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Tuesday May 28, 2019 #
Note
Jura Hill Race
Put simply, things went as expected. An obvious amount of pre-race hype due to a few months of good results was always mentally overshadowed by the realisation that this race would be significantly longer, and that I didn't have a good history in that department. My expectation was that I would last for around 2hrs at which point the wheels would come off. Though this happened for slightly different reasons to the prediction, it meant that the overall poor performance was a lot easier to take and if anything, it meant I could enjoy the race a lot more.
The midges of the morning of the race were thankfully left on the mainland in Tayvallich where we (Ali, Tim, Colm, Gregor and I) boarded the fast ferry. Rain and mist greeted us in Craighouse, which had a nice triple whammy of getting rid of the usual west coast pests, while adding a flavour of navigation and simultaneously removing both the dehydration and overheating risks that I feared in the lead up. Breakfast wasn't too spectacular, and consisted of some cardboard muesli, cereal bars, and a banana. The usual queasiness meant this wasn't too bad though, but arguably could have contributed to the detrimental race. Other preparation went as planned, and by the time we started I felt like I was as ready as I could have been. Felt that it was just about warm enough for the vest and shorts, which was ideal given my allergy to sun and heat in races.
The first climb was long and steady, just as I'd hoped. Made sure to never take the lead, but equally never be far off, so when a few people put in a few shifts I was ready to respond. It was clear a pack would emerge, and it only took until the first top for this to happen. Around 15 of us including Tim, Ali and all the other big names went off ahead. Myself, Ali, Tim, and Spongey led with nav at one point, while at the same time realising amongst us no one had been to Jura before. Hit the second pip and pulled ahead with Joe Symmonds. We chatted about Clachnaben and then turned the wrong way off the top - I had my map but no compass out, so from then on I let the others take the exit lines.
It was already clear that I was going to struggle on the descents today. My knee was aching from Ben Lomond and I had little confidence, which was quite serious considering what was coming up. It was then obvious what was going to happen; hammer the ups, tip toe the downs, and repeat until this effective interval session would end me. Tim and myself nipped ahead on the final pip, just after my first gel, and then Tim went off on the descent as I struggled. I lost more and more places, and ended up at the back of the pack by the bottom of the first long pap climb. I gave my map to Ali to try and fix my bag for a few minutes, only to realise it wasn't broken (oops), and then began the assault of the 600m climb.
The energy felt really good and it didn't take long to find the front. Realised this was my best bet to put time into the others so got a good gap on all but Kim C by the top. Enjoyed the first bit of the scree descent but then slipped quite badly and knocked myself up a bit, so took the foot off the gas for the rest of the descent. Tim and others flew past, but then caught them again at the bottom. Told Tim he was going to win this after watching his descending, but he was having none of that confidence! A true humble fell runner.
Energy still high on the second pap so once again pulled off ahead with Kim. This time I think we took a slightly dodgy line up some rocks on the steep top (rather than a bit left) and I couldn't shake him (control took 20s to be set up too), though he descended straight off the top while I went to the saddle as is the custom. Being alone though, I was happy to slow down until Tim and Ted seamlessly flew by again. Ted cut off the half way ridge almost unnoticed but me and Tim chased, before they dropped me again. Watched at one point as a boulder the size of a basketball tumbled down the slope and through Ted's legs without hitting him, quite the site and glad it hadn't ended up worse.
Final pap arrived and I hoped for another resurgence, but even the recent second gel couldn't get me up the hill quickly any more. Almost stayed with Tim and Kim, but crucially almost. The top was much more bouldery and they took an extra 30s off me as I stumbled around feeling drunk trying to put a jacket on as the rain began. Really struggled to even walk the first bit of the descent, head was dizzy and legs couldn't get a grip. Ted flew past but then Calum T from Keswick was going at a similar stumbling pace. We found a line but it wasn't ideal and would really need a clear day or a recce to improve next time. We splashed about the bog before the final hill together, and dragged ourselves up a bit too far left and up some crags at a very slow pace. Assuming we were 4th and 5th, I felt little need to rush, and quite happily stopped for a piss on the descent, while trying to get rid of a stitch, and focussing on the road ahead for a last ditch attempt to drop him. Turns out we were fighting for 3rd as Ted had gone off on one, but ah well.
Fell in the final stream and smacked my head/hip off rocks. That was the last straw, though I still tried to get the engine running. Hit the road in anticipation of somehow still, maybe, catching the imaginary 3rd place up (Calum stopped to change his shoes) but 20s into every surge of energy the engine stalled and I was back to 4:10s again. Sat then quite contempt in my apparent 4th place, and even wasn't too disheartened to see three spritely pairs of legs (Andy, Es, and John Y) all come past. Knowing that I was in fact in 3rd at that point is slightly depressing though beyond 1st place, the time (and crucially time behind) is generally a more important factor in races like these. Finished at a crawl just as Spongey came in strongly. Dizzying and freezing, quickly got changed and spent the rest of the day consuming cakes which gradually turned into chips, a burger, and then pints. Team of Tim, myself and a tired Ali (who sneaked 12s under 4hrs) picked up first prize and whiskey so that was a nice bonus, and good to see both Gregor and Colm also fly round respectably quick. So a fun weekend, even with the dreaded camping and in the crap weather.
So overall, as expected. Happy with the strong climbing, happy enough with the time giving the conditions and having not recce'd, or even seen the paps before, and happy to get through in a way that has made me eager to return, rather than never race again. Forever in awe of Tim for his awesome endurance that he's only beginning to accept, and inspired by some of the descending I saw out on the course. Area of improvement is pretty obvious really, more long days in the mountains and more practice in regular eating and drinking on said runs. Short races have certainly been going well but as soon as the 90mins ticks by, I always begin to struggle, independent of the conditions and terrain. I'll definitely be back to Jura, but maybe not until I'm properly ready.
.
Put simply, things went as expected. An obvious amount of pre-race hype due to a few months of good results was always mentally overshadowed by the realisation that this race would be significantly longer, and that I didn't have a good history in that department. My expectation was that I would last for around 2hrs at which point the wheels would come off. Though this happened for slightly different reasons to the prediction, it meant that the overall poor performance was a lot easier to take and if anything, it meant I could enjoy the race a lot more.
The midges of the morning of the race were thankfully left on the mainland in Tayvallich where we (Ali, Tim, Colm, Gregor and I) boarded the fast ferry. Rain and mist greeted us in Craighouse, which had a nice triple whammy of getting rid of the usual west coast pests, while adding a flavour of navigation and simultaneously removing both the dehydration and overheating risks that I feared in the lead up. Breakfast wasn't too spectacular, and consisted of some cardboard muesli, cereal bars, and a banana. The usual queasiness meant this wasn't too bad though, but arguably could have contributed to the detrimental race. Other preparation went as planned, and by the time we started I felt like I was as ready as I could have been. Felt that it was just about warm enough for the vest and shorts, which was ideal given my allergy to sun and heat in races.
The first climb was long and steady, just as I'd hoped. Made sure to never take the lead, but equally never be far off, so when a few people put in a few shifts I was ready to respond. It was clear a pack would emerge, and it only took until the first top for this to happen. Around 15 of us including Tim, Ali and all the other big names went off ahead. Myself, Ali, Tim, and Spongey led with nav at one point, while at the same time realising amongst us no one had been to Jura before. Hit the second pip and pulled ahead with Joe Symmonds. We chatted about Clachnaben and then turned the wrong way off the top - I had my map but no compass out, so from then on I let the others take the exit lines.
It was already clear that I was going to struggle on the descents today. My knee was aching from Ben Lomond and I had little confidence, which was quite serious considering what was coming up. It was then obvious what was going to happen; hammer the ups, tip toe the downs, and repeat until this effective interval session would end me. Tim and myself nipped ahead on the final pip, just after my first gel, and then Tim went off on the descent as I struggled. I lost more and more places, and ended up at the back of the pack by the bottom of the first long pap climb. I gave my map to Ali to try and fix my bag for a few minutes, only to realise it wasn't broken (oops), and then began the assault of the 600m climb.
The energy felt really good and it didn't take long to find the front. Realised this was my best bet to put time into the others so got a good gap on all but Kim C by the top. Enjoyed the first bit of the scree descent but then slipped quite badly and knocked myself up a bit, so took the foot off the gas for the rest of the descent. Tim and others flew past, but then caught them again at the bottom. Told Tim he was going to win this after watching his descending, but he was having none of that confidence! A true humble fell runner.
Energy still high on the second pap so once again pulled off ahead with Kim. This time I think we took a slightly dodgy line up some rocks on the steep top (rather than a bit left) and I couldn't shake him (control took 20s to be set up too), though he descended straight off the top while I went to the saddle as is the custom. Being alone though, I was happy to slow down until Tim and Ted seamlessly flew by again. Ted cut off the half way ridge almost unnoticed but me and Tim chased, before they dropped me again. Watched at one point as a boulder the size of a basketball tumbled down the slope and through Ted's legs without hitting him, quite the site and glad it hadn't ended up worse.
Final pap arrived and I hoped for another resurgence, but even the recent second gel couldn't get me up the hill quickly any more. Almost stayed with Tim and Kim, but crucially almost. The top was much more bouldery and they took an extra 30s off me as I stumbled around feeling drunk trying to put a jacket on as the rain began. Really struggled to even walk the first bit of the descent, head was dizzy and legs couldn't get a grip. Ted flew past but then Calum T from Keswick was going at a similar stumbling pace. We found a line but it wasn't ideal and would really need a clear day or a recce to improve next time. We splashed about the bog before the final hill together, and dragged ourselves up a bit too far left and up some crags at a very slow pace. Assuming we were 4th and 5th, I felt little need to rush, and quite happily stopped for a piss on the descent, while trying to get rid of a stitch, and focussing on the road ahead for a last ditch attempt to drop him. Turns out we were fighting for 3rd as Ted had gone off on one, but ah well.
Fell in the final stream and smacked my head/hip off rocks. That was the last straw, though I still tried to get the engine running. Hit the road in anticipation of somehow still, maybe, catching the imaginary 3rd place up (Calum stopped to change his shoes) but 20s into every surge of energy the engine stalled and I was back to 4:10s again. Sat then quite contempt in my apparent 4th place, and even wasn't too disheartened to see three spritely pairs of legs (Andy, Es, and John Y) all come past. Knowing that I was in fact in 3rd at that point is slightly depressing though beyond 1st place, the time (and crucially time behind) is generally a more important factor in races like these. Finished at a crawl just as Spongey came in strongly. Dizzying and freezing, quickly got changed and spent the rest of the day consuming cakes which gradually turned into chips, a burger, and then pints. Team of Tim, myself and a tired Ali (who sneaked 12s under 4hrs) picked up first prize and whiskey so that was a nice bonus, and good to see both Gregor and Colm also fly round respectably quick. So a fun weekend, even with the dreaded camping and in the crap weather.
So overall, as expected. Happy with the strong climbing, happy enough with the time giving the conditions and having not recce'd, or even seen the paps before, and happy to get through in a way that has made me eager to return, rather than never race again. Forever in awe of Tim for his awesome endurance that he's only beginning to accept, and inspired by some of the descending I saw out on the course. Area of improvement is pretty obvious really, more long days in the mountains and more practice in regular eating and drinking on said runs. Short races have certainly been going well but as soon as the 90mins ticks by, I always begin to struggle, independent of the conditions and terrain. I'll definitely be back to Jura, but maybe not until I'm properly ready.
.