Todays permitted exercise!

10.24 miles, 2,458 feet, 3 hours 18 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - High Skelghyll - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Mirk Lane - Wain Lane - grassland between Robin and Nanny Lanes - Wansfell Pike - race descent - Stock Ghyll Lane - Old lake Road - Ambleside. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. A few minutes of drizzle. No significant wind. Terrain dry/damp with mainly good grip. Very few walkers about; no runners seen.
The grassy section between Robin and Nanny Lanes started off looking promising, but the trod soon vanished and the grass became lumpier and boggier and I had to climb a couple of walls - live and learn.

8.13 miles, 2,462 feet, 2 hours 53 minutes: Wansfell Pike, ascending via Stagshaw Gardens, the Champion Tree Trail, and the 3 way junction; descending via the 3 way junction, High Skelghyll, Blue Hill Woods/Lane and Stock Ghyll Lane. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. No precipitation. A cold moderately strong wind from the south west. Terrain dry/damp with good grip. Very few walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
A poor couple ahead of me had trouble crossing a stile - he fell off, landed on her, so they both ended up on the ground. No damage done thankfully.

10.15 miles, 3,318 feet, 3 hours 32 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending to the top via Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag and Lily Tarn, and descending down past the old golf club. Mainly overcast, with the cloud base initially at about 1,500 feet - somewhat higher later. Brief spells of sunshine/patches of blue sky. That cold wind is still there and felt stronger. The ground is mainly dry and soft - lovely to run on. Quite a few walkers on the fell, including a group of eleven. No runners seen.

8.91 miles, 2,452 feet, 2 hours 46 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Old Lake Road - Blue Hill Road/Lane - up the steps - Wansfell Pike - Wansfell true top - Baystones - upper part of Nanny Lane - Wansfell Pike - race descent - Stock Ghyll Lane - Old Lake Road - Borrans Park - Roman Ruins - Rothay Bridge. Wall to wall sunshine - not a single cloud in the sky - rather hazy in the distance. No precipitation, no significant wind. Like yesterday, the ground was soft, mainly dry, and with excellent grip. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.

9.1 miles, 2,201 feet, 3 hours: Loughrigg trails, ascending via the track in Clappersgate opposite Brathay Bridge, descending from the top down past the old golf club. Overcast, with banks/bands of cloud at multiple levels, including some in the valley. Rather misty generally. Intermittent drizzle. No wind; not cold. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Very few walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen.

10.73 miles, 3,060 feet, 3 hours 33 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Sunshine, blue sky, and thin high streaky clouds. No rain. A moderately strong wind from the south east. Terrain dry/damp/wet and slippery in places. Lots of walkers on the fells - I have never seen so many going up to Red Screes from Scandale. 3 runners seen. Town very busy, particularly the beer gardens.

12.42 miles, 3,232 feet, 4 hours 16 minutes: Fairfield Horseshoe clockwise from/to Ambleside, going to the left/west of the 1st, 2nd and 4th tops above Nab Scar on the ascent, then to the south west of Dove Crag and down the race/east side of the wall and the rock step on the descent. Sunshine, blue sky, some thin high streaky clouds, hazy in the distance. No rain. A moderately strong wind from the south east. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fells; I saw 5 runners in the valley and 9 on the fells. It was very warm when out of the wind.

First ride without a cag on today, the weather was quite warm and the craven arms was very busy.

9.09 miles, 3,208 feet, 3 hours 17 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route from the top to the road at High Close and back up to the top the same way. Sunshine, blue sky, big fluffy clouds above 2,000 feet, and a cold very strong blustery wind from the north. No rain. Terrain dry with good grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell, some of them in shorts. 1 runner seen on the fell, and 1 in the valley.

10.05 miles, 2,760 feet, 3 hours 14 minutes: Wansfell Pike, ascending via High Skelghyll, Hundreds Road, Nanny Lane, and the true top; descending via the race route. Sunshine, blue sky, and fluffy/streaky clouds above the high tops. Very clear in the distance. That strong cold wind is still there, despite the forecast saying it would weaken. No precipitation. Terrain dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; 2 runners seen.

8.55 miles, 2,215 feet, 2 hours 41 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including to the top. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, visible precipitation in places in the distance. I had several minutes of rain/graupel. The wind from the north is not so strong today, but it is still cold. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Very few walkers on the fell; no runners seen. There are still trails that are new to me - I went on one of them today.

8.23 miles, 2,760 feet, 3 hours 6 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, ascending the first time from Blue Hill Woods and the 3 way junction, then, to achieve the second visit, I went down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, up to the true top, and along the ridge; the final descent was down the race route. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds; that cold wind from the north is still there and quite strong. Some white stuff visible on some of the tops above about 2,500 feet. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Very few walkers on the fell; I saw 1 runner - in the valley.

9.3 miles, 2,689 feet, 3 hours: Red Screes, ascending via Scandale, descending via the south ridge. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, a moderate wind from the north. No precipitation. Terrain mainly dry with good grip; above about 1,800 feet it was firm with occasional patches of ice/graupel. Very few walkers on the fell, but I did set off at 8.10 am; I saw 1 runner - in the valley.

8.23 miles, 2,571 feet, 2 hours 50 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, going up from Kelsick Scar and the 3 way junction, along the ridge to the true top and Baystones, then down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, back up to the Pike, and down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Lots of high fluffy clouds, some sunshine/blue sky, a moderate breeze from the north east, no precipitation. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell; 4 runners seen - 2 in the valley, 2 near the Pike. Like yesterday, the air was remarkably clear, making for very good distant views. I had not realised that the sea was visible not just down towards Blackpool, but also south west of Blackcombe.

12.35 miles, 3,561 feet, 4 hours 15 minutes: Rothay Bridge in Ambleside to Swinescar Pike and back, taking in Loughrigg top and the race route to/from the road at High Close both ways, and Silver How and Lang How on the way out. Mainly overcast, with fluffy clouds above the tops - there was some sunshine/blue sky, which made for nice shadows on the fells. No significant wind. A few minutes of very light drizzle, enough to result in rainbows, but not enough to get wet. Lots of walkers on Loughrigg, fewer on Silver How - I saw 9 runners, all on Loughrigg.

12.25 miles, 3,534 feet, 4 hours 1 minute: Rothay Bridge - High Skelghyll - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Robin Lane - Troutbeck - Garburn Pass - Sour Howes - Garburn Pass - Limefitt Park - Mortal Man Pub - Nanny Lane - Wansfell Pike - race descent - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. A mixture of sunshine, blue sky, and high fluffy clouds. No precipitation. A strong cold wind from the north east. The ground is dry, fairly hard, with good grip. Not many walkers on the fells; 1 runner seen.
There were some Fix the Fells bods on the Garburn Pass - they had a dog with them that had a real go at me.

10.19 miles, 2,835 feet, 3 hours 47 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending to the top via Fox Ghyll, then down the race route to the road at High Close, back up to the top using the steps overlooking Loughrigg Tarn, finally down past the old golf club. Sunshine, blue sky, and a few small high fluffy clouds. Slightly hazy/grey in the distance. No precipitation. A moderately strong cold breeze from the south east. Terrain dry with good grip, but becoming rather hard. Quite a few walkers about; 2 runners seen.

10.63 miles, 2,004 feet, 3 hours 5 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Stagshaw Gardens - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Heald Lane - Hundreds Road - Fell Lane - Wain Lane - Mirk Lane - Holbeck Lane - Low Wood - High Skelghyll - Skelghyll Lane - Ambleside. Not a cloud in the sky, no precipitation, no significant wind. This was a low level run - highest point about 700 feet - a lot of it was on tarmac; the grass and trail I ran on was dry with good grip. Very few walkers on this route; 1 runner seen.

10.3 miles, 3 hours 30 minutes, 2,476 feet: Loughrigg trails, ascending to the top via Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag and Lily Tarn; descending down past the old golf club. Sunshine, blue sky, and thin high streaky clouds. No precipitation. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain hard in places, dry, with good grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell; 2 runners seen.

10.5 miles, 3,100 feet, 5 hours 3 minutes: Lane to north of Llanbedr - Pen Tywn Glas - Black Mountains race route descent- Pen Y Gadair Fawr - Pen Twyn Mawr and back to lane. Slow you say? Ha! This was 2 ex-fell runners giving it a good walking pace all the while moaning about sore feet/ankles/legs etc etc! Also spent a good 20 mins chatting to another couple of fellow walkers and discovering an unexpected connection to another regular of this parish.
T'was a fab day out and Beer in The Bear was never so welcome!

10.27 miles, 1,938 feet, 3 hours 28 minutes: Speedwork in Borrans Park, then Wansfell Pike via Skelghyll Lane, Jenkyn's Crag, and the 3 way junction, then down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Cloudier than yesterday, though there was still some sunshine and blue sky. The clouds were above the tops; it was quite hazy in the distance. No rain. Terrain dry, mainly hard, with good grip. Quite a few walkers about; 5 runners seen.
This was my first speed session for ages. After a warm-up I did the usual drills, then 44 minutes of twenty to thirty second efforts, one every minute, the recovery being what remained of the minute. It is amazing how, after doing drills, my legs were happy to run rather faster than I am used to. In that 44 minutes I covered 2.18 miles.

8.61 miles, 1,846 feet, 2 hours 46 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including the top, from/to Rothay Bridge, ascending via Fox Ghyll, descending via Lily Tarn, Todd Crag, and Fishgarths Wood. Rather cloudy, some sunshine/blue sky; initially the cloud base was at about 2,000 feet, later it was above the tops. No rain, no significant wind. Terrain damp/dry with good grip. The overnight rain has softened the ground nicely. Lots of walkers on the fell, including a group of 18. 3 runners seen.
My hamstrings are slightly sore from yesterday's effort, but only when I run. Walking, even uphill, is discomfort free.

10.17 miles, 2,682 feet, 3 hours 21 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, ascending the first time from Skelghyll Lane and the 3 way junction, then going down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, up to the true top and Baystones, back along the ridge to the Pike, and down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Thin high cloud resulting in a pale blue sky and attenuated sunshine; also quite dramatic fluffy clouds obscuring some tops down to 2,000 feet. Hazy in the distance. A moderately strong cold wind from the north east. Terrain dry/damp with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell; 3 runners seen.
I still have mild DOMS from 2 days ago, which does not surprise me.

10.25 miles, 2,625 feet, 3 hours 14 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, going to the top twice - ascending the first time from Clappersgate, and the second time from Grasmere shore; descending the first time down the race route to the road at High Close, then through Deerbolts Woods - and the second time down past the old golf club. A mixture of sunshine, blue sky, and fluffy clouds, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet.Still hazy in the distance. No rain. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain dry with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell; 2 runners seen.

10.12 miles, 2,724 feet, 3 hours 28 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low Pike - High Pike - south west of Dove Crag then back over it, then down more or less the way I had come. Apart from the trod south west of Dove Crag I stayed on the race side/east of the wall. Sunshine, blue sky, and a mixture of clouds mainly above the high tops. No rain. A moderate breeze from the north west - refreshing at times. Terrain dry/damp with mainly good grip. Not many walkers on the fells; 4 runners seen - 2 in the valley, 2 higher up.
That DOMS has finally gone.

10.27 miles, 2,435 feet, 3 hours 4 minutes: Wansfell Pike, ascending from High Skelghyll and the 3 way junction, having done the Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Low Wood - High Skelghyll loop; descending via the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Widespread thin high clouds meaning fairly weak sunshine and patches of pale blue sky; some of the high tops were obscured. A moderate breeze from the south. No rain. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell, though there were lots lower down. 1 runner seen.

10.25 miles, 2,532 feet, 3 hours 17 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, ascending via Fishgarths Wood and Todd Crag; descending down past the old golf club. Completely overcast - no sunshine/blue sky at all - the cloud base was about 1,000 feet. Intermittent drizzle, a moderately strong cold wind from the south west. Terrain damp and slippery in places, particularly the rocks. Very few walkers about; only 1 runner seen.

10.6 miles, 3,047 feet, 3 hours 36 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Mainly overcast, with the cloud base above the high tops. Intermittent graupel; even more intermittent sunshine/blue sky. A strong cold wind from the south west. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Very few people about - I only saw a dozen or so walkers all day; no runners seen.
According to the mountain weather forecast the wind chill on top of Red Screes was about minus 8. I was certainly glad to be able to put 2 pairs of gloves on.

10.11 miles, 3,131 feet, 3 hours 25 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, ascending via Clappersgate,, Fishgarths Wood, and Todds Crag to the top, then down the race route to the road at High Close, left along the road/track, up Sttolly's route to the top, finally down through Fishgarths Wood. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. Very little sunshine/blue sky - the partial eclipse was a non-event. A few minutes of drizzle. That strong cold wind from the south west is still present. Terrain dry/damp/wet with mainly good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell, some in large groups. 1 runner seen.
Stolly's seldom scaled steep scrambly Strava segment was interesting - I would do it again.

10.37 miles, 3,016 feet, 3 hours 15 minutes: Ambleside - Old Lake Road - Blue Hill Road/Lane - Stock Ghyll Lane - Roundhill Farm - The Struggle - south ridge - Red Screes - south ridge - The Struggle - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds with even higher streaky clouds. Rather hazy in the distance. No rain. A cold strong wind from the south west. Terrain mainly dry with good grip, apart from drainage areas. I only saw 3 people on the fell, but there were lots of runners and walkers descending The Struggle.
The annual female and male car pulls up The Struggle were taking place whilst I was out - the women got to the top as I started to descend - I could just see them in the distance and could hear the supporting cheers. The men had just got going as I approached the pub.

10.11 miles, 1,895 feet, 3 hours 26 minutes: drills and speed work in Borrans Park, then Wansfell Pike via Stagshaw Gardens, Jenkyn Crag and the 3 way junction, descending via the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Overcast, with the cloud base just obscuring some of the highest tops. Very hazy in the distance. No rain, no significant wind. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell, though there were lots in the park. 3 runners seen.
I did 4 lots each of the usual 7 drills, then 38 reps of 20 to 30 seconds of faster running, the rest/recovery being the rest of each minute, totalling 2 miles. Having done a very similar session 10 days ago, I should be protected from DOMS - we will see.

13.08 miles, 3,518 feet, 4 hours 29 minutes: Rothay Bridge to Swinescar Pike and back, taking in Loughrigg top and Silver How both ways, and Lang How on the way out; the initial ascent and final descent were past the old golf club - the initial descent from Loughrigg top was via the race route to the road at High Close; the second ascent to Loughrigg top was via the steps overlooking Grasmere. Sunshine, blue sky, and the very occasional thin high cloud. Very clear in the distance. No rain. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fells; 5 runners seen.
I was pleased to do the ascent to Loughrigg top from Miller Bridge in 39 minutes. No DOMS.

8.13 miles, 2,654 feet, 2 hours 49 minutes: Wansfell Pike, ascending via Stagshaw Gardens, High Skelghyll and the three way junction, then along the ridge to the true top and Baystones and back to the Pike, finally down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Wall to wall sunshine - a few tiny clouds. No rain. A strong cold wind from the south east. Terrain dry, hard in places, excellent grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell; 2 runners seen.
I had planned to go down to the upper part of Nanny Lane and back up to the Pike, but I lost concentration.

9.11 miles, 2,946 feet, 2 hours 57 minutes: Loughrigg trails, taking in Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, and the top. Again, lots of sunshine/blue sky. Some small high clouds - of both the fluffy and streaky varieties. A very strong cold blustery wind from the south east. No rain. Terrain dry, hard in places, good grip. Lots of walkers about; 5 runners seen.

17.8 miles, 3,752 feet, 6 hours 46 minutes: Ambleside - Clappersgate - Bog Lane - Skelwith Fold - Skelwith Bridge - Elterwater - Chapel Stile - NDG - Stickle Tarn - Sergeant Man - Blea Rigg - Swinescar Pike - High Close - race route ascent to Loughrigg top - Miller Bridge - Ambleside. Sunshine, blue sky, some thin high streaky clouds. No rain. A lovely refreshing breeze from the south east. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Quite a few walkers about; 5 runners seen.
This was my longest outing for a long time - years. The final ascent up the race route to Loughrigg top was a challenge - I had trouble keeping my balance and kept having to step backwards to avoid falling over.

9.01 miles, 2,796 feet, 3 hours: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, ascending initially via Stagshaw gardens, High Skelghyll and the 3 way junction; then down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, up to the true top and Baystones, along the ridge to the Pike, finally down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Wall to wall sunshine/blue sky. Yesterday's refreshing wind was rather stronger and colder today. No rain. Terrain dry/hard with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell - I have never seen so many at the true top. 2 runners seen.

10.19 miles, 2,625 feet, 3 hours 19 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Another sunny day with a virtually cloudless sky. No rain. The breeze from the south east was most welcome. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell. I saw one runner going through Clappersgate, and there were half a dozen or so descending on the track past the old golf club - I suspect they were in an event as they were not sticking together, though I did not see any numbers on them.

10.01 miles, 2,533 feet, 3 hours 5 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Stagshaw Gardens - Champion Tree Trail - High Skelghyll - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Low Wood - High Skelghyll - 3 way junction - Blue Hill Lane - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. Not a cloud in the sky. A refreshing breeze from the south. No rain. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Not many walkers about; 1 runner seen.
The highest point I got to was the 3 way junction at about 1,100 feet.

12.17 miles, 1,370 feet, 2 hours 54 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Clappersgate - Brathay - Pullwoods - Wray Castle - Coffin Trail - Claire Heights - High Wray - Wray Castle - Pullwoods - Brathay - Clappersgate - Rothay Bridge. Sunshine/blue sky yet again; some thin high clouds; a lovely breeze from the south east. No rain. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers seen - but I did set off early; 5 runners seen.

10.43 miles, 3,007 feet, 3 hours 20 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Sunshine, blue sky, the occasional high fluffy cloud. No rain. A strong cold wind from the north - at times annoying, at others refreshing. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Not many walkers about; no runners seen.