This weekend, I decided that I would head to the Lake District to reconnoitre the first section of the Ultimate Trails 100 route. Partly in order to get in a long run, but mainly because this part of the run was entirely new to me and I wanted to get an idea of what I was letting myself in for.
Anyway, the weather forecast for Saturday was rubbish, so I decided to work that day and to head over to the Lakes on Monday when things looked much better. I set off from home at about 5.30 on a stunning morning. When I got to Settle, I could see the line of the Lake District mountains on the skyline forty miles away; I've never seen this before and it was fantastic.
I parked in Ambleside, sorted my kit out and headed on my way. I didn't anticipate passing any shops on the route, so I was carrying more water and food that I would in a race and my pack was heavier than I would have liked.
Following the GPS track on my watch, with an occasional glance at the map, I headed out of Ambleside and on to Troutbeck. This was a stiff little climb and a bit of a shock because, on the overall elevation map, it barely registered. From Troutbeck, I climbed over Garburn pass, making really good time on the uphill section and dropped down into Kentmere. I read somewhere that Kentmere is the model for Greendale the home of Postman Pat (and his black and white cat). It's certainly very pretty.
From Kentmere, the route climbs up towards the reservoir and on up to Nan Bield pass, the highest point on my day out. It was certainly spectacular.
The final climb up to the summit of Nan Bield pass looks dreadfully steep from a distance, but just when you start to panic, a nice windy path emerges in front of you, looping up to the top. I had a bite to eat and headed down the pass and along Haweswater. To be honest, Haweswater is far too long and the lakeside path goes up and down far more than any lakeside path should.
From Haweswater, the route dropped into the village of Bampton, where I hoped that I'd find somewhere to fill my, now empty, water bottles. Unfortunately, both the village shop and the pub were closed, but a kind lady took pity on me and got me some water, while I rescued my last cheese sandwich from my bag.
The next few miles were steadily uphill on road and I made really good time before climbing up onto Askham moor, where the views out to the Pennines were fantastic (but look rubbish on a photo). The drop down towards Ullswater was great underfoot and I was able to move really quickly here. On the downslope, I left the UT100 route and headed to Pooley Bridge where I found a massive ice-cream and the bus back to Ambleside.
Twenty-six miles of spectacular countryside in glorious weather, what's not to like? A couple of things, actually.
Firstly, doing a recce isn't quite as much fun as doing a race. You have to carry far more stuff (and I didn't have enough water, despite taking far more than I thought I'd need) and you don't get friendly people telling you that you are looking great (it's all lies, but good for the morale). More importantly, the route isn't marked. I made a significant mistake heading up to Nan Bield pass and ended up having to follow a more or less non-existent path up a really steep slope, rather than taking the far more easy route that I should have been on.
Secondly, I'm having difficulty typing this. The middle finger on my left hand is the size of a good quality pork sausage, won't straighten out and generally gets in the way (and hurts). It's all the result of this incident. Yesterday, on steep rocky descents, I was more than just nervous, I was scared. I'm normally good at descending, but if the path was even just a little uneven, I found myself unable to run. I told my body to run, I reminded it of times that I'd flown down similar paths, but it wanted nothing to do with this. I found myself not only walking but walking slowly down paths that, two months ago, I'd have run down - and I was frightened. It's funny, I managed the Derwentwater Dawdle (slowly) a couple of weeks after my fall, but two months on, I'm not sure that could do it.
So I find myself in a dilemma. Despite taking the wrong route and panicking on the downhills, I was fast enough to make the cut-off times for the early part of the route (but only just). However, I find myself wondering whether I can put myself through this again. Perhaps the race atmosphere will be enough to keep me going - perhaps not. Perhaps it's time to stop trying to run in the mountains and to stick to easier terrain - I loved every second of the Tyne-Trail Ultra a few weeks' back.
What should I do?
 |
| Looking down on Windemere from the path to Troutbeck |
Following the GPS track on my watch, with an occasional glance at the map, I headed out of Ambleside and on to Troutbeck. This was a stiff little climb and a bit of a shock because, on the overall elevation map, it barely registered. From Troutbeck, I climbed over Garburn pass, making really good time on the uphill section and dropped down into Kentmere. I read somewhere that Kentmere is the model for Greendale the home of Postman Pat (and his black and white cat). It's certainly very pretty.
 |
| Kentmere Church |
 |
| Kentmere Reservoir |
The final climb up to the summit of Nan Bield pass looks dreadfully steep from a distance, but just when you start to panic, a nice windy path emerges in front of you, looping up to the top. I had a bite to eat and headed down the pass and along Haweswater. To be honest, Haweswater is far too long and the lakeside path goes up and down far more than any lakeside path should.
 |
| Selfie with added Nan Bield Pass |
The next few miles were steadily uphill on road and I made really good time before climbing up onto Askham moor, where the views out to the Pennines were fantastic (but look rubbish on a photo). The drop down towards Ullswater was great underfoot and I was able to move really quickly here. On the downslope, I left the UT100 route and headed to Pooley Bridge where I found a massive ice-cream and the bus back to Ambleside.
 |
| A moody Ullswater from Askham Moor |
Twenty-six miles of spectacular countryside in glorious weather, what's not to like? A couple of things, actually.
Firstly, doing a recce isn't quite as much fun as doing a race. You have to carry far more stuff (and I didn't have enough water, despite taking far more than I thought I'd need) and you don't get friendly people telling you that you are looking great (it's all lies, but good for the morale). More importantly, the route isn't marked. I made a significant mistake heading up to Nan Bield pass and ended up having to follow a more or less non-existent path up a really steep slope, rather than taking the far more easy route that I should have been on.
Secondly, I'm having difficulty typing this. The middle finger on my left hand is the size of a good quality pork sausage, won't straighten out and generally gets in the way (and hurts). It's all the result of this incident. Yesterday, on steep rocky descents, I was more than just nervous, I was scared. I'm normally good at descending, but if the path was even just a little uneven, I found myself unable to run. I told my body to run, I reminded it of times that I'd flown down similar paths, but it wanted nothing to do with this. I found myself not only walking but walking slowly down paths that, two months ago, I'd have run down - and I was frightened. It's funny, I managed the Derwentwater Dawdle (slowly) a couple of weeks after my fall, but two months on, I'm not sure that could do it.
So I find myself in a dilemma. Despite taking the wrong route and panicking on the downhills, I was fast enough to make the cut-off times for the early part of the route (but only just). However, I find myself wondering whether I can put myself through this again. Perhaps the race atmosphere will be enough to keep me going - perhaps not. Perhaps it's time to stop trying to run in the mountains and to stick to easier terrain - I loved every second of the Tyne-Trail Ultra a few weeks' back.
What should I do?
Comments
Post a Comment