Reading that you run further in a year than I ride makes me feel like a dilettante.Originally Posted by Travs
Reading that you run further in a year than I ride makes me feel like a dilettante.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
Long, slow run to Beacon Hill and Longcliffe Quarry today; about 92 minutes.
The path to the quarry had a lot of litter strewn along it, the majority of it being Stella Artois cans; which shows that being wealthy is no bar to being a litter lout. I may go for a walk up there with a rucksack on Boxing Day; there's someone in our Male Voice Choir who raises money for the choir by collecting and selling non-ferrous metals, and aluminium drinks cans are a staple of this business.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
A wet and windy loop of the Dove Valley from Hartington yesterday morning with a friend who had had a heavy night which was making her feel a bit ropey. Up to Carder Low and on to Pilsbury Castle. We crossed the Dove at Pilsbury and went up the other side to the TP at Sheen Hill. This has a lovely rocky summit with extensive views up and down both the Dove and Manifold valleys and to west over the Staffordshire Moorlands.
It was good to see that there is now a concession path to the summit, as previously it had to be a clandestine effort because the farmer whose land it is on was not very fond of trespassers!
We retraced our steps back to the road and on to Harris Close, one of the shittiest farms I have been through, and then a lovely grassy descent back to Hartington via the new housing development on the site of the old St Ivel Creamery. There was a queue of at least 30 people outside the Hartington Cheese Shop. Originally this was an outlet for St Ivel Creamery products but nowadays no cheese is made in Hartington and no doubt the tourists who pay the inflated prices are none the wiser!
A steady but very enjoyable 7.5 miles, 1'100 feet in 1hr 18min and my friend felt a lot better for the run out. A rest now until Totley Two Turtle Doves on Boxing Day and then Wormstones on New Years Eve.
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
Big treadmill training session this morning.
The original aim had been 6 x (10mins fairly hard flat, 5mins hard effort uphill at 15% gradient)
But even four of those reps is a hard session, and i've been reading a lot lately about not necessarily killing yourself each session.... so about 45mins in i decided i'd make it 5 reps instead.
Still 75mins of good work, and again the top was off for the final 20mins.
10 miles including warmup, and a meagre couple of minutes warm down.
Club session on thursday, then Jubilee Plunge on sunday.
Watched a vid of the jubilee plunge yesterday, Darren said I should have a go at it, but it doesn't really play into my wheelhouse. It reminds me of the Pennine way descent off high cup nick, rocky and washed out with an uneven gradient and some flat or uphill sections, I was hoping it took the gully that the llangynhafal drops down.
What is the start like? It seems flat for about 300. Do you prefer to stay out of trouble or do you basically run it like a track rep and fight for the lead?
If the weather is ok I might come over for it.
Hi Luke,
It is certainly not as steep as the descent off Wansfell....
First couple of hundred metres are steep enough that you can lose control at full speed. Also it is the most rocky part of the descent.
It does then flatten out for a few hundred metres after that.... the general trend is a gentle downhill but there are a couple of little lumps... this is where those who have gone off too hard find they can't actually run and fall out of the picture.
There's a left turn at a pile of stones, onto a muddy trod, which is still only a gentle descent but is off-camber and can be very slippy.
Then you're onto the grassy section which is vaguely steep and most likely very slippy, there's a few lines down here to the top of the road.
You turn onto the road and this is fairly steep for a road, maybe 15% gradient for a couple of hundred metres.
Then you're into the final half mile across fields which would be a real chance for a strong runner to make ground, except there's 3 or 4 stiles between there and the finish.
Whole thing takes me just under 13mins. Given i'm usually top 4 or 5 (a couple of years back i got within 20secs of the winner but was still only 4th), there's some good close racing....
Yes i go flying off vying for the lead few positions, which is the best way to keep out of trouble as the path narrows to a couple of yards wide within about 30 metres. And on a race that short if you lose 20 yards on someone quick you'll have to work to get it back.
Whilst it wouldn't necessarily be your ideal course as probably not steep enough... if i can get near the front on it, i'd say you have a very good chance of a podium place.
If you go over, let me know and i'll arrange to meet you at the pub car park/finish and walk up with you, as its a good little reverse-recce of where you cross the road between stiles etc, and the best line on the way down.
Leave loads of time to get there. Really want to be there before 1pm to have time to get up in comfort, have a look round and warm up properly.... last year due to traffic issues i reached the pub only 25mins before the start, and no disrespect to anyone, but someone who couldn't climb at my race-speed wouldn't have made the start as i was full-on to make the start with a minute to spare.
Last edited by Travs; 27-12-2023 at 06:20 PM.
Something else I've noticed from my virtual recce is a left/right option after about a minute or so of running. The video runner went left and it was rocky, what is right like?
The trod after the pile of stones looks more favourable for me. There is a noticeable flat and uphill before it which will slow me a lot, but the trod looks like a very fast leg and probably my strongest section. The road and fields will be damage limitation; any O2 debt will have kicked in and I'll be getting picked off by anyone who is a real athlete.
Navigation is also a concern as the top 5 will be very strung out and I didn't notice many marshals by the stiles, ill have to carry written directions.
PM me your number.
Don't go left as the video, this is slower by perhaps 30seconds in my opinion, as i've done both. Stay to the right, close to the fence.
I wouldn't get too hung up on directions. The only potential errors are missing the pile of stones, but it comes shortly after a distinct turn in the fence. And missing the stile off the road, but it comes shortly after a big yellow salt bin. I can point all this out to you.
PM about to be sent....
Despite the time of year i've been banging out the miles this week, and it was with slightly heavy legs that i lined up for last night's club session in the wet and dark of a deserted Warwick University Campus.
Kenyan Hills.... which basically consisted of a mile loop which started straight into a climb of 100 feet or so, and dropping back down the descent, with a final 1/3rd of a mile flattish back to the start point.
I elected for 4 laps. There was only one other training last night and he elected for the full 5.
It is slightly daunting standing there for a session and the only other person is a regular Warwickshire XC Inter-County runner, and winner of the city parkrun.... perhaps not so bad on a 400mtr rep as i'll only be 7-8 seconds behind, but on a session like this the gap could be somewhat embarrassing... but we must push on.
Despite the hills and the heavy legs, i maintained 18:45/5km pace for a couple of laps, slowed a little on the 3rd lap..... eventually went through 5km in 19:12 (although the 5km point was at the very top of the of the hill on the final lap which pushed my average down a little), and finished the session off with a spirited (if ineffective) attempt at a sprint finish.
My final average pace for the 4 miles was 3:50/km, and my faster clubmate managed 3:29/km for his 5 miles.
Another big day.... session was 11 miles, on top of 6 easy miles AM. Currently at 57 miles for the week already... on a normal week i'd be looking at going over 90 miles this week with a big weekend to come.... however i'll now be pulling it right back in preparation for Jubilee Plunge on Sunday, and will expect to finish on somewhere between 75-80 miles.
An afternoon RATRun yesterday and the rain stopped just in time as 3 of us set off from the layby at Hazel Barrow for a loop in the Staffordshire Moorlands. It was still very windy with gusts almost blowing us off our feet. Very, very wet and boggy underfoot as we made our way up to Ramshaw Rocks and then down to Upper Hulme before the steep pull up to Hen Cloud. Up to and along the Roaches to the TP and then a wind battering ridge run past Bearstone Rock and on to the Hanging Stone.
Steeply down to Hanging Stone Farm and then along the traversing vehicle track to Back Forest Farm, ignoring the "No Public Right of Way" signs, before meeting the Dane Valley Way just prior to the farm. A right turn took us along the very muddy footpath through the woods and up to the chasm known as Luds Church. More muddy woodland to just below Bearstone Rock then down to Black Brook and another very wet and boggy trudge past Goldsitch House before a couple of marshy fields up to the layby at Hazel Barrow.
A very enjoyable 12 miles, 2'178 feet in a steady 2hr 26 min. I realised half way around that this route covers most of the ground in the Passing Clouds and Wincle Trout Run fell races, albeit some of it in the opposite direction. I will look forward to doing this one again in summer when it is drier and would hope to get around under 2hrs.
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote