Today's Training

[Travs]

Have you thought of trying GPS?

Well I'm considering taking map & compass to get me round my next track session without going astray....

After yesterday's calamity, a steadier session with hill intervals. Clocked up 9 miles and 3700ft, which gives me a weekly total of 40 miles and 9000ft. Strangely this felt like an easy week now, so I guess the consistent mileage and climb is helping.

Will likely repeat today's session tomorrow, nothing too strenuous, before a very tough looking track session on Tuesday, and Stretton Skyline next weekend, which is a very tough mixture of hard running and steep climbs.

[Stagger]

After 19 days off with a cracked rib I went for my first potter again this morning.

Deep breaths were painful but when I eased back it was only the left foot plant that tingled.

Good to be back.

[Travs]

Good stuff Stagger. Rib injuries are painful. I broke the same rib twice in separate kickboxing incidents, and part of it does stick out now (you wouldn't notice it unless you felt it, but I know it's there).

Won't forget when I first did it... was helped out of the ring after the fight, laid down on what was effectively a pasting-table, until I'd got over the initial shock. Got drove home, went to bed with a couple of cocodamol, got up an hour later and went back to the venue to fetch my car! Unfortunately returned to training far too quickly and about 2-3 months later it got caught in training and went again. Lesson learned!

Hill session today. 75 mins. After about 45 mins I was feeling good and saw a slim possibility of reaching 4000ft for the session if I went hell for leather in the final 30 mins. So cut the recovery periods down dramatically and went at it. Finished up 28ft short of 4000!

But sign of a good session. I read somewhere (possibly Feet In The Clouds), Billy Bland say that "the races you don't win are the hardest because you've put everything in and still not enough. When you win you've always got something in reserve". I absolutely blasted myself til the final second, and still couldn't get there.

Followed by an unholy amount of squats and leg presses, a big start to the week.

[Travs]

Big track session tonight.

16 x 400m with 90secs recovery. It may be 'only' 4 miles of hard effort, but I defy anyone to run it hard and say it's not a tough session. I'm not one for the amateur dramatics, falling over at the finish line etc, I prefer to shake hands and say well done, and sometimes a quick sit down is required.... but tonight was the first time I've ever been down on my knees at the end of a session... mind you I did get back up and knock out a 17th rep for good luck!

Went out fairly quickly in a front group of 5, but myself and another guy, far more experienced than me, could sense it was too fast to sustain, so we held it steady. After about 8 reps I could see the 3 in front weren't stretching the gap, so we wound it up a little and had reeled them in by the 14th rep. The last two reps were like the Olympic finals, all notion of pacing disappeared as we ran each other into the ground. The final rep I went off down the straight like I was running a 100 metre sprint and opened up a massive gap... realising I was going to look pretty stupid if I didn't maintain it, I realised I had to keep it up for another 300m, resulting in me being on my knees at the end.

Fantastic club session, big turnout, even the slower guys all finished 16 reps, working to their max. Including a decent warm up and down, 8.5 miles tonight.

[Travs]

Club night tonight. 6 mile run with middle 2 miles being a time trial.

After tuesday's monster track session, 6 hours in a car yesterday and no training/stretching last night, and the Stretton Skyline this weekend, I elected to keep it steady throughout tonight.

A comfortable 8.5 miles in total tonight. A couple of easy sessions before Sunday and I should be raring to push for a good pb at Stretton.

[Travs]

After a tough race on Sunday, and feeling particularly fatigued, it's been a very steady start to the week... but back with the club tonight...

8 x half mile reps on the road with 90secs recovery. Was very conscious not to push too hard after the weekend, and the first couple were very steady, and even though I ramped up from there, I never really got below 6min/mile pace, just a fair pace and turning the legs over fast, but not putting in any massive effort...

I've been hitting it hard lately, consistent weeks of 40+ miles and 10000+ft, last week being 51 miles and 11000ft. It's obviously helped... on Sunday I didn't feel that I ran especially great, but a pb of nearly 10 mins. But I did have that horrible feeling I used to get, about 10-15mins into a race, when I feel like there's no way I can finish. I can't even remember the last time I had that feeling enter my mind, such is the confidence I've had from training and some decent race results.

I guess it was just a case of all the work and racing, and a bit tired mentally and physically. So my aim this week is to keep ticking over but not do anything too hard, and get to the start line of the LDMT on Sunday feeling fresh and positive. No doubt that will be a massive test both mentally and physically.

[Travs]

Club night again. 6.5 mile run with the middle 2 miles time-trial. As usual I intended to go easy, and as usual struggled to keep that promise to myself.

First mile I did keep steady, around 6:45, but hearing the footsteps of faster guys encroaching behind me in the 2nd mile, I really sped up, and wasn't far off full speed by the end. Overall 2nd mile in around 6mins, although was going a lot harder than that pace by the end.

Total of 9 miles tonight. Feel a lot better now than I did before the session. Easy session tomorrow with a bit of stretching, Saturday I'll do something for a few easy hours in the Lake District near Grasmere, perhaps a few Wainwrights I've not done (Sergeant Man, Gibson Knott, Blea Rigg), and the LDMT Sunday (god help me).

[PeteS]

Saturday I'll do something for a few easy hours in the Lake District near Grasmere, perhaps a few Wainwrights I've not done (Sergeant Man, Gibson Knott, Blea Rigg), and the LDMT Sunday (god help me).

I have similar plans for tomorrow - dragging the wife and dog around Blea Rigg etc. A confusing place in the clag and MWIS are predicting low cloud for Sunday morning so a little familiarisation wouldn't go amiss.

[Travs]

I have similar plans for tomorrow - dragging the wife and dog around Blea Rigg etc. A confusing place in the clag and MWIS are predicting low cloud for Sunday morning so a little familiarisation wouldn't go amiss.

Yes i viewed the MWIS forecast anxiously last night! Last time i went up Blea Rigg from Grasmere i got navigationally confused in clear weather. This was before my fellrunning days though. Ended up making a dignified retreat down to Chapel Stile and getting a lift back from Elterwater!

I'll keep an eye out for you Pete. Should be starting on the fells around 1pm, but whether i'll start from Ambleside/Red Bank or Grasmere side, unsure yet.

[Travs]

A fairly gentle 14 miles today out above Grasmere/Easdale/Langdale. Very steady and walked much of the climbs. Obviously when I saw any hill walkers (and there weren't many), I absolutely booted it in the traditional style, not stopping to hyperventilate until I was out of sight.

From Grasmere, headed up lower Easdale, climbing past Sourmilk Gill falls, crossing them at the top and gaining a foothold on the ridge up to Tarn Crag. A great, seemingly relatively unknown path leading up the undulating ridge, and although indistinct unless you were right on the path, was on Tarn Crag summit 45 mins after leaving Grasmere. A lovely summit, the ground dropping away into Easdale and the Tarn, and the wilderness leading up onto High Raise/Greenup beyond.

Then picked up some bits of path and trods, although the general direction is fairly obvious, up to the broken line of fence posts leading up to Sergeant Man, 25mins from summit to summit. Decided against extending round to Pavey Ark, as didn't want to push my legs on the steep descent to get back down towards Blea Rigg. So instead followed the fantastic broad undulating ridge path direct to Blea Rigg. The best part is the path is a good guide, but you can bypass the rocky path throughout on fantastic soft turf, never really straying a few yards from the path itself, guiding you to Blea Rigg summit. Another 20 mins work from Seargeant Man got me here.

Have to say that from here, Blea Rigg becomes very confusing, even in clear weather it's not initially obvious, god help us if the LDMT takes us over here tomorrow and the cloud is down. Taking numerous sub-optimal lines and countless unnecessary little summits, it was still only about 45 mins very steady to get down to Elterwater. From there, took the riverside path to Skelwith Bridge and then along the lower flanks of Loughrigg back to Ambleside.

So a fairly steady afternoons work. I suppose this highlights one of the great things about Fell Running... that would likely be close to a full day out for a lot of people, but even at a gentle Fell Running pace it's a fairly achievable afternoon, over some very out-of-the-way country.