w/c 23rd April - 3 peaks success!

I tried to convince myself last week that the three peaks race was not a test of how things were progressing for the BGR. I mean, how could it be? The BGR takes @24 hours and is done slowly whereas the three peaks is a fast, pounding circuit done at a hard effort. The BGR is contains many rocky sections whereas the three peaks is on grass, good paths and not a little tarmac. The BGR involves the taking on of a substantial amount of food whereas the three peaks can be done just taking on fluids...

Despite these accurate non-comparisons, it's clear to me now (with 20:20 hindsight kicking in) that this was always going to be a test; perhaps not of my readiness for the BGR exactly but certainly of my progress towards being fit enough and strong enough to do it.

The simple fact is that if i'm not demostrably stronger than when i last did the three peaks 2 years ago then it's uncertain that I have it in me to train and improve to a sufficient level to get round the BGR. A good run today doesn't remotely guarantee a completion, but a bad one might raise some serious questions for 9 weeks time...

I never really acknowledged the significance of this, but deep down i must have known. I had to not just beat my 2005 time of 4.17, i had to shatter it and run at a different level. I never actually said this, even to myself, for fear of failure. Expressing the significance of this run might have robbed me of the chance to talk off a bad one as insignificant, probably citing the points above about how the 2 don't compare.

I might not have acknowledged any of this, but my conscience knew better and it explains why I was nervous as hell on that start line.

I went out fast, stupidly fast I thought. I didn't sprint or anything but it felt like a hard pace. I tried to slow down but instead I just motored on, almost on autopilot. 10 mins in and the hard pace was not hurting so much so I decided to relax and go with it. At the turn to climb Penyghent I was in a pack which had some fast looking runners in it, including Sharon from Bingley who I knew was a 3hrs 30 runner. There was quite a headwind for a time so i drafted a Bjorn Borg lookalike from Tring who looked strong. He towed me most of the way up PYG and I reached the top in 37.28 - just 32 seconds faster than the sub four hour schedule i had set myself. I had mixed feelings here - ok i was on track but that felt harder than i wanted it to and i worried i couldn't keep that up. I decided to simply relax and push on...

Next target on the schedule: Ribblehead in 61 mins. This involves a 7.5 mile cross country run on paths and tracks with loads of little ups and downs. Taken too quickly, it can scupper the rest of your race. Despite that, i decided to give myself a chance to break four hours and to push it a little here. I patted myself on the back for a brave decision as this could easily backfire. Once i had a plan, i relaxed and it felt like i was running on air. Bingley Sharon had long since gone but I steadily made my way through the field and felt increasingly confident. I was shocked at how quickly the 1 mile road section leading to Ribblehead arrived. I took a drink there (losing a few places as i did) and pushed onto to RH and a waiting Dave Oldfield + drinks. 56 mins for that section and a massive confidence boost. I thought before the race that i might get near four hours, but now it seemed now like i was well inside the schedule and i started to dare to hope.

Whernside is a steep and messy climb. However, it's not as tall as it looks - just 1500' from Ribblehead. That's not much more than Moel Famau, although it is far steeper. I decided to keep attacking. At this point I caught a chap who was on his first 3ps race. He looked very strong and I decided he would be a suitable candidate to hang on to. He pushed hard and ran much of the climb, which took me 42 mins in 2005. This time, thanks to him, I was up in 37 mins - a huge improvement for such a short section. Result! I dropped my temporary pacemaker shortly after the summit who seemed to have used too much in the climb - but I was very grateful to him!

Yessss, things were going well! Don't balls it up now on the descent by going over on an ankle or something.... I had to get to the Hill Inn in 25 mins acc to the 4 hour schedule. I was caught between backing off and sandbagging for Ingleborough (and also avoiding an injury) and just going for it. As i was pondering this, and descending along the ridge like some big jessie, a wiry old bugger from Horwich came flying by. "Now that's fellrunning" I thought. It also occurred to me in an ultra-competitive moment that this is precisely the sort of place where Steve comes hurtling by. So I decided to hang onto Horwich man. He took a fabulous line well to the right of the track and i knew i'd made a good choice. It's not like me to make places up on a descent, but there I was passing people merrily. 22 mins later i was running up that short and bloody steep road to the Hill Inn checkpoint knowing that 4 hours was looking possible.

I decided that 40 mins up to Ingleborough and 40 back down to Horton and the finish line would be enough. I took a drink and a gel at the checkpoint and set off towards Ingleborough. For the first time i didn't feel good. Those 2 miles or so to the main climb along duckboards and stone slabs were awful. I ran most of it but walked on some of the small rises and got angry with myself for not running. I saw Dave O halfway along there which perked me up a bit but declined a drink as i was in a rhythm and wanted to keep plugging. I reached the main climb feeling a little worried that I was going to blow it. Bizzarely, it seems now that what I needed was a steep climb that noone could have run at that stage of the race. Everyone was forced to walk and so that run/walk debate, which was getting me down, was swiftly removed. To my delight, i found i was passing people on that steep climb at will. I wasn't stonking up there or anything, but i was moving well enough.

Sarah and Carole appeared at the top of the climb before the final summit rise with a drink and a gel on offer. I took it because it was there rather than because i felt like i needed it. That was probably my main mistake of the day. Shortly after that, i started to run on the final climb and was overcome with an awful stitch. Despite strong and willing legs, i had to walk up to the checkpoint across the plateau. I was preparing for a dissapointing split time for the climb but was astounded to see 36mins on the watch. Perhaps that section across the slabs went better than I thought?

Just a 5 mile tricky descent to go and 47 mins to make the four hour barrier. If i had have been simply tired, i'd have relaxed knowing that sub 4 was on. Hower, the stitch got worse and soon runners were streaming past. If i stayed like this, i'd miss out. Again, i tried to relax and walked and jogged lightly for about half a mile. It was soooo frustrating. Relaxing worked, it got better and i picked up about 10 places over the start of the limestone section. Suddenly I felt fantastic.

But then the stitch returned and another walk through Sulber Nick meant losing more and more places. A kind lady runner from Ilkley that i passed on the way up Ingleborough stopped to ask if i was OK just at the point when i did feel better. I realised that that the bumbag had been too tight so i took it off and carried it in my hand and ran with Ilkleybird (as I had dubbed her) right to the end. I'd stopped thinking about time until I saw the last marshall on the fell who shouted "1 minute from here!". One look at the watch and i thought he was taking the piss - my watch read 3:52 and that was well inside even my most optimistic hopes.

He wasn't though, and after a surreal run through someone's garden i sauntered across the line absolutely delighted. I still managed a 40 min descent, despite walking some of it. I felt great, my stomach hurt more than my legs and it became clear in that moment that I was on track for a good attempt at the BGR.

Finishing time 3:53:11.

This capped off a good week for me, summarised as follows:

Mon - 5M, 1600' - Moel Famau
Tues - 5M, 1600' - Moel Famau - again
Weds - 6M 2000' - guess where? Ran well..
Thurs - 4M road with A - easy pace
Fri and Sat - rest

Week summary - 44M, @10,000'