The Transalpine in review

The dust has now settled on our Transalpine Race which we completed 5 weeks ago today. During the recovery period, we've had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the achievement, but also to reflect on the race. My thoughts here are to document the things that went well, went badly and what we learnt with a view to how we would approach things differently next time - should there by a next time! [And I think there will.]

This should in no way distract from the immense achievement of finishing the race, placing beyond our expectations in 13th overall and enjoying every (non-pain inducing) step of the journey, but there's always ways to improve and look forward to the next adventure.

What went well

Peaking at the race
Despite starting the year with a few injuries and lack of form, both of us started the race fresh and injury free. The build up wasn't ideal, but combining the endurance base from the Bob Graham training and success, with a short specific tailoring phase and a well executed taper meant that we toed the start line in good shape for what lie ahead.

Recovery
We'd thought about this beforehand and so had a rough plan to follow each day. Still, the first few days were agony, but by day 4 or 5 the soreness was subsiding and the muscles felt a lot better. Our main aims in recovery were to limit the damage caused during the day and then kick off the healing and refuelling process as best we could, ready for the next onslaught. 

This involved hydrating and eating pretty much as soon as we finished to get all the right building blocks in the system and to help carry out all the crap. We then tried our best to find a suitable ice bath to really flush out the toxins and reduce any swelling. We succeeded most days with the, sometimes ornate, town square centre pieces often becoming a make shift ice bath. If not, there was access to a fast flowing and perishingly cold glacial stream. 

Back at the camp we followed the same principles; getting protein and hydration in the form of powdered milkshakes and protein bars; then some stretching/foam roller action before squeezing into our compression gear. Again, an attempt at keeping the swelling down and the good blood flowing. If we could, we'd get gravity on our side too by raising our increasingly chubby feet, ankles, legs up as high as possible. More food and more hydration would then follow at the pasta party. 

The last part of the recovery process was to get some decent shut eye. Towards the end of the week this wasn't too difficult as the hours racked up but early on, the ear plugs and face masks/buffs were just what was needed. [Not that they helped when sleeping in a school corridor with motion detection lights coming on every other minute!!]

Ice bath-ing with Ryan and Ben (AKA The Reservoir Dogs)

Camp recovery

Pacing (after day 1 at least!)

We tried to run at a sustainable pace each day and the effort matched the incline and terrain we were running on. This meant that most days we would run into the finish pretty much spent, but most importantly we hadn't massively blown up earlier in the day. Any small dips in energy were quickly dealt with, with Jelly Babies or gel together with a suitable adjustment in pace. 

Race plan

Right from day 1 we had in mind that this was an 8-day race. Pushing too hard at the start was a sure way to pick up injuries or general fatigue and plummet down the rankings. We therefore ran our own race each day and didn't get enthralled in too much day by day racing (unless the net result was being 'chicked' of course!). As vast numbers of teams started to drop out we settled into a pack of similar runners and our day by day positions remained fairly static until the last couple of days when injuries slowed us down. Not that this mattered as we had built up a decent time buffer over the teams behind us in the first two thirds of the race.

Even better if

Shoe choice

We both suffered with our feet, but for completely different reasons. In the weeks leading up to the race we concluded that our regular fell shoes (inov8 x-talons and Mudclaws) would not be the most appropriate for the mainly hard packed trails we expected. We needed shoes with a bit more cushioning for the punishing descents, robust soles with good grip but also for the shoes to be as light as possible. We would have to lift these up 15000m of climb when all said and done. 

We both settled on Adidas Kanadias and ordered these in the weeks leading up to the event. Whilst Andy fitted into his fairly comfortably, I struggled on the first few outings. This is something I should've pre-empted as I often have issues with new shoes for the first few runs. Ultimately I'd left it too late to break them in properly and as a result had to go with my inov8 roclites. 

These definitely fitted the grip and weight requirements but the '2-arrow' profile meant next to no cushioning. During the race, this lack of protection meant that my knees took more of a battering than they should've done. However the biggest problem turned out to be the low cut of the laces which bruised the top of my toes. Progressively this got more and more painful until I was popping the vitamin I every morning before the off.

Fortunately, I managed to avoid the most common complaints from footwear, blister and battered toenails. Andy wasn't so lucky. The Kanadias didn't stop some gargantuan blisters forming on the soles of his feet and  an undue amount of pressure on the toenails.

The lesson here is clearly to get your footwear sorted well in advance and ensure they are broken in and tested on the type of terrain they will be used on, obvious really! I think I'd also recommend having a variety of shoes (as many of the competitors at the front end of the race had). Then selections can be made on the anticipated terrain and weather. Indeed, in the dry, even regular road shoes would've been fine.

Specificity in training

Finding similar terrain in the UK is always going to be a challenge. We certainly don't have altitude or the long climbs. Even hilly hard packed trails of more than a few miles are hard to come by. The Lakes come close, but I'd say this is limited to the height of summer when all the puddles have dried up. I think the coastal paths of the South West, the trails up, down and around Snowdon and the forest trails of Keilder Forest would be a good mix. Of course, they are so far apart you'd have to pick your terrain and then pick your weekend.

With tackling events such as the Fellsman, LAMM and SLMM earlier in the year, we focused more on the general fitness and endurance rather than the terrain. Not to forget the Bob Graham round. Unfortunately all of these involve running on pretty much the roughest terrain available and the climbs are often not runnable. This is where specific terrain and distance would've come in very useful.

Whilst we had a good two months after the SLMM before the Transalpine; holidays, other events and the Olympics meant that we simply didn't have the time to get out to specific terrain. If we were to run the Transalpine again, I think I'd pencil in a couple of weekends and head for some specific terrain. Even an extended weekend in the Alps would be feasible and of course, offer the most specific training imaginable.

Kit weight 

This is a minor one, but we did stick diligently to the specified race kit list, at least for the first few stages. Our experience of '4-seasons in one day' in the Lakes and Scotland meant that we were prepared for anything. Indeed, had the weather really 'come in' on those first few days we would've been in our element. 

It appeared many of the Europeans were cutting kit pretty close to the bone. Extensive first aid kits were replaced by the odd sticking plaster, 'waterproof' jackets were replaced by featherlite pertex windproofs and as for the 1 litre water container, well, maybe they were carrying a plastic bag?

We gradually ditched parts of our kit as the event progressed and the kit check became more of a question of having some kit, full stop. Although, we always had what we felt we might need, making choices largely on the weather forecast.

This would've been a sensible approach right from the start and may have provided a marginal gain on the first few days results. Of course, by the end of the week, the time gaps were vast and a few grams here and there wouldn't have made the difference.

I'm not quite so sure this principle applies to Mountain Marathons....

LAMM Kit Check

Our preparation for the Transalpine continues this weekend as we head to Scotland for the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (LAMM). We've once again entered the Elite course and I think it would be fair to say that we're hopefully of a similar result to last year when we made the Day 2 chasing start and finished 7th.

Whilst neither of us are completely over niggles and injuries picked up in the last few months, my whinjuries are similar in scale to last year and shouldn't cause too much pain (touch wood!). Success at the Bob Graham is still in our minds, and probably in our legs too. Who knows whether this is a good thing or a bad thing?

Whatever the result, it'll be great to get a solid weekend of ups and downs into the training schedule and hopefully the distances will seem manageable after recent epics.

One thing that will be interesting to try is our most recent kit upgrade. I've bought a Terra Nova Ultra 1 - the official Guinness World Record holder for the 'lightest double wall shelter' - http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/Brand/Terra_Nova/Tents/Laser_Ultra_1_Tent.html

On first inspection, it's noticeably lighter than my ageing Laser Comp. The Ultra fabric is also silver in colour, rather than the gold seen in 2011 editions and on the web site. Although, I'm not sure how it will appear out in the glorious sunshine that's been planned. The poles and the pegs are the same as the Photon 1 and a quick analysis suggests the dimensions are the same. We've not experienced a Photon 1 so we might have an interesting, and cosy, Saturday night.

Sadly, the pole cover was missing but I'm reliably informed that Terra Nova are sending one out to me. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow it'll be too late for the LAMM, so fingers crossed!!

Good luck to everyone racing!!!!! 

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.

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.

Adam's Biog

I thought I best add a bit of a biography to answer that critical question  - why would anyone sign up to run effectively 8 consecutive marathons over rough rocky terrain at altitude? What got me to this point and what drives me on?

I've always been active, enjoying a broad range of sports both in and outside school. Not running so much, but being outdoors, out in the forest or on the fells has been part of my life since a very young age. I started orienteering at school, about the age of 14 or 15 and instantly loved the challenge - running off road, up and down, jumping streams and hacking through undergrowth with the added challenge of navigating your own way. I suppose I had mixed results; not being the quickest runner nor the best navigator having only taken it up at a relatively late stage, but got stronger, quicker and better at the nav over the years at school and college. I took up mid-week runs to improve my fitness and gradually worked my 5km time trial down to under 20 minutes. At the time, this was a real achievement. Little did I know that 10 years on this would be my target marathon pace!

With the intention of improving my orienteering at university, I joined the cross-country club to boost my fitness and found a fantastic group of like-minded individuals, many of whom I am still in touch with today and consider to be among my best friends. I didn't race much for the club during that first year, focusing more on the orienteering but priorities gradually swung in favour of the cross-country club and I raced frequently from then on. Mostly focusing on cross-country but scattered with the odd road race too.

University provided the opportunity to race my first mountain marathon, a 2-day navigation race over wild terrain, run in pairs, carrying everything you need for 36 hrs out in the hills. I took on the 2003 Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (KIMM - now the OMM) C class over in the Langholm hills of southern Scotland with Jon, Durham housemate and long-time friend from York. We failed. It was a bloody cold one and we weren't too well prepared. Surely a summer time mountain marathon would have kinder weather and be easier on young legs? Nope, I entered the 2004 LAMM and failed again. Same reason. Well, pretty much, it's not often snow blizzards envelop even the most northerly Scottish hills in June. Still, this didn't put me off trying again and I was back at the 2004 KIMM in the Brecon Beacons. Recording a first mountain marathon finish and 20th place on the Short Score.

I've since rocked up another 29 mountain marathon starts (including 4 DNFs), gradually working through the classes and doing pretty much every event going, at least in the UK. Long may it continue - I've got some adventurous targets!

On top of this, since moving to Guildford in 2007, I've seen a gradual increase in weekly mileage, a decrease in my PBs coupled with a much more competitive position in most of my races and possibly most importantly, a tendency to run longer and longer distances. I've only one (disastrous) road marathon on my resume but do have another 3 off road marathons (including the Everest marathon) and 5 ultras, ranging from the Manx Mountain Marathon (31.5 miles) to the Fellsman (61 miles), plus numerous other fell and trail races.

So, the Transalpine is really just a natural continuation of finding ever more challenging events and pushing to achieve more and more. I've long surpassed what I thought I could way back in 2003 so there's literally no limits now....

Introduction to Team Tyne and Weary

In September 2012, Team Tyne and Weary will toe the line at one of the world's most famous stage races -  covering somewhere in the region of 320km and 15000m of vertical ascent over rough alpine terrain in 8 days visiting 3 countries - the Gore-Tex Transalpine Run. We've set up this blog to allow you, the reader, to follow our progress in the lead up to the race, through our training sessions, races and challenges. There's many a mountain to climb, many a fellside to descend, many a river to wade, many a trod to find, many a bog to trudge through and many many miles to run on the way but 2012 promises to be one awesome journey. Join us!!

Team Tyne and Weary, aka, Andy and Adam are two 20-something mountain running aficionados from North East England. They are both graduates of Durham University where they both represented the university in national orienteering and cross-country running competitions. Never quite the quickest members of the team but certainly two of the hardiest, their real calling came in the form of mountain marathons and other long distance off road events. They first partnered up for the Highlander Mountain Marathon in 2010 and came tantalisingly close to a podium finish in 4th place on the A class, only 2 and half minutes down on 3rd. They've since joined forces again during 2011 and despite numerous injuries come away with a 2nd place at the Highlander on one of the shorter courses and a 7th and 16th place at the LAMM and OMM Elite respectively.

Coupling strong individual performances through 2011 and a strong teamwork ethic, Team Tyne and Weary are hoping to surpass the achievements of the past year with a race schedule something along the lines of:

• April 14th/15th - Highlander Mountain Marathon
• April 28th - Fellsman
• May - Bob Graham Round
• June 9th/10th - Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (LAMM)
• August 11th - North Downs 50
• September 1st-8th - Gore-Tex Transalpine Race
• October 27th/28th - Original Mountain Marathon (OMM)

Bring it on!!