SportsShoes Blog

Well it’s Monday and I’ve survived another 3 Peaks Cyclo Cross (my 6th).

What a day we had yesterday - a record entry of over 500, a new course record set by my Bingley Harriers team mate Rob Jebb, stunning weather and the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen at the event.

As you’ll have read in my earlier posts, I hadn’t really prepared very well (read at all) for this year’s race as I’ve been concentrating on my running instead of biking this year but as there’s a lot of off bike climbing and off road descending in the peaks my time didn’t really suffer. In fact I set my second best time around the course at 4.00 hours 46 seconds. I should be pleased with this but as a first class award goes to all those under 4 hours I feel a little bit miffed.

Anyway, what it did tell me is that I should be well capable of a sub 4 if I put a bit of time into getting bike fit before next year’s race. I’ve decided that this will be one of my target races for next year and want to see if I can find a good blend of cycling and running that will see my results improve in both disciplines.

As predicted, I didn’t feel I did too bad on the climbs and the descents but the road sections (of which there are quite a few) are my major weakness. The roadies just come steaming past me, working together in groups, and I simply can’t hang on. I reckon there’s a good 10 mins to be saved if I can up my road strength and stay with a group.

I beat my pal Pete Jowett by two mins but it’s a bit of a hollow victory as he punctured coming of Whernside which will have cost him 5-10 mins - that said staying puncture free is all part of the race and if you push too hard on the descents is very easy to nip a tube.

My running training partner Jamie Robinson did the race for the first time this year and despite admitting to be sh*****g himself on the start line he had a great, trouble and injury free ride coming home just inside 4.5 hrs - well done Jamie. I’ve spoken with him today and he’s caught the 3PX bug and is already talking about what he could do in next years race - funny how pain can be addictive!!

It was also nice to have some friends on the course spectating this year - the support I got from Jez, Mick, Steve and Ian was fantastic and even though I declined a drink from Sarah on the way up Penyghent it was a much appreciated offer. However, either Ian or me need to practise our Tour De France style rider support as I nearly broke my hand on the mirror of his van whilst trying to pass back an empty bottle…..

The old legs feel fine today - it’s amazing how different the body feels after a long cycle compared to a long run. It’s the down hill braking effect that really screws the leg muscles when running - something that just doesn’t happen when biking.

Next event is the Langdale Fell race in the lakes in 2 weeks time - I’m really looking forward to this as I had a great run there a couple of years ago and I’m keen to get round the course again.

My eldest son Max is going training with the Bingley Harriers for the first time tomorrow - he can’t wait.

This coming Tuesday, Bingley Harriers are having ‘a bit of do’ after the training session.

This is to celebrate the move of the seniors from Beckfoot school to the excellent facilities at Bradford & Bingley Rugby Club. In terms of distance ‘the move’ is only about 200 yards as the school and the rugby club are only seperated by a road.

The move has been prompted by the rebuilding work that’s going on at the school but is also seen as an opportunity to develop the social side of the club as the B&B bar gives us a great post training meeting / chatting area - something we’ve been lacking for a long time.

It is hoped that training from B&B will encourage lots more existing members to come down and join in the pack runs and speed sessions but also we’re hoping it might attract new members too - WHY NOT MAKE IT YOU!!!

If you are :-

- new to running

- ran years ago and are just getting going again

- have been running for years but never been a club member or are

- running for a club that doesn’t meet your needs

(and live reasonably local)

why not come and see us at the B&B rugby club every Tuesday at 7pm (speed / hill sessions) and Thursday at 7.30pm (pack runs).

Whatever your ability, you’ll be made welcome and I assure you that (unless you’re already an elite / national standard runner) you’ll quickly get fitter and faster. Whoever you are, one thing’s for sure, you’ll meet a load of new pals with the same interest as you.

Please don’t be put off by Bingley’s impressive heritage of champions and believe some people who say it’s an elitest club - it isn’t. It genuinely caters for everyone whether you’re the slowest once a week gentle jogger or a world champion.

Come on down - you know you want to!!!!!

(By the way, in case you’re not local the above applies wherever you live - joining your local club could seriously improve your running and bring a lot of fun into your life).

Here’s the motley crew from Bingley Harriers (well most of them anyway). I’m number 42, there were 42 people who finished in front of me and 442 finsihers in total - 42 hmmm perhaps it really is the answer to life the universe and everyting (read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy if you’re a bit lost).

Anyway, I’ve felt pretty good this week ‘post Ben’ - went out for a very steady 40 min trot with a few other Bingley Ben racers on Tuesday (got stung by a wasp - b%&*$£d thing) then did an hour+ on Thursday again at very low intensity (This was a pub run from Baildon so we had to make use of the amenities when we got back!!)

Need to try and get some bike miles in now for the 3 Peaks Cross which is only 2 weeks away. No idea how this is going to go this year as I’m running OK on the hills but haven’t ridden more than 20 miles in one ride all year. The 3PX is 36miles and very tough. I’ll be up against some very fit 100+ mile / per week roadies who’ll come storming past me on the tarmac but I can usually pull a bit back on the climbs / carrying sections and let my MTB skills help me on the descents.

It’s the Yorkshireman off-road marathon tomorrow from Haworth which I would like to have done (did it a few years back - nice race) but my good lady is out so I’m child and dog minding. If the weather’s half decent I think we’ll all go for a big walk over the moors.

What a weekend…..for the Bingley Harriers at the Ben Nevis Fell race.

Rob Jebb was 2nd overall missing out on top spot by just 13 seconds to the world number one sky runner Augusti Roc of Spain.

Bingley picked up 1st mens team award with Rob Jebb, Robin Lawrence and Paul Mitchell as counters

Ali Raw won the ladies (just) over 40 title.

My ‘old’ pals Ian Goodyear and Mick Ford both completed their 20th Ben races - just one more for each of them before they are awarded their 21 race trophies.

Added to that, I had a great run finishing in 43rd place (out of 442) in a personal best time of 1hr 52 mins. I turned at the top in 1hr 16 mins which is not my fastest ascent but had a storming return making the 4.5 miles and 4000 ft of descent back to the finish field in just 36 mins. I feel that if I could work on my climbing I may still have a very good Ben time in me.

I pipped my training partner Jamie Robinson by a minute or so which I was pleased about as he’s running strong at the minute and I thought he’d have got the better of me on this one. It was a great run for Jamie though and he too beat his Ben PB by some margin.

In all we had around 20 harriers in the field making for a great race and an even better night out.

Quite unbelievably, whilst most of England was swimming, the weather for the whole weekend was fantastic although the strong winds at the summit made the 7 degree temperature feel a lot colder. (It always amuses me to see runners in shorts and vests passing walkers in base layers, mid layers and triple layer gore-tex jackets).

This year the Ben race was a round of the World Sky-running championship and as such attracted around 20 runners from Spain, Italy, Andora and France. As Rob Jebb said in his ‘few words’ at the award ceremony, our ‘European’ friends really proved to us that they can run up and down one of the knarliest and toughest of Britain’s hills and not just on nice smooth alpine tracks.

As predicted, my legs feel a little on the heavy side today. I’m hoping they might have softened a little by tomorrow and if they have I’ll probably try a little spin out in the evening.

I need to concentrate as much as possible on the bike now for the next couple of weeks as my next event is the 3 Peaks Cyclo Cross at the end of September.

Sorry for the lack of communication - there’s obviously been a bit of a rejig to the site which I missed and last week I struggled to log in. As such, my latest post is a bit late in arriving. The Sedbergh Hills race and the Olympics now seem like ancient history.

Anyway, the Bingley Harriers backpack run to Ilkley was a raging success (if not a little messy!!) and I managed to get a couple of bike rides in that weekend as well. Again that seems a long time ago as I’ve just returned from a fab week in the Alps - Chamonix to be precise. What a place that is - if you’ve never been put it on your list of must see places.

I was out there on holiday but also to take in the North Face Ultra Trail Tour Du Mont Blanc race. After running it in 2007, this year I was there purely as a spectator and assistant to a few mates of mine that were running. It’s an absolutely spectacular event with 2400 runners taking on the 100 mile course (+30,000 ft of climb). This year, due mainly to the hot weather, only around 1250 runners actually completed the course in the alloted time (46 hours). I’m really pleased to say that my pals Colin, Rob, Johnny and Kevin all made it to the finish - well done guys you can wear the jacket with pride. Unfortunately, one of my other buddies Ross failed this year after a good run last year - I think he was probably trying a bit too hard early on and paid the price in the heat.

Britain had a fantastic victory with Lizzie Hawker winning the womens race in a fantastic time of 25 hours 20 mins - big respect!!!

Managed to get a couple of good runs in whilst I was there - What a place the alps are - hundreds of miles of trails all with breathtaking scenery and  massive climbs and descents - a real runners / bikers paradise. I was out last Thursday morning early - caught the cable car half way up Mont Blanc then ran along the Grand North Balcon - saw my first Marmott!! - before returning to Chamonix via the Montenvers trail - all this before breakfast - top banana!!

Now it’s back to reality - well almost as it’s the mighty Ben Nevis race this Saturday. Just time to unpack and rinse through my undies before I’m off again on a trip oop north.

The Ben is a real hard race - 1 mile flat - 4 miles climb - 4 miles descent - 1 mile flat - simple eh? I can tell you that no 10 mile run feels like the Ben race - nor does any 10 mile run make you walk in such a bizzare way for the next 2 days. Afetr my semi restful holiday I’ll be interested to see how I go this weekend - one thing’s for sure the party in Fort Bill on Saturday night will be a gud un!!

So I decided late Saturday to race the Sedbergh Hills race on Sunday. This is a serious AL fell race at 14 miles and 6000ft of climb. (AL or A Long is an FRA grade which measures height gained and distance and the system goes from CS to AL). Sedbergh is in the Howgills above the Dales and to the right of the Lakes and it’s an area I’ve never really visited. I’ve heard a lot about the race and was quite keen to give it a shot as, if nothing else, it would give me some decent climbing practise before the Ben. As I didn’t know the course and I’d trained all week before the race (including Saturday) I decided to simply treat it as a long training run - which is exactly what it turned out to be. I ran with my pal Andrew Jebb (brother of the fell running supremo Rob) for the first half of the race but had no option but to let him go after checkpoint 4 as he was simply too strong for me on the long climb up to ‘The Calf’.

I managed to perform a bit of a crowd pleasing comedy tumble on a track about half way round which resulted in a badly sprained and bruised thumb! Not the most common of fell running injuries….

Anyway, I really enjoyed the race despite blowing quite badly between checkpoint 5 and 6 and having to eat almost all my emergency rations (SIS Go Gel, chocolate raisins and a brunch bar - didn’t need my ‘break wax in case of emergency’ babybell though - that’s in there to fend off cramp should it rear its ugly head)- now I know the route I think I’ll be back for more next year.

Had a rest Monday, although the old legs didn’t feel too bad, and then tonight went for another hour on the roadie - my how my 3 Peaks traning is really coming on!!! Oh and by the way I was wrong in my earlier post it was 16.5 mph avereage not 17.5 - I’m even more rubbish on a bike than I thought I was.

Thursday night it’s the Bingley Harriers backpack run from Beckfoot School to the pubs in Ilkley - this started off as a crazy stunt amongst a few of us but has turned into quite a tradition - full report soon.

Anyway - anyone see the Olympic triathlon this morning? - what about the Bingley Harrier leading from the front until 2.5km out - a fantastic performance by Alistair Brownlee - he’s my tip for the top in 2012 (oh and his brother Johnathon for silver!!)

Just returned from the lakes and competing in the Borrowdale Fell Race.

It was a British and English championship counter so it was even busier than usual this year with around 460 starters. Despite each athlete needing prior experience before they could enter the race, it still filled to its limit of 500 within a couple of days of the entries opening in May. There’s a real resurgence in popularity for fell running at the minute which I personally think is great for the sport.

What we need now is to somehow get more junior runners to take to the fells rather than the road or track. 

Anyway, after last week’s light training, I felt pretty good on the start line - I was just hoping the feeling would last. The start is quite quick as it’s flat for the first mile or so but then it kicks up sharply for the climb up Bessy Boot (yes that really is its name). After that it’s a long undulating boggy / rocky run of around 5 miles across to Esk Hause and Scafell. The rocks toward the summit of Scafell were slippy as hell and with the fog down, the highest place in England was once again a pretty grim place to be. The scree decent off Scafell is pretty exiting and then it’s a technical run across the corridor route to Sty Head at the foot of Great Gable. The climb up Gable is a real slog with a very cheeky false summit to raise then dash your hopes. From the summit it’s a very tricky navigation exercise to reach Honister pass and lots of folk get lost (including Rob Jebb who was leading the race until this point and eventually finished 15th after going the wrong way!!!). I managed to stay on track and toughed out the last climb up Dale Head before plunging down to the finish chasing and being chased by some of my Bingley Harriers club mates.

I finished in around 3 hours 41 mins (winning time was well under 3 hours!!) and was reasonably pleased as I’d felt pretty good all the way around.

After a quick wash in the river we partied the night away first around the BBQ, then in the pub, then the beer tent (to steel band music) and finally at a local’s house party. Crawled into the tent at 3.05am.

Think I’ll have a day off today!!

Finally, my mate Steve has started the coast to coast run today which he’s aiming to do in 3 days - I’ll report on progress soon….    

Steady week this week.

Ran early mornings Monday and Tuesday - just 25 mins / session around Shipley Glen - it’s nice to get out first thing especially when the weather’s good.

Didn’t do anything Wednesday then ran with Bingley Harriers Thursday evening. Tough session (for me) as the fast boys were out. 1 hour 15 around Cottingly, Harden Moor and St Ives.

Friday morning out again around Shipley Glen for a quick trot.

It’s my wife’s 40th this weekend and her party was last night so I’m feeling a bit sluggish today - will try and get out for an hour a bit later though - got to keep things ticking over. 

Hi everyone - if there’s anybody out there???

My plan is to try and use this blog as a type of training diary so it will hopefully be useful to me to look back on what I do and perhaps even motivate me to do a bit more - time will tell.

I hope I can also post a few bits n bobs on here that you find interesting and I’d be happy to hear from anyone with questions or comments about what I get up to.

If you’ve read my profile you’ll know that the 3 Peaks Yacht Race is coming up fast (28/6) - can’t wait!!

I intend to train all week this week then rest down for a week next week leading up to the start.

Sunday I ran with Bingley Harriers in the Millennium Way Relay then last night had a quick spin with my son on the bike - tonight it’s a speed / hill session in the wood - starts at 7 so must be off now.

See you again soon.

A