The picture is very deceiving, because it has been flipped! The perils of the selfie cam
Cheers guys, I had a grand day out.
I managed to get up to Glenridding for about 08:30 & had my pick of the car park spaces.
The bike was good fun, initially lumpy & windding before settling into the section over to Troutbeck & the fast section down the A66. The rest is a bit of a blur as traffic was building & my memory has failed a bit. I do however remember The Struggle. There is no foreplay whatsoever, you are straight into it from the LH turn out of Ambleside. There are a couple of spots were I could recover, but for the most part I was above my Sweetspot. The descent from the Kirkstone Pass was fine fast & not that technical but I was lucky enough to have a glorious day.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3901374369#kudos
On the run - although initially taking the wrong route - I was able to get my legs turning over to start with before grinding to a halt & walking. I’m a decent runner & it wasn’t from lack of effort as my HR was solidly at Tempo (160bpm). On the approach to Red Tarn & the bottom of Swirral Edge I did manage to get a bit of a run on again.
Swirral Edge was interesting. I really don’t like heights &I found it quite difficult to navigate, there didn’t seem to be a worn path or polished stones to follow, I had to rely on listening out for voices for a few parts. I wasn’t the most worried up there, about 200mtrs into my climb I met a couple of people one of who was in tears. I spent a bit of time walking her down just chatting, holding her hand etc. Not all heroes wear capes.
After getting up SE there’s a slight rise & descent before the final climb of Whiteside Bank. After this it is all downhill. I’m not sure if it was my shoes or the heat but after 10/15 mins of descending I could feel the skin on my heels wanting to delaminate so decided to calm things down for the rest of the run.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3902003534#kudos
By the time I’d finished my run Glenridding was mad busy & not a car space to be had.
8 Likes
Imbeciles.
I’ve been up Snowdown a fair few times in the snow and have met people sliding on their arses, in a pair of Reebok’s, bawling their eyes out like a f’ing child.
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Looks ace - bike especially so - I’m expecting a time around that for race day 
For the run - was it the help, wrong route and heat that put the time back?
Did you take navigation?
Have you done it before?
Also, would a recce be helpful, even if that recce is a walk?
Yeah my bike effort will be much the same on the day. I’m not used to following routes on my Wahoo - I normally know where I’m going or don’t care - so did end up turning left too early once or twice into golf clubs/campsites etc 
. There was pretty much zero wind, but I was held up at temporary lights approaching Glenridding.
Unlike the bike I was never going to do the run at race pace. I was slowed down by taking the wrong route initially & found the heat quite debilitating lower down. I did take my map, but I wear contacts & my arms aren’t long enough to read the finer details 
. As mentioned I felt myself getting hotspots on my heels & didn’t want to lose my skin to blisters. I’ve been there & I’d struggle to be repaired by race day.
Never done it before.
A recce would always be helpful, but I’m sure we’ll have people around us on the day. After your initial run don’t expect to break into a run until you reach the Hole In The Wall, scramble SE, run to the bottom of Whiteside Bank, walk up it & then run to the finish.
wrt the person I helped I don’t blame them. They were well equipped just scared. I’m pretty experienced myself, but I’ve found myself in similar circumstances.
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urgh!
I was expecting it all to be fairly “run-able” 
3 Likes
apart from Swirral, obvs!
Snowdon is all run-able from Llanberis Path or the Ranger, even from Ryhd-ddu it’s fairly easy after the initial sheepfolds just after the farm (where the painted stone is, so you don’t go through their garden)
So, erm, not like them!
(Looks at diary and weather forecast for next week…)
The first climb from Glenridding to Birkhouse Moor is proper steep, steps for some of it, and you gain 500m in less than 2km.
2 Likes
?
Lol
Lots
I’m not that familiar with that part of the world but did the Fred a few years ago… tough!
But went walking with some Yp”s,… some years back …one of the pei”s said they do a triathlon up here…!?
I remarked smugly I really don’t think so…
Pretty sure listening to Jeff and co that was it, yep 6 min miles in the 4% for sure …
You seem to be near the pointy end most races, are you will here too, but I’m sure there will be walking involved too.
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Stressing!
I’m awful at going up hills running - I’d stupidly assumed it was a fairly easy ascent, like Snowdon, with a tough little scramble at the top.
I’ve done the “Steps of Doom” at Alderley Edge woods and been scrambling up some of the 15-20% rocky/muddy parts for some skills work more than anything.
Coming down is a piece of the proverbial.
Just gotta watch where those feet go and don’t hammer the quads too much.
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To a much lesser extent the firefighters 2 up was a much more “ trailey” run than I’m used too.
I hate mud and rocks
Like treadmills and oulton park.
Two obvious fell runners came flying past us on a down hill… they both looked they would be in a heap any second… they just kept going and going… arms flying everywhere … a skill I guess…
We kept them in sight … ish,
They both got on Raleigh bananas, I kid you not… and we left them for dead
Any tracking for this race ?
I see Lucy Gossage on the start list too
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Gets even better 
Worst retirement ever 
but what a bonus for us.
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Just tried explaining to my wife who Lucy Gossage is.
I sound like I’ve got such a crush on her 
(I do)
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She can’t help herself. I’m sure she’ll be back at IM Wales next year
I tried explaining who Joe Skipper was to my wife. She probably thinks I’ve got a crush on him too!
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Big fan of Goss as well, TBF I quite like Joe, he dropped one at the start of lockdown but plenty of other people have done equally stupid things. I’m sure he regrets uploading it if not doing it.
4 Likes
Depending on what kind of runner you are, e.g. lightweight fell runner (not me), the section from the top of the first part of the climb towards the tarn is runnable. It won’t be 4 minute K’s but you shouldn’t really be walking, there’s a couple of bits you might if you don’t want to risk turning an ankle. And even up to the last bit by the side of the tarn is partly runnable for a bit if you’ve got good leg strength.
After that’s it’s as much as a fast walk until that final scramble, as Doonhammer says there’s no obvious right or wrong way. A few weeks ago I started right then went left after a while and thought it wasn’t too bad.
BTW, fairly sure you need a rear light for the bike if you haven’t already noticed that.
4 Likes
Yeah you do.
Iiirc - it’s on the bit where it tells you you need a run bag etc