June 25, 2018 George Foster

Spring has sprung: A round-up

Seeing as no-one actually asked me what I’ve been up to this past few months, I thought I’d volunteer the information to save your shyness.

Training has been pretty consistent save for a niggle here and an illness there. I’ve stepped up in distance ever so slightly in terms of races in preparation for some of the bigger seasonal objectives this year. A problematic achilles kept me out of a run at the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. Luckily just as I got over that I developed a hamstring niggle, forestalling a glorious athletic comeback by another few weeks. Life’s good huh??

Since the middle of May I’ve done three races. The first was awesome, if only for the big lesson I learnt about fuelling, or, more precisely, the perils of neglecting it.

Helvellyn and the Dodds, 24km, 1337m ascent

See, in my head Helvellyn from Threlkeld isn’t that far. Turns out it actually is. But it isn’t, in my head. Still. If that makes sense? Anyhow, I first ran this race in 2016 in similar conditions to this time around i.e. Saharan drought temperatures. That time I took food and fluids. This time, I didn’t, against the better advice from my dear old Mum. End result? Nearly 20mins slower than 2016 and as near to total collapse as I’ve ever been in anything I’ve ever done. Dizzy. Seeing stars. Incoherent. Pissed up without having touched a drop basically. What a nob.

Ennerdale Horseshoe, 37km, 2290m ascent

I’d been out with eventual winner Kim Collison the day before the race course-marking for the Keswick Mountain Festival 25km trail run. He’d complained that his legs were knackered. He had my proverbial pants down cos no sooner had old Joss given it the ‘marks, set, GO’ then he blast off into the ether, not to be seen again until the finish. A hot, muggy day. Thank fuck for local knowledge in the clag in the back half of the route (cheers Scoffer). Ran with a super-strong lad called Ally Beaven in the latter stages of the race. Had a bit of an “ah fuck” moment on the last checkpoint when the marshal told us we were 3rd and 4th and could maybe catch 2nd. The look in eachothers faces when we realised we’d have to make a go of it down the final descent to the finish was one to remember. Luckily Ally’s legs were cramping and I’d just taken on a gel thinking we still had a checkpoint to go! Didn’t catch second but managed to delay death for that bit longer to hold onto third.

Lairig Ghru, 43km, 640m ascent

Don’t let the lack of ascent fool you. It matters where it matters and where it doesn’t matter, it’s funkin’ fast. I’ve been wanting to do this for an age. Not my usual ‘style’ but it’s good to test the training now and then. This was a similar story to Ennerdale i.e. whose legs were the least fucked come the end. Turns out it was also a lesson in reading a map (pertinent for a future post) and following basic instructions. A big group fucked off at the start at lightning pace (okay, sub-3 hour marathon, but you get the jist) and to be honest I didn’t expect to see most of them again. Trusting in Martin’s advice (an extract from his email the day before)…..

Have a good race tomorrow. If you aim to run it at a moderate pace/effort level i think that kind of speed will be perfect for a race of that distance/time. And looks like the weather will be nice. Main thing is to really focus on getting in the fuel and the drinks…

It was a case of sitting pretty (as pretty as can be for an ugly duckling like myself) and reeling them in. Sure enough, come 25km into the run and the ‘leaders’ were going backwards. All except the two I’d been worried about at the start, Hamish and James. Unfortunately Hamish had real trouble in the back end of the race with stomach cramps and I was able to catch him a couple of miles before the road out of Rothiemurchus forest.

After a couple of miles of road I crossed the line into the welcome arms of the BBCs Adventure Show crew. Apparently I’d won though you may notice if you see the interview that I answered their questions in a way that suggests that I thought I was second (which I did at that point). Where’d first place gone?!? With the advice given before the race left Braemar of ‘make sure you go under the railway via the underpass just past the pub on the entrance in Aviemore’ I was able to come in quite comfortably ahead of James who’d gone straight on and ended up with ten-tons of metal blocking his path. Bit unfair of the race organiser to declare the result “contentious” at the prize-giving later in the day. He ignored advice and cocked up, I didn’t and didn’t cock-up. Nothing contentious in that. Luckily the prize beer washed away some of the bitterness.

Lessons:

Mum knows best – fuelling is fuelling. You can’t make your car drive without petrol in it. Seems pretty simple huh??

A good coach is more than just an office worker – coaches, good coaches, are ones who look beyond simply inputting times into a spreadsheet, plucking a ‘personalised’ pace chart out their ass and taking your money. With sound advice comes trust and consistency. Consistency = winners.

Sup plenty, sup all – see the first lesson. To a degree, admittedly a lesser degree than proper ultra distance races, long racing is as much an eating and drinking competition as it is a foot race. Practice and learn what your body can handle in extremis and under racing stress.

 

NB: Stephen Wilson @ www.granddayoutphotography.co.uk with the excellent photo….I hope it’s ok to use??

Comment (1)

  1. Brian

    Great result at the Lairig Ghru, George, especially given the hot conditions: perfect example of patient pacing to boot. Well done!

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