I've just had a bit of a spell off running, for medical reasons. Turns out I'm fine, just had to be checked. While I've been loafing around and getting fat, the seasons have changed and once again North Yorkshire is a world of gales and constant rain. Great.
From November through to about March, at least half my training takes place at night. I tend to run a longish one mid week - 25 to 30km in the evening, on top of 10km in the morning (to work the short way, then home by a roundabout route). In the winter months, that means leaving work at 5.30pm, getting home any time up to about 9pm. It's dark, cold, and frequently very, very wet.
Sometimes it takes me a while to work out the bleeding obvious, and this is one of those occasions. I've been doing this for years, and it's never struck me that "night time wet weather running" is different to "running equipped for the dark and the rain". It's a difference of intention: going out for a daytime run that might run over into dark is very different from setting out with the intention of running 30km in the dark and rain. In the first case, the rain shell and warm mid layer are there in the rucksack, and if you really need them it's just towards the end when the shortcomings aren't obvious.
Setting out to run in the winter dark is a different thing. On dozens of long hard training runs on winter evenings I've got to about 15km and started to feel cold, damp and miserable. The combination of tiredness, mild hypoglycaemia (running morning and evening with work in between burns through the calories more than you'd think), and the cold clamminess of condensation inside a waterproof is depressing and foul, and that's a bad thing halfway through a run. It's really easy to underestimate how much the temperature drops when the sun goes down. So as part of replacing various bits of kit this year I decided to address the shortcomings of my winter training kit.
1) Coat
During the bulk of the year I'll run in a base layer, with maybe a softshell over the top, and maybe a wind shirt in the rain or up on the tops. That's ok in winter too during the day, for short runs at least. In really heavy weather a rain shell is needed, otherwise the speed of water exchange will make you cold very quickly. At night the problem is the same but *much* worse - it's much colder, and possibly still wet. After much consideration I've gone for a lightweight paramo for this. I probably wouldn't wear it in a daytime race, unless it was really very cold, but for training it makes the winter much less horrible. The big kangaroo pocket is fantastic for fleece hat, mittens and buff*.
2) Gloves
Thin gloves tend to be ok during the day, but at night when it's cold and windy and rainy, soaking wet gloves means cold hands. I've gone for Buffalo mittens now and they're extraordinary things - lightweight, compact and very very warm. A bit too warm, most of the time. They dry out reasonably quick if you turn them inside out, but they tend to stay a bit damp longer than fleece gloves (but they're warm when damp). Like the paramo, too warm for all but the coldest daytime runs, but fantastic at night.
3) Socks
Most of the year I won't bother with socks under running shoes (I run in barefoot shoes anyway). Ankle deep water on the moors in winter makes for painfully cold feet though, and that slightly numb feeling that makes foot placement chancy. Waterproof socks solves that one, and even though they can't really stand up to the rigours of fell running and spring a leak fairly quickly, they slow down the transfer of water enough to keep your feet good and warm. I have an old pair of sealskins I've run in for years. They're not waterproof, but they're near enough.
4) Leg cover
This isn't so crucial, although I tend to go into lycra over the winter, and for the longer runs I've just got some 3/4 length running tights. The Ron Hills sometimes come out when it's *really* cold, but actually they're a bit of a nuisance in wet weather so I'm trying to avoid them.
5) Torch
A good head torch is vital for off road running in the dark. I have a Petzl myo xp that I've had for years. It's stood up to regular hard use for a long time, and is comfortably bright. I can't run full speed with it, but it's adequate. There are better alternatives around these days.
* good for maps too, but I don't recce away from habitual routes at night in the winter.
Monday 22 December 2014
Tuesday 14 October 2014
New atlatl darts
Sunday afternoon I went out for a spot of archery and atlatlery. I took 3 new darts, courtesy of Nottingham atlatl - 2 titans and a 'scorpion' - a short, very lightweight dart.
You can see the scorpion against the normal darts here:
It was a beautiful day to be out, and I learned some handy lessons:
You can see the scorpion against the normal darts here:
It was a beautiful day to be out, and I learned some handy lessons:
- The scorpion is really light. This means that it travels far and fast, but technique is crucial - even more so than a conventional dart. If you give it too much welly it just goes off to one side. It looks like regular practice with this will really improve my technique.
- One of the titans is plastic wrapped like my other darts (Nottingham Atlatl offers some kind of waterproof shrink wrap on darts to protect and strengthen them), and the other isn't. The plastic wrapped darts are much stronger and hard wearing, but heavier, and don't fly so well. The dart without wrapping flexes much more in the air, and just feels nicer to throw. But
it's more susceptible to damage. - The tips of my old darts were a bit battered and gnarled. Before this week my target had been a bike tyre attached to two heavy duty metal poles tied together at the top, and the metal had battered the ends of the darts. On sunday I realised that pushing two garden canes into the ground 2 feet apart and placing the bike tyre on top so the poles rest inside the tyre works much better.
2 more lessons from the long run
I was talking to a GP friend who's taken up running lately, and described the agonising stomach cramps that brought my long 2 day run to a halt. Apparently that was probably dehydration. Never been that dehydrated before - that was quite unpleasant. One to watch out for I think.
The second lesson is one about shelter. For years when lightweight camping I've favoured just a bivi bag, which is perfectly adequate even in moderate rain, as long as you're warm enough. It's the evening that's a problem - midges are always around unless you're up high. A bivi and bug net combination would solve that problem, but there are other problems.
Also looking at the Terra Nova Zephyr. 100g lighter, and probably a little more spacious, but without the option of only taking the mesh.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-spares/all-tents/zephyros-1-tent/
The second lesson is one about shelter. For years when lightweight camping I've favoured just a bivi bag, which is perfectly adequate even in moderate rain, as long as you're warm enough. It's the evening that's a problem - midges are always around unless you're up high. A bivi and bug net combination would solve that problem, but there are other problems.
- Many mosquito nets are not small enough mesh to keep midges out, and
- Almost all are designed to be draped over a bed or similar, so they have an open bottom. Since midges rise up out of the ground like tiny flying zombies, this probably won't keep them out.
http://www.brettschneider.co.uk/floor%20mosquito%20nets.html
The small wedge net would be nice, except that a) it doesn't give you much space to move around, and b) the mesh won't keep midges out. The pyramid net looks promising, but would need something to prop it up. The pyramid net weighs 700g though, so combined with a 400g or more bivi, it's more than a kilo with no poles. Might as well carry a tent. It would be a nice big bug free space though.
http://www.borahgear.com/bugbivy.html - this would need a more substantial bivi in heavier weather, but is very light indeed.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tarps-bivis-bothies/all-tarps/bivi-tarp/ - a bit more expensive, but being terra nova it's very light. Plus it has a pole.
Current favourite is the Snugpak ionosphere. It's a one man tent, but a bit bigger than my Vango Ultralite 2 man tent. It weighs about the same, but it's 2 layer, and the inner can be carried on it's own. That makes a free standing bug net weighing around a kilo. In worse weather the flysheet can go in too. It's Snugpak, so probably bombproof, and I live near the factory, so returns are easy in case of problems, plus it's money into my local economy.
Also looking at the Terra Nova Zephyr. 100g lighter, and probably a little more spacious, but without the option of only taking the mesh.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-spares/all-tents/zephyros-1-tent/
Monday 22 September 2014
Flint projectile point
I was at a loose end for an hour on saturday. It was a nice sunny day, so I sat on an upturned plant pot in the garden and played with flint for a while. I'm not very good at this, I don't really practice enough, but it's always interesting to experiment.
Digging around in my flint pile, I found a lump of cortex covered flint that a friend brought back from the seaside. After a few handfuls of sharp gravel due to frost damage, a good thwack with a 1kg hammerstone took a nice 2.5cm Levallois flake off. It would probably have been usable as a projectile point without any further work, but that's not what I was looking for.
Ten minutes of percussion flaking with a small hammerstone shaped the point a bit more symmetrically, and took a few parallel flakes from the edge to the ridge, but didn't thin it out at all. Since I was aiming for Solutrean, that was a bit of a fail.
I figured out later whilst mentally running through the process what had gone wrong, and it was the usual - I hadn't worked out what I was trying to do. Flint knapping consists of 3 steps for every single strike:
- Work out what you want to take off
- Work out how to do it
- Do it
Then struck the platform to fracture roughly along the red line.
and continued to do that along the edge of the flake.
It's easy for modern humans to look at flint artefacts and think they look rough, and unsophisticated. Intentionally shaping flint is extremely difficult, especially with percussion only, and learning how takes reflection and understanding as well as physical skill. While I intellectually knew that human cognitive ability probably hasn't really changed in tens of thousands of years, nothing brings it home like trying to work flint.
Monday 25 August 2014
Neolithic axe carvings
Most of the neolithic rock carvings in Brittany feature the axe head. This is a pretty obvious representation of the polished axe heads found throughout the region in huge numbers.
What's very interesting about these axes, is that many of them are unused, or made from materials that make them completely impractical to use. Often they come to light in large caches.
It's pretty obvious they're meant as currency, or at least a show of status. From an anthropological point of view, that makes a lot of sense: for almost all of human history, the axe (not the knife, sorry bushcrafters!) has been the universal tool. We have been reliant on wood for our survival, and a small axe is able to do everything we need to do to make other tools, weapons, and prepare our food. If we look at Oetzi's gear, the most valuable item in his gear was his axe.
So one axe represents survival. What happens if you lose your axe? You are then dependent upon the assistance of others. An axe represents independence. A *spare* axe represents wealth - even if you lose an axe, you're still capable of caring for yourself. So a man with 3 axes, or even more, is wealthy indeed.....
links:
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=6924
http://www.megalithic-visions.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Symbols.AxeCarving
What's very interesting about these axes, is that many of them are unused, or made from materials that make them completely impractical to use. Often they come to light in large caches.
It's pretty obvious they're meant as currency, or at least a show of status. From an anthropological point of view, that makes a lot of sense: for almost all of human history, the axe (not the knife, sorry bushcrafters!) has been the universal tool. We have been reliant on wood for our survival, and a small axe is able to do everything we need to do to make other tools, weapons, and prepare our food. If we look at Oetzi's gear, the most valuable item in his gear was his axe.
So one axe represents survival. What happens if you lose your axe? You are then dependent upon the assistance of others. An axe represents independence. A *spare* axe represents wealth - even if you lose an axe, you're still capable of caring for yourself. So a man with 3 axes, or even more, is wealthy indeed.....
links:
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=6924
http://www.megalithic-visions.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Symbols.AxeCarving
Ile de Gavrinis
During a recent trip to Morbihan, my partner and I took a guided tour of the neolithic cairn on the Ile de Gavrinis. The cairn is the key site in the complex of megalith sites dotting the whole Morbihan area. Photography inside the cairn is forbidden, so I can only offer pictures taken outside (plenty of pictures on the net of the carvings inside though).
What interests me particularly about this site is the fact that it is roughly coeval with the cup and ring markings scattered throughout Europe, and concentrated so spectacularly on Rombald's Moor. The carvings in the Morbihan area look so very much more sophisticated, but perhaps they are just much better preserved. After 5000 years of weathering, the outside carvings are dim at best.
I've long thought that the cup and ring markings could form some kind of map or 'land registry', with cups denoting homesteads and rings denoting boundaries, or perhaps importance. The straight lines that we find on some of the better preserved cup and ring stones (like the Badger Stone for example) could represent geographic features to orient the map. These carvings from Locmariquer show similarities to cup and ring markings, and also have perhaps the look of a map:
Much of the carving in the Gavrini site looks abstract*. The swirling patterns covering most of the slabs look like they're just there for decoration, although one set of patterning looks like it could be a torso, and there is another (this photo shows a reproduction) that is possibly a bow with siyahs and a recurved tip:
Certainly there are microlith finds from the area that would seem to suggest bows were being used in the area at the time.
There are also innumerable axe symbols on the Gavrini carvings:
The axe symbols are very frequent in the Morbihan carvings. Which makes it odd that we don't see them alongside cup and ring markings around Rombalds moor.
It's interesting also that some of the carvings in Morbihan are very clearly representational - such as the axes, and this 'axe plough' from the roof of the Merchants Table in Locmariaquer.
Yet there appears to be no representational carving at all in the Rombald's Moor carvings. Perhaps all the carvings are representational, and we just don't know what of.....
*Although I don't think I believe this one myself, here's an interesting passing thought. Right through the Iron age in northern europe, field enclosures are mostly round - square enclosures seem to be a Roman innovation. Recent work in permaculture has found that maximising boundary lines increases crop yields - the highest yields come from the edges where the plants get maximum sunlight & water. Maybe the swirling lines at Gavrini are meant to represent plough furrows?
What interests me particularly about this site is the fact that it is roughly coeval with the cup and ring markings scattered throughout Europe, and concentrated so spectacularly on Rombald's Moor. The carvings in the Morbihan area look so very much more sophisticated, but perhaps they are just much better preserved. After 5000 years of weathering, the outside carvings are dim at best.
I've long thought that the cup and ring markings could form some kind of map or 'land registry', with cups denoting homesteads and rings denoting boundaries, or perhaps importance. The straight lines that we find on some of the better preserved cup and ring stones (like the Badger Stone for example) could represent geographic features to orient the map. These carvings from Locmariquer show similarities to cup and ring markings, and also have perhaps the look of a map:
Much of the carving in the Gavrini site looks abstract*. The swirling patterns covering most of the slabs look like they're just there for decoration, although one set of patterning looks like it could be a torso, and there is another (this photo shows a reproduction) that is possibly a bow with siyahs and a recurved tip:
Certainly there are microlith finds from the area that would seem to suggest bows were being used in the area at the time.
There are also innumerable axe symbols on the Gavrini carvings:
The axe symbols are very frequent in the Morbihan carvings. Which makes it odd that we don't see them alongside cup and ring markings around Rombalds moor.
It's interesting also that some of the carvings in Morbihan are very clearly representational - such as the axes, and this 'axe plough' from the roof of the Merchants Table in Locmariaquer.
Yet there appears to be no representational carving at all in the Rombald's Moor carvings. Perhaps all the carvings are representational, and we just don't know what of.....
*Although I don't think I believe this one myself, here's an interesting passing thought. Right through the Iron age in northern europe, field enclosures are mostly round - square enclosures seem to be a Roman innovation. Recent work in permaculture has found that maximising boundary lines increases crop yields - the highest yields come from the edges where the plants get maximum sunlight & water. Maybe the swirling lines at Gavrini are meant to represent plough furrows?
Wednesday 30 July 2014
Creswell Crags
Last saturday we took a trip down to Creswell Crags, just south of Worksop. Creswell Crags is the northernmost known paleolithic settlement site in the UK. Since the ice would have started just north from there, it's about as far north as people were living in the upper paleolithic.
In 2003, the discovery was made of figurative cave art inscribed on the wall of a cave on the south side of the gorge. We went on the guided tour of Church Hole, and as you'd expect after 25,000 years, the engravings are difficult to make out. They are visibly there though. Until 2003 it was believed that there was no cave art from the paleolithic in the UK. Church Hole changed all that.
One particular piece was the large horse head on a single panel. It's clearly been coloured at some point in the dim and distant past, which helps to make it visible. Horses of course are a regular theme of Magdalenian art, which fits into the known timescale.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creswell_Crags#mediaviewer/File:Ochre_Horse.jpg
Human settlement at Creswell is dated to around 20-30,000, which makes the site roughly contemporary with Chauvet. The site is a beautiful limestone gorge, with a stream running through it which was landscaped in the 19th Century into a very attractive pond. Cave sites along the northern side of the gorge are in full sunlight for much of the day, and must have been a very attractive prospect for paleolithic troglodytes.
The site has been the source of a large range of interesting finds, including Solutrean points, linking the site to other sites in the Solutrean culture in central & southern France.
In 2003, the discovery was made of figurative cave art inscribed on the wall of a cave on the south side of the gorge. We went on the guided tour of Church Hole, and as you'd expect after 25,000 years, the engravings are difficult to make out. They are visibly there though. Until 2003 it was believed that there was no cave art from the paleolithic in the UK. Church Hole changed all that.
One particular piece was the large horse head on a single panel. It's clearly been coloured at some point in the dim and distant past, which helps to make it visible. Horses of course are a regular theme of Magdalenian art, which fits into the known timescale.
The tours were excellent, the guides knew their stuff and set the scene well. The collection of finds on display isn't vast - Creswell only recently got a visitors centre and a lot of finds ended up in the permanent collections of the British Museum and Manchester Museum. The ochre horse head engraved on bone is a spectacular piece - that dates to about 13000 years ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creswell_Crags#mediaviewer/File:Ochre_Horse.jpg
The location itself is fantastic and worth a visit in its own right, but for anyone interested in paleolithic Europe it's a must.
Friday 25 July 2014
Bit warm out
Today was planned to be another ultra running day. I'd worked out a route starting from Settle and heading home via Malham & Wharfedale.
Happily, Yorkshire is in the grip of a bit of a heatwave at the moment. Not much by some standards, but it's 25 degrees out there. A bit too warm for a 65km run.
So I'll stick to 25km this afternoon, and leave the 65 until maybe october.
Happily, Yorkshire is in the grip of a bit of a heatwave at the moment. Not much by some standards, but it's 25 degrees out there. A bit too warm for a 65km run.
So I'll stick to 25km this afternoon, and leave the 65 until maybe october.
Saturday 28 June 2014
Sunday 22 June 2014
2 day camping run - the run
 |
| Dent Station |
Up at 5:15 to get the 6:37, arriving at Dent Station at 7:40 or thereabouts. The journey up was slightly troubling - I was counting on fair, temperate weather so the thick fog was a bit of a worry. Still, I'm nothing if not safety conscious, so I knew I had gear to cover every eventuality. In the event the fog cleared somewhere around Settle.
Setting off from Dent Station, I ran down the hill on the road, losing a lot of height, then gradually started to put it on again. I saw this sign outside the Sportsman, which gave me a chuckle:
I picked up the Blea Moor Tunnel path at Bridge End, and started the climb up through the woods. You get a good view of the tunnel from the path:
 |
| Blea Moor Tunnel |
The plantation here has been recently felled, and I spotted a deer in the scrub just ahead.
 |
| Spot the deer |
 |
| Blea Moor plantation, looking down Dentdale |
Crossing the wall at the Hill Inn, I found this lying on the ground:
not knowing what it was, I left it there. Shortly afterwards I encountered a couple of marshals from one of the charity walks trying to figure out where they'd lost their 'stake'. Oh-ho! It struck me (not before one of them had set off back to get it - I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes) that I wasn't in any crashing hurry, whereas they needed to get to their assigned position ahead of the members of their event, so I popped back for it.
I caught them up at the bottom of the scramble, and (along with a couple of runners who were doing peaks events) took a steady, glycogen sparing climb to the top. I did a fair amount of cheering peaks walkers on yesterday - I've done the 3 peaks several times at varying speeds.
Another break to text people and eat some food on the top of Ingleborough, and then back down the other side to Horton, chatting briefly with a geordie lad who looked completely broken, but came into Horton not far behind me.
Very welcome tea and fruit cake at the fantastic Pen Y Gent cafe in Horton.
 |
| Tea and cake at the Pen Y Gent cafe |
I've been stopping off in there a good few years, and it's always nice to be recognised and welcomed. They do a fine veggie fried breakfast, which sadly wasn't on my agenda for today. They very kindly filled up my totally drained 2 litre platypus though.
Pen Y Gent itself proved to be hard work - the heat was starting to tell a bit. I was still maintaining the glycogen saving climb speed though, and got to the top in pretty good order.
 |
| The layered grit & limestone cap of Pen Y Gent |
 |
| Tiny flowers growing in the limestone scramble |
A pleasant chat with a lady and her grandchildren on the top, and then off over Plover Hill and down into Littondale, passing a group of DofE-ers on the way down the back of Plover Hill, picking my way fairly steadily down the exposed path above the crag.
 |
| The top of Littondale |
From here it was just a trog down Littondale. The field paths should have been easy going, but the grass and clover is high enough at the moment to grab at your feet and make running hard work. A brief bit of navigational trouble at Nether Hesleden caused by slowly depleting blood sugar, and then familiar paths to Arncliffe. The last few km's along the road from Arncliffe to Hawkswick seemed to take forever - it was very hot and close, and I'd run out of water again at Litton.
 |
| Towards Litton |
 |
| Belted Galloway bullock in Littondale |
Finally though, I made it, and managed to sort out with the staff at Hawkswick Cote that I'd made a reservation. Sadly, Hawkswick Cote aren't taking any more bookings - they're moving over to owned statics only. More and more campsites are refusing to take tents or even touring caravans. I guess they make more money that way.
 |
| Hawkswick Cote campsite |
 |
| End of a long hot day |
After a short, very minor dehydration wobble which I spent huddled in my bivi bag, I went and showered. All evening I was asked by people why I was walking funny, and why I chose to run a long way with camping gear. It's a fair question....
 |
| Mushroom cheesy porridge - just add water |
I'd been worried about being too cold overnight, but in the end the reverse was the problem - it was a hot, close night with lots of midgies. To get away from the midgies I had to take refuge inside my sleeping bag (which has a midge net), but that meant I was far too warm. Add to that the constant shouting of some obnoxious teenager nearby and it wasn't a restful night. Once things went quiet I was just.....wide awake. No reason, just wide awake. That was frustrating. I did get to sleep eventually, probably getting 3 or 4 hours. Around 5 all the groups of kids started waking up and moving around. I ignored it for a while, but I was awake again. So I had a cuppa, packed up, recharged my gps *again* having carelessly left it switched on overnight, and got going.
 |
| Recharging the GPS |
 |
| Overnight camp |
Day 2:
A very steady run to Hawkswick village and then a climb up and over the end of the fell. At this point I was getting very painful stomach cramps (which had started during the night) and was fairly decided that I was going to sack it at Kettlewell. I farted around indecisively for a while at Kettlewell, intending to sit outside the cafe until 12:30 to catch the bus. Midgies found me though, and my stomach started to behave, and it was 8am, so the bus would be another 4 1/2 hours, so I set off for Grassington.
 |
| Narrow bridge at Hawkswick |
 |
| Looking back down Littondale |
 |
| Dropping into Kettlewell |
I had a lovely run to Grassington. It was still early enough to be cool, but sunny and the moor was a joy to run on. This stretch of moor is a wonderful place to run. The views over Wharfedale are breathtaking, the terrain is gentle and rolling, and there's a feeling of spaciousness without exposure.
 |
| Conistone Pie |
 |
| Conistone Dib |
Once I got to Grassington though, I'd decided I was going no further. I'd had enough, I was too hot, sunburned and tired. I could have kept going, but I'd have ended up with much worse sunburn and wouldn't have enjoyed it. So I settled outside CoffeeEco for twenty minutes with a very nice pot of loose leaf tea, and a chocolate muffin.
 |
| TEA! |
A bus to Skipton, a walk to the station, a train and a run home, and that was that. Now I'm sitting indoors enjoying the cool and drinking tea. The final tally was 54km and 1700m ascent on the saturday, then about 20km and 400m today (the track file shows the 16km run as far as Grassington, with some fartarsing around in Kettlewell - I'm factoring in the run home from the station too).
Lessons learned:
- Cater for weather that's hotter than you expect, as well as colder.
- Tents don't just keep out rain, they keep out midgies as well. Plus being closely wrapped in a bivi bag is very warm. An ultra-lightweight solution to that problem would be a necessity if I was going to do this more often.
- Hence I'd skimp more on sleeping bag than tent next time.
- Even without much sleep, a nights rest allows more recuperation than you might expect.
- If everything is in boil bags, there's no need for a plate.
Things that worked well:
- pacing - 11.5mins per km overall average works well - I can keep that up for hours.
- Montane featherlight ultra gilet: thin pertex shield gilet. I wasn't sure it'd add much warmth, but for it's packed size and weight it's amazing.
- Stove - I was right to take the meths stove, I know what to expect of it, and it's totally reliable
- Shoving a thermarest prolite in the hole for the duomat in an OMM pack. You have to get the fold right, but it does fit and it cushions the pack.
- Using a campsite for an overnight on a run. I was tempted to wild camp, but after running and sweating heavily for hours, a shower is a necessity to avoid discomfort later. A two day wild camping run would be ok, but would need to be much shorter.
- Little electronic thingy for charging my GPS from 4 AA batteries. Very effective.
- Boil a bags - Lakeland sell them. I've tried making porridge in freezer bags before, they go floppy and spill your food. These heavier gauge bags don't.
- Pack weight - it'd be worth reducing it, but it was very manageable to run with
- Running hat with neck flap (present from Martin for my birthday last year :-)). Without that my neck would have burned horribly.
Things that worked much less well:
- my stomach
Update: got the GPS tracks now:
Day 1
Day 2
Tuesday 17 June 2014
2 day camping run - kit list part 2
In the finest traditions of Bushcraft UK (who inspired this set of posts) here's my kit semi-finalised for the run:
Left to right, top to bottom
things left to go in:
Here's the pack ready for the off, all that's not in is water. Total weight 6.5kg without water, but including some chocolate, chocolate drink (to make the semolina nicer), 2 large soreen malt loaves, 50g of chia seeds, some teabags. I'm pretty pleased with that as a base weight for 2 days of hard distance covering. It could be reduced significantly, but probably only by spending money.
Comments on individual bits of kit below:
The 1:40000 are fantastic for relatively unpopulated areas like the highlands of Scotland, but aren't great for micronavigating through settlements in the Dales. The whole route is on paths I know well though, so the map is just in case.
Left to right, top to bottom
- Bivi bag, snugpak single season sleeping bag, thermarest
- ziploc bag with a book, my gps charger & some batteries.
- warm clothes bag (containing long sleeve base layer, socks, dry shorts, buff, gloves, small first aid kit),
- mug & plate,
- stove, 100g gas & titanium pan,
- Map & compass
- loo roll & lighter in a drysack,
- toothbrush, toothpaste & contact lens stuff, handcleaner & skinsosoft
- 2litre platypus,
- headtorch & knife
- Waterproof jacket,
- food for saturday evening and sunday morning in a plastic box. This includes mushroom cheesy porridge, semolina porridge with raisins for dessert (just this side of not-very-nice), and porridge with raisins for breakfast. The plastic box will keep rodents out of my food overnight, hopefully.
- GPS watch
things left to go in:
- spare lighter,
- a few extra bits of warm clothes
- Cash,
- mobile phone
- camera
- more food & water.
Here's the pack ready for the off, all that's not in is water. Total weight 6.5kg without water, but including some chocolate, chocolate drink (to make the semolina nicer), 2 large soreen malt loaves, 50g of chia seeds, some teabags. I'm pretty pleased with that as a base weight for 2 days of hard distance covering. It could be reduced significantly, but probably only by spending money.
Comments on individual bits of kit below:
- The thermarest is, by dint of cunning folding, rammed into the space left by taking the duomat out of the pack. It was worth making the effort - the OMM pack is way more comfortable to run with than the Pod.
- The red bag in the side is a dry sack containing gloves and buff. I tend to find that just those 2 things make a huge difference to sensation of warmth, so I keep them on hand even in summer.
- Snugpak single season bag: this is one of those minimal bags for sleeping in hot climates. With clothes on as well it's pretty warm, and it has an integrated insect net.
- Rab Alpine bivi: 600g, just big enough for me in my sleeping bag. It's an eVent bag, very breathable, and I've slept very comfortably with the storm zip almost shut. No room for gear inside - the rucksack has to lie on the grass. This is somewhere where, if I was doing this a lot, I'd try to save some weight and bulk. I reckon the Snugpak paratex sleeping back liner at 50g would make an adequate bivi bag when washed in Nikwax, especially if the seams were taped. I've certainly used one successfully as a water resistant sleeping bag cover in the single skin tent in a horrendous rainstorm. One to try another time I think.
- Skinsosoft dry oil: it really does seem to keep the midgies off, and since the midgies really like me it's a bit of a necessity.
- GPS charger - my Garmin GPS watch has a battery life of approximately 20hrs, all being well. Since the planned distance over the 2 days could take longer, I've included a AA->USB charger and a set of batteries so I keep a record of distance, route, time etc.
- I swapped the gas stove for the whitebox again - while the gas stove will probably give me more boiling time, I just don't know it like I know the whitebox. It's only a 100g gain.
- chia seeds - something of an experiment. They're very calorie dense for a veggie food - 400kcal per 100g. That's almost as much as dried porridge oats, but they don't need to be rehydrated so they can be eaten on the run.
- map:
The 1:40000 are fantastic for relatively unpopulated areas like the highlands of Scotland, but aren't great for micronavigating through settlements in the Dales. The whole route is on paths I know well though, so the map is just in case.
Monday 9 June 2014
Wharfedale Half Marathon
I entered this one by mistake. I'd been after running the full marathon for a couple of years, having heard it's a really nice course. As soon as entry opened this year I was there with my SIEntries login, clicking through the process and thinking 'any minute now it's going to ask if I want the half or the full'. It never did. When I looked at the first page again, it told me the full had been cancelled - I'd just been in too much of a hurry to read it properly.
Since there are no refunds, I asked around a few times if anyone wanted to take my place, and by the end of May no one had. So last week I thought 'sod it, I'll run it'.
Since it was about 22km, which is about normal for my training routine friday/saturday, I decided to just slot it in rather than trying to prepare for it. So wednesday I did my usual "10km/200m in the morning, 25km/600m in the evening", but as I'm trying to con my body into burning fat more easily, I didn't nosh loads of carbs wednesday, as a result of which I ran out of steam on the final ascent of wednesday evening.
Back to the Wharfedale. I'd thought fairly major glycogen depletion 2 days earlier might have been a problem, but it didn't cause me any bother. I've noticed this before - pushing myself hard on alternate days (with cycling on the other days) seems to make me feel stronger when running, especially on the ascent.
The weather forecast was shocking - thunderstorms and heavy rain. I was carrying:
The course grinds slowly uphill from Threshfield, onto the moors above Conistone, then plunges fast down through Conistone, across the river, and up Mastiles Lane. I managed to run most of the way up Mastiles, dropping to a fast walk for about a 100m steep stretch. Tough going though. Then down to Bordley and straight back up to Height Laithe.
As it turned out, the rain didn't really get going until I reached Bordley - about 7km before the end. It did make the stile before checkpoint 3 at Height Laithe very slippy though, and I fell heavily, leaving a large bruise on my thigh. The marshal helped me up, bleeped my SI card, and off I went again, across Boss Moor (where a blister started to make itself known, but with 5km to go, who cares) and down the lane to Threshfield, finishing in 1:54 - about ten minutes faster than I expected :-)
Since there are no refunds, I asked around a few times if anyone wanted to take my place, and by the end of May no one had. So last week I thought 'sod it, I'll run it'.
Since it was about 22km, which is about normal for my training routine friday/saturday, I decided to just slot it in rather than trying to prepare for it. So wednesday I did my usual "10km/200m in the morning, 25km/600m in the evening", but as I'm trying to con my body into burning fat more easily, I didn't nosh loads of carbs wednesday, as a result of which I ran out of steam on the final ascent of wednesday evening.
Back to the Wharfedale. I'd thought fairly major glycogen depletion 2 days earlier might have been a problem, but it didn't cause me any bother. I've noticed this before - pushing myself hard on alternate days (with cycling on the other days) seems to make me feel stronger when running, especially on the ascent.
The weather forecast was shocking - thunderstorms and heavy rain. I was carrying:
- gloves,
- buff,
- waterproof jacket
- map
- route description
- drysac with my van keys in
The course grinds slowly uphill from Threshfield, onto the moors above Conistone, then plunges fast down through Conistone, across the river, and up Mastiles Lane. I managed to run most of the way up Mastiles, dropping to a fast walk for about a 100m steep stretch. Tough going though. Then down to Bordley and straight back up to Height Laithe.
Crossing the bridge at Conistone, photo courtesy of Woodentops
As it turned out, the rain didn't really get going until I reached Bordley - about 7km before the end. It did make the stile before checkpoint 3 at Height Laithe very slippy though, and I fell heavily, leaving a large bruise on my thigh. The marshal helped me up, bleeped my SI card, and off I went again, across Boss Moor (where a blister started to make itself known, but with 5km to go, who cares) and down the lane to Threshfield, finishing in 1:54 - about ten minutes faster than I expected :-)
Putting some effort into the last kilometre, photo courtesy of Woodentops
It was a very different atmosphere to the various marathons, LDWAs etc I've done. Faster running, less talking, a bit more competitive. An excellent and extremely well organised run though.
Many thanks to the organisers and marshalls for putting on such a good event.
Many thanks to the organisers and marshalls for putting on such a good event.
Sunday 8 June 2014
2 day camping run - food!
One of the biggest difficulties in long distance running is food. The human body, when accustomed to running, appears to have enough glycogen to run about 30-35km. After that you hit what marathon runners call 'the wall'. For anyone fortunate enough not to have experienced this, it's no fun at all. I'll post more on the topic of runners nutrition another time.
The body also stores huge amounts of energy in the form of body fat (at 9kcal per gram, I reckon I have around 50 thousand calories of safely usable body fat, and I'm on the lean side). But it needs glycogen, or some other carbohydrate, to be able to burn the body fat (and not keel over from hypoglycaemia).
So I don't need to carry enough food to replace all the calories I burn, just enough to keep the fires burning. Just as well. My quick rule of thumb calorie calculation for day 1 would be:
(80kg [me] + 10kg [my pack]) * ( 50km + 18 [hundreds of metres of ascent]) = 6120kcal
plus base, which is about 2500 - so 8600kcal for the day. Day 2 doesn't matter so much, since I'll be at home at the end of it, and able to eat my own body weight in fruit cake or something.
A more stingy calculation based on doubling a GPS calculation of 25km/500m would be 5000 + base, so that's still 7500kcal. That's over a kilo of neat ethanol, not that I could drink a kilo of neat ethanol, especially on an empty stomach.
So I need to carry as many calories as I sensibly can, preferably a mix of carbs & fats (more on that topic another time). Preferably starches in my case, since high GI foods tend to make me feel like crap. But really what I'm doing is making sure I have enough calories to keep the fat burning, and to feel reasonably comfortable and not hungry. Trying to carry enough to cover depletion is a waste of time (unless you're talking about much longer trips extending to a week or more).
Mushroom Cheesy Porridge
place in a 'boil in the bag' bag, and pack. To use, add 750ml of boiling water and stir for ten minutes or so. It's pretty palatable, and very energy rich. I tend to take a few tortillas to have with it.
The planned food list is:
daytime food day 1
evening food day 1
breakfast day 2
daytime food day 2
I'll probably take some small quantities of chia seeds to try out too. They're very energy dense (almost as much so as dried oats) and can be eaten without rehydration.
I expect to spend the last 20km fantasising about food. Ho hum.
The body also stores huge amounts of energy in the form of body fat (at 9kcal per gram, I reckon I have around 50 thousand calories of safely usable body fat, and I'm on the lean side). But it needs glycogen, or some other carbohydrate, to be able to burn the body fat (and not keel over from hypoglycaemia).
So I don't need to carry enough food to replace all the calories I burn, just enough to keep the fires burning. Just as well. My quick rule of thumb calorie calculation for day 1 would be:
(80kg [me] + 10kg [my pack]) * ( 50km + 18 [hundreds of metres of ascent]) = 6120kcal
plus base, which is about 2500 - so 8600kcal for the day. Day 2 doesn't matter so much, since I'll be at home at the end of it, and able to eat my own body weight in fruit cake or something.
A more stingy calculation based on doubling a GPS calculation of 25km/500m would be 5000 + base, so that's still 7500kcal. That's over a kilo of neat ethanol, not that I could drink a kilo of neat ethanol, especially on an empty stomach.
So I need to carry as many calories as I sensibly can, preferably a mix of carbs & fats (more on that topic another time). Preferably starches in my case, since high GI foods tend to make me feel like crap. But really what I'm doing is making sure I have enough calories to keep the fat burning, and to feel reasonably comfortable and not hungry. Trying to carry enough to cover depletion is a waste of time (unless you're talking about much longer trips extending to a week or more).
Mushroom Cheesy Porridge
- 125g porridge oats
- 25g dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 stock cube
- up to 50g of dried parmesan
- dried onion & dried vegetables to taste
place in a 'boil in the bag' bag, and pack. To use, add 750ml of boiling water and stir for ten minutes or so. It's pretty palatable, and very energy rich. I tend to take a few tortillas to have with it.
The planned food list is:
daytime food day 1
- 1 soreen malt loaf
- a couple of hard boiled eggs
- a loaf cake on the train up to Dent
evening food day 1
- mushroom cheesy porridge & tortillas
- a malt loaf
- 250ml of port (calorific, muscle relaxant, sleep inducing and delicious)
- tea. lots of tea. I carry ceylon teabags, because they make palatable tea without having to carry milk
breakfast day 2
- 125g porridge with some drinking chocolate powder added
daytime food day 2
- yet another soreen
- chocolate
I'll probably take some small quantities of chia seeds to try out too. They're very energy dense (almost as much so as dried oats) and can be eaten without rehydration.
I expect to spend the last 20km fantasising about food. Ho hum.
Thursday 5 June 2014
Time, food and distance the simple way
One of my most useful tools for planning routes out is a very simple rule of thumb for working out distance and ascent:
metres of ascent/100 is equivalent to additional kilometres.
So, if your route is 25km, and 800m of ascent, it's equivalent to 33km on the flat. This is a lot quicker to do in your head than Naismiths, particularly if you're tired and hungry. I worked out a range of different routes the Naismith way, the simple way, and how long it actually took me, and they all came pretty close, even the 100km/3500m one.
It also fits reasonably well into the calorie calculation.
Calories burned very roughly = Body weight + pack weight (in kg) * distance (in km).
This is nowhere near as accurate as my Garmin calculates using heart rate, but it's close enough for planning out food intake for 2 or 3 days. So for example, my regular wednesday training run is
(80 [me] +2 [pack]) * (24.5 [distance] + 5.8 [580m ascent/100]) = 2484.6kcal
my Garmin makes the same route 1919kcal. There's a significant difference between them, but both are subject to some error, so it's near enough as a rough guide
metres of ascent/100 is equivalent to additional kilometres.
So, if your route is 25km, and 800m of ascent, it's equivalent to 33km on the flat. This is a lot quicker to do in your head than Naismiths, particularly if you're tired and hungry. I worked out a range of different routes the Naismith way, the simple way, and how long it actually took me, and they all came pretty close, even the 100km/3500m one.
It also fits reasonably well into the calorie calculation.
Calories burned very roughly = Body weight + pack weight (in kg) * distance (in km).
This is nowhere near as accurate as my Garmin calculates using heart rate, but it's close enough for planning out food intake for 2 or 3 days. So for example, my regular wednesday training run is
(80 [me] +2 [pack]) * (24.5 [distance] + 5.8 [580m ascent/100]) = 2484.6kcal
my Garmin makes the same route 1919kcal. There's a significant difference between them, but both are subject to some error, so it's near enough as a rough guide
Friday 30 May 2014
2 day camping run - kit list
1st Draft kit list.
Necessities:
Omm classic 32l/Pod rocsac
thermarest
Snugpak single season bag
Vango Ultralite 200 tent
whitebox stove & 250ml meths /gas stove & 110g cylinder
windshield
msr titanium pot
plastic plate
plastic mug
spork
Petzl tikka plus
bog roll & disposable lighter
knife.
2l platypus
BMC 1:40000 dales map.
compass
skinsosoft
cash (10 for camping, another 30 in case of food/bus/taxi needs)
alcohol hand cleaner
antihistamines & basic FAK
contact lens stuff
mobile phone
Luxuries:
toothbrush & paste
small travel towel
small travel pillow??
liquid soap??
book
food:
loaf cake & jacket potato on the train
2 x malt loaf for daytime
100g porridge oats with drinking chocolate powder
2 x 100g porridge oats with dried cheese, dried mushrooms, stock cube, dried vegetables.
(already in boil bags)
4 x tortilla
250ml port??
ceylon teabags
clothes:
on:
summer running shorts
base layer
vivo running shoes
carry
summer running shorts
arcteryx long sleeved base layer
light gloves
Montane waterproof
inov8 summer hat
fleece hat?
base layer bottoms
base layer socks
buff
Necessities:
Omm classic 32l/Pod rocsac
thermarest
Snugpak single season bag
Vango Ultralite 200 tent
whitebox stove & 250ml meths /gas stove & 110g cylinder
windshield
msr titanium pot
plastic plate
plastic mug
spork
Petzl tikka plus
bog roll & disposable lighter
knife.
2l platypus
BMC 1:40000 dales map.
compass
skinsosoft
cash (10 for camping, another 30 in case of food/bus/taxi needs)
alcohol hand cleaner
antihistamines & basic FAK
contact lens stuff
mobile phone
Luxuries:
toothbrush & paste
small travel towel
small travel pillow??
liquid soap??
book
food:
loaf cake & jacket potato on the train
2 x malt loaf for daytime
100g porridge oats with drinking chocolate powder
2 x 100g porridge oats with dried cheese, dried mushrooms, stock cube, dried vegetables.
(already in boil bags)
4 x tortilla
250ml port??
ceylon teabags
clothes:
on:
summer running shorts
base layer
vivo running shoes
carry
summer running shorts
arcteryx long sleeved base layer
light gloves
Montane waterproof
inov8 summer hat
fleece hat?
base layer bottoms
base layer socks
buff
Wednesday 28 May 2014
2 day camping run - the route
The next step in planning the 2 day run is the route.
The planned route is to get the train to Dent, arriving at 07:41. From there:
Day one
The planned route is to get the train to Dent, arriving at 07:41. From there:
Day one
- Blea Moor
- Whernside
- Chapel-le-Dale
- Ingleborough
- Horton in Ribblesdale
- Pen-y-Gent
- Plover Hill
- Foxup
- Halton Gill
- Hawkswick Cote
That works out at around 45 km according to the map. So up to 50 km in total. The amount of ascent is difficult to calculate. The fell race website reckons the 3 Peaks is 1400m, plus Blea Moor. Probably 1800m of ascent in total.
At an average of 6km per hour that's nine hours for distance alone, or eleven if we factor in a rough guess at ascent. Twelve hours from 07:40 is 19:40, which isn't a rude time to be arriving at a campsite, especially since we're overestimating here to allow contingency time. On the day I'll be tracking my pace with the gps, so regardless of the exact distance I'll be trying to keep a pace I'm happy with (target/max 6km/h).
At an average of 6km per hour that's nine hours for distance alone, or eleven if we factor in a rough guess at ascent. Twelve hours from 07:40 is 19:40, which isn't a rude time to be arriving at a campsite, especially since we're overestimating here to allow contingency time. On the day I'll be tracking my pace with the gps, so regardless of the exact distance I'll be trying to keep a pace I'm happy with (target/max 6km/h).
Day two
Option 1:
- Kettlewell
- Grassington
- Burnsall
- Bolton Abbey
- Home
45km
Option 2:
- Mastiles Lane
- Bordley
- Hetton
- Flasby Fell
- Skipton
- Home
(not measured yet)
Option 1 is looking favourite, because a) I know the route better, which saves having to carry a 1:25000 (more about that when I post about kit), and b) if I've overestimated my fitness or get the food wrong, it passes settlements where I can get food, or at worst a bus.
Option 2 would be good if I was wild camping, since Hawkswick Clowder has lots of craggy shelter to get out of the wind.
I'm being a bit conservative with this: overestimating travel time, taking shorter/easier route choices, to try and make it a comfortable, relaxing couple of days instead of a slog. I haven't done more than marathon distance in a few years, so going all out to run 100km with as much ascent as I can pack in probably wouldn't be wise. 50km a day at a gentle trotting pace hopefully won't be too bad. Depending on how this goes, I might do something a bit more gruelling later in the summer.
Option 2 would be good if I was wild camping, since Hawkswick Clowder has lots of craggy shelter to get out of the wind.
I'm being a bit conservative with this: overestimating travel time, taking shorter/easier route choices, to try and make it a comfortable, relaxing couple of days instead of a slog. I haven't done more than marathon distance in a few years, so going all out to run 100km with as much ascent as I can pack in probably wouldn't be wise. 50km a day at a gentle trotting pace hopefully won't be too bad. Depending on how this goes, I might do something a bit more gruelling later in the summer.
Monday 26 May 2014
2 day camping run
Sometime in June, my partner is away on a hen weekend. This struck me as an obvious opportunity to run further. The original plan was to do either Hadrians Wall or the Dales Way in 2 or 3 days. I decided that was a bit ambitious at my current level of fitness, so I'd keep it down to 2 days. And so I had the silly idea of 100km over 2 days. I've done something similar before: 100km in a single stretch. That was the 'Fellsman' ultra event in 2010, when I walked 100km and some stupid amount of ascent in just under 27 hours.
I'm tentatively thinking of another go at a brisker pace in 2015, and so as training I'm looking at doing some longer distances. Of course this is nothing to an ultra runner, but I'm not an ultra runner. Not yet anyway.
June's 2 day run will be 60km on the saturday, and 40km on the sunday, camping in between. To make it more difficult, I'm intending to be totally unsupported - carrying a light tent, sleeping bag, stove etc, and food for 2 days. Stopping short of pointless masochism, I'm intending to camp in a camp site rather than wild, so clean water will be available (as will a shower - while I only have myself to live with that night, washing the salt off reduces the likelihood of painful chafing on day 2). In any case, most of the wild camping possibilities in my planned area are up on the moors, where it's cold, which will mean carrying more gear. Lowland camping definitely preferred this time out.
I'm calling this a run, but it's not a run in most peoples terms. I'll be carrying several kilos of gear, climbing large hills (more on that later) and travelling for many hours, so it's much more like an ultra. If I make 6km per hour I'll be doing extremely well, maybe even overdoing it. The aim is to complete the entire distance within 20 hours of travel time.
June's 2 day run will be 60km on the saturday, and 40km on the sunday, camping in between. To make it more difficult, I'm intending to be totally unsupported - carrying a light tent, sleeping bag, stove etc, and food for 2 days. Stopping short of pointless masochism, I'm intending to camp in a camp site rather than wild, so clean water will be available (as will a shower - while I only have myself to live with that night, washing the salt off reduces the likelihood of painful chafing on day 2). In any case, most of the wild camping possibilities in my planned area are up on the moors, where it's cold, which will mean carrying more gear. Lowland camping definitely preferred this time out.
I'm calling this a run, but it's not a run in most peoples terms. I'll be carrying several kilos of gear, climbing large hills (more on that later) and travelling for many hours, so it's much more like an ultra. If I make 6km per hour I'll be doing extremely well, maybe even overdoing it. The aim is to complete the entire distance within 20 hours of travel time.
Wednesday 21 May 2014
The Ingleborough Marathon
Two weeks ago was the Ingleborough Marathon/CRO challenge. This is an annual fundraising event for the Cave Rescue Organisation, who do cave and fell rescue for the 3 Peaks and Malhamdale area of the Yorkshire Dales national park.
The forecast for the day was grim - heavy rain, strong winds, general nastiness. The route goes up Ingleborough from Clapham, then down through Humphrey Bottom almost to the Hill Inn, round the bottom of Park Fell to Selside, across the valley to Birkwith, down to Horton, up Sulber Nick and down into Crummackdale, to Wharfe, sharp uphill out of Austwick, and finally down to Clapham. My Garmin worked out the ascent to be 1000m, but I've found the 310XT underestimates ascent on fell runs by at least 25%.
In any case, it took me 5 hours 45 mins. Quite a bit more than even my slowest time on the Yorkshireman, which is down to the terrain and amount of ascent I think. I was running in Vivobarefoot neo trails, as I do more or less all the time now. It was a bit of an experiment over that distance and on that type of terrain, and they were perfect. A newish pair, with plenty of grip left on them. That's the trick with Vivos I think - the uppers last for ages, so it's tempting to keep running in them when the soles are badly worn, then you slide around in the mud. Better to replace them when the soles are worn, then use the old ones as everyday shoes, road running shoes etc. The climb up Ingleborough, rocky ground and all, took 15 minutes less than I planned at 1:15, so no grip problems there.
As it turned out, the weather was nowhere near as grim as expected. It was windy and cloudy on the top of Ingleborough, and there was some very heavy rain and strong wind as we climbed Sulber Nick, but otherwise it was a fairly nice day.
One of the marshals (Michael Hale) took this picture somewhere on the Selside section.
This was also the first off road marathon I've done fueled by jacket spuds. They seemed to work pretty well, although I ran out of steam whilst dropping down into Wharfe at about 33km. I'd been running with Andy from Hull since Selside, but he'd developed a blister and dropped back on the section from Sulber Nick to the top of Crummockdale. I'd maintained my pace to start with, but then ran out of steam in the walled tracks on the way down to Wharfe. Chocolate solved that problem, and Andy having adjusted his shoes caught me up there.
We charged into Clapham feeling pretty good, finishing joint 3rd. I was completely nonplussed until I found out that the Calderdale Relay and the Leeds Half were both the following day, attracting most of the regions runners. Ah well, "you can only race them as turns up on t' day".
The food: one substantial jacket potato for breakfast, another whilst waiting to set off, and one during the run. Oh, and half a large soreen halfway round, and the chocolate for the last couple of miles. It turns out that jacket potatoes are higher GI than cake, which is pretty damned annoying. Malt loaf is lower though. Food on longer off road runs continues to be an experiment. I'm better at managing without than I used to be, up to about 25km. More than that and food is really a necessity.
I made a basic mistake in the evening. We were booked into the Buck at Malham for a mates birthday, and I'd ordered rabbit pie, and stilton mushrooms. Nothing rich and difficult to digest there! On top of a dose of flucloxacillin, I was doubled up with stomach cramps and cold sweats the minute I finished eating. Oh well, it was still delicious, just a shame I missed dessert...
Update: anyone who wants to support the Cave/Fell Rescue team can make a donation via justgiving here:
https://www.justgiving.com/caverescue/
or sponsor me for the run here:
https://www.justgiving.com/charles-colbourn
GPS track here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498042114
The forecast for the day was grim - heavy rain, strong winds, general nastiness. The route goes up Ingleborough from Clapham, then down through Humphrey Bottom almost to the Hill Inn, round the bottom of Park Fell to Selside, across the valley to Birkwith, down to Horton, up Sulber Nick and down into Crummackdale, to Wharfe, sharp uphill out of Austwick, and finally down to Clapham. My Garmin worked out the ascent to be 1000m, but I've found the 310XT underestimates ascent on fell runs by at least 25%.
In any case, it took me 5 hours 45 mins. Quite a bit more than even my slowest time on the Yorkshireman, which is down to the terrain and amount of ascent I think. I was running in Vivobarefoot neo trails, as I do more or less all the time now. It was a bit of an experiment over that distance and on that type of terrain, and they were perfect. A newish pair, with plenty of grip left on them. That's the trick with Vivos I think - the uppers last for ages, so it's tempting to keep running in them when the soles are badly worn, then you slide around in the mud. Better to replace them when the soles are worn, then use the old ones as everyday shoes, road running shoes etc. The climb up Ingleborough, rocky ground and all, took 15 minutes less than I planned at 1:15, so no grip problems there.
As it turned out, the weather was nowhere near as grim as expected. It was windy and cloudy on the top of Ingleborough, and there was some very heavy rain and strong wind as we climbed Sulber Nick, but otherwise it was a fairly nice day.
This was also the first off road marathon I've done fueled by jacket spuds. They seemed to work pretty well, although I ran out of steam whilst dropping down into Wharfe at about 33km. I'd been running with Andy from Hull since Selside, but he'd developed a blister and dropped back on the section from Sulber Nick to the top of Crummockdale. I'd maintained my pace to start with, but then ran out of steam in the walled tracks on the way down to Wharfe. Chocolate solved that problem, and Andy having adjusted his shoes caught me up there.
We charged into Clapham feeling pretty good, finishing joint 3rd. I was completely nonplussed until I found out that the Calderdale Relay and the Leeds Half were both the following day, attracting most of the regions runners. Ah well, "you can only race them as turns up on t' day".
The food: one substantial jacket potato for breakfast, another whilst waiting to set off, and one during the run. Oh, and half a large soreen halfway round, and the chocolate for the last couple of miles. It turns out that jacket potatoes are higher GI than cake, which is pretty damned annoying. Malt loaf is lower though. Food on longer off road runs continues to be an experiment. I'm better at managing without than I used to be, up to about 25km. More than that and food is really a necessity.
I made a basic mistake in the evening. We were booked into the Buck at Malham for a mates birthday, and I'd ordered rabbit pie, and stilton mushrooms. Nothing rich and difficult to digest there! On top of a dose of flucloxacillin, I was doubled up with stomach cramps and cold sweats the minute I finished eating. Oh well, it was still delicious, just a shame I missed dessert...
Update: anyone who wants to support the Cave/Fell Rescue team can make a donation via justgiving here:
https://www.justgiving.com/caverescue/
or sponsor me for the run here:
https://www.justgiving.com/charles-colbourn
GPS track here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498042114
Sunday 18 May 2014
Introduction
When I was a wee kiddywink, many years ago, I was fascinated by our history and prehistory. I was intrigued by the passage of time, especially great big swathes of it. I was also, due to having almost exclusive access to an acre (that's a big area for a 7 year old) of boggy copse, more than a little outdoorsy and slightly feral.
Fast forward thirty some years, skipping over many things that are not really relevant (except maybe the acquisition of various qualifications in psychology & history), and I'm now once again fascinated by our history and prehistory. Somewhere along the line I also became a runner. Not a very good runner, since in the interim I was a pretty heavy smoker, but an enthusiastic one. A fell runner. One of those crazies who straps on a bum bag and runs over soaking wet hills and mountains with every sign of enjoyment, then shovels thousands of calories down his gullet in an effort to make up the shortfall.
So this will mostly be a blog about running, with occasional excursions into primitive target sports & other things relating to our ancient past.
There may also be cake.
Fast forward thirty some years, skipping over many things that are not really relevant (except maybe the acquisition of various qualifications in psychology & history), and I'm now once again fascinated by our history and prehistory. Somewhere along the line I also became a runner. Not a very good runner, since in the interim I was a pretty heavy smoker, but an enthusiastic one. A fell runner. One of those crazies who straps on a bum bag and runs over soaking wet hills and mountains with every sign of enjoyment, then shovels thousands of calories down his gullet in an effort to make up the shortfall.
So this will mostly be a blog about running, with occasional excursions into primitive target sports & other things relating to our ancient past.
There may also be cake.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)