Todays permitted exercise!

[Flem]

Since I now start and finish all my walks and runs from my house I've been spending some time looking at the map the night before, to find footpaths I've not used before, to link together other footpaths I'm familiar with, to try to get a bit of variety in my routes. So today's walk involved quite a lot of new footpaths. Unfortunately, quite a few of these were over farmers' fields. By the time the mud sticking to the soles of my shoes had reached about 6 inches thick, I was beginning to regret my choice of route. But the real regret kicked in as I started walking past the sewage works. I'd seen it marked on the map, but I wasn't expecting it to be that bad! I tried taking a leaf out of Emil Zatopek's training regime, by holding my breath for as long as possible while I walked. With hindsight, that wasn't such a good idea. All that happened is that when I did need to take a breath it was a large gulp of putrid, fetid air, deep into my lungs. Not to be recommended.

[anthonykay]

I also had an encounter with mud on a route that was new to me today, although I was on my bike. I found a new cycle path and bridleway round the back of the "East Midlands Gateway" logistics hub. These were fine, but eventually I ended up on the Airport perimeter path. Seeing two mud-splattered cyclists coming towards me before I had even got onto the path didn't preventing me stubbornly pressing on. Anyway, on a touring bike with 32mm tyres, I was soon walking.

More excitement later on the ride. Cycling through Belton, a very elderly lady standing outside her house asked me to stop and help her. Something about being locked out - except that she then went to her door and opened it and went in. She asked me to go to the neighbour for help, which I did, but the neighbour was out. To cut a long story short, I was rescued after about 10-15 minutes by another villager who seemed to know the lady.

[Mike T]

6.98 miles, 2,808 feet, 2 hours 11 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including down/up/down the race route to the kissing gate. Overcast, cloud base at about 1,800 feet. Almost all the snow/ice on the Pike has gone. Terrain wet and slippery of course. Strong wind on top, but not that cold. Apart from about a dozen cars I saw nobody else whilst I was out.

[Mike T]

8.98 miles, 3,514 feet, 2 hours 51 minutes: Wansfell Ridge - along and back - and down/up the race route to the kissing gate. Lovely winter sunshine, though quite a cold breeze at times. Terrain crunchy or solid, with some large patches of ice - mainly frozen puddles/damp areas rather than from compacted snow on paths. Microspikes worn for most of the run. A couple of dozen people on the fell. Both car parks I passed were empty.

[Mike T]

8.22 miles, 3,369 feet, 2 hours 49 minutes: Wansfell Pike; twice up and down the race route. Overcast, intermittent drizzle, no wind, so did not feel cold, despite the forecast. Cloud base about 2,000 feet, picturesque scattered clouds below that level. Terrain very variable - muddy/crunchy/rock solid. Some icy patches still. Wore microspikes about half the time. Only six others seen whilst out.

[Mike T]

10.13 miles, 2,564 feet, 3 hours 1 minute: Wansfell Pike - up via Skelgill Woods, down via the steps to Nanny Lane - Troutbeck - Robin Lane. Overcast, snowing at times - very wet snow down to just above the town. About a foot deep on the Pike. Very slippery, even with microspikes, which I wore most of the way. No wind, so not cold. Saw six others throughout.

[Mike T]

5.59 miles, 2,592 feet, 2 hours 12 minutes: Wansfell Pike, with down/up/down the race steps. Sunny, no wind, so not cold; about a foot of snow on top of the Pike - less wet/slippery than yesterday, and the steps, having been walked on by many, were quite safe in microspikes. Quite a few on the fell.

[Mike T]

7.09 miles, 2,992 feet, 2 hours 53 minutes: Waterhead - Skelgill Wood - Stagshaw Gardens - Jenkins Crag - Wansfell Pike - down/up/down the race route steps. Overcast with the odd patch of blue sky, intermittent light drizzle, windy on top but not that cold. Someone snow overnight down to the town but it is very wet and slushy even on the Pike. Microspikes door to door apart from the first half mile. Saw six others on the fell.

[Mike T]

12.42 miles, 3,773 feet, 4 hours 13 minutes: Fairfield c/w. Overcast, windy on top, in cloud above 2,500 feet. Slushy snow and ice from about 1,500 feet, turning to crusty snow higher up. Average depth about a foot, but with marked variations depending on exposure to the wind. Mainly unrunnable. Microspikes from Nab Scar to Nook Farm. Saw 3 others on the fell.

[Mike T]

8.31 miles, 965 feet, 1 hour 26 minutes: Skelwith Fold/Bridge - Drunken Duck loop, so all on tarmac. Overcast, no rain, cool breeze at times, but not cold. No snow/ice underfoot. Saw about 20 people, half of them cyclists.