City slicker shows bumpkins how to race up fells!

Monday nowt - getting to be a bad habit!!

Tuesday - 10 miles in 63:18. This is approx 30 seconds quicker than last week in very similar conditions. Tried a bit harder than last week though, especially in the final 3 miles, so the resulting time  wasn't so great really.

Wednesday - Fell race at Tebay. Wasn't feeling so grand for this event but knew it would be good training whatever the outcome so I got on with it. Plenty of good running sections where I easily caught and passed people ahead of me, but they were always interrupted by steep sections too. If it was steep uphill I managed to climb as well as the next fella but on the steep downs I struggled a bit to keep up. Luckily of course the downhills dont tend to last very long so any losses are limited.

The worst part of this route for me was the sections where it was flat or only mildly up or down but over terrible ground. Terrible as in long tussocky grass or full of holes and cut away peaty bog holes. I don't mind walking when running is impossible but I hate this type of ground where  running should be possible but it takes so much concentration to check the ground ahead that keeping up a pace is frustratingly difficult.

The final climb was a massive sided monster. Above we could see the next ten people ahead, behind, probably several dozen, although I only noticed Stu and Steve Benno Bennet. Such a steep climb as this is impossible to run up, but walking so hard as to make my legs hurt did not cause my CV system to work unduly hard at all. Thinking back, I should have included some occasional jogs to raise my heartrate significantly higher, then walked again until it dropped. If I'd done that Stu would probably have caught me back up on the 2 mile run-in though.  One aspect of the route where I did lose time was not knowing where we were going - all I could do was look to see where the people ahead were going and pick what looked like a good line to get there. Benno had some good lines already from his recce last week and that's how he ended up running with me and Stu after we had pulled steadily away from him in the early uphill section. At the finish we were all just seconds apart. Importantly though was order - Carlisle - Penrith - Penrith

If I were to race in the fells a lot more then I reckon I could improve significantly on my performance of last night - certainly in the events of up to 10 miles. It's just that I get downbeat when I can't stretch out and run fast. Or when there is such a long downhill section that I become tired of concentrating on the uneven ground/my footfalls. Or when its steep uphill cos that doesn't feel like a running race. I suppose to sum up fellracing I'd have so say then that I like the flat, smooth grounded parts best. A bit like road racing but with better views!

Today (Thursday) my legs felt pretty battered. I jogged 4 miles with Scamp but didn't even manage the distance without a few walking sections.

Final note - if taking spare dry socks ensure they are left in vehicle for after run and NOT in kit bag which goes up fell and gets wet with you - if you take them with you they become your OTHER wet socks!