I just can't
I just can't
I just can't control my feet.
Warm.
Early afternoon.
Up Monte Pajariel via the trails. Down the single track biker's descent in a faster than normal six and a half minutes. Perfect underfoot.
50 minutes 58 seconds.
(02-03-2012, 08:24 PM)marathondan Wrote: That'll be that proprioception then.
It was inner-ear problems that finished with the swimming last summer, remember? Didn’t affect my balance though.
Canal route.
29 minutes 31 seconds. Not bad at all.
Unseasonably warm.
It’d better rain soon or else this Summer these hills are gonna burn...
Observations.
Run better when it’s mild than when it’s too hot or too cold.
Run better during the day than at night.
Run better with shorts than with trackie bottoms.
Up and down Pajariel.
13º cool.
Light rain overnight.
21:37 climb.
7:13 descent.
Total running time 51:55
Ran in roadshoes. This meant I was nearly a minute slower in the descent despite perfect conditions.
Noticed less stability and tendency to dig heels in leading to a burning sensation and danger of blisters.
Descending over steep irregular terrain is all about fast feet and jumps. It’s a bit like dancing.
(04-03-2012, 11:33 AM)Bierzo Baggie Wrote: Descending over steep irregular terrain is all about fast feet and jumps. It’s a bit like dancing.
Reminds me of the quote from Jack Handey: "boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other."
Your observation could probably be rendered in a similar vein.
Except that with the need for a steady rhythm, the frequency of men wearing tights, and the requirement to drink a lot, there quite are a lot of similarities between running and dancing.
I concur. Running over rain-slick flint and slithery mud you have to stay light on your feet. The only way for a 'heafty chap' to do that is to move 'his' feet as fast as 'he' can. I guess if you set it to music you might come up with an amusing YouTube clip. Riverdance would probably do it.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
(05-03-2012, 02:32 AM)Sweder Wrote: I concur. Running over rain-slick flint and slithery mud you have to stay light on your feet. The only way for a 'heafty chap' to do that is to move 'his' feet as fast as 'he' can. I guess if you set it to music you might come up with an amusing YouTube clip. Riverdance would probably do it.
Hang on though - surely "hefty chaps" get greater purchase? I avoid slippery surfaces (especially downhill ones) because my lighter frame doesn't get purchase and I end up arse-over in a most un-dancer like fashion.
(05-03-2012, 02:32 AM)Sweder Wrote: I concur. Running over rain-slick flint and slithery mud you have to stay light on your feet. The only way for a 'heafty chap' to do that is to move 'his' feet as fast as 'he' can. I guess if you set it to music you might come up with an amusing YouTube clip. Riverdance would probably do it.
Hang on though - surely "hefty chaps" get greater purchase? I avoid slippery surfaces (especially downhill ones) because my lighter frame doesn't get purchase and I end up arse-over in a most un-dancer like fashion.
No real science as far as I know. There are big muscular guys who descend well and small guys with glass ankles. So many different factors come into play which of course makes it sort of interesting...
(05-03-2012, 02:39 AM)Mid Life Crisis Man Wrote: Hang on though - surely "hefty chaps" get greater purchase? I avoid slippery surfaces (especially downhill ones) because my lighter frame doesn't get purchase and I end up arse-over in a most un-dancer like fashion.
Possibly, but the trouble is when you're heavy once you start to go - wallop! You go down in a heap. Treading lightly is the best way forward, both in terms of preservation of joints and avoiding distasters over rough terrain. I never heard of anyone trying to 'run heavy' to get better purchase.
When I take on the flint run, especially in the wet, I think 'hot coals'. I use this when ascending the North Face too - that and 'quick feet'. I keep my feet moving as fast as possible, no matter how tiny the steps are (when running up a steep incline). Minimal contact with the ground on each step is my aim. A heavy tread, especially in mud, leads to slips and inevitable muscle tears, groin strains and all sorts of horror.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Longest run of the year so far.
Ruta de los tres pueblos.
Road to Toral de Merayo.
Big hill up to Ozuela.
Trail running to Valdecañada and back to Toral.
Warm, cool in the shade.
Cherry and almond blossom in the orchards.
Scuttling lizards in the undergrowth.
Last outing before the Alto Sil next Sunday.
1 hour 38 minutes.
Just enough to remind me what aches and where.
Be nice to drag you down this way for a bit of hillage Dan, before the weather gets too 'hot' (with apologies to MLCMan for misuse of the word) and whilst we've still got some mileage in our legs.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
It all started two Thursday nights ago. I’d gone for a couple of beers and a game of pool with Bulgarian Pete after work. Bulgarian Pete runs, but he always takes a skipping rope with him. He’ll cover about 500m and then get the rope out and skip for a minute or so before setting off again. This is how Bulgarian Pete runs and fair enough.
Anyway, I start telling him about the first race of the season and he’s getting interested, particularly when I mention that the post-race meal is the hugest paella this side of the Schengen zone. But then I remember a rumour I’d heard recently. That this year the race was going to be oversubscribed. That a few decent runners were coming from other provinces. From other countries even.
For the previous 3 editions it had been easy enough to sign up at a mountaineering shop just up the road. I’d always registered at the last minute. This year it was an internet-only affair. All a bit flash I’d say. And guess what? The entries had opened that very Thursday morning.
So I started to get a bit anxious. So anxious was I that when Fat Frankie offered us a round of drinks on the house I mumbled something about having things to do and made a swift exit, leaving Bulgarian Pete open-mouthed. What could be so important that a man turns down a free round from Fat Frankie? Let's just call it a runner's hunch.
10 minutes later I was back home, logging on and hurriedly signing up for the race. Texted Pete to ask if he wanted to join.
“Only if I can take my skipping rope” .
The next morning the race was full. A fully subscribed race in El Bierzo is as rare as a free round of drinks from Fat Frankie. A fully subscribed race in less than 24 hours is unheard of.
The next surprise came when the list of runners was released. Amongst the 450 or so listed are;
Marco de Gasperi, Italy: 7 times World mountain running champion apparently. The only runner to beat Kilian Jornet in 2011. Tom Owens: One of the strongest UK fell/ mountain/ trail runners last season. Kenny Richmond, Scotland. Top veteran runner. Probably coming to El Bierzo with Tom. Emanuele Manzi, Italy. Vertical skyrace specialist, whatever that is… Zigor Iturreta, Basque: 2ND Ultra Trail Mont Blanc 2010. Oihana Kortazar: World and European ladies champion.
Oh, and Bierzo Baggie: Last but 3 at Zegama (3 and a half hours behind Tom Owens!).
I’m half expecting it all to be some bizarre publicity stunt. I mean, all these professionals can’t be coming just for the monster paella.
Or can they?
I bet him and his mate Kenny imagined a nice bit of warm weather trail running in the south to open the season. And what they found must have resembled the Cairngorms in January!
It was fate wasn’t it? Two months of drought, hardly a drop of rain or snow and then...
Ideal conditions. The snow was usually compact or not particularly deep and the air was still so it never felt excessively cold. Some people wrapped up anyway, but the whitescape was altogether more welcoming than it might have appeared.
The river was icy, they made us run through it this year, just in case there was somebody who still had dry feet.
I suffered on the last climb and descent as always.
Shot a few photos. This was my favourite.
The Italian guy won. Owens was fourth.
30km in all (probably walked ten of them).
3 hours 48 minutes.
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