Training Log Archive: Mark3

This started really well. Felt pretty good at the beginning, careful to not go too fast, conditions good. Vis got poor going to to high pike and conditions worsened, put coat on going up to Coombe Height and it promptly got nicer again as we dropped lower down out of the fog. But shortly after the temporary bridge up Mungrisdale Common it would have become necessary again. Vis very poor now so glad I had a compass as well as vaguely using people. Field getting quite spread out though. Quite busy down Hall's fell ridge into Threlkeld, very slippery on the rocks so took very slowly near the top.

Stopped only long enough to have some pastries and top up water bottles. Lonely steep climb up Clough Head. Caught a group and we went up Great Dodd together most of the way before I told them we weren't going the right way. Stayed with them for a bit but got a bit of a gap on them up to Raise, still very poor vis at this point and I wasn't 100% sure where we were, so waited for a bit to confirm with them that we were indeed at Raise. Then ran away from them again and was on my own for ages. Managed not to get lost coming off Helvellyn but was very glad to be holding a compass as it was very disorientating. Climb up Fairfield wasn't too bad and then it was an awesome run downhill for 8k into Ambleside; caught one more person on this bit who said he'd got lost coming off Helvellyn...

10th place at this point and feeling pretty good. Conscious that people say it can be hard to eat enough on ultra distance races so had at least 6 slices of pizza along with various bits of cake and things. Changed shoes and socks which felt pretty great.

Given my shin injury from Mourne I had been thinking from the start that getting to Ambleside would be the goal, and there wouldn't be much shame in dropping out at that point as I'd have done the more interesting/challenging bit of the course. But given that I still felt good I thought I'd carry on...

...wish I had stopped at Ambleside!

After another c.5k, so just over 50k total, my hips started to ache, and I started to be able to feel my shin again... this gradually got worse and worse until every step was pretty much agony. I couldn't take big steps because it was too painful, so I was reduced to very small steps which were still very painful but bearable. This reduced my pace massively. I then proceeded to get gradually overtaken by lots and lots and lots of people - it felt like about 40 but it must have only been 20.

The route wasn't that interesting although it was very scenic and the weather was great at this point (contrasted with the bad vis, very high winds and horizontal hail of the high fells). It was just so frustrating as without all this tedious pain I'd have been able to do it so well; exactly the kind of terrain I'm good at up to Finsthwaite.

Had hoped to finish in the light but had to get the torch out at Finsthwaite. Missed an arrow and went a few hundred metres wrong but noticed at the next junction and backtracked; not much time lost. From Newby Bridge to the end it was basically entirely thick mud in the pitch black. Also roundabout Bigland I had to replace my torch (I was very very glad that two torches were on the kitlist) as I'd had the Nao on full power and it only lasts 80 mins [which I knew but had forgotten); the Tikka 2 is pretty rubbish but I wasn't going that fast so not a massive issue.

I'd been hoping to sneak in under 13 hours and so put in an agonising "fast" km of 5:30 near the end, but slowed down when I realised that it was going to be some distance further than the advertised 50 miles (possibly due to the free choice route section near the start where they may have just measured the straight line).

Got to the end and collapsed. Final position 30th/355. So not bad. I'd have taken it at the start. But the closest guy to me at Ambleside (he was a couple of mins behind arriving but left before me) finished 8th, in 11 hours 53, and the guy one place ahead of my at the finish was 1 and hour 6 mins behind me at Ambleside. And I wasn't tired; I got the nutrition right... but my bodyparts conspired against me.

Perhaps not unexpected; I haven't trained for that kind of distance and this was the longest thing I've attempted by about 30km. I think I'm going to stick to <50km, as I was doing really well at that point.

It's good to exceed your limits sometimes as otherwise you never know what they are I guess... but I can't imagine doing anything for next two weeks at least as it's going to take that long for my shin to heal again :(

http://www.lakesinaday.co.uk/results/2017.php

C • Any painkillers? 2

Finance conference in Manchester

Seem to be no ill effects from that... Woop

Alternative route. Shorter, flatter... busier. Will stick to the original.

Largely positive. Longer run tomorrow and will make weekend decision based on that...

Suspiciously feels quite a lot better today, might try a jog tomorrow evening

At the British Middles but elected not to run (or even walk) as don't want to make it worse :( getting pretty depressed tbh