6 weeks to go!!

Today (21st July) marks 6 weeks until the start of the Gore-Tex Transalpine-Run. The main preparation races and events (HighlanderMM, Fellsman, Bob Graham, LAMM and SLMM) are long behind us and the next 6 weeks will be spent tailoring our training to the event and preparing for the start.

Neither myself or Andy have had an ideal lead up to this point with various injuries getting in the way between January and July. However, it appears the winds have changed and both of us are entering this period of refinement in good form (touch wood). Perfect timing?

Having built up a strong base and recovered from the above events, I have three stated goals for the next phase, in priority order:

1. To reach the start line uninjured and fresh to race
2. To have an uninterrupted training period (ie. not get injured during the final lead up)
3. To be on the start line in top condition to race

I've developed a training plan that focuses on number 3. However, I feel it would be careless to not bear in mind numbers 1 and 2 as I progress through. The slightest inkling that fatigue, illness or injuries are creeping in and I'll amend the plan suitably.

The plan builds on the last few weeks and takes me through a cycle of hard and medium training weeks before a two week taper to the race itself. I've planned around a few notable events; including a couple of days that I have off work to see the Olympic athletics and gymnastics events; Marc and Kim's wedding and Andy's planned visit 'dawrn sarrfff' in August.

In preparing the plan I've focused around 5 key points:

1. To improve my climbing ability (weekly hill sessions)
2. To maintain leg strength and conditioning for the long down hill sections
3. To ensure sufficient rest and recovery (a few sports massages and eating/drinking the right stuff)
4. To teach my body to cope with the demands of running hard day after day after day (robustness)
5. To teach my body to recover quickly between sessions and learn what works in terms of recovery ready for the race itself

I'm looking forward to following the plan and building up confidence for the race. It's fair to say that I've never tried to follow such a structured plan so am heading somewhat into the unknown. Fingers crossed!

Racing Olympians

Over the past week or so, I've had the pleasure of meeting, running with, and racing against two 2012 Olympians. Ser-Od 'Ziggy' Bat-Ochir and  Otgonbayar Luvsanlkhündegiin will be representing Mongolia at the 2012 London Olympic Games and they've been based in Guildford, at the Surrey Sports Park, during their final preparations.


GGAC have been helping them train, both on the roads and the track and taking them to a few local races, where they've had celebrity status. It's not often a Surrey Road League or local mid-week trail race become international races!!

Gibbet Hill 10K - Haslemere - 11 July 2012
I've now done this race 4 times before and it's fair to say that it's a favourite of mine. It's a mid-week trail 10k based around a significant hill just outside Haslemere with a savage road descent over the last mile and a half. The start is gentle enough and all on a decent road but then the trail begins and it's not too long before the climb starts. The climb is long, rough and often soft underfoot.

This year, a heavy amount of rain preceded the race and it didn't hold up for the race itself. Huddled under a tree at the start, the downpour was torrential and the cold set in. The two Mongolians looked less than impressed. We were all itching to start and eventually, at bang on 1930, we were off. Ziggy took the lead and it wasn't long before he pulled out a solid gap on the rest of the field, disappearing into the distance.

I settled into a comfortable rhythm, somewhere around 10th. I'd had top 10 finishes in previous years but having only three days recovery since the Saunders, didn't want to start to fast. Otgonbayar was a good 100yds ahead, but I had a feeling she'd find the later terrain pretty tough.

The roads were covered in run off water and it often felt like we were crossing shallow fords. The trails were no different and as we headed into the woods, it was clear that there was going to be a lot of mud to battle through.

I took the climb at a steady pace and let runners overtake me without response. There was still some weakness from the Saunders and the descent was probably the place where I would make up some time. After a couple of miles I caught Otgonbayar. She was struggling in the deep muddy sections, the racing flats certainly not helping. Ziggy was long gone.

After passing Otgonbayar I got more into the race. Most of the climb was behind us and the race was now on. I was probably still around 10th but found some pace on the undulating top section and started to reign in those ahead of me. A couple of short sharp downhills and tight turns allowed me to break free from those trying to hold my pace.

At the top of the hill, just before the road, I was now on my own, with a reasonable gap to those behind. I didn't know how many were in front but did have a least one runner to chase. The downhill was always going to be fast, but just how fast depended on how much my legs had recovered from the mountain descents from  the weekend.

Not enough recovery was the answer and I couldn't make up any time on the guy in front. It was quite painful but I pushed on and finished in 38.42, over a minute down on my previous best course time. Ziggy had finished over 5 minutes ahead and had stomped to a course record, despite the unfavourable conditions. Otgonbayar came in only 16 seconds behind me to take the women's title, having destroyed the blokes I'd been racing over the top.

Despite the slow time, I finished in 5th, one better than my 6th in 2009 and 2010. With the exception of Ziggy, possibly a weaker field, but the conditions did make it that little bit tougher this year.

Taking the Mongolians to Pizza Express topped off a brilliant evening!!

Elmore 7 - Elmore - 14 July 2012
This classic race, usually part of the Chipstead Flower Show, is organised by South London Harriers and is a regular fixture in the Surrey Road League. Although I've done several Road League events over the past few years, I've never managed to get over to Elmore.

The race, an undulating single loop road course, and the distance, at 7 miles, were both new to me. The Mongolians would again be joining us and with some other top runners, the race would be hard and fast. Fortunately the weather had significantly improved and although there were large puddles on the road, the race would be run in the dry.

On the start line the announcer introduced Ziggy and Otgonbayar. I knew that Ziggy was likely on for another win but more importantly, I knew that I was one up in the head-to-head battle with Otgonbayar. Although, with this being a comparatively flat and road race, I felt that Otgonbayar would probably level the score here. Just how close I could come behind was the main question on my mind.

With Ziggy leading the race, a rapid start ensued. The field strung out and I dropped into about 30th place, some distance behind Otgonbayar. With only a few days between Gibbet Hill and Elmore, I wasn't sure whether the Saunders would be out of my legs and so kept a steady pace again.

As we dropped off the main road onto the quieter and hillier country lanes I found myself in a race together with a lot of South London Harriers (SLH). Some corners and the undulations meant that I had lost sight of Otgonbayar.

The pace felt quick but sustainable and eventually we turned to head back towards the finish. I caught a glimpse of Otgonbayar but the distance seemed unassailable. I wasn't sure how far we'd gone, but avoided looking at my Garmin for fear that there was still a long way to go.

Indeed, there was a LONG way to go. I had to work hard to keep the pace and held off some SLH challengers as the distance to Otgonbayar started to reduce. The SLH gradually dropped off and my goal became catching the slight and nippy Mongolian.

Not knowing quite where the finish was, a well timed sprint was going to be tricky. The yards were still decreasing when all of a sudden the sharp left turn appeared and I knew the finish would be close. As I pushed hard round the corner, the finish line came far too quickly and I missed the opportunity to make it a second win. Otgonbayar had beaten me by 4 seconds. Still, I think that gives me a net Tour-de-France-style victory of 16 seconds!

The Elmore 7 winners

I was surprised to finish 12th and average 5:52 minute miles. Whilst that pace is more half marathon than 7 mile pace, I'm pleased that I've slipped back into shorter races with some pace. Now, all that remains is to focus on building on that pace, whilst keeping my hill strength through to the Transalpine.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed the races with Ziggy and Otgonbayar and wish them all the best for the Olympic marathons in a few weeks time. I'll be there to cheer them on with as much passion as for the Brits. My Mongolian flag is already on order.

Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon

The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon has a reputation as being a beginner friendly MM, allowing novices to experience the same mountainous terrain and navigational challenges that feature in any MM, but in a more condensed area and with the luxury of refreshments at the Mid Camp. The SLMM, much like the RAB, has a solo category – the Klets course – along with some longer standard courses to challenge the more experienced runners.

Day 1

Entering the Klets course meant that Adam and I would spend the weekend independently testing our hill fitness, route choice and navigation skills. An added twist for this year’s event, held at Wasdale Head, was that all of the Klets competitors would have a mass start, involving an exam room style race to mark up the maps before deciding on how best to divide the 22 controls into two days.

Having run together in a number of MMs over the last 3 years, inevitably Adam and I chose completely opposite routes!

Day 1 routes

Adam chose to pick off two outlying checkpoints around Great Gable before taking a clockwise route to the midcamp, leaving a shorter more direct run back over familiar terrain to the finish on Day 2. I chose the more popular option to take an anticlockwise route, picking off 14 checkpoints and leaving the flatter run around the south of Wast Water for Day 2.

Once again on a MM the MWIS forecast was far worse than the weather we experienced, with cloud above the summits and a light breeze to keep us cool all weekend.

Within the first hour of running Adam and I both had reason to doubt our route choice. With Adam questioning his decision to pick off the outliers as he ran back in the opposite direction to the majority of the Klets field, I didn’t have time to explain that I was now working my way back through the field. I had dropped from 1^st to almost last having over shot the very first control!

After playing catchup up over the next few controls I began to struggle on the climbs around Seatallan. Here the route choice was more interesting with a variety of options and order to pick up eight central controls, depending on which you planned on leaving for Day 2.

Generally I seemed to pick efficient lines and the rest of the day passed quickly, I ran pretty hard over the grassy tussocky terrain catching back up with Mark Ford after seeing the presumed leader, Ant Emmitt, heading back towards us up Seatallan. I pulled away from Mark over the last few controls only to lose my advantage on the penultimate checkpoint by looking for the control at the wrong point (note to self – check control description, and mark the control number on map).

Mid Camp

Mid camp was great – the sun was out, friends were arriving from different directions and each joining in with their mid camp routines in the luxury of the afternoon sunshine. Adam arrived an hour or so after me and we began discussing the day’s events whilst enjoying our beer and milk and a luxury nights sleep, with twice the usual space having each carried our own tent.

Andy Burton, Adam and Jonny Muir enjoying beers in the sun at midcamp

One advantage of this year’s Klets course was that it gave us the chance to accurately plan our route for Day 2, with everyone knowing which controls each had left. Adam and I took advantage of our new knowledge of the terrain to help each other plan efficient lines for Day 2 routes.

Day 2

The fact that no-one really knew who had done what or where people sat in the field proved a hot topic of conversation and meant that Day 2 really was a case of pushing as hard as you could, then wait and see how things unfolded as people downloaded at the finish.

Day 2 routes

Taking identical lines, Mark and I used other as a means of stretching the pace over the rugged but runable terrain. We had soon pulled away from those following who had taken the same route on Day 1. A number of people had shorter days than us, having already picked up our second control of Day 2 on Day 1. Mark and I began to catch them up despite making two small mistakes, one on the way to and one locating a control on a bend in a gorge.

From here on in it was a 12km push to the finish.  In one particularly boggy section my legs struggled to maintain Marks pace, but some strong contouring and a fast run in to the finish into Wasdale allowed me to pull away and take 4^th place in 9hrs18m, 16minutes behind the winner who had chosen a more balanced day 1 and day 2.

It had been a fast paced and short weekend of racing, starting at 7am on day two and taking only 3hrs25mins to finish, unusually I was one of the first back to the finish. Adam did, unfortunately, suffer from his decision to pick off the outliers on Day 1 but finishing in 14^th position, despite the additional distance and climb, reflects how well he was running.

Another good weekend racing in preparation for the TransAlpine – only 8weeks to go!!

Saltwell Harriers Fell Race

Being just 20 minutes drive from my house, the Saltwell Harriers fell race provided a welcome opportunity to catch up with fellow Northumberland Fell Runners members and take part in a short, fast paced race for a change.

Starting from the road just north of Stanhope, the 5.5mile loop around the undulating moorland involves a gradual and runable climb through the heather up to Collier Law mast, before turning around to follow a combination of fast trods, the C2C route and an open grassy descent to a river checkpoint. From there the river is followed downstream until the final sting in the tail – a 200m climb up a track to the finish.

As a counter in both the NE and NFR championships there was a good turnout of 120+ runners. With a view to saving my legs for the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon at the weekend, I had convinced myself that I’d be able to restrain any competitive urges and just stay relaxed and jog round.

Settling into a pace roughly in 20^th on the first climb I was finding the pace very steady and began to work through the field. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast running through relativly easy terrain, the squelch underfoot from the recent heavy rainfall made some sections heavy going but that didn’t stop Nick Swinburn setting a new course record.

Punching into the checkpoint in the river was an interesting twist, by this point I had passed Will Horsley and had 10^th place in my sights. Still feeling relaxed I continued to pick off the places, digging in on the last climb to finish 5^th, helping NFR to pip DFR to the team prize.

My ankle felt great – the nearest it has been to 100% on rough ground although I might regret the fast pace this weekend if my legs are still heavy at the Saunders!

The good company, food and prize giving ceremony in the Moorcock pub afterwards was very enjoyable, the whole field got a mention and a bottle of beer for their efforts. Thanks to Keith Wood and all at Saltwell Harriers for putting on a great evening of racing.