RACE 9 - Mossley 10k

This race was as local as I could get, running around my village and running past the end of my street. It was a good weather day, slightly sunny and a little too warm in the first 10 minutes of racing, but then clouds gave cover until the finish line. There were over 300 runners and a good atmosphere. New to the field were Mossley Running Club, only started this year - quite a few bright bold orange shirts being easy to spot.

This race is roughly the route I use for my Zombies, Run! course, although I start/finish in a different place. This 10k starts at Mossley AFC at the top of the hill and begins with 1.5km of descent. You might think that's a good thing and I used it to secure a bit of time in the bag to draw on later. However, I wonder if I should have held back and saved energy instead...

I managed to fall into a good pace just behind a fellow Greyhound, but after the fast start comes a long, slow climb. By comparison to other races, it's not that big an elevation (around 100m), but at this pace it still takes it out of you. I've come to the realisation that every race is tough, because you are always pushing yourself - even if that means different paces for different distances, you still get to the end tired (or you should if putting a good effort into it!)

So after 4km or so of climbing I was very tired and had a long, winding flat section to try to recover in. That didn't happen - I just about managed to hold on to a reasonable pace, but was gradually slowing down over that 3.5km stretch. Part way up the climb a spectator was handing out jelly babies - runner fuel. I don't usually eat during my races as I don't feel they're long enough to warrant it. However, I tried one jelly baby to see if it would help. I'm not sure that it did (or didn't enough for me to notice). What I was surprised by was how long it took me to eat it. I just couldn't chomp it down quickly and had to nibble at it over a few minutes. Bizarre what your body can and can't do under pressure.

After the very picturesque, but monotonous flat section the race ends with a climb up through Top Mossley. I wasn't looking forward to this, but it was short enough not to really bother me after all that. A descent into the football ground saw me turn on the gas for a sprint finish. I managed to overtake one runner, but another saw my attempt and also sped up... quite a lot! I couldn't quite catch him - we both found it really funny and were laughing as we crossed the line. A nice end to another tough race.

My aim was to complete in under 55 minutes and I ended up with 54m 32s and in the top half of the field, so pleased with that time (although I secretly wanted to be a few minutes faster). Work is extremely challenging right now and I had only managed one run since Alderman's Ascent. Not ideal. I'm in the same boat again, having only run once since Mossley and facing another tough, hilly trail race later this week. That's the way it goes sometimes.

RACE 8 - Alderman's Ascent

Apologies again for the missed post last week. Work is crazy busy right now and outside of work there is also a lot going on besides running.

Alderman's Ascent was a tough a race as predicted. The weather was inclement, but not really, really bad (although we had clouds great us at the top for a bit of extra wet). The week preceding the race had been fairly rainy, so the course was nice and muddy. Thanks to my mum and dad who came out to cheer me on in that!

Starting at the local Churchill playing fields, we had a long climb up to the obelisk at the top of the mountain, known as Pots and Pans. It began with a lap of the playing field, then across a few roads to get to the meadows. Through nettles, thistles and cow pats and over several styles to get to the really steep climb. It took me about half an hour to get to the top and required crawling on all fours at some points.

Now suitably worn out (and with a sore back from the climb), I had to run to a point to the left of the obelisk and then back to the right, along the ridge line, to Alderman itself. Through some fairly boggy bits and a few more ups and downs in the terrain I arrived at the race's namesake with a stitch.

I had been running with a fellow Greyhound, who had helped me up the various climbs. It was now my turn to help him down the very steep and slippery slope down the back of Alderman's. Navigating this involved quite a lot of carefull sliding. No sooner were we at the bottom than we had to climb back up again!

Back up at Alderman's we had the pleasure of knowing it was all downhill from there. About an hour into the race now and the next 21 minutes were a lot more enjoyable as a result. Some great support from Greyhounds marshals kept us going and we were very glad to finish. Being a new course it was PBs for everyone - I wasn't last and I won a prize (my first ever prize) for this having been my first fell race - result :)

I'll save it until next week to tell you about today's Mossley race, but I was pleased with the fell result. I'm not sure I'll be volunteering to go up and down big hills very often, but I'm glad I did it.

The FRA

Given Alderman's Ascent is almost upon me I thought I'd give you a quick run down on the FRA, that is the Fell Runners' Association (England). Saddleworth Rangers have secured a race permit and associated UK Athletics insurance from the FRA. As such, participants have to comply with the 'FRA safety requirements and rules for competition'.

FRA races are categorised according to difficulty (A being the hardest, B the middle and C the easiest) and distance (L being long, M being medium and S being short) - Alderman's has a category of AS, so averages at least 50m climb per kilometre, has less than 20% of the race on road and is between 1.5 and 10 kilometres long.

The runners' rules include:
1. Know what you are in for (be confident of being able to complete the race)
2. Comply with the race rules
3. Use appropriate kit for the course and conditions
4. Wear your race number on your chest
5. Inform the race organiser if you retire (don't complete the race for any reason)
6. Behave respectfully
7. Be subject to disciplinary action (be excluded from the race) if you don't observe these rules
8. Be aware of the basics of hypothermia (symptoms, treatment and how to avoid it)

So I've got my kit ready: waterproof whole body cover, hat, gloves, map of the route, compass, whistle, emergency food. I've read up and been up the mountain at least once (and made it back in one piece). It will be a challenge, but there will be bread and soup at the end, so that'll keep me going! Bring it on!

A little extra

Oops - looks like I forgot to post last week. Sorry about that. On Monday night I got a cold that came on very quickly and left me coughing and sneezing my way through the rest of the week. It's meant that I've not run since last Saturday's parkrun, so I'm now quite eager to get back on the road, but need to be able to breathe properly first! Hopefully tomorrow...

Something I discovered recently was a website called Running Heroes. I've signed up to see what it's like and a few other Greyhounds have as well. You upload runs to their website and get points in exchange that can be used to get discounts on running related products. They also have a variety of challenges that reward you with a prize draw entry e.g. run at least 20 miles in 1 week to be entered into a draw for new puma trainers. It's early days, so I've not actually won anything or purchased anything yet. There's also been a problem with me getting the referral bonuses from my friends (although they have them), but the support staff have been very friendly and are trying to work on it. Seems like a small team behind the site, so they've got a lot of work on their hands developing it.

Whilst doing that, another runner told me about Bounts, which is another website doing much the same things, but without the competitions. Seems to take a long time to accrue points, but again will see what happens after a few months. They both don't cost anything, so nothing to lose really.

The third thing I've signed up to recently is Run Britain. This appears to be a national home for British running athletes and allows you to track progress via a handicap scoring system. Accredited races (and all park runs) are valid to submit to your profile and it allows you to see your progress, which is interesting to follow. Unsurprisingly Mo Farrah is number 1 in the rankings! It tells me that my handicap after last year's Great Run was 22.4 and that today it is 16.7 - a good improvement over the year. I'm not sure I'll use it for much more than tracking that, but knowing your handicap is still interesting info.

Anyway, that's it for this week. Hope my illness subsides soon so I can get back on the training - only 2.5 weeks to go to the first race of the July Triple...

July Triple

Manchester in the distance, viewed from the top of Saddleworth Moor

Doing two 10k's in one week took more energy than I was expecting. It doesn't seem that far to me, especially as I usually run more than that in training every week. But my calves were aching by the end of the 'double' last week, so I've been gently easing back in to training. I've run more frequently than usual this week, but less distance and less intensity.

That seems to be working and the weather being nice is always a bonus. I did Stamford Parkrun on Saturday and for the first time ever (in my recollection, at least) it was dry - no mud at all! That helped me shave over 30 seconds off my Stamford PB, which is now down to 26m 29s.

Today I had the rare pleasure of being able to run on a Sunday morning. Two Greyhounds and I ran a very tough trail route, eventually climbing up almost 400m to get to the top of the moors. What beautiful views, with not a cloud in the sky over most of the 360 degree panorama, except for some lingering mist in the valley bottom over by Delph. I was worn out by the time I was only half way up, which goes to show how much of the Huddersfield 10k hill training has left me (i.e. most of it).

I need to get that back though, as I've now booked on my next few races. I'm dubbing this the July Triple - three races in one month, each 10 days apart, each involving hills, one race of each terrain type (road, trail, fell)!

We have a late entry to the racing calendar, the Alderman's Ascent, hosted by Saddleworth Rangers A.R.L.F.C. It's a brand new race that takes runners up 400m of climbing to the top of Alderman's Hill, across a bit and back down. A total of 8.5km, but the first half of the race is going to take very much longer than the second half! This is also my very first fell race, so I'm looking forward to getting one of those under my belt.

Ten days after that is the comparatively easy Mossley 10k road race. It's very similar to the course I use for the Zombies, Run! Virtual Race and includes a mere 150m or so of climbing. It starts and finishes at Mossley football club, which means the final kilometre is up hill...

Ten days after that is the Millbrook Monster. Sounds scary. Probably is scary. Almost 300m of climbing in this 10k trail race, then along the hill edges and back down and round. It's popular with the local clubs and there will be a few Greyhounds running all these races, so I'm looking to the camaraderie as a way to offset the hurt!

Ending on a sad note, Little Stoke Parkrun has now permanently closed. Despite valiant attempts to negotiate, the council didn't back down and are enforcing a payment for Parkrun use of the park. Parkrun is free and so this particular run becomes the first to close for this reason. Let's hope it's the last.