Peak Raid Edale

 Score events are a huge amount of fun. You're out for a specific amount of time, navigating around a load of points on a map, and whoever you see on the hill might be going faster or slower than you, might be going to a totally different point on the map and might well have started an hour before, or after you. Trying to gauge your effort off someone else is totally pointless- it's a pure personal navigational timetrial. I love it. 

Ian and Andy having a look at the map of the area involved.

That being said, today wasn't a great day. For the last couple of weeks I've been struggling with my right knee. It isn't *bad*, but then, it certainly isn't right. A lot of clicking, some pseudo-locking and just not feeling like it want's to do what I want it to do. I suspect it might be either a hamstring or adductor thing that means the quad is massively overcompensating and causing all kinds of exciting kneecap issues- or something else. 

I started early and on getting the map decided that heading North onto Kinder would be a good way to start. The initial route choice is often the most crucial and has a lot of bearing on how the rest of the race/route goes. Quite often, it doesn't *really* matter. I think it did today, and today, I chose wrong. 

Red or Blue? That's the question. I went Anti clock. Oops

 Off up onto Kinder, past the first checkpoint and up the beginning of the Edale Skyline route to the top of Ringing Roger for the next checkpoint. From here it was fairly obvious in terms of heading West, into the wind and along the southern edge of Kinder. It wasn't great underfoot, but that was to be expected. The plan was to have the more runnable section along Lords Seat at the end when I was a bit more fatigued. 

Along the edge and a short diversion down to a crag to pick up CP7, and a short stop to decide is it worth doing a massive Down and Up to number 13- or around the edge and then down to it. Feeling like my legs had already done more than their fair share of climbing, and not really trusting my right knee to a fast offroad downhill, the round the top was chosen, despite it being a whole lot less exciting... it would definitely be easier though. 

To go round? (blue)- or down/up? (red)

So back up to the edge and around the longer way. I looked at the description of CP13... "Re-entrant". Ah man. I HATE re-entrants. Still. Along the top and then a dive down a remarkably steep section to get to the Checkpoint. A quick decision... straight back up and over to 9, or a slight contour and up before going over. I *must* have been tiring by now- not a good sign, as I forwent the standard blast up the side in favour of a bit more of a coutouring ascent before dropping over to 9. 

It was about this time that I was looking at the options on the south side of the map- and realising that it was *much* more runnable over there, and that you could get a LOAD of points quite easily and still drop back and get another 50 points on the way home, which was not really an option on the trajectory I was taking. Hmmm. It seems that I'm on a hiding to nothing. Ah well- with the knee not really feeling great- just a bit stiff- not actually hurting, I looked at the options and dropped into the down and up to CP12. 

Did Blue... should have done red? Didn't even see it at the time!

Looking at it later, I really should have taken the option to go south and pick up CP17, it would probably have made more sense- but as I say, fatigue was starting to get me here. Was it due to not enough practice? Not enough fuel? Over estimation of fitness? I don't know- but on the descent from 9 my legs were not at all happy with the world, and my normal descending ability had deserted me- the ascent to 12 I was very much feeling it, and have to say that I was mightily pissed off with another racer who totally ignored the correct place to cross the fence- at a marked stile- and just jumped the fence at a random place a long way down it- getting straight on a better trod. Not cool at all. If there is a specific place marked to cross a fence- use that. Don't cheat. 

In case you don't know- and you should- cross at the marked crossings!

Anyhow- it was a slog to get to the path, and then a slog around and into the mist and some trixy nav to find 15, but I managed to hit it bang on. (I decided to take an early line to the top, go along the path and drop down to it- my legs just didn't feel able to bash through undergrowth on the contour- and ended up not too far behind someone who had done the opposite and seemed to have lost a lot of time). 

Oddly- blue was faster. Or it was in my fatigued state, anyway

 

Then back to the main path, along past the Pagoda and a silly nav error saw me crossing bogs and heading too far north (and high) for Edale rocks- just as it started to rain/sleet and then snow. Great. A minor adjustment and down to the rocks, and then south to Swines Back and Edale cross. 

I was hanging now. Not progressing at anything close to what I might charitably call a run and entertained thoughts of hanging a left, going down Jacobs ladder and calling it a day. The thing that stopped me was just how tedious that run is. At Edale Cross there was a choice to get CP8. I decided that was not a good idea. There was not a huge amount of time left and this would involve another down and up. As it was, I wasn't sure if I had enough time to get back anyway, and also didn't want to aggravate the knee anymore- so straight to the trig point at Brown knoll and then a short bearing to 18. Back to the slab track and then down and a bit of guesswork (that turned out to be slightly wrong) to find 14. There is a grough on the ground that evidently isn't quite big enough to be denoted on the map, so I followed that down- which was a bit too far to the south- at the edge, realised the mistake and had to track back north for a couple of hundred yards to get to a cairn that I never knew was there before. 

Looking at it now- red wouldn't have been that much worse- or longer

The choice to go back to the slabs was there, but a memory stirred of an old trod from the Edale Skyline race that skirted around the top of the valley. In front of me was an old trod, and in my state of "Its not going well, I might as well just see what happens" I followed the trod. No-one else on it, no-one else following me- and it took me (somewhat slowly considering my fatigued state) right around to where I hoped it would. By now, the uphills no matter how small and easy were very much walking and time was running out. 

The executive decision was made not to drop down to 17 and back to 4 and home, but rather to go from 16 to 3 and 10, make a judgement as to whether to just drop to 1, or if there was time to include 6. 

Executive decision. Not red. Go Blue. Try Green if enough time.

Slow going. Very slow going. Not feeling great, slopping along through the mud- it took an age to get to 3, and from there to 10, where time had basically slipped through my fingers. If I was feeling more sprightly, 6 *might* have been a goer- but in my current physical and mental state, it absolutely wasn't. A direct route down and off and a shuffle back to the event centre for a cup of tea and flapjack. 

Certainly no-where near as successful as my time at Hayfield. I felt lacklustre the whole way through and have no real idea why. 

One of *those* days

Ian beat me today- so we are 1 all for the Peak raids that we've done against each other.... If I end up doing the one out in Baslow, it might be quite amusing just to start about 1 min behind him, follow him the whole way round commenting on his mapreading decision making and then outsprint him at the end. It wouldn't be very sporting, but it *would* be quite funny.

Let's just say I fell in a LOT of holes today. Fatigued doesn't even begin to cover it.