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Friday 22 December 2017

2017 Percy Pud

Apparently it's nearly 3 weeks since I ran the Percy Pud - how time flies!  I've been busy, and I've not always been in the right head space to write a review.  In a lull amid the pre-Christmas frantic rush though I have found time to put my thoughts on the race into words.

I've been aware of the Percy Pud for a while, being a long standing fixture in Sheffield organised the the Steel City Striders - in fact this year was the 25th anniversary of the first running of the event.  Last year the event was on the first weekend after I had moved back to Sheffield, and starting as it does in Loxley it's practically on my doorstep, just over 2km away.  I ran my first parkrun that weekend but already had a desire to run the Percy Pud, so you could say this marked the culmination of an amazing first year in running.

I'd run the return leg along Loxley Road a few times, as I would often go out along Loxley Valley Trail and back on the road after the slog up Stacey Bank, but one Thursday lunchtime decided to recce the whole route, so ran from my house to the start, did the full course, and then ran all the way back, making it a nice 14km run.  Obviously the roads were open so I was only on the pavement, and there was a lot of wet leaf fall, but it was good to get a feel for the route. I found the outbound Loxely Road stint really hard work as it's uphill and undulating, but then I really enjoyed the road around the back of the reservoir out to The Plough and back despite quite a headwind, and Loxley Road return was the old familiar route.

When I entered I decided I was going to aim for sub 50 minutes, having run 50:01 at my first 10k in May, so submitted an estimated finish time of 49:49.  Come the day of the race I met up with Andy, Liz and Kelly G and we made our way to the start area.  It dawned on me I had to walk a long way down and was surprisingly near the front, positioning myself between the 50 minute and 45 minute pacers. After the usual standing around for a bit a horn sounded and we were off.  I started my watch as we headed under the arch and ran with the pack, jostling for space a little but nowhere near as bad as Amsterdam.

The start was fast, I was happy. I was passing people, I was keeping up with the 45 minute pacer.  This was good, I was really enjoying myself! But still, this first bit was my least favourite and there are 10 of these kilometre things to do so don't get carried away.  I'd been working on my cadence and technique, so I was trying to bear that in mind keeping my pace high while ensuring that I felt my heart rate and breathing were under control and not at the ragged edge. The first KM went quickly in 4:24, the second even faster in 4:16, and I was at the dam wall - the bad bit was done!

I'd noticed on the first leg that not everyone was using the hills - this is Sheffield, surely everyone has had plenty of practice - but this meant that I was overtaking all over the place on the short sharp downhill segments and still absolutely loving it.  OK, settle in for the mid section. Eyes on the prize, don't blow it all early, keep that breathing in check.  We were being encouraged over to the left hand side of the road by now to make space for the returning runners, and the KMs kept falling - 4:24, 4:46, still amazingly good times for me and still WELL on target.  Just after the 4km mark I saw the pace car, followed shortly by a few lone runners before the pack came past.  Tricky hairpin turnaround at the 5km mark, take a gel on board before the water stop, and it's homeward bound.

Not long after turning I heard Andy shouting encouragement as he headed towards the turnaround, and shortly after I spotted Kelly G and Liz, returning the encouragement to them.  Everyone was looking good. My legs were not tiring and the pace was holding high, before I knew it I was at the dam wall and knew that once I had the small climb out the way I could push for the finish.  2km to go and I was beginning to feel it, but I could see the 45 minute pacer in the distance and slowly but surely I was gaining on him.

Drive up the hills, use the downhills for speed, inching ever closer.  With the finish almost in sight I passed him just as he was telling those around him they were well on course to hit 45 minutes, and then the finish line appeared and I could see the clock - gun time was on 44:50 and that was it, I started sprinting for the line. I crossed on a gun time of around 45:03 so was confident I had smashed my target and finished under 45:00. I felt weirdly emotional at this point - happy and yet really close to tears.


I collected my t-shirt and Christmas Pudding, got a drink of water, and headed up to see the others finish.  Andy had already crossed the line by the time I got there, and I saw Kelly G and Liz finish. My Chip Time in the official results came through as 44:31, utterly blown away with that.  Turns out we all had a really good race:
  • Me: 44:31
  • Andy: 47:17
  • Kelly G: 49:43
  • Liz: 55:21
And we weren't the only ones - the male and female course records both fell (there was a £1000 prize for each of these) with the Male winner being Andy Heyes in 29:42 and the overall second place finisher was Scottish Olympian Eillish McColgan in 32:23 - breaking her own record from last year and setting the second fastest 10k in the country this year.  The first quickest?  Her performance at Leeds Abbey Dash.  Hmm, seems a fast race... maybe next year?

Friday 8 December 2017

Guest Blog: Run with Kick

No, not a guest author here but rather a guest post be me elsewhere.  I've been a part of the Kick Community for a while now, and have run several races proudly wearing my Kick.run Distance series Half Marathon technical tee, unlocked over the summer when I extended a Tramlines Recovery Run to 21km to ensure I was ready for Amsterdam.

A while back Jon from Kick was asking for community contributions to a new blog he was planning to launch as part of the site, and I expressed an interest.  Once I got back from Amsterdam I decided that I would write a story of my journey to becoming a runner, and happily Jon was pleased with it and decided to publish it. Read more over on the Kick.run blog:



Monday 16 October 2017

2017 Amsterdam Half Marathon

I've just run my first Half Marathon. 12 months ago I couldn't even run 5k reliably, it's been quite a journey.  This particular event happened because back in April Kelly D signed up for the full Amsterdam Marathon and when I commented on how much I love The Netherlands he replied with a link to the Half Marathon. Oh.  With Liz and Andy on board as well for the half we booked flights and hotels, the commenced our training plans.  My training plan went well, I didn't always have time to follow it, but I got some decent distances in and Endomondo was telling me that based on my Cooper Tests I should be able to do it in under 2 hours, then 1:50, then 1:45 - needless to say I was terrified!



After my last training I run I decided that my goal was simply going to be under 2 hours, and on a good day if I could handle a pace of 5:25-5:30 min/km I Should be able to nip comfortably underneath that. Before I knew it race weekend was upon us, and we flew out to Schiphol on Friday. After checking in at our hotel we took a quick tram trip into the middle of Amsterdam and had a mooch around while looking for some food. Somehow we managed to avoid all the roads full of restaurants but we eventually tucked in to an Italian then had a couple of beers before returning to the hotel for some much needed sleep.


A slow start to Saturday and we went to the race expo, collected our numbers and event t-shirts and countless flyers for other European marathons, and went to hunt pancakes. Or attempted to - getting a tram was hard enough with them being full to capacity, and then the one we did manage to catch broke down half way to the centre, so lunch was instead in a very nice cafe before catching a different tram to the centre where Liz and Kelly went to the Body Worlds exhibition while Andy and I chilled out on the harbour where we were treated to the sight of the Stad Amsterdam sailing past. we headed back in to the centre searching for poffertjes but were again defeated and after trying and failing to meet up with Liz and Kelly we went to the tram stop, only to see them glide by on the tram when the driver didn't bother letting us on.  Cue a long wait while the next one was overloaded and no more came for an age, but we eventually made it back to the hotel for dinner.


And then it was race day. Kelly was up and off early to do the full marathon while the rest of us had breakfast in the hotel, avidly refreshing the live timing, pleased to see Kelly making really good progress in the marathon. Final preparations were made while watching footage of the elite runners on TV, then we made our way to the stadium for the start. This was my first experience of a mass start event on such a scale, but I'd followed my hydration strategy, got my gels in my running belt, and hat against the sun. Ah yes, the sun. I'd been looking forward to an autumnal race, possibly even with some light drizzle, but as the race day got closer the forecast had been getting warmer and warmer and by this point there were official temperature warnings from the event organisers as it was over 20 degrees in full sun.



We saw crowds beginning to move so headed to the starting pens, found pour spaces, then stood and waited. And waited. There were at least three full pens in front of us, and with over 15,000 runners it took quite some time before we could even see the start line, never mind cross it, but eventually the moment came.  I had done as best a recce of the route as I could on Google Maps in advance, but with so many people that didn't help for most of the course, though there were major landmarks I had memorised. The first 5km or so went in a blur as I found space to run in and soaked up the atmosphere - live DJs, samba and drum bands, great signs such as "I'm Very Impressed" and a man singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" in an operatic style from the top floor of his house. The first major landmark on my mental list was at the end of this section where you run up the start of the A2 motorway before turning off immediately on the first exit, heading into an industrial area where the first refreshment station was located.  I grabbed an Isostar drink without stopping, and after throwing half of it on my face I mastered the art of drinking while running.



My pace up to the end of k6 was good, sometimes hitting as fast as 5:09/km but never feeling too fast and I thought I was in for a really good chance of smashing my goal. On the hot back straights of the industrial area I was trying to maintain around 5:25/km, building a cushion to my goal time and always keeping an eye on the overall average pace - knowing I needed to keep this under 5:40/km. I could feel the neat getting to me at this point though, so decided to relax a little until the next water station where I would take a gel and cool down, my pace dropping into the 5:30s - still the right side of goal though. Don't overcook it, you've got to finish the race and you are not even half way yet.  At the 10km water stop I realised I had not disabled auto pause on my watch - damn, I no longer have my easy ready reckoner so I need to account for that. Added mental load I really didn't need.  At this stop I accidentally washed my gel down with Isostar not water, so was still feeling rather thirsty - I took several sponges and soaked myself to try and help with cooling.  All this meant that I had a rather slow KM here.



From this point it just felt really hard.  The field was getting more bunched and not less bunched, I was finding it hard to get the space I wanted to run at a comfortable pace, and ended up having to run at someone else's pace and I think this took more energy than running at the pace I wanted to.  I kept looking for space and using it, but constant changing speed and direction was really wearing. The course felt narrow, and elbows were jostling - other runners were clearly feeling this too as I heard a lot of frustration around me.  I was still carving through the field, but it felt like I was overtaking people who were clearly aiming for a slower pace than me which didn't make sense given the starting pen system. Splits were 5:38, 5:45, 5:52, 6:16 - it was getting away from me.  In this time I had re-hydrated, getting the hang of water stops better now, and had stuffed a sponge under my running hat - which really helped with the cooling.

Out the corner of my eye I caught sight of a windmill and I knew where I was again - running along the canal I was basically on the home straight with just over 7 km to go.  Another gel on board, washed down with water this time, and the course opened up a little.  The crowds were also filling out a bit now and bizarrely I got a massive boost from river traffic encouraging us with their boat horns. I gave a person dressed as a lion a massive flying high five, looked at my watch, and saw I was still within pace - I'd mentally adjusted my target to 5:37 to offset auto pause and I was on a course average of 5:36 at this pace.  I couldn't get my pace to stick for the next couple of kilometers, I was still failing to hit target. For the 17th kilometre I forced myself to pick up the pace and keep it high for the full km, and I think this tactic saved my race. Soon we were in the Vondelpark and I knew I just had to keep going.  5:37 race average on the watch, if that dropped to 5:38 I was going to have to throw everything at it and damn the consequences.

In the park I spotted a collapsed runner receiving treatment from medics and signalled those behind me to move over, and made it out of the park on the run towards the stadium, constantly checking my watch. Suddenly I could hear sirens behind me, it sounded like the were on the course, and soon the police outriders came through.  Everyone was great, moving to the sides and shouting ahead to warn fellow runners, but suddenly a marshal was stopping all runners on the right hand side to allow the ambulance to turn off the course - obviously not what anyone wanted, but the health of people who are suffering is much more important.  As soon as the ambulance had cleared the junction I sprinted to catch the crowd I was running with, catching the marshal by surprise and he had to jump out of my way.  OK, I recovered that hurdle, and I can almost smell the stadium.

That's the 20 km arch! 1.1 km to go. Come on Martin, pick up the pace, you can do this.

YOU. CAN. DO. THIS.

For the first time in over 10 km I was back under (revised) target pace, running at 5:30/km. The finish is rather special, taking in 200 metres of the track inside the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Stadium - running on the soft track felt so good on the feet after 13 miles of pavement pounding and although I had no sprint left in me I upped the pace as best I could, dropping to 5:12/km.  Finally over the line as fast as I could (there was quite a traffic jam ahead of me) and I stopped my watch showing less than 2 hours, letting out a guttural roar of "yeeeaahhhhss!".  Keeping walking, breathing, I nearly stopped on the grass but I knew all water was outside the stadium so I went through medal collection, and feeling rather spent in the hot queue was desperate to get out, but I was doing OK.. I got my phone out and already had a text message confirming my time - 1:59:49 - that 17th kilometre decision had made the race for me!


I got out the stadium and consumed half a banana, a bottle of energy drink, and a cup of water, then went to get my medal engraved - despite fears this may be a time consuming experience which risked delaying our flight it was a model of efficiency, and I was soon heading back in to the stands to join Kelly who had been watching us finish. I chatted for a while as I recovered, then went to reclaim my bag - on the way out I met Andy up to join Kelly after he had finished not far behind me, and in a fit of good timing as I returned with my bag I saw Liz walking towards the stadium exit.  While she queued to get out I had a quick wash down (I was organised and had a damp flannel in my bag) and switched running shirt.


We met up with Liz at medal engraving and after a bit more resting on the banks of another canal we headed to the metro to get back to the hotel, change into something more suitable, and head to the airport. We had yet another pancake related failure as the pancake oven was broken in the cafe we headed to but thankfully on the way back down to the station for a rather dreary sounding Burger King we saw another place, grabbed a table, and tucked in to some much needed refreshment.


Boarding the plane the cabin crew congratulated us (yes, we were still wearing event t shirts and medals) and it was a stress free trip back to Manchester (where everything was closed, turned off, or broken) and a train back to Sheffield, finally getting to bed around 1am.

Scores on the doors - well done everyone! :


  • Kelly (Full Marathon): 3:23:50
  • Me (Half Marathon): 1:59:49
  • Andy (Half Marathon): 2:12:10
  • Liz (Half Marathon): 2:29:18


[Full Results]

So what next?  I was thinking about whether a marathon would be achievable next, but after Sunday I am not so sure; that was really hard work and I don't know if I am up to doubling the distance yet.  My plan would have been to enter York next year which gives me nearly 12 months to train, but right now I am thinking about being more conservative and in all likelyhood the Sheffield Half will be the next road race for me apart from the Percy Pud, after a bit of a trail running fix of course.  Mind you, it's possible all this will change if Kelly decides to enter a race in another country I want to visit (*ahem* - although it's a pricey one)


Sunday 17 September 2017

On Why I Run

While running a pretty tough but rewarding 15km loop recently I got thinking about why I run. I was never a sporty type at school, and would more than often be found in the last group to be picked for football teams, staying in front of the ball in Rugby to avoid having to take part, and falling in ditches in an ultimately failed attempt to get out of cross country.  When we got to sixth form and could do off site sports I chose Golf in the summer and Squash in the winter, mainly because they were a fair distance away and we went via McDonalds.


Looking back on it if we had some coaching in P.E. I may have gotten into it better, but no one told me how to run.  That may seem a stupid statement to someone to whom running comes naturally, but there was absolute zero guidance on body position, stride length, cadence, or any of the other things runners obsess over. It was simply a case of those who had natural talent joined the teams, those who were of a driven personality type pushed themselves, those who enjoyed sport had fun, and the rest of us resented both the unguided physical exertion and the mocking and humiliation we attracted.


Anyway, that was then and this is now. The first run of my adult life was on January 1st, 2014 as a result of seeing Kelly D try and get as many people out for a New Year run as possible. I had recently separated from my wife and was trying to work out who I was again - nothing was off the cards.  I was reconnecting with people I knew 10 years previous, this was happening, so I gave it a go.


I ran 2.19km in 16:07, with an average pace of 7:21/km.  It was awful - the ground underfoot was slippery mud and I was totally unprepared for it, walking in places because when I tried to run my feet went from under me. I ran three more times that month, getting up to 6:52/km average pace, and then stopped.  I can’t recall why, but apparently I restarted in June 2015 with a 4.68km run in 29:18 and managed to run once or twice a month with an aim to get a 5km in under 30 minutes which I achieved in October. Through 2016 I was very lax again and it wasn’t until I moved back to Sheffield in December 2016 that I got into it properly with Hillsborough parkrun just down the road and the encouragement of Liz. The rest is history, and you can read more about it right here.


Back to the original question: Why do I run?


It goes without saying that exercise is good for you, and I knew I needed to do more of it.  Over the years my weight had crept up to over 13st and my waist to 34”, I remembered having a 30” waist and losing weight had the added benefit of making climbing (which I had also got back in to) easier.  Exercise was only part of the game, I also had to adjust what I ate. The weight slowly came off and I got to 11 stone and a 30” waist (weight has crept up a bit since but waist hasn’t so I assume it’s gobe to muscle somewhere).  My general fitness and stamina are also much higher which I’m really happy with, and has had additional benefits for swimming as well as the aforementioned climbing.


But this isn’t the only reason. Running is physically hard, and walking could have delivered similar benefits with less wear on the body, though it would have required more time.  Running also gave me something to measure myself against, especially with parkrun.  I’m not an ambitious type when it comes to comparing myself to other people, but I do like to track my own progress and see improvements.  Seeing my times come down quickly at parkrun was a real boost, and the community of Strava made it easy to track how I was doing when I went on runs by myself, and soon I was adding in more runs whenever I could - including the work running club. I still surprise myself with things like signing up to the Amsterdam Half Marathon though.


Running is also a brilliant way to get out in to the countryside, or the urban landscape you otherwise wouldn’t explore.  I’ve run many KMs along the rivers and canals around Sheffield, I’ve entered races which have taken me up dramatic hills in the Peak District, and I am lucky enough to live near some beautiful spots like Rivelin Valley, Loxley Valley, Upper Don Valley and with a bit of effort the Peak District itself. The run which inspired this post had a fairly tough climb taking up most of the first half, but it rewards you with stunning views in every direction across the peaks, even when you turn back and face the city it doesn’t dominate the landscape, instead nestling in the hills for which Sheffield is famous.  I was taken with just how lucky I am to live near here and was very grateful for it.


But (and well done if you are still with me, I know I am quite a verbose writer - largely because this is as much for me as it is for you.  Hopefully this section will help make this clear) there is more to it than that. Something much more important.


You see, running is good for the head.


Well, for my head anyway - I know everyone is different.


I said earlier that I was trying to work out who I was again, and one of the things I have discovered is I am a lot less mentally resilient than I thought I was.  The precise details are for another discussion, but I am prone to prolonged periods of introspection and self doubt which manifest in anxiety and despair, and I needed to get a grip on this as it was leading to destructive behaviours.  I was drinking too much, and I wasn’t looking after myself.


Running at parkrun gave me a regular commitment which meant I was more likely to do it rather than find reasons not to.  I’ve discovered that I am far more likely to do something if I have told other people I am going to do it as I’m far more inclined to let myself down than I am others, and running as a social activity meant I also got the support and encouragement of my friends - people who are massively important to me and to whom I owe a lot of gratitude. Being able to return that by running with people and offering then encouragement and support is equally as rewarding.


It turns out it goes further than this though, and that’s why the run which inspired this post was entitled ‘Resetting mind and body’. Getting out on to the roads and trails turns out to have a really valuable benefit which I had not foreseen.  It takes a while to get there, but after several kilometres you hit ‘the zone’ where the running has become second nature, you are moving easily and efficiently without having to think too much about form, function or the effort of making your body move; all of these things are occupying your brain to some extent but not fully, and I reach a state where I am able to attain clarity of thought.  Maybe it is the fact that your heart rate is already elevated and your breathing intense, but things which maybe cause anxiety and confusion when sat on the sofa become easy to think about logically and analytically with objective analysis. When I find myself on the sofa fretting and sinking into a spiral of negative thoughts, getting out on a run will at the very least distract me, and hopefully allow me to figure out what is causing these thoughts in the first place and how to address them. I can only assume this state is not dissimilar to the state people seek to acheive through meditation, maybe one day I shall try and find out.


So yeah. I run because it makes me feel good, and feeling good is important.





Friday 15 September 2017

Fontainebleau Diary 2017 - Day 6

The last day of our holiday was forecast to be an utter washout, to the point we had started thinking about tourist destinations, indoor climbing walls, and other things to stop us getting cabin fever.  As mentioned yesterday the forecast climbed up towards the evening and when we woke up to blue skies we did indeed invoke our backup plan of 91.1 with my plan being warming up on the orange circuit and then pushing myself a little on the red circuit.


Things started off pretty much to plan; we warmed up on a few low level yellows and then started on a taller route which may have been called Les Fuilles Mortes on a boulder known as Casque which was a nice 6 metre climb, but at the top there was a great big hornet sat atop to the ridge I wanted to put my hand on to get to the downclimb. Instead I had to traverse a 45 degree slab while constantly watching it in case it took affront to me being on it's rock. Thankfully it never moved and I got down without incident :)

After this I felt it was time to look at harder things so Andy and I went to Flip Flop to try a couple of crimpy slabby problems on the red circuit - Le Savon and the harder La Savonette. I decided to try straight off on the harder 6a problem but I just couldn't get off the ground, and as it turned out I couldn't start the easier problem either.

From here we moved on to Ingratitude which I was struggling with as I couldn't trust the first foot.  Kelly got it sent without much fuss and then Andy managed to get it done too.  I worked this one for quite a while and eventually managed to find a starting foot which worked for me and get stood up, and then in a few more attempts I had the rest sorted and was over the top.  Totally stoked to get a 5b+ in Font, definitely the hardest thing I have climbed in the forest.


I moved on to try La Gratitude after, but this one was a 5c+ and my energy levels were waning, after a valiant effort where I got half way up and couldn't stick it I was rather shattered so went for a rest and to see what Liz and Ceri were working on for a bit, then to see how Ed was getting on with Le Flipper.


Just as I was thinking of giving it another go there was a brief rain shower so we stopped for lunch, only to have to scatter all directions for shelter when the rain got heavier, hastily stuffing half made sandwiches in any safe location we could find and then hiding under rocks until it started to dry out.  With lunch finally done I was enjoying some digesting time then gently getting my head back in to it on a traverse when the rain came back even heavier, so it was back to our caves.


When we emerged after the worst of the rain had eased off all the rocks were soaked and there was no chance of further climbing, so we packed up and headed home to finish off the last of the beer and wine and to treat ourselves to pizza from Croq ForĂªt before the long drive home.

In the words of Lars Ulrich, Same time next year?


Thursday 14 September 2017

Fontainebleau Diary 2017 - Day 5

After the torrential rain of our rest day we woke up to a chilly morning with very wet ground, but a mostly blue sky with warming sunshine. This meant we put in to play our plan to see if there was parking at Gorge aux Chats with a backup of 91.1 if it was busy.  As it happened there were only 2 other cars in the small layby at the side of the road (And they too were British).  We made the very short walk in and started to warm up on the new yellow circuit which isn't listed on Bleau.info yet as they have not graded them.  After a while I started to add in blue problems as this year I have been trying not to go for volume on the easy problems but instead climb withing my grade on blues and try to push myself on to reds.  The first to go was Rohald Dalle which was a classic crimpy slab Font problem; as I was figuring it out the first of what transpired to be several rain showers came in giving me time to examine the feet while it dried, and I was stoked to get it sent.


After this Andy and I decided to try Dallain from the red circuit (font 6a), we were both getting up to the good right and side pull, and bailing out.  We both decided it was a dyno to the top as although I could see a static route it wasn't going to go for me.  Andy managed to catch the top and found an awesome ledge but came down, so we popped around the corner and went up the blue to check the top out.  This gave Andy the confidence to try it again and he got it done, I climbed back up to where I had got to before but utterly bottled it, I rarely have the balls for a dyno when I'm inside so this would really have needed me to commit to it.


After this the rain came back briefly so we sheltered under some roofs while eating lunch and commenting on how similar to The Roaches this weather was (in joke reference to an ill fated trip across the Peak District last year which means I am no longer allowed to proffer an opinion on the weather forecast when we are trying to go climbing.)


After lunch all my motivation had evaporated so I tried to get my head back in to it on some yellows, before getting La Bascule done - the very problem you can see us sheltering under above. It was then back to lovely quartzy crimpy slabs with La Minou and L'Arbre Ă  Pain which I was really pleased to get.


We then headed up to some classic steep roofy problems which Ed, Kelly and Andy were trying, Liz, Kelly and I wandered down to try some easier things and were just getting started on La Boule and the neighbouring Petanque before another and unfortunately heavier rain came in which knocked us out for longer, eventually the sun came out again and we tried Pomme and Le Terrorist but the top was too damp and I lacked balls (again) to finish it.  Instead I got another crimpy slab in La Dalle Bleue and then we finished up with La TraversĂ©e des Fougères before returning to base for beer and chilli. Tomorrows forecast has appeared to clear up, so we may yet get to 91.1 - watch this space.

Wednesday 13 September 2017

Fontainebleau Diary 2017 - Day 4

Today is a rest day, so I wasn't planning on have anything much to write about as I wasn't planning on doing very much.  When I got up I found Kelly D preparing for a 32km run taking in Le Circuit des 25 bosses which cut through a number of areas we have climbed in.  Liz emerged soon after and we agreed to go on a 5km run, so plotted a route and set off after we had finished our drinks.

We started out ok, but the second crossroads appeared several hundred meters sooner than expected and rather than do the sensible thing and turn left there anyway I decided to carry on. We soon went past the point where the crossroads should have been, so decided to take a trail on our left.  Before too long this started to go up and get quite rocky, and before we knew it we were on top of a rocky ridge and stumbled across what appeared to be a folly



This was all very scenic, and apparently on a good day you can see the Eiffel Tower from up here (it wasn't that clear) but slightly more alarmingly there was a shallow pit with the scorched carcass of a wild boar in it.  A sacrifice? Someone trying to roast a boar and discovering it was much harder than expected? Who knows, but it was a little spooky.


We continued along the ridge path, knowing that on either side of us there was a good trail we could pick up and in front of us there was a path too, so we were on the look out for a way down.  Eventually it felt like we had hit the end of the outcrop and with no obvious way down we were picking our way down freshly turned earth where boar had obviously been foraging for truffles, and ducking and diving between rocks and trees before we eventually found a track we knew and headed back to the gite.  When we got home Ceri had cooked pancakes which were much appreciated.


Over breakfast I researched our journey and discovered that we had stumbled across La Tour de la Vierge Ă  Arbonne-la-ForĂªt (Google Maps location) which was apparently built in 1862, but does not mention sacrifices of boar...  Further reading suggests it is a religious shrine considered to be the site of the conversion of a poet.



The rest of the day involved much relaxation, Andy and Kelly G both went for runs and came back decidedly damper than we did as the rain is really coming down now - it's a good job this is a rest day.  Really hoping it blows over and we can get another day outside tomorrow, otherwise I may have to bite the bullet and go for a long run. There was almost an interruption to the relaxation when Kelly D didn't return from his epic run when expected but just as we were convening the search party and pulling together a plan to cover his route he appeared around the corner and we could stand down, instead plying him with coffee and cake.

Tuesday 12 September 2017

Fontainebleau Diary 2017 - Day 3

For our third day in Fontainebleau we split in to two groups; Ed, Kelly, Andy and Kelly went to Bas Cuvier to session the classic problems La Marie-Rose and Duroxmanie while I went to Rocher du Potala with Liz and Ceri.  Our aim was to get lots of the Yellow and Orange circuits plus anything else which took my fancy.


The first problems on the orange and yellow circuits were on a fairly tall slab, but the climbing was good and I got up both of them.  We meandered around the circuit trying various things along the way, in total I got 7 oranges and 9 yellows.

Depart Yellow and Orange

There were a couple of tasty blue problems which I attempted as well, Scorpion was a lovely traverse under a roof and then over the roof from a ledge, I was really pleased to flash it on sight and it felt really good.

Scorpion 

Having noted what I climbed from the book I got thoroughly confused looking at Bleau.info as nothing matched up, I think the others I managed to climb were La Parfumerie and La Douce.


It was a good day at a gentle pace, and once again the rain threatened us but then went away before it could do any damage.  Tomorrow is a rest day, and we will see what the rest of the week brings.

Fontainebleau Diary 2017 - Day 2

Day 2 saw us head to Apremont, targeting the area known to Jingo Wobbly as Apremont Chaos but in Bleau.info it is listed as Apremont Est. Chaos is an appropriate name, as we ended up parking at the wrong car park and taking a while to find the boulders we were looking for - but at least we didn't have the problem which we hit last year and again little bit last year where the circuits have been renumbered since our guide books were written.


We started out on the Green Circuit which dates back to 1952 and is an alpine circuit, designed so you can climb the problems in order and link them all together without touching the ground.  Nowadays this is a relatively unusual approach (though still found around Fontainebleau) but it has it's roots in the history of bouldering as a training exercise for mountain climbers, hence the term alpine circuit.  After the first few problems though this was not doing it for me, I suspect that it is wisest to follow such a circuit in a smaller group so there is less queuing. I took the opportunity instead to doze on a rock in the sun for a bit while the others followed it further.

Depart of the white circuit. Elsewhere painting on rocks would be frowned upon, but it's part of the history and tradition of Fontainebleau and most routes and problems are numbered.

Before long we found a small sandy clearing and began working La Bosse which took a few attempts but soon went with a bit of beta from Ed.

La Bosse

I'd already scoped out another problem from the Salmon Circuit which I wanted to try, however I was beginning to bottle it.  After a few other people tried it I got it on the second attempt and it felt really good.


By now Ed, Kelly, Kelly and Andy were trying Hyper Plomb, I didn't even bother as it appeared to be somewhat beyond me.  Instead I wandered around the nearby boulders and found Le Couteau which looked tasty, and with Liz to spot me I really surprised myself by flashing it onsight in a calm and controlled static fashion.


With that it was time for lunch, afterwards we were heading for the classic problem of La John Gill which involved a fair amount of getting lost and squeezing through boulders, at one point ending up on top of a rocky plateau at the summit which was rather stunning.


There were some concerted efforts on this problem from others in the group, I wasn't feeling it (common theme) so went to find some other things to try - there was a nice blue which I got most of the way up but the top was so dirty I couldn't finish it, so sat around watching others instead.  Then it was back to gite for wine and Jambalaya.  Tomorrow I believe the plan is to split in to two groups with one going to Bas Cuvier for classic problems like La Marie-Rose and another heading to Rocher du Potala to get a number of lower grades problems in; I am planning on being in the latter group as I haven't got the head for sessioning right now.

Ed attempting La John Gill

Sunday 10 September 2017

Fontainebleau Diary 2017 - Day 1

After a late night drive to Dover on Friday night followed by a hasty pint in the first acceptable pub we found it was to the B&B for (attempted) sleep.  Saturday morning saw an early ferry to Calais and a long drive across France through some rather damp weather before we arrived at Le Grand GĂ®te Franchard ion the late afternoon.  Unpacking and a quick shop done, we proceeded to drink all the wine we had bought and satiate appetites with copious quantities of pasta. Plans were made and in light of the weather we decided to have a relaxed start and head to Rocher Fin as it dries quickly after rain.



We awoke to a grey and damp sky, but no rain was falling. Slowly people surfaced, and we ate the traditional breakfast of coffee, grapefruit, and fried eggs on toast before loading up with climbing gear and a lunch of more coffee, fruit, baguettes, and various meats and cheeses before loading up the cars with mats and people and making the short drive out and rather longer walk in.



Ed and Kelly were planning on doing the full Orange Circuit, whereas I was planning on not going quite as over the top as I did last year when Andy and I climbed everything in sight.  I decided to warm up on a few yellows then try oranges as I went around and any interesting harder problems I spotted.


Touring around the problems went much to plan, occasional orange problems needed a bit of thought  and got the heart going but for the most part they were doable, and I wasn't worried about skipping ones which weren't doing it for me.  It didn't take too long before I started adding in climbs from the Blue Circuit and they were enjoyable, which bodes well for the rest of the holiday.  I was really pleased to get La Fissure Rouge as it felt like it rewarded the effort I put in.

After a break for lunch it took a while to get my energy levels up again and get my head in to climbing, there were a few things I just couldn't comprehend even on the easier circuits, but then it turned out that the Orange was a 5a- which is well out of the usual grades for Orange.  I soon found a blue crack climb which looked interesting and gave it a go, bailing out at the top out.


Later Andy and Kelly came over and both got up it in very different ways, after a rest I tried again and combined bits of both of their beta to come up with a third different approach, successfully sending it.  After this I was pretty much spent and couldn't climb yellows any more, so I resorted to ferrying kit and watching people try and finish the orange circuit - 4 problems from the end and nearing 6pm Ed, Kelly, Andy and Kelly were finishing up on The Cube and we decided it was time for home. 


When we got back to the Gite we went out for an evening Run, with Kelly, Kelly and Andy going for 12km while Liz and I did a gentle 5km through muddy puddles in the forest before it was time for beer and dinner.  Assuming the weather holds up tomorrow we will be heading for Apremont.

UKC Logbook for 10th September 2017
Bleau.info Profile

Monday 28 August 2017

Froggatt Edge - Hairpin and Pinnacle Boulders

Two days in a row climbing in the peaks? It must be summer!  Amazingly we had a bank holiday weekend with fine weather every day so despite the cocktails last night we decided to go climbing again - Andy and Ceri couldn't make it yesterday so wanted to get out and it didn't take Liz and Kelly much convincing to join us.  QWe were looking for somewhere for Ceri to get back in to climbing after injury, so it was a toss up between Stanage Plantation and Pinnacle Boulders at Froggatt and Pinnacle won - mainly because of the fear of Stanage midges.

Once parked up we started the walk in, and decided to warm up on Hairpin Boulder as it is so close to the parking.  As usually happens when we get to this block I mange to climb the easy problems - Hairpin Scoop, Hairpin Arete and Flake Problem - before trying and failing on something harder.  This time it was Crash Test, not much harder but a sit start and I just could not make it work. Still, I wasn't going to beat myself up over it as there was plenty more to climb, and we walked on to the Pinnacle Boulders proper.


Plenty of fun here - some nice warm up material on Pooh Bear and Teddy, then the significantly harder Teddy with a sit start which took me a while as sit starts really are not my thing (I know, I need to work on them) and then a nicer climb on Pick Pocket.  I tried and failed to start on (Ahem) Starter Motor so went on to try Areet - I got to the top and then bailed, realising when I got down that for the easier grade I should have broken left to finish, but also I had missed the sit start. I couldn't face trying it again...


I went back to join Liz round the back for some light relief on Bear Pooh, Rupert Bear and Bare Rupert, then news came back that Andy and Kelly had cracked Starter Motor so I went to steal beta and watch them trying Areet.  While they tried I practised my sit starts on Baby Bear which is a great little problem for precisely this purpose, and Liz successfully topped it too. Back on to Starter Motor and it all clicked, I was up.  Andy and Kelly were trying Northerner now and I spent a while working it with them, I got as close as any of us did - reaching a ledge we think you need to mantle, but on my best attempt I bailed right and finished on Teddy, so I'm calling this climb "Northern Bear". None of us finished it, but on a cooler day it might go.


From here we moved up a few boulders, Flatulence refusing to go for me (!!!) and Air Bear was it's typical inelegant self.  I did the not particularly tricky Mini Mantel before stopping for a rest and really failing to get going again, I looked at some of the other problems on Air Bear but couldn't bring myself to try them so napped in the sun with Liz and Ceri while Andy and Kelly finished up some more climbs.  Soon it was time to head to the pub for a couple of pints and then home after another successful day out.  The next time we climb outdoors may well be in France, it's not long now!

Today's Logbook

Sunday 27 August 2017

Robin Hood's Stride

It was a bank holiday weekend, there were no plans, and the weather was fine.  We'd been talking idly for a while about trying some crags away from our usual stomping ground, and Cratcliffe was one we'd highlighted as it is a bit of a different setting, with jumbles of boulders in amongst trees - almost reminiscent of Fontainebleau.  With others in our group having things on it ended up being Liz, Kelly and I making the 1hr journey down past Bakewell, and parking up for a short walk in.


We followed the Limestone Way until we could see Dorsal Fin, and walked over to Green Boulder before dropping down to The Lower Boulders. Joy of Ledge and Joy of Noledge went quickly, but Flake Slab and Flake Slab Arete seemingly had no joy in them and as we were warming up still we moved on and tackled The Arch, T Slab and T Slab Arete - a few non commital attempts at Arch Direct and we decided that the description of "A desperate static move" was not very enticing, so wandered back up to Green Boulder and paused for a bit of lunch.


Kelly and I decided to take on Short Arete, and after a bit of cleaning and a bit of effort Kelly got up it, but I just could not get comfortable enough on my feet to enjoy it.  I am currently climbing in either a pair of Evolv Shaman II which need resoling but it'll have to wait until after Font now, or an utterly destroyed pair of Five Ten Anasazi's - the Shamans are miles better where I need good feet but I am saving them for Font in a few weeks at the moment - currently on the lookout for another pair of Anasazis to tide me over as I'm all too aware I could destroy the Shamens if I am not careful.

From here we moved on to Dorsal Fin which was a really nice bit of rock, we soon sent Dorsal Arete, JT and JT Crack and then Vandals went soon after - so named I assumed after some fairly terrible behaviour several years ago. Potty Time really wasn't worth the effort required to send it (but we did anyway) and Flipper / Flipper arete were frankly terrifying.  I'd have tried harder on Flipper Arete were it not for the fact the landing was terrible - a huge lump of rock behind you just where you would fall.


After this we headed to the Main Edge and Muscle Slab.  Kelly got up it with it's interesting mix of slab and overhang, but I again suffered a lack of foot confidence and bottled it despite having cracked the first big move eventually.  From here we headed to The Square Block and some nice slab/mantle practice, finishing up on Angle Arete before it was time to head home for a barbecue.  We will be back to Cratcliffe, plenty to explore on the main crag which we never even got near. For now though it's time to wash the sunscreen off and fins some meat to grill :)

Logbook for the day

Tuesday 25 July 2017

City Centre Running

Over a Full English Breakfast in the work kitchen one day we were musing what would happen to us if we kept eating this way - my workplace is not averse to the odd cake and even features a donut based scheme to incentivise good information security practice -  and a passing comment was made to starting a work running club.  Given I have discovered running in a big way over the last 8 months I thought this was a great idea and seized the opportunity, and before anyone could wonder what was happening 12:00 on a Tuesday was a fixture in the company calendar.

I wanted this to be accessible to people, and to fit in 1 hour while giving people time to wash, cool down and eat.  Working on the basis of around 30 minutes moving time I decided to look at some 5km routes starting and finishing at our City Centre office.  Inspired by the Outdoor City Run Routes I tried to add some interest to each route taking in the urban green spaces Sheffield is so loved for.

Route 1 - Sheffield Canal and the River Don



My first route is inspired by my good friend Andy, from whom I lay have also borrowed the idea of a work running club.  The combination of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal and the Five Weirs Walk along the River Don is a real bonus for urban running in Sheffield, running as they both do from Sheffield City Centre to Meadowhall (and beyond) with never too much distance between them, and I have used them in runs ranging from 5k to 21k of mostly traffic free running.

For our work runs we start at the top of Fargate, running down the side of Town Hall and across Arundel Gate to the station via Howard Street before turning right, and a short climb up to the tram tracks.  From here it's a blast along to Park Square, and if you get lucky you can race the tram.  From the roundabout you drop down into Victoria Quays, one of the hidden gems of Sheffield and a beautiful place to dream of the relaxed pace of life of a narrowboat.  Along the canal to Cadman Street bridge where a bit more road takes you to the Five Weirs Walk - well in reality a quick blast along Effingham Street before crossing the delightful Cobweb Bridge and dropping past the ever evolving River Don sculptures by 'Dan' before returning to the city centre and a punishing blast up from West Bar to Church Street - I vary this section depending on how cruel I am feeling on the day, it certainly gets noticed by people lulled into a false sense of security by the prolonged flat section :)

Route 2 - Norfolk Park



This route is directly inspired by the City Centre Traffic Free Trails but tweaked to suit an office start/finish.  Following the tram tracks we again cross Park Square, this time in a different direction, before climbing past Park Hill flats through South Street Park up to the Cholera Monument and Clay Wood before crossing into Norfolk Heritage Park.  The relentless climb from Park Square continues all the way up to the top of the park before finally turning the corner and heading downhill to Sheffield College, back along to the station, and then a final kicker of a hill back up Howard Street back to the office - a great place to stretch out the pace...
Route 3 - The Botanical Gardens


This was always designed to be a fast one as it's fairly flat, though it does involve crossing a great many roads so you have to get lucky with traffic.  Up along West Street dodging the lunchtime crowds and crossing over the ring road below the University to continue along Glossop Road, the crowds die out as you hit Brocco Bank and eventually drop into the utterly wonderful Sheffield Botanical Gardens where I like to pick a route at random to make the most of the space before dropping down on to Ecclesall Road and fast back in to town - watch out for the building work at the site of the old Grosvenor Hotel though or (like us) you might find you need to double back on yourself...


Route 4 - Upper Don and the Ponderosa



Picking up the Don where we left it on Route 1 we follow the Upper Don trail to the industrial heritage (and the birthplace of the Sheffield Real Ale revival) of Kelham Island before heading up to the Ponderosa which on the time of our first run was still in full cleanup mode from the weekends Tramlines.  This was a hard climb, possibly because only a few days before I had run 21km from Hillsborough to Attercliffe and back via Don and Canal, before finally reaching Crookes Valley Road and a much needed descent.  Crossing the road we pass the Arts Tower and enter the pedestrianised space of Sheffield University Students' Union before passing the Hicks Building and the famous Johns Van and crossing past the old Henderson's Relish factory and heading back to West Street, through Leopold Square, and back to the office.


We've now run each of these routes at least once, with 2 or three people each week so far generally running at something between 5 and 6 minutes per kilometre - the Botanical Gardens was a fast one as we managed to get our Commercial Director on board, who is a regular runner with eyes on a sub 3 hour marathon.  I'm really happy with how it is gone and am always looking to get more people joining in so will be keeping the pace accessible, faster runs can always happen another time - There are plenty more lunchtimes in a week!  Coming up next I am going to try reversing the routes and see how they fare, then I may have to think of some new twists.