Johnny Hall’s Travels and Travails

I had a good result yesterday and ate and drank well after the race and got a reasonable night's sleep, hoping to feel decent this morning before the final long hill race of the season and part 2 of the Manor Mouse. I actually woke up this morning feeling better than yesterday and my legs were in good shape, so I was hoping, if not expecting, to get round ok today.

It was sunny but there was a biting cold wind in the car park, which didn't bode well for the top of the hills. I decided to stick with just the vest because I knew I would heat up on the climbs and I didn't want to be messing about taking kit on and off during the race because I was running with a camelbak (a nice new sparkly North Face Boa number which worked a treat) in order to help ensure I drank enough through the day.

So, after enduring a very cold wait at the start, the hooter went and everyone charged up the hill and I settled in with Stewart Barrie (who also ran yesterday) and took the first hill or two very gently, losing a boat load of places in the process.

The first big descent to Flotterstone was quite amusing to me because it's very fast but that early in the race, it pays to take it easy and not burn your legs out but a lot of runners were ignoring that and barrelling down at top speed. Once we hit the road I made sure I ate and started up the climb of Turnhouse. From Flotterstone to the finish, I wasn't overtaken by anyone again (though a couple of folks came past but I re-passed them eventually), which is truly amazing (and probably means that I started a bit too slow). The first half of the race has most of the climbing and all the big hills and here is where I have a big advantage since I am a lot quicker than most on steep hills due to my bambi-like long legs. My strategy from Turnhouse on was to pass people on the climbs and to try to hold my position on the descents, and I managed that pretty well.

From Turnhouse, over Carnethy, Scald Law and the Kips, it was extremely windy and breathing was hard work. It seemed to be a head wind though so I was hoping it would benefit us on the way back. I felt good and pushed on over the high hills and down to the drove road where I had to start running. The ground was soft though and my legs were still fine. From Hare Hill the ground becomes harder to run over with boggy ground and heather. It didn't seem too bad though, certainly better than I was expecting and I kept catching runners, though fewer than before.

The last couple of climbs were hard work for everyone but I didn't break and I kept my eye on my watch, hoping I could hit my (ambitious) targets two days in a row. Over Allermuir and Caerketton, I felt a bit dizzy but I was close to the line and bowled down the hill to finish in 3.29:52, for 79th position of 170 runners. Not brilliant but certainly better than my expectations.

And, in the Manor Mouse competition, I managed to place third of 12. To be fair, the faster runners this year didn't seem to do both races but 3rd is 3rd!

Today was the first leg of Manor Mouse, an event which rolls over 2 days. Part one is Manor Hill, near Peebles - 10 miles and 700m of ascent. Part two is the longer Pentland Skyline, 16 miles and 1800m of ascent, or thereabouts.

I thought I'd throw fortune to the wind and attempt both of them. I wanted to do the Skyline and it would have been a shame not to have run Manor, which is one of our local races. I feel in reasonable shape at the moment and the weather was kind, today at least.

I got there in good time and caught up with a few of my hill running friends - the sport is very friendly. I decided to take it fairly easy to start with and not get caught up in a mad dash up the hill, so I kept my breathing easy and my strides short. Once we got onto the hillside, I found my position and concentrated on keeping a steady pace, trying to bear in mind that I had to race again tomorrow.

I didn't feel too great for the first 30 minutes but then my breathing seemed to settle down and I felt better for the last push up The Scrape. I re-passed some folks who had run by me earlier and kept a strong walking pace up the last steep hill. At the turnaround, I noted that I wasn't too far behind my Moorfoot compatriots, Colin, Steve and Kenny. I hit the top in about 52 minutes which was a bit quicker than I had expected.

I tried to keep my position running back down the hill and tried to reel in a few runners in front, which helped me to run strongly. On the way back there are a couple of short hills to run back up and the absence of wind here meant I felt a bit overheated but they didn't last long and I kept running up them, rather than resorting to walking.

Dave Mitchell and Stewart Barrie, both stronger descenders than I am, caught me near the end and there was nothing I could do to stay with them but I crossed the line in about 1.28:30 which was well under my expectations, though, if I'm honest, the conditions were quite quick with good runnable ground.

Now, a few hours after the event, I've crashed a bit but my legs are feeling ok and I'm confident I won't embarrass myself at the Skyline.

The 2009 race season is almost over, just Manor Mouse to go and then we're into the winter races, starting with Tinto.

So, I get to indulge myself by picking the races I was to do next year.  This year, my big target was to complete at least 5 SHR Long Classic hill races, which I have indeed managed (Stuc a' Chroin, Jura, Loch Lochy, Glen Rosa, Two Breweries and Pentland on Sunday).  Next year, I was thinking about doing something big again but some of the things I want to do (like the WHW race or another Ironman) are probably a bit ambitious (time-wise), given my work and family commitments.

Anyway, discussions with a work colleague piqued my interest in a race I'd looked at previously and my major (late summer) race has picked itself.  With that in mind, my current race season for 2010 looks like this:

• Carnethy 5
• Edale Skyline
• Three Peaks
• Ben Lomond
• Jura
• Bala Middle
• Borrowdale
• Powerman Zofingen
• Two Breweries
• Snowdonia Marathon

It's about 60 seconds into the bike leg of the Durty Triathlon and I'm regretting wearing my white tri suit. I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking when I put it on, rather than my, rather more mud-friendly, grey number. Last time I wore it was Ironman Austria, which was, coincidentally, the last time I competed in a triathlon. Running has been dominating my sporting activity this year.

The Durty Triathlon is probably my favourite event. 1. It's a triathlon, which is always a good time. 2. My buddy Paul organises it, and he is, quite literally, the nicest chap in Scotland. 3. It's 20 minutes from my house. 4. As a result, I know loads of people there and it's always very friendly. I did this last year as well, the shorter version (there are 2 events, a fast sprint and a slightly less fast standard), just before IMA and enjoyed placing 8th in 1:34. I was well back on the swim, rode well and held on for the run. This year, I've barely been swimming and I only really ride to work on a regular basis. So, I didn't really know how I would get on.

At 8 this morning, I was feeling decidedly unenthusiastic, looking out at the drizzly, grey weather, whilst Emily and Esme bounced around me. But, I sucked it up and got out the door, without breakfast. After registering and chatting to some folks, soon enough it was time to get into the water. It was not warm in there (although people were probably complaining a bit too much, it wasn't that bad) so I was glad to get started.

Both races started at the same time, maybe 200 swimmers in all and I got a bit bashed about until I remembered how rubbish I am in the water and let everyone swim away from me. I kept it together fairly well and I was out of the Loch in 17 minutes, faster than last year, which was a miracle. My transition was a bit slow, getting socks and gloves on but probably no slower than most people around me. I forgot how bad my legs feel on the bike after swimming and the long, draggy hill didn't help matters. I started to overtake all the quicker swimmers here. I used to get frustrated by the number of people who swam faster than me but now, I don't mind. If I put some effort into getting better, I'd be justified in being frustrated but, I don't so I'm not.

The bike course suits me - straight up, straight down, more or less. It was incredibly wet which also suited me, since most riders were avoiding going too fast and I was happy bombing down as fast as I dared. I think I walked more than last year, due to the wet conditions but my final time was probably much the same. I rode the technical section at the end, steep and rocky with lots of brakes required and was rewarded with a wee bit of a clap (at least, I think it was for me).

I was thoroughly filthy after the ride but I quickly whipped through transition, slowed only by having to tie shoelaces on my trail shoes (chosen since it was muddy, though, in retrospect, I could have worn road shoes). I counted the bikes in transition and figured I was comfortably in the top ten, which was a good result. I zipped off for the first hundred metres before realising I was going too fast when my breath left me and my body remembered how hard running off the bike is. I slowed down a bit and concentrated on my stride and slowly started to reel in the runner in front. He took a while to catch, two thirds of the way down the trail before the turnaround. Shortly after, the leading runners came past, so I could count them and find my position. I was 8th, a wee bit further down than last year - this time, however, I was running well and was overtaking runners (not many, to be fair) rather than being overtaken. A couple of hundred metres from the end, I caught the fifth place runner but he stepped up the pace (I think he was part of a relay) and I couldn't match it. One last surge from me at the end but it wasn't to be and I collapsed over the line in 6th place in a time of 1:27ish, 7 minutes faster than last year, despite not swimming or cycling much and in slower cycling conditions. Can't complain.

And, my reward for all this effort, is the best race T-shirt in the sport. A lovely white Craft number. I'll try to keep this one clean.

The last two wednesday nights have seen me lining up for midweek hill racing, Bog-n-Burn style.  Last week was Maddy Moss in the Ochils (710m of ascent over 10km) and this week was Turnhouse in the Pentlands (350m of ascent over 5km, so a Turnhouse equals exactly half of a Maddy). I've not been training a huge amount recently - a combination of some tiredness, lack of motivation and wanting to spend more time with my girls has limited me to a bare minimum.  I've kept racing but, understandably, I've not been expecting too much from my results. Maddy Moss was hard.  A steep climb into the clouds, followed by a long, tough descent.  The descent was where I lost time - the path is deeply rutted and narrow and I had great difficulty getting any speed going and many runners overtook me.  I finished well down on expectations (although it seemed like times were slower across the board) in about 1:10 for 64th out of 121 finishers.  I didn't feel great and was a bit downcast about my speed. Last night was Turnhouse in the pouring rain.  Another big turnout made life difficult at the start where the path narrows and I got caught up behind the masses.  Once up the first climb, the path levels out a bit for a while before entering some trees and then striking up Turnhouse itself on a pathless, steep ascent.  It was here I started to pass some folks.  My legs were still fresh and I wasn't choking as I normally am when climbing, so I used my long legs to generate a bit of speed.  Then it was a case of holding on down the long, slippery, wet descent.  I was passed by a few here but generally, I seemed to hold my position reasonably and didn't let anyone who had passed me get too far ahead.  I finished in 33 minutes dead and hopefully, quite far up the field compared to Maddy Moss. So, where Maddy Moss was bad, Turnhouse was unexpectedly good.  I've got a couple of different races (triathlons and mountain biking as well as a long, long hill race) in August that I'm probably not fit for but I can't be too far off.

I completed another midweek hill race last night over Carnethy hill in the Pentlands. I had a week off running and training last week - I just lost the will and decided a rest was in order - so my legs probably weren't up to a hard effort. So, with that in mind, I decided to go hard off the line. Yes, I am that stupid.

Every race I do this year is a new experience for me and there's a definite learning curve involved, both for my mind and my body, neither of which are quite ready for those experiences. I've tried going easy at the start of races and I've tried going hard and holding on - I'm not sure what works. Probably, I should have been more conservative last night but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The race started whilst we were all getting dowsed by a heavy rain shower. I moved myself towards the front behind the fastest fellas and just in front of the faster fellas. The course takes a couple of short, sharp climbs upwards onto Falla Hill before dropping. I tried to hold a quick pace up the hills, and managed quite well, though I was blowing a bit, I felt like I was managing. Figuring I would catch my breath a bit running off the hill, I had made my big mistake. The downhill was boggy and heathery and my big bambi legs didn't like it one bit. By the bottom, I'd been caught by a few and once on the climb up Carnethy, I think I gave up a bit (though it didn't seem like that at the time). I probably should have pushed on but figured I'd take it steady.

Over the top of the hill, another couple of runners caught me and I struggled to keep on their heels on the fast descent. Then, the Scald Law col and down the trail to the finish and another couple passed me.

I finished in 33:31 and 27th out of 57 runners. I'm fairly certain I would have finished further up had I not gone out too hard. Still, who knows? I quite enjoyed myself and I now know how to run faster, I just need to put in the training to be able to sustain it for longer.

Last night was my second Bog and Burn race - Red Moss Revolution, organised by HBT. Red Moss is probably the fastest hill race in the calendar (given my limited knowledge, this probably isn't strictly true) since there's only about 200m of climbing and much of the course is on tracks and tarmac. Still, it seemed hard enough to me, with most of it runnable, with a couple of nice descents and almost all of the 200m climbing coming on a long runnable ascent up Hare Hill, which made it hard to pace I'd been down in Leek at my in-laws for a couple of days, so that Becky could go and scream at Barlow and Owen at Old Trafford on Tuesday, so much of the day leading up to the race was spent in a car on the motorway coming back to Scotland. Certainly, this wasn't ideal preparation but probably not much worse than sitting at a desk. I felt pretty good beforehand though, which was a nice change - I'm starting to feel fitter and less tired at the moment, maybe it's the weather. I warmed up with Westies Chris, Ellie and Owen and chatted to a few folks including Jon from Carnethy, Kate and Ian from HBT. I feel very at home at a hill race, in a few short months I've gotten to know a lot of friendly and welcoming people. A big crowd of runners assembled at the start and I took position behind the front group of speedsters. I kept up a fast pace along the road at the beginning, despite knowing I was likely to pay for it later (though I'm not sure that I did). The road rears up a bit and a few runners came past. As I get to know more runners, I'll be better placed to judge whether to follow them or not. We turned onto the trail and the climb up to Hare Hill. I kept a steady pace and tried to keep my breathing controlled. The hill passed quickly and then we started down a heather-covered slope. I got stuck behind someone here and made the mistake of not passing him early. Someone else came flying past and reminded me I was racing, so I got round my blocker too. Then, down a steep slope to Green Cleuch, where I passed another couple of hesitant non-hill runners. I walked all the way up the wee horrible path from there since running didn't seem to be any benefit at any point (and because I couldn't!) and then there was a long, rough descent, which I enjoyed. It needed a lot of concentration though. Then, we were on the long run-in alongside Threipmuir Reservoir and someone was breathing down my neck and then passed me. This turned out to be Davie Duncan again - he did the same thing to me at Stuc a'Chroin and Cort-ma Law. In retrospect, I could have stayed with him but I'd gone to sleep a bit. Another runner came up to me and I settled in behind him and then, when he faltered, I re-passed him and pulled away and gained on Davie again. I should have put the gas down earlier and stayed on his feet. I finished in 46:07, which was maybe a little slower than I was hoping. I did have 42 minutes in my head for some daft reason (I'd checked out last years results) but then I realised I'd meant 45 minutes (not sure where 42 came from). So, I hadn't executed particularly well, but I enjoyed running in the evening sunshine and felt my legs were quite strong.

The Long Classics series of hill races is my main target this year, beyond just getting a bunch of hill racing done and staying fit and healthy through the year.  There are 11 races altogether and you need to run 5 to get a placing.  After this weekend, when I ran the Glen Rosa Horseshoe race, I've now completed 4, and, essentially by default because not many others are daft enough to run so many in a short period of time, I'm now lying 3rd in the table (behind some real winners).  Still, I'm up there for the moment at least.  I expect to be languishing by the end of the season. I travelled over to Arran with Russell again.  This time I was hoping to actually race for the duration and to make a decent fist of things.  Last week at Loch Lochy, I ran badly, due to fatigue.  This week, I wasn't quite so tired.  The journey over is pleasant enough - just getting on a ferry makes things fun.  The hills were in cloud at the beginning but it didn't look too thick and I expected to be able to see the route at least part of the time.  In the end, the clouds lifted but kept the sun shielded for us for most of the race, which suited me. There were only 23 runners, unfortunately.  It's a classic race which deserves more attention - we discussed this quite a bit during the journey but I'm no closer to understanding why not many people ran.  Alternatives, I guess - the Lairig Ghru race, Tebay (British Championships), Arrochar the next week.  Who knows?  Hopefully, the race will continue, since it's a great event.  If not, at least I've experienced it. We barrelled off at the start and I settled in with a few Westies that I know are a bit quicker than I am - Don Reid, Graham Kelly, Murdo McLeod and Ellie Homewood.  The pace was pretty hot but I wasn't breathing too heavily, not until we started the big climb onto the ridge.  We took the path and Don, Graham and Murdo steadily pulled away, whilst I led a small group consisting on Nigel Thomas, Ellie and Michael Diver.  Michael decided that some of the climb was runnable, where I was walking and he opened up a short gap, whilst Nigel caught and ran with me until the summit when I put in a spurt to catch Michael again.  I put another effort in to get past him and then concentrated on staying upright down the steep descent (which seemed vertical at the top). We seemed to drop a lot of height here but I felt good so I kept the pace strong whilst we bashed through high heather and deer trods contouring under the A' Chir ridge.  I was glad of my knee-high socks here, which protected my shins at the same time as looking ridiculous.  Then, a path and a staircase to the col under Cir Mhor.  I passed Don here - he'd been racing too much and was having a bad day, so wisely packed it in.  It didn't take long to get to the col and then up and down to the summit, where I worked out I was in 11th position as the other ten in front of me could all be counted as I climbed.  Russell was having a good race, battling it out with Chris Upson for 4th and 5th place. Eleventh place put some pressure on me though, since it meant I was in the top half of the field - get overtaken and I'd be in the bottom half.  After dropping back down the staircase, there is a long, tricky contour around to the Saddle, where the best advice is to stay high and climb over some difficult slabs.  I felt like perhaps I went a bit too high here but it's hard to say.  After the saddle, it's a long climb to North Goatfell and then Goatfell.  I started to feel the pace here and found it hard to push on up the ascent.  No-one seemed to be catching me though, so I got my head down and got on with the job. At the summit, I was feeling very tired but glad I only had the rocky descent down the tourist path to go.  I looked back and saw Ellie a couple of minutes back, which was a pain since I couldn't relax and cruise down to the finish.  Off I went and almost immediately turned my bad right ankle again.  I stopped and assessed the damage - not too bad it seemed, after the initial shock - so I took some painkillers and continued.  Almost immediately, another runner passed me, pushing me into 12th.  I hadn't seen this fella apart from near the bottom of Cir Mhor, so he must have save the best for last, whilst I was tiring. I couldn't keep with him, so there I just concentrated on keeping Ellie at bay.  The path is notorious for hill runners taking falls, so I had to keep what little wits I had left, about me.  Soon enough, the path hit the burn and forked into the forest and easier running.  Ten minutes later, and I hit the field and the end and was done - 12th place in a bit over 3:25, which was more or less on target (though I'd had a fantasy time a bit quicker!). I feel like a ran better for longer and made a race of it, despite there not being many people to run against.  My % of winner time was much more respectable and I didn't die a death.  Russell ran very well for 4th place and I had a good time, chatting with other folks, particularly the super-friendly Westies and Carnethies, on the ferry over and back.  Good times.

I ran my third long hill race of the year yesterday, over the two Loch Lochy Munros north of Fort William. This was the first running of the race, over hills that I hadn't climbed before (Meall na Teanga and Sron a' Choire Ghairbh), which was part of the attraction. Unfortunately, it's a fair drive to Loch Lochy from the Borders and none of my clubmates were coming for the trip. I didn't fancy driving up there alone, so I was lucky to find a couple of chaps from the Edinburgh clubs who needed a ride (Mark from HBT and Andy from Carnethy, both much quicker than I am). The race HQ was based in a private estate, called Achnacarry, which was very pleasant. The start itself was a kilometre or so up the road at a beautiful waterfall (a registered wedding spot, apparently). There were 57 runners in the race and we made a lovely meal for the midges as we waited to begin, which made the surroundings a little less endearing. We were underway soon enough, along the road for a few hundred metres and then we turned up a forest track. This would be my third hill race in 7 days, after Yetholm and Cort-ma Law, so I figured I'd be tired and would be conservative for the first few miles. I had a small group of decent runners (including Don Reid and Kate Jenkins) in my sights all the way up the track until we entered the forest and the track turned into a narrower path (which would make great mountain biking), which included a tricky, stony downhill section. After a short while, we came into a big wide glen and started to run in the open, on rough, slightly boggy ground. The sun came out here and I began to realise that I was not just tired but very tired. I didn't really have the ability to pick up the pace, so I decided to take it easy and not break myself, treating the race as a training run in beautiful surroundings. The race had strung out here and we started up a steep ascent to the first munro summit. I could still see a lot of runners ahead of me but I didn't make any headway - I'm usually pretty quick at steep, walkable ascents, given my long legs (the only advantage my size gives me). My shoes have started to blister my heels too, which made the climb a bit unpleasant. It's certainly a beautiful, remote place but the sweat in my eyes stopped me from enjoying it too much. The first summit appeared through the mist and we turned and barreled down a steep, runnable descent to the bealach under the next hill. Once we started to climb again my legs felt completely dead - I still haven't gotten used to the transitions between running up and down hill. Five minutes later, my legs were back and I got myself up and over the second summit. Another short descent and a nice wee climb up to a lower hill and then there was a flatter section before the final descent to the forest for the long run back to the road.  Looking at the final results, the runner I chased down to the col, put 12 minutes into me over the second half of the race - so I think I must have just gotten slower and slower.  I lost 3 or 4 minutes on the runner ahead of me in the last 30 minutes of running. The descent was tough on my legs and I was feeling very tired here. I managed to keep a reasonable pace up on the run out but it wouldn't matter much, I wasn't catching the runner in front and the runner behind seemed to be struggling too, so I kept it moving without killing myself. I finished in about 3:07, with the winning time of 2:06, so I was very slow. I had been hoping to get well under 3 hours but my legs were shot at after some hard training and racing. This week, I'll run intervals and spend some extra time on the bike instead of running a lot before the Glen Rosa Horseshoe race.