Warm, wet and windy

There was a, hopefully, brief break from winter this weekend and the temperature was in double figures for the first time in ages. So I went for a run to look for the snow and I found it!

It was a good run from Contin Forestry Commission car-park, over the top of Torr Achilty (a Marylin) past Torr Achilty dam (where the plume from the tail-races was huge), along Loch Achonachie, up over Achilty Oakwood cross-country to Cnoc Dubh and down to Roggie Falls. Easy tracks then led back to the car. Some sections were a bit rough under-foot but it was still worthwhile to get something out of the day.

Time: 2h15 Distance: 10M Av HR: 138 Max HR 164

So far I haven't really been reachng my training targets in terms of distance. Instead I have been more focused on time which is a great cop-out ; ). I really am looking forward to get in some reccies of the Ramsay in a few months time.

Abriachen Ski-ing Conditions

The woods at Abriachen (http://www.abriachan.org.uk/) has a network of built trails ideal for biking and running. The Great Glen Way also runs through it before heading to Blackfold and ultmately Inverness. Happily, when the snow line drops to about 350m the area seems to hold the snow well and is good for cross-country ski-ing. Larger dumps are needed for the mountain bike trails to be ski-able, but relatively small amounts of the white stuff bring the entensive forestry tracks and GGW into condition. The only problem is the lack of circular routes when conditions are thin, but that is a small draw-back for mid-week ski-ing. I rate this venue higher than Daviot and Slochd, but you never see anyone ski-ing here. Where else can you ski see-saws or boardworks?

On Thursday I headed out in the morning and evening (with Dave) and got a couple of hours on the skis. The tracks down from the cairn were really too steep for me to ski down, but I only walked for a couple of minutes. In the evening the moon was so bright and the sky so clear that I didn't even need a headtorch. Far off in the distance the lights from the Glen Doe Hydro project lit up the clouds like some bizarre Mount Doom. The views are wide across the Monaidhliath plateau and the Morar mountains to the north. The cold made the snow quite icy but it was still inspiring to be ski-ing only 15min from Inverness.

So the next time the snow gets low and the hills down the Great Glen are white just take a risk and head up and you may be lucky.

Ord Hill and beyond

Sunday was just one of those days when it is hard enough getting out of bed, let alone thinking about going out to train. The cloud was down to 100m, it was raining and about 2C. However, after cooking Kath a suitably large 'Scottish Breakfast' and a rather less traditional version for Emily, that horrid nagging feeling of guilt made itself known. I 'needed' to get out for a couple of hours so I decided to head out to Ord Hill (a great place itself for off-roading running and biking), just North of Kessock Bridge, and run along the coast for a bit. A true sign of bad weather is when you get fully kitted up in the car, and although I hate running with full body cover it was too wet and windy to contemplate anything else. To add to the fun, despite the rain, some of the tracks were still covered in sheet ice and even snow.
My route was initially through Ord Hill (counter-clockwise on the landrover track) before dropping down on the signposted route down to Kilmuir following the shore line path (tidal in parts). From Kilmuir I climbed a bit on the road until another track branched off just by the farm buildings down to the shore again. After a couple of minutes on a indistinct track along the frozen salt marsh I headed up a vague path through a gate slanting up left to the hill side. After a short while this turned into a track (not marked on the map) which I followed steeply to the top. At the well made driveway I turned left through some manicured grounds to Taindore. From here I picked up some great single-track through the woods heading back SW towards Kilmuir. There seemed to be quite a few distinct trails weaving around in these woods above Pitlundie. It would be definetly well worth exploring the area on a mountain bike or on foot.

Somehow, I ended up back at Kilmuir and followed the route back to the car, adding in some hills in Ord Hill on the way back. The OS 1:50 000 map really isn't that useful and the area really does have a lot more trails (and also feels a lot more extensive) than it suggests. The car park at Ord Hill does seem to attract 'doggers', but as long as you don't flash your lights or using your wipers at inappropriate times you should be pretty safe.

Time: 2hs Max HR: 165 Av HR: 141

Cross training - my thoughts

I am a big believer in cross training i.e. doing other things than your main sport. I know most runners just run and probably being specfic to one sport will give the best chance of performing well, but I just can't do it. If I ran 5 or 6 times a week I would just blow up or get injured within the month. But, perhaps it is my inability to concentrate on one task at a time that is the problem. Still, looking back at past seasons some of my best results have been achieved off 30km total running miles a week. I am in no way claiming to be good, but I have won the odd race, completed the Bob Graham with limited fuss and completed the OMM Elite so I would like to think I am a fairly competent fell runner. So, my weekly training at the moment is a hard short run (1h), a track session and one long run (2-4h) at the weekend. To that I add 2 long (1-2h) steady bike rides, some yoga sessions and a swim session. The amount of running seems quite low compared to a lot of other fell runners out there and I will just have to see in May whether my approach works for ultra races.

The main advantage of my approach is that it leaves a day on the weekend free just to have fun and not feel guilty about 'missing' a training session. After my cold and wet run near Inverness (just past Balnain) on Saturday around Eskdale Moor (the one up here not the lakes) which was 10M long took 2h over a mix of estate roads and rough moorland (bagging the peak Carn nam Bad on the way), I went east with Emily on Sunday. The forecast was great, but the main worry was the distinct lack of snow near Inverness. We put the hiking boots in with the xc-skiing stuff and it was only until just past Dufftown that there was snow on the ground. When we finally reached Clach forest however, (do a search for Huntly skiing on Google) there was snow everywhere and we had 3h of superb skiing. My technique leaves a lot to be desired and was a bit of a all-over muscle workout. I know I have just held forth on me not being a slave to a training programme, but I still felt the need for exercise so I went up Tap O'Noth, Scotland's second highest hill fort, which wasn't very far but steep. The 'short-cut' on the way down ended, as it so often does, with an ingloriuos battle through gorse. I had to stifle my frustrated yelps of pain as walkers wandered by a couple of meters away on the perfectly good path. A fantastic end to a great two weeks.

Heavy snow???

So whilst the rest of Scotland is seemingly inundated with snow, up here in Inverness there is barely a dusting. Forecasts for heavy snow up here have been a bit optimistic and I will have to wait a bit longer for some cross-country ski-ing. It still feels cold and sunshine has been limited. Still the views yesterday from Dores down the Great Glen on my road bike ride were great. I put boiling water in my bottle which was ice cold within about 30min. The odd glimpses of sun were a real bonus and helped put those dark thoughts of returning to work behind me for a bit.

Today, Friday, I was meant to be taking it easy so I headed up to Tom Bailgean near Loch Duntlechaig. It is a small heathery hill with a mast on top with a south face of short conglomerate walls. From beside Loch Ceo Glais I headed up the obvious deep-cut gully in the south face for a bit of scrambling (with a couple of steep steps) and then slithered down the track which serves as an access for the mast. There was quite a breeze and the semi-frozen track was tricky in my disintergrating inov-8s. I used my new heart rate monitor to make sure I didn't try too hard which seemed to work. All good fun and even more stats to play with ; ). Still, another good short run near Inverness and back in time for tea and medals.

Time 30min, Distance 4km, Height 219moa, Av HR 149, Max HR 170

Last training of 2007

The last week of 2007 hasn't been too bad weather-wise and I managed to get a few decent training efforts in. Too many pies and beer though. Christmas Day wasn't white, but instead we had wall to wall blue skies and sunshine. Up on the hills just above Inverness there was a bitter wind and everything was still very frosty and all the bogs frozen. I got out for a couple of hours before heading home to cook the lunch. I went out above Dalness south of Cawdor to a hill called Carn nan Tri-tighearnan. Outwith the estate tracks there were some serious peat hags and in parts the only way to make some kind of forward progress was to drop down into the re-entrants themselves. It was disorientating not being able to see where you were going but at least it was runnable and out of the wind. Right on top of the hill someone had laid out numerous snares for the snow hares whether for their fur or flesh I have no idea. From the trig point I had great views over to Ben Rinnes and Ben Wyvis but the Gorms seemed to be covered in great rolls of cloud. All within less than 30min drive of home.

Dist: 10km Time: 1.5h Height: 330moa

The rest of week went well with a mixture of long lie-ins and nice training rides. Heres to a successful and enjoyable 2008.

Fun in the sun

The high pressure is still sticking with us and the frost is so heavy in places it is almost snow-like. It has been hard working in the office when the skies have been blue all day (well at least when we have daylight). Long lunch beaks with mountain bike rides (about 1h10min in duration) over in Ord Hill and Culloden Woods have helped keep me sane.

On Tuesday I went up for a quick run around Meall Mor, a superb little hill that is prominant on the east side of the A9 just before Daviot about 10min from Inverness. The deer have been busy and there are a whole host of narrow tracks once you manage to get above the forestry belt. With the good weather we have been having, the views from the cairn stretched from the granite tors on Bheinn a'Bhuird in the south to Caithness in the north. Another reminder that size doesn't (always) matter. The 5km run was suprisingly tough and took me about 40min.

On Friday I couldn't stand it any longer and headed out past Garve to Strath Rannoch, and did a bike (10km) / run (7km) up to the Graham of Carn Loch nan Amhaichean. The weather was superb and the ground so frozen that my feet stayed dry even in running shoes. The stalkers track from the farm marked on the map wasn't quite as good as expected but the heather was managable. I sat around on the top for while and enjoyed the views over to Scaraben and Ben Wyvis. The run down the SW ridge was very quick and was followed by a very cold bike as the sun had left the glen. Back at the car parked by the bridge at Inchbae it was -7C despite it being just above freezing in Inverness.

On Saturday I headed out to Torr Breac just past Garve and climbed a couple of short (10-15m) easy pitches on a frozen waterfall. I was surprised that it was in such good nick despite being only at 100m AOD. All good fun. I am feeling fairly bushed after all the biking, but the weather is forecast to hold so no doubt I will be headed out tomorrow.

Temperture Inversion

North Scotland has been languishing under a temperature inversion for a least a couple of days now. This means that it has been absolutely baltic down here at sea level (-10C) but much warmer up in the hills. We have had superb blue skies but those are soon to go as soon as we get closer to the weekend.

I got a 10M run in on Saturday near Inverness in the Dumnaglas Estate. The head keeper didn't seem too keen but let me do my run and I did my best to avoid his pheasants. No shooting is allowed on Sundays so I would probably schedule my next run or bike accordingly. There are some great tracks and the one through Conagleann would be a very fine afternoon ride or run (although you would have to do a bit of running on the road). In making the effort to go to the lower hills I have finally realised there is so much more to Scotland then Munros and Corbetts. Within 20min drive from home I was in some seriously wild country. Unfortunately this very wildness is making it vulnerable to 'green energy' developers as they see this area as un-used and therefore any easy target. It would be a shame to 'lose' these quiet, undeveloped areas so close to Inverness for quick hit finacial benefits for absentee landlords, corrupt councillors and energy companies. Rant over!

To help my climbing partner get fit I went for a wander on Sunday to have a look at a bit of the Ramsay Round. Unfortunately the clouds were too low to make the trip much use. Still, my thinking is that the more I recognise on the attempt itself, the less stressful it will be and make it easier to recognise if/when I go wrong. It is a bit early for new year resolutions, but I really must get out running with my co-attemptee for some joint reccies.

The Adventure Show was about the OMM tonight and I got in shot a couple of times. It brought it all back again and I definetly hope to be back doing the event again. Perhaps with better training (faster but shorter long runs) and better navigation (orienteering races) I could do slightly better.

Another week closer

Only three weeks to go to the OMM and it was meant to be an easy week. The normal Tuesday run was over in Ord Hill just over in North Kessock. I had never been before but there is a myriad of superb single-track trails linking together forestry tracks and enough steep hills to get the lungs and legs going.

On Saturday I couldn't face driving too far and the weather wasn't great anyway so I decided to link up the three Marylins which surround Loch Ruthven near Inverness. I won't bore anyone with the details but I started from the RSPB car-park and headed clockwise past the climbing boulder. Even though it was only 14km it took about 3hs due to the terrain (rough heather, bracken and moor). With low cloud and drizzle navigation was challenging and I achieved almost total immersion in a deeper-than-expected drainage ditch. It is great to have such good training so close to home and I would actually recommend the loop.

Sunday was my first race in a month and only my 7th of the year over at Bennachie(about 13km) in deepest darkest Aberdeenshire. The race was fast and all on well constructed paths. I was running strongly uphill, although I struggled on the flatter and downhill sections. Following a team mate I went off course in the latter stages, but still finshed 15th in 1h 05min 31sec despite the extra kilometer I had run. Without the minor diversion I reckon a time just over the hour would have been on the cards. It all bodes well and I actually enjoyed racing for once. Might even do some more next year.

So I managed my 4hs running at the weekend and one of my best placing in a hill race. Very good for my confidence. My legs are trashed but some massage from my therapist has done them a world of good. Fingers crossed that I can recover in time for my last 2 hard runs before the OMM.