Glentress Marathon Review

Yesterday I ran the inaugural Glentress 42k trail marathon, organised by High Terrain Events.

While I've been to Peebles many, many times as it's where I completed my massage/sports massage qualifications, Glentress is a place I have never been....and what a treat I've been missing!

The toughest decision about entering this race was the fact it clashed with one of the fabulous Hoka Highland Fling training weekends, which are always full of good running, good people and good food.  The lure of something new, somewhere new, and the promise of 5,000ft of climb on pretty trails helped me make a decision.


Photo by Ian Garnett -
absolutely breathtaking scenery

The website promises 'several long and continuous steep slopes' along with a 'variety of forest single track, open moorland and a few short muddy sections'......what's not to love? 

There was the other risk factor of potential 'weather'....

As it turned out, the forecast was as good as anyone could hope for at this time of year.  The promise of a dry, mostly clear day, if a tad chilly (minus 6 when I arrived!), was a far better prospect than the windy, rain and snow of late!

I drove down on the morning of the race, it didn't take much longer than 1hr 15m and I was in plenty good time to register before the big queues started, and have the compulsory several bathroom visits, faff about what to wear, and which shoes, and get my post-race kit into a locker in the shower building (lovely clean and warm showers!)

Photo by Ian Garnett -
the smell of pine here was amazing

A choice of t-shirt sizes and colours (purple the winner, obviously), and a selection of 9Bars to keep hunger at bay. 

Caught up with Alan, Stan, Carol, Dawn, Audrey and many other familiar faces.  And great to see Jeni, Gayle and Karen go on to take 3 of the top 4 positions!

The 0930 start was fairly civilised, although ended up being delayed....not sure if it was a registration delay, or the toilet queues... And after a strange 'walked lap' of the bike shop to count us all, we were off....up, up, up...and up some more!  I'm pretty convinced there was far more up than there was down!

Photo by Ian Garnett -
A few snowy and icy stretches at the 'top'

The 2 lap course took in some of the black mountain bike trails, and a brilliant mix of fire roads, soft pine trails through huge forests, hairpin switchback climbs, heather tracks across the moorland, unexpected vertical yomps and a good muddy descent about 2 miles from the finish made for a varied and interesting day.  I'd estimated a 6 hour finish, for no other reason other than they had stated lap 1 cut off was 4 hours and 8 hours for the finish...  Lap 1 took me about 2hrs 47 or so, and I just had to hold on to hope I didn't slow too much on lap 2.  Mentally, doing laps is an interesting one, especially when you're learning the course and new to the hilarious climbs.  I had no doubts about going back out again, fuelled by a cup of cola and some jelly babies....even if I was just power hiking lap 2, I was getting it done!!



Photo by Ian Garnett -
hill of many bad swear words -
steeper than it looks!!

As it turned out, I actually enjoyed lap 2 more....I think not having the half-marathoners made a difference (they started 10 mins after us on our first lap, and some (not all) were very rude in grumbling about getting past on the narrower trails, and some not offering thanks even when I stopped and stepped off the trail to let them by....I was 'racing' too, don't they know??)....I guess knowing what was to come helped too.  I also think I fuelled a little better on lap 2 (including a Gu Espresso Love caffeine gel to supplement my Tailwind and jelly babies) and actually felt I was making good progress and enjoying it, with a mix of hiking, running, and sliding down the muddy descent to the finish.  Gotta love a downhill finish....that felt amazing!

A handful of supporters cheered me at the finish (no idea who they were waiting for but I was grateful of their clapping) and then I was straight into the café...bizarrely REALLY hungry, which is unusual so close to race finish.  Had a quick chat with Alan and Ian, ordered up some soup and coffee and caught up on the gossip with Dawn, Carol and Stan before a quick shower and heading home.  What a quick day it had seemed!

 

I'd highly recommend this event to everyone for next year, especially if your plan for the year involves long hilly races!  Not an easy one for early in the season, but in the conditions we had, and with a beautiful, challenging course like that, it could be a firm favourite!

 

So, a slightly lower mileage week than last week, with more climb:

35 miles, 6.2k ft

1k ft versaclimb

2 x weights sessions

 

Feb:

140 miles run, 5k metres of ascent, and over 15k calories burned off!  2 races.

7 gym sessions

5 versaclimber sessions (6k ft)

3 pilates

Fewer runs than last Feb, but way more gym time

 





I fall down...but I get up again

Another week, another fall...tarmac, flat tarmac, it's evil stuff.....and when there's a nice black icy slick, and you're taking the 'racing line' around a corner, early in the morning...that just adds to the risk factor and thump, down I go again...

On the plus side, I managed to cushion the fall with my 'good' knee this time...and the scab might heal to match the battering my 'bad' knee took last August.....well, I can but hope....

The run was going pretty well until then.  Hey ho!


Thankfully I've managed to keep running on it, I think the damage is all external, and aside from a few bruises and aches from hitting the deck hard, I think the muscles are ok.  Touch wood.


Glen Sherrup on Sunday

Not ideal prep just over a week before the Glentress Marathon which I'm doing this Saturday, but this was only ever in the plan to offer a hard, long training run.  And with 5,000ft of ascent I'm sure it will deliver.

Anyway, that was all, just a wee reminder for myself when I'm old.  Shit happens, you just get back up and get on with it.  Nothing else for it!

It's (not) all about the numbers

It's that time of year where everyone is back 'on it' and the posts on FB come thick and fast about how many miles people are putting in each week.   I'm cautious about posting exactly what I've done each session in such a public way, as I know how these posts sometimes affect me mentally, especially when I see other people churning out twice as many miles a week as I'm doing.  If people chose to read my blog or follow me on Strava, that's a slightly different thing.  In my book anyways.

Don't get me wrong, I love to see people committing to training needed for the challenges they have entered later in the year, and I'm not averse to trying to self motivating by 'checking in' when I'm at the gym.  It's important to remember though that you can, and should, do your plan, what's right for you, at whatever stage you are at.....and that you don't have to be knocking out 100 mile weeks to successfully complete even some of the most challenging ultra's (such as the West Highland Way).  I'm not an expert by any means....but I've had the pleasure of crossing that finish line on a couple of occasions (and hopefully will again in the years to come).

Anyway, that's my musing for this week.

So what have I been up to?

Last weekend I ran the Forfar Multi-terrain Half Marathon for the first time (despite having entered this race on at least 2 prior occasions but never making the start line).  Apprehensive due to a long time lack of running a half-marathon 'race' (the illuminator last year wasn't really the same), combined with a shocker of a forecast, and a wee hint of a sore throat during the week and it's fair to say I wasn't uber motivated on the day.

Photo by Helen Munro

However, with the luxury of a lift with John and Helen, and the promise of post-race cakes and soup, and a relatively civilised 11am start time, there was little room for excuses. 

The weather in the end turned out to be better in Forfar than the central belt, and the course delivered on expectations.  Leg sapping muddy paths, knee deep bogs and puddles, one big climb and all interspersed with tarmac stretches and head winds.  The sleet saved itself really until my final couple of miles, and I think I made the right shoe choice with my Salomon S-Lab Ultra's (even if they are ridiculously white at the back....or were until their first run....).

I finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes, which was better than forecast and I didn't feel like I had stinted on effort, so a good tempo run to kick off the year.

Photo by Alan Cormack's pal!

A good crowd for soup (of which there were many!) and scoff afterwards...and the obligatory post-race photo!

And so that ended a week of :
Running = 25.5 miles (2k ft of ascent)
Versaclimber = 3k ft
Pilates = 2 sessions
Strength & Conditioning = 2 times
Hike = 5 miles

This week I had low expectations....it's one of the busiest weeks at work with the annual post-Christmas insight review taking place (that's what I do...) and usually training falls apart.  I had the Glee run at Glencoe to look forward to on Saturday, and actually managed to get 3 mid-week early morning runs in.

I didn't make it to Glee - after two scary fishtail slides across the road just before Crianlarich, I turned back, and ended up in the Narnia woods at Killin/top of Glen Ogle instead.



While it didn't tick the boxes on the sociability scale at all, the snow was beautiful, the scenery mesmerising, and I got the miles done (and there was me saying it's not just about hitting a number....).  With the company of the WHW podcasts, the time passed pretty quickly (in my head at least!)

Photo by Clark Hamilton

Today I got my first real bout of challenging back-to-back weekend runs (which I do secretly love!), with a run from the house up to Sheriffmuir and back.  Blue skies and white snow made for perfect views, even if the conditions underfoot needed kahtoolas (don't be fooled by the tarmac in the first photo!)



Photo by Clark Hamilton

Tired now, and have made time for a wee granny nap this afternoon...

End of a pretty good week with:
Running = 43 miles (4.5k ft)
Pilates = 1 session

And after some updates this week from some less fortunate than those of us who are able to get out and do this stuff, I'm certainly not going to be moaning.

Here's one example David Andrew Smith.  Someone I've never met, but have huge respect for his achievements and ability to over-come challenging life events.