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14.23 miles, 4,087 feet, 5 hours 12 minutes: Coniston - Walna Scar Road - Brown Pike - Buck Pike - Dow Crag - Goat's Hause - Old Man - Torver descent to Walna Scar Road - Banishead Quarry - Boulder Valley - Kennel Crag - Coniston. Sunshine and high clouds, no rain nor significant wind. Terrain anything from dry to damp/wet/saturated and the rocks in particular were very slippery. Quite a few walkers about; 3 runners seen.
My third pair of 260s only lasted just over 5 weeks. Inov8 want £140 for them - weirdly if I was a woman they would only want £125. Pete Bland prices them at £117, but are out of stock for most sizes. Most other places want £125, if they have them.
9.72 miles, 3,023 feet 3 hours 7 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides (W then E) and along the ridge to the true top. Overcast, with a few patches of blue sky; cloud base initially at about 1,500 feet, later 1,000 feet or so higher. No wind nor rain. Terrain dry with good grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell; no other runners seen.
I have had to go back to an old pair of 255s - studs are well worn, but the grip was OK today.
LSR are currently operating a 6 week turnaround for repairs and resoles! I was hoping for a pair of LSR Talons for the KWL.
10.38 miles, 2,284 feet, 3 hours: Loughrigg trails, taking in the Roman Ruins, Borrans Park, Fishgarths Wood, and Lily and Loughrigg Tarns. The ascent from the road at High Close is 0.5 mile and 600 feet; going up the steps opposite Loughrigg Tarn is 0.4 mile and 600 feet. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. No wind nor rain. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; no other runners seen.
9.39 miles, 3,335 feet, 2 hours 56 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides (west, then east) and along the ridge to the true top. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 600 feet. Constant light/moderate rain; a moderate wind from the south west. Terrain saturated/streaming; the rocks were very slippery, though the mud was OK as it did not - yet - have that fine layer of silt on top, and the grass was OK as it is long. Very few walkers about, and only 1 fellow runner seen.
This was the first time I have worn my waterproofs for months.
I came across some fell ponies on the ridge - I clearly spooked them as I appeared out of the dense cloud, and they certainly spooked me.
9.15 miles, 2,171 feet, 2 hours 44 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily and Loughrigg Tarns, and up both the steps from Loughrigg Tarn and the race route from the road at High Close. Sunshine and high clouds, no rain, no significant wind, terrain anything from dry to damp/wet/saturated and slippery in places, more so than yesterday. Quite a few walkers about; no runners seen
I had my second Covid booster this morning, and started my run from the Lake Road Chemist. It was very slick - in and out in about a minute; I was the only one there - as before painless.
8.29 miles, 3,015 feet, 3 hours 18 minutes: NDG - Stickle Tarn - North Rake - Thunacar Knott - High Raise - Sergeant Man - Blea Rigg - Stickle Tarn - NDG. Sunshine and clouds, some of the latter just catching the high tops. No rain, a cold wind from the north east. Terrain very variable: dry/damp/wet/saturated, and slippery in places. Not many walkers up on the fells, given the good weather and the fact that it is a Saturday; 1 other runner seen. Outdoor cafes busy; the NDG car park was full when I left, though there were signs for an overflow parking field.
8.41 miles, 2,913 feet, 3 hours 10 minutes: Travellers Rest - Winterseeds - Grisedale Hause - Cofa Pike - Fairfield - the 4 grassy trods to the right around the tops to Heron Pike - Greenhead Gill - Travellers Rest. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet; continuous drizzle/light rain after the first hour. A moderate wind from the west. Terrain damp/wet/saturated and slippery in places. Very few walkers about, I saw 4 other runners, 2 near Cofa Pike and 2 in the valley.
The direct descent to the north end of Alcock Tarn from Heron Pike is initially steep grass - it then turns left and splits in 2 - the upper path ends in bracken at the north end of the tarn, the lower path keeps to the left of Butter Crag and is much nicer, though if you want to go to Alcock Tarn it involves a trivial ascent.
12.02 miles, 3,600 feet, 3 hours 44 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low/High Pikes - High Bakestones - Scandale - Red Screes - Roundhill Farm - Ambleside. Sunshine and high clouds, a moderately strong cold wind from the north west. No rain. Terrain anything from dry to wet/saturated/streaming and slippery in places. Very few walkers on the fells; 2 other runners seen.
I wore my pertex trousers today - they certainly helped to keep the wind off. I took the west side of the wall between the rock step and High Pike, swapping to the other side above High Pike to shelter from the wind.