Training Log Archive: Big Jon

British Champs M55 Highdam. 1st (second TT +63 seconds).
Well I didn't expect that! At the start of the week I was wondering if I should bother travelling...
Anyway, aim was same as at BOC in Callaly - "Think strong" so I just tried to push where I could and not get too worried about walking up hills. Never felt I was running particularly fast (apart from down hill to second-last control). Best technical run in the Lakes ever for me, hesitant at number 2, bad line 10-11 (and then couldn't see the control from 2m away (tucked into a crack between 2 rocks!) and wobbly to 14. Probably 90-100 seconds in total.

Dead chuffed :-)

C • Congratulations 4

Long warm-up and some drills, strides, stretching.

Travel all day (well most of it!)

Hanging controls for schools festival.

Hanging and collecting controls for schools score event at Torphins. Lovely day and nice wood. Kids did well :-) and enjoyed themselves :-) :-)

Forest Sprint, Tilquhillie (new map). Decent if a bit simple course, mostly nice running. No misses but one radical route-choice to try to get past Evgueni, failed! Feeling quite smooth on flats and downs but slow on hills - had to walk plenty. Leg continues its slow improvement.

Bit of spotter round Dess Wood, down Deeside Way and up to top gate then back along main track. A few sprints on last uphills, feeling a bit more sprightly. Leg not too bad.

Hill of Banchory, hadn't planned run but got there early enough and nice morning so trot round usual route.

Good session - left back that seemed to be tweaking after a bad jolt on the bike yesterday was a little tight but no worse by end. Felt I loosened up a bit.

Walk up Macdui and Carn A'Mhaim with S & E. Set off with wind behind us up the Luibeg (camped by stream near ford). Lots more snow than expected - greats strips across the hillsides and filling all the gullies on steeper slopes like zebra stripes. Going well up to edge of cloud, then quick stop to put on waterproofs (not raining but cold and windy), carried on across the first huge snowfield - rapidly got wet feet (hadn't anticipated so much snow so was wearing road shoes...), grip OK as snow soft. Higher and higher, E checking bearing to make sure we stayed left of the corrie, reached Sron Riach and then slope steepened and wind increased, pushed on until we decided to bail - wind was starting to blow us around a bit too much for comfort. Dropped back a bit and then descending traverse to col and up Can A'Mhaim ridge. Hellish windy here - struggling to move in a straight line. Reached top and met a large group of oldies- they started singing as we got near... probably a celebration of some climber, respect to some of them, they looked pretty old and it was a tough climb they had just done. Down path - over large snow patches, some great for descending, others a bit slippery. Back to camp site and packed tents, walked back to bikes.
Out for 4.5 hours camp to camp.

Cycle back to car - downhill... but headwind :-( hard work and felt pretty whacked by this stage. Bad nights sleep and hard work on up and down.
Recovered in the Both with a soup and sandwich and hot chocolate, nearly falling asleep.