Another year older....

...but still no wiser, it seems.

Yes, it was my birthday last week and as a special present, my pal Dod held a wee race at the weekend. He called it the D33 aka The Jam Sandwich Race, but we all know that really it was the Shanksi Birthday Bash. He even managed to get heaps of wonderful people to come along: club mates, Fetchies, and all sorts of top quality distance runners.

He was even good enough to give me a nice simple job to do - get a photo of all the Stonehaven runners, preferably in club tops, before the start. Of course, I failed miserably with that one - there was far too much hand-shaking, hugging, and general faffing to be done, and it would have been like herding cats anyway. In any case there are some great photos in the collections here, here and here, and in several other places if you look hard enough.

The first half of the race went well: I ran with Dave_K for most of it and it went pretty much to plan, a very enjoyable just under 10:00/mile which was about the same pace as last year and felt good. It was nice to catch up with mrs s at the half way point - we'd had her in our sights a few times but despite me waving, she hadn't looked back. Refuelling was a tub of Muller Rice (which went down well) and some cold pizza (which I took one bite of and ditched the rest), and then Dave and I set off again at a very slightly reduced pace.

A couple of miles in we hit the wee climb up to the main road at Crathes and Dave pulled ahead as I slowed to a walk. Soon after, it was like the wheels fell off my running and I was finding it difficult to keep a half-decent pace going. Like last year, the 3 miles between Crathes and Drumoak seemed to go on and on for ever - it was nice to see Angus who did his best to raise my spirits but I was starting to feel tired and sore and having difficulty keeping any food or drink down (I think I might have neglected to eat for too long after the turn, but can't remember for sure) so it was tough going. A few folks passed me as I headed for home; very pleased to see Pdoll going strong but disappointed at that point to realise my chances of getting in in under 6 hours had completely disappeared. Still, I was on for a PB so kept going with a run/walk (too much walking). It was good to see Craig and Alex and to have a quick chat with them, but largely wanted to focus, keep my own company and just get to the finish. Which I did, eventually, and was delighted to see mrs s and the kids waiting for me, and to get beer and a medal from Dod. Once again, we had personalised beer from Brewdog, but this year, the medals were hand crafted by our friend Annette at craftrocks.co.uk Best race medals ever!

I wasn't exactly sure of my time, mainly because I'd been relying on my phone for timing and pace information which was a bit stupid since I have difficulty reading the screen in daylight, but I was confident I'd beaten last years time, and thus made lots of betting Fetchies happy :)

Once I was able to walk again, we drove round to the Inn at the Park for a quick drink and a catch up before heading for home, food, a shower, and then back out to the pub for drinks.

Looking back, it was a top weekend and fantastic to see so many friends out enjoying themselves in the Aberdeen sunshine (and the Stonehaven pub light). I'm slightly disappointed with my time and the way my running fell to pieces a bit on the second half. I think I can do better so it's time for some quality training in the lead up to the Fling. I also need to have a rethink about eating and drinking - I've been using nuun tablets in my water but really wasn't enjoying the taste and might go for straight water plus electrolyte tablets that can just be necked rather than having them dissolved in the water.

Thanks again to Dod for putting on another great race and to all the marshalls and other helpers who made the race possible, and to everyone who ran and made it a grand day out, and also to everyone who came along to the pub and had a drink and a laugh and made it such a nice weekend. Cheers guys, you're all very special people. In more than one sense of the word.

Pi(e)s

Two things are upsetting me about British Pie Week:

1) I only heard about it today, at the very end of the week, and have been unable to participate fully in any extra pastry encased food consumption.

2) It really should have been organised to coincide with Pi Day. I know that this year's arrangements could have potentially led to 8 full days of pi(e) related gluttony, but I just feel that Pie Week should include Pi Day.

In any case, I shall have to remember to buy a circular pie for my afternoon snack tomorrow.

Christmas Is Coming

With a work night out on Friday, some people weren't thinking I had much chance of getting up on Saturday morning to help at the Scouts Christmas tree sale; and anyone seeing me later on that evening would probably have revised those chances to somewhat nil. However, I didn't want to let anyone down and I dragged myself out of bed at about 7:15 in order to get along the road in time to help unload the lorry - I had even had the forethought to save time in the morning by sleeping in my clothes, but that's another story.

By about 10:30, we had sold every one of the 75 trees we had along with a whole heap more raffle tickets, and made a decent little bundle of cash to help keep the roof over the heads of the Scout Group and all that remained was to help out with a few deliveries and get back to home for lunch.

Of course, one of the trees delivered was our one so the afternoon was spent getting the decorations down from the loft and decorating the tree; with "help" from the boys of course. It's always good fun, and nice to see all the home-made stuff get another airing - a good way to spend a cold afternoon.

Magnus had a great time, although I'm sure he knocked more baubles off than he actually got to stay attached to a branch.

Today was another early start; 7:30 for a 3 hour run with Dave and Mike - slippy on the ice but a good wee jaunt covering 17 miles. Vikki went out for a yearly-target-completing run in the afternoon, so the kids and I made mince pies and jammy tarts (because Calum doesn't like mince pies).

Yep, Christmas is just around the corner.

A Walk In The Park - Part 2

Mid Camp
Mid-camp included the lodge (with log fire), portaloos, a cooking tent and the marquee which was heated by a gas burner which apparently had two settings, blast furnace and off, which led to an afternoon of jackets, hats and gloves being repeatedly put on and taken off. As more people arrived, there was much talk and eating of snack food going on and quite a few folk went off to nap until the food was served. I got chatting to a few different people, including Gary who seems to be doing a few of the same races as me next year. The supplied food was plentiful and tasted great, washed down with a cup of wine (great thinking from Bruce), and then it was time for some music and a couple of beers before heading back to Big Agnes and sleep. I managed not to die of hypothermia overnight but woke up early, went to the loo, then headed to the marquee for bacon rolls. Probably not ideal food to get ready for a day of fast-moving in the hills, but great-tasting all the same. Then it was time to strike the tent, pack up and get ready to go.

Day 2, Part 1 - 1:40000
Some fresh snow overnight and low cloud made for a tricky start to day 2 but we managed to pick up the first two controls without too much drama - we missed the next one by a good margin and lost some time having to double back to find it :( the next two were easy enough to find but involved a very steep descent and ascent (we could and possibly should have used less direct routes but where's the fun in that?) and then a nice wee run/walk back to the transition point to pick up the final map.

Day 2, Part 2 - 1:10000
Another short orienteering course which I think we handled reasonably well - the last control point was a little elusive at first, but we found it without losing too much time and set off for the finish. It was great to see the finish barrier, even better to hear a big shout from Polly who claims we looked like we'd just finished a "walk in the park" (which was sort of accurate since Bruce and I hadn't done a lot of actual running), and better yet to find out there was hot soup, rowies, and hot dogs available. Finding that I still had some dry clothes in my kit bag was another great bonus.

Summary
What a fun event. Well organised, fantastic location, friendly people, overall a great adventure. I really liked the feeling of choosing your own route, and loved the way that the different courses and start times meant that one minute you could feel completely alone, the next there could be any number of other competitors in sight heading in the same or completely different directions. From a personal performance point of view, I felt I was struggling for fitness which surprised me a bit. Navigation and route choices were OK but, with hindsight, could have been better so there's room for improvement.

Kit
If anyone's interested in kit, Big Agnes did a fine job but might be just too heavy if she had had to be carried. The Thermarest mat did its job and I slept comfortably enough - my old sleeping bag did OK but would be far too bulky and heavy to carry in a pack; possible replacements are being looked at - birthday present, anyone?. I spent the whole weekend (yes, the whole weekend) in tracksters (with shorts underneath in case the temperature improved - ever hopeful), a HH base layer top and my new favourite thing: a Rab Shadow Hoodie which I can see getting a lot of use until the sun returns in spring! Extra layers were piled on top for warmth or better waterproofing and it all worked pretty well at keeping me warm.

Thanks
A huge thanks to Sean, Ali, and everybody else involved in organising the event - you all did a great job. Thanks also to Ian for the loan of his stuff - it was greatly appreciated. And thanks to Bruce for teaming up with this rookie, for his encouragement, his advice and help, for the lift to the event, and most of all for his company over the weekend.

What's next?
Well, a MM type event next year is still on the cards - favourite at the moment is the LAMM but that would be after a series of 3 ultras in 3 months! Ulp! I think I need to stop blogging and get back to training!


Please check the event web site for results, times, a link to some photos (much better than the ones I took), and the routegadget thing that I will update with our route as soon as I can!

A Walk In The Park - Part 1

My plan had been to take part in a Mountain Marathon next year, but then I found out about the Grampian Mountain Challenge and wondered if it might be fun. And then I saw these photos and had a good look at the map and decided it could be a lot of fun - it would mean chickening out from the "battles of the shanksis" at the Aberdeen Fetch Mile, but that was OK. So all I had to do was find a partner (or at least someone I knew to chat to at the camp), a tent that would withstand some dodgy weather and a sleeping system that would stop me freezing to death overnight. Unfortunately, the likely candidates were all busy that weekend (or so they tell me!) so it wasn't looking good, then with a couple of days to spare, Bruce mentioned that he'd been talking with the organiser about it, and he agreed to team up with me. Suddenly, it was all back on, and instead of looking at a bumbling jog across the hills, I was teamed up
with a speedy hill runner and experienced Mountain Marathoner. Gulp! On the plus side, Ian the pimp agreed to let Big Agnes come with me, and Thelma help to keep me warm. Those girls plus my old sleeping bag, liner, and extra clothes would hopefully be enough to prevent hypothermia despite Ian's grave predictions!

After a week of constantly changing weather forecasts (snow, rain, sun and high wind with 90mph gusts had all been predicted for the area), it turned out to be relatively benign on the day which was good. Bruce had a dodgy calf and I had a sore toe which was not so good but we registered and headed for the start in good spirits, looking forward to whatever the day would bring.

Day One, Part One - 1:10000

At the start we were given an orienteering map, and a sheet of paper to explain what the heck all the colours on the map meant, and so we set off into the forest with the simple task of trying to follow a path to near the first control - within five minutes we were on the wrong path (the right path took a left without letting us know) but a quick adjustment took us back in the right direction and the orange and white flag was soon spotted. Checkpoint 1 successfully dibbed (is that the correct word?), a look at the map says we need to go thattaway! Up that ludicrously steep looking hill? Errr, yes. Eeek. Not for the last time, we set off up a steep slope with Bruce easily pushing ahead and me scrambling to catch up - I'm really not sure how this partnership would have worked if he'd been fully fit. Anyway, we found the next couple of controls easily enough and were soon down at the transition point without much further incident.

Day One, Part Two - 1:40000

New map, different scale, different symbols and longer distances between control points. I had to laugh as I marked up the map - we'd given Ali (GMC planner) a lift to the event, and I'd asked him about how high the course would take us. "Fairly high up" he'd said, not giving away that we'd have to get to the top of Culardoch at 900m, the highest point in the whole area. But that was three control points away so off we went into the mountains. Along the tar road! Which may sound a bit like cheating, but one thing I learned over the weekend is that roads and tracks are quicker to move along than knee-deep, snow-covered heather (who'd have thought it?). So, we made our way up to the control which turned out to be in the middle of a muddy bog which I managed to step into, up to my knee. Bugger! This let water get inside my SealSkinz socks which was a bad thing and contributed to me feeling like I was going to get frostbitten toes. I hit a real low on the way up Culardoch - the cloud had come down a bit, my feet were cold, and energy levels were low. Bruce made sure I was still eating and drinking and helped by rubbing some warmth into my foot which helped a lot, but not as much as finally getting to the trig point, dibbing the control, and seeing the visibility improve. Then it was a fun but tiring charge down the hill through knee deep snow to the gate in the fence and on to find the last control point of the day - I think we missed it by a small margin but didn't lose too much time curving back round for it before heading for the path down to the camp. It was great to see the marquee and a few wee tents springing up as we jogged down towards the wee rickety bridge and across to the finish. It was even better when we were told to go and upload the times in the lodge where they had a log fire going.

To be continued....

A Devilishly Good Day Out

With Vikki running the Fling and the Devil O The Highlands next year and me also giving the Fling a go as a solo runner, it was high time to get some West Highland Way training under our belts - well, any excuse for a day away from the kids amongst some great scenery!

We decided to run from Kings House up the Devil's Staircase and over to Kinlochleven, then back by the same route to Kings House but keep on going to Ba Bridge, then back to Kings House again. Vikki, Annie, Laurie, Jonathan, Matt "Tutters" Tutt and I set off in the car with the plan to meet Minty (if his tent hadn't been washed away by the rain) and Mike at KH. After the usual faffing around - arguing with hotel staff who were a bit reluctant to let us use the toilet (even when we promised we would be back for food and beer) and taking the mick out of Tutters for his matching clothes and very white shoes - we set off in the sunshine towards the magnificent sight of Glencoe.

The run to Kinlochleven was great fun, nice and easy paced to take in the scenery and chat to everyone, with a quicker charge down the track near the water pipes. We passed a few walkers including an elderly German who was becoming angry because he couldn't find the right path to Loch Eilde Mor - I hope he found his way although I don't think we were much use! I think it took us 2 hours overall which seemed fairly reasonable. We stopped for a while to get a cup of tea at Ice Factor and checked out their shop for lots of nice jackets I can't afford, before we set off again on the return - a long steady climb back up into the hills. Mike suggested a race down the Devil's Staircase but nobody took him up on the offer - as it happened he flew down with Vikki close behind him, I jogged down on tired legs but got overtaken by Minty and Tutters; J had a wee fall but we all made it safely to the bottom. Back along the track towards the hotel, I felt a wee pain in my hip again (getting slightly worried about this now) and despite some Ibuprofen, the last couple of miles were pretty slow and I decided at that point not to keep going, so waved off the other runners and went to the bar with Tutters to meet Annette (who had been out taking photos) and Annie and Laurie (who had had a nice gentle walk while we'd been running) and drink some beer while waiting for the others to return. Matt had actually been thinking about continuing the run, but considering that he'd never run more than about 7 miles or been on any trails before, he probably made the right decision.

By the time the other runners got back to the hotel, it was time to pile back in the car and head for home so we said our good-byes to Minty and to Mike and Annette, took some photos of deer grazing near the hotel (not sure if they were the same ones we saw on the ridge earlier but they might have been), and headed off into the sunset (actually the sunset was in the other direction, but let's not let reality get in the way of a decent cliché).

Overall, it was a lovely day out in some great scenery with near perfect weather (despite a week of unpromising forecasts) and great company - a lot of nice blethering with many a laugh...

Click on the picture above to see more pictures.

A Run of Two Halves

2010-09-25 Lairig Ghru

When Craig suggested a club run over the Lairig Ghru, I was well up for it - here was a route I’d wanted to walk for many years without ever quite getting round to it, and a chance to spend a weekend away with some pals. The original plan had been to get a lift to Linn of Dee, run to Aviemore and get a train home the next day, but the train option got dumped in favour of just running back the next day. Yes, George got involved.

The rest of the group comprised Conor, Andrinne and Mags, so we all set off in the wee shanksi bus to Linn of Dee, faffed around a bit, and on the trail before 9. Not that we got very far before I realised I hadn’t locked the car and had to double back. We got some good running in as we made our way up the valley, despite the wind in our faces and the cloud that seemed to be just above our heads - we got a good view of the Devil’s Point (and a few laughs when we talked about the literal meaning of the Gaelic name) but the rest of the peaks were shrouded in mist. It got much colder as we approached the boulder field around the Pools of Dee - extra clothes were deployed (including the gimp suit which did the trick for me). This bit was slow going, picking our way across the damp rocks past the pools - Craig described it as like a scene from Lord of the Rings, and we joked about monsters in the pools waiting to grab unsuspecting hikers - and it was a great moment to reach the other side where we could see Aviemore in the distance up ahead and know it was downhill from there on, and there might even be a runnable path before long. My hands and feet got badly cold on the descent, but it wasn’t too long before the temperature rose a wee bit and we found ourselves coming down into the forest at Rothiemurchus with just a few miles of easy running to take us into the town.

The hotel was nice enough, once they’d figured out how to turn the fire alarm off, and we had a fine meal at Roo’s Leap (served by Wednesday Addams). There was a band on in the hotel so no point in going to bed early and we all sat up drinking and chatting for a while. I think I had 7 pints of Guinness but somehow felt better at breakfast than I had any right to after that amount of drink. In any case, breakfast was eaten, bags were packed, Tesco was visited, and we were off on our merry way, pretty much on schedule.

The weather on Sunday was much better than Saturday, and we were soon sweating out the alcohol as we headed back through the forest. My hip had been a bit sore by the end of Saturday’s run, and it started hurting again so I took some Ibuprofen which kept me going up into the pass. Someone had removed about half the boulders at the top - or so it seemed, we possibly followed a better route through, but definitely crossed more quickly thanks to dry rocks underfoot and generally feeling more positive because the sun was shining. Back on Deeside we made good progress down the path with great views of Cairn Toul, Devil’s Point, and Cairn a Mhaim beckoning us on until we turned the corner and could look across to Lochnagar. On the outward journey, we had taken the bridge across the Luibeg Burn; on Sunday we waded across which was much more fun. Before long, we were back at Derry Lodge, enjoying the last stop on our 44 mile picnic. There was a bit of a feeling that noone really wanted it to end, but it was time to get going on the last few miles back to the car. Sunday had felt like a much quicker run than Saturday, but it still took as long; probably because we took longer over each stop since we didn’t have to worry so much about the chill.

All in all, a really fantastic weekend - good running in wonderful scenery, just about perfect weather on the Sunday and the company of a great bunch of buddies. When’s the next one?