15km across Simonside last night, was slow and niggly but did 6km round the local woods (which were heaving with families) this afternoon with no niggles.
Nice to be out.
15km across Simonside last night, was slow and niggly but did 6km round the local woods (which were heaving with families) this afternoon with no niggles.
Nice to be out.
In lockdown I’ve pretty much been running in the hills every day but, in lieu of racing, have been running a weekly speed blast, almost a solo race if you like, trying my damnedest to pb all of my local routes. I’m sure other fell runners always do this but, to me, it’s been a great (if nightmarishly painful at times) experience. Much less trouble with injuries too at the moment but in saying it that’s probably put the kiss of death on it
I don't think I experienced any sudden changes in speed, but definitely a gradual decline from 55 to 60.Originally Posted by anthonykay
In terms of fell running speed, does old age come upon you stepwise rather than creeping up gradually? I seem to be experiencing a notable reduction in speed this year, after several years when I didn't seem to be slowing down very much.
I think there should be quite a lot of expertise on this topic among regular forumites.
well DT you nudged me back on to the fells for a run. Done lots of walking on them since lockdown started, but my first run up there since I trudged around the Stan Bradshaw.
Got a lift to Darwen with the wife and set off from her work just before 6:00am, through Sunnyhurst woods and then up to the Tower, down Aggie's, barking dog's lane to Donkey Brew and home through Tockholes.
Glad I went early. It was getting a bit warm that last couple of miles.
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell
Well worth a watch - most of us will have been close to being involved in something like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...-U&app=desktop
Agreed - OK up to mid 50's, then slow but steady decline in speed, not endurance. Clearly some are lucky and the decline comes later/is less marked. What you want to avoid if possible is injury adding to the slow down. Do that S+C.
Thanks for posting.
Graham
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
Yeah that is pretty sobering viewing.
I had a near-miss about 12-15 years ago, also on Snowdon, also in March...
I was a "mere" fellwalker then, with a decent amount of walking experience in most weathers, but crucially very little in winter conditions.
Myself and my mate "Phil" were staying in Betws-y-Coed and wanted to do our fave walk, PenyPass-Lliwedd-Snowdon-Miners Track. We were full to the brim with clothing, food, etc, but no ice-axe or crampons. We decided if anything looked in any way dodgy we would call a halt to it.
There was plenty of snow around but it was a sunny day, and we got all the way over Lliwedd onto Snowdon summit without incident, the snow being very soft due to the sunshine.
Snowdon summit was a different scenario... no visibility, howling wind, and a lot colder. We decided to get off there ASAP and made for the finger stone. Arriving at the finger stone, it was clear we were now in the "shadow" of the mountain and things were much slippier and very dicey. I suggested we head straight down the railway path into Llanberis. My mate (whose car was parked at PyP) was also reasonably regular in the hills, but not quite as experienced, and far less fit than me. He decided the Miners Path looked ok and strode confidently towards it.
The inevitable happened and within about 30 seconds of stepping off the plateau and onto where the Miners Track would have been (if it wasn't covered in frozen snow), lost his footing and went flying down the slope. Somehow he came to a stop after about 50 feet, but his rucksac continued for another 100 feet. Luckily there was a passing party and they threw him down an ice-axe and he used it to secure himself, retrieve his bag, and get back up to me.
We started down the railway path but my mate was visibly shaken, possibly suffering a little from shock. This was made even worse when we hit the section of path above Clogwyn which was again iced over, and i was a little worried myself. But my mate was in tears and basically crawled along it with my help. It was now close to getting dark and my mate kept wanting to sit down. I basically pulled him up and told him if we sit down now he is never going to make it down.
Eventually we picked up pace, conditions improved and we made it down to Llanberis, where i downed several whiskies, and my mate rang a taxi to take us to Pyp. Back to Betws and drank our worries away.
Learnt a lot that day. The main thing being to stay off the high hills in winter unless you are completely happy with your experience and the weather conditions.
Last edited by Travs; 24-06-2020 at 01:53 PM.
Haha! And you were ridiculously fast to start with, Mark! Good to hear from you, by the way.
Wow, that was seriously scary.
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