SportsShoes Blog

What a fab weekend we’ve just had……

Me and my family along with a few friends from Bingley Harriers headed up to Dent on Friday for a couple of nights camping.

It was the Dentdale show and this year it incorporated a round of the English fell championship. What this meant is that where the race usually attracts a hand full of runners this year there were hundreds toeing the start line for the short but sharp blast up and back down Aye Gill Pike.

The weather was kind for the show and held out for the race and even the wind blew in the right direction to aid our passage up the hill.

A first for me was to take part in a race started by a real life Town Cryer (fantastic English eccentricity) and for some reason as we charged away from the start line we were all deafened by a whining siren that sounded like a world war 2 air raid warning. 

There was Bingley Harrier drama from the start as I accidentally tripped up my team mate Steve Fry as we funnelled towards the first gate. Despite going sprawling and taking out at least one other runner as he fell to earth he performed a stylish Western Roll and quickly recovered to get back on my shoulder by the time we started to climb the hill.

I managed to shake off Steve’s attack but although I tried my best to stay with Andy Jebb on the climb up the steep grassy hillside, he was just too strong for me pulling out about a minute on me by the turn. Just before I reached the summit the leaders began to stream past in the other direction and with gravity on their side they were flying down the hill at breakneck speed leaving us lesser mortals to continue winching our way to the top.

Although only 3 miles in total the mile and half up was lung bustlingly tough and even the return leg proved challenging as each foot had to be placed carefully to avoid disaster.

The race was won by Simon Bailey of Mercia in a new course record time of 25 mins 38 secs and although our club’s big guns couldn’t pull off a win Bingley still managed to post 3 runners in the top 10 and, along with Andy Jebb and myself, we made second team.

I was 50^th overall in 31 mins 57 secs which I was quite pleased with having never run the hill before and with short sharp races not really being my cup of tea.

Bingley had a great turn out of 14 men in the race but only 2 ladies made the trip which was a bit of a shame.

As we crossed the line we were greeted by some great Dales hospitality as one of the local campsite owners (Margaret from High Laning Caravan and Camping park http://www.highlaning.com/) had laid on gallons of cold fresh milk and a number of crates of flavoured milk which made an interesting and refreshing change from the usual post race beverage of ‘grassy’ orange juice.

Talking with Margaret after the race (we were staying on her campsite) I was delighted to hear just how thrilled her and the rest of the village community had been to host the event and welcome the runners and their families into their lives for the weekend. If you just turn up, run and go home again, it’s very easy to take events like this for granted and forget about all the unpaid planning, organising and effort that goes into making an event like this happen. These folk don’t have to do this, farmers don’t have to let us trample across their fields in the name of sport and marshals don’t have to stand atop wind lashed fells shouting encouragement but thankfully they do and through the actions of these often faceless and nameless folk our lives are enriched and we’re given memories to cherish – MANY thanks to you all.

I’m sure I’ll return to take on this fantastic little race again and enjoy more hospitality at the hands of the fine folk of Dentdale as we rampage through their magnificent scenery.

Although I can’t lay claim to a win in the fell race (or even a very high placing), the day was not without a personal triumph as I stormed to victory in the ‘slow bike race’ sponsored by Wheelbase cycles. My time of 10 mins and 2 seconds to complete the 50 yard course proved invincible even when threatened by some very skilful and much younger bike handlers – a victory for experience over exuberance!!!!

Next weekend it’s the big Ben – a jog up and down the highest mountain on our little island….

Isn’t it funny how the human brain can delete things from its memory.

I’m reading a book by James Cracknell and Ben Fogle and in it they talk about how when they were rowing the Atlantic James was bumping his gums saying it was just too hard and he wanted to stop and the whole idea was crazy - then just a few weeks after completing the crossing he said to Ben that he wished he was back in the boat.

The truth is after the passage of time we start to remember only the good bits and we file the nasty bits in the drawer marked - “don’t go in here!”

In some ways this happened to me yesterday at Sedbergh - last year I did the race for the first time and whilst I blew around half way round I actually enjoyed the race and always planned on returning this year to do it justice.

Before the race I’d been thinking that the stated climb of 6000 feet was a bit over egged - my fuzzy memory only recalled a big climb to start with then a rough patch up a boggy hillside followed by a big descent and a long steady climb up to the last checkpoint from where it was all down hill. Well all of this is absolutely right but over the past 12 months I seem to have permanently erased all the other massive climbs and descents that come in between!!!

I kept finding myself on a track I remembered but then looking ahead at a huge mountain and thinking - surely this wasn’t here last here - when the truth is it will have been there last year and for a good few million years before that too.

Anyway, I got round fine this year as I knew it was a race that needed to be paced carefully in order to make the most of the very long steady final climb and the fast and super steep finish.

Despite the weather which will have slowed things up quite a bit I came in 7 minutes faster than last year in 2 hours and 41 minutes (the winner did 2 hours 21). Not that great when you consider the course record is 1 hour 57 but then again I’ve been advised since that the chap that set it ran 6th in the Olympic marathon.

My Bingley team mates and travel companions Andy Jebb and Steve Fry both had great runs with Andy coming home in a fantastic 10th place (I think he’s been digging into the family gene pool again) and Steve coming home just a short while after me.

I wore my heart rate monitor for the race just for fun and was quite staggered by the output.

Over the 2 hours and 41 minutes I AVERAGED a whopping 93% of maximum HR and also reached my max of 184 BPM at some point on the course. I’m quite pleased with this as it shows just how endurance fit I am as theory says that above 90% you reach your anaerobic threshold - the point at which your body is consuming more oxygen than it can take in - and activity cannot be sustained for too long above this point - I reckon 2 hours 41 mins is quite a while!!!

What with also buring 2500 calories on the way round I can tell you that my chicken curry and rice when I got home never even touched the sides…..

Next stop Dentdale English Championship Fell Race - this coming weekend.

Well I’m now back in Oudenaarde with the other Academy girls and its going well.  I can feel myself getting fitter and its meant I can ride more aggressively and get more out of the racing.   The last couple of weeks have seen me get my first podium placings out here, with a win too!

My first result was in Diksmuide, which was a criterium race.  I broke away with Emma Trott and Dani King, both British riders who had come to race in Belgium, with Emma being based here full time.  Myself and Emma stayed away to gain about a minute on the main bunch.  In the sprint, I attacked too early, so Emma could come round me and go first into the last corner.  Out of the corner there was only 100m until the line and so I was beaten!  A couple of days later though I managed to get a win in Herentals, also a criterium. With my parents and sister watching, as they had come over from the UK, I really wanted to do a good ride and was aggressive in the first few laps.  Eventually, having attacked into a corner which lead out on to a cobbled section, I managed to get away.  With my teammates helping to chase down attacks from the main bunch, I spent the rest of the race riding on my own to take a solo win!
 
From Herentals it was straight to Germany for a crit in Dortmund on the Saturday night.  With a UCI race, Sparkassen Giro the next day, it was a quality field and a bit of an eye-opener coming in for the bunch sprint and surrounded by so many riders! With a lap and a half to go I had managed to get myself in the top 6 but then I hit a stone in the road, and looked down at my wheel for a couple of seconds and found that I had completely lost my place. Finished at the top end of the bunch.
The next day it was Sparkassen Giro, an 88km race which was ‘lumpy’ with one main climb.  I climbed okay and managed to keep myself in the main bunch. Unfortunately I couldnt get myself to the front of the group again but managed to get 18th place, which upon reflection I decided wasn’t too shabby.

After we came back from Germany, my family were still around for another couple of days so I spent my rest day with them which was really nice. Had a look round Oudenaarde and sampled the local cakes which I have to say aren’t too shabby either!

First thing to say is that I won’t be doing Sedbergh Hills Fell Race this weekend - and nor will anybody else!!! It would seem that the organisers had a couple of dates in mind for the race and the one that made it in to the Fell Runner’s Calendar turned out to be the wrong one. It’s actually being run on the 23rd August - next weekend - so that given me another week of training.

Knowing this meant that I could put in a reasonably hard week’s training which has gone quite well.

Last Sunday we did a pack run (my Bingley Harriers pals) around Ilkley Moor and Baildon and we’d clocked 2hrs 35 mins by the time we’d finished.

Monday morning I had a steady run with my dog KIMM shake out the legs.

Tuesday morning with KIMM again and then a speed session in the wood with her in the evening - when she was a pup she used to chase runners and bikers but now she just trots round with me.

Wednesday morning KIMM and I up hope hill and back.

Thursday morning steady with the dog then Thursday night out with the Harriers - it was agood turnout with around 4 different groups hitting the trails at different speeds. I managed to mix it with the fast boys this week and didn’t feel too bad despite the pace being quite high and constant.

Friday morning a trot up Hope hill with KIMM and the same again but with a bit of a loop on Saturday.

Tomorrow there’s a bunch of us going long again over the moors then I’ll be taking it a bit steadier next week before Sedburgh on Sunday. Having said that I’ll be in Wales on Tuesday so I’ll hopefully get a run up Snowdon - the thought of a brew and a bun in the new cafe at the top should keep me going.

Sorry it’s been a while since my last post but as I said I needed to get back to basics and try and regenerate.

Following my Wasdale disaster I had almost a full week off - it took me until Friday following before I could walk down the stairs properly. I then started to put together a solid period of training and feel that I’m just starting to get back into shape but feel there’s still a way to go.

I’ve been running every day now for the last couple of weeks and done a few twice a day sessions. I also did a 2 hour run over Ilkley moor the weekend before last and a 2 hour 48 min run up Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough last weekend in filthy weather.

I’ve also started to put more effort in to my morning sessions by running up Hope Hill near my home each day that I’m not training in the evenings (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).

Having said all this I’ve still got a tight right Hamstring and really need to try and get this fixed over the next week as it’s Sedbergh Hills race next weekend.

This will be my first race back after Wasdale and will be a good test to see if my recovery is going in the right direction. It’s 14 miles and 6000 feet so no push over and if the mist is down it can throw up a few nav issues.

Shortly after that we’ll be heading North for the Ben Nevis race so I really need to get some altitude in my legs. There’s no race in the calendar that will show up a lack of fitness more than ’the Ben’ - 1 mile flat 4 miles up 4 miles down 1 mile flat - simples.

The other big news of the last few weeks is that I’ve been asked (and agreed) to take over the role of Junior Fell Manager at Bingley Harriers. I’m really excited about this and see it as a great opportunity to  bring more kids into the sport I love and put more blue and white hoops out on the fells.

This weekend I’m planning a long run on Sunday to continue building  my stamina then next week I’ll run each day but only nice and steady leading up to Sedbergh.

But first to bed - I’m feeling a bit tired after all my early mornings and I’ve no need to spring out of bed tomorrow so might allow myself a lie in ’til 8!!