Kentmere Horseshoe Race 2013

Well.
Sometimes you have good races. The more good races you have, the worse the bad races seem, and today was a pretty horrible one.

I had a bit of a feeling that this might be tough. Just an inkling of a feeling, but I knew the heat was not going to make this an easy race.
It is marked out at as a Medium length race, and has the distinction of being the longest "medium" in the FRA calendar. Organised by the famous Mr Bland, and also in the Glossopdale club championships, it would have been rude not to do the race, no matter how I was feeling about it.

Having got there early, I bobbed out along the final kilometre or 2, just to check the run in, and sent Lynne off on her own magical mystery tour of the area, as she wasn't racing.
At the start I felt like I didn't want to be too near the front of the pack as I would probably get drawn into starting out too fast, so I sneaked back a little way, to start with the rest of the Glossopdale guys.

The beginning of the race was up a road, and then a gradually steepening path. Looking at the profile, it was
a greater incline that that of Foel Fras. Although Foel Fras was longer, with more climb, this was destined to be a harder race, physically and mentally.
To begin with I was feeling ok, not too bad at all, and was passing a few people that may have started a little too close to the front of the pack for their own good.

Then it began to get steep and my legs began to complain. They got heavy, and then runners started to go past me. Looking ahead, there were maybe 20 to 30 racers in front of me, doing their thing, running up the steep part of this part of the climb. As much as I tried, as much as I wanted to, as much as I told my legs to shut up and do their thing, I ended up walking.
Already.
Not a good sign.

The rest of the climb up was basically spent in conversation with myself about whether my training had been too much over the last couple of weeks... or maybe too little running? or maybe I hadn't eaten properly? not recovered well enough? or maybe there was something else going on? Surely other people couldn't be suffering as much as me?
Runner after runner was passing me, looking stronger and running with more poise and strength than I could possibly muster.

A lovely view, looking up toward a part of the route

It was depressing.

Originally I was hoping for a time in the region of 1:50 or so, something comparable to Foel Fras, but with the way I was feeling, that was probably going to be slipping away. I contemplated sitting down and looking at the view. I contemplated just turning around and wandering back down the hill. I contemplated just stopping.
But you can't. Everyone else probably feels that way as well, so you just have to keep grinding. Keep moving. I won't call it running, or else I might get done on the trade descriptions act.

Got to the top, slowly sipping through my drink, basically suffering all the way. Legs not moving right, really not feeling great, wanting to stop at every opportunity, and having to walk far, far more than I ever did at Foel Fras. On the turn back down the hill from High street I downed a coffee energy gel, hoping against hope that the fatigue and heaviness in my legs might be remedied by a double shot of espresso and a whole load of sugar.

It didn't entirely work, but I managed to carry on, and put some distance between me and the guy that was
finally catching me on the last part of the climb. At this point, all I wanted was for the race to be finished, especially as the course was not entirely all downhill from this point. Still eminently runnable, for those with more strength and ability than myself on this particular day, but certainly not for me.
Down the paths, across the fields, still haemorraging places to other runners. It was not a good day.

It was only at the final plunge downhill, across some rougher grass that I got annoyed enough with myself and the people that kept passing me and pelted through the long grass, passing 2 others who were going down the trod in the middle of the field. That felt good.

Chasing down in the last few metres

As the descent got more technical I gained on a couple of other people and distanced those that I passed, eventually making up about 4 places. Nothing in comparison to the number that passed me, but better than nothing, nevertheless.

Then a grind through trails and into the final part of the race. Everything hurting, nothing easy about it, and even more encouragement from the brain to just sit down, yet with 2 guys just in front of me, and with one of them weakening, there was no way that was going to happen.
I clung on to the faster of the 2 guys all the way to the end, chasing him down in a final sprint, getting into the finishing funnel at exactly the same time as him, according to the results sheet, but with him in front of me in the funnel.
Well done to the Glossopdale Girls though.... they came out with 1st Ladies team, and ended up with Pete Bland vouchers... Nice!

Recovery in the stream

For me, the race was Hard. Ugly. No idea why it felt like that, but a number of others that I was talking to afterward had exactly the same sentiments, right the way through the race, so I'm not sure if it was the way I've been training, or what I have been eating, or what.
Despite the fact that I felt like I was running so slowly, I still managed to come in at 1:53, which is about where I was expecting. Descending is still waaaay better than ascending, and it will take a long time and a LOT of training to get better, stronger and more comfortable with climbing. Thats going to take a while.

The odd thing was that I didn't feel like I was tired from a hard run, I just felt generally fatigued about the entire run. No speed, no strength, no heart - not race fatigue, generic fatigue.

Cake

Glossopdale enjoying the stream

The cake went some way to restoring me though. Sometimes hard races are what you need. Difficult races that make you question your training, question your ability, and make you think about why all these people are passing you.
What is important now, is recovery, analysis, and putting that knowledge into training. And getting better.

Ultimate Direction signature Ultra packs

For a good few years I have been lusting after a Salomon S-Lab running vest, but have never had the money to burn or the pressing need to actually seek one out and try it on. (Especially as the only places I could ever see to buy one were online...)
This weekend I had the pleasure of being on the general support for the Ultra Tour de Peak District in the guise of a massage therapist, I got to see a load of guys using one.

It rides pretty damn high. 

However, more interestingly, a good number of the competitors were using a seemingly lighter weight version of the same idea of pack, made by Ultimate Direction, and I managed get hold of 2 different versions to try on and generally play around with.

No I haven't actually worn one for running, sorry to say, but I don't quite have that clout...

Ultimate Direction are a company from the USA which has been in the ultra running market for quite some time, as such they have a fair amount of design experience. With this, the signature series of packs, they have roped in the design assistance of some pretty hefty names in the ultra world, including Scott Jurek and Anton Krupika.

First impressions of the packs is that they sit very high on the back, coming down to mid-back only, so it encompasses pretty much only the thoracic region, not extending down the the lumbar area, meaning that the motion of the hips when running should have no effect on the stability of the bag whatsoever.

The next thing to note is the ridiculous lightweightness of the materials used. The main material is a Hex-Mesh, which is pretty much see through, but has a reassuring non-rippiness to it, the pockets are very very stretchy, and seem to be made of some kind of power-stretch fabric, used in a lot of other lightweight kit, and the expandable parts of the main pocket is made of a thin white scrunchly material, somewhat akin to sail fabric called Cuban-fibre. It is light and tough. In fact, it seems tear resistant and nigh on indestructable. Apparently the fabric is the same grade of stuff used to make sails for the Americas yachts - it's non-woven, is not affected by UV rays, moisture or chemicals, and is 15 times stronger than steel. So they say.

There are 3 different signature models to choose from, The Jurek Ultra vest is 9.2 litres, and boasts attachments for ski poles or an ice axe, the mid-range model the Adventure Vest- designed by Pete Bakwin is 8.5 litres, and apparently has a specific pocket for a locator beacon (this is the one that I didn't have a chance to try on), and the smallest version, the minimalist Race Vest has an expandable back, which goes to about 4 litres or so.

Each of these vests share some generic detailing, with the twin bottle holders on the front, the gel pockets in the top front of the vest. zipped pockets on the "wings" and the elastic compression across the back.

The Ultra Vest

Ultra Vest - Back

Very briefly - this has more pockets than you can shake a stick at. It would take a good memory, or a whole lot of practice at packing, racing and re-packing this bag in exactly the same way to ensure that you don't forget what you have stowed in each pocket, else you'll spend half the race trying to remember where you put that special caffiene gel.
It is relatively easy to get to most of the pockets, on the outside of the bottle holders, underneath the bottle holders etc. but because the vest sits so high, the underarm zipped pockets do need a bit of flexibility to be used on the go.

Pockets under the Water bottles- a feature on the Ultra vest and the Race vest

The expandable back piece looks like it could comfortably hold everything I'd need for a fell race, up to and including the Trigger, and maybe even with a small waterbladder in there as well. I'd be happy on solo runs for a very long distance. Which is kind of the idea.

Gel pockets on the Water Bottle pockets- a great idea

Cuban Fabric. You can also see the compression hooks, and the tops of the 2 zipped pockets. 

Hex mesh. See through, hyper-lightweight. Somewhere to store a waterbladder if you need to. There are various routing options for the tube as well. 

Everything looks to be to hand, except the stuff that you'd want to take the vest off for anyway- waterproofs etc.

The Race vest
A very pared down version of the Ultra Vest. Less pockets, less weight. The basic design is the same with the double bottles on the front, and a small back pouch, but this time with no zips. The pockets on the sides of the drink holders have gone, but the ones under the bottle remain, which is a nice touch. The wing pockets under the armpits are even smaller on this model, making arm/shoulder flexibility an absolute must if you are going to access these while on the move. This is the only one of the 3 which has an adjustable strap under the arm as well as over the shoulder, so it is a bit more tighten-up-able.

The rear pockets are small, and pretty far back, but the vest is crazily low profile. You can also see the strap to tighten in around the side of the body. 

No zips. Just a lightweight closure to keep stuff in and compressed down. 

Again, rides high on the back, has gel pockets above and below the bottles. 

This, the lightest and most minimal of the lot, I can see being of use on long Trail Races in the Summer, or on the continent. Though to be honest, if I needed to, I'd only really use the one bottle on a race, and use the other bottle holder to carry a map, or something along those lines- but then I don't tend to drink crazy amounts of water when running anyway.

You may have noticed the bottles.... they have a camelbak type opening thing, this is the bottle in the closed position

And this is open. They seem pretty robust, but only time will tell what repeated pulling on them with your teeth will do. 

Both of these designs are a quantum shift away from the classic bumbag, with the constriction around the waist. Yes, they provide constriction around the upper thorax, but also distribute the weight across more area of the body. Would breathing be compromised on a huge or fast uphill? I'm not so sure, as the material is pretty stretchy. Yes, there may be some compromise, but maybe less than with a bumbag.

Overall then, yes, lightweight. Yes, very handy bits of kit. Yes, I can imagine running with one and feeling better about it than with a bumbag.
However, these things come at a cost. £75 for the race vest, £95 or thereabouts for the Ultra Vest and £125 for the Adventure vest.
For dedicated Ultrarunners, comparing these to the S-Lab vests, this is almost a no-brainer, so too is the weight, 212g for the Jurek Model, in comparison with the S-Lab 5 litre Hydration system at 313g, and £120 (but it does come with a water bladder) or the S-Lab 12 at £150 and 400g or so.

So it would seem there is a new voice on the Ultralight Ultra running market. I'm not sure that it will penetrate into the tightfisted world of the fellrunner, though I suspect we will be seeing more and more of these excellent packs around and about the place in the coming months.

Should I get a version to try on and run around the Peaks and the Lakes, I'll stick up a review to show how it goes.

One of the Vests about to be used on the 30 mile Intro Ultra at the UTPD this weekend just gone. 

Light insulation layers - moving fast.

I was asked by a club mate the other day about lightweight, insulation layers which wouldn't lose insulative properties when wet. Basically, a good layer for the end of the day on a summer mountain marathon, an emergency warm layer for in the rucksack in the autumn or just something to wear to keep the chill off on an evening socialising outside a chilly pub. (or in fact, an emergency layer for sticking in the bottom of a rusksac when you want to move fast with the least amount of gear).

The answer seems to come in 4 forms, with different offerings from different companies, with broadly the same specifications, slightly different materials and slightly different price points.
As a general guide, you'll be looking at an insulative jacket with the insulation made from synthetic material (yes, down is lighter, but I have yet to come across a down jacket that is truely lightweight and also waterproof so that it keeps the down dry and effective at a competitive price point. When it gets wet, down is pretty useless as a material to keep you warm.

Insulation
Generally, companies are using either a form of Primaloft, or their own version of it. For a few years now, primaloft has been seen as THE synthetic alternative to down. It might not be quite as warm, or as packable as down, but it retains warmth when wet, and packs down pretty damn small. There are a number of versions, primaloft sport, primaloft one, primaloft eco etc, so we might get time to have a quick look at them as we go through the jackets. If Primaloft isn't used then a company will generally use a proprietary fabric - such as Thermic Micro in the case of Mountain Hardwear - of which there really isn't much information about - but more on that a little later.



Montane fireball smock £120
The classic synthetic insulation piece- in my mind anyway. Montane need no introduction as a british brand that have been creating some imaginative solutions to british weather for quite a while. The fireball smock, weighing in at 260g was the first one of this type of jacket I ever saw. It packs down to the size of a largeish apple and has a single napoleon pocket.
The insulation is provided by Primaloft Eco, the most eco friendly of the insulation family. It is made of recycled plastic, and it is claimed that there are 4 plastic bottles in every metre of fabric. (Thats 28 bottles per kilogram, in case you were interested). It is wind resistant and water-repelling.
The fit of the jacket itself is close cut, the shell of the jacket is made of Pertex Quantum, which is a ridiculously light fabric (at 37g per metre), and is apparently a rip-stop polydamide. Which is good news, as to someone who is used to heavier, more robust fabrics, you might be inclined to think its a bit fragile. The inner is made from a soft, quick drying fabric called Peaq, which has the same weight as the pertex.
The arms are relatively long, so if you do get cold hands, you can pull them into the sleeves quite happily and wander around like someone with no hands. However, the cuffs, the neck and the bottom are all elasticated, and so pretty much non-adjustable.

OMM rotor smock £130
OMM have ever been at the forefront of light mountain marathon clothing, and the Rotor smock is a piece of clothing that you may well have seen around at various races. Its 240g - lighter than the Fireball, and looks a bit, well, shiny, with a vivid orange inner. Interestingly, what they have done is use Pertex quantum for both the outer AND the inner fabric, with Primaloft ONE for the insulation, so I suppose you could even say that its reversible. The idea seems to be that the Insulation layer is caught between 2 lots of pertex creating
a pocket of warm, stable air.
As a point of note, the OMM pertex quantum is marketed as being 27g per metre and the Primaloft One as 40g per metre.
The Primaloft ONE differs to the Eco by virtue of not being made with recycled bottles. It is advertised as being the warmest of the Primaloft range, and technically, it has a higher CLO rating than Primaloft Eco - 0.027 when dry as opposed to 0.020, and 0.026 when wet, as opposed to 0.017.
So theoretically, it is warmer when wet, than Eco is when dry.
The Rotor also has a zipped handwarmer pocket, which can accommodate a map, and has drawcord closures at the neck and waist. Like the Fireball, it has elasticated cuffs.

Rab Generator Pull On £110
The most "mountainous" and least " "runner-y" of the insulating smocks - as befits the British Mountaineering specialist, Rab. It is the heaviest on show at 380g, and has 2 different weights of Primaloft in different parts of the jacket - 100gsm on the body and 60 in the arms, making the core a warmer area of the jacket. Like the Rotor Smock, Rab uses Primaloft ONE, and like the Rotor, it uses Pertex Quantum for the inner and outer fabrics.
There is a napoleon pocket, and also 2 massive zipped handwarmer pockets as well. The cuffs are elasticated, and the hem has a drawcord tightener, like the Rotor smock, but slightly different to the Fireball. Perhaps it is the use of the slightly heavier zip and the drawcords that mean this is the heaviest one of the lot.
It is more of a mountain fit than a sports fit - which essentially means that there is a lot more space inside the jacket, so it isn't quite as streamlined as the other jackets. I would suggest that as the heaviest of the jackets, this is probably going to feel like the warmest one of the lot.
Certainly a warm jacket, and not heavy by any stretch of the imagination. Intelligent design with different weights of primaloft in it, and with the bonus of handwarmer pockets.

Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pullover £125
Mountain Hardwear are very popular over in the USA, have an excellent mountain heritage, and have started getting into the whole Trail running thing. (Along with Mammut, Haglofs and the whole gravy train). However, they don't have a massive following in the UK as yet, and seem to be both slightly difficult to get hold of, and also, you don't tend to see many of them around before, during or after races.
As such, I haven't actually seen one of these in the flesh, I've just seen it on a website, it falls into this catagory and looks pretty good.
This is the only jacket here that doesn't use Primaloft, it uses MHW's own Thermic Micro TK, which I can't find much information on. According to MHW it is more compressible and lofts better than "standard polyfill" - or primaloft. The outer fabric is 20D polyester rip (which I'd imagine is ripstop), and there is no information about the inner lining. So its a bit of a mysterious jacket. I'm sure that MHW can give some numbers that "prove" that this is a better jacket than the others, but I just can't see it.
The cuffs are elasticated, and the bottom hem is a drawcord closure, and it features a single napoleon pocket - the jacket weighs in at 235g, so well within the parameters of the others in the mix.
As I say, never seen this jacket, so it might be amazing, and a brilliant fit, but from the fact that you don't see many in this country, I don't stand much chance of that.
I want to believe that it is good, simply because of the pedigree of the jacket, however, the reasons for not using materials like Pertex Quantum, or Primaloft, and using your own versions of the fabrics is to make the product cheaper. Maybe they have done, but those savings don't appear to have been passed on to the consumer. If it used those fabrics, then I could see why it costs this much, but not if they are using their own fabrics.

So I suppose it might come down to this.
Fireball - £120, 260g, Primaloft Eco, Pertex Quantum/Peaq
OMM rotor £130, 240g, Primaloft One, Pertex Quantum +hand warmer pockets
Rab Generator £110, 380g, Primaloft one, Pertex quantum +handwarmer pockets
MHW Compressor £125 235g Thermic Micro, Polyester ripstop

Looking at it like that, I think I'd pay the cash and go for the Rotor smock. 2nd lightest jacket, WITH handwarmer pockets AND the warmest insulation.

The fireball looks good, though is slightly heavier, and with insulation that just isn't as good as that in the OMM. (It seems to be the most Eco-friendly though). It has been said that if you are buying a primaloft jacket with anything other than primaloft One in it, you're being ripped off. Not entirely sure about that, but it has been put out there.
The Rab is great, but in these terms, is just too heavy.
The MHW is the lightest, but the insulation is an unknown, the outer doesn't seem to be as light as the pertex, so the weight saving must appear to come from the fact that the Thermic micro is lighter, and not as insulative. Just speculation, but that's how I see it from this position.

I don't have the cash to go out and test them, but from this little exercise, my money would be spent in the OMM camp.

If Montane or MHW want to change my mind, feel free to drop me a line.



Addentum: Inov8 Race Elite Thermoshell 260 £120
I published this, and browsed for a while, and found that I was already out of date. (who'd a thunk it...)?
Inov8 have just started publicising their new range of snazzy new running clothing, something I was going to comment on in a post in the near future- and I will.
However, more to the point, they have just released the Race Elite 260 Thermoshell.
As you'd expect from the Inov8 naming conventions, it is 260 grams. Again it is a Primaloft filled jacket, but inov8 use Primaloft Sport, which has a Clo rating of 0.023 dry, and 0.021 when wet - slap bang inbetween the One and the Eco.
Like the Rab jacket, it is zoned, using 40g/m weight on the body and 25g/m on the arms- way lower than on the Rab, so most probably less warm. But this is almost exclusively a running piece.
The interesting thing is that this is a truely reversible jacket, using Pertex Quantum on one side, and an airflow layer on the other. So with the Quantum on the outside, it is 10% warmer than the otherway around.
Why would you do that?
If you're out running, and you want a warm layer, but not too warm, then this theoretically gives you 2 weighted heat options in one jacket, enabling better thermal regulation.
Whether or not this actually works is an unknown to me, but according to them, it does.
It also sports a Napoleon pocket, some very nattily designed thumb loops (I've tried them on a couple of other inov8 jackets, and they are some of the better thumb loops around) and packs down pretty small. As you would expect, it is an athletic fit.
Again, I'd love to get my hands on one, £120, again, getting all of these together in the same place at the same time might prove to be a little beyond me.

Recovery.

I keep talking about recovery being the most important part of training.

Its true. Without recovery, your body just breaks down.

Train hard. Recover intelligently.

Telling people what they dont want to hear

I was having a conversation with a climber the other day.

She is pretty damn good at what she does, and is closely associated with another climber, who is phenomenally good at what HE does. 

They train a lot, sometimes not using the same methods as other people, and have quite strong opinions on what makes a good climber, and what doesn't. As such, they are great people to listen to in terms of what can make a good climber, or what training methods may or may not be useful. 

That being said, it is a good thing to remember that whatever is said has to be taken in context of the climber, how hard they climb, what they do to recover, and how susceptible they may be to injury. 

Our conversation revolved around the fact that she was being asked about the training that he was doing at the moment, keeping his strength up, being able to climb at a seriously hard level and generally be damn good at what he does. The question was asked because other people want to train like the guys who are at the top. The theory being, if you train like those who are doing well, then, by default, you must get as good as them too.... right?

She gets asked how they train, and she tells them. But also then, tries to give a little bit of background - which is the bit other people don't want to hear. For example: the past 10 years worth of hard training to get where they are now. If 5 years ago, they tried to train like they do now it would have meant potential injury. It is the foundation base, built up over long months and years of training, the hard yards, the stuff others don't want to do, that separates them from the mediocre. 

The stuff behind the scenes of getting better

Their bodies have adapted over years to the stresses of their training. They probably know exactly how they respond to specific inputs, and they also know exactly what they will do to recover. 

The question askers always seem to blank this out. They don't want to hear about the hard work, they want the short cut. The ability to climb hard without the dedication.
That rarely happens. 

Don't let your ego dictate to you what you can and can't do. Listen to your body. To get to that position takes a lot of hard effort.

By all means listen to the masters, but ask the right questions. 

What did they do to get to this point in their training?

You are starting where they started from, so build on it. 

Don't expect to jump in at the highest level and expect to get better. It doesn't work like that.

I suppose I am equally guilty of this over-egging of my ego as any. I see excellent fell runners and try and find out about their training. They've been running for many more years than I have. Attempting to replicate their training will just end in injury and disappointment. 

So I've told myself what I don't want to hear. 

You may not be at that level. If you aren't, don't pretend you are, so don't measure yourself by their yardstick. 

Work hard and apply yourself, and at some point, you might attain that level, and by then, you shall have your own way of training which may help you surpass what they are doing.

There is no shortcut, except hard work. 

Cat and Fiddle Down and Up relay

I've wanted to do this for a while, but have always had something more pressing to do on the day when it was on in the past.
This year, I got a call from Stevie K, a member of Glossopdales neighbours and "arch rivals" - Pennine, wondering if I would make up a team with him.

I ummed and ahhed for about 5 seconds, re-arranged my evening and said yes.

The race itself has 2 legs, each 2.8km in length. The first one goes down, carrying an "organic" baton (last year was a carrot, this year was a very long, and somewhat appropriate Runner bean), exchange the baton with the other runner at the bottom, who then runs back UP the hill to the start/finish.

Genius.

I took responsibility for the down phase, knowing it was going to be pretty fast and furious.
As it was, there were 21 teams, so that made 21 of us hammering down the first part of the track as hard as possible to get to the slippery, winding track down the hill. I was in the first 3, but could feel Simon of Macc Harriers already stretching his legs away from us.
About 400m into the race, the guy in front of me lost his grip and went down, so I slightly changed where I was putting my feet to avoid him, and in the process went down as well.

On a narrow track.
In front of 20 other runners who were right behind me.

I think I got hit by 3 of them, with knees in various bits of rib and kidney as I scrambled upright and continued running. (with runner bean baton still intact). If only there was a photo of that. (all things considered, it probably wasn't as impressive as I think it should have looked, but there you go).

Down the hill I managed to hold 4th, then got passed with a km to go. The last 400 metres were pretty horrible, oxygen debt and general pain, not really thinking about much but being able to close the gap.
Managed to get past the guy in front of me and ploughed down into the change-over area in 4th, handing the Bean over to Stevie. I got down in 9:40 or so. About 20 seconds outside of Jack Ross's record breaking time from last year .

Soon enough, runner after runner were piling into the finishing area. Soon enough John Hewitt came in, with Neil McGraw hot on his heels, sending off Chris Jackson and Caity Rice (all Glossopdale), so that was good to see.
The midges were just getting annoying a minute later as Simon Baileys partner came in and handed over the baton, giving Simon a bit of a deficit to make up, and, hopefully, a bit of a challenge on the way up.

Us Downward runners gathered ourselves together and variously wandered/ hobbled/ jogged back up the hill.
Once up there it seemed that Stevie had overturned 4 runners on the way up, and had been passed by the incredible Mr. Bailey, bringing us up in 2nd overall.

Not something I see very often.

Woot. 

So a couple of bruises, some fast running and an excellent uphill partner means that we got a prize. Well. 2 prizes. A homemade fruit loaf and some homemade apple chutney. Both of which were split 2 ways when we got home.
I've just had a bit of both (not together), and I have to say, they are really very very good.
Thankyou Noel and Mrs. Noel for the race and the prizes.

Stevie, Neil, Caity and Me. (Neil and Caity were 3rd Mixed pair)

An eclectic race that deserves more attention.