Saturday run

I will be UTUPing tomorrow for a slow run. Will anyone be joining me?

Short, Curley's and prizes

The final race in the Curley's 5k series took place last night and it turned out to be a very successful evening. The weather was much better than last time, and although it did snow on me whilst I was warming up, the ground was much drier and so running through the woods was less treacherous.
Before the race I knew what I had to do in terms of my overall position but I got a big shock when t'Y shot past me before we had reached the houses at the Arcon works. He also went past Tony Hesketh and I began to think he must have doped up before the start. However, going up the steep hill, he started to pay for his exuberance and I had passed him back before we reached Georges Lane. From there on it was a question of trying to maintain the pace; last time I said I didn't mind the uphill finish but this time it seemed to go on for ever, and I really struggled. Eventually it was over and I was delighted to see my main rival in the V60 category finish behind me. t'Y had a blinder, knocking three minutes off his previous time despite his over enthusiastic start. SWINW knocked four minutes off her time and was very pleased as well.
The organisers soon had the results out and we had further cause to celebrate as there was a Beesley double success. SWINW was 1st LV60 overall and I was 1st V60, my first ever win in all my years of running. To cap a perfect evening, Roisin, one of my running group back in Settle, was 3rd lady. It would have been rude not to celebrate, so we just had to go to the pub to finish off a great night.

Out with my Blackpool peers

On a bitterly cold April morning 437 runners faced a strong northerly wind last Sunday to complete the  Blackpool marathon which YJ had selected as the first step in his quest to go sub four during 2016.

The speedwork  provided by the parkrun series certainly paid off with times of 3.58.33 (gun) and 3.57.53 (chip) and splits for the two halves of 1.56.36  and 2.01.27  and an average pace of 9 min.5 secs per mile for the full distance.

A successful day, perhaps, except I was beaten in to 2nd place in the  over 65 category by the same 76 year old who beat me at Snowdon last October. So, having achieved the sub  four target so early in the year  the obvious challenge is to close the gap on D. Gardner before the end of the year.  I may need some help.

Saturday 23rd April

KLM and I reported for duty and he agreed to go with my plan which was the 'climbs' :- from the Bottom Barn to Noon Hill, back down to George's Lane, Trig Point, Two Lads, Georges Lane, Pike, George's Lane, then round again.

On our first climb up the Pike we passed the  time of day briefly with a big black guy and his lady.  He said something about it being a cold day and I replied by suggesting that he should try moving a bit quicker.  About half a minute later he ran past me (I was walking) then he passed Kev (who was running) and continued to sprint all the way up to the tower.

When I finally joined him at the top I shook his hand and said "well done" and he replied by admitting that he ran every day. I asked him if he raced and he just said "No, 2 Para". Kev, who also has a military background was able to find some common ground to discuss with our new found friend, and we parted, I think, on good terms.

Nice to know that we are being defended by fit young men, no wonder the Argies didn't hold on to the Falklands for very long.

I can just imagine him letting us get a few yards in front, then handing his coat to his lady and setting off after us with a confident grin and words along the lines of "Watch this!".

Overall, this was a grand outing, made all the better by this amusing encounter with a member of our armed forces.

A Change of Plan

The Bros met at the Stickle Barn/NDG car park on Sunday 17th April, planning to 'run' the first part of the Old County Tops route. However, a slightly delayed start, the fairly early realisation that one of us (?) was somewhat lacking in the fitness department and a small detour over Silver How while we tried a route variation, meant that on reaching Grasmere we headed straight up to Far Easedale, rather than heading for Helvellyn.

This effectively changed the outing from a re-visit of part of the OCT to a part recce of my Seven Passes outing, a 35 mile route planned for Saturday 25th June.

During the ascent we were passed by a number of descending runners on a RAB mini mountain marathon. We were able to give Albert a shout, but didn't see KLM who was on the same event but managed to sustain a sprained ankle.

We got as far as Sergeant Man before returning to the cars via Stickle Tarn. A good, if somewhat truncated, outing, on a fine, clear day.

Can you name the tops?

My Need for Distance

Given my new found need for long distance running/ambling/hobbling, I have been trying to do something of at least 20 miles every couple of weeks.  I have quite a few LDWA events lined up but I'm at a loss for something to do towards the end of May as nothing in the calendar suits (I did toy with the Old County Tops but fear I might die on that one, plus I can't imagine anyone wanting to run it with me).

I was just wondering whether anyone fancied doing something on either Saturday 21 May, Saturday 28 May or Sunday 29 May, even if just doing a recce of a local event like that White Bear Way (albeit the actual White Bear Way will only be a month after but who cares!).

At some point in the year, I'm definitely going to go back to Ambleside and redo the Spring in Lakeland run, it's the most scenic of these long distance runs I've done so far, I loved it!  If anyone fancies joining me on that one either on the above weekends or at some other time, give me a shout.  I can quite often get days off work midweek.

Too Much Weight Loss?

Not having much personal success at present, I decided to seek some vicarious glory through snail racing.

My molluscular acquisition, racing under the name of Les Cargo, was doing very well but hadn't actually won anything, so I decided that losing a bit of weight might help him and removed his shell.

Unfortunately, this just made him sluggish.

Alternative Spring in Lakeland

I shall be traveling to  Langdale on Sunday to meet up with EtU who will be driving over from Santon with the intention of running the first part of the Old County Tops route,  a sort of nostalgic trip into our past.  

How close we follow the route will depend on our rate of progress,  our physical condition and our ability to not get lost.  From the New Dungeon Ghyll we plan to run over to Grasmere, then to Grisedale tarn, Helvellyn and Wythburn, leading to Greendale Edge and then if time permits via either Stake Pass or Angle Tarn and back to the ODG.

At our best we reached Angle Tarn in 4hr  14min and our worst was 5hr 30min  so we may well end up looking for a short cut back to our cars

I will have three spare seats in the car and if anyone wants to join us I can be at the Hob Inn at 7.15 am  with a view to meeting EtU at 9  am. Let me know.

In the meantime EtU and myself will be UTUPping for a shortish run on Saturday morning.

Short, Curley's and mud

The second race in the Curley's 5k series took place last Wednesday in some very wild weather. Ten minutes before the race started, runners warming up were hit by a cosmic machine gun firing hail stones at them. It did stop just before the race, but it turned the ground in Wilderswood into a morrass.
I had come first V60 in race run but only by less than a minute, so my tactics were to start fast, push hard up the climb and then hang on. My plan worked almost too well as going into Wilderswood I was just behind Tony Hesketh. However, it soon became clear that he had saved something for the descent and he pulled away easily. The biggest problem was trying to stay upright on the muddy surface. I quite like the uphill finish as my lack of leg speed makes less difference and I finished in 25.07, this time almost two minutes ahead of my rival. t'Y was 3rd V60 - the race being far too short for him as he is training to run 100 miles at the end of May.
Dehydration being a serious problem and the grandsons having been returned to the bosom of their family, we went to the pub to finish off an enjoyable evening.

That was cool

Just when you think it is safe to go out in the sun again, winter returns with a  vengeance. The forecast for Wednesday's run over  Winter Hill was not good but EtU still turned up in shorts and I set off without a hat. We should both have known better.

By the time we reached the trig point the rain was turning solid and the wind was strong enough to blow us off the path. At its worst the blizzard was turning my tracksters white and EtU's legs blue.  It wasn't sticking on the ground but the combination of wind and precipitation was bringing us close to hypothermia.  

It was with relief that we reached the Lower Barn and the comfort of our car heaters.  Back home She Who Must be Obeyed was sat in the garden with a drink, in another world completely. What a climate.

Saturday

I shall be UTUPing on Saturday (8.30 at the lower barn for any new readers) planning to further my preparation for the Blackpool Marathon with  a run over Winter Hill, through Belmont, past the Roddleworth reservoirs to Abbey Village and then returning via White Coppice, over 18 miles in total.

More praise

Just to add to the other comments about TF's presentation last Thursday, we found it very informative and Christina who having worked in Dentistry has received training in the past, says it was the best instruction she'd been given. Thanks for the excellent food as well.

A Frog Broke My Ribs...

...and nearly got me arrested.

We're really into spring now and the first three signs are there on Winter Hill:- larks (or as FSS would say 'laverocks') ascendent, curlews calling and a frog run over on the mast road.

There begins my story. I was most ways through my Extended Climbs session, having run from the Top Barn to Noon Hill, then down to George's Lane, up to the Trig Point, down and up the Ramp, with just Two Lads and the Pike to go, when there he was. Not run over, but seemingly injured. Only managing little jumps (frogs don't hop, hopping is done on one leg) and making very poor progress towards the pool inside the mast enclosure. Every time he landed his legs went all skew wiff and he had to untangle them before his next attempt. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to clear the little concrete wall that underpins the wire fence; so I went into Good Samaritan mode.

Overcoming my dislike of all things slimey and wriggly I picked him up and, baulking at the thought of throwing him over the fence, I entered the enclosure to drop him over the lower rail that surrounds the pool. Unfortunately he landed on his back so I leaned over to right him and at that moment heard an authoritative voice demanding to know what I was doing. I began to offer a brief explanation but was interrupted by the same voice telling me in no uncertain terms to get out. I was hoping to be able to admit that my explanation may have seemed a trifle lame but decided not to enrage the owner of the voice further and as I leaned over the fence to give Freddie (by now we were on first name terms) a final nudge, I felt something crack at the bottom of my ribcage - and it wasn't the fence.

So there we go. Possibly some exaggeration and sensationalism (I am from a family of journalists and a Daily Mail reader to boot) in the headline, but much of the above is true. I can still run, but coughing is painful. Hopefully the pain will subside reasonably soon.

I have no picture of Freddie, but for those of who don't know what a frog looks like:-

More thanks...

..to TF for the  very professional  first aid presentation last Thursday and also for the hospitality. Was a most pleasant evening.

Thanks TF :-)

Just wanted to say thanks to the toothfairy for the first aid training last night.  It was very informative and I definitely learned a thing or two, especially the bit about lifting up the chin which I knew nothing about before!

Thanks also for the great spread of food!  I'd like to say that I still have some of the cakes left which I brought home with me but I'd just be lying, they didn't even see it through to this morning.

Thanks again!

Short and Curley's

A new series of three short, 5k, trail races from Curley's restaurant started last night. It wasn't a Horwich race but it was in Horwich and SWINW wanted to do it. Unfortunately she has a just had about 4 weeks off running due to a combination of hurting her back and bad asthma. But she decided to walk/run it, so we filled a car up from Settle and drove down on a sunny but chilly evening. The sun was quite problematic on the downhill start to Wallsuches and also in Wilderswood as it made seeing where you were running quite tricky. It was also muddy in places so I don't know how the many runners in road shoes got on.  The uphill finish was tough but soon over.
I was second of the Settle four, beaten by Jill and followed home by Roisin and Anne, and more amazingly, was 1st V60, my first ever category victory in an open race. It will probably never happen again and probably says more about the quality of the field more than my performance, but I will die a happy man!

Did You Know That Canaries Are Black?

Well, at least parts of them are.

Just back from a week on La Palma, which is an island in its own right, not to be confused with Las Palmas which is the main city on the island of Gran Canaria.

A few snaps:-

Typical mountain terrain, at about 3,000 ft on the flank of Mount Negra.

Looking down into the crater of Volcan San Antonio.

Whilst back at sea level:-

La Palma prides itself on having the most extreme height to surface area ratio of any island in the world. With a high point of 7,959ft on an area of only 273 square miles, that's almost believable - but do Scottish sea stacks not qualify as islands?

By the way, noted that our Salford friend has has treated herself to a personalised number plate, but it would seem that this has been financed by economising on the valeting:-

Pike Race

One of my ambitions for 2016 is to do as many Horwich races as possible, so yesterday I drove the 50 miles down from Settle along with Anne and my clubmate Richard who I had persuaded to also do the race.
The weather was not as nice as last year but from the runners point of view it turned out to be an unexpected bonus. After the usual pleasantries(??!!) had been exchanged we lined up on Lever Park Avenue read for the off. t'Y set off next to me but quickly dropped me before we reached the school. However, as soon as it ramped up I started passing people, partly thanks to being able to train on the steeper hills at home and partly because I was being blown by the wind. I got to the top in just under 17 mins and didn't lose any places on the steep part of the descent. But as soon as the upper quarry was passed my lack of leg speed came into play and I lost about half a dozen places before the finish. But I was over two minutes faster than last year, so I was well pleased.
TYC was first home from wfdbwgua in the excellent time of 21.35. A long way behind were my good self in 27.13, t'Y in 28.21, YJ (1st V75) in 31.56 and EtU in 36.15. (My apologies if I have missed anyone). My thanks to Horwich RMI for putting the race on, a  good day out .

I ran with the Ghurkas...

...and the Navy, the Air Force and the Army. The Fleet half marathon being situated so close to Aldershot naturally attracts many entries from the Services and as such is well supported by the community  as well as being a big attraction to myself  because of family connections with the area.

Last Sunday's race had 2574 finishers, including myself in 1079th place. After a disappointing result last year I had high hopes that improved training times linked to the speedwork the Parkruns provides would yield better results. 

 And they did. Gun time of 1.48.21 was 2mins  9secs better while the chip time knocked 1min 35secs off last year to put me first over 75 and third over 70.

Plane spotting

Item on the news tonight. Eddie Swift arrested in Kenya for plane spotting!

|Away days

At least two regulars will not be UTUPing on Saturday (19th).  I will be out of the county for the weekend competing in the Fleet half marathon and EtU will be out of the country running, or possibly sunning himself, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic.