SportsShoes Blog

Anyone reading my blog will know that this year I’ve signed up for the West Highland Way Race which is a 95 mile run between Glasgow and Fort William.

The WHW is on the 19th June so between then and now I need to get my mind into ‘going long’ mode and get some miles in.

On the 6th Feb I’m doing the Trog, a 20 mile route around the moors above Calderdale and on the 13th March it’s the Hobble a 33 mile jaunt around the moors above  Haworth. In terms of distance, both of those are just tiddly little warm up jogs although I will be going out hard in both to try and lay down descent times.

What I need before the big event in June is a long distance challenge to really test the mettle - and here it is…..

In 2007 in training for the Ultratrail Tour Du Mont Blanc I ran the 3 Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales twice back to back in 10.5 hours solo.

This time, we’re going for a triple round - yes three laps of the famous Yorkshire 3 Peaks in one go and in less than 24 hours.

To make it even more silly we’re going to attempt the stunt on the 3 Peaks Race day - 24th April. Me and my pal Steve Fry have both entered the race and the plan is to start our first lap at around 2 or 3am, do a steady jog round to finish around 9am then sign on for the race which starts at 10am. We’ll then run the race and, if we can still stay upright, have a quick swig and a bite to eat on the finish field then turn round and do it again. If we have a good third round we’ll hopefully make it back to the pub before they stop serving - now that would make a grand entrance!

The plan is to try and raise a few quid for Cancer charities as I lost a friend last year and a clubmate of Steve and mine also lost her battle with the disease in 2009.

This is the first time I’ve gone public with the plan so I guess it’s now official….

Well I can’t believe it - we’re nearly a month into the new year already. Where does time go????

So far my training has gone pretty well running most days and getting a long run in at the weekend.

I even managed to run through all the snow and ice although I can’t say it was much of a pleasure.

To be honest I think the bad weather actually increased my mileage as I had to run and bike to work a few times as I literally couldn’t get the car out.

This coming weekend it’s the Stanbury Splash fell race - a traditional New Year 7 mile shakedown around the moors above Haworth. Earlier in the same day it’s the Junior quarry run which is the first race in Bingley’s Junior Fell Championship. I hope we get a few juniors to give it a whirl as I’ve arranged the championship this year and would really like to get more kids out on the hills.

Looking a little further down the line I’m doing the Wadsworth Trog in February, Noonstones (which this year is an English Championship race) and the Haworth Hobble in March. Last year I managed 3rd in the Hobble so will be hoping to have another good run this time around.

I’ve also entered the 3 Peaks race in April but me and a friend are planning something a little bit special for that day so watch this space.

Believe it or not we are all now watching the Ben Nevis Race website to grab an entry for the race which is not until September. Entries open in the last week of January and last year all places were taken within 2 days.

The Inov-8 330s are still working well and what with all the snow we’ve had they’ve hardly been off my feet since I bought them (still think they need a dual compound sole though…)

Next Saturday is the 3 Peaks Fell Race  - for me this is one of the highlights of the fell running year.

The 3 Peaks are pretty special to me as I’ve been walking, running and biking over them since I was 8 years old.

I know my way around the course like the back of my hand and could describe every step of the way in minute detail so navigation won’t be a problem.

This year I’d really like to try and get under 3.5 hours but this is a big ask as 3.39 is the best I’ve done and I felt very strong that year. Having said that I’m running OK right now so if there’s ever a chance this could be it.

The big question is how to start - do I go off fast and hang on or go off steady and try and crank up the pace as the race goes on? My head tells me to do the latter and my heart says go for it from the gun.

I’ve not done much this week but feel very tired today. Last Sauturday I cycled 70 miles to my parents in Kirkbymoorside North Yorskhire then the family and I spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday pounding the streets of London - as tourists not runners but it was still very tough…

Wednesday I cycled to work, Thursday I ran the dog in the morning and did a club run at night and Friday (today) I just did the dog run.

I’m now entering my recovery week leading up to the race where very little training with plenty of sleep and lots of grub is on the cards.

Recovery / tapering and pre-race eating are very hotly debated topics amongst distance runners and me along with tens of thousands of London Marathon (next Sunday) runners will be trying to get it right this week.

Personally I think there’s a lot of tripe talked about it and lots of folk seem to believe that having a perfectly planned and excecuted taper and final week’s diet will grant them a star performance.

I think you need to go into a race feeling fresh and if it’s a long one well fuelled, but a good performance will only come off the back of good hard training - not good hard resting. If it’s not in the bag now, no amount of tapering or noshing will make it happen next week….

I had a reasonable run today at Shepherds Skyline although I didn’t feel that great until the last couple of miles.

I came in 27th out of 360 starters so not too bad I guess although on a good day I would like to think I could have been a minute or so quicker.

Results here : http://www.todharriers.co.uk/shepherds_skyline/skylineres2008.htm