Sartorius? Pes Anserine? Hmmmm.

Something in the above photo is causing me problems. Unsure of exactly what but I've got referred pain to the pes anserine (where the photo is labeled) and one of the muscles connecting to that spot hurts. I believe it's the sartorius. Stretching, rolling, and massage to the muscle has not helped. I can run with minimal pain since the motion is front to back. Side to side hurts. I've been icing and have begun an aggressive anti-inflammatory routine temporarily to see what happens. I need to run it by my co-workers for feedback again next weekend. Yes, I am worried I may need to bail on the Brecon Beacons Ultra. Time will tell.   

Required gear, the rest of it, almost

Been a downer week until today. Was unable to either get on the treadmill or get outside to run Tues or Wed. Took Monday off as usual but should have ran. The little one has a cold and has been all over the place with her sleeping. I think I've got this sickness now too but it hasn't hit me yet. We shall see. Got on the hamster wheel today and felt alright. This "knee issue" I think I've pinpointed and I'm not overly concerned about it. Doesn't hurt when I run, just need to get some stretching on it, roll it, ice it and I think I'll be ok.  

On to some gear talk. I've already mentioned what I've got for jacket, pants, fleece, hat, and gloves for the Brecon Ultra's required gear. Let's continue on with some of the smaller items.

A simple one, the map. According to their website they will supply us with a map and that the course will me marked. However I might cut up two Ordnance Survey maps just in case, unfortunately the race course is right on the edge of two maps.

 So over here the equivalent to a USGS 7.5 minute quad map is the OS Map. I believe the US is the only country that uses a 1:24,000 scale where as the UK and everyone else uses a 1:25,000 scale. The OS maps seem to be a little more in depth as far showing trails, foot bridges, buildings, archeological sites, things like that, which is good considering a lot of the land is populated and all these things are great landmarks when you are lost. However it does make them a little harder to read the topography with all the markings. Most likely a matter of getting used to the map.

it's Welsh, we are in Wales.

The down side is that they are huge in size. 5.25in x 8.9in folded with a light cardboard cover, maybe a half inch thick. You can even get them waterproofed which is bigger and heavier. I guess when you add up a pile of US 7.5' quads they get pretty big too and they disappear when they get wet! It's interesting having worked in the outdoor retail industry here. This OS dimension will determine whether someone buys a jacket or not. If the maps won't fit in a pocket people will not buy the jacket! So you'll see UK brands with advertising showing that the pockets were made to fit OS maps! Pretty crazy.

I'm not even sure if I'll need to bring maps but as I said better safe than sorry! I think I'll hold off doing any cutting until I get my hands on the provided map.

Whistle. I think I've got a basic plastic emergency whistle that should meet that requirement.

Compass. I've got a bigger compass I used when I was a ranger with the National Park Service but it's a bit overkill. I'm not looking for lost people or directing helicopters! Did some Googling and found out that the Recta DO-100 compass ( I think it's the DT-100 now) weighs in at 28 grams (just under an ounce) but appears to still have a rotating bezel. I've got some piece of crap that is liquid filled without a rotating bezel that will weigh less but the bezel factor is important I feel.

Recta DT-100

I picked up a space blanket from my old job for a few pounds and it is small and supposedly weighs in at 62 grams (2.3 oz). I've heard of lighter options and people cutting these down so a little more research and some scissors I may shave some grams. Wait a minute?! I'm pretty sure I've said I wasn't too worried about weight! Ugh, what am I becoming? What's next, a digital scale?

Headlamp or torch as they are referred to here. Since it is unlikely I will be traveling in the dark and this is an emergency item I think I'll use a Petzl e+Lite. The new versions have a Kevlar "band" similar to the Petzl Zipka which lightens it a tad compared to the older style. The  e+Lite is supposedly poor for traveling but weighs nothing, 27 grams (just under an oz). I actually got an old version from my co-workers and have been taking it out on my morning runs. It's damn bright for what it is and works really well alone. The elastic band winds nicely around my wrist when the sun finally pops up. It take two watch batteries so the required spare batteries I need to carry weigh nothing!

new Petzl  e+Lite

"old"

Watch. I'll have something on my wrist. Most likely my HR monitor watch, leave the HR strap at home. I'm so used to using my HR monitor that my Suunto I used for backcountry skiing has pretty much become obsolete. All I need is a stop watch really, maybe a lap counter. I'd love to get a cool Suunto Ambit, Garmin 910XT, or the brand new Garmin Fenix. Maybe the wife and parents will go in together and get me one for Christmas.

The GPS watches are super cool for mapping but damn are they expensive! They also have a lot of training crap I do not need and recently have been looking into the Soleus models. They actually sold their GPS "watch" technology to Garmin when they (Garmin) started doing wrist GPS. The 3.0 model seems to have what I want, mapping, pace, basic HR functions, basic watch functions, and none of the training stuff. That could be a cheaper option, time to do some research.      

So what else do I have to have. A backpack, food for the entire race, and the ability to carry at least 500ml of water, about 16oz. I'll delve into those things later on.    

Fairly boring weekend run-wise

Dunsley Tunnel turnaround point

Well a busy but not in the sense of running weekend. Ended up taking Friday and Saturday off. I was hoping to only have Friday off but I ended up going into Birmingham to meet my ex co-workers for a couple beers. Got home later than normal for me and the 5am wake up to run was a bit tougher. Mainly because I started a new part time job and had to catch the train at 746. Just wanted to be sure I was on time.

I think I needed the off time anyway. My right knee had been acting up a bit, no idea what, but it doesn't hurt at all when I run. Only when I'm not running. Weird. So got out on Sunday for two hours and 16 plus miles. Easy fun pace, flat terrain. Really good run and no knee problems during, but only after.

So the ice is out throughout the day, ibuprofen, stretches, etc. The usual. Really odd, probably just run through it and it will get better. Off today as normal which is nice, it has been raining since about 3am straight on through. Flood warnings are out for the SW of the UK and I'm sure the Severn-side towns will be preparing. Just another rain storm in the UK, no big deal!

cignets are getting bigger

Got my hands on a Montane Fireball Smock thanks to eBay for super cheap so that part of my gear has been sorted out. I would have rather have gotten a Patagonia because it's a nicer piece and I'd use it for more than racing but the price was too steep! Oh well.

Raising my treadmill, darkness, and gear decisions

So I've began attempting two a day runs in order to get a few more miles in. I'll get up before the little one and the wife at 5am go run outside for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Then when the little one naps I've got a decent window to run on the treadmill, anywhere for 1 to 11/2 hours. Honestly it's normally for about 45 minutes which seems to be plenty anyway.

The treadmill we've got is pretty basic, a Reebok i Run S I believe. We got it off eBay for super cheap, it looks to be a few years old but was only used about 3 times. The wife was mainly using it but I've stepped in now a little more often. I hadn't really used them much until now. I think I've talked about it in a recent post but, well, I'm known for repeating myself so sorry if it's annoying! 

Lame manufacturer photo

Anyway, this thing has a flat position and then a manually set 4% incline. It's set on the incline all the time, I don't really see any reason why to have it flat! However I wouldn't mind making it a bit steeper so I've been trying to figure out the best option to lift the front of it a bit. It's really light weight and sits on a concrete floor in the garage. I think I'll just find some concrete blocks and put them underneath. Since I'm just using it at a slower pace I may as well make it uphill for 45 minutes. That could be beneficial. 

The morning runs are definitely getting harder to motivate for. It's 100% night time now until about 615am. I also started carrying my headlamp to keep an eye on my footing. I've got a nice 10 plus mile loop that is all on sidewalks or canal towpath so it's fairly safe however a couple stretches early on are super dark and combined with the random bright headlights blasting me in the eyes I can't see anything. Having my hat or visor blocks the car lights and then having the headlamp on the ground keeps my eyes adjusted well enough.

One thing is that the photo opportunities will now dwindle. Some mornings I'll get an ok sunrise about 630 but it's hit or miss. Also with fall coming up it will most likely be overcast so the light will be no good. Oh well, I'll take what I can get for now. 

Did a little research on options for the required "fleece" for Brecon Beacons Ultra. Something I totally forgot about was a Primaloft jacket. Montane, OMM, and also Patagonia all make an ultralight zip neck synthetic insulation piece that weighs nothing but compresses to very little as well. The weight of fleece is no big deal but the compression sucks.

Fireball Smock from Montane

These Primaloft/synthetic pieces compress down to about the size of a large apple but will still give the same, if not better, insulation as the Patagonia R1 I was intending on bringing. I'd prefer the Patagonia because I would use it for more than racing but the price is too much. So the hunt is on to find the cheapest option and it appears to be the Montane version, the Fireball Smock. We had these at my old job and they were like all Montane stuff, ultralight but the quality/durability didn't seem to be there. Well, I'm paying for the ultralight, I'm not worried about the durability anyway. Not sure if I'll get one but the eBay radar is on full power! 

It's funny how such a simple sport of running one can accumulate all sorts of extra crap! Oh, and sorry for the shitty photos. I figure it was better than a bunch of words!   

Required gear options

Fairly successful week and slowly getting back into it after that damn fell race. On Saturday got out running and my IT bands were still shredded from the downhill! Sunday a couple guys from the athletic club came out my way and we put in a couple easy hours running which was fun. Felt a lot better too which was good. I haven't ran with anyone  in training for seemingly ever so it was a nice change. I need to ramp it up now though, no more racing until after Brecon Beacons. Time to put in some big miles and show up ready to go.

Slowly finalizing my gear for the race as well. So we are required to carry waterproof jacket and pants, gloves, hat, a fleece, backpack, map, compass, all our own food (no food at aid stations, only water), a space blanket, headlamp w/ spare batteries, whistle, watch, and a minimum capacity to carry 500ml of water.

The weather in Wales can go sour real quick or may be horrid when the race starts hence the required gear. Makes sense I guess just in case, especially since it will be November. This is one cool thing about races over here. There really isn't a lot of hand holding, you need to be self sufficient.

Already have my jacket and pants sorted out. I have a Montane Litespeed Jacket that weighs in at about 5.5 oz. It fits like a garbage bag, damn British cut, though so I'm looking at other options. A little more weight may be worth a better fit since if I need to whip out these items the jacket will be first. Also if you're already uncomfortable ill fitting clothing will only make it worse. I'm pretty sure this jacket breaths about as good as a garbage bag too! Pants I've got a pair of Montane Minimus pants, 4.4oz I think. Both are actually lighter since they are size small and their measurement is off of size medium.

Montane Litespeed H20 Jacket, mine is a hideous orange

Montane Minimus pant

 Both of these are the lightest end of the spectrum. Obviously when you go ultralight you lose durability and of course breathability, both trade offs for carrying so little. They smoosh down to about the size of a medium apple which is super nice. I could dork out on the breathability but honestly when one is exerting themselves at a high level NOTHING will breath enough, not eVent, Gore-Tex, whatever.... People in the UK seem to be all about the numbers for breathability (MVTR - moisture vapor transmission rate), it matters if you are moving like a snail. Fast and light is right! Getting cold? Move faster!

Hat and gloves I'm not going to stress about with weight too much. I've got a Swix nordic ski hat I run in which will work, probably weighs about an ounce. Gloves, I do have some Outdoor Research liners but seeing as how I have frost bit my hands so many times Nordic ski racing I think something with a bit more protection may be useful. I've been looking into some of these convertible gloves with a wind proof mitten covering. Nike makes some that weigh nothing and could save me from lobster claw hands if it's cold. FYI lobster claw hands occur when your hands are so cold your fingers are useless besides your thumb and a grouping of the other four, no fun, especially if you've been surfing and need to get in your locked car and also get out of a wetsuit!

R1 gridded fleece

Fleece. Hmmmm. They require a "fleece or similar warm upper body layer". That's a pretty broad category. I've got a Patagonia R1 pullover that is considered "gridded fleece". It's super warm for it's weight and think this would most likely be the most compact fleece out there. Patagonia claims it weighs 11 ounces.

I'm too lazy to dig around for a lighter option right now, any how fleece has never been known as lightweight. I confirmed that the R1would be legit for the race with the race directors so it's at least a viable option. If I get bored I may do some digging to see if there is a lighter option out there. The only situation I can see myself using this in is if I get hurt or drop out which is the reason why we're carrying it.

Enough gear talk, I'll go over the rest another day. Wife's gone tomorrow, I should take the day off but may hop on the hamster wheel for a while. We shall see.

   

Stretton flyover

Whew, well definitely feeling Stretton Skyline! The downhills destroyed my quads. Other than stretching and working my legs with a foam roller I got on the treadmill yesterday for a bit which helped get the blood flowing. Didn't feel too bad since it's set on a slight incline. Today got out for 6 miles easy, ouch!

Found a map of the race course on MapMyRun.com, check it out in 3D. If you pause the action you can zoom out a bit and get a better feel for the landscape, still doesn't do it justice!

My first fell race: Stretton Skyline

Saturday night the wife's family was in town and with the little one teething I awoke Sunday morning feeling ok actually. I finally fell asleep at 2am I believe and got up at 630am, not the ideal night's sleep precluding my first official fell race in the UK on Sunday.

My former nemesis, now team mate, rolled in to pick me up at 9am and we drove out to Church Stretton, Shropshire to test our meddle in the Stretton Skyline fell race. Roughly 4500 vertical feet over 19 miles, 5 major climbs with major descents. I'd never been out to this part of the country despite it being an hour away. We drove through the standard rolling farmland I wish was mountains then after about 40 minutes the topography began to morph into huge hills some topped with ragged crags until we arrived in Church Stretton.

Church Stretton, image from Wikipedia

The town is situated between the Long Mynd or long mountain and the Caer Caradoc a huge set of hills. The race course was essentially a loop around town going up and down a portion of these hills. A beautiful sunny day greeted us and we started in a parking lot and then headed uphill following a gnarly rocky trail along a creek that brought back memories of hiking the granite paths of the Sierra Nevada.

A few small water crossings and a short section of class 4 rock scrambling brought us to the ridge line and giant hills covered in purple heather (I think). It was a very surreal landscape, and I got the same feeling much like the first time you go to South Eastern Utah.

race start location, image from Wikipedia

Below is the "race map" which I have posted before. To the left of the photo the Long Mynd with Pole Bank summit, to the right the Caer Caradoc with the Ragleth, Caer Caradoc, and Lawley summits. The fifth and most brutal and deceiving climb finished at Motts Rd. Junction which then was a bomber downhill descent to the finish. All of the summits you went up one side and down the other, other than Lawley summit which was an out and back.

course profile from MapMyRun, the vertical isn't correct

So I've done long races, been out for a day and done much more vertical feet than this race, ran gnarly trails, etc. However what set this race apart from others is that there were no course markings or people telling you where to go (other than a few dangerous road crossings and some minor signage to the finish and over private property). Unless you had run the course or had a real map you would have no idea of where to go. In the past leaders have gotten off course and lost 5 miles! So other than the print out from the race website I had nothing so I had to keep within sight of someone who knew the course. The only course requirement was you had to go through 8 checkpoints. (There had been a gear requirement but they did away with it due to good weather). Otherwise the fastest route you could find is the best! Pretty cool idea. Over some sections people were all over the place; careening down hills, scrambling up hills, following different trails. At one point we were following a more or less trail on a ridge line and the two guys behind us bombed straight down the hill into the woods! We came out ahead but still it could have been faster.

pain cave descent
photo credit:  http://www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk/strettonskyline2012.html

Other than the hills we ran through a series of fields, people's yards, hopping fences, going through gates, chasing sheep, as well as a few short sections of road. The final climb was the worst, a lower angled slog not steep enough to walk and just steep enough to make running painful and it lasted for a little over 2.5 miles. 

Most of the climbs it was quickest to walk straight up them, your heart rate or legs still don't get a rest however! I try to ski walk everything in order to use different muscles but it ends up being faster than normal walking so I'd start to pull away from people, the same people who I needed to follow in order to find the finish line! I always hated all the ski walking we'd do in dryland training for Nordic ski practice especially coming fresh off of cross country running season but it is a life saver for this stuff! 

photo credit:  http://www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk/strettonskyline2012.html

The final descent into the finish was fun but the very last mile or so killed my quads. I was passed on the final climb but then once I hit the downhill I smoked down the trail and reeled the guy back in. The trail was really rocky, loose, and had some stream crossings on it but was fun and I forgot about the pain since I was concentrating on my footing and having so much fun. Total out of control running the entire way dodging hikers and horses! I caught up to the guy and then we hit the road we started on. This time of the day it was full of tourists and there was some crazy dance going on in the street which we zig-zagged through laughing! Once we were clear of the "animated cones" the downhill pavement took it's tole on me and the guy in fourth pulled away again. I suffered it in the final bit to finish 5th. Not too bad for my first fell race! 

One other difference compared to US races (besides no markings) was how it was an open course. We had to cross dangerous major road sections at our own risk, there were horse back riders, walkers, backpackers, etc. everywhere. All of these people were super tolerant of runners blazing by. It seems to me in the US most people would be pissed off about this. Just an observation that I thought was pretty cool.

   

I'm officially in the Brecon Beacons Ultra in November! Just need to send off my entry form to the race promoter then pay the person whose space I'm taking. I mentioned I'm on a "team" as well. We are the defending champions from last year. Pretty cool. Need to focus my training now on that. 45 miles I believe and climbs. May need to consider a trail shoe as well with it being in Wales in November! Also have to fine tune the required gear for the race. More on that later.

Well the wife had been using the treadmill we got off eBay and I try to avoid it. Much rather run outside but I am now kind of growing fond of it. Yesterday the wife had to go to London for work so I hamster wheeled it for about 40 minutes while the little one slept. Did 45 minutes today because the little one opted to wake up at 5am, my normal running time.

Listening to a podcast passes the time pretty well and I think the thing is set up at an incline, although small, every bit will help! Then I got to thinking I could add miles by running outside in the morning as normal and then when the little one is sleeping get in 5 or 6 bonus miles! I like that idea. I easily could average 15 miles a day on a "normal" day without compromising any family time!  

After kind of a downer day reminiscing things always head back up. First of all my parents are hoping to come over here for a visit, I haven't seen them in almost a year now and we weren't planning a US visit until Christmas. Glad they are trying to make it happen as is my daughter!

Also, I got a Facebook message from a guy I raced against in the North Downs Way 50 the other day. He got in touch to see if I'd be interested in running the Brecon Beacons Ultra in November. This race sold out in 20 hours this year and supposedly quite a few big guns show up to compete. Not to mention the race has cash money for the top three runners. Pretty cool this guy thought of me. They also have a team category where I assume they compile your team times and the fastest team wins which is also why he got in touch so I could be on his team.

I was really psyched about this. Not only have I been down since I don't know any "like-minded" individuals here but I was itchin' to get in another ultra. Once again really cool this dude thought of me.  So that is in the works, still working on the details and waiting to hear back or get the go ahead to contact the race director. STOKED!!!!!

Got out Saturday and Sunday for about 9 miles both days. On Sunday kind of figured out a decent hill routine/workout but it takes some time. The hill is good enough for repeats, and it seems to be the best around but is 4 miles from my house. It also is sizable enough to accumulate some vert. It's funny reading that, never thought I'd have to try to find vert! Anyway, so about a 4 mile warm up, then bang out some hill work, then 4 miles home. Good workout but the time frame isn't too nice. Ideally I'd love to be back within an hour but depending on how many and what type of repeats I do the time can end up towards 2 hours. Well I guess I'll just have to plan ahead.

Off today but messing around with one arm pull-up lock offs, push ups, etc. Mainly upper body stuff. Legs need a rest after all the hills and fartleks from last week.