Signing up for Facebook seems to have gone hand-in-hand with an inability to string more than 2 sentences together. Not a great deal has been happening on the race front since Chevy Chase but there was Coastal Run and Kelso Sprint Tri in the run-up to my 'big event' of this year.
Coastal passed off uneventfully. Bit breezy, bit warm. Usual big turn out and good WRC contigent. I adopted my usual strategy of keeping a close eye on well remembered mile landmarks and trying to keep an even pace for a 1hr 30 finish. It worked again! The only real racy bit for me was right toward the end. I'd got onto the beach stretch after the Boulmer road in a comfortable 10th position and a couple of looks back after 150m or so revealed no-one within striking distance behind. Or so I thought. Over the rocks and onto the last beach stretch (The never-ending bit!) there were suddenly 2 guys right on the shoulder and I had to dig in to keep with their pace. A tussle in the last 250m sorted us out but I dropped out of the top 10 into 11th in about 1:28 or so. Can't recall my vet40 placing but Claire kindly picked up the prize that came my way. Sarah kindly transported Mr.S (who took a veritable cleaver to his PB) Big N (mixed fortunes!) and I and also took some photos which can be seen on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16784317@N06/
Kelso Tri was also familiar territory. Mr.S had given it a miss as he'd just returned from an epic cycling holiday with his family in the NE, Holland, and then the Borders- whereby they also raised money for charity. Another pal, relatively new to Tri, Mr.B, was along with me though, and Big N was in the line-up too. The blessing of good weather was upon us again (Only raced once in tough conditions this year- let the cosseting continue!) and made for some swift racing. I had a marginally faster race than the same course last year and posted my highest placing for one of the sprint Tris yet. So A Great Big Pat On The Back was duly awarded. The last in this series for this year is at Eyemouth toward the end of Sept. My daughter seems to have been a bit inspired by watching finishers at Helvellyn and has declared she wants to give Tri a go. Bravo Becky. Perhaps Come & Tri at Eyemouth will be her introduction.
Apart from quite a few strenuous brick sessions, and some more open water swim training in the sea at Bamburgh on calm evenings, perhaps the major bit of prep for the Helvellyn race was a swift hop over to The Lakes one saturday with Mr.S to recce the bike route. Something of an event for me though since I hadn't visited the area for about 20 years. The recce was a great ride and the right thing to do. A very nice day out. And, one of the major 'bogeys' of the race, the ascent of Kirkstone Pass from Ambleside (1-in-5 in places) turned out to be not so daunting after all. Hurrah!
To race weekend itself then. Mr.S and I were accompanied by our families and were very generously accommodated by friends Ali & Lynne at their cottage in Ambleside. Super. Mr.S's good lady, Mrs E. suffered some disappointment over the weekend though, along with about 9000 other people, because her eagerly awaited event, Great North Swim, had to be cancelled/postponed due to an algae bloom in Lake Windemere. She put the upset aside though and set away with Sarah and the two eldest to climb Helvellyn instead on the saturday. Mr.S and I recced some of the run route whilst accompanying them for a while with the rest of the children and then went to register for the race. In the evening we all dined out in Ambleside then the boys went through the rigmarole of checking all their race kit was together for the next day. All Mr.S had to do was a last minute sewing back together of his somewhat tattered run shoes! "Err. Does anyone have a needle and thread?" In sharp contrast I was to be freshly shod in almost brand new trail shoes and, although barely broken in, confident that these were the ones to end a run of poor off-road shoe purchases! "Let the day dawn," we declared and set ourselves for an early start on the sunday.
Race briefing was 8am. Mrs E kindly chauffeured us and gear to the arena of Jenkins Field, Glenridding, next to Ullswater and we got set up ready to roll. Weather wasn't to provide any undue excitement for us throughout the race, although what might be regarded as a beautiful day by most was a little warm for the run and a bit breezy for the bike. Nitpicking really. We had it easy, but I've still got a sunburned neck. (Does Baby Oil help you cook as well as lubricating against wetsuit chafing?) The swim was split into 3 groups to spread the field and avoid congestion in the early stages. Mr S. and I were in the 2nd group of swimmers and by about 08:40 we were feeling the cool of the lake amidst the churn of thrashing limbs and making our way in the melee towards the first marker buoy in the distance. I took a while to settle into it, this being the most crowded swim I'd encountered yet, but eventually calmed down and steadied my stroke. There didn't seem to be many other red swim caps from our group up ahead of me and before long the group I was with started cutting a wake through some of the back-markers from the white-hats who'd been first away. There wasn't much more time after that to enjoy watching the wafting underwater plant fronds streaming beneath before we were back ashore and racing for the transition zone and bikes.
In retrospect I made a classic mistake of going away too quickly early on the bike leg. The route took us east alonside Ullswater for a while before turning north and climbing for a few miles. I was full of beans and set about this first steady climb with gusto, passing people all the way. Probably people who had the good sense to go easy at that stage! We got to the A66 then headed west toward Keswick. Some fast stretches saw those on super-slick machines start to make ground. I was at 40mph plus on a couple of occasions but made to look pedestrian at that by the high speed merchants. The longest stretch of the route took us south after leaving the A66 before Keswick and heading towards Thirlmere, Grasmere and Ambleside. This was where what wind there was made it's presence felt and slowed the pace a little, along with some traffic which was accumulating at points where cyclists were hard to pass. Deft weaving skills came into play once or twice! Eventually I was at Ambleside and digging in for the epic haul up 'The Struggle' to the top of Kirkstone Pass. Must say- I was in awe of several riders that I witnessed tackling this hill. One chap who I'd played cat-&-mouse with for about 10 miles came into his own and went smoothly away upward, likewise one of the leading ladies who showed me a clean pair of heels. I'd hoped this would be another phase of the race where I could make places but my early bike pace was taking it's toll a little and I probably only broke even in terms of gained and lost places on the big ascent. Two or three came past me who never got out of the saddle! Fair enough, that's supposed to be the most efficient way to pedal on the hills but, at a 20% gradient, it takes some bloody doing! The Kirkstone Inn sits at the crest of the climb and a viewpoint there was a natural grandstand for the crowd watching the titanic efforts and cheering us on. Much appreciated! Churning, gurning, wheezing, weaving and wobbling. It was all happening on the last push to the top but surely well worth it for the spectacular descent on the other side on a twisting road, bounded both sides by drystone walls, wending its way toward Patterdale and then Glenridding again. A nice easy final stretch to get the legs ready for the run...
I felt OK out of transition and ready to run. Quickly reeled in a few who were struggling to find their run legs but it was only a mile into the route that the first hard climb began. A sheltered spot too where the sun was making for even tougher going. I was soon down to a steady walk where I'd hoped to maintain the semblance of a jog, but consoled myself with the fact that no-one else was attempting to run the same bit and that we'd get some cooling breeze at the crest. Another mile on and this first crest was reached before the route levelled then descended a bit toward Red Tarn, nestled between the twin ridges of Striding and Swirral Edge which form a spectacular crescent with Helvellyn summit where they meet. I'd been passed by a couple of runners who got going again quicker than I toward the top of the first ridge but, although feeling pretty whacked by now, I got my pace back too and passed some others by Red Tarn and on the first part of Swirral Edge- our way up. It was the final scramble toward the top that had me on my last legs and having to really will myself onward. A posse of folk at the summit helped with their cheering on of the runners, but I was still struggling with fatigue and sore feet- from the constant stony surfaces- (uncommon to Cheviots runners, blessed with nice springy peat!) for the next mile or so along the ridge after the summit. Thankfully though, by the time we were descending a steep series of zig-zags into another valley and heading back toward Glenridding, I'd found some hidden reserves and started to put the hammer down a bit despite sore feet. I caught quite a few over the last 3 miles but couldn't quite pull back some of those who'd passed me on the ascent. It was good to have a strong finish and at the line the print out (Hurrah for chip timing!) clocked me at 4hrs 18min and 6sec. With the race having a staggered start finishing places weren't sorted until a day or so later. I turned in 49th overall, 12th in my vet. age group.
Mr.S's race was marred by a puncture on the A66 which he spent 17mins repairing, according to his report. Were it not for that he would've been hot on my heels, especially since he had a cracking run and covered those 9 miles 2-and-a-half mins quicker than I did. I have the feeling he's out to get me now and I've explained that catching me is simply bad form. In fact, there's probably something in the rules
about it..
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