Todays permitted exercise!

[Mike T]

10.05 miles, 2,686 feet, 3 hours 30 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Stagshaw Gardens - Champion Tree Trail - Blue Hill Woods - Blue Hill Lane - race route ascent to Wansfell Pike - race route descent to the kissing gate - out to Grove Barn Cafe, now closed as not enough business - down past Force Cafe, very much alive - Ambleside. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 500 feet. More or less constant drizzle. That cold breeze from the south persists. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Not many walkers on the fell; 4 runners seen.

For the first time in ages - years - I did some drills and short intervals in Borrans Park. Intervals: 2 miles worth at about 20 to the mile; recovery: until my breathing was starting to settle. I must do them regularly.

[Mike T]

10.12 miles, 3,281 feet, 3 hours 36 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, and down from the top to the road at High Close and back up again, taking variations on the race route. Mainly overcast, with the cloud base just catching some of the highest tops. That cold breeze is still there. A few minutes of drizzle. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Not many walkers about; no runners seen.

Both my hamstrings are rather unhappy - DOMS - after yesterday's speed work. That will teach me for not doing it more often.

[Travs]

10.12 miles, 3,281 feet, 3 hours 36 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, and down from the top to the road at High Close and back up again, taking variations on the race route. Mainly overcast, with the cloud base just catching some of the highest tops. That cold breeze is still there. A few minutes of drizzle. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Not many walkers about; no runners seen.

Both my hamstrings are rather unhappy - DOMS - after yesterday's speed work. That will teach me for not doing it more often.

I've had perhaps 3 weeks off doing proper flat hard sessions.... and i've still been doing very tough hill sessions in that period.

Did mile reps on tuesday and i'm still suffering a little now from the shock to the system.

(got a track session tonight as well....!)

[Mike T]

10.4 miles, 3,441 feet, 3 hours 40 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, and down to High Skelghyll Farm and back up again. Overcast, with the cloud base just obscuring some of the high tops. No precipitation; a very cold strong wind from the north east. Terrain anything from dry to wet/saturated/slippery. There is an unimpressive snow line at about 2,000 feet; there was some ice in places above 1,000 feet. Not many walkers about. Ascending the steps to the Pike I was passed by 2 people - one a strong walker who took the steps 2 at a time, the other a runner who ran up on the grass as long as he was in view.

[Mike T]

10.28 miles, 3,319 feet, 3 hours 42 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, and back up to the top via the steps overlooking Loughrigg Tarn. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. Perhaps 40 minutes of drizzle whilst I was out. A moderately strong cold wind from the north. There is a snow line at about 1,000 feet - lower and more impressive than yesterday. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places - I did not venture much above the snow line. Lots of walkers on the fell - busiest it has been for a long time. 5 runners seen - 1 in the valley, 4 on the fell.

[Mike T]

10.23 miles, 3,227 feet, 3 hours 31 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, up to the true top, and back along the ridge to the Pike. Initially overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,000 feet - it cleared up considerably later, with patches of blue sky and higher/fewer clouds. No precipitation. The snow line is less clear cut than yesterday, and about 500 feet higher. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain saturated/streaming/slippery. Not many walkers about; 1 runner seen.

[Mike T]

10.57 miles, 3,232 feet, 3 hours 54 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule - Ambleside. Sunshine/blue sky and high streaky/fluffy clouds. No precipitation. A cold strong wind from the south east. There is a snow line at about 2,000 feet - above that the snow depth increases with height to mid-shin depth on top of Red Screes. Where not snow covered the ground is wet/saturated/slippery. Not many walkers about; 1 runners seen.

To my mind there is a mismatch between the height of the snow line and the depth of the snow - either the snow line should be lower or there should be less snow on top.

[Mike T]

11.24 miles, 3,046 feet, 3 hours 33 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending via Fox Ghyll, going down the race route to the road at High Close, down through Deerbolts Woods to Grasmere shore, and back up to the top via Loughrigg Terrace and the steps overlooking Grasmere. Sunshine, blue sky, and both fluffy and thin streaky clouds; the cloud base was initially at about 2,500 feet, later it was above the high tops. No precipitation; a moderately strong wind from the south west. Terrain damp/wet/saturated and slippery in places. Quite a few walkers about, some in large groups; no runners seen.

The snow line is still about 2,000 feet, but it looks a lot patchier than yesterday.

[Mike T]

9.03 miles, 2,376 feet, 3 hours 25 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Sunshine, blue sky, and fluffy/streaky clouds above the high tops - misty in the distance. The snow on the tops is looking very sparse now, though I have no doubt there is plenty if you are up there. No precipitation, no wind. Terrain dry/damp with good grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell; no runners seen.

I did another session of drills, and short sprints - 2 miles of these at 20 to the mile - in Borrans Park before heading up the Pike.

I was lucky to meet Olga, the fell running video enthusiast, both in Borrans Park and on the Wansfell steps.

[Mike T]

10.98 miles, 3,219 feet, 3 hours 30 minutes: Loughrigg trails, taking in Clappersgate, Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, the race route descent to the road at High Close, Deerbolts Woods, Grasmere shore, Loughrigg Terrace, and the steps to the top overlooking Grasmere. Sunshine, blue sky, and high mainly fluffy clouds. No rain; a cold wind from various directions. Terrain dry/damp with good grip. Lots of walkers about; 2 runners seen, 1 in the valley, 1 on the fell.

No DOMS - physiology works!