Lets start with the running. That's been going pretty well - aside from a few aches and pains.
Club runs on each of the last two Tuesdays have been good. We're just getting into the longest days of the year meaning 10 weeks or so of being able to run off road, usually around Eccup Reservoir. That's been good - far more pleasant than pounding the busy streets of north Leeds.
On the two Thursdays I've attended club speed training sessions. First one was on the fields at 'Bedquilts' and was 4 x 1.1 mile intervals. I was surprised and pleased by that. Firstly that I ran at what was easily at 7:15 a mile (despite weight) and secondly because it caused no pain groin wise. Last Thursday was on the athletics track at Carnegie, and consisted of some drills and then 15 x 0.25m intervals done at 5k pace (6:15 - 6:50 pace for the inervals). That was tough but enjoyable. Only downside was that the faster I go the more prone I am to run on the forefoot, and repeatedly going the same way round a curved track like that led to quite deep blistering around the ball joint, especially on the right foot.
Besides that I've done a run with Bethan, a couple of runs from home on a mix of public footpaths and pavements and two longer runs of 9.3 miles and 10.1 miles heading on trails and road around Adel, Harewood, Alwoodley and Bramhope. The poor old canal just hasn't had a look in! 25 and 30 miles in each of the last 2 weeks and looks like it'll be about 30 again this week.
All pretty much pain free. Last week's trip to the physio confirmed that my core stability is good
now. Whilst I can't neglect that, the focus now is to build up my left glute - which is far weaker than the right one (and as such an underlying injury risk with regards to groin injuries). A couple of weeks ago I was doing 20 - 30 exercises a day to strengthen glutes and core but the last week that's slipped a lot, initially through DOMS in my core and then through inertia.
The weight has been up and down. I've weighed as little as 12st 4lb and as much as 12st 10lb during the last 14 days, as I've struggled to maintain focus for more than a few days at a time. I've set myself an ambitious target of getting down to 11st by the weekend of 24/25 July when there is a family get together on the Saturday and the Pudsey 10k on the Sunday. At my lowest point that looked perfectly achievable but with a fortninght of not really getting anywhere it'll now be a challenge. Still, I do love a challenge!
Putting a date to the target will help. Previously I've only done consistently well when there's been a time limit - without one there's no great imperative to stick to limits. The other thing that I hope will help is having a few days off bread. Its always been an achilles heel for me - I can go into the kitchen and easily eat 5/6 slices of bread or toast, and when I do I tend to move onto something else for a mini binge. A week without should give a decent start.
Club run tonight and hopefully speed training Thursday but the next 4 days sees meetings in Barnsley, Poole, Bridgend and Nottingham as well as an overnight stay in Somerset, with Thursday's session being dependant on the traffic heading back from Bridgend.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
I am your weight loss God: praise me
When I weighed in on Monday I knew that I hadn't really put on nearly 11lb of fat and that the scales would probably show a marked decrease quickly.
By the same token I know that after 2 days I haven't really lost over half a stone of fat but the scales do say that's the weight lost, and I'm having that!
Pretty good really as I got in a 6 mile run yesterday but nothing Monday and on neither day did I really log properly - mainly because of the homemade vegetable/bean/tofu soup I'd made where I had no idea of calorific value or quantity consumed - but I knew it was clean eating and pretty much on track.
Also managed the physio's exercises again and worked out a programme of supplementary exercises from the two Matt Fitzgerald books, so very happy with that too.
Another hurdle today - back down that there London so no chance of a trip to the gym - but feeling positive all the same.
I'm feeling like one mean Martha far car.
By the same token I know that after 2 days I haven't really lost over half a stone of fat but the scales do say that's the weight lost, and I'm having that!
Pretty good really as I got in a 6 mile run yesterday but nothing Monday and on neither day did I really log properly - mainly because of the homemade vegetable/bean/tofu soup I'd made where I had no idea of calorific value or quantity consumed - but I knew it was clean eating and pretty much on track.
Also managed the physio's exercises again and worked out a programme of supplementary exercises from the two Matt Fitzgerald books, so very happy with that too.
Another hurdle today - back down that there London so no chance of a trip to the gym - but feeling positive all the same.
I'm feeling like one mean Martha far car.
Monday, 10 May 2010
I am the walrus
The last couple of weeks have been difficult.
First problem was that I had far, far more DOMS after the walk up Ingleborough & Whernside than I'd realised. Monday started with slight soreness but by the afternoon, calves, quads, glutes and hips were all very sore - almost to post marathon levels. That meant no exercise on the Monday and working away on Tuesday ruled that day out too. Wednesday was still a little sore so I limited myself to a 2 mile jog with Bethan. By this time I'd started to feel frustrated and sorry for myself at the lack of exercise opportunities. Inevitably that led to overeating a little - though still largely cleanly.
Thursday I did an unenthusiastic 4 miles but continued to overeat. Friday became a 'rest' day as work was pretty solid through the day and I didn't want to go to the gym in the evening as I was going to do a rowing half marathon the following morning.
The row itself was pretty good. I'd rushed to the gym having had no breakfast and forgot my gloves but settled into a decent rhythm and finished in 1:28 which I was quite pleased with.
That was decent calories burned but I probably ate all those during a trip to a Thai restaurant in the evening.
Sunday started well enough too with a 7.5 mile tempo run along the canal. With hindsight, it felt marginally tougher than I'd expected but I was still happy with it at the time.
Late morning we set off to do a walk in Swaledale but by the time we were driving through Ilkley I was feeling a bit queasy, tired, shivery and aching. I felt sure I'd feel better with fresh air so we stopped for a few minutes then carried on to the village of Keld in upper Swaledale. As soon as I got out of the car I felt ropey - I couldn't get warm and my teeth were chattering, and as we completed a 5.5 mile circuit I really struggled to keep up even with the kids. Funnily enough, I felt far better after we'd finished and agreed to go to the pub for tea on the way home. I actually ate voraciously when we were there, and not at all cleanly!
I woke bank holiday Monday morning and felt fine but once I'd had a shower I felt exhausted and weak so went straight back to bed, eating little through the day then 'grazing aggressively' through the evening. I woke in the early hours of Tuesday morning desperate for the loo - and spent much of the next 24 hours there, and quite a few visits in the days that followed too. I won't go into detail but I'm sure you get the idea!
You'd think that would help with weight loss but far from it. I called NHS direct on Wednesday morning and was told it sounded like food poisoning. I'd felt ambivalent about eating the previous couple of days but the nurse advised I should eat lots of carbs to help get the bacteria through my system. Not feeling particularly hungry I placed my order for all the things that might conceivably tempt me, mainly unhealthy comfort foods from childhood: pikelets, Danish pastries, bread, white chocolate cookies, crisps, biscuits and even a Pot Noodle (something I hadn't had in well over 20 years). Probably not what the nurse had in mind but it became a bit of a frenzy with new supplies on each of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and unsurprisingly no exercise.
Saturday things improved at first. I felt pretty much back to normal and, conscious that I hadn't been taking Bethan for runs, took her to do a 4.5 mile run round Eccup reservoir. I wanted to get her to do something new and challenging and she didn't walk a step of it - not bad for an 11 year old!
That evening we went to a vegetarian restaurant called the Cheerful Chili. Sue had booked it before I'd been ill, and I felt fine to go. It was very good but not necessarily healthy, especially as having eaten my cheese laden main course I felt obliged to eat some of Beth's leftover curry and Charlotte's leftover pizza. On the way out we ordered desserts to take away, swimming in double cream, and later in the evening the binge mood continued as I ate 2 choc ices!
Similar pattern yesterday. I went for an 8 mile run first thing, again loosely round the reservoir, but starting a mile or so further away and including some wider loops on trails. About a minute a mile slower than the previous week's tempo run but it was almost exclusively off road, and featured several hills and numerous stiles and gates so I was happy with the time, besides which I'd made a point of not looking at the pace or time until I'd finished.
In the afternoon we headed for Malham and did a 5 mile loop round Malham cove. My legs felt a bit achy by the end but we, once again, detoured to a pub for a huge meal on the way home. As a last hurrah for gluttony I had 3 pieces of toasted white bread thickly smothered in butter before heading to bed.
So, 2 weeks of disruption to exercise, carte blanche to eat whatever I wanted, 4 big meals out, clean eating principles out of the window and not a single item logged on WLR. I'd expected a reasonable weight gain and could feel and see it in my body but I wasn't expecting today's weigh in numbers: nearly 11lb on in 17 days!
Now, I don't for a moment think that's 11lb of fat gained and hope for a big fall off this week as a result, but even so!
Back to logging from today and back to the gym after work. Back to clean eating and back to some focus.
As a final aside, when the routine was disrupted the physio exercises were disrupted too - first by aching limbs and then by illness. I've probably done the equivalent of 3 days of exercises in the last 2 weeks, so that has to start with a vengeance once more.
Wish me luck.
First problem was that I had far, far more DOMS after the walk up Ingleborough & Whernside than I'd realised. Monday started with slight soreness but by the afternoon, calves, quads, glutes and hips were all very sore - almost to post marathon levels. That meant no exercise on the Monday and working away on Tuesday ruled that day out too. Wednesday was still a little sore so I limited myself to a 2 mile jog with Bethan. By this time I'd started to feel frustrated and sorry for myself at the lack of exercise opportunities. Inevitably that led to overeating a little - though still largely cleanly.
Thursday I did an unenthusiastic 4 miles but continued to overeat. Friday became a 'rest' day as work was pretty solid through the day and I didn't want to go to the gym in the evening as I was going to do a rowing half marathon the following morning.
The row itself was pretty good. I'd rushed to the gym having had no breakfast and forgot my gloves but settled into a decent rhythm and finished in 1:28 which I was quite pleased with.
That was decent calories burned but I probably ate all those during a trip to a Thai restaurant in the evening.
Sunday started well enough too with a 7.5 mile tempo run along the canal. With hindsight, it felt marginally tougher than I'd expected but I was still happy with it at the time.
Late morning we set off to do a walk in Swaledale but by the time we were driving through Ilkley I was feeling a bit queasy, tired, shivery and aching. I felt sure I'd feel better with fresh air so we stopped for a few minutes then carried on to the village of Keld in upper Swaledale. As soon as I got out of the car I felt ropey - I couldn't get warm and my teeth were chattering, and as we completed a 5.5 mile circuit I really struggled to keep up even with the kids. Funnily enough, I felt far better after we'd finished and agreed to go to the pub for tea on the way home. I actually ate voraciously when we were there, and not at all cleanly!
I woke bank holiday Monday morning and felt fine but once I'd had a shower I felt exhausted and weak so went straight back to bed, eating little through the day then 'grazing aggressively' through the evening. I woke in the early hours of Tuesday morning desperate for the loo - and spent much of the next 24 hours there, and quite a few visits in the days that followed too. I won't go into detail but I'm sure you get the idea!
You'd think that would help with weight loss but far from it. I called NHS direct on Wednesday morning and was told it sounded like food poisoning. I'd felt ambivalent about eating the previous couple of days but the nurse advised I should eat lots of carbs to help get the bacteria through my system. Not feeling particularly hungry I placed my order for all the things that might conceivably tempt me, mainly unhealthy comfort foods from childhood: pikelets, Danish pastries, bread, white chocolate cookies, crisps, biscuits and even a Pot Noodle (something I hadn't had in well over 20 years). Probably not what the nurse had in mind but it became a bit of a frenzy with new supplies on each of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and unsurprisingly no exercise.
Saturday things improved at first. I felt pretty much back to normal and, conscious that I hadn't been taking Bethan for runs, took her to do a 4.5 mile run round Eccup reservoir. I wanted to get her to do something new and challenging and she didn't walk a step of it - not bad for an 11 year old!
That evening we went to a vegetarian restaurant called the Cheerful Chili. Sue had booked it before I'd been ill, and I felt fine to go. It was very good but not necessarily healthy, especially as having eaten my cheese laden main course I felt obliged to eat some of Beth's leftover curry and Charlotte's leftover pizza. On the way out we ordered desserts to take away, swimming in double cream, and later in the evening the binge mood continued as I ate 2 choc ices!
Similar pattern yesterday. I went for an 8 mile run first thing, again loosely round the reservoir, but starting a mile or so further away and including some wider loops on trails. About a minute a mile slower than the previous week's tempo run but it was almost exclusively off road, and featured several hills and numerous stiles and gates so I was happy with the time, besides which I'd made a point of not looking at the pace or time until I'd finished.
In the afternoon we headed for Malham and did a 5 mile loop round Malham cove. My legs felt a bit achy by the end but we, once again, detoured to a pub for a huge meal on the way home. As a last hurrah for gluttony I had 3 pieces of toasted white bread thickly smothered in butter before heading to bed.
So, 2 weeks of disruption to exercise, carte blanche to eat whatever I wanted, 4 big meals out, clean eating principles out of the window and not a single item logged on WLR. I'd expected a reasonable weight gain and could feel and see it in my body but I wasn't expecting today's weigh in numbers: nearly 11lb on in 17 days!
Now, I don't for a moment think that's 11lb of fat gained and hope for a big fall off this week as a result, but even so!
Back to logging from today and back to the gym after work. Back to clean eating and back to some focus.
As a final aside, when the routine was disrupted the physio exercises were disrupted too - first by aching limbs and then by illness. I've probably done the equivalent of 3 days of exercises in the last 2 weeks, so that has to start with a vengeance once more.
Wish me luck.
Monday, 26 April 2010
A walk up Whernside & Ingleborough
I plan to do the three peaks of Yorkshire challenge in the summer. Its a 25.1 mile moorland walk that includes going up Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough (the 3 highest peaks in the county) in under 12 hours.
We did Pen-y-ghent a few weeks ago but I'd never been up Whernside or fully up Ingleborough. With Sue & the kids away at her parents for the weekend yesterday provided an opportunity to do Whernside and ingleborough as a bit of a dry run for the full event.
Here's my account.
By 10pm on Saturday evening I was ready. I'd put out my clothes, my food, my kit and checked the weather forecast: cloudy, with a light shower in the middle of the day.
I woke just before six am on Sunday morning and staggered sleepily downstairs to make a drink. A glance out the window told me it looked alot more grey and misty than I'd expected. A few minutes later I came back up and noticed light rain on the window so re-checked the forecast. It was now 'heavy rain' all day. Oh. At that very moment I started to hear the hammering of heavy rain on the window and decided to postpone the trip.
I've got full waterproof gear but didn't fancy having to be in it all day and more importantly I didn't fancy having to climb up wet rock in the driving rain when near the summit.
I have a thing about heights. I'm fine with looking out a plane window from take-off and will happily admire the view when looking from a tall building but that's because I'm enclosed. If I'm exposed then any sort of height makes me feel nervy, with palms sweating and heart pounding. So climbing up steep sections of mountain isn't enjoyable for me. Climbing up them when wet, in poor visibility on a mountain top really isn't appealing.
Funnily enough though, it was that fear that made me decide, an hour later, to go anyway.
I kept wondering if the decision not to go was more down to excuse making to avoid that which I feared than the lack of attractiveness of walking in driving rain or any fear over safety. Not wanting to give in to it, off I went. Besides which, there had been a number of forecasts in recent weeks for 'sunny spells' that turned into 'cloudy with showers' while we were out so maybe it wouldn't be so bad anyway.
I got to a parking spot near Ribblehead at about 9.20am and set off a few minutes later. My rucksack was far heavier than normal with food, a large sports injury first aid kit, waterproofs, camera, a litre bottle of water, flask of red bush tea, head torch, an additional mid layer top, hat, gloves, map, directions etc. Likewise, I was kitted out for the worst in a Helly Hansen base layer, softshell jacket and Berghaus Goretex jacket over the top; and expecting there to be boggy sections a pair of Goretex gaiters. In the event I needed hardly any of it at all.
It was extremely grey and murky with low cloud and relatively limited visibility but it was dry and there had been nothing more than very light rain on the drive up. After a mile of walking I'd passed alongside the famous Ribblehead viaduct and began a gentle climb alongside the Settle to Carlisle railway tracks but I had to stop at a small stile. I was sweltering. There was a light breeze but it felt extremely close and humid and I was way overdressed, so decided to swap the softshell jacket for a thin midlayer with a half zip. This set the agenda for the rest of the day - always fearing it was about to get cold or wet and almost always way too hot as a result.
Onwards, crossing the railway via an aqueduct built to carry a beck over the railway (where I passed the first walkers I'd seen) and uphill past Force Gill waterfall. I was climbing steadily and by about 2.5 miles had to stop at another stile to remove the midlayer. It was already damp and the baselayer was sodden.
I continued upwards across boggy, misty moorland but generally on a rough pavement in wetter areas and a rock and mud track in others. Just beyond a tarn I passed another couple of walkers (having been passed once myself - for the only time on the walk - when I'd stopped to change and a purposeful looking lad with two walking poles went surging past) and began to head up into the clouds.
I quite liked that section. The path was broad, not excessively steep and though I knew there was a drop to my left the poor visibility meant I couldn't see how far down it went. After a few minutes I saw a large group of stationary walkers ahead, and realised I'd already reached the summit of Yorkshire's highest peak. A quick stop to take a picture of the trig point, grab a drink, cool off and have a mouthful of Trek bar and I set off again.
By this point I'd averaged a few seconds over 20 minutes a mile. I was pleased with that as apart from the first 200m and the odd short section early on it had all been uphill and had included 3 stops and several brief stops to take photographs or check directions. At that sort of rate I'd do the whole 3 peaks in not much over 8 hours - way inside the 12 hour target.
At the summit I'd packed the camera away again. As it was so misty there would be little to photograph and having it dangling round my neck interfered with walking as to prevent it bouncing I walked with one hand holding it steady.
However, as I set off along the broad and gentle path away from the summit a sudden gust of wind blew away the cloud to reveal the valley far beneath - the now tiny looking Ribblehead viaduct, the farms, patches of woodland and the lower slopes of Ingleborough on the other side.
Oh, well.
The descent wasn't too bad. There were a few steeper, rockier bits but I had no choice but to take these slowly as I had caught up the large group of walkers I'd seen at the summit and there were few opportunities to get past - essentially everyone had to go at the speed of the slowest walker.
I made up for it after that bit by running for half a mile, passing the purposeful chap in the process, before halting at some boulders near the first farm in order to change clothes once again. By now the Helly Hansen was so wet I was able to wring water from it so that came off and into a carrier bag and on went the half zip top. The jacket stayed off and also went into the rucksack.
The next bit was the easiest part: very gentle descent along a traffic free tarmac farm track. The lowest farm certainly cashed in though with a caravan in a barn serving sandwiches, hot drinks, bacon, sausage etc. I didn't partake but the three peaks has certainly helped them.
A few hundred metres on and I was back at the road near the Old Hill Inn. About 100m along the road was the path up Ingleborough so the Whernside section was officially over.
The early stages of the Ingleborough path were simple - clear path across grassy fields only rising gently. They were also very busy, with Ingleborough proving the far more popular climb. After a minute or two I passed a Lancastrian couple who, seeing the camera round my neck, asked if I was here for 'the race'. They were referring to the three peaks fell race - a famous 23 mile event - that they had travelled over to watch. Unfortunately for them, it had taken place the previous day!
A few minutes later and it started to rain and I assumed this was the beginning of the bad weather. Away went the camera, on came the rain cover on the rucksack and I changed tops once more, this time switching to the fleece lined softshell that, I thought, would be shower proof without being too warm.
I pressed on passing several groups of walkers that had bunched together - a family of four, a group of 4 women, two couples from the north east and three posh young pot holers who, dressed in rubberised suits, helmets, ropes and Davy lamps looked like extras from a 1970s Doctor Who.
Before too long the path became far steeper, like on Whernside thick slab steps were used to cross steep sections of boggy moorland and I could hear my breathing and feel my heart bumping as I kept going uphill at a decent pace. I was also roasting once again. The ominous looking rain had stopped before I'd even finished changing and I'd switched the buff to my head (to mop up the sweat) and had the jacket unzipped, giving it the whole bare chested pirate look.
Just ahead I could see the section I was dreading - where the path invisibly went up what looked like a sheer cliff. After taking the climb to there quite hard I should really of stopped to rest for a minute or two but I wanted to get the climbing done so carried on immediately.
The hidden path actually zig zagged steeply along man made steps. These aren't steps in the usual sense of the word, instead they are rocks and slabs of varying sizes put together to provide a generally stable surface to go up. However, they form a series of very steep narrow ledges, and yesterday were wet, often mud covered, occasionally loose and often hidden. It was hard work physically and mentally for me and I spent most of the time using hands as well as feet, partly because it was more reassuring. (Even typing this now my palms are wet with the recollection!).
Towards the top it became more of a climb straight up with the zig-zagging 'steps' replaced with straightforward rock but here at least I got some rest and company as some walkers came down from the summit, allowing me to stop and let them pass for a couple of minutes. With hindsight, tackling the climb alone probably made it feel worse as I'd pulled far enough away from the bunched group that they hadn't started by the time I'd finished. Had I been with others I'm sure it would have been re-assuring.
Having got up that section I still wasn't at the summit, so needed to climb to the right for a few hundred metres, to reach the stony plateau of the peak. On all sides the view was fantastic but aside from changing yet again (the softshell was soaking so on came the thin half zip for the remainder of the walk) I didn't hang around.
The Garmin had beeped just as I reached the summit to tell me the last mile had taken 35 minutes. That wasn't that surprising with the steep sections, the climbing and the stop near the top. The climb itself must have taken 15 minutes for virtually no forward movement - only upward.
If the route up had been unpleasant at times the route down was easy as after an initial steep section I followed a wide grass/rock/mud path steadily back in the direction of Horton in Ribblesdale. Again, I pulled away from a group of walkers early on but aside from meeting a handful of walkers in the first mile down didn't see another soul.
It was during this period my feet began to hurt, which was a surprise. If I run 10/15 miles I get no foot pain or blisters yet here I was having done little more than 11 and my heels felt bruised and my toes blistered. I suppose it shouldn't have been surprising - when running the distance is covered much quicker, with fewer steps and much of the time is spent airborne.
In the middle of passing through some sections of impressive limestone pavement I decided to take a lunch break, partly motivated by a desire to take a look at my feet as it felt like the nail of a toe on my left foot was pushing into the neighbouring toe. I sat there in the sunshine and enjoyed my last remaining sandwiches, took off the largely unnecessary gaiters (which had made my lower legs hot), and had a look at my foot. There were some small blisters on the toes but little I could do about that so I looped a small plaster around the toe I thought was being punctured by it's neighbour and left it at that.
After eating an excessive amount of bread the night before, my stomach had been a bit gripey all morning but it got far worse after this break. I'd made a flask of red bush tea that morning and had saved it for this point. Unfortunately when I tasted it I could taste little but Fairy Liquid as it obviously hadn't been rinsed after it was last cleaned! Trouble is I was virtually out of water and had about another 6 miles to go so I drank 2 small cup fulls and tipped the rest away.
A minute or two after this break I left the three peaks route by a path to the left in order to head back to the car. This was very easy going, short grass and pretty much flat heading across to the hamlet of Selside on the road about 1.75 miles away. Originally I was going to take the road back from Selside but looking at the map I'd seen another path off to the left that meandered above the road coming out only a couple of hundred metres short of the car. That looked a nicer way to walk than 3 miles along the road so I headed off crossing the gently rolling hills with only sheep and their lambs for company.
The Garmin had been bleeping at me to warn of low battery since my lunch break. I'd expected it to last close to 8 hours, the advertised battery life, and hoped it would hang on until the car. In the event, as I passed the six hour mark the screen went blank probably 100m short of the car, with the full walk measuring a shade under 17 miles.
All in all it was a good walk and I enjoyed it.
Today, my toes still feel a little sore as do my glutes but other than that, right as rain!
We did Pen-y-ghent a few weeks ago but I'd never been up Whernside or fully up Ingleborough. With Sue & the kids away at her parents for the weekend yesterday provided an opportunity to do Whernside and ingleborough as a bit of a dry run for the full event.
Here's my account.
By 10pm on Saturday evening I was ready. I'd put out my clothes, my food, my kit and checked the weather forecast: cloudy, with a light shower in the middle of the day.
I woke just before six am on Sunday morning and staggered sleepily downstairs to make a drink. A glance out the window told me it looked alot more grey and misty than I'd expected. A few minutes later I came back up and noticed light rain on the window so re-checked the forecast. It was now 'heavy rain' all day. Oh. At that very moment I started to hear the hammering of heavy rain on the window and decided to postpone the trip.
I've got full waterproof gear but didn't fancy having to be in it all day and more importantly I didn't fancy having to climb up wet rock in the driving rain when near the summit.
I have a thing about heights. I'm fine with looking out a plane window from take-off and will happily admire the view when looking from a tall building but that's because I'm enclosed. If I'm exposed then any sort of height makes me feel nervy, with palms sweating and heart pounding. So climbing up steep sections of mountain isn't enjoyable for me. Climbing up them when wet, in poor visibility on a mountain top really isn't appealing.
Funnily enough though, it was that fear that made me decide, an hour later, to go anyway.
I kept wondering if the decision not to go was more down to excuse making to avoid that which I feared than the lack of attractiveness of walking in driving rain or any fear over safety. Not wanting to give in to it, off I went. Besides which, there had been a number of forecasts in recent weeks for 'sunny spells' that turned into 'cloudy with showers' while we were out so maybe it wouldn't be so bad anyway.
I got to a parking spot near Ribblehead at about 9.20am and set off a few minutes later. My rucksack was far heavier than normal with food, a large sports injury first aid kit, waterproofs, camera, a litre bottle of water, flask of red bush tea, head torch, an additional mid layer top, hat, gloves, map, directions etc. Likewise, I was kitted out for the worst in a Helly Hansen base layer, softshell jacket and Berghaus Goretex jacket over the top; and expecting there to be boggy sections a pair of Goretex gaiters. In the event I needed hardly any of it at all.
It was extremely grey and murky with low cloud and relatively limited visibility but it was dry and there had been nothing more than very light rain on the drive up. After a mile of walking I'd passed alongside the famous Ribblehead viaduct and began a gentle climb alongside the Settle to Carlisle railway tracks but I had to stop at a small stile. I was sweltering. There was a light breeze but it felt extremely close and humid and I was way overdressed, so decided to swap the softshell jacket for a thin midlayer with a half zip. This set the agenda for the rest of the day - always fearing it was about to get cold or wet and almost always way too hot as a result.
Onwards, crossing the railway via an aqueduct built to carry a beck over the railway (where I passed the first walkers I'd seen) and uphill past Force Gill waterfall. I was climbing steadily and by about 2.5 miles had to stop at another stile to remove the midlayer. It was already damp and the baselayer was sodden.
I continued upwards across boggy, misty moorland but generally on a rough pavement in wetter areas and a rock and mud track in others. Just beyond a tarn I passed another couple of walkers (having been passed once myself - for the only time on the walk - when I'd stopped to change and a purposeful looking lad with two walking poles went surging past) and began to head up into the clouds.
I quite liked that section. The path was broad, not excessively steep and though I knew there was a drop to my left the poor visibility meant I couldn't see how far down it went. After a few minutes I saw a large group of stationary walkers ahead, and realised I'd already reached the summit of Yorkshire's highest peak. A quick stop to take a picture of the trig point, grab a drink, cool off and have a mouthful of Trek bar and I set off again.
By this point I'd averaged a few seconds over 20 minutes a mile. I was pleased with that as apart from the first 200m and the odd short section early on it had all been uphill and had included 3 stops and several brief stops to take photographs or check directions. At that sort of rate I'd do the whole 3 peaks in not much over 8 hours - way inside the 12 hour target.
At the summit I'd packed the camera away again. As it was so misty there would be little to photograph and having it dangling round my neck interfered with walking as to prevent it bouncing I walked with one hand holding it steady.
However, as I set off along the broad and gentle path away from the summit a sudden gust of wind blew away the cloud to reveal the valley far beneath - the now tiny looking Ribblehead viaduct, the farms, patches of woodland and the lower slopes of Ingleborough on the other side.
Oh, well.
The descent wasn't too bad. There were a few steeper, rockier bits but I had no choice but to take these slowly as I had caught up the large group of walkers I'd seen at the summit and there were few opportunities to get past - essentially everyone had to go at the speed of the slowest walker.
I made up for it after that bit by running for half a mile, passing the purposeful chap in the process, before halting at some boulders near the first farm in order to change clothes once again. By now the Helly Hansen was so wet I was able to wring water from it so that came off and into a carrier bag and on went the half zip top. The jacket stayed off and also went into the rucksack.
The next bit was the easiest part: very gentle descent along a traffic free tarmac farm track. The lowest farm certainly cashed in though with a caravan in a barn serving sandwiches, hot drinks, bacon, sausage etc. I didn't partake but the three peaks has certainly helped them.
A few hundred metres on and I was back at the road near the Old Hill Inn. About 100m along the road was the path up Ingleborough so the Whernside section was officially over.
The early stages of the Ingleborough path were simple - clear path across grassy fields only rising gently. They were also very busy, with Ingleborough proving the far more popular climb. After a minute or two I passed a Lancastrian couple who, seeing the camera round my neck, asked if I was here for 'the race'. They were referring to the three peaks fell race - a famous 23 mile event - that they had travelled over to watch. Unfortunately for them, it had taken place the previous day!
A few minutes later and it started to rain and I assumed this was the beginning of the bad weather. Away went the camera, on came the rain cover on the rucksack and I changed tops once more, this time switching to the fleece lined softshell that, I thought, would be shower proof without being too warm.
I pressed on passing several groups of walkers that had bunched together - a family of four, a group of 4 women, two couples from the north east and three posh young pot holers who, dressed in rubberised suits, helmets, ropes and Davy lamps looked like extras from a 1970s Doctor Who.
Before too long the path became far steeper, like on Whernside thick slab steps were used to cross steep sections of boggy moorland and I could hear my breathing and feel my heart bumping as I kept going uphill at a decent pace. I was also roasting once again. The ominous looking rain had stopped before I'd even finished changing and I'd switched the buff to my head (to mop up the sweat) and had the jacket unzipped, giving it the whole bare chested pirate look.
Just ahead I could see the section I was dreading - where the path invisibly went up what looked like a sheer cliff. After taking the climb to there quite hard I should really of stopped to rest for a minute or two but I wanted to get the climbing done so carried on immediately.
The hidden path actually zig zagged steeply along man made steps. These aren't steps in the usual sense of the word, instead they are rocks and slabs of varying sizes put together to provide a generally stable surface to go up. However, they form a series of very steep narrow ledges, and yesterday were wet, often mud covered, occasionally loose and often hidden. It was hard work physically and mentally for me and I spent most of the time using hands as well as feet, partly because it was more reassuring. (Even typing this now my palms are wet with the recollection!).
Towards the top it became more of a climb straight up with the zig-zagging 'steps' replaced with straightforward rock but here at least I got some rest and company as some walkers came down from the summit, allowing me to stop and let them pass for a couple of minutes. With hindsight, tackling the climb alone probably made it feel worse as I'd pulled far enough away from the bunched group that they hadn't started by the time I'd finished. Had I been with others I'm sure it would have been re-assuring.
Having got up that section I still wasn't at the summit, so needed to climb to the right for a few hundred metres, to reach the stony plateau of the peak. On all sides the view was fantastic but aside from changing yet again (the softshell was soaking so on came the thin half zip for the remainder of the walk) I didn't hang around.
The Garmin had beeped just as I reached the summit to tell me the last mile had taken 35 minutes. That wasn't that surprising with the steep sections, the climbing and the stop near the top. The climb itself must have taken 15 minutes for virtually no forward movement - only upward.
If the route up had been unpleasant at times the route down was easy as after an initial steep section I followed a wide grass/rock/mud path steadily back in the direction of Horton in Ribblesdale. Again, I pulled away from a group of walkers early on but aside from meeting a handful of walkers in the first mile down didn't see another soul.
It was during this period my feet began to hurt, which was a surprise. If I run 10/15 miles I get no foot pain or blisters yet here I was having done little more than 11 and my heels felt bruised and my toes blistered. I suppose it shouldn't have been surprising - when running the distance is covered much quicker, with fewer steps and much of the time is spent airborne.
In the middle of passing through some sections of impressive limestone pavement I decided to take a lunch break, partly motivated by a desire to take a look at my feet as it felt like the nail of a toe on my left foot was pushing into the neighbouring toe. I sat there in the sunshine and enjoyed my last remaining sandwiches, took off the largely unnecessary gaiters (which had made my lower legs hot), and had a look at my foot. There were some small blisters on the toes but little I could do about that so I looped a small plaster around the toe I thought was being punctured by it's neighbour and left it at that.
After eating an excessive amount of bread the night before, my stomach had been a bit gripey all morning but it got far worse after this break. I'd made a flask of red bush tea that morning and had saved it for this point. Unfortunately when I tasted it I could taste little but Fairy Liquid as it obviously hadn't been rinsed after it was last cleaned! Trouble is I was virtually out of water and had about another 6 miles to go so I drank 2 small cup fulls and tipped the rest away.
A minute or two after this break I left the three peaks route by a path to the left in order to head back to the car. This was very easy going, short grass and pretty much flat heading across to the hamlet of Selside on the road about 1.75 miles away. Originally I was going to take the road back from Selside but looking at the map I'd seen another path off to the left that meandered above the road coming out only a couple of hundred metres short of the car. That looked a nicer way to walk than 3 miles along the road so I headed off crossing the gently rolling hills with only sheep and their lambs for company.
The Garmin had been bleeping at me to warn of low battery since my lunch break. I'd expected it to last close to 8 hours, the advertised battery life, and hoped it would hang on until the car. In the event, as I passed the six hour mark the screen went blank probably 100m short of the car, with the full walk measuring a shade under 17 miles.
All in all it was a good walk and I enjoyed it.
Today, my toes still feel a little sore as do my glutes but other than that, right as rain!
Sunday, 25 April 2010
The last few days
Wednesday provided a pretty solid trip to the gym but Thursday, just like last week, proved a poor run. I couldn't get into any sort of rhythm and everything felt hard work. I cut the planned 6 miles down to 5 as a result.
However, I did get out for another 2 that evening with Bethan as she'd started running again the day before (so I had a 2 mile jog as my pre-gym warm up), and considering her time off is doing really well.
Friday was 10k row day and I broke my record again, and by some way, but was still annoyed to have missed going under 41 minutes by 4.7 seconds!
Saturday was the highlight though. Off out early in the morning sunshine for 7.5 miles along the canal. Just like the equivalent run last week I stopped after a mile to do some dynamic stretching. Whereas Thursday I couldn't maintain any sort of running rhythm, on Saturday it was the opposite, with the run itself coming in 7s a mile faster than the previous week and the last mile and a half being done at 10k pace. It felt really good and, once again, pain free afterwards after engaging lower abs throughout (something I also failed with on Thursday).
Food/weight wise its been ok. Last night I had a mini-binge on Burgens linseed bread, but that aside had been doing very well and the weigh in this week had me 1.4lb lower than last week despite the over indulgences of last weekend. Happy with that.
However, I did get out for another 2 that evening with Bethan as she'd started running again the day before (so I had a 2 mile jog as my pre-gym warm up), and considering her time off is doing really well.
Friday was 10k row day and I broke my record again, and by some way, but was still annoyed to have missed going under 41 minutes by 4.7 seconds!
Saturday was the highlight though. Off out early in the morning sunshine for 7.5 miles along the canal. Just like the equivalent run last week I stopped after a mile to do some dynamic stretching. Whereas Thursday I couldn't maintain any sort of running rhythm, on Saturday it was the opposite, with the run itself coming in 7s a mile faster than the previous week and the last mile and a half being done at 10k pace. It felt really good and, once again, pain free afterwards after engaging lower abs throughout (something I also failed with on Thursday).
Food/weight wise its been ok. Last night I had a mini-binge on Burgens linseed bread, but that aside had been doing very well and the weigh in this week had me 1.4lb lower than last week despite the over indulgences of last weekend. Happy with that.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
The curse of modern technology
My Garmin 405 is a fantastic piece of kit and, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm completely lost if I'm without it (figuratively - I don't use it for navigating!).
Its usually extremely reliable too; as am I for that matter - aside from the very occasional hiccup I tend to be very careful about switching it on/off at the start and during any stops during a run.
Last night it looks like we both failed though!
It was a club run around some back rounds and Eccup reservoir and until I reached the reservoir it seems to have worked fine: an 8:51 opening mile running with the group followed by two miles in the upper 7s where I headed off ahead on my own, both look accurate. The last mile and a half look about right too - quick at first and then slowing right down as I ran back with the group along an unlit uninhabited road in the dark.
Its the reservoir bit that looks wrong. Near the end of that section the guy I was running with tripped and fell in the failing light and I suspect I switched the watch off then but didn't restart it. Fifty metres further on we stopped for the others to catch up and I think the press of the button then will have restarted it rather than stopped it as when I looked at the watch my average pace when we set off again had dropped by over 30s a mile.
I thought that was it, as it would seem to explain why the pace was out so much, but the distance also looked wrong - by more than 50m! After uploading today it looks from the map like it completely lost the signal for a good chunk of the reservoir route (or more likely was switched off?) as it seems a mile or so short.
Ah well, that means I'll have to assess it more on feel than figures, and on that score I think it was good. Again, no pain during or after even though I wasn't quite as fixed in focusing on engaging the lower abs. I managed the hills well too when running alone - maintaining a below 8 minute mile pace even for stretches with steep bits. One hill in particular, the steep access road from the reservoir was particularly pleasing as I took that deliberately hard as a test and despite feeling sick towards the end managed it just fine.
All in all a good and enjoyable run with good company. Its a shame I'll have to miss next week's as I'm away in Birmingham in the afternoon and very much doubt I'll be back in time.
Beyond last night's run its been an uneventful couple of days. Monday became an impromptu rest day - I hadn't had one for a while and felt jaded - and diet has generally been poor (quantity rather than quality) for the last couple of evenings.
Today is another day though...
Its usually extremely reliable too; as am I for that matter - aside from the very occasional hiccup I tend to be very careful about switching it on/off at the start and during any stops during a run.
Last night it looks like we both failed though!
It was a club run around some back rounds and Eccup reservoir and until I reached the reservoir it seems to have worked fine: an 8:51 opening mile running with the group followed by two miles in the upper 7s where I headed off ahead on my own, both look accurate. The last mile and a half look about right too - quick at first and then slowing right down as I ran back with the group along an unlit uninhabited road in the dark.
Its the reservoir bit that looks wrong. Near the end of that section the guy I was running with tripped and fell in the failing light and I suspect I switched the watch off then but didn't restart it. Fifty metres further on we stopped for the others to catch up and I think the press of the button then will have restarted it rather than stopped it as when I looked at the watch my average pace when we set off again had dropped by over 30s a mile.
I thought that was it, as it would seem to explain why the pace was out so much, but the distance also looked wrong - by more than 50m! After uploading today it looks from the map like it completely lost the signal for a good chunk of the reservoir route (or more likely was switched off?) as it seems a mile or so short.
Ah well, that means I'll have to assess it more on feel than figures, and on that score I think it was good. Again, no pain during or after even though I wasn't quite as fixed in focusing on engaging the lower abs. I managed the hills well too when running alone - maintaining a below 8 minute mile pace even for stretches with steep bits. One hill in particular, the steep access road from the reservoir was particularly pleasing as I took that deliberately hard as a test and despite feeling sick towards the end managed it just fine.
All in all a good and enjoyable run with good company. Its a shame I'll have to miss next week's as I'm away in Birmingham in the afternoon and very much doubt I'll be back in time.
Beyond last night's run its been an uneventful couple of days. Monday became an impromptu rest day - I hadn't had one for a while and felt jaded - and diet has generally been poor (quantity rather than quality) for the last couple of evenings.
Today is another day though...
Monday, 19 April 2010
A real breakthrough!
If Thursday's run was a disappointment, Saturday's was the complete opposite.
On Thursday I just couldn't get going. I got through the distance ok, I just felt a bit unresponsive.
On Saturday I decided to do a little over 7 miles, heading out from Apperley Bridge to Shipley and back.
I felt far better from the outset and stopped after an 8:12 opening mile to spend a minute doing some dynamic stretches. This is something I'd got out of the habit of doing but both the injury prevention workshop and the latest book I'm reading expound on the virtues so I've decided to quit being lazy and bring them back into the running routine.
I felt good as I set off again and decided to focus on just one thing - engaging the deep abdominals and keeping them engaged. This has been a key focus of the physio work - preparing me for identifying and using these muscles to help stabilise my pelvis - and is also regarded as something that takes alot of conscious effort to maintain while running. Previously, when I'd dabbled with Chi running it was something I'd think about but within 20 seconds my mind would wander and I'd relax them without realising.
That didn't happen this time. Instead, I was able to keep them gently but noticeably engaged for the remainder of the run. From a proprioceptive point of view the run felt noticeably different - I felt a little more solid, more upright in the torso and more 'together'.
That last bit is difficult to explain but if you think of the body as machine made up of a series of connected levers, at times, when injured especially, my body has felt like some of the levers are slightly misaligned but this time it felt like all the levers were perfectly aligned and well oiled. That made the run feel more efficient and sustainable.
By the time I reached Shipley and the 3.7 mile turnaround point the average pace had reduced to 8:01 a mile without my realising. I ran back feeling equally comfortable and with the aid of a couple of short downhills at the locks on the way back, speeded up a little more still so that when I finished the average had reached 7:51 a mile. That's only about 10 seconds a mile over half marathon race pace, which based on injury, lack of training and current weight is pretty good.
However, the most important factor was that I had no groin pain during the run (which is common enough now) but also no pain at all later in the day or the next day (which although reducing has still been occurring each run). On the basis that the distance was greater than I'd recently been allowed and the pace was the fastest since the autumn it wouldn't have been too worrying to have had a little more than of late but this time there was nothing!
So, without wanting to get too excited, it feels like I'm definitely on the mend and that by following this approach I'll certainly get a more economical gait and prevent pain.
Its dynamic stretching every run and for the next weeks a conscious effort to concentrate on engaging the deep abs for stabilisation throughout every run in the hope that it becomes second nature.
On Thursday I just couldn't get going. I got through the distance ok, I just felt a bit unresponsive.
On Saturday I decided to do a little over 7 miles, heading out from Apperley Bridge to Shipley and back.
I felt far better from the outset and stopped after an 8:12 opening mile to spend a minute doing some dynamic stretches. This is something I'd got out of the habit of doing but both the injury prevention workshop and the latest book I'm reading expound on the virtues so I've decided to quit being lazy and bring them back into the running routine.
I felt good as I set off again and decided to focus on just one thing - engaging the deep abdominals and keeping them engaged. This has been a key focus of the physio work - preparing me for identifying and using these muscles to help stabilise my pelvis - and is also regarded as something that takes alot of conscious effort to maintain while running. Previously, when I'd dabbled with Chi running it was something I'd think about but within 20 seconds my mind would wander and I'd relax them without realising.
That didn't happen this time. Instead, I was able to keep them gently but noticeably engaged for the remainder of the run. From a proprioceptive point of view the run felt noticeably different - I felt a little more solid, more upright in the torso and more 'together'.
That last bit is difficult to explain but if you think of the body as machine made up of a series of connected levers, at times, when injured especially, my body has felt like some of the levers are slightly misaligned but this time it felt like all the levers were perfectly aligned and well oiled. That made the run feel more efficient and sustainable.
By the time I reached Shipley and the 3.7 mile turnaround point the average pace had reduced to 8:01 a mile without my realising. I ran back feeling equally comfortable and with the aid of a couple of short downhills at the locks on the way back, speeded up a little more still so that when I finished the average had reached 7:51 a mile. That's only about 10 seconds a mile over half marathon race pace, which based on injury, lack of training and current weight is pretty good.
However, the most important factor was that I had no groin pain during the run (which is common enough now) but also no pain at all later in the day or the next day (which although reducing has still been occurring each run). On the basis that the distance was greater than I'd recently been allowed and the pace was the fastest since the autumn it wouldn't have been too worrying to have had a little more than of late but this time there was nothing!
So, without wanting to get too excited, it feels like I'm definitely on the mend and that by following this approach I'll certainly get a more economical gait and prevent pain.
Its dynamic stretching every run and for the next weeks a conscious effort to concentrate on engaging the deep abs for stabilisation throughout every run in the hope that it becomes second nature.
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