A busy June

 Hot on the heels of my birthday run and then the LDWA100 came the first of two sprint orienteering events. I have never been a sprinter and with a couple of hundred miles in my legs it was going to hurt. Still, it was my local club and a chance to catch up with friends. I certainly didn't capitalise on what should have been home advantage but I did have fun- especially at second event in a fab park on a glorious evening. An errand took us to Yorkshire and so to make the journey worth while we stayed for two days of, in my case, running. 

Brimham Rocks etc seemed like very hard work but I enjoyed Baildon moor the next day. Back home for the weekend and I went off on a long bike ride across the Fylde in the wind to prepare for our next mini adventure. Bob has been itching to do a long cycle ride but this one was short enough and flat enough for me to think I could join him. The Bay cycle ride- around Morecambe Bay from Walney Island to Glasson Dock. It's just over 90 miles but with the ride from Barrow station at the start and then the return to our van in Lancaster at the end we did well over 95. After some uncertainty about whether we would get the bikes on the train all went well and we had perfect weather- warm, sunny and just enough breeze to cool us. 

We made good time despite the big climb at Bigland and so had plenty of time for a wonderful lunch stop in Cartmel. 

From Carnforth onwards we knew we had broken the back of the day and that it would be fairly flat from there onwards. We stopped for a celebration ice cream in Morecambe and it was quite impressive to look right round the bay to where we had come from. It made a great day out.

With tired legs I went of to explore the first few miles of the local LDWA 50 miles for 50 years celebration run. Most had done this over 3 Tuesdays and then the final miles on the Sunday. I hoped to do the lot and aim to finish on Sunday afternoon at roughly the same time. This would mean starting in the dark. I was glad to check out the first 10 miles or so as there were a couple of tricky bits. Hopefully my legs would feel more alive with another 36 hours of rest.  I was up at 3am and off not long after. I started with my head torch. I knew I should only need this for 45 mins at most but didn't fancy a fall in the dark. 

Whalley viaduct on my reccee

As I left Hurst Green and dropped to the Ribble there was thick mist at Dinkley Bridge and I couldn't even see the river. It warmed up as I climbed to Whalley and the Abbey. By now I had seen rabbits, hares, foxes and a deer but the strangest sight was lines of taxis arriving to take home young people who were staggering out of the night club.  From here I climbed across the golf course at Spring Wood and picked up the big track that would lead me to the Nick of Pendle. 

It was pleasantly warm and the sun coming up gave beautiful views. I was at the trig on Pendle by 5.15am. Then it was easy running down to Downham where I was shocked to find the pub had stopped trading. A few miles on new terrain led me to Sawley and the abbey ruins. 

A short road section led to Grindleton before the climb up and over the fell and down over Easington Fell. Here it drizzled on me. I arrived in Slaidburn but of course it was too early for the cafe to be open so it was straight off along the river side path to Newton and then Dunsop Bridge. Again the cafe was shut but the WI were setting up in the village hall for a charity day- as they made sandwiches I had two mugs of tea and the most enormous piece of cake. This fueled me up the valley to Langden Intake and them Langden Castle ( it is in fact just a basic shooting or cattle shelter). Here I met the first people close enough to talk to- a DoE group suffering on the climb to Fiensdale Head. I was back on home turf now and knew there was only one more real climb. I enjoyed the run down and over Parlick and then down the lane to Chipping. The cafe here was full of bikes so I pushed on; it was warm now. I was a bit slow getting up onto Jeffrey Hill and lay behind the wall having a snack and a rest at the top. A short stretch led to Longridge Fell trig but then I found all the windblown trees and a tedious section where the path was blocked over and over again. It was unusually a relief to hit the logging track. Running off the fell and down to the road I passed the two dozen walkers doing their 4th day of the route. A brief chat and I was off on the final loop along the Hodder and then back to Stoneyhurst and Hurst Green. Down here it was hot and sunny. A pint of shandy and then a real pint refreshed me and the walkers arrived about an hour faster me. It was good to put some faces to names- and to eat the sandwiches and chips! 50 miles with 4 big hills in about 11hours 25mins.  Not surprising that I felt tired at the sprint orienteering that Tuesday evening.

Thursday saw us off on another bike ride- this time a 70km loop south to Burscough for a pie lunch. 

It should have come as now surprise that I was tired when we arrived at Lakeland 5 Passes- the running, biking and quite a few hours of rock climbing had all added up and taken their toll. The forecast was pretty dire and as we lay in the van on Friday night I could hear the wind and the rain. I was worried enough to start off in over trousers and cag. I hate being cold and wet. The pace was crazy as we left Grasmere and headed towards Red Bank and the start of Loughrigg Fell. I tried to ignore others and prayed that they were just going too fast- not that I could do much about it. Dropping to Ambleside I felt a bit better (although too warm in all my gear) and had caught two other women. I was slower than previous races climbing Wansfell but by now the views were wonderful and I decided just to enjoy it. 

Red Screes from Wansfell- on a previous run

The descent of Nanny Lane was easier than I remembered and I was soon climbing Garburn pass- again not quite as quickly as last time. The bridleway to Kentmere had been improved slightly but I was still cautious over the lumpy track. I grabbed quiche and banana at the CP and pushed on towards Longsleddale. 

Back to Kentmere and Garburn from Green Quarter- not today

I tried to run a bit over the hills from Green Quarter but just didn't have enough energy. The climb up Gatesgarth was better as a mix of jogging and power walking.

Gatesgarth- not today

Heading to Harter Fell the views were stunning but the sky was also starting to look black. True enough from Nam Bield Pass the forecast came true with strong squally and furious hail that hurt. 

Great views from Harter Fell area

After Thornthwaite Beacon the hail stopped and as I descended the wind was less. I quite enjoyed the scramble up Stony Cove Pike and then the run to Kirkstone. I should have stopped to take my layers off here but instead grabbed food, topped up my water and set off up Red Screes. 

Red Screes on a previous hot and sunny day

Spotting Charles behind me gave me the extra incentive to try hard but by the top he had caught me. We ran together to Scandale with Charles pulling slightly ahead until the track became less technical. 

Scandale Brdige- hot enough to fancy a dip but not today

We were still together at Rydal Hall but I stopped to remove my cag and then had to chase him along the old coffin road (still wearing my over trousers which I decided would take too long to remove). At the end of this track we were back together and I managed to pull ahead slightly as we passed Dove Cottage. I got a lucky break crossing the main road and just had the show ground to run around. I turned to see if Charles would catch me and spotted another woman- where had she come from! A determined effort allowed me to finish ahead of both of them- just. It was a PW by about 25 minutes but 3rd F and 1st old F wasn't too bad. 

Many cups of tea, a plate of sweet and sour plus a few bits of cake put back what the day had taken out. It was even sunny enough to sit outside and chat as other friends finished.  We managed to get the flags and banners down before the next gales and rain came through at nightfall.

Wearing same gear a year ago- shoes now binned!