Looking Backward and Forward

This is a very occasional blog these days, but I thought it would be useful (for me at least) to look back over what happened in 2019, see what can be learned from it and so try to plan an interesting and motivating 2020.

2019 Diary

My main focus for 2019 was the Hardmoors Grand Slam, which didn't work out for me for a number of reasons. I kicked off well enough with the Hardmoors 30 on New Year's Day, 31 miles and 3300ft of ascent which I completed in 6:36:10.  Next in the series was the Hardmoors 55 towards the end of March. This was 52 miles and 7200ft for this year only, billed as the "Hardmoors 50" to celebrate 50 years since the inauguration of the Cleveland Way, with a (very slightly) shorter course but a double ascent of Roseberry topping to increase the fun. The race has gained a reputation for a bit of tasty weather over the past few years, 2019 being no exception with continuous high winds and heavy rain for the first 10 hours or so. I waddled my way steadily to the finish in 15:42:12.

The Hardmoors 110 was my first problem in the series. This is a race I had never tried before because the date clashes with a timeshare we enjoy. I probably underestimated it because it would have presented no problems to me a few years ago, and this led me to make what I think was a crucial mistake in not bothering to enlist a support crew. There are only two inside checkpoints where you can get warm, have some hot food and "regroup" a bit. These are at around 30 miles and 70 miles. I think not being able to have a bit of a warm and a cup of tea occasionally, combined with having to carry a much heavier bag as an unsupported runner, contributed significantly to my running out of steam as bad weather hit the race in the later stages and I stopped at around 80 miles.

The Hardmoors 60 (62 miles and 7200ft) presented no problems and on a fine day in September I completed it in 15:54:07 which was 45 minutes longer than my last finish in this event in 2015, quite encouraging as I was four years older. But I didn't start the final race of the Grand Slam, the Hardmoors 80 in November; a cold had been threatening all the previous week and on the morning of the race as I drove to Filey to get the bus to the start it came out in a big way, so I cried off and snivelled my way home. So out of the five races, only 3 complete, a rather poor effort.

The other events I entered during the year followed a similar up and down sort of pattern. The week after the Hardmoors 30, during which I felt absolutely fine, I tackled the 108 mile Spine Challenger. It started OK but arriving at the first checkpoint at 45 miles my heart rate was way over what I expected. A couple of hours sleep and some food seemed to make no difference. I could (and maybe should) have just ignored it and carried on, but I was unnerved enough to call it a day. My pulse returned to normal gradually over the next 24 hours or so; I never found out what was wrong.

In early April I ran the Manchester Marathon. I wasn't sure that I still had sub four hours in the locker so was pleased to finish in 3:54:41. My son John was also running and we agreed that if we got well inside our "good for age" targets we would both apply for London in 2020. Mine wasn't too hard to beat, being 5 hours (!!), but John only squeezed inside his 3 hour limit by about three minutes. I didn't think that would be quick enough to get him into London so I didn't bother to apply. He was more confident and got a place! He's going for sub 3:50 and as he will be 40 by then and his good for age for age gets slower, I think he's safe to run London for a few years yet. I must go and do my third at some time; it's a great event but all the faff to get to the start does put me off somewhat.

I carried this relatively good form into the Highland Fling (53 miles 6300ft) at the end of April. I hadn't done the race for a year or two and had forgotten what a great event it still is, in spite of the huge numbers these days. We had unusually wet weather and my time of 11:29:48 was the second worst of my 9 completions, but I still felt it was at least a step in the right direction among all the rather pedestrian performances that characterised most of the year. John came along too after getting into ultras via the White Rose 30 and Chester 50, and managed a pretty respectable 9:27:03 (since then he's felt that ultra training takes him away from his young family too much so has given it a rest for a short while).

In June I ran the GB Ultras Pennine Barrier (50 miles and 8500ft), which involved the Yorkshire 3 peaks but starting and finishing at Malham. On a warm day I didn't really hurry and finished comfortably in 13:55:52.

July saw another failure. Not quite sure what I did wrong but was unable to get round the Lakeland 100 this time, stopping at Kentmere about 82 miles in, Then at the end of August I entered the new Peak 33 (35 miles and 5000ft) starting and finishing in Castleton, getting home in 7:50:45. After the Hardmoors 60 the Lakes in A Day (50 miles and 13100ft) enticed me back for the fourth time; in relatively benign conditions for October I finished in 18:31:20, which was a result but still nearly two hours slower than my previous worst time for the event. Finally in early November I entered the Cornish Marathon, which although entirely on asphalt still had a fair bit of uphill (2600ft); I was pleased enough to finish in 4:12:51.

So for the year 2 marathons and 11 ultras entered, 2 marathons and 7ultras completed, 3 DNF's and one DNS. A pretty mixed bag and overall a bit disappointing.

Two other little projects I had on for 2019 didn't work out either. At the start of the year I decided to walk all the Wainwrights during the year. First some essential maintenance work back in Chester then other distractions put me behind schedule and I eventually lost heart, completing only 175 of the 214 tops. Finally for the second year running I failed to "run the year", that is to cover 2019 miles in 2019. Again I was nicely 40 miles or so ahead of the game until I was unable to start the Hardmoors 80, which simultaneously used the buffer and put me behind, and I never recovered from that.

On a more positive note, thanks to finding a knee expert who was able to help me run at a faster pace without needing several days recovery each time, I got interested in Park Runs and completed 20 or so during the year. I got PB's at both my local course and overall (at a rather flatter venue) in the early Autumn.  I managed to get up to 79.1% on the "age graded" results, giving a clear target for next year!

My totals for the year were 1934 miles run and 274,600 ft ascended.

Learning from the Year

My comfortable running pace has slowed noticeably over the past two or three years. Some of this may be due to age, but I suspect a lot has resulted from ineffective training. I have done a lot more hills and a lot fewer "running" miles, basically because as a day out I find it more fun. But I think that I have been kidding myself that I am considering a day out in the Lakeland fells, walking the ups steadily and jogging the downs to have a training benefit equivalent to two or three hours trail running at a respectable pace; and this clearly isn't the case. I have tended to go with the idea that jogging the downhills and easy flat sections and walking the rest is good enough to complete the events that I'm targetting, and again this is proving false. Making better decisions may have seen me finish the events I failed, but I'm sure that a bit more base pace "in the bank" would have made the projects a lot more secure from the outset.

So my main theme for the first half of 2020 will to be to get out much more on the roads, towpaths and runnable trails both near Chester and in the Lakes, to get a much more solid base of moving in the 9-12 minute mile range rather than covering most of the ground at little more than walking pace.

I will still target a fair number of events, running a proportion of them as enjoyable supported training as normal, but will select them more to support a "running" year, particularly for the first six months or so. I'll walk some hills for fun but not count them as part of the training effort.

I'll be a bit less concerned about overall "miles per week" and just let them come as a result of a build up of quality outings rather than any particular target.

And finally, so that I make sure of good quality sessions rather than just going out for slow speed ambles when feeling tired, for the first couple of months I will restrict running to every other day, apart from the odd very short outing (eg Park Runs). To make this easier I will base the more detailed programme on a 14 day cycle rather than a weekly one (this is much easier if you are retired!) I'll have a rough plan for about a month ahead and finesse the details as I go depending on progress, how I feel and external influences.

Recent Developments

I haven't had a brilliant start to 2020. The cold that prevented me from starting the Hardmoors 80 back in November continued all through the Christmas and New Year period. Every time I thought I was through it and started some gentle exercise, it seemed to restart again. I felt I was finally through it by the end of the first week of the New Year, though I still had a bit of a cough. I was due to attempt the Spine Challenger race on the 11th, so I went along to the doctor as a precaution just to check that my chest was finally clear. He said it wasn't and sent me along for a chest X-ray, which effectively put paid to the event for me. I get the results next week; I don't believe there is a real problem and have started running gently again, but I think it means I have to take a bit of time to work up to decent effort and mileage again. And all the inactivity has resulted in my putting on just over a stone, another issue to be addressed.

Race Plans for 2020

The first race I have planned is the Brecon to Cardiff on 9 February. It's an event I've done before, a pretty straightforward 44 miles with about 2000ft of easy ascent on good runnable tracks all the way. Whether I will have recovered sufficient health by then I don't know, but if I have I'll go regardless of how unfit I will be. I had intended it to be a long slow jog (in 2018 it took me eight and a half hours), but if necessary I'll jog and walk it to get a longish day on the feet.

On 1 March I've entered the Millenium Way Ultra (organised by Beyond Marathon), 41 miles across the Midlands from Burton on Trent to Newport (Shropshire). It's mainly along waterways and disused rail lines so has almost no ascent. I'm really hoping I've been able to put in enough work by then to run this one.

Two old favourites next, the Hardmoors 55 (my eighth) in March and the Highland Fling (tenth) at the end of April. I'll hope to do more this year than just beat the cutoff on the former, and if I can improve on last year's effort in the Fling even slightly I'll be well pleased.

Apart from those in our local mountain regions (Snowdonia, Lakes) where "rounds" have an obvious appeal in visiting a lot of fine territory in a small area, I really prefer my events to be "journeys" from one place to another rather than just artificial circuits, or even worse out-and-back courses, so it's a bit of a departure for me to take on a circular, relatively flat 100 miler. But that is exactly what I'm doing at the end of May with the Chester 100 (Gb Ultras, 100 miles and 5800 ft ascent); two reasons, first it is my local big race, the course passing less than a mile from my house, and second it is a long time since I completed a long race at a reasonable pace, and I want to see how well I can do at this as preparation for my big race of the year in August.

After this I'll take a bit of a break, take stock, and see how I've shaped up over the first five months of the year.

I've always been involved in the Lakeland races at the end of July but the 100 has given me a tough time for the past two years so this year I decided to enter the Lakeland 50.  I originally intended to make it a focus race and see how fast I could complete it; I didn't expect to come close to the sub ten hours (just) I got in 2012, but I thought I might have a tilt at breaking 12. But things happen and plans have to change, so this year I hope it will see me having a comfortable and enjoyable (but probably fairly lengthy) day out,.

This is because I hadn't decided what my main race for the year would be, but I eventually settled on the GB Ultras "Race Across Scotland" which follows the Southern Uplands Way (215 miles and 25,500 ft elevation). In August it's likely to be wet and midgy, but it travels a lot of fairly remote country and looks like a good adventure. I've also enjoyed races of similar length and height gain (Offa's Dyke, Northern Traverse) and they seem to suit my approach so I'm really looking forward to it. The race is just two weeks after the Lakeland 50.

I hadn't planned anything else for the rest of the year except for another favourite, Lakes in a Day in October, which I hope will be my fifth finish on this particular course. John's also entered this one so it will be interesting to see what he thinks of his first real mountain ultra. I will wait and see how I feel after the summer before deciding on a full plan for the remainder of the year.

Finally, a new race has appeared which is just too good to miss. Mike Jones (Apex Running) has been working away for three years now building up his race series in Snowdonia. The 50 and 100 are gaining a reputation for being every bit as good (though significantly tougher) than their Lakeland 50 and 100 equivalents (I ran the 50 in 2018 and was really impressed). Last year he added a Skyrunning event later in the year and this year the 100 and 50 will also have a 30 mile version to introduce runners to the area who might find the 50 a bit sharp. But the one that really fires my imagination in the new "Race Across Snowdonia". This is a journey from Abergwyngregyn (Aber Falls) on the north coast to Aberdyfi (Aberdovey) in the south. Two 40 mile days, each with around 11,500 ft of ascent,  and an overnight camp in the middle, showcasing much of the best that the region has to offer. A sort of super "Lakes in a Day" for Snowdonia (only being Snowdonia you can't do it on a day!). I think this has the potential to become a really popular event, two days offering everything you get from say two days on the Dragon's Back but over a weekend and at a fraction of the cost. The only problem for me is that it comes in July, just a week before the Lakeland 50 and in an already crowded bit of my year, but a shot at the inaugural running just had to be fitted in.

So that's about it for now. I'm really enthusiastic about the prospects for 2020, and once I can shake off whatever this current bug is, I'll get stuck in.