So. Have you given up running then?

If you've been following my Strava for the past few months you might be forgiven for thinking that I've totally given up on running. Cycling has been the dominant exercise in my life and stomping around the hills has taken something of a back seat. 

There is of course a reason for this- and that reason is the TPRNO.4. Yes, the TransPyrenees Race- number 4. It is a long distance, non-stop cycling race that goes across the Pyrenees and back. I was somewhat taken with the idea of it a couple of years ago, and successfully got through the somewhat rigourous entry forms for the TPRNO.2. However, it rapidly became clear that the race was going to cash with the placement part of my MSc. - the bit that I was REALLY looking forward to- and I ended up canning the idea of doing the race. 

Happily, I had an excellent placement with Dr. Chris McCarthy at MMU which really propelled my learning. However, the idea of the TPR has been in the back of my mind ever since. 

This year, I wondered about trying to get into the TCR- the trans-continental race- which is the somewhat longer brother of the TPR- but with a lot less climbing. The idea of these races is that everyone starts in the same place and has the freedom to navigate between set points. Some of these points are actually "Parcours"- sections of road that are mandatory for competitors, while others are simple checkpoints. The problem with the TCR is that it takes place at the time of my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary- so that ruled that out completely- which swung me back to the TPR. 

 Now- a couple of quick stats on this. I have to say that I am NOT a natural climber on the bike. Nor am I a rouleur, or anything like that. I certainly don't have masses of power at my disposal, and am a fairly average biker at the best of times. The fact that the race itself advertises itself as "one for the grimpeurs"- ie. climbers should give you an idea of the fact it is *quite* hilly. 

Maybe that is a slight understatement. 

The race is from Girona and goes all the way across the Pyrenees to the Atlantic- whereupon you turn around and come back to Girona again- via the mediterranean coast. I've been planning the route for a while now, using various online route planners- Komoot, ridewithgps, google maps etc. and the shortest route I can get is about 1850km. With nigh on 50,000metres of ascent. 

The winner last year finished in 4 and a bit days- and there is a 7 day cut off, so to finish in the cut off I need to cover about 300km a day, with some days hitting about 6500m of elevation. For 7 days. 

Now. I should definitely mention here that until about 4 weeks ago I'd only ever cycled 200km about 3 times, and never gone above 201km in a day before. I've now hit 240 with about 3000m of ascent, and still have *quite* some way to go before I hit the heady heights of the numbers I need to be comfortable with. 

Although it is ostensibly a race, the main thing I will be trying to do is complete it in time for the finishers party in Girona, 7 days after the start. There will be many people on very snazzy bikes with lightweight stuff. People camping/sleeping by the side of the road, some crazy routes etc. I will be doing it on my Steel Fairlight Secan with as little stuff as I can get away with. I won't be going around trying to find the lightest carbon fibre everything to make it just a touch lighter- but what I WILL be doing is an absolute load of training to make myself as strong as possible to get up as many hills as possible with the least amount of cumulative fatigue. 

I've been out training on hills that are as long and steep as I can around Glossop- and there are a lot of them. But obviously nothing compares to the actual hills and mountains of the Pyrenees. 

Those numbers...300km and 6000m a day. Scary. 

This is why Im doing more cycling.

However, this is not to say that I have totally forsaken running. As you may or may not have noticed from this blog, I've managed to get to 4 English fell champs races this year, and I should be at Wasdale as well. (I'm cycling there and back, just for good measure- can you tell I don't really care what place I get?!) and will be at Cracken Edge in August. 

Still running. Thanks to Colin for the photo

I don't want to lose the "bounce" that your tendons get when running, so am getting out here and there, practicing my downhill speed, and just enjoying myself. Indeed, I have a couple of plans for this autumn and winter once the TPR is done and I'm off the bike a bit more. In the mean time I suspect there might be a few blogs about the cycle training- and then "normal" service ie. more running will resume come winter. 

The TPR itself is run by lostdot.cc so there will most CERTAINLY be a dot to watch, painfully making its way across the pyrenees come September/october. If you're interested in looking at more about the tpr- this is the link. Im sure that closer to the time, when I have a number etc. I'll post a link with my dot link. 

Til then. Saddle time.

Buttermere Sailbeck Fellrace 2024- English Champs

 A little later than planned due to a minor week long hiatus in computer access (Spine race safety team stuff)- 

As long as I completed the Buttermere Sailbeck race, it would be the first time I have ever completed enough races to be elegible for the English Champs. So off we went to Buttermere. The race itself is about 14k long with 1500m of ascent and descent. Having not recced it, I was going off a very limited knowledge of the hills, looking at a map, and attempting to be sensible. 

The weather was grey, intermittently damp, and generally wet underfoot. With a lot of grassy ascents and descents, a pair of shoes with decent grip was going to be fairly important- (in comparison, say, to a pair of shoes with a bit less grip, but that gives you more connfidence on wet rock). 

Having had a torrid time on the last race- Pendle cloughs- where I really didn't have a good day for a number of reasons, I decided to take it very much at my own pace. Go out easy, bimble along on the way out, try to enjoy the climbs, and then trot back along the northern ridge and back down into Buttermere. It helped that it wasn't too hot and that I've been doing a LOT of cycling recently- so I was hoping for a much easier day of it than at Pendle. 

(yes, I know its a race, but really... it makes more sense to me to enjoy it). 

So I started off mid-pack, and there is a long run out along what is ostensibly a single track with a lot of bracken on each side of it. There isn't much opportunity to overtake, so you tend to shuffle along at whatever speed the people around you are at. Ok, so the guys at the front stretch out the lead, but I'm not going to be troubling them for places anytime soon. On the occasional section where you could skirt around, I gained a couple of places, but wasn't going too mad about it. The going was soft underfoot, and the pace was very ameinable. 

Down a bit of a muddy section to the start of the first climb which went on for *quite* a long time. I pushed on a little here, gaining a number of places on the climb up into the mist- which was a bit of a surprise. Climbing is not a strong point for me- but I was keeping things under control, steady breathing, and not going into the red, and as a result, I was able to run across the first section of ridge, gaining more places on the way down the steep section- opting for the heather, rather than the slippy path section. 

I think places were maintained up to the next checkpoint, whereupon there is a rather delightful downhill section into the valley- plenty of mud, plenty of grip needed, and a decent level of lead was gained over those behind. Across a massive muddy/boggy patch and then onto a single track where I was held up for a time behind a slower runner from the ladies race. Not a problem for me in the slightest, and I certainly wasn't about to muscle through with limited space. Runners caught up behind me, and I could see the start of the ascent up Causey Pike just around the next corner. Through the check point and there was a little opening up where we overtook and started the monster climb to the top of the Pike. 

Considering the number of people behind me, and knowing there were some pretty decent climbers in the bunch, there was a hint of a thought of stepping aside to let them lead up the hill... but then, no-one else would have done that for me- thinking back to having to overtake through heather and bracken uphill on previous hills, so I settled in to tap out a decent rhythm. To begin with there was a lot of heavy breathing close behind- but this is a LONG hill, going out at a crazy pace would simply end up with me going into the red and having to stop... the same rhythm just kept going, and by a couple of hundred more metres, the breathing receded and I was (somewhat astonishingly) off on my own. 

Passed a few more of the slower ladies from their race, bypassing into the heather (less of an issue on the way up than on the way down, it has to be said), taking care not to impinge on their lines or their race. The hill is indeed a long one, with a decent scramble at the end. By now, the mist had turned to rain and the rock underfoot was really rather slippy with mudclaws on. Making sure that I was placing my feet well, having hands on rock where necessary, and taking a gel or two on the way up meant that I was maintaining my pace and place. 

The fun part about Buttermere Sailbeck is that everyone thinks that once you hit the top of Causey Pike, the climbing is done- but oh no- you still have to get up Sail and Eel crag- and there were runners smattered all over the hillside, working their way up either the direct line, or up the zigzag path. I opted for the direct line, thinking that there wasn't too much in the way of ascent after the top. 

A bit of fog was down, but no-where near enough to need to bother with a compass to find the way off towards Whiteless Pike- perhaps one of the best sections of any area of the Lake District... a beautiful ridge with excellent views, and fabulous descents. Through the checkpoint, and off down... though not really sure of the race line. I took the path for a short while til I spied runners below and to the left, so dropped down to join them, and from there could see a decent descent line. I thought that not going all out was probably the best plan, and, although not bimbling, certainly didn't do the whole "drop like a stone" finish that I might have employed in days gone by. 

A lovely descent, with a final run in- and a final placing of... oh, I don't know. Still, I've done enough to be in the English Champs. No- I wasn't nailing it, but had a decent day out. 

As Im writing this in retrospect, I must also add the DOMS from the descents was somewhat epic... monday and tuesday were HORRENDOUS.