Eryri Marathon 2015

So the final weekend of this 4 weekend racing spree through october (yes, I know its nothing in comparison to the likes of Daz fishwick), was the Eryri Marathon. Part of the Glossopdale club championships, I had entered this quite a way back in the year, put it at the back of my mind, and figured that Id work it out at some point down the line.

Training for a road marathon is certainly not something to be sniffed at, but put in a couple of hard relay legs and a fell race in the weeks leading up to it, and try to plan long distance training around those is quite a thing to do. It was only really about 6 weeks ago that I got my road shoes out and started practicing pavement pounding with a vengeance.
To be honest, I was absolutely certain I could run the distance.... On a trail. Its the minor issue of doing it on the road that was worrying me. First go out, I was nigh on hobbling home with calf muscles burning after just 7k. The second time out, after 13k I was hobbling for 3 days with calves that just didn't work. Even up to about 2 weeks ago with a planned 30k run cut short to 24k or so because of a bit of a niggle in the knee was a cause for concern.

I haven't run a road marathon since 2010, and that was London, which I finished in 3:45. This was to be my first as a Glossopdale Harrier, and all things considered, might be interesting.

 We travelled to Wales and registered on the friday. I took the opportunity to have a quick recce of the 2 footpath sections, totaling about 3k of the entire route. The weather wasn't great, and I ran it in x-talons, noting that as long as it didn't get any worse in terms of wetness, then road shoes would be fine for the whole thing. After meeting up with a few of the guys at the Snowdon Ranger Hostel, we ate, drank, chatted, and finally got our heads down. Morning of the race is always the same. But here, in Wales, it was absolutely chucking it down. Buckets and buckets of the stuff. It was also pretty cold.

All the chat about road shoes from the previous night evaporated, and the trusty xtalons came out. They might have done more than 1000k already and lost most of their grip, but they're still game for a wet, and partially muddy marathon. I was hoping that I would be able to keep pace with those around me til the last 3k, when the grip would really give me an advantage. The minor issue being, could I manage the prior 39k at speed, on road, in fell shoes?

 Everyone was having clothing dilemmas. How hot was it going to get? Would the rain continue all morning? Would it stay this cold? As we're going up to the top of the pass would it get colder, what with the breeze? Decisions, decisions.
 I met with Paul Skuse and Vicki H in the race HQ, and also managed to catch up with Jim and Sharon from Helsby, but it didn't take long for the clock to tick down and we had to wander through the rain and the cold to the start, just a bit beyond the Castle at the beginning of Llanberis.
Al was also there, as was Nick (in his stockport colours), and we were soon joined by Caity, Chris and Neil. Everyone still in their disposable see through macs, listening to the starters announcement, waiting...

Then it was macs off, stand in the pouring rain for just a few minutes before we were given the off. I started and locked my watch a bit before the gun went, as is my habit... It stops me having to faff at the start, and worry if the timer is going or not, and it stops me from worrying about looking at my watch obsessively through the race as its not actually on race time. If I'm not running as hard as I can, then I need to speed up. If I need a time in my head to speed up then I'm obviously not going fast enough.

 The gun goes, caity, who was stood in front of me shoots off like a rocket and is already 5,6 people ahead of me within seconds... These road marathons start quick. It takes me about 300m to catch her and ease into a decent running rhythm, and then the endless road started. How fast do you start a marathon? In a fell race, you know there are hard ups and downs that will break up the pace, make you run faster and slower.

Admittedly this marathon has some ups and downs, but nothing quite on the scale of a fell run. Start at a speed and see what happens. In the second km, Rob Grantham, winner of the North Wales fell series appears at my side, tapping out a decent rhythm and we run through nant peris together. It became apparent that he wasn't slowing down, and the pace was a bit too hot for me, especially as the first climb up Llanberis pass was fast approaching, so I let him go, and eased up a little.

Just down from the PyG

I fell into step with a guy wearing raidlight mitts, and we ascended the pass pretty much stride for stride. People passed, we passed others. Eventually he pulled away a little, and I went over the top by the Snowdon Carpark through the drinks station, still clutching my windproof, thoroughly looking forward to the downhill section. I passed a couple of guys on the way down to the Pen y Gwyrd hotel, and was really happy to see Lynne standing at the side of the road shouting encouragement. I ditched my waterproof and ran on down onto the bridle way.

This section was a bit stoney, and I was a little disappointed not to be gaining as many places as I thought I might, considering my footwear choice. It was still raining, but there was that niggle in the back of my mind if I'd chosen the right footwear. Even now I was feeling it a bit underfoot, having not worn road shoes. No time to worry now. Back onto the road, and there was a gaggle of us, all pressing over to the left. There were a few cars on the road, but by no means was it a normal amount of traffic. With numb fingers I extracted a geobar from the pocket in my shorts and ate that, wanting to stave off a crash as much as possible, and the next few miles passed in a bit of a blur of keeping up with people, not being dropped and wondering which corner was the last one before Beddgelert.

 Finally the town appeared and gels were being given out at the feed station. I stupidly shunned them, having got my own gel out just prior... it saved me having to slow down, and it reduced the weight in my pocket, but maybe I should have used their gel and saved mine til later. No matter, through the town, and Dylan from Sarn Helen had obviously been keeping his powder dry for the first half as he sliced his way through the field.
The 13mile mark came and went, half way through and I still hadn't checked my time. I was looking at my Heart rate, to ensure I wasn't sending it through the roof to something unsustainable, but had no clue how long I had been out. The road climbed out of Beddgelert, and it went on and on. We had driven up this yesterday, and I was prepared for a long drag. I managed to keep up with another runner for quite a while here, and used the fact that he could go at a pace to my advantage... if he can, then I can.

On and on we went. Rob Grantham was in sight but never seemed to get closer, but all of a sudden, it wasn't an uphill struggle, and the road leveled out. I began to stretch out my legs, though various bits were hurting. Knees, ankles, shins, hips.... by the end of this I'm going to be a bit of a mess. If this was a training run I would certainly be walking by now for fear of damage and a bit of a lay off training. But this is a race. I downed another gel, my last bit of food, and kicked it up a gear. Rob was coming back to me, and although it was a decent few miles to the Snowdon Ranger, the distance flew by and we were there before I knew it. 

Neck and neck with Rob, he seemed to come to life again, and the pace quickened. I tried to hold him to it, but this far into a marathon on road... not going to happen. I held for as long as I could before thinking... theres still a good distance to go, you might need some power soon, don't run out. I was never out of touch with him until we hit the final town, the uphill section where we turned right. Final feed station and I grabbed another gel, knowing that we were in the last few miles now. Rob was powering off ahead and there was not a thing I could do about it. The main thing now was to just keep running. Whatever time I came in at, as long as my legs kept turning, and I kept running, it would be fine. If I walked, there would always be the question.... but what if I had kept running?! Up the climb, faster runners overtook me. Despite regular hill rep sessions, climbs are still a serious weakness, and I need to continue to practice.

The road narrowed, and eventually became a track. A track with a river running down it. Even now, people in road shoes were still going at the same speed as me. Have I made a massive miscalculation? Should I have been in road shoes all along? My feet and legs were screaming at me, telling me that, yes, I certainly should have been. Towards the top of the hill, through a gate, where Sikobe was standing, shouting support for us Glossopdalers, and finally the downhill.

Down the track, with 3 miles left, my legs stretched out, ignoring pain. Downhills are great, no matter what you're doing. Slowly I began to overhaul some of the guys that had passed me on the ascent. The path got worse. It got wetter, steeper and grassier. Footsteps that had shadowed me from the top of the hill faded behind me, 2 guys in front were having great difficulty staying on their feet. Tired legs would have a bad enough time just providing the braking force going down the hill, add the uncertainty of underfoot conditions, and they really didn't want to play. I zoomed past on the outside, sliding a little.... 1000k of running wears down studs on x-talons, but I still had more grip than road shoes that started with next to nothing.

Trying a bit hard on the final straight

Down through a gate, and 3 more people ahead, I closed them down, turned a corner, and we were back onto tarmac... still able to catch them, even with better traction for road shoes? Of course. Coming through on right, and hammer down the hill. This is the last mile, and no-one was going to overtake me now. A guy ahead of me was having a bit of a slidy moment on the track, but recovered himself. Still a good 70 metres ahead, perhaps just a bit too much to overhaul considering the road was flattening out.
 Down, and down through into Llanberis, a final right turn, and the finish line beckoned. A crowd lined the street, and above the finish line, the timer read 2:58.... 2? Sub 3? That's absurd, that's ridiculous.

Over the line - Thanks Lynne for the support and the pictures

At that moment I was so glad that I hadn't been obsessively checking my speed and time throughout the race. I ran to feel, and numbers wouldn't have made a whole lot of difference anyway. Stretching out along the finish straight, I gave it all to come in at 2:58:29. First marathon in GDH colours, first one as a club runner. and its sub-3. Slightly unexpected, but very chuffed.

Fra relays 2015

This year the fra relays were being held at Pendle hill. There was quite a bit of controversy for quite a few weeks and months leading up to the event because of restrictions to team numbers being entered, car parking palavers and lack of a mixed team catagory. 

As team captain for Glossopdale I had the lovely task of picking the male teams, and then shifting and patching them up as and when injury or ill health threatened to scupper us as a team, even up to the last couple of days. 

It almost helped that i crocked my ankle last week at the Breiddan hills race as it gave me the opportunity to tell people, with great authority, that if im going to be running on a dodgy ankle, they could also certainly run on tired week-post marathon legs etc. As far as I know, Caity didnt have much of an issue with the girls team, but it still felt like a minor miracle when everyone turned up in the right place, at approximately the right time.

Last minute issues included locating the club tent, the banners and also ensuring that everyone knew the race was on saturday.... Not sunday. 

Still, we all got there and all was well. 

The blokes I travelled up with were left to competently put the tent up. Being one of the first teams to arrive, we had a decent area to play with, and I went off to get the team packs. On arrival and presentation to the registrars, saying I was from Glossopdale, the lady looked down her list and asked "are you a Hunk?".

Ah. 

When Caity and I registered the teams, we could write down whatever names we wanted on the SI entry list. In somewhat high spirits, instead of the usual "glossopdale men, ladies and v40" we instead thought it would be a much better idea to enter teams as the Glossopdale Hunks, Babes and Old Gits. Unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to enter a female v40 team, so didn't get to enter the Glossopdale super-babes. Which was a shame. 

I didn't really expect to see the names written on our race packs. (I was hoping....but you can never be sure).

After getting back to the tent, which was in some state of upness, the maps, numbers and dibbers got distributed, cups of tea were had, and we started getting ready for the relay. Leg 1 runners, Ben, Caity and Andy B started warming up, and I realised that considering the start was about 5mins from the tent, the tent was about 7 mins from the changeover point, kitcheck was also needed prior to me starting on leg 2 and leg 1 would probably only take about 35 mins, I should probably get ready. 

Faff, of course ensued, and after a while, Mark and I made our way up to the changeover area, where all and sundry were warming up ready for leg 2. We have both raced on this hill before, and know there are some considerable ups and downs, but we haven't actually raced together all that much. Last time we raced as a pair was this time last year, and last time we competed against each other was at the Holme moss race in august. I was pretty sure it was going to be ok....

The first teams came through, big names hurtling down the in lap to pass on to just as great names on leg 2. We're only running against British fell running champs, mountain running champs and all the rest of it. Always good to be rubbing shoulders and comparing yourself to those at the peak of the sport. 

First Glossopdale in was, as last year, Caity. The girls team of Cheryl and Zoe got the drop on us, and it seemed like an age before Ben came dropping down the hill like a stone to release us from the starting area. 

Mark went off fast and hard and my legs and lungs really didn't like it. Uphill for the first 500m and I was barely hanging onto his coattails. Various things like asking him to slow down, or just pulling him on the back of the vest to get him to relax the pace a bit went through my mind. To be honest, I wasn't close enough to grab him, nor did I have the breath to say anything, being run ragged at the very beginning of the course was not entirely on the plan. 

We passed a couple of teams on the outward leg, our own ladies team among them. The first hill hit, and we scalped another, with Eryri coming past us for good measure. 1st checkpoint, over a wall, and we were directly behind a couple of teams. The ground rose steadily and way ahead of us was a gaggle of other teams who had set off a good 2mins in front of us. 

In my head I was thinking "no Mark, don't overtake this team, my legs don't work" 

No stopping him at this point, and ignoring my silent pleading, he forged on passed a team, then another, and another, with me following doggedly in his footsteps. 

Crickey this is hard. Heart still hammering, legs not really responding, going uphill at speed is still my absolute nemesis, and still Mark set an unforgiving pace. By this time, barely a word had passed between us as we ran in companionable silence. Well. Kind of. Conversation would have been severely limited to single word sentences, at least on my side...

Up through bog, and the group in front of us appears to be getting closer. Only about 3 teams between us and what looks to be a Pennine vest. (Friendly local rivalry and all... It would have been nice to catch them up, considering the amazing runners they had on leg 1). 

Mark was still leading us on, but I was finally feeling a bit better, a bit more in control of lungs and legs, and was happy to be led on the charge through another couple of teams, the gaggle in ahead of us now getting tangibly closer. 

Onto a path, and a dive down the steep side of Pendle hill. Careful now, if there is anywhere that I'm going to go over on my ankle, its here... Careful... Carefu.... Oh, there it goes. My left foot hit a rock, and the ankle twisted slightly. On a normal day it would have been an 'oh, that was lucky, I didn't totally go over on my ankle'. Today was quite a bit more sore, going over on an already tender ankle was not what I needed, but it could have been worse. I took it a little more steadily down to the bottom of the hill, now with Mark in my wake, and was able to get a slight breather as he dibbed the checkpoint. 

The 2 Pennine teams were now only just in front of us, 30seconds or so... Which on a climb seems in touching distance, but in fact, is not. Mark and I climbed the hill steadily. It wasn't as fast as I would have liked, and we barely gained anything on those in front of us, while a team came through and past. 

2 more teams, who had obviously set off too fast were now paying for it and we caught them, but the Pennine group remained elusive. I chugged a gel, and we hit the top, turned, and followed the crowd back down the hill to the next checkpoint. 

Single track, bracken on both sides, and very difficult to overtake anyone. I tried, but there was only ever enough space for one person in a team to overtake, leaving the other half to be frustrated behind the overtakee.... Not wanting to be separated from Mark, I slowed down, and we passed through the dib point together. 

Left, and up the clough. A number of route options were being taken here, some staying high, others crossing the clough early, some late, what to do? Most important was to make a decision. Neither of us had reccied the route previously, so it was a take it on sight type thing. We stayed on the true right bank for as long as possible, walk/running along the contour. Others broke right to cross the stream earlier, but we stayed true, and ended up coming out of the clough and hitting the path ahead of one of the Pennine teams, and bang at the same time as the other. 

Another quick route decision saw us not bother with the path, but strike out directly across the moorland, across tussocks and bog for a good while, before finally coming to a fast runnable track that would take us all the way to the top of the hill. 

Finally I was feeling good. The gradient was runnable, it was excellent underfoot, and everyone else seemed to be slowing down. I ran well within myself, stalking the teams in front, and accelerating past them when the path provided the opportunity. Unfortunately Mark was having the same trouble as previously... Limited chances to overtake, and if the opportunity is missed, its a while before you can get past. As we arrived at the next checkpoint, there were 6 of us together, but I was at the front, and Mark was 5th in line, but still in easy communicable distance, so we weren't breaking any rules.

No trouble. Regroup, through the gate, and onto the flagstones into a headwind. 

Mark and I swapped leads up the final part of the hill, taking over as the other tired. Pennine were in close pursuit, and we topped out together, time for the final plunge down. 

I let my legs take me as fast as they wanted to go. The line wasn't the best line, perhaps not the fastest line on the hill, but I made it work. Mark was suffering from a stitch on the way down, but was able to keep in touch, and we passed the gate at the bottom a with a few seconds advantage. Now, just the final section home, just a kilometre or so. This final part of Pendle hill reminds me of cross country when I was a kid, I think its just the terrain underfoot rather than anything else. Mark and I close in on the finish, hammering down hill as hard as we dared, coming in barely a few seconds before the Pennine Open team, having made up a good 2 mins on them. 

I know we don't have a chance to beat them overall, such is the strength of their club, but to regain some of that lost time on our leg felt really good. 

To cool down we headed back up to Pendle hill again, via a steep climb, and came down via leg 4 and were in time to see the lead teams final leg runners battling it out up the hill on the glory leg. 

Overall we came in 36th, the Old gits were 94th and the Babes came in 107th. It was a superb experience to be in the finishing field as our final runners came in, the rest of the team clapping and cheering them on. I couldnt actually cheer, myself, because I got quite choked up, actually. It was great to be a small part of such a lovely bunch of people. 

Even if we did take a ridiculous amount of time working out how to take the tent down....

Thanks muchly to the organisers, well done to Calder Valley for the overall win, and 2nd ladies team as well... What a great day for your club! 

And well done to Pennine v40s, a well deserved silver medal in the category. Superb effort! Well done. 

Light insulation - Montane Fireball Verso 2015

Montane Fireball Verso - packed up

This time last year I wrote a quick blog about the different options in terms of Fast and Light insulation layers, looking at price point, amount and type of insulation and general packability. This was basically to workout which one I wanted to buy. To cut a long story short, last year nothing was purchased, I made do with what I had.

This year saw the introduction of a number of new insulated tops, a lot of which are reversible, following the somewhat trend setting Inov8 Thermoshell. The idea of this is that on one side you have windproof material, on the other is a wind permeable material and sandwiched between them is a layer of thermal insulation. Most often this ends up being one of the permutations of Primaloft. Extras like pockets and wrist cuffs etc are put on and off each jacket to give options across the market, but ultimately they all seem to want to do the same thing.

My choice was ultimately swayed by price, and perhaps the only reason why I chose a Montane Fireball Verso over the Thermoshell, or the Berghaus Vapourlight Hypertherm reversible and the other options out
there was price. I was able to get the Montane for quite a bit less, so I jumped at it, knowing that at some point this year, there are going to be some grim nights in which I'm going to be running, and a layer like this is going to be quite a necessity.

size small - 237g

The question is, just how warm are these jackets - for running in, and as an emergency warm layer, does the whole reversible thing work, and  is there any point in buying one?

First Impression

Well, I got the "shadow grey" Verso- because the Black ones were out of stock. The first thing I thought was... how do I tell which side is windproof, and which is the breathable side? It certainly doesn't have a massive sign telling you that on the material.

Baffles sewn in - the Hypervent side out - breathable fabric to the fore

One side has baffles sewn into it - and a chest pocket, the other side is baffle-free, and has no chest pocket - it also has Pertex Quantum written on the arms. Aha, a clue.

The windproof material is on the side without the baffles, so theoretically, with that side out, it should be a slightly warmer jacket - the heat building up on the inside will be insulated by the primaloft and the wind shouldn't be able to permeate the fabric to whisk all the heat away, making it a lovely warm micro-climate.

Pertex Quantum side out - windproof.

The opposite way around, with the permeable fabric outer-most (hypervent), should still be warm - like wearing a pertex jacket, but with primaloft on the outside. The heat build up should be regulated by the fact that the wind can blow through the primaloft meaning that although you stay warmer, there is still a wind cooling effect.

Although the 2 options here may seem a little odd if you just want a jacket that keeps you warm as you sit down to make a brew on the hill - you have to remember, this is not what this jacket is made for.
Think fast and light.
As far as I can make out, it is for cold days when you need a certain amount of insulation and element protection, but if using it one way out is too warm, or indeed too cold, you can turn it the otherway out and hey presto - a solution without having to carry another layer.

In this Jacket, the Primaloft used is the new Primaloft Silver - which some people believe is basically the new iteration of Primaloft Eco (Primaloft Gold being, apparently the new iteration of Primaloft One), having said that, Primaloft now have a dizzying array of types of insulation, and to muddle your way through them would probably take too much time, and by the time you've worked out which one is best for your use, it'll be summer again. There are indeed various Clo ratings, but to be honest, I'm just going to get out there and see how it feels. 

Mobility in the top

Fit

I'm generally a small in most jackets, and the small in the Fireball Verso is a really good, snug fit. I can get it on over a running top, and it would go over a waterproof as well, but it might require a bit of coaxing. Most likely, if it was that cold on a run, I'd stop and put it on under a waterproof. The fit itself is a good reason not to put on too much weight over the winter - or there is no way I'd get the thing on come January.

Long sleeves and thumb loops

Even though I have the small version, the arms are a decent length, and come right down over my hands. The thumbloops are in the right place, both ways out, and do a good job of keeping my hands toasty.

The only pocket

The pocket is a decent size - you can certainly hold more than just a bar in there, though there are no handwarmer pockets - as previously mentioned, this is very much a piece of clothing for moving in, rather than sitting still. If it was going to be used as insulation for sitting around waiting for a kettle to boil, I'd really rather have something with a little more puff to it - or another layer on top. Equally - it could be used as an emergency layer for getting you off the hill when you have to slow down and need a bit more warmth than just a running top, but I reckon you'd certainly want to be kept moving with it on.

Having said all this, I've really only used it a couple of times so far. It really hasn't been cold enough to try it in anger yet, but its getting colder, and I'll be out and about in it as soon as its got to a decent chill.