making the same mistake again. I've also been stretching a lot more since and need to keep on top of it to ward off any future injuries.

Negatives - Failure at the BG
The biggest disappointment for the year was our failed attempt at the Bob Graham round - a 60-odd mile traverse around the lake district featuring 42 peaks and somewhere in the region of 27000ft of climb, all to be tackled in less than 24 hours. I ran this with Andy and two others, Rob and Duncan. After a dreamy first leg, the weather came in, we got split up, we were cold and had dropped off schedule by the time we were hacking through the bracken into Dunmail and I decided to call it a day. Andy and Duncan started the third leg but eventually retired mid way through on the way to Wasdale.

On a positive note, I think we all learnt a lot during the attempt and on the recces earlier in the year. I've visited each peak at least once and the hill experience has been invaluable for a future attempt, not to mention all the other races run last year and those coming up in 2012. I'm sure we'll all be back for another attempt in the not too distant future.

Summary
On reflection 2011 was a good year. No, scrap that, it was a great year, my best yet. It was frustrating at times but I'm pleased with my results and progress. Most importantly, it was a thoroughly enjoyable year and thanks must go to all those I run with and have supported us over the year.

All the indicators point towards an equally fruitful and exciting 2012. Now I just need it to start proper.

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Andy's Biog

Now you know a little about Adam, here’s an introduction to the other half of team “Tyne and Weary”:

As with Adam, I have always been active. Growing up with two equally sporty and competitive brothers and parents with a passion for the outdoors provided the platform for my love for the hills. As a child and young teenager I particularly enjoyed the countless trips to the Lakes, Peaks and Scotland; enjoying quality time with family and friends in nature’s very own, and undeniably beautiful, playground.

At school my interest and determination to succeed every sport under the sun meant that running didn’t really feature as my predominant sport until I went to University; early success at school cross country was simply a fortunate by product of spending so much time playing other sports. It was at school that I met Rosie, my beautiful and very understanding and supportive Wife. To quote one of my favorite musicians, Rosie is “the rock upon which I stand” and I wouldn’t be writing this, planning my attempt at the TransAlpine, without her seemingly endless support and encouragement for my affair with the mountains. At School I also established a long term and much valued friendship with Michael Robinson, who introduced me to the concept of taking running to the fells.

It was with Michael that I successfully attempted my first Mountain Marathon; the B Class at the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon in the Lakes in 2005. Pushing myself charging around in the wind, cloud and rain over the rugged hills was a new and fast paced adventure - I was hooked for life. Despite my relative sense of achievement, Steve Birkenshaw and Morgan Donnelly won the elite course in a quicker time than our time for the B – from then on they have been my idols and I continue to dream of considering myself in the same bracket as them. A navigational mistake on Day 1 inspired me to work on my navigation, and after joining the orienteering and xcountry clubs at university I got to meet Adam. The competitive person within me was gutted to discover he had narrowly beaten me over the same course, but it was great to find a like minded runner.

University life consisted almost entirely of sport and engineering and my speed and navigation improved significantly. The flexibility of student life provided a welcome opportunity to spend time with Rosie, but also to escape to Scotland to take out some hills. By the time I left University I had clocked up 230odd Munros, most of them as increasingly epic solo /Rosie supported backpacking trips, helping me establish a particular strength in covering rough terrain and navigating myself over long days in the hills.

The improvement in fitness and mountain skill was evident as Michael and I progressed to successfully complete the A and Elite Class at the OMM in consecutive years. Recognising the significance of our first Elite (Lowther Hills 2007) our mantra had been ‘to complete, not compete’. Finishing in the dark, overcoming exposure, fatigue and lack of sleep and taking 18hours over the two days it was a physical, mental and emotional challenge but proved to myself that completing the Elite was possible, now my target was to compete...

2010 saw the only year that I have not competed in the OMM, but a new partnership with Adam began following a successful run at the Highlander Mountain Marathon. We have since competed together with increasing success at a number of Mountain Marathons and after a 7th place finish in the LAMM Elite and 7th place finish on the 61mile Fellsman I now consider myself to be sneaking up on my ambition to ‘compete’ as an Elite mountain runner.

Having established a home and future for Rosie and myself in the North East the hills are never far away (unlike for Adam!!) and the local woods and countryside provide ideal training and opportunity for Rosie and I to relax together. As reflect on my progress and achievements in 2011 I am very much looking forward to bigger and better things in 2012, the Transalpine is one great opportunity to do just that...