Pies, ales and Yorkshire Dales

Last weekend I was down in the Yorkshire Dales for the weekend with a group of friends. We'd rented a house in Horton-in-Ribblesdale for the weekend and some of us planned on running the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks walking route, and some of us had a 40 mile mountain biking route planned. I was doing the run - a route which I have wanted to do for a number of years.

We all met up on Friday evening and went to the Crown (a few minutes walk from the house) for a final bit of carbo loading. We were all very sensible so by half nine on Saturday morning were ready to set off on our grand day out. From Horton, the 5 runners set off up Pen-y-ghent and reached the top in 40 minutes. It was a nice climb up, enough to get the blood flowing but nothing too strenuous, and a good steep rock section near the top. We were in the cloud on top so no excuse to stop and look at views - soon enough we were off down the Pennine Way and on our way across bogs and farmland towards Whernside, the second of the three peaks.

Whernside looked a long, long way away from Pen-y-ghent (it's the big flat hill in the distance in the photo above), but the running was nice so we ambled along at an easy pace chatting away and admiring the sheep. After about 8 miles we joined a road which led us along to the Ribblehead viaduct, a very impressive bit of engineering. All along the route so far we had been passing walkers doing the same route as us - I was glad to have lightweight running shoes and clothes on rather than the heavy kit most of them were carrying. I suppose it would have been nice to have a flask of tea though.

We climbed up from Ribblehead onto Whernside, where the path got really busy. The walkers we met were really friendly and courteous - they would move off the path to let us past and more often than not had a word or two of encouragement for us. It was almost like having supporters at a race. Atop Whernside it was really windy and we didn't hang around to get cold, and the run down the front of Whernside into the valley was good fun. We'd stuck together as a group of five to this point but decided to split up into two groups to suit our natural paces over the last peak. The climb up onto Ingelborough just got steeper and steeper, but the path was good and the scenery wonderful which kept our minds off our tired legs. Another of our friends was waiting for us at the summit - he didn't fancy the whole run so met us at the summit of Ingelborough for the five mile run back to Horton.

The run down from Ingelborough to Horton was five miles of fairly good paths, a bit rocky over the last couple of miles as we crossed over some limestone pavement. We got back to the house at Horton five hours after we had left in the morning - the run had been 24 miles with about 1,500m of ascent and descent. Then we spent the afternoon eating and resting, before making our way along to the Crown to have a few pints of Old Peculiar, Black Sheep and Monumental (all excellent), some Steak and Mushroom, and Game, pies (also excellent), and very generous helpings of sticky toffee pudding (very excellent).

It was a great weekend and great to spend the day with good friends running a brilliant route. On Sunday morning a few of us had a quick run up Pen-y-ghent (probably my favourite of the three peaks), and a wee mountain bike ride (I fell off into the mud). Then my legs hurt and I haven't run for the last four days because of man flu.

Tour de la Val de Carron

It had been four weeks since my last long run, so last Sunday I was out of my bed at 5am to set off on a 30 mile route from home over a few of the hills that surround the Carron Valley. The Carron Valley Reservoir lies in the heart of the Campsie Fells, between Stirling and Lennoxtown. I had run and cycled in the forest next to the reservoir, but had never been in the hills to the south of the reservoir, so that is where I was heading.


Rather than follow the road all the way to Carron Bridge, I went via Lewis Hill and Sauchie Craigs - a great place to run at any time of the day, even in the pitch black with a headtorch on. There was a bit of drizzle as I headed through the woods, and a strong wind on top of the hill, but the weather forecast was for some sun later in the morning so I wasn't too worried. I joined the road after about 5 miles, and there was no sign of life as I passed the hotel and holiday cottages at Carron Bridge a few miles further along the road. I followed the Tak-ma-doon road uphill out of Carron Bridge towards Kilsyth. About two hours and ten miles after leaving the house (I was aiming for a very nice and easy pace for the day), I turned off the road and followed a grassy path to the summit of Tomtain.

Tomtain looked pretty unimpressive as I climbed up it from the road, so I was pleasingly suprised by the great view that appeared as I reached the summit, along the ridge to Meikle Bin and over Carron Valley Reservoir to Stronend and Carleatheran - the next 15 miles of my route were laid out in front of me. There was a small, indistinct path leading along the broad ridge towards Meikle Bin - every 50m or so I was ankle deep in cold water as the path crossed mossy bog after mossy bog. After about four miles through the tussocks and bogs, I turned right through a break in the trees, heading for Meikle Bin. The path reached a new level of muddiness, but once out of the trees the climb up to the summit was grassy and dry. I'd looked at Meikle Bin lots of times from the hills nearer Stirling, but this was the first time I had actually been here. I felt the usual excitement I get as I approach a peak I have never climbed before - I know it's a not-quite-2000-foot high hill fairly close to Glasgow, and not an unclimbed Himalayan giant, but I was happy enough to be there for the first time. The views from the summit were again much better than I'd expected, and the path that led down to the reservoir looked very inviting.

Heading down through the woods towards the reservoir, the sun was shining and the birds were singing in the trees - it felt like spring was here a couple of days early - and then I came round a bend to find a pack of huskies chained up at the side of the track. I passed the west end of the reservoir and headed up a wide new track towards the Earlsburn windfarm. I'm a bit of a fan of windfarms (I'd much rather look at some wind turbines than a coal fired power station or a concrete dam), so I'd been looking forward to this part of run - getting up close to these truly impressive machines. I followed the track for about five miles through the windfarm before heading over the grouse moor towards Carleatheran.

When I reached the summit of Carleatheran, I sat down on the lee side of the cairn - out of the wind and in the sun it felt quite warm, so I sat there for about ten minutes drinking a milkshake and enjoying the situation (on this run, I'd been trying out drinking Alpro chocolate soya milkshakes - each 250ml carton has 175 kcal so I was having roughly one an hour - they were great, really easy to drink and digest, and I felt that I had plenty of energy all the way round the run). It was 10am by now so I phoned home to check everyone was up and let them know I would be home in about an hour. The path down from Carleatheran is an absolute joy to run on, and the views over the Touch reservoirs towards Stirling were wonderful in the morning sun.

I hit the road with two miles left to go. I'd felt good for the whole run, though I had been intentionally taking it very easy and not pushing the pace. When I got back home I'd covered just under 30 miles in just under 6 hours - about 7 miles has been on road, 7 miles on boggy moorland, with the rest on decent tracks and trails. The route had about 1200m of ascent. I was really pleased that I did not feel too tired and still had enough energy to chase my kids round the park in the afternoon. All in all a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Hanging out with some Olympians

Last week was a good week of training considering I was still suffering a bit from a sore ankle. I did most of my running in a pair of Inov-8 288 "walking" boots - they gave plenty of support. I did a couple of good hilly trail runs (a 6 miler and a 12 miler), a 13 mile run on tarmac (not much fun), a few easy intervals and some cross training (40 minutes on the rowing machine). Overall I ran about 50 miles in the week, but didn't feel my right leg was strong enough for a really long run.

The highlight of the week sports wise was being part of the team that won the Perth Business Challenge Curling Competition. The competition was set-up for people who had never curled before to try the sport for the first time, though each team was allowed a maximum of two experienced curlers. I was one of the three non-curlers on our team, and our ringer and team captain (skip) was Pete, who was part of the British mens' curling team at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002 - his sister, Katie, who represented Britain at Nagano in 1998, is one of my workmates. It was good fun trying a new sport, and I could definitely see the attraction as I got quite a buzz when I played a half decent shot, so I'll add it to the list of things to take up when I'm an old man - until then getting out and about in the hills is more my bag.

Speaking of which, I was out for a 30 mile run today - a good route around and about Carron Valley. I felt pretty good at the end of it - much better than a did on my long run a month ago. I might do a post later in the week about the route and showing a few photos - so that is something for you to look forward to or avoid. Until then, here is a photo of Carleatheran and a snow covered Ben Lomond.

An easy recovery week... well, easy-ish...

After twisting my ankle a week last Sunday, I figured I should take it easy last week and this week to let it recover. But, it felt a lot better after a few days so last Wednesday I tried it out for a few miles and it seemed okay, so did a few miles along a beach on Friday, then since the weekend normal running business has pretty much resumed. I still have a slight swelling on the front of my ankle, and a nice go-faster purple stripe along the outside of my foot - both perhaps suggesting that it's not quite better yet - so I'm keeping it well supported when I'm running and am not doing anything too long. Luckily, I got a pair of these for Christmas:

I got them as walking boots primarily, but liked the fact that I could run in them. They were £60 from Northern Runner. They are pretty much MudRocs with ankle support, and I've been wearing these to run in since doing my ankle. I get more funny looks than usual if I wear them with shorts, but that's okay. They are fine for running - they weigh less than a typical pair of trainers, have got excellent grips and are very flexible and responsive. I'm thinking that I might wear them for the WHW section between Kingshouse and Kinlochleven since I've heard it is quite rocky and hard work on tired legs and feet (if I get that far).

So I did about 30 miles last week (16 were on the run I hurt myself on, the rest were a few easy runs on soft ground). I've started doing some ankle strengthening exercises - brushing my teeth with my eyes closed standing on one leg (right leg in the morning, left leg in the evening), and feel likeI'm running quite well this week. I guess I'll need to be careful when I stop wearing the boots since I expect it will take a month or so for my ankle to get back to full strength.

Ouch!

Seems I've joined the Central Scotland injured ultra-runners club - I went out for a long slow run up Dumyat last night (since it was dry for a change) and sprained my ankle as I came back down off the hill into Bridge of Allan. Unless the R in RICE stands for "run 6 miles home along roads", I didn't really follow the sensible advice for how to treat such an injury. Today my ankle is bruised and swollen, though not as sore as it has been when I have done it in the past. I was quite pleased that I could keep going at 10 minute mile pace with a rapidly swelling ankle over the last few miles of a sixteen mile run. I'd been taking it really easy on the run, trying to move as efficiently as possible, and it was all going very well until I felt the nauseating wrench in my foot in the Minewoods. Oh well, looks like I have a couple of very easy weeks ahead of me.

It was perhaps a bit of karma catching up with me since my 18 month old son Jack dropped a saucepan lid on his toe earlier in the day on my watch, and now has as black a toe nail as I have ever seen. Hopefully social services aren't reading this.

Yesterday we took the kids to Amazonia at Strathclyde Country Park. I was enormously proud of my 5-year old daughter as she was first in of the queue with her hands held out when the guide asked if anyone wanted to hold a tarantula. At the same time, a few Glaswegian hard cases cowared at the back of the room, not wanting to get too close to the hairy arachnid. Bunch of woosses.

Compression socks versus ski socks

My training has been going well over the past two weeks. After my 33 mile trig point loop, I took it pretty easy for the rest of the week. I did a couple of 6 mile lunchtime runs on Kinnoul Hill in Perth and some 30 secs quick, 30 secs slow type intervals (as much fun as intervals get - I think it used to be called "zapping"), to give a weekly total of about 50 miles. This week I've done some intervals (hilly fartlek), a couple of long runs on consecutive days, and a nice figure of eight route on Sauchie Craigs with lots of sharp little climbs. For my two long runs I ended up doing the same route twice, leaving the house at 5am (part of the fun of trying to fit in long runs without upsetting the other 4 members of the family) for a 12 mile route round North Third Reservoir and Sauchie Craigs. On Thursday morning I did the route and it was the first time I had run in the North Third woods with a headtorch on - a bit of an enlightening experience as I was much more focused on my immediate surroundings rather than jogging along gazing at the view. I'm a bit of a nature geek, and was more chuffed than I perhaps should have been to be following badger tracks in the snow for part of the route. I saw two owls (a barn owl and a tawny owl) really close up, and put up a flock of 50 geese as I rounded a bend on the lochside path. Everyone gets their kicks from running in different ways - I get mine by watching for wildlife and looking at trees.

North Third Reservoir and Sauchie Craigs

So I've run about 55 miles this week, and it's all felt quite comfortable and has been very enjoyable. And I now have a new favourite piece of running kit, which gets me on to the subject of this post. Just over two years I was working three days a week in London, and spent most evenings running about exploring the city. All the miles on tarmac played havoc with my lower legs, and I ended up with very sore calves. That Christmas I got some Skins compression stockings, which undoubtedly helped alleviate the tightness. Since then I've made more of an effort to run off road as much as possible, and in the last year I haven't worn the Skins very often. Over the last few weeks I've done more mileage than usual, and my calves started to hurt again. I bought a pair of ski socks in Decathlon recently for 1p (who wouldn't) and decided to try running in them and now I am a convert. So here is my not very objective comparison of compression socks and ski socks:

Performance benefits - studies seem to indicate that compression socks delay the onset of muscle soreness and reduce the amount of muscle damage done by running, although there are mixed findings on whether or not wearing compression socks at the time actually improves performance. I wouldn't be suprised if many of the claims made by brands such as Skins are not entirely supported by independent, robust, scientific studies, but there is undoubtedly some benefit to wearing compression socks when running long distances. The scientific community is largely silent on the benefits of wearing ski socks while running. Anecdotal evidence (i.e. me) suggests that wearing ski socks keeps your feet and calves nice and warm thereby improvin blood flow in the area and keeping things from getting to sore. Compression socks 6, ski socks 3.

Value for money - my Skins compression stockings cost just over 20 quid, and they don't even cover my toes. I've never spent more than £3 on a pair of ski socks and they do cover my toes. Compression socks 4, ski socks 9.

Ease of use - Skins compression socks have to be hand washed and they fall down a lot and give me blisters. Ski socks can be bunged in your mixed load and tend not to fall down. Compression socks 5, ski socks 7.

Other benefits - Skins compression socks look pretty much as cool as knee length socks can and make you look a bit serious, whereas ski socks pulled right up will always look nerdy. But, ski socks keep your feet nice and warm even when you are running through ankle deep, cold, wet mud. Compression socks 6, ski socks 4.

So in total compression socks score 21, and ski socks score 23. I think compression socks probably do have a physiological effect, but I'm not convinced that you can't get the same effect from wearing a pair of much cheaper ski socks - certainly when it comes to post-run recovery. If you get sore calves or achilles when running, I think it would be worth trying a pair of ski socks, if not for running in then for wearing after your run (you can get away with it provided you're not wearing shorts).

Next week, its Ibuprofen versus Emu Oil.

A 5 trig points challenge

I have always been a big fan of OS maps - sometimes I like to read a Landranger the same way someone else would read a book. I can happily spend an hour or two pouring over a map, planning routes and imagining future adventures. The well known quote "a good map is both a useful tool and a magic carpet to far away places" pretty much sums up the feeling I get from unfolding a new OS map for the first time.

A few months ago I discovered a website that will list all UK trig points in order of how far away they are from any postcode, so yesterday in a homage to the good people of the Ordnance Survey I ran a big loop starting and finishing from my house and visiting the five trig points closest to it. Stirling sits in a wide valley surrounded by hills, with lots of good vantage points in the area, which means that the trig points around here are perhaps more spread out than in other areas. The loop looked good on paper - I'd guessed it was a bit over 30 miles, and three of the trig points I would visit I knew well as they were on some of my favourite running routes. I would be visiting two that I had never been to before, and would be passing through places I had never previously visited.

I left the house about an hour before the sun would come up. It was a cold, frosty morning, which I hoped would mean that most of the boggy ground I would be crossing later would still be frozen. The first trig point was Lewis Hill, about 4 miles away at the top of the crags above North Third Reservoir. I knew this part of the route well so I tried to relax and settle into a nice easy rhythm through the old quarry, watching for rocks in the beam of my headtorch. A forest road then winding path through some old beech woodland led me onto the crags and to the top of Lewis Hill (266m, trig point no. 1 of 5) in a little over 45 minutes. As I approached the top the trig point looked great silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky with the crescent moon hanging above it.


As I dropped down from the crags to the North Third dam it became light enough that I could pack away the headtorch. North Third reservoir looked stunning in the early morning light so I stopped for a couple of minutes to enjoy the moment and eat some chocolate custard.


The next few miles were then across largely trackless moorland. I picked up some sheep tracks and buggy tracks for much of the way, but the short sections of tussocks and heather in between were hard going - it was difficult even to walk through without feeling like I was trying a bit too hard at this early stage in the run. Soon enough I joined up with the track I usually take to run up Carleatheran (485m, trig point no. 2), and I was now on familiar territory until I reached the top having covered 10.5 miles in about 2 hours 15 minutes. Carleatheran has staggering 360 degree views, but just after I reached the summit a snow shower swept in from the North and blocked them out - not such a bad thing as I knew how far away the final trig point of the day looked from here.


I retraced my route back down the grassy buggy tracks heading East from Carleatheran then set off through more heather and tussocks towards Scout Head (215m, trig point no. 3). Again I managed to follow sheep tracks for much of the way - the sheep round here don't have vertigo judging by some of the routes they take along narrow ledges on crags. I was descending all the time and really enjoyed this section as it felt I was running effortlessly through what looked like pretty rough terrain. I entered the forest, where the fallen branches and a small search for the trig point slowed me down. By the time I found it, I'd covered about 14 miles in just under 3 hours.


I sped up as I followed the forest track down to the road, then the road towards Cambusbarron. I kept telling myself to take it easy on this section as it was tempting to push it a bit along the road after the last couple of hours on the rough moorland. I turned off the road about half a mile from my house, resisting the urge to call it a day after 17 miles and head home for a late breakfast, and followed paths and farm tracks to a footbridge over the Forth and along a fishermens' path. This was another of the bits of the route I had never been on before - the thing I was enjoying most about the route was discovering these new paths and link routes, and planning how I would fit them into some new running routes. I started to feel a bit tired and stiff on the short climb up Knock Hill (104m, trig point no. 4) - 21.5 miles covered in 4 hours 15 minutes.


I took the most direct route to Dumyat (418m, the final trig point of the day), following roads for about a mile through Bridge of Allan, then an undulating track along the back of Stirling University. By this point my distance awareness was in ultra mode, and the miles were ticking by at what seemed like a much faster rate than early in the run, even though I was going about the same pace. I tried to conserve energy as best I could, knowing that the climb onto Dumyat was brutally steep at first and that it could easily make me grind to a halt. I walked most of the way up Dumyat, managing a slow jog on a few flatter sections - it's a popular hill and there were plenty of walkers out, slightly bemused as they watched someone dressed like a runner staggering slowly to the top. When I reached it I'd covered 26 miles in 5 hours 20 minutes.


I retraced my steps back down Dumyat, running a bit stiffly down the hill and trying to imagine how much more uncomfortable the descent into Kinlochleven would feel in June. As I passed Logie Kirk I started to feel really tired and the final 5 miles on roads through the centre of Stirling on a Saturday afternoon were so different to most of the rest of my route that I wished I had more energy and could have taken a more interesting, but longer, route home. About three miles from home I passed a runner skipping along in the opposite direction, and I'm sure he must have thought "do you call that running?" as I shuffled past at not quite ten minute mile pace - next time I'm going to get an "I've done 30 miles already" t-shirt to wear in such situations.

I got home after being out for 6 hours 40 minutes, having covered just under 33 miles and having climbed (and descended) a bit over 4000ft. I'd really enjoyed the route, in particular the way that basing it on the 5 trig points meant that I'd had to cover new, and sometimes more difficult, terrain, rather than just run the tracks and trails I know well.



So, if you're looking for inspiration for a new long run route, dig out your local Landranger, get on to www.trigpointinguk.com, and plan a route round the five trig points closest to your house. My gut feel is that it will be about 30 miles long, will take you to places you haven't been before, and will perhaps remind you how lucky we are to live in such a beautifully mapped country where the inspiration for your next adventure is folded up on your bookshelf.

If you do try it, I'd be interested to hear about your route.