Maxine's Walk

Running to music

This morning I had one of my best runs ever, I covered about 8.5 miles through the Cheviots at a good steady pace and the reason for this? Music! I have always struggled with maintaining a rhythm in my running, I start to feel tired and then walk for too long before getting going again. I know other people run to music but until now I always felt I should be enjoying the scenery and that included hearing the sounds of the birds etc. But I thought I would give it a try so I bought a tiny ipod shuffle, uploaded some songs and away I went. What a difference! I have been flying along this morning - I put on a bit of a mix including Amy McDonald, Take That, The Baseballs and the best one for my running pace 'You can't stop the beat' from Hairspray!

My route today started from just west of Wooler up over Gains Law along the St Cuthberts Way past Tom Tallon's crag. I then turned right and took the path up Yeavering Bell, a bit of a climb but the views from the top were fantastic - it was also really windy. I ran back down with the wind behind me and took the footpath up to White Law and then along to Gleadscleugh. The last bit was along the track round Humbleton Hill and then back to the car. A total of 8.5 miles which was a good training run for the Kielder Marathon just two weeks away.

A wet day in the Cheviots

I knew the weather was going to be a little drizzly today but it was my only day off this week and I was determined to get a days walking in the hills. My friend Anita had agreed to come with me, and we met up just outside Wooler, for a 7 miles walk in the Cheviots. At first we only got some light drizzle as we made our way up the track towards Broadstruther (the same track from the beginning of the Ultra a few weeks ago). The cheviots are still looking glorious although the heather is now reaching the end of it's flowering time, we had some lovely views although the hill cloud wasn't too far away. Just before reaching Broadstruther we took the path north up and over the hill before dropping down to cross the burn just below Commonburn Farmhouse. There is a footbridge just a little further down from the path but we opted to step across the fairly shallow river - afterall our feet were already soaked from all the wet ground we had been walking across! By this time the rain had now become quite heavy so we opted to follow the track back to the cars. We got blasted by the rain but we both had good waterproofs so were dry underneath - shame the same can't be said about our shoes and socks!

 

Northumberland Ultra Marathon

Last weekend I ran in the first Northumberland Ultra Marathon - 62 miles - organised by AdventureHub. I'm not sure why I chose one of the longest, most gruelling courses for my first Ultra except for the fact that it started from Wooler, it was local, I know the Cheviots reasonably well and I am fairly fit. Only problem was I only found out about the race in June and didn't really start training until July and even then I wasn't sure what kind of training to do for such a long race.

And so it was that on Saturday morning at 6.30am I found myself assembled with about 15 other runners in a small marquee just outside Wooler. It was just light and pouring with rain when at 7am the hooter sounded and we all strolled out of the tent to walk up the hill into Wooler - this was my kind of race! Some fitter people did decide to start running while the rest of us walked and ran our way into the Cheviots.

After 7 miles I reached the first checkpoint as the back marker - thanks to Lee for the coffee, caffeine was definitely required as the next section involved the steep climb up Hedgehope hill (714m). I didn't know at the time but Tim and Lee were tracking me up the hill through some very powerful binoculars! From Hedgehope I descended towards the south and caught up with Lynn who had taken an unfortunate tumble and hurt her shoulder. We continued on together keeping each other going through to checkpoint 2. By now my right foot was giving me real problems due to the very rough ground and constant falling into peat bogs - thanks to Neil for bandaging it up! We were promised soup at the next checkpoint so off we went only to be stopped in our tracks by Pigdons Leap - a very steep down to a stream followed by equally steep up the other side. Apparently there is a path here somewhere but we were up to our shoulders in bracken looking for it whilst trying to avoid sliding down the sheer drop. Eventually we made it down to the stream and clambered up the other side to rejoin the path proper. From here we continued over Bleak Law and were joined by Sean - who had been a little lost! Checkpoint 3 provided us with the much awaited soup - thank-you Heather, and then we set off up Clennell street along the edge of the Kidland Forest. This was where things started to go wrong, my hips were hurting going uphill and my right knee hurt going down, in between I just felt worn out. I made a decision to get to the next checkpoint and then call it a day - I knew that if I was hurting this much now it would be foolhardy to attempt the Pennine Way section in the dark as it is also high and exposed. Getting to that checkpoint seemed to take ages but eventually at 8.10pm we made it and Lynn and I both stopped, we had done 37 long, hard miles and felt very pleased with our efforts. We were transported back to Wooler and given hot drinks and wrapped in warm clothes. Tim was waiting there to take me home - no way would I have been able to drive anywhere!

On Sunday morning it was a real struggle getting up and down the stairs - mostly aching thighs and my right foot looked a little misshappen and purple in places! But now it is Tuesday and already I am thinking of my next Ultra, probably the Yorkshire Ultra in January. This is also organised by AdventureHub - a great company who were so supportive of us all and looked after us so well during the race.

My next race is the Kielder Marathon in October - need to do a bit more training first!

The last bit - cycling from Witney to Helston

Sorry still no pictures, they won't upload at the moment.

On 26th July, following straight on from 2 days cycling in Derbyshire, I went straight down to Witney to carry on to Helston.

Day 3

The first day was a long one, James and I set off from Witney and followed route 47 through the lanes to Burford and then Northleach, two Cotswold market towns full of shops with Joules and Cath Kidston stuff! No time for shopping though, it was on to route 48 running parallel to the Fosseway and on into Cirencester, again straight through the main shopping area and out the other side. A few miles south of the town we met up with Tim and had lunch then James went off in the car and I continued on my own. The good thing about today was that all my stuff was in the car, so nothing on the bike, after lunch Tim and the children drove on to my campsite and set up the tent before continuing on to visit Grandad. In the afternoon my route took me through Malmsbury and then over the M4 motorway before reaching the town of Corsham, here I managed to find a Coop to buy supplies for dinner and breakfast. My campsite at South Wraxall took a bit of finding but after a couple of wrong turns I eventually found where my tent had been pitched!

Day 4

Today I followed the canal into Bath, cycling along the towpath past boats of all shapes and sizes where people live full time, it all felt very hippy. Loads of the boats had bikes next to them with trailers for transporting shopping etc, there were planters full of herbs on the roofs and tables and chairs on the edge of the towpath. I felt a bit like I was cycling though people's front gardens! It seemed to take ages to get through Bath but then I was turning south and heading out on the West Country Way - route 3 to Cornwall. At first the route was relatively easy through villages - several people stopped to chat including a couple who were on their 4th day of cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats for their holiday! At West Harptree I stopped at the village shop to buy a filled roll and an ice lolly for lunch, I then set off in the blazing sunshine for the climb up into the Mendip Hills. It wasn't long before I was walking and pushing my fully loaded bike up a very long and very steep hill, by the time I got to the top I was absolutely dripping and had drunk almost all my water. Fortunately once climbed I was then along the tops and then a really, really steep downhill past Ebor Gorge and Wookey Hole into Wells. I was so glad that I had new brake blocks on my bike, at times I thought the luggage on the back was going to overtake me going down the hill! Straight through Wells past the cathedral and then onto Glastonbury where I was met by Tim and rejoined by Kez. We cycled through the middle of Glastonbury, stopping at the Coop (again) to buy food supplies. I left Kez outside the shop with the bikes while I did the shopping, when I came out she commented on the strong smell of 'hemp' in the town! From there it was a relatively flat ride through the Somerset Levels to our campsite near Westonzoyland, this was a very basic site with minimal facilities so Kez and I made a new invention of using wet wipes to do the washing up with!

Day 5

Today was a day of canals and lanes which was a bit of a mixed blessing, the canals are flat which means no hills but the downside of this is that you cycle continuously in the same position so get really saddle sore. From Bridgewater we followed the canal into Taunton, then through the lanes before following another canal towards Tiverton. Tim returned to collect Kez at Sampford Peverell and I carried on into Tiverton where again I found a Coop to buy dinner from. When booking campsites there had not been a big choice in this area as most of the sites are up into Exmoor or further south on Dartmoor. I had found a lovely site online called West Middlewick Farm in a place called Nomansland - the only problem was getting there, I had to follow the B3137 out of Tiverton along which the cars went at the full 60 mph. The first bit out of Tiverton is called Long Drag Hill - luckily it had a pavement along it, I pushed the bike up the hill for over a mile! From here it was one hill after another - I had definitely entered Devon! Eventually I reached the campsite - it was well worth the hills, georgous views - I camped in the bottom field which had tents along the top edge while the rest was cut for hay. The site is a working dairy farm, I had to wait for the cows to go out from milking before I could get through the yard to go the showers!

Day 6

Within a few miles of setting off from the campsite today I knew I didn't feel quite right, as I walked up yet another hill I realised that I was completely exhausted from the 50+ miles a day that I had been doing and now the hills were bigger, along with this the sun was getting hotter. I got to North Tawton and stopped at a cafe for a bacon roll and a coffee - this was great but I made the mistake of sitting outside in the sunshine. I continued on slowly towards Okehampton - eventually deciding that perhaps I had heat exhaustion, obviously my head wasn't as fuzzy as it felt because I hit on the idea of pouring most of my bottle of water over my head to cool it down. This followed by a whizz downhill got me going again and probably stopped me from complete meltdown. I carried on into Okehampton and then up the hill out of the town to join route 27 to Tavistock, just then the heavens opened and there was a really heavy summer downpour. Luckily I was right next to Okehampton station - on the Dartmoor railway - where they have a great buffet. I went in to shelter and cooled down with some really cold water and an ice lolly, I sat watching the rain gushing over the gutters and bouncing off the edges of the platform. Once the rain had stopped I cycled down to Lydford where James joined me for the last bit into Tavistock. Great campsite here - camping and caravan club site - wonderful facilities.

Day 7

Nice easy start to today down the Plym valley and into Plymouth, it was strange being back where we used to live, I cycled into the town centre and then up onto the Hoe. From Plymouth I took the Cremyl Ferry across the river Tamar and into Cornwall, at last the final county. Tim and the children had gone on ahead to find a campsite and they sent a text to say that nothing was available near Fowey so had found one near St Austell adding an extra 10ish miles to the end of my day! Tim did offer to collect me early if I needed him to. I followed the coast along to Looe and then Fowey where I got another ferry across the river, again the route was hilly and my right knee was hurting but I didn't have any luggage on the bike and I just got into a rhythm of walking up hills and then cycling the flat and downhill bits. I got on really well and it wasn't long before I rolled into the campsite at St Austell, I must have been more tired though than I thought as I fell asleep before dinner!

Day 8

A day off!! At last a day of rest - I really should have done this after about 5 days as by now I was feeling quite exhausted. Had a great day today, went to visit the Eden project which was truly inspirational, there was loads going on for the children to get involved with including den building and circus skills - actually the adults were involved as much as the children! The biomes were amazing and the Core was fascinating too. Went into Fowey in the evening for fish and chips.

Day 9

The final day!

I followed cycle route 3 out of St Austell which was mostly off road down to Mevagissy. Went to the bakers here for a Saffron Bun (A fruit bun with the yellow colour/flavour of saffron), haven't had one of those for years. Then I cycled through the lanes to the King Harry Ferry across the river Fal, I had bought a Cornish Pasty earlier so I stopped at the entrance to Trelissick Gardens to eat it - a real Cornish food day today! After my lunch I continued through the lanes to pick up the B3297 into Helston, I had gone down it just a short way when I was stopped by the police who had closed the road into Helston as a lorry had gone sideways and there was glass all over the place. I had a nice chat with the policeman who said he was also a cyclist and I explained where I was going - he directed me down a lane which actually turned into quite a good shortcut into the town. Finally after 8 days of cycling I managed to complete the end of my journey and cycled into the centre of Helston - I was met by Tim, the children, a lady from the paper and a lady from Cancer Research UK - Wow!

So I have completed my challenge, I have travelled from Berwick to Helston, walking, running and cycling a total of more than 800 miles! I started in January 2010 and finished August 1st 2011 - it has been an amazing journey, most of it enjoyable, all of it memorable - the laughs and the tears. A big thank-you to my friends and family for supporting me - yes I do know I am mad! And thank-you for all your donations to Cancer Research UK, its why I did it in the first place.

So onto the next challenge...

 

 

Cycling - Edale to Derby

Apologies in advance for all words and no pictures, for some reason they won't upload.

On Sunday 24th July Kez and I took the train from Berwick to Edale so that we could cycle to Derby. This was to fill in the gap left by walking the Pennine Way to Edale and starting last summers cycle from Derby. The plan was to cycle from Edale train station to Tissington, camp overnight and then cycle to Derby and meet Tim with the car in the same retail carpark where we had been dropped off a year ago. The train journey from Berwick was great - we were on CrossCountry trains from Berwick to Sheffield which have racks for the bikes where you have to hang them up by their front wheels. Then we took the two carriage local service from Sheffield to Edale which also had space for bikes. After getting off the train at Edale we were faced straight away with the huge climb up Mam Tor, our bikes were fully loaded and the sun was beating down on us. I honestly thought there was something wrong with my bike, the wheels just didn't seem to want to go round! After Mam Tor we continued with a lovely, if hilly ride through the Derbyshire countryside until reaching the top end of the Tissington Trail at Parsley Hay. By this time we were both pretty tired and were glad to ride along the relatively smooth, slightly downhill trail all the way in to Tissington. We stayed at Basset Wood Farm campsite which is just outside the village, one small field with just 3 caravans and us. After a good nights sleep we cooked bacon rolls to give us plenty of energy for the day ahead. On the second day we left the Derbyshire Dales behind us and had a nice easy morning ride through the lanes and villages of South Derbyshire finishing on the old railway line cycle route into Derby. So that was the gap filled in, it has been annoying me having to leave gaps in the journey but sometimes that is the only way to complete a long route like this. Now all the gaps have been filled and so the next part of the journey will be the last bit and when I get to the end it will really be the end.

Almost ready

Have been spending today getting ready to leave for Derbyshire, there is camping stuff all over the house as I type this! Need to organise it now so that I have stuff on the bikes for me and Kez and then the rest of the stuff in the car for Tim and the boys. My bike is currently being repaired - a bit last minute I know. Hopefully by this evening all will be organised, we are trying to keep equipment to a minimum so that we are not weighed down too much so one small tent, our twister gas stoves and lightwight sleeping bags. I just hope the weather stays warmish but not too hot. I estimate we have 350 miles to do and aim to take 8 1/2 days to do it. Hopefully I will be able to update the blog as I go but it depends on internet access en route.

11 miles through the Cheviots

Had a great run today in the Cheviots, the weather forcast had been for rain but the sun was shining and there was very little cloud - could easily see the top of Cheviot. I set off from Wooler Common carpark and went up and along the bridleway to Broadstruther, I chose to go this way as it is the first part of the Ultramarathon course so I thought I would test out some of the route. It was an easy to follow track all the way along with a great downhill stretch in the middle, then up to the cottage in middle of nowhere at Broadstruther - I wonder if anyone lives there! After the cottage the bridleway turns south and eventually meets the road at Langleeford. I wanted to carry on up Hedgehope Hill but it was already 2.30pm so I decided to climb as far as Housey Crags before turning south back to Wooler. It was a really steep climb up the hill, at the top I sat and looked at the path ahead clearly visible going straight up the side of Hedgehope Hill, I can't imagine doing that in a months time - it's going to be a really hard climb and right at the beginning of the day will take everything out of my legs! Still once I get to the top there will be a great downhill stretch on the other side and hopefully that is the worst climb of the day. The path from Housey Crags to Langlee Crags was only just visible and was very wet and boggy, once up on Langlee Crags I had to use my iphone compass to find the path off down to the track. I had a great run down the track all the way to Carey Burn where due to the footbridge being rebuilt I had to paddle accross the river! Luckily my shoes have holes to let the water out as well as in. From Carey Burn bridge I ran back up and over to Wooler common and back to the car. I was a bit disappointed in the time as I was out for 3 hours 15mins and only did 11 miles but some of it was very steep and also I couldn't run all of it as it was just too wet and boggy. I am hoping that in the actual event I will get some good downhill runs to increase my average mph otherwise I might be struggling with the time.

Plans for the summer- the end is in sight

It seems ages since I last wrote on this blog but things have been a bit busy. Now the summer holidays are nearly here and it is time to finish my challenge of getting from Berwick to Helston. The plan is to travel by bike firstly from Edale to Derby to fill in the gap and then from Witney to Helston, which should take 7 days - it's about 350 miles. We are going to visit the Eden Project while we are down there, somewhere I've wanted to go for a while and you get in cheaper if you arrive by bike! At the same time I am also training for my first Ultramarathon - the 62 mile Northumberland Ultra which takes place on August bank holiday weekend. I have been doing lots of long runs along the Northumberland coast and also through the Cheviots which is where the race takes place. I am looking forwards to it, my biggest worry is getting blisters so I am trying out different socks and plasters to see what works. Today I took the bus down the coast and then ran the 12 miles back to Berwick which I did in a time of 2 hours which I was really pleased with - now if I can just keep that up for another 50 miles...!

Pennine Way - finished!

On Easter Monday I got on the 6.30am train out of Berwick to arrive in Hebden Bridge by 10.00am ready to complete the Pennine Way (or at least the Pennine Way starting from Hadrians Wall). I had 42 miles left to do so the plan was to walk and run 26 miles on the first day to Crowden and then walk 16 miles the second day to Edale.

 
From the station I followed a lovely path that took me up through the woods where the Bluebells were just starting to come out.

 

This was a steep uphill path and it wasn't long before I was looking down on the town of Hebden Bridge.

 

I continued on up and up following the Pennine Bridleway.

 

I think they must have strange supermarkets round here!

Eventually I rejoined the Pennine Way and arrived at Stoodly Pike Monuement.

 

I had carefully planned out my route but arrived at Stoodly Pike a full half hour ahead of schedule, that made me feel really good and I set off at a steady jog southwards. I passed a few reservoirs making my way up onto the moors where I could look down on Manchester in the distance and see aeroplanes descending into Manchester Airport.

 

I was amazed at how many people I passed also out walking, running and mountain biking on what I assumed would be empty, desolate moorland. The thing is on this section the Pennine Way crosses a major A road or Motorway every 5 miles or so and is sandwiched between Leeds and Manchester so is actually quite easy for people to access. Every major road I crossed had a full car park along with attendant Ice-cream van, also being a sunny Easter Monday it had encouraged people out to enjoy the countryside.

I had arranged to meet Tim and the boys at Wessenden Head so that James could join me for the last section over Black Hill but he was running late so we arranged that they went straight to the campsite and I would slog on alone. By the time I got to Wessenden Head I was slowing down and had lost my extra half hour, also my left hip was really beginning to hurt. I walked slowly up Black Hill knowing that once I got to the top it was then downhill all the way to the campsite. The first bit was easy enough, following the stone flags, I even managed to continue running for a bit but then the final section along the edge of Laddow rocks was when it got really tough. This is where the path gets really narrow and is right on the edge of a rather high drop, the path then starts to descend but it is a scramble down over the rocks and by now my hips, knees and thighs were beginning to say 'enough'. Eventually I made it to the bottom and arrived in the campsite only 45 mins behind schedule.

I was asleep by 9pm

The next day James and I set off at 8.30am to finish the last 16 miles. After leaving Crowden and crossing the reservoir we had a steep climb up onto Bleaklow, the wind was really blowing hard down the valley and it was hats on and hoods up to protect our ears. Once up on the edge we ran quite a bit, as by now my legs had loosened up a bit, following the path all the way up to the summit of Bleaklow. It was a bit of a moonscape up there and after a bit of compass work we located the path going south and headed on down to the crossing of the Snake Pass where Tim and Ben met us with lunch.

After a quick pasta salad and a banana we were off again over the moors and onto Kinder low and Kinder Downfall. Despite a stiff headwind we made good time and had a good run from Kinder Downfall along to Edale rocks - although following James is like chasing a mountain goat as he leaps from one rock to another!

 

 

As we came past Edale rocks we looked down and saw Tim and Ben coming to meet us at the top of Jacobs Ladder.

 

Jacob's Ladder is steep and a real knee killer going downhill, we took it slowly (well I did, James continued to leap and run at speed, I think he might make a good fell runner).

A couple more miles and then finally we made it to the end of the Pennine Way (or the start if you're going the other way)

 

I was completely shattered by now, luckily Tim was there to drive us home, I slept most of the way back.

Amazingly 3 days later I have just one blister to show for it all, my thighs did ache the next morning but that soon wore off, I might just wait a couple more days though before I go out running again.

 

Sticky Toffee Pudding 10K

Went over to Cartmel last weekend for the Sticky Toffee Pudding 10K trail race. The organisers said it would be wet and muddy and it lived up to all expectations.

The race started from Cartmel racecourse and then went in a circular route along tracks, roads and footpaths before returning to the racecourse through the woods.

 

There were just under 300 people in my race. Kez took these pictures from the Grandstand.

 

It was great to be charging along the racecourse but this was only for a short distance and then we all came to a grinding halt as we turned the corner and went out through the gate. From there it was onto a track and out away from the racecourse.

This photo was taken by the professional photographers at the 1km mark.

 

Don't know why I look so serious!  After the track it was onto a road for a long steady uphill and then we turned onto grassy and in places muddy footpaths across the lower fells. All the runners were getting more spread out by now and I settled into a steady running rhythm with short walks on the uphill sections. At one point the route got really boggy and we were hopping across the tussocks, the man in front of me put his foot into one particularly boggy bit and came out with only one shoe on! Everyone was shrieking and laughing as they went along.

Towards the end we came to a river crossing which some people went through and others, me included, took the footbridge.

 

The last section of the course was along some road and then down a track finishing with a punishing climb up a hill through the woods, then down through the woods and back to the racecourse.

 

As you can see from the state of my shoes and legs I was pretty dirty by the end. I was pleased with my time 1hr 6mins and my place 53rd out of 175 female runners.