An Early Birthday Present

The weather forecast was that a Nordic blast was heading in, snow in the north and icy cold in my neck of the woods... A quick check of where there were beds in the Peak District and I was booked in for the Friday night...

The new Losehill Youth Hostel is fab - all new and sparkly, plug sockets and chesterfield chairs throughout - comfy beds, and early breakfasts... My sort of place (and dirt cheap)!

The where and bed came before the where and what I was walking... I know that part of the Peak District very well, and love it dearly the Iron age fort on Mam Tor, the rock sculptures wind blown on the Kinder Plateau, the sweeping lines up to Win Hill.

I've walked them in the rain, the fog, the snow, the wind and very occasionally the sun.  This was one of those occasional days...

The route was one of those one that I've tried more than once, I've come off the hills with an arm covered in ice, because I couldn't see further than my outstretched hand and even because I wasn't fit enough to carry on.

The Edale Skyline, basically walk up to the heights above Edale and walk around the valley... all the way around the valley. The fell run of the same name is even more insane as it deliberately sets out to maximise the height gain - I chose not to be quite that insane... One large up (well a series of ups and one short sharp down) will do me with 20 miles in between.

The up Lose Hill is a solid slog, the walk along the Great Ridge, over Back Tor, Mam Tor and on to Rushup's Edge is one of my favourite walks and with views like this:

Why wouldn't it?

Coming off Rushup's Edge it's the terror of bog squelching across Brown Knoll, this is one of the bleakest miles of walking in the country, you sink up to your knees, peat bog gripping your legs and boots not wanting to let go as your other legs starts sinking. Saturday wasn't too bad... If only because there was a thick crust of ice so I only sank through a couple of times.

Across the Knoll and I'm on the Kinder Plateau, rocky under foot, often more like a boulder field than a walk, the wind sculptures eerily shaped:

This is the Pagoda.

The Southern Edge of Kinder means navigating around and across deep streams, and their cloughs, cut by run off.  Traversing the rock shelves along to crossing points, picking the points where I could step across avoiding the ice, taking a tumble wouldn't be good!

The stretch off the Plateau is just beautiful walking, views up to Win Hill:

The walking is easy, the pace was good, and for the first time in the day it warmed up enough for me to take my hat and gloves off... And to celebrate I paused and tried to show the views...




Not a bad view... Win Hill was busy, and why wouldn't it be?  So this is a panorama from another trip up there


The its a simple drop down to the train station and home...



So why a Birthday Present? Because the last proper go I had at this walk was on my 40th, 50 weeks ago... Then I was beaten by the weather, today I wasn't.  I hoped to get back in the year and do the walk - and I just made it in time:-)

Oh, and the new food diary has arrived, and the runs and walks for next year are beginning to be planned... so time to finish my 3 weeks of recovery and start building up for the next years worth of madness;-)

TTFN

Paul

Winter is coming:-) Me being me....

The long range forecast has spoken...

There's snow heading to the hills...

Temperatures are going to drop by about 7degrees between Thursday and Friday...

Time to start getting the kit together...

Bulk insulation - yup & works, it was a bit breezy on the tops in the Lake District yesterday...

Thermos - still keeps soup warm:-)

Spiky things for the feet - all covered, checked for rust, and ready for the variable uses...

Which just leaves me...

Post-event blues isn't quite right... My body has needed a break, and has reacted to the flu jab, and the absence of the miles I've put in.  The various aches and pains are fading, only reemerging when I walk up a medium sized hill... My hip on the way up, and the knee on the way down... Oh well, it'll come back, it always has in the past it will in the future.

All that said, nothing used yesterday aches today:-)

So slowly I'll start edging back into it... I'll try and get the work group out for a jog this week, a couple of climbing sessions and a walk or two in the evening.

So, just me being me then

TTFN

ps Wansfell Pike & Troutbeck

Distractions

I should be revising (I've an OU exam on Wednesday)...

I should be ironing a shirt (don't faint people I'm interviewing tomorrow)...

I should be washing up...

And I'm not...

I'm distracted...

I've found my next challenge - 9 months of training begins soon...

100 miles in 3 and a half days - along the Cotswold Way... Combining the my loves of running, long distance walking and camping - for the organisers will carry my tent and non-running gear between "Runner's Villages".

And like all of my best insane challenges it scares even me - basically a trail half marathon, followed by 2 trail marathons and then a 33 mile Ultra... Might not be the fastest runs I've ever done <wibble>,

And hence my distraction... I know there's no point thinking of the training I will do until after the exam, until there's running back in my legs... But still I'm on the hunt for stuff to do...

The Derwent Heritage Trail - 55 miles in 2 days sounds good
More sections of the Transpennine - Bootle to Manchester on Day 1 and Manchester to ? on Day 2...

Ohhh... they sound good...

But now I must, must focus... I have an exam to pass on Wednesday... An interview to do tomorrow... 

Oh sod it off to the runners world events listings I go...

TTFN

Paul

That wasn't easy... Nottingham Ultra - Finished:-D

But it started, had a middle, and an end...

My poor bright red shoes are a bit mucky...

My left knee is reminding me it got kicked not that long ago...

My thighs are agreeing with the OS map height gain for the distance (2700ft/840m)...

My grin hasn't stopped since I finished:-)

The run itself is blurring already, but what I remember is that at no stage did I have any wobbles.  I may have gone slow at times (even by my standards), but the old demons never raised their head.

The training paid off, the New Forest for the forest trails, the Peak District for the mud, the Lakes for the hills and the mean streets of Merseyside for the sheer duration.

There were bits where it hurt more than others, and parts where it smelt more than others (with perfect timing a farmer had manured his fields).  The terrain was a little tougher than I'd expected and the navigation, well its good that even tired I can use a map and compass - a couple of the markers had disappeared in the passing of an hundred feet... Nothing major, nothing dangerous and good practice for adventures to come.

So I'm an ultra-marathoner... And the smile as I type those words is quite large:-)

So thanks to Rory, Jen and the gang at Ultrarace - if you're ever insane enough to try this sort of thing I can't recommend their approach more - friendly, genuine and as helpful to those at the back as to those at the front.

Also thanks to the rest of runners - I've done lots of runs around the country now, and none have been so happy and welcoming to all comers - be careful you may be seeing me again:-)

So, I'm just under 1800km (1777 to be precise) for the year - leaving  235 to do... in 11 weeks:-) Around a half-marathon a week then:-)

And if I ever doubted the awareness raising of plodding along the way I do, a couple of runners had googled the run and found me, and had picked up why I do what I do and more importantly that there are kids born with heart conditions and life isn't always easy.

I think I can call that job done!

TTFN

Paul

ps 

A question has been muttered... studies found... a rant!

In the halls of where I work...

Quietly whispered... 

A question is asked...

Passing from ear to ear... 

And then reaches one of my friends.... 

And they laugh... 

The question?

"Should Paul be doing this? What about his heart?"

And my friends laugh; not because they don't worry, not because they think I'm in anyway sane... But because they've seen the progress, watched the miles tick over, heard my tales of my running misadventures, seen the photos of me running in all of the parts of the UK.

And my friends look the mutterers in the eye, and smile "Paul knows what he can do and when to stop".

And I do... 

And all being well that will be on the steps of Nottingham Castle, Sunday afternoon/evening.

I'm not Superman, I'm not even Iron Man, I am me.  

Me... 

The confidence the runs this year have given me has to be remembered... 

The PBs at every distance up to marathon... 

The successful brutalisers - I didn't know I could run 2 half marathons in 2 days... 

The fact that so many of you have followed my madness... And seem to have enjoyed my blogs and tales of my life... helps, helps a great deal. 

Running is a lonely business, and knowing that that loneliness has a purpose makes it a lot easier to manage (and yes I know its probably the only time I genuinely get to myself, but its not a community activity;-))

And now the studies and my rant... 

I found this study online:

Clinical practice: the effect of obesity in children with congenital heart disease.

 
(European Journal Of Pediatrics 2012 Aug; Vol. 171 (8), pp. 1145-50)

It says that over 25% of children with CHD are overweight or obese... Over a quarter!!!

That means all the usual stuff is coming along - the diabetes,  hypertension and so... Throw in on top of that as kids we often need (and then get the taste for) high calorie foods and have exercise restrictions placed on us.

Woo Hoo - what a delightful time bomb!

The guidelines are out there, probably not perfect but they say up front in the abstract "While all patients with CHD can participate and benefit from physical activity and exercise, those with specific lesions or complications may require counselling regarding precautions and recommendations."

All patients with CHD can participate and benefit from physical activity and exercise...  

That doesn't mean all of us can run marathons, doesn't say we should - it does say that just like the rest of the population. we benefit from doing something.

And that something can be pretty much anything - like dancing?  Go Dance! Waltz, cha-cha, disco whatever! Like  shopping - walk around the shops! Don't feel like anything that active?  How about baking bread?  Kneading is great stress relief!

The second part is important too - those with specific lesions or complications may require counselling regarding precautions and recommendations. 

Yup - go check with your doctor! Ask them where you (or your child) fits into:

Recommendations for physical activity, recreation sport, and exercise training in paediatric patients with congenital heart disease

by Takken et al (2012)

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology October 2012 vol. 19 no. 5 1034-1065

I know all about gaining extra issues to go with my Fallots; I've been obese, I am diabetic.  When I was a kid and teen I wasn't allowed to play much sports and exercise became a fear factor.  The rules have changed as I have aged, and often its been down to me to find it out.

Nowhere (that I've found) are their guidelines for a type II diabetic with congenital heart on endurance exercise... That's why I do check my plans with my cardiologist and diabetes team... Often its about how I feel, and down to  where I started this blog - knowing what I can do and when to stop.  

So my friends; some of you will have read this and thought I'm back on my standard Quixotian rant about exercise and those of us with CHD, some will have read the quarter overweight and obese and been as horrified as I am, and some may just be thinking - Paul's running 50km on Sunday... That's worth a few quid - http://www.justgiving.com/fallotsrunner

TTFN

Paul