Rest's end, creaking knees and ankles.

I was hoping to feel like a person with new knees when my three months rest finally came to an end.  In fact my knees felt like someone had been beating them with a stick after my first runs.  I persevered and the general ache lessened, just a symptom of the mild arthritis I have in both knees I suppose.

Unfortunately I can still feel a sensation behind my left knee and it is clear that the specific condition that caused me to take such a long rest is still present.  This was quite a blow, whether the condition is going to become aggravated again remains to be seen.  The physio I saw believed the condition was due to over pronation, my GP believes it is due to my varicose veins.  I am sure that both of them have correctly identified 'system' faults, I have my doubts as to whether either of them have identified the problem.

Crete, in the hills round Piskokéfalo - Photo Denise DeLeuw

Getting out at all was marvellous I had really missed running, particularly I missed the opportunity to run while I was in Crete.  Crete in October looked like a paradise for fell and trail runners, doable mountain trails everywhere, temperate weather, wonderful light and that omnipresent smell of mountain herbs.  If I get another chance to get out there I will be running at first light, finish for midday, then spend the afternoon cooling off in that beautiful blue sea.

Crete, in the hills round Piskokéfalo - Photo Denise DeLeuw

Crete, beautiful blue sea - Looking back to mainland Crete from Chrysi Island

 Crete, beneath the beautiful blue sea - Chrysi Island.

Back at home was not quite so warm though there was some lovely autumn weather during my first few runs.  I also got the chance to point my new camera at familiar routes.  I considered these runs to be exploratory rather than the recommencement of training.

 Burgess's Wood - The leaf litter path gives this spot a permanently autumnal look. The lovely lighting today leaves no doubt that this is the real thing.

One of the cygnets on a pool at Apedale

Unfortunately my return to running was quickly postponed when I sprained an ankle on (or about) my third run!  Fortunately I fell as the ankle rolled which lessened the strain and consequent damage.  A fortnight later and the pain has subsided, the injury hurts only when stressed directly.  Consequently I ventured out sticking to predictable surfaces for a while.

Well that was the intention, but pavements just don't cut it and Sunday found me on my usual five and a half miler.  I vowed to be very careful.

I had planned a detour to avoid a flooded section of path, however as I crossed a large field I realised that the cattle (bullocks I think) from an adjacent field were  wandering through a gap and were barring my way.  The beasts did not appear hostile on this occasion, but I turned back anyway.  I was not in a mood to take any chances, a fall when surrounded by cattle is not a risk worth taking in my opinion,  so the flooded path it was.

 This was not what I had in mind by "predictable surfaces".
As I turned off the path, immediately after the flooded section, I thought I had forgotten my route.  The gap in the shrubs that I was expecting could not be found.  When I did manage to join the path I could see from the back that a tree had fallen with it's crown blocking the gap.

The rest of the run went without mishap and so, finally, I am back in training again.

Resting and Footpaths on the Fringe

First week of rest and the plight of footpaths on Stoke - Newcastle's fringe

Resting

The first week of my resting has passed.  I miss running, obviously.  I am unlikely to be  able to to take part in any long distance event this year, this will mean missing all of my favourites; LToB (missed already), the Manx and Beachy Head Marathon.  On top of this there is the eating thing.  While I did find it hard to cram enough into my body before an event, not running at all means cutting 5000 calories a week from my diet (roughly three bags of pasta or fifty bananas).  Lucky I was not doing last years mileage or I would be cutting 7000.

Footpaths on the fringe

While most of us will experience issues with footpaths from time to time, I find that footpaths on the fringe of town are particularly problematic.  This may be a peculiarity of my local area or it may be a general case.

User abused path - Not what you want to be surprised with on a steep descent.

Quite a few of my local rights of way suffer from lack of use.  At best this means that paths are overgrown with brambles and nettles, at worst all trace is gone and shrubs and trees have taken over.  Many stiles and way marks are missing or in very poor repair and soon there will be no evidence, on the ground, that these ways ever existed.

Overgrown path - No I wasn't lost and I have GPS tracks to prove it!  There was some 500 metres of this ahead of me.

Some landowners have fenced along paths, so close to hedgerows that passage is not possible.  New fences without stiles and electric fences across paths and stiles are also common.

 Abuse by landowner - Fences across and along a public right of way.

As the number of issues is overwhelming, I rarely get round to reporting them to the relevant authorities .  I am determined that, while I am resting, I will devise an objective system of prioritisation allowing a sensible number of reports.

If anyone has any suggestions for a safe way to line a ruck sac to receive the broken glass I pick up, I would be grateful.

This week

This week and ouch!

Wind down

Had a nice easy Sunday run as I tapered for the Long Tour.  I was very lucky with the weather, watching rain fall elsewhere for most of the run.  I picked a route from Standing Stones car park to Lamaload Resevoir then Pym Chair and back via Shining Tor ridge, that maximised the number of paths as yet unrepresented on OpenStreetMap.

A combination of heavy cloud cover and leafy corridors meant that the Garmin nuvi I use for tracking, occasionally let me know that it had "lost satellite reception" .  The surprisingly clear feminine voice from the depths of my pack was quite startling, to a runner used to solitude, on the first occasion.

Shining Tor - Looking East, distance in camouflage.

The slightly better weather than last week allowed, at least a poor, photograph of the hills east of Shining in their WWI camouflage.  The permissive path from the tea rooms to Torgate Farm is now on the map and was a pleasure to run.

Monday evening meant my local 5.5 miler which was a pleasure as always.  The experience was slightly marred by the erosion of the forest floor and broken bottle glass on one of the woodland paths.  I met a walker out with his dog and warned him of the broken glass.

Erosion caused by mountain bikers avoiding a flight of steps.


Ouch!


I set out for a gentle lunch time run of a couple of miles along the canal on Wednesday.  My left leg was stiff as it often is, I waited for it to ease up after a few hundred metres, it didn't.  Every footfall jarred for the next hundred metres and then jarred worse for the next hundred.  I slowed to a walk and turned back for the office.  I had to admit defeat.  Truth is the leg injury has been getting steadily worse for eight months.

It seems stupid now even to think that I was going to run 50k+ at the weekend when often I can't walk to the shops without limping the odd step.  I've tried just about everything else, all I can think of is a long rest followed by a very slow (first marathon training type) re introduction of running.  I rested for nearly two months earlier in the year, this probably wasn't enough and kicking straight in with back to back totals of 35+ miles maybe wasn't a good idea.

I don't know what I will do with myself for the next few months, except sulk when an event date passes.  At least I will have time to write about mapping and footpath issues.  Maybe I can do a little vigilante cleaning up on local paths.

Good luck to everyone on the Long Tour of Bradwell, hope there's no endless cavalcade of off road vehicles blocking the path this year, watch your step along Stanage edge, and look out for that head height club hidden in the leaves on the way back down to Bradwell.

This Week and Staffs Moorlands AC - Leek Cricket Club

Last long, long run before Bradwell.

Sunday's long run got off to a late start.  Firstly, I forgot to arm my alarm and then I was further delayed by the after effect of substituting bought muesli for proper meals (am I the only one who finds it hard to eat hot, carb rich meals when the weather is warm).  Given the very late start I was very surprised, though not ungrateful, to find Gradbach car park half empty.

I knew I would not have time to do my usual 27 mile route (Gradbach, Back Forest, Wincle Minn, Bosley, Croker Hill, Teggs Nose, Shutlingsloe), so opted for an open ended out and back to use what time I had as fully as possible.

I set off east along the Dane for the path over Birchenough Hill. The path uphill from Love Lane to the farm track is a real ankle scratcher, but very pretty.  I usually run down this path on my way back to Gradbach and it makes a lovely finale to a good day out.  The mile of grasslands after the track went quickly and I was soon at the A54 opposite Leech Wood and on my way to Wildboarclough.

I ran up Shutlingsloe from the east (direct route), surprising a couple of walkers at the trig. point.  I then headed down to Macclesfield Forest and the eastern car park, I would decide on the rest of my route when I got there.

Macclesfield Forest - Crossroads at the Walter Smith memorial stone.  Taken on another day

I looked at the map as I approached the Walter Smith memorial stone, I decided on Shining Tor then north.  A few hundred metres of steep downhill tarmac led to the sweet Clough Brook/Torgate Farm path that I mapped for OpenStreetMap last year.  Tarmac again after the farm and I was surprised that, although there had been no rain so far today, the roads were running with water.  It was still very warm and a splashing from a passing car would have been most welcome.  As it was, and always is with these things, every wall of spray missed me.

I guessed that the Stake Farm route on to the Shining path would be very boggy and so took the indirect track.  The path up to the summit was still as springy as the last time I ran it though there is a lot more mesh showing through, probably a result of last years rains.  As I ran along the flagging from Shining to Cats Tor I could see moors to the north-east sporting the pseudo random tricolour striping that always reminds me of World War I camouflage.

On reaching the road at Pym Chair I continued north on the path towards Windgather Rocks.  This part of the route was new to me, though it required no navigational skills above following my feet.  By the time I reached Windgather it was time to turn back so I ran to the end of the edge then dropped down to the climber's paths to vary the return trip and to take a few snaps.

 Windgather - Fair heaving with climbers, though this buttress was climber free..

Wingather - I remember soloing a route like this, maybe this very one, some years ago.  I had started to lead it, but even before placing a first runner I had snagged gear so many times that I considered it safer to ditch my rack rather than risk being jerked to a halt half way over an overhang.

Out and backs always sound dull, there is no good reason why this should be as the view is completely different outward and return.  The sky darkened and I felt a few drops of rain when I got back to the broad Cats/Shining ridge.  The rumble of thunder confirmed that this was to be no brief shower and I got into my waterproof straight away.  A fair wind came with the storm and it was not long before the windchill had robbed a few fingers of sensation despite an ambient temperature in the 20s!

The sky looked brighter ahead and a very broad stub of a rainbow beckoned me on.  As I went through the gate into the fields behind Torgate farm I noticed a sign out of the corner of my eye.  I stopped to read it and found that there was now a permitted path from Torgate to the tea rooms at the foot of Shining Tor.  This would have cut out nearly a mile of tarmac.  The sign was in front of me on the way out so I don't know how I missed it.  This path is not on OSM (or some OS maps) so I will have to return with my Garmin and map it.

The fickle promise of brighter things to come.

I was almost at the end of the Clough Brook path before the feeling came back to my fingers.  Shortly the position of the dark and bright skies reversed and I was getting rained on again with the sun shining on the ridge I had left behind.  The wind was kinder this time and I retained sensation in all digits.  I took a different path back, one that skirts Macc. Forest, leaving the south-west bound track from the car park and joining the path up Shutlingsloe where the 'avoiding' path leaves it.  This path is on OSM, but not on OS maps which is a surprise at is waymarked.

From Wildboarclough  I varied my route again choosing the popular path past Berry Bank Farm to cross the A54 for the Tagsclough Hill track and on to the Gradbach Hostel (no time for a 'Wincle Waller' today though).  The cows in the field before the road crossing had their eye on me.   Fortunately, that is all they did and my rather circuitous route to the stile was probably unnecessary.

The raspberry bushes along the road from the hostel to Gradbach car park were in a forlorn state, all yellow and black and full of fruit that had failed to ripen.  The sun must have come too late here and I had to forgo an end of run dessert.

Altogether I ran about 22 miles with 3800' of ascent, a bit meagre for a last long, long run before the LToB and I was unexpectedly tired afterwards.  Still, at least I have a few ultras behind me now.  Whereas before last year's LToB I had run over 25 miles only three times in my life and more than a marathon never, I have run over marathon distance (in training) a few times this year alone.  The fact that I have not completed a single marathon or ultra event this year still gnaws at my confidence though, I am very glad that I will have support on the 10th.  My leg was OK after this run and I did my 10 miler on Monday without any trouble, felt a bit sore on Tuesday, Wednesday's lunch break run was comfortable despite soreness on 'normal' use.

Staffs Moorlands AC: Leek Cricket Club 01/07/13
Distance: 5 'units', ascent: you bet.

I picked up Sarah and drove to Leek Cricket Club taking in Sybil's Folly.  One has to admit that this feature has dragged the ancient market town of Leek into the 20thC.  It now has a centre on a par with those early 1970's developments that were torn up in embarrassment before that decade was out.  Resistance movement of Leek I salute you.
 
The last event in the Staffs Moorlands AC Summer Series, Leek Cricket Club (5 miles), was to prove a little different for a few reasons.  The heat was unbelievable, no route details were available in advance,  the after event social at the well appointed cricket club included a presentation, the heat was unbelievable.

 A corner of England - Leek Cricket Club (or a small corner of it).

There was a biro drawn 'map' of the course taped to a door near the registration desk.  Unfortunately only the route, which was not to scale or orientation, was shown and without any reference to landmarks or other ground features it seemed a little cryptic.  As I was not expecting to lead this race or to fall so far behind as to lose sight of a long line of other competitors, this did not worry me unduly.  After all there was no way that everybody could get lost was there?

BBC weather had predicted that the sweltering daytime temperature would drop only 1 centigrade by the 19:15 start.  I am not good in the heat so took the precaution of soaking myself, hair, clothes and hat.  I think most of the water had evaporated before 'GO' was called as I felt no benefit whatsoever.

We set off and after several quick turns that robbed me of any sense of direction, and a bit of tarmac, we were climbing a steep hill that seemed to go on for ever.  I was told that we were climbing Gun Hill which meant that we were heading north.  I am not sure whether we reached the top or not, eventually there was a marshal telling us which way to go.

I have only the vaguest idea of where we ran after that, but the course was varied in surface,obstacles and inclination.  There was hardcore track, dirt track, mud track, tarmac, narrow paths, broad grassy paths, stiles, kissing gates, a fence to jump, occasional shaded paths, a very tricky deeply furrowed ploughed field and even a taught, ankle height trip wire (no, I have no idea what it was doing in the middle of a field, thankfully it was orange enough to be fairly visible).

There were no sawdust or flour direction arrows (or any that I saw).  For the most part, I and everyone else stuck to the most obvious path until we reached a marshal who told us to turn one way or another.  A sort of link the fluorescent jacket, point to point, follow my leader sort of run really.

Cheery marshals on the course, the Roaches and Hen Cloud in the distance (thanks chaps, you are appreciated).

I was so thirsty at the end of the last two events that I decided to put up with the inconvenience of running with a bottle this time.  I was thirsty within minutes of starting and my thirst began again as soon as a mouthful was swallowed.  The heat sapped all my energy and my will.  When I realised that we were heading back towards Leek I managed to motivate myself with the thought of tipping the contents of my three litre 'shower' bottle over my head and cold beer.

Towards the end I felt a light breeze against my skin, but my core temperature was too high to feel any beneficial effect.   Eventually fluorescent arrows pointed to the finish and via several taped corridors we crossed the grounds to the final finishing tunnel.  After a quick wind down canter I remembered to look at my watch, 56 minutes,  I could not believe that I had performed so badly.  I was conscious of my poor performance in the heat, but more than eleven minutes a mile for a five miler, I have run category B marathons at a faster pace!

The water in my shower bottle was so warm that I could barely feel it.  I ate a sandwich and headed for beer.  The post race chat suggested that everyone's time was rather extended.  From what I can gather (purely rumour, but it makes me feel better) all but a few followed the same wrong course.  The few followed a course that was even more wrong (which does explain the runners flying past us on the way back).  I would guess that most of us ran a solid category B of nearer six miles than five.

It's a shame that this excellent and varied series is over for the year.  Many thanks to those who organised and marshalled it.  My very best wishes to those I have met along the way, I hope to meet you again.  My comments above concerning the Leek CC course are in no way intended as a criticism of the event.  I signed up for a run, I got a good run, end of.

Rudyard Lake 5 miles, 427' ascent

This and that, seedy sockage and Staffs Moorland AC's Rudyard Lake 5 miler

I have been increasing my training mileage slowly.  A five hour + two hour back to back went without any special protest from my left leg.  I will run my usual 27 miler this weekend as the longer of my back to backs.  Apart from the total freeze up following the Brecon 40 there has been no real link between pain and running.  I am beginning to think that the pain following Brecon might have been the result of 8.5 hours sat at a desk followed by the long drive down and back, rather than the run.

Reeds in one of the Miry pools - My local route, lovely plumage.  The path (right) was under knee deep water from May last year until this April..

I am experimenting with running my back to backs on Sunday and Monday.  Running the shorter run after work on Monday gives me Saturday (and Friday night) back.  The only problem I can see is that the recovery time between runs is some ten hours longer and this may negate some of the benefits of running back to backs.

It has been a real joy to run free in the countryside this year.  Though summer was late in coming, the ground had already been drying for some months.  Paths have reappeared from underwater and leaves are green again instead of last year's white mildew, yellow and diseased browns and blacks.  Every interval has its particular glory, linden blossom, roses and honeysuckle are amongst the present pleasures.  The seasonal nuisance is, of course, grass seeds.  They get everywhere, but particularly fill shoes and it is amazing how sharp seeds can be when they manage to stand on end.  They also become so enmeshed in the knit of socks that removal takes ages.

 Grass seeds waiting their chance for free distribution

Nettles and brambles are also starting to take over and some paths are now nearly invisible.  Sadly, many of the paths around Newcastle under Lyme have become permanently overgrown through lack of use.  It seems that people tend to keep to the municipal areas and the paths immediately off them.  Stiles and signposts are often missing or in such poor condition that there is little, if any, evidence of where a path should be.  Many others paths have been fenced off, hedged along or suffered other abuse by landowners.  Well over half of the paths that I know of have suffered one or both of the above, some are parts of national long distance routes!  I hope that this neglect does not lead to the loss of these public rights of way, but I am sure that it will eventually.  A subject for a future page or post, methinks.

The twenty fifth arrived, I became a year older and Staffs Moorlands AC held the last but one race of their Summer Series - Rudyard Lake.  The afternoon had felt cooler than it has been, but by six thirty the breeze had dropped and it was very warm.  I shared the car with Sarah once again, unfortunately her doctor had used the 'R' word that very afternoon and she came to help (or watch as it turned out).

Rudyard Station - Rudyard Lake Steam Railway.

The route laps Rudyard Lake, registration was at Rudyard Lake Steam Railway - Rudyard station, the the route started a little way up the track.  Starters were well strung out due to the fairly narrow path.  I was towards the back and I and my immediate neighbours became distracted by a lovely border collie that had slipped its leash and had come to find its owner.  Eventually we noticed that everyone else had started running and thought we had better do the same just as someone turned up with an empty leash.

The outward route followed the course of the old North Staffordshire Railway, the route that the present narrow gauge track follows.  The path is firm and flat, good going if you like that sort of thing.   I wound through a large gaggle of slower runners, with some difficulty, then a runner I had met before shouted a cheery hello.  She was running at a good pace and I stayed with her as we steadily caught and overtook one runner after another.  This kind of behaviour is unusual for me, early and on the flat, however; I had made a slow start, I felt that I should up my usual pace for an almost flat race and I was rather enjoying the company.

Though my companion's pace was a little faster than mine would have been, I felt that I could keep up and so made the effort.  As we neared the end of the lake she noted that we were maintaining a 7.5 minute per mile pace.  Given the very slow start this average seemed a little fast for me and as we rounded the lake I wondered if I had enough in reserve for the ascent ahead.  A couple of other runners had joined us and the four of us made our way into the trees.  I managed OK as the path steepened, to my surprise my companion from the start dropped back to a walk and jog for a while, I thought she had been doing better than me.  At the same time the other two pulled ahead and I ran most of the rest of the race on my own.  On the ups and downs of the narrow paths near the end I caught and over took one of the runners, as the paths improved near the dam and close to the finish he passed me again.

 

Rudyard Lake - A public domain image, not taken on the day

I crossed the dam to a cheer from Sarah and as the finish came into view I decided I might as well use any spare energy I had to close the gap between me and the runner that had re passed me.  I entered the finishing tunnel at a fair pelt, only to find that there were several people standing around in it!  I shouted "WATCH OUT" and managed to side step the first person only to find another two people ahead.  The person directly ahead, who had his back to me, then bent down to pick up something he had dropped.  I managed to side step back, only brushing the person to my left.  I am not sure whether these people were runners or not, whoever they were their behaviour was pretty stupid!

I cleared the crowds round the tunnel then found a sensible place to watch my companion for the first half of the race come in.  I could not see her so decided to walk back to the car for a drink,  On the way I passed her at the side of the path, she had come in while I was still extricating myself from the crowd.

I am not sure what my time was as I forgot to set my watch, I think it was around 43 minutes (41.47 confirmed).  I used to run this distance in under 40 minutes on my quicker lunch break runs!  I'll blame the heat.

Biddulph Grange Country Park

Cool runnings and Biddulph Grange Country Park, 4.5 miles, 538' ascent

I love the sunlight, but I am not that fond of the heat.  Fortunately my regular run is mostly shaded so I have been able to enjoy saturated colours without getting too hot and bothered.  On Saturday I ran fairly late in the evening and was treated to special views from the low angle light and woods scented with wild woodbine.

 Footpath to Wood Lane - Apedale, off the Newcastle Way

Sunday's run ventured into the open enough for me to start to get acclimatised to the heat (Long Tour of Bradwell can be scorching), while still being very pleasant.  Despite the sun there is still enough moisture in the ground to maintain beautiful lush greens in the landscape (and a fair bit of mud on its surface).

Bracken covered clearing - Apedale, near Wood Lane

Thursday's Summer Series was Biddulph Grange Country Park.  Sarah Clough and I travelled together once again, Sarah was mended enough to run this time.  

This was a lapped race of three laps.  The course started near the visitor centre then headed east into Spring Wood lapping the wood to return past Fish Pond (actually a small lake) to finish across an open field.  A lap is very similar to the Country Park suggested walking route ("..with steps & some steep climbs. Allow 1hr") except for the open field parallel to the outward path.

My leg was feeling stiff again, but it was too hot to warm up with the thoroughness of last week.  A canter round the field suggested I would not survive the three laps, I hoped things would ease up when I got going, they usually do.  After all, a day seated at a desk and a couple of hours driving would make anyone's legs stiff.

Registration at the visitor centre - Biddulph Grange Country Park

The outward leg and sweeping turn of each lap is predominantly uphill and steepening all the while.  The return leg is mostly downhill with a little level running by the pond.  I started the first lap at a very steady pace then, when my body had reconciled itself to the fact that I was making it run on a very warm summer's evening, settled into my normal amble.  The usual game of passing on ascent and being re passed on descent took place, with each lap the number of re passings grew fewer which was gratifying especially as the finish was downhill.  

I was quite tired by the end of the second lap, I also turned my ankle sharply, but not so badly as to prevent me finishing.  The third lap seemed easier than the second though my pace had slowed.   Despite guzzling half a litre of isotonic before the start I was thirsty half way through the first lap and I was now so dry mouthed that speech was difficult.  I crossed the open field to the finish dreaming of the other half litre of isotonic and without challenge.

After clearing the finishing tunnel my thoughts turned to cheering Sarah in, these thoughts were quickly wrestled to the ground by the desire to get the top off the drink in the car.  I got back just in time to see Sarah walking down the field after finishing.

Fish Pond - Biddulph Grange Country Park

 We changed and headed off to the Talbot Inn for a social pint and wind down, another good evening out.  Sipping beer outside the pub as the sun went down was the first time I had felt cool in several days,

I finished in around 42.5 minutes, there is no doubt I could have made a bit more effort on the level and downhill stretches, but it was too damned hot.  The ankle hurts a bit though it will do for the weekend if I don't provoke it.  My left leg seems to maintain a constant level of stiffness whether I run on it or not. so I will continue to up my long runs in preparation for the Long Tour of Bradwell.

A week off and Oakamoor 5 mile, 770' ascent

Staffordshire Moorlands AC - Oakamoor Hilly, Multi Terrain, 04/07/13 and general reflections including socky issues.

Not a good start to this week.  I bailed on the North Devon Marathon due to my nagging leg injury.  I just couldn't face more than 400 miles of driving, uncertain food and outrageously expensive camping with a leg I didn't trust to stay the course.

I have had a short break from work this week, which usually means an orgy of running in the Peak district.  In an attempt to rehabilitate my injury I have foregone that pleasure.  I am hoping to increase my weekend back to backs over the next few weeks while keeping weekly mileage to around 40 miles or less.  In this way I hope to be fit for the Long Tour of Bradwell in August.  With luck I will have support for that event which is only a short drive away.

Looking back towards town on the footpath from Burgess's Wood to Watermill's Wood on my lovely local five and a half.  

A very pleasant five and a half mile run on Tuesday had given me even less confidence in my leg.  I arrived at Oakamoor determined to do something, but prepared for a DNF result!  In consequence I was extra thorough with warming up and stretching, even doing some fast shuttle runs which is unheard of for me.  Poor Sarah was in a worse state than I, her collection of injuries is preventing her from running.  She decided to come along and marshal which was fortunate for me.

Bridge and Weir on the River Churnet

The route started by the old signal box on Mill Road and followed the road for around a quarter mile before heading up Red Road then into Moss's Banks.  This first, and most of the subsequent ascent, was on very narrow paths which made overtaking difficult.  This was a little frustrating for me as ascent is where I tend to gain a little time.

Gathering for the start on Mill Road

The following running in woods, zig - zagging and turning about before reaching Mill Pond was very pleasant indeed.  The views were beautiful - sweeping, textured layers of subtle green shades I cannot share as my phone does not resolve leaves well.   A fluo' jacketed Sarah was at a couple of the junctions.  Supportive as marshals always are, it was especially nice to have a personal touch to the encouragement.

I held my own on the steeper descents.  I feel I am making a lot of progress in this area of technique, though it has to be admitted that recent runs have been rather less demanding than, say, the Manx Mountain Marathon (now 'Isle of Man Mountain Ultra').  The gentle declines were another matter and a few of those used to a fast pace overtook me.

Most of the real ascent and descent was over in the first three miles.  There remained a brief and pleasant 60' of up and down after Lord's Bridge then a mile of almost flat running along the Churnet Way.  This last mile was on 'good' trail.  Here my Walshes, which had served me well earlier, began to be a pain in the neck (well feet actually).  The lack of padding and less than plush insoles made themselves felt, though to be fair I think there was sand in them.

I was now feeling tired and dehydrated and expected hordes of runners to swarm past me on the fast flat.  Strangely, it did not happen, perhaps everyone was as tired and dehydrated as I was.  I always think of other runners as uber human machines as even those who finish long behind me seem to be able to muster far more dignity than I can.

I tried not to think about my feet and, as I trusted the pace of proximate runners, tried to maximise my efficiency while keeping up.  This was reasonably successful, by lengthening my stride and concentrating on a 'gliding' gait I maintained speed while reducing my breath count from one in five to the one in seven paces I maintain during ascent-descent.  I was rather glad to see the finish line which promised rest for my feet, a drink and a dousing with cold water.  I finished in about 43.5 minutes which I felt was a little slow compared with Buxton at a similar distance and more ascent.  All the same I think my position will turn out to be similar.  

A nice if rather poor photo of a runner at the finish.  See what I mean about dignity?  I won't distress readers with an image of myself for comparison, though they can be found elsewhere on this blog.

I sat at a picnic table to pull on another layer and change shoes.  A few St. John's personnel gathered at the table which turned out to be fortunate when my left eye was invaded by a foreign body.  I managed to wash it out, after several attempts, with what was left in my 3 litre 'shower' bottle.  After pronouncing the body gone, one of the St. John's kindly gave me a vial of saline in case of any problems later.  Sarah and I found each other and retired to the pub.  It was good to chat with the growing number of people I have met at this series.  As always, good company turned a short run into a great evening out.


Friday and my leg is better than it has been for a fortnight despite my long legged gait at the finish.  I do have sores on four toes though and yes there was sand in my shoes and socks.  I often think fell runners socks need to be washed both sides.  I frequently find particles trapped in the toes when I turn them inside out. 

I make this route 4.87 miles and 771' ascent, equivalent to a BS.

I look forward to the remaining events in this series and thank Sarah for introducing me.  I can't think why I didn't do it last year.  Too busy doing ten to fifteen mile midweek runs I suppose.  I am not sure how useful those runs were physically, there is no doubt that they were very good for my confidence.  Long weekend back to backs are always hard work, I felt real achievement when that midweek run became no big deal.  It made me smile to think I was running three times as far as on my 'long' run, when I first started.

Buxton Hilly XC, 4.7 miles, 934'

Staffordshire Moorlands AC - Buxton Hilly XC, Grin Low

More midweek fun in the Peak District, my second event in the Staffordshire Moorlands AC Summer Series.  I missed The Roaches last week due to a rather painful dental infection.

My left leg continues to nag with pain behind the knee.  I have been increasing my mileage steadily and things don't seem to be getting any worse, however I am running only a fraction of the 50+ miles per week that I was running previously.

I was fortunate enough to have the company of Sarah Clough again for this event.  We arrived at Grinlow¹ Caravan Park in plenty of time and registration was more leisurely than the last time we ran together.  My knee felt particularly stiff after the combined Northwich to Stoke, Stoke to Buxton drive.  In consequence I had a stretch and good warm up jog before the start.  Unfortunately the start was about twenty minutes late and, given the chill breeze, the effort was probably wasted.

We set off uphill, under a very grey sky towards 'Solomon's Temple' which was visible from the start.  Sarah and I ran at our own paces this time.  Though I did not feel fit enough to run as hard as I could, I felt that I was ready for a fast cruise (which is pretty much all I ever do anyway, fit or not).  I performed a fast halt at the first stile and big queue, a rather bad pacing decision, I made a mental note to engage my brain before I squandered any more energy.  Shortly, there was very pleasant uphill running over the open, bumpy, sheep cropped grass leading to the 'Temple'.

Solomon's Temple - Grin Low, Author unknown²

The route ran round the Temple then east, down over very bumpy ground before the Grin Plantation.  Quick descent here demanded some care, fast feet and arm counter balance.  In this way my hand made the acquaintance of a passing lady's chest.  Sorry missus!  The descent through the plantation was easy going and very fast, though I think runners in road shoes may not agree with me.  It was pretty much at the limit of where little energy is expended on forward motion and yet real technique is not required.  My C-Lites were very positive on the trail which felt less slippery than it looked.

Descent over, the route turned south west following the edge of the plantation.  The route appears to contour on a map, but in reality there was as much short up and down as level running over the lovely, pine needle strewn, narrow paths.  Tree roots demanded some care, especially as the shade blocked what little light was coming from the grey sky.  For the most part roots just added interest provided one picked one's feet up.  As the way turned south east the descent had to be paid for and the climb got progressively steeper coming out of the woods and into the field where we started.

The event consisted of two laps of the course.  I was a little tired after lap one and felt that I might have overdone it.  This proved to be just a feeling, the second lap was over in what felt like a quarter of the time it took me to do the first.  Familiarity allowed me to crack on over easier terrain which made up for any time lost to fatigue on the more demanding sections.  I managed to regain places lost, by an impromptu 'pit stop', and possibly gained a couple more.

On the hill leading to the finishing field I overtook a lady who had been just ahead of me all through the woods and I opened a very small lead.  I was pretty sure she would come past me on the open run to the finish as she was clearly the faster runner on all but the steepest climbs.  I just managed to hold on to my lead and finished puffed, but able to jog back to the car park.

After a much needed drink I stretched, then had a baby wipe 'shower'.  Sarah arrived shortly.  I was a little disappointed with my time (42.52) for the perceived effort.  Sarah's phone app. reckoned 1500' of ascent which made my time seem much better.  I have since found total ascent to be nearer 934' (still more than my guesstimate (actually my guess was correct, but I had forgotten to double it)).  It seems that MapMyRun gives lowest to highest altitude gain and maximum height.  Neither of these figures correspond to what fell runners would think of as total ascent (I did not notice this for Shutlingsloe which is nearly one single ascent so height gain and total ascent are more or less the same).  My knee fared well but is a bit stiff today.

This was my first lapped event.  I found the idea of travelling all the way to the Peak then running in circles bizarre.  As it happened I enjoyed the event immensely, the two laps meant a second go at the best bits/bits one could improve on and a second look at the view.  I had a good evening out, excellent company and a nice chill in the Travellers Rest.


[1] Re: Variant spellings - Grin Low, Grinlow. I have used names as they appear on OS 1:25,000
[2] No accompanying copyright statement, believed to be fair use. If you are the author please let me know.  I will remove or credit the photo as you wish.

Easing back in and Shutlingsloe Fell Race 06/06/13 - AS

Midweek fun in perfect conditions

My Physio had just given me the go ahead to start running again, following the return of the leg injury, providing I take it easy and build the miles back up fairly slowly.  A two, then three mile run had been followed by a cracking five and a half mile run in my local woods the air heavily scented by bluebells, I have never seen them looking so fine.  All was going well despite my leg being far from pain free, then I caught a cold.  Tuesday's run dragged and left me very tired  so I decided I would give Thursday's a miss.

Bluebells in Watermills wood, Apedale

Then a friend, Sarah Clough, messaged on Thursday morning asking if I wanted to run that evening.  At first I thought that she meant to take up an invitation to join me on my bluebell run.  Then she mentioned Shutlingsloe race, part of the Staffordshire Moorlands Athletic Club Summer Series.  I explained that I had a cold and was under orders anyway, but Sarah said that she was intending to take it easy so I was persuaded.  She had mentioned this series before, describing it as 'cross country'.  I have never run in a cross country event and know very little about the sport.  I had some impression that cross country runners went out into the country then ran round in circles missing out all the good bits (and did so at very high speed).  In consequence I thought that we might run round Shutlingsloe rather than up it.  Fortunately this event was a fell race (in fact nowhere is the series described as cross country).

Sarah asked me if I would pick her up at 18:30 (the race started at 19:30).  We arrived and "parked" in a manner that would have had me tutting if it were someone else's behaviour, with seven minutes to put shoes on, register, pin up, find the toilets and get to the start line.   This was all normal for Sarah who lives her life at a pace different to mine.  


Sarah suggested that she could take it easy and pace me to ensure that I took it steady.  This proved a little difficult in practise.  We ran together for a while then I moved ahead as the gradient increased so that I could  settle at my slowest efficient climbing pace.  The ground levelled and I reined it in, Sarah soon caught up, but by now the path was too narrow to run together.  As the path turned upwards again I moved back to my minimum efficient pace.  We emerged from Macclesfield Forest and started the easy north ascent of Shutlingsloe.  The route then swung right following the path round the hill until we were on the Widboarclough side, here we began a steep climb following the Roaches Fell Race ascent line.  I started to work a little harder, again in the name of efficiency.  I looked round for Sarah, I couldn't see her though she was not far behind.  I had the choice of some tricky overtaking or walking near the top so I settled into a walk as I was in no hurry.

The descent back to Macc' Forest required a little concentration however my familiarity with this path and its stone steps made it easier.  As I couldn't see Sarah I just ran at comfortable trail marathon pace, this was frustrating as I was actually feeling good and felt I could have made a reasonable job of this event.  I reminded myself that it was not as frustrating as the weeks I have spent out of the sport due to injury and resisted temptation.  Most of the descent through the Forest was easy 'falling forward' running, though there was one section on hard packed trail that required true downhill technique.

After exiting the finishing tunnel I chatted with a runner I had been introduced to as we waited for Sarah who was soon in sight.  She took advantage of a free massage provided by a therapist from Leek before we retired to a pub for a beer and chat with other runners.  All in all a great night out.  I was very surprised at the large turnout out for this non FRA event.

I've always wanted to do some short events in the weekday evenings.  The fact that I would spend considerably more time driving than running has been the main reason that I have not. I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to share this particular evening and that alleviated my environmental concerns.   If I can car share again I am very tempted to try the hillier races in the rest of this series.


This race is traditionally 3 miles, ascent not given.  I made it nearly 3.6 miles with 1022' of ascent so AS, using Quo 2 with OS 1:25,000.  Sarah measured the run as 3.8 miles on the ground with her gps phone.  It is interesting to see just how much following the zigs and zags of real paths adds to the distance (I made it 3.52 miles using the same software as Sarah, but  tracing the route).

Dealing with the DNF

The psychological blow of my failure to finish the Brecon 40 has been much softened by the fact that retirement was fortuitous in an unexpected way.  Nonetheless, I had to consider what lessons I could learn from the experience.

Lunch break "training" today consisted of a shuffle round the car park, a feat I was incapable of yesterday.  Up until now long fell runs had given my leg injury no trouble.  Pain, delayed onset or otherwise, had been related to fast road running only.  I don't know why Saturday should have been different, but my leg started to stiffen about five hours after I stopped, got worse the following day and by Monday I could barely move.  I shudder to think what I would have suffered had I run the remaining 17.5 miles.  My calves may not look "carved" in marble, but they certainly felt as hard until last night's visit to the Physio.

Retirement

I retired at Checkpoint 4 (22.5 miles) because my fingers had become so cold in the last five miles that I could not operate the fastenings of my ruck sac or grasp anything.  I knew that returning to the exposed ridges without eating/more body cover would have resulted in hypothermia.

Stopping at the checkpoint and burying my hands in my groin might have been an option.  As I was wearing shorts and minimal upper body cover, I thought this was also likely to result in hypothermia (or arrest) long before my fingers thawed.

I was disappointed, especially as I have never felt so strong at such a distance and that without eating!

Planning and preparation

I planned fairly carefully for the event, I studied the route map, studied the weather forecast, recce'd using Google Earth and worked out nutritional and hydration needs.  

I made sure I had the minimum kit requirements and more besides (full leg cover other than over trousers, a long sleeved micro fleece, spare socks, buff, plastic bags to wind proof my gloves) I even carried an ultra light down jacket and one of those puff up aluminised bivvi bags!

I carried two 500ml bottles of coke, four hot cross buns, two egg and cress sandwiches, four low fat muesli bars, dextrose tablets, hydration tabs and a litre of water.

While better gloves would have helped, some competitors did without any.

So what went wrong?

Above are the facts, it was only while relating the story yesterday that I noticed the blindingly obvious.  Why on earth had I run that far without eating?

My hands froze during the last five miles, Checkpoint 2 had been bright, calm and about seven and a half miles away, an ideal opportunity to refuel and change.   I should have consumed two of the buns and two of the bars by Checkpoint 4!

Weather

The weather beat me in the end, despite the fact that I was well prepared for it.

Because I was uncomfortable in the wind and rain I ran blindly on instead of using my head.  Food and warm clothes are of little use if they remain in your sack until you are incapable of using them.


I am struck by the similarity of the fact that I had prepared to avoid a navigational error earlier in the race, yet had made the error anyway (see post below).