Training Report: February 2020

At High Wolf Stones before storm Ciara hit

In February, I ran 132 miles and climbed about 9,000 feet. That's far more than I would normally manage in February, which is good, but it's nowhere near as much as I had planned, so that's bad. The problem is the weather; if February 2020 is remembered for anything, it may well be for the fact that there was a named storm on four successive weekends. It was hard to do long runs at the weekend in the face of the rain and the gusty winds. There was one Saturday morning when the headwind was so strong that I couldn't manage to run downhill at one point; I was struggling to make headway walking.

Putting my Mudclaws to the test.

It's also been more than a tad muddy. After days of plodging through the clarts, I finally gave up and decided to concentrate on running on the roads. Fortunately, the roads round here are very pretty, but I'd still rather be on the fells, Zaro is terrified by traffic, so running on narrow country lanes with him is fraught with anxiety and I've had to leave him at home most of the time. It's pretty heart-rending for both of us when he does his little happy dance as he sees me put my running kit on but I have to leave him behind, Hopefully, things will dry up soon.

My little stream turned into a river

So, how is training for the Spine Flare, going? Not as well as I'd like, in some ways. I had hoped to do a recce of the final section of the route this month, but the weather didn't play ball. However, running on the roads means that I have been able to concentrate on strength and aerobic capacity. I can now gaily skip (well, run, panting) up a two-mile-long hill, that a month ago would have required a couple of walking breaks. I'm definitely getting stronger, but I've not put the endurance miles in that I really need. I must work on that this month, whatever the weather decides to do.

The good news is that although I've put in a fair few miles, I've not got injured. Generally, my calves are very tight and I've got a few niggles in my hips. However, Iain the wonderful physio who looks after me says that these are normal maintenance issues. It makes me feel like an old car, but at least it's nothing to worry about. One thing I should mention is my finger; having thoroughly messed it up last year (read about it here), I find that I really can't cope with it getting cold. I've moved my office around so that I can rest my left hand on the radiator while I work, but that's not an option when I'm running. I find that I have to wear my insulated mitts most of the time at the moment, but it's far from ideal as they get all nasty and sweaty, The surgeon who dealt with it told me that I'd have to "survive the winter". I now see what he meant, warmer weather can't come soon enough.

The highlight of the month was a slog up to High Wolf Stones (see the picture at the top) which I managed on the morning before storm Ciara hit. It's a stiff eight-mile run from home, mostly uphill with a much more appealing eight-mile downhill return. The trig point is just off the Pennine Way on Ikornshaw moor and even in the soggy weather, it was a delightful place to be. I rarely run up that way in the winter as it is a bit bleak and lonely and not a place to twist an ankle (in the summer, there is a constant stream of people with big back-packs doing the long walk). However, if I did break a leg up on the moor, I know that the nice people of Calderdale Valley Search and Rescue Team would come and dig me out of a hole. I really hope that I will never need their services, but it is very comforting to know that they are out there, while I'm running in wild and lonely places. Because of this, I've decided to try and raise some money for them. If you would like to encourage me in my preparation for the Spine Flare (108 miles in 60 hours, over mountainous terrain), why not sponsor me? 100% of all donations go to the Calderdale team.

So next month, I want to seriously increase the mileage, working on my endurance and I'd also like to spend three Saturday's recceing various bits of the Pennine Way route - but that will depend on the weather.