After the Watershed

As my birthday approached I was planning another long celebration day out. I had recently acquired a copy of Poucher’s ‘The Peak and Pennines’ and he has this to say about Bleaklow: ‘this sinister mountain should never be explored by the lone climber, even in clear weather’. This was clearly a sign, so I decided on a solo, unsupported outing on the Derwent Watershed.   

Alarm went at 2.00 am, eating a huge bowl of porridge at that hour was hard work. At 2.30 I was on the road and at 3.30 paying the machine in Hope car park by head torch. Set off into the darkness at 3.45, chilly so some extra layers on. The difficulty of going unsupported is carrying enough water, I had 2 litres plus a spare bottle, along with food & spare gear this made for quite a heavy sack: but in reality 2 litres wasn’t going to be enough if it was hot later. I’ve never been keen on stashing drinks to collect on route, it makes a long distance seem artificial if you’ve already driven half way round it, and what if you get there and your stash has been devoured by badgers? So be self -sufficient.

The ascent of Lose Hill is simple enough in the dark, the dawn chorus was in full swing as it gradually got light. Along the ridge it was quite misty, passed a couple of ponies (odd) then the sun broke through after Mam Tor. Dropping down from Brown Knoll I met another runner going in the opposite direction, with head torch and large sac, the only other person I saw on the tops all day. Round Kinder Edge the cloud thinned and I had views out to the west, with brilliant clear sunlight and the shadow of Kinder in the foreground.

Across Snake Summit about 7.30 and along the well engineered Pennine Way up to Wain Stones. Hern clough is about the only surface drainage you pass on the true watershed, and you could get a drink there but after the night’s rainfall it was dark and peaty. Crossing the top of Bleaklow is always interesting, but I hadn’t expected the weird impact of the huge effort that has been put into arresting erosion on all 3 moorland areas. This looks to have been a great success with Bleaklow now green and verdant, not black and oozing – great – but it seems to make it even more confusing. The ancient boundary stakes that just about mark the ‘shed route are hard to locate, there are no tracks to see, and a bearing is always hard to follow in the maze of groughs. Still, I made good progress to Bleaklow Stones then made a mess of finding the route down to Swains Head. This fascinating place, a key target on the Masters Hike of old, is so indistinct it’s not really a place at all.

Thankfully the bogs were dry, although there were occasional unexpected deep bits. This section round to Cut Gate is the crux, keeping up any rhythm is hard and it seems to go on & on. Margery Hill refused to get any nearer although the miles crept by, then I realised it wasn’t even Margery Hill but Outer Edge, and I had even further to go. Here the views North and East are excellent, over West Yorkshire, Emley Moor and the Holme Valley. This is also the watershed of England – a drop of rain to the Left would find its way to the Irish sea, to the Right would descend to the Derwent and out to the North Sea. Along here I allowed frustration at my pace to get in the way of enjoying the day. This stretch typifies the route – a sense of real wilderness and isolation, but with superb views; but I was distracted by pushing the pace.

Now the sun was out and it was heating up fast, a lot hotter than forecast. I had brought a small canister of sun block and applied it liberally, if I ran out I would have to coat myself with peat. I was now getting through water fast and used a Dioralite sachet to replace some salts.

Finally I crossed the venerable Cut Gate track and with Margery Hill behind me the end was in sight. Rather than stick to the true Watershed round the headwaters of Abbey Brook I dropped down into the valley and restocked my water at Fairholmes, which was heaving, in sharp contrast to the empty moors above. By now legs were protesting and it felt like hard work.

My aim was to do 40 miles, and I was going to hit that bang on if I went directly down to Yorkshire Bridge and cut out High Neb. Need to save something for next time! The final climb up onto Win Hill was actually a relief, having done miles with undulations but no steep climbs. At the top I stopped the timer and sat down to enjoy the view – the Northern horizon looks suitably impressive especially when you’ve just been there. The steep descent past Twitchel Farm was a killer ending, starting at Hope adds a few miles but book ending the day with Lose and Win Hill seems the right way to do it. Eventually back to the car in 10.23 and 39.8 miles, near enough. Next time I’ll choose a cooler day…

 

Fin

Fin's 4 Inns

After a few years gap,  I had a splendid solo day on the Inns route, kindly supported by Jill.  

 

The Good – brilliant day, great views, top conditions underfoot, enough breeze to keep cool without slowing you down, running well, carrying a very light sac

The Bad – I’ve been on a course of tablets to get rid of the ailment that stopped me doing the actual event – one of the side effects is ‘dehydration’ – so just drink more I thought. Turned out to be more complicated than that.

The Ugly – without warning one leg then the other locked solid with cramp on Bleaklow, hamstring & quads. Took an age before I could move, let alone walk or run. Got to Doctors Gate and gobbled Dioralite, Lucozade, crisps, peanut butter, anything. More cramp descending Kinder, again brought me to a stop, and after that I had acute pains in quads for the rest of the day. First time I’ve had cramp for about 25 years and first I’ve ever had it that bad. I could run but gosh, was it painful. So to give me something to aim for and a reason to keep pushing, I decided to stop my watch for the longer pit stops (such as a leg massage at Edale etc).

 

Also started to get nausea when I ate, another first for me and quite a shock as I can always eat efficiently. The turning point was when Jill forced a full tin of rice pudding down me at White Hall (she did take it out of the tin first) and I felt loads better.

 

So the resulting times are – ‘running time’ 08.52, total elapsed 09.50, I really don’t know how relevant these are. So it looks like I’ll have to try again.

 

Interesting bits

Wildlife –  disturbed a sleeping Barn Owl on Black Hill, some close encounters with Mountain Hares, Jill visited by a deer and a Coal Tit (trying to peck through the car window) at Crowden.

Ramblers – advised 2 groups of D of E hikers, one rambler with a Wainwright style guide book he couldn’t understand and had no idea where he was, one lady fell runner at Barber Booth who had little idea where she was either

Relatives of the Famous – Jill chatting to a couple at Drs Gate, the lady turned out to be the sister of Colin Dexter, of Inspector Morse fame.

Route finding – a perfect day and I hit pretty much optimum routes, and found yet another better route over Bleaklow (Harrop Moss, line of Grouse Butts) but managed to take the wrong route up to Shooters Clough – too early – but was able to cut back across.

 

But the key thing is after all this time I’ve done it, broken the hex and it feels great!! Now, time to start planning for the next one.

 

 

Fin

Bob does LeJog

Land’s End to John O’Groats;

another one ticked off the bucket list, that’s 2 down, 98 to go

The Alzheimer Brothers try to remember which way to go

 

It must be something to do with retirement approaching (we should have a great over 70s team in a few years), but I decided it was time to make a list and then consider it for a while before deciding to do any.

 

First one ticked off earlier this year when I took part in a ‘comedy play’, which as it turned out wasn’t as funny as ‘Le Jog’. Having been running for over 35 years I was starting to wear bits out, and get a few injuries, so took to cycling a couple of years ago.

 

Why cycling is better than running

1.     You get to wear Lycra

2.    You get to sit down whilst exercising

3.    You can stop to eat / drink and then go faster

4.    You have a machine to fettle (it’s a bloke thing)

5.    You can go further and faster

6.    You get to wear Lycra

 

Having done a few longer rides 2 years ago, I tried my first ‘tour’ last year cycling London to Paris; great fun. Met 8 like - minded Lycra clad - chaps and ladies and we still meet up several times a year for long rides and longer tea stops. It was during one of these stops last year in Clumber Park (great parkrun, just saying) that Dom said, ‘So what are we doing next year?’

 

Just over a year later, my son Jim had driven us to Cornwall and was lifting 2 bikes down from the top of my car in the village square, St Just, whilst Dom and I checked in. Nervous moment this, like when you arrive at a race and start looking round at the competition, seeing who looks fit, fast and in my case 55 – 60. Only a race normally lasts less than an hour, (even I can do 10k in less than an hour) but we would be with this lot for 2 weeks!

 

The other 23 folk seemed friendly enough, coming in all shapes and sizes, with experience ranging from a girl who had borrowed a bike and ridden 10 miles on it, to a guy who had been cycling 40 years and owned 13.5 bikes. 13.5? – will tell you later.

 

After a brief briefing, a beery beverage and big burger its an early night and an early start the next morning. Clearly Dom and I have no idea about pacing; we have 1,000 mile to do, but for some reason decide to race the 3 mile, twisty downhill narrow lane to Land’s End, overtaking Jim in my car who had come to see us off.

 

Classic photos by the Land’s End sign took about half an hour which is when you start to realize it actually is quite a long way and then we’re off!

 

Here’s the itinerary, with comments on some of the notable events. And at this point thanks to all those who made a donation to our chosen charity Alzheimer’s Society, over £1,600 raised.

 

Day 1 Lands End to Fowey                          64 miles

Day 2 Fowey to Moretonhampstead                60 miles

Day 3 M’hampstead to Glastonbury         74 miles

 

First 3 days are tough and the hilliest. We came across hills in Cornwall that almost had us walking, and I thought Scotland would be the worst. Staying in Glastonbury was fun, our BnB was interesting and conveniently situated next to ‘The Psychic Piglet’ well you never know when you might need one when you’re out with Dom.

 

Day 4 Glastonbury to Monmouth             65 miles

This included navigating through and around Bristol, a task made much easier by Dom’s brother in law, a strong cyclist and resident of Bristol who joined us for the afternoon. We had several busy town / city centers to ride along the route, but today was the only occasion we encountered road rage; an elderly gentleman struggled out of his car to tell us what he was going to do with our bikes, that’s if he didn’t collapse from a heart attack first. Brave of him to pick on Dom’s brother in law; 6ft 4, 16st and a copper.

 

Day 5 Monmouth to Clun                        57 miles

Dom claimed a first in Clun when his wife Nikki and son Chris joined us from Bromsgrove for the evening in the pub. We hadn’t made ourselves popular by riding off in front every day (who said it wasn’t a race?) and I had gone for a ‘Run in Clun’ when we arrived as it had been a relatively easy day, which apparently wasn’t appreciated by those still cycling in to the village 2 hours later. Then Chris made things worse by taking on and beating all comers at pool, including some very local locals in the pub.

 

Day 6 Clun to Runcorn                         80 miles

Surprised to find the route went within 100m of a very old friend of mine. I used to work with Mike in 1975, I know, I know. So an extra coffee stop and quick catch up on the past 30 years (‘Yeah, been busy’) then on through Shrewsbury.

 

Classic 1980’s Holiday Inn in Runcorn where we were joined by 2 ladies from Manchester who we met on L2P last year, so more quick catch ups. At 4.30 a.m. we were woken by a hovering helicopter – the police attending a murder in the car park. Welcome to Runcorn.

 

Day 7 Runcorn to Conder Green             64 miles

 

Day 8 Conder Green to Keswick              75 miles

Ok, we had been lucky with the weather so far; 7 days in shorts, but torrential rain today left us cold and in a rush to finish in Keswick. So taking minimal time for food stops we pushed on along the busy main road to arrive at our BnB at 2.30, desperate to get warm and dry. Only problem is the kit van was two hours behind. Solution? Shower and into bed to keep warm. Unusual Sunday then.

 

The day ended on a high note when by another amazing coincidence we met a team of friends from Ivanhoe Runners who were making their way on the Coast to Coast on Mountain Bikes. So lots of tales to swap in the pub. Dom and I had them beat with yipping yarns as we had just completed Day 8, they had struggled with Day 1.

 

Day 9 Keswick to Moffat                       72 miles

Day 10 Moffat to Loch Lomond            83 miles

Included navigating Glasgow, not bad thanks to Dom’s meticulous planning, his amazing sense of direction and oh yes, his Garmin.

 

Day 11 Loch Lomond to Glencoe         66 miles

Its these last 4 days that I’d been looking forward to, seemed like a different trip now. Beautiful Scotland bringing back fond memories of long road trips and longer back packing adventures many years ago. So many great photos, but no room here, have a look on FB.

Day 12 Glencoe to Inverness                  83 miles

Fort William, the Great Glen, amazing. Colder now, but a good reason to wear warmer, clean kit! We had managed on ‘4 of everything’ well nearly everything for the 14 day trip and some landladies had kindly done washing for us which explains why my best white cycling top is now a delicate shade of yuk.

 

 

Day 13 Inverness to The Crask              66 miles

The route out of Inverness included a 400m-3mile-hillclimb-not-too-serious-king-of-the-mountains competition. I was proud to receive my chocolate-orange trophy for winning and as Dom was fastest over the whole 14 days, he was awarded the prestigious yellow sock.

 

It was today that we realized that we were going to compete a total of 989 miles if we stuck to the plan. It had to be done. Making an early departure from lunch at Bonar Bridge we rode 6 miles along the route and then much to the surprise of the rest of the field headed back to the lunch stop, turned again and re-grouped at tea stop smug in the knowledge that 1,001 would be our total.

 

Oh and the Crask is not a village, it’s a pub, a very remote pub standing on its own in the middle of a wilderness. The menu was dependent on what had been shot that day. Haggis in Dom’s case.

 

Day 14 The Crask to John O’Groats              82 miles

Downhill for first 15 miles and great weather for our final day. Riding as a group of 25 for the first time (TDF final-day style) we hit the north Scottish coast at Tongue and wheeled past the white sands of Dunnet Bay to our final destination John o’ Groats; 1,001 miles, 14 days, 67,000 calories used, 21,600 metres of ascent and no punctures.

 

Great trip. I have full route notes, garmin files and accommodation details if anyone wants them and if you are thinking of doing a supported trip like ours, then Peak Tours are highly recommended. They booked all the accommodation, pub lunch each day, transported our kit and provided excellent back up and snacks from the brew van.

 

14 days was about right, gave us time to enjoy it. 10 days is the classic target for many fitter cyclists, but at a 100 miles a day, can’t imagine there’s much time for anything apart from cycling and sleeping.

 

Oh and the 13.5 bikes? The half was a Unicycle!

 

Bob

 

Job done

 

 

Ironman UK 2013

Registering for the event at the Reebok Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers was fab, the place was buzzing.

Trip to T1

A trip down to the swim site and T1 the day before, Pennington Flash near Leigh, showed choppy waters. I was immediately hoping for calmer waters on race day. I checked the bike into Transition 1, and put my bike bag on it's peg, ready for the race, a distraction from the choppy waters. Then it was off to transition 2 at Blackrod and Rivington School, about 10 miles away, to check in your run bag. Thats it, the preparation is done, and all thats left to do is to start the race. Eat, drink, and sleep. So, not that much sleep.

Trying to sleep in a Premier Inn with 2 teenage boys peering out the window at midnight, looking at the anebriated people shouting at each other, after being turfed out the local Public House, was not conducive to a good nights sleep.
Never mind, I was ready, and by 3:30am I was wide awake, and ready to go.

Ready for the swim

Short of the car breaking down on the way to Pennington Flash, I was going to make it to the start. Setting off before dawn, with dark clouds in the sky, made for silent reflection in the car. I'm sure many of those competing were as aprehensive about the swim as I was, and dark clouds really didn help.

After donning my wetsuit and swim hat (always a good look), checking my goggles, it was off to the end of the queue to get in the water. That was a big queue, it took 20 minutes to get in. Some people were still swimming to the start line seconds before the start horn went off. The water was really warm, a nice 22 C, and weedy.

The start at 6am was incredible, none of the training you do in the pool, or in open water prepares you for swimming in an enclosed space with 1600 other people. There's no space, I know what a Sardine feels like now, swimming in a large schoal, nowhere to escape to, you just keep swimming and wait for the next person to batter, or swim over you, and you don't dare stop, oh no.

On the way back to land on the first lap, the sun was so low, you couldn't see the bouys, or work out where the pontoon was, the only thing to do was to swim where everyone else was swimming to, and hope for the best.

Coming out of the water for the first lap was great, the support was amazing, it was okay to do a second lap, I wasn't dreading it. The second lap was a bit more relaxed after people had naturally spread out more, and you could get into a bit more of a rhythm. It was nice to be finally out on dry land again though, and running into T1, stage 1 complete, and so far no major issues.

Ready for the swim start

Swim complete

I'd just read Chrissie Wellingtons book, "A life without limits", and she mentions when doing an Ironman, you should try to "Keep smiling". No one like s a grumpy competitor. I was smiling profusely when I exited the water, more from the relief of completing it than anything else, but who else would know that?

I thought I was prepared for the transition, I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I figured I could do it reasonably quickly. All my food was on the bike, so it was a matter of getting the wetsuit off, and a helmet, socks, shoes, and I decided to put a bike jersey on, it looked a bit cold!!!

Everything in the bag, drop it off and go find the bike.
Star (my bike, she's a Trek) was there, and she was oiled and ready to race.
, we ran out of T1 together with some urgency, ready to start the longest section of the day (I hoped anyway).


The first part of the bike was a slight uphill 14 mile stretch to the start of the loop near Adlington, not too bad, head down and get those legs moving. (first 14 miles, averaged 18 mph).

My main nutrition on the bike were Rice cakes (receipe can be found here, thanks Allen Lim). Home made Sushi rices cakes with Egg and Bacon, cut into squares and wrapped in foil. These were in my bento bag, and eaten every 30 minutes or so, mixed in with a few Bananas and a trek bar.

The first part of the loop took in Sheep House Lane, a 4 mile ascent topping 300m at the summit. There was a lot of support up that hill, plenty of cheers to keep you motivated. Even so, it was nice to experience the gentle bends on the downhill section into Belmont, then lots of support up the hill out of there, and a lovely straight road all the way to the M65, downhill all the way to Buckshaw Village, anf the first feed station, water and banana taken.

Riding in to T2

Eccleston saw you starting to climb again. Ah well, only 13 miles to the summit. I bit of wind in the face on the way back to the start of the second loop.

Saw the family for the first time on the bike, at Adlington Village, which gave me a boost. The second climb up Sheep House Lane was okay, a little harder than the last time, but still loads of support, from the Tea room at the very bottom, to the top were the boys and girls in the big van put on a good show. The lovely downhill section gave me time to recover, and eat some more cakes.



It was nice to get to Sheep House Lane for the third time, knowing I wouldn't see it again today. Even more by-standers were there now, willing you up the hill.


It was a great feeling turning off into Rivington, and ride along the lane for the last 2 miles, into T2. Lots of cheering from the family there. I was definitely ready to get off my bike, and looking forward to the run.
So apart from nearly tripping over the kerb on the way in, it was all ok. A little run in to the school to get your bag, running shoes on, discard helmet and off on the run leg. Here comes the rain. Glad it held off for the bike.

Start of the run

Well the first couple of miles are always interesting. With a stiff back and jelly legs, its tough to run without looking in pain. I made the first 6 miles to the start of the loop section in 54 minutes, and 4 loops to complete.

The rain, light at first, started to get heavier as the day went on, and was with us all the way to the end.
The first run feed station was at 7 miles, then you turn round and run along New Chorley road for 2 miles before you head down the hill, through a feed station, and into the town centre. The streets were lined with people cheering you onwards, and again it was nice to see the family screaming for me to keep going. The turning point was at 10 miles, then you ran back to the start of the loop.


Having seen plenty of people with bands round their arms, it was nice to finally pick one up at 12 miles, 2.5 loops to go. This is when I started to get cramp in my right calf, I could feel the knots, and knew I needed to do something about it. I decided on gels to start with.

The next feed station I had one, and some isotonic, and the cramp faded away for a while. The second lap was a little harder, and again I was glad to get my second arm band at 17 miles. The next loop was the hardest, the cramp set in again, and I took more gels to counteract it (I didn't fancy the soggy cheesy biscuits). The support in the town spurred me on to the next arm band, just up the hill and along the road for the third and last arm band at 22 miles. 4 miles to go.

Once I got to the feed station and stoked up for the last 2 miles, I realised that I could get to the finishing line in under 12 hours. This spurred me on to kept my tired legs moving. Before I know it I was running down the hill into the town centre, the rain was lashing down but I didn't care.

I ran straight through the feed station, my head set on the finishing line. taking the left turn into the finishing chute, and looping round to the finish line, slapping hands along the way, and a face I recognised in the crowd, my wife Julie, a high five and a checky smile before running across the finish line, that was a moment to savour.

The finish

Thanks to all those who supported and cheered me along the way, in Bolton and online, especially for Julie (Wifey), Max, Billy, Marcus, Paula and Milly who were there on the day despite the rain, cheering my on right to the end.

The Supporters

And a special big thanks to Julie for all her patience and support over the months when I've been out training.
A big thank you also to Gerry & Steve who were out training with me in all weathers, the long bike rides, the sportives, the coast to coast to mention but a few.

All the photo's can be seen here

View the Ironman UK Gallery.

Coast to Coast in a day - 2013

29th June 2013

When someone first mentioned doing the coast to coast in a day, I thought it sounded like madness. Add over 11,000ft of climb, and it sounded completely bonkers.

Setup and ready to go

Staying in Kendal the night before, meant an early set off for Seascale in the morning. Up at 4am for a 4:30am drive. Seascale for 6am, and time for a great bacon butty at the local cafe, and a welcome cuppa to wake us up. After registering, preparing for a long ride became the focus.

A cool and windy morning first thing, and seeing many people starting off in waterproof jackets got us thinking.

Start line

What to wear is always the first decision, if I wear 3 layers, Steve is generally in 2, and Gerry is similar. The start was an all round 3 layer choice, gillet's on top.

Riding down to the start, the calm before the storm, then a beach start, awesome.

The start was pretty sedate for the first 12 miles, then we saw the signs for Hardknot Pass.

Steve, top of Hardknott

The climb started, nice and gently at first, but then suddenly, you knew you were climbing, your thighs start burning, your breathing gets heavy, and it just bloody hurts. The 2.2km climb had a nice 30% start and ending.




I personally don't think I'll be rushing back to do it again, but hey, fab to get to the top. I shouted "Is that all you got" but I meant "Thank goodness I'll never have to do that again"

Worst over? NO! the downhill was harsh. Narrow, pot holed, steep lanes are harsh on the brakes, and certainly concentrates the mind. Yes, there was casualties, not helped by upcoming traffic.

A quick recovery before Wryneck Pass, not quite so harsh, but still a challenge, and another nail biting downhill. No chance to get any speed up, slow and careful.

Mark - Top of Hardknot

Think I may need to check my brake pads when I get back.

Kendal Feed Station

The ride into Windemere was a welcome relief, and a real pleasure, the roads were smooth, and the boys were up for a fast descent to the ferry at 30 miles.
A quick ferry crossing, time to refuel and stretch, and look at the views of Windemere.

Riding on to Kendal, and the first feed stop, and a welcome sandwich, and leg stretch, and a chat with our fab support team. Was nice to get out of the saddle for a few minutes.

Straight into a climb to get the legs going again, and across the M6, out of the Lake District and into Gods own country, the Yorkshire Dales, and what a nice start, a 12 mile climb up to Garsdale Head.

Hawes feed station

The 2nd feed station near Hawes. 58 miles in and 4 hours in the saddle.

Fast midle section

A nice ride down on nice roads to Bolton Castle, another climb, 80 miles, 5 hours 17 mins, and a welcome downhill section.

Tunstall feed station, great Pork Pie

Lovely, more hills

Last feed station at Turnstall, 88 miles, 5 hrs 36 mins. The pork pie was lovely. Needed to get going again for the last 62 miles (is that all).

All the way down to Osmotherley, the start of the North Yorkshire Moors, (and the start of the Lyke Wake Walk). 40 miles to Whitby. 110 miles done, and near at 7 hours.


Legs were starting to tire now, and it was showing, the hills were getting harder.

By the time we got to Glaisedale, 10 mile out, we knew we'd been in the saddle a good while. One last hard push to the end.


It was nice to see Whitby and the sea at last, and finally the sun had come out.
The nicest part of the day, coming in to the finish. Phew!!!

Riding in to the finish

All smiles at the end
Mark, Steve, Gerry, Bob

10 hours 43 mins.
Great team effort.

Bob did it all on his own, in 12hrs 01 mins. Good job Bob.

Support crew - Sam, Louise, Julie & Billy

A really big thank you to the support crew, Julie, Billy, Louise and Sam. Awesome.











Thanks to the organisers opencycling for a great event. The grub was great, and the end was epic.

Had to be done

Support Crew at the finish

Dambusters Triathlon 2013

As it was on the way home, I decided to register the night before so to speed things up in the morning. It was a warm, calm evening, and the water at Whitwell was like a mill-pond. Great I thought, with a slightly cynical edge, hope it's like this tomorrow.

As always, the night was pretty sleepless, and I was up with the lark (actually before them). I stepped out into the garden to get a feel, and was welcomed by gusty cold winds and rain. Another typical Dambusters Tri day, cursed with bad weather.

After a bowl of porridge, and a nice cuppa, I drove down nice and early miss the traffic (1000 competitors means a lot of cars).
The wind was very blustery at Whitwell, making some lovely waves. Thankfully the water temperature had risen in the last couple of weeks, and was reported at 15/16C. After a race delay of 15 minutes (due to congestion getting through the automatic barriers) it was all systems go.
My age-group was now off at 7:45am
Bobs was off at 7:50am, and Louise and Julie's were off at 7:55am.

It was a beach start, but was advised that you walk into the water, as the start was shallow and stoney. I was amazed to see about 40 competitors running along the side of the start along the shore, and getting 200m start, not even going through the start buoys. I have one thing to say to them (THAT'S CHEATING) you all know who you are!!!

It was nice to get out of the water, and it did seem like the air temperature had risen a little.

Us older competitors have a longer transition run than the young ones, just to give em a bit more of a chance, so off I go to the far field to get my steed.

"Star" was waiting for me, and certainly looked ready to go. Off we set into a Westerly head wind, the first 9 miles were a bit of a grind, head down, spin up the hills, keep the legs going.

The next 10 miles into Ketton were fab, tail wind directly behind, slightly downhill. That put the averages up.
A slog uphill then back to A606, and into the headwind again, through Empingham, and back to Whitwell.

Bike done, not too bad, should have eaten more, just had the one Gel.

"Star" had done her job, now time for me to do mine. T2 was okay, but starting off running was uncomfortable, terrible stomach ache, something I hadn't experienced before. I thought it might be a lack of food, so I took another Gel, but didn't finish it. After about 4k I started to feel a little better, I could feel my feet, and my stomach cramps had gone. The run coarse was a little different, no crossing the dam twice, just straight through to Normanton church. Much better I think...

Anyway, as always, it was nice to see the finish line.

All in all, a good days out. Nice event only marred by the cheats at the swim start, oh and can we have nice weather next year please.



Times


http://www.pacesetterevents.com/dambuster-triathlon-live.php

Mark

Bounders in Lakeland June 2013

 

Bob & I went up to the Lakes to explore the first stretch of the forthcoming Coast to Coast epic, staying at the excellent Lutwidge Arms in Holmrook.  The die was cast at 6.00 am Friday morning when Bob stuck his head out of the window and announced “it’s a glorious day, the hills are beckoning”.

And beckon they certainly did, for the rest of the day.  After a pleasant introduction to Eskdale, the vertical wall of Hardknott Pass was a shock, but the descent on the other side was even harder, hang onto those brakes and beware the surface is broken up in places. 

Wrynose Pass was a treat by comparison, and after that the hills were more fun, but continuous.  What made me think the road beside Coniston would be flat?  After a splendid feed at Lowick Bridge (only one feed stop! I was desperate) we explored a number of other rarely visited parts of the Lakes including Subberthwaite Common, Dunnerdale Fells, Duddon Valley and Ulpha Fell, before dropping back into Eskdale Green and thence back to the pub after a modest 60miles, 6000ft, to wage a vigorous battle against dehydration. 

 

 

Fin

Winner Best Surveyor / Valuer - Mortgage Strategy Awards 2012 | 2nd Place - "Management Collaboration" category - MPF European Leadership Awards 2012 | CCR Credit Excellence Awards 2011 | Best Company "One to Watch" 2011 | Finalist at the MPF European Practice Management Awards for Risk Management 2010

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