Todays permitted exercise!

11.27 miles, 3,129 feet, 3 hours 46 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route from the top to the road at High Close, and back up the steps overlooking Grasmere. 50:50 blue sky and high clouds. No wind nor rain. Terrain soft/damp/wet and slippery in places. Not many walkers on the fell, apart from Loughrigg top, which was busy. 3 runners seen.

Some of the very tops had a hint of whiteness, including Fairfield, Helvellyn, and Great End.

I saw 3 aircraft: a jet at about 1,000 feet, a helicopter at about 500 feet, and a Hurricane at about 650 feet.

10.06 miles, 3,389 feet, 3 hours 32 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low/High Pikes - High Bakestones - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule - Rattle Ghyll Deli. Lots of sunshine/blue sky, some high fluffy clouds and even higher streaky clouds; most of the high tops were cloud free. No precipitation; a very cold strong wind from the north east. Terrain initially frozen hard with widespread icy patches - later some of the sun exposed ground softened up. Grip variable. Very few walkers on the fells - 1 runner seen in the valley.

I had quite a bit of kit on today - double socks, double gloves, 4 layers on my top half, 3 layers on my legs - and I would not have wished to be without any of it.

It is so nice to finish a run at Rattle Ghyll Deli for some of their homemade cakes and scones.

10.5 miles, 3,071 feet, 3 hours 34 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including along the ridge to the true top, down to the upper part of Nanny Lane and back up again, and down the race route to the kissing gate. General conditions very similar to yesterday apart from there being much more blue sky today. Very few walkers on the fell. 1 runner seen.

I had the same kit on as yesterday - every bit earned its keep.

10.57 miles, 3,105 feet, 3 hours 39 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, and back up to the top via the steps overlooking Loughrigg Tarn. Almost a cloudless blue sky, no precipitation, no wind. Terrain frozen hard with lots of icy patches. The ice was of course slippery but almost always easy to avoid. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.

I took a couple of routes I had not been on for months as they tend to be bracken blocked and/or boggy - they were lovely today. As a playground for runners, despite its modest height, Loughrigg soundly beats Wansfell.

10.93 miles, 3,027 feet, 3 hours 50 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including along the ridge to the true top, and down to the upper part of Nanny Lane and back up to the Pike. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 800 feet. Almost continuous light snow. No significant wind. When I set off there was perhaps half a centimetre of snow on the ground in the valley; when I returned it had increased to about 12 centimetres. Grip was terrible on any slope - so glad I had my microspikes. Quite a few walkers on the fell - some will have had trouble descending given the poor grip. 5 runners seen.

10.62 miles, 1,659 feet, 3 hours 28 minutes: Lake Road - Borrans Road - Under Loughrigg Road - Pelter Bridge - Rydal Water - White Moss - Deerbolts Wood - up the steps overlooking Grasmere to Loughrigg top - down past the old golf club - Miller Bridge - Rothay Bridge. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,000 feet. No precipitation nor wind. Ankle deep snow where not compressed by feet or tyres. Very slippery on any significant gradient, otherwise grip was OK. My microspikes stayed in my backpack. Not many walkers on the fell. 4 runners seen.

Even gentle uphills were mostly walked today - there was just too much snow.

10.07 miles, 560 feet, 1 hour 56 minutes: low level treated roads around Ambleside, Waterhead, and Clappersgate. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. A few minutes of drizzle. No significant wind. Treated roads are mainly clear; the pavements and untreated roads are a mixture of soft snow and slushy puddles. Treated road grip was excellent. Quite few low level walkers in the town. No runners seen.

I forgot to mention that yesterday I initiated a new pair of X-Talon Ultra 260 V2s as the studs on my old pair are a bit worn, and clearly grip is crucial at the moment. I have gone up a half size - so comfortable!

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Originally Posted by Mike T

10.07 miles, 560 feet, 1 hour 56 minutes: low level treated roads around Ambleside, Waterhead, and Clappersgate. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. A few minutes of drizzle. No significant wind. Treated roads are mainly clear; the pavements and untreated roads are a mixture of soft snow and slushy puddles. Treated road grip was excellent. Quite few low level walkers in the town. No runners seen.

I forgot to mention that yesterday I initiated a new pair of X-Talon Ultra 260 V2s as the studs on my old pair are a bit worn, and clearly grip is crucial at the moment. I have gone up a half size - so comfortable!

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I noticed my X-Talon Ultra 260 (V1) have lost about half a dozen studs from the heels in about 350km. These have completely broken off rather than wearing down. Still serviceable on flatter ground but wouldn't risk a steep descent with them.
No such problems with the V2 so far (after 200k) so hopefully an issue with the V1 compound?

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Originally Posted by PeteS

I noticed my X-Talon Ultra 260 (V1) have lost about half a dozen studs from the heels in about 350km. These have completely broken off rather than wearing down. Still serviceable on flatter ground but wouldn't risk a steep descent with them.
No such problems with the V2 so far (after 200k) so hopefully an issue with the V1 compound?

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That has not happened on any of the pairs of V2s I have had. Another new pair arrived from PB this afternoon!

I use the x-talon 210 v2, the graphene ones, and they are the best fell shoes for me in terms of grip... in fact i've got another unopened pair waiting for my current pair to wear out (which is imminent).

The lightweight upper generally goes before the grip wears out. But as i'm now racing a bit less than a year or two ago, i can still get a year's racing out of a pair if i'm lucky, and i just accept the trade off of longevity in exchange for lightness and superb grip.

I'd probably still recommend VJ Irocks to a newcomer to the sport, as they would certainly last longer... but for me its the graphene xtalons all the way, so hopefully they don't make any radical design changes.