Brecon Beacons 10 Peaks

I had already heard about The Lakes 10 Peaks event and considered having a go. However, when I saw that they had branched out to the Brecon Beacons, practically my back garden, well I was in. They offered a long and short course option so there was only one thing for it, I signed up to the long course, the route was not familiar but the places and territory were, so I was quite confident when it came to the aspect of the race that did have me a little nervous, self-navigation. Now I knew I could cover the distance but had not done so over that terrain and especially with that gain. The MCN Winter 42 several months earlier gave me a good taster and I was able to calculate an accurate time and pace for the race. I had several ultras prior to this event as part of my race year and a couple of recce runs planned to cover some of the route. I was running consistently leading up to the event but had not been able to get in many long runs. I had however spent the preceding months poring over maps, photos and videos of others that had completed parts of the suggested route.
On the Friday before the race I stayed in bed until about 13:00 as I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep in the night. I stayed up my parents in the Rhondda. I left at 01:30 Saturday morning for the hour long drive up to Tal-y-bont. It was a clear night with some breath-taking views of the Milky Way. I got registered and collected my number, my map and goodie bag and had my sportident dibber strapped to my wrist then set about getting ready. There were lots of cars and tents in the field where we parked. We had a mini race briefing next to the registration tent, they had another the evening before for those staying the night. We all gathered outside the hostel at 04:00 and moved past one of the race staff to dib in and get going.
So off we went in single file running down some single track all a bit bunched up but able to run mostly with little walking. Everyone managed to get lost only one mile in, committing a trail running sin of following the people in front. So one guy done some map checks and got us back on track.
We eventually hit open country, or what should have been but it was still very dark. Within 2 miles of starting we had a lot of climbing to do. Now although it is called the 10 peaks we cover a lot of high ground and actually have to take several other mandatory peaks as checkpoints. As we climbed it started to rain, and with no shelter it felt as if we were in for a long day if it kept up. It was a steep climb up to Carn Pica, the first mandatory peak which was a good introduction as to what we had to expect for next day and evening, lots of steep ascents. So up we went to Carn Pica which is a large mound of stones where there was a poor lone marshal braving out this windy, rainy weather in the dark, now that’s commitment to the cause!!! We were now up high and on open ground, the weather abated which was nice but I was careful to be lulled into thinking that was it as the Beacons could have a lot worse in store. I knew part of the route across to the next mandatory peak but with it still being dark I went off the path a bit. The good thing about running in the dark is that you could see which way others were running just by following their head torches, so I aimed for the general direction that others were heading. On descending into the horseshoe valley below Pen-y-fan towards the Neuadd reservoir it became light. This made things easier and gave a better sense of direction as to where we had to cross towards the next ascent. Now I knew this part of the route and lead the crowd past the filter house and up to the base of what is practically a wall. At some points it was a hands and knees scramble job up to mandatory peak 2, Trig Point 642. Never an easy climb that one. Once at the top it was not a feeling of relief but exhaustion. I just wasn’t feeling it. I don’t know what was wrong. Thinking back I hadn’t eaten or drank much yet and after 2 tough climbs I might have already been flagging, and with little sleep that didn’t help. So I plodded off more slowly than I would have liked but I just couldn’t get going and even though it is a steady climb up to Bwlch du wynt below Corn Du it was runnable. Even descending down to CP1 in Pont Ar Daf car park I was feeling even worse. So I started getting some food down me. I hit CP1 and picked up some more food and water then headed off up towards Peak 1, Fan Fawr. I started feeling a bit better now, maybe the excitement of heading up the first peak got me going. From CP 1 I made sure that I was constantly eating and drinking, this proved to be the best option for the day. So up I hiked to P1, Fan Fawr!!! There was a lot of cloud cover at the top and I managed to get a little lost again. Out came the map and compass, and I followed that down. Once under the cloud I was a bit too far to the right of a path I should have been on so I headed down and across towards some runners I had seen on the correct path. Only 3.5hrs in and had already been lost a couple of times and had a long lasting down stint that you have in ultras but I couldn’t shake it, I was thinking it may have been the realisation of what I had in front of me, and a blister was developing nicely, but that’s why I do these things I suppose. So back on the right track now I headed across the valley north of ystradfellte reservoir and up to P2, Fan Llia, dibbing in in just over 4hrs. By now, the weather had cleared up and was quite sunny, not my best running conditions. So down I ran down towards CP2. I still wasn’t feeling physically up for it and on arrival to the CP took and extra few minutes to get sorted. The staff mentioned that there was the option for all long course competitors to change to the short course as this is where they split, but then they basically told us they wouldn’t allow it and to get going. So I walked out of the CP eating and hoping I could make some good time over the next few miles to the CP3 as it was undulating with no large climbs. This section seemed to go on forever, for the first few miles I still couldn’t get into a rhythm. Only in the last couple of miles did I do some decent running. This was frustrating me a lot now, this section took me nearly 1.5hrs. CP3 was great with hot food and drinks, lots of cakes and snacks. I had some pasta, sauce and cheese, coffee and some amazing choc cake.

 

Leaving CP3

Stocked up snacks and water as the next section was going to take us to the furthest point on the course. It was a long gradual ascent up to P3 and P4, this took 2hrs of constant hiking. It was a lovely trek though as we were right on the open ridge with some beautiful views far to the east of us.

Ridge leading up to P3

But being able to see how far we had to go and the climbs involved gave me a bit of trepidation but mostly excitement.

View to the East, Pen-y-fan and Corn Du in the distance

There was no let-up in the climb, not the steepest but the distance took its toll. Finally hitting P3, Fan Brechiniog, was a good feeling, there was a lot of people up there on day hikes and the cheer were well received. Dibbed in and off down the slope and then back up a little-ish climb to P4, Bannau Sir Gaer, and the far end of the course. Relief, excitement, mostly exhaustion as it was only P4 of 10 and about half way in mileage, but with 6 more peaks to get it felt a bit longer going back. As we dibbed in we noticed some very ominous looking clouds a few miles further west. They were blowing in a north easterly direction but potentially could hit us. And they did as we were heading back to P3, luckily however we only had to endure up to 15mins of rain plus some hail thrown in, and it was to our backs so not to bad. Heading down a steep descent past Llyn y Fan Fawr was ok, my thighs were feeling very painful now and going down was probably worse than going up. Between here and CP4 was quite a big climb over a mini mountain, not an official peak but just a nice climb in between. It was hard going over here as the footing was bad, consisting mostly of grassy tussock and long grass over uneven ground. Finally arriving at CP4 was a relief, a good 5min stop here to stock up on water and get some extra food in, even had a sit down. Then there was no more putting it off, I got up and left. The CP was in a lay buy on a road right under the ascent to P5, Fan Gyhirych. A very very steep ascent! Luckily it was kind of split into sections consisting of very steep, steep, very steep, steep then finally vertical steep! This last section I was literally using my hands to hold on and pull myself up, it was hard! As I finally reached the top I walked over to the trig point dibbed in then just kept walking, I just wanted to keep moving and going forward. All this climbing was taking its toll, but I realised that there was no other way. Every ascent I just got into a steady rhythm of small constant steps until I hit the top, this way I figured was better than resting half way up or taking breaks, it had to be done so I just got it done. I was quite happy with this technique and it worked well. So over to P6, Fan Nedd then down to a mini CP, a marshal just taking names and numbers but with a bit of food on offer, which was much appreciated, then onto the old roman road. I came across 2 people sitting just off the road, one I had been running with earlier and someone else who turned out to be a hiker out camping for a couple of days. The hiker had gone over on his ankle and was unable to walk. After examining his foot it appeared to be sprained. The Central Beacons Mountain rescue were on standby during the event so we called one of the race staff who informed them of the situation. I relayed the hikers position to them and his condition. There was plenty of light left in the day and he was well kitted out with supplies and in a very accessible, and visible position to be picked up. The stop took about 30ish minutes but even if I had to wait with him, I would have. Time isn’t a priority in these situations. Happy with our efforts, me and the 2 others set off. During our stop several runners passed us, offering help but we told them to keep on going as we could cope. As I had recced this part before I took the guys straight up the mountain at this point which was south of the nature reserve, until we hit the beacons way. Then turned north towards P7, Fan Frynych. When we dibbed in we could see a few of the runners that passed us still en route up to the summit so we made some time back. Turning back on ourselves now and following the beacons way down to CP5 outside the Storey Arms. This is some really great single trail open ridge running. I love this bit and really gave it some all the way down. On hitting CP5 I finally gave myself the indulgence of thinking I was on the home run now, and with only 11ish miles left it was almost in the bag. I started feeling very sleepy here as it had been a long day. So I got some more water and snacks in. We were presented with vouchers for the hot food van, I had coffee and a bacon roll. Then I marched off past the Storey Arms eating it and begun the ascent to P8, Pen y Fan. Up I marched, slowly but non-stop. I decided to cut across below Corn Du as it was not one of the long course mandatory peaks. It was a lovely ascent with the setting sun on my back. As I finally dibbed in to Pen y Fan I didn’t stay but carried on. It was one of my proudest moments though. I have hiked and run it several times but never after covering 40+miles, I am really happy with that achievement. So down the steep decent and equally steep ascent up to P9, Cribyn. Never an easy climb but I hit it as hard as I could keeping my usual plan of non-stop small steps. Feeling physically beat and a bit sleepy I just got on with it and started running. At this point, I was passing some people who were doing the short course. I did manage to run the most part of the course from here. A slow descent down and then back up to P10, Fan y Big. Again I didn’t stop for celebration just gave out a little cheer then ran on as it was getting darker. Before starting I had some plans for the day. I hoped to do a 16-18hr run, this being based on my previous MCN Winter 42 and that would mean finishing in the daylight. So really pushed from here on. But as I hit Carn Pica it was really getting dark and half way down I had to get out my lights. I was running on my own now and still passing several short course competitors. I wasn’t 100% of the route but kept to a path that led in the downward direction towards the hostel. I managed to stick to the path that we had initially taken up, but missed a turning that would have taken me straight to the reservoir. Anyway, after hitting a road and realising my mistake I checked my position and just decided to run the road down and back up instead of going back to the turn off point, as I was unsure of its exact location. This last mile I really pushed and ran hard, crossing the reservoir and finally turning down to the hostel and into the finishing tent to collect my medal. What a day. I was happy with my effort although there is definatly room for improvement. Some longer training runs would have helped a lot and the time spent with the injured hiker added up but spending over 17hrs on my feet was a great achievement and has given me such confidence when going for the 100mile distance next year. One of the staff informed me that the hiker had been picked up ok. I popped into the hostel to get some warm food then decided to drive home as I was feeling ok to do so.
The weather turned out to be perfect all day, with only those 2 episodes of rain, it was clear but still a bit of cloud cover, but could have done with a little more as I’m not a fan of running in the sun.
I felt very sore throughout the race. My joints took a pounding, especially on the descents. But I did give it a good go pace wise.
Nutrition wise I ate anything and everything that was on offer. I still feel that living a low carb high fat lifestyle has a major benefit for my endurance levels as my fat metabolism capabilities are increased, but the amount of climbing involved required constant replenishment of my glucose levels. Train low carb and race high seems to be the best option for me so far. I couldn’t recommend the race highly enough. Great organisation, superb CPs and staff manning them, you couldn’t want for more support.

Cardiff City Ultra

So was that time of year again, a one way bus ride to Brecon. Since 2011 I have completed the Cardiff City Ultra held in May by Ultrarace.

After finishing powerlifting in 2009 and then completing my first marathon in 2010 I wanted to go longer. I was unaware of the ultra-running scene at this point so started looking at long distance cycle and walking routes with the aim to complete them myself. Living in Cardiff at the time I had the Taff trail on my doorstep, so I started looking on the internet for people that may have run the route to gain a little insight on how to complete such a distance. I knew I had it in me but I was also aware that it would be a bit more technical than just getting dropped off in Brecon and running home. So during my searching I stumbled on some ultra-running blogs and info on the many long distance races out there. So I started getting familiar with the hows and whys of ultra-marathon running and looking for races. It was then that I stumbled across the Cardiff City Ultra, 50 miles from Brecon to Cardiff following the Taff trail and National cycle route 8. Nice and easy to navigate and close to home. From my reading I also developed the opinion that even though technically speaking anything over 26.2miles is an ultra-marathon that 50 miles was the minimum ultra-marathon distance, 50km, 40miles, yes are ultras, but I believe you get your ultra-stripes from completing 50miles and then 100miles. this is why I decided to go straight in for the 50 mile option.

2011 race

Leading up to this training had not gone well. Some personal problems took an emotional toll and along with starting a new, busy, job I had a lot of things to contend with so training suffered. None the less I managed to finish in 11.27 coming 78/103.

2012 race

Now this was an interesting one. Again training had not gone well, I can’t remember why. I think it was lack of motivation and time balancing work and family. So I got going from Brecon and started running with Luke who had also done it in 2011. We were making decent time, which I wouldn’t have done without him because of my lack of training. We got into CP4 on 8.20, so making good time but leaving here I could barely walk, pain and nausea were too much. I made it to about 43miles and had to stop, I had blurred vision and slurred speech. I called my farther and asked him to come get me at Taffs Well train station as I was just around the corner from there. I sat down and vomited several times. Not much coming up as I had barely eaten for a few hours. Following that I felt a little better, so I got on the phone to my farther and told him what happened and that I was going to continue. I managed to jog for a few more miles with some walking breaks. I thought I was going to make it but at about mile 46 I started getting blurred vision and slurred speech again by mile 47ish I sat on a wall and started vomiting again, mostly over myself. When I had recovered a bit I phoned my farther again and asked him to come and get me. He didn’t know where I was so he said he would walk out to meet me. Again I felt a little better but still very ill. I managed to get going again, slowly but still moving forward. I met my farther at about mile 48 and we walked most of the way to the finish in a time of 12.03 coming 118/125.

I got a stress fracture following this race and only ran the Real Relay in the months following. In October however I got my act together and started running back and fore work and getting in some consistent running.

2013 race

As I completed the inaugural race in 2011 and the second in 2012 I now consider this race my home ultra. The difference this year was that I had been running pretty consistently, although I had not got in any long runs, and with a couple of good results in recent races I was feeling confident of a good time, I was aiming for 8.30-10hrs. 2 days before the race awoke in the night with severe cramping pains in my abdomen. So I plodded of the toilet and was unable to poo. This went on for the next 2 days but eventually I was feeling not too bad the night before the race. So I was up nice and early and in the car to Cardiff. Met some familiar faces on the bus and in Brecon theatre and got chatting. Race briefing was in the theatre this year, short and sweet then outside for a quick photo and then off we went. Didn’t feel quite right from the start, maybe some nerves as I knew I wanted to be hitting some specific times but also my gut still wasn’t at its best. With this about 3 miles in I had to make an emergency stop in a secluded field! Feeling lighter and better after this I plodded on. Now my new race strategy is to limit stopping. Sadly this included messing abut on my phone and taking photos as proved in my last race that seconds really do count. I have also started to try and reduce the amount of kit I carry and have been tempted to use bottles instead of a bladder but with a bladder I find, even though it is heavier, I don’t need to stop at some aid stations. So I ran through the first CP in 1hr18mins. Now on the trail heading up the reservoir I could feel my guts getting heavy again and needed to dive into the trees. I was barely 2 hours in and had to stop twice, I thought this was going to be a long day and resided myself to the fact that I may not be able to hit my targets if this illness didn’t subside. Well luckily for me that was the last episode of that kind for the day. So on I ran, getting to CP2 and running through in 3hrs9mins, should have stopped here though as I had less water than I thought and with the increasing temperature that was a huge mistake. On target for a sub 9 I was feeling ok, but running out water an hour before CP3 wasn’t easy. Running through Merthyr is a good marker as its half way. I think I hit the marathon mark at about 4hrs20mins. I did slow down a bit coming up to CP3, it was getting hot and with no water I was suffering. I got in on 4hrs48mins which was still on target for sub 9hrs. Filling up my bladder to the rim as it was a long way between CPs 3 and 4, leaving it just hit me, nausea and abdominal cramps. I could barely walk and breathing hurt a lot. Eating was unthinkable and even small sips of water sent my guts into spasm. Damn! Do I carry on or go back to the checkpoint? The thought did cross my mind, I made a call to the missis as I didn’t know what to do and needed someone to talk to take my mind off things, I was really suffering. Michelle said later that I really worried her as I sounded bad. I managed to keep moving forward, albeit only a walk. These cramps were not going so I used the excuse to get some stones out my shoes to have a seat and rest. The fact that I felt so bad at this point was made worse by the fact that it’s always at this point in this race that hurts most for me, after CP3 through to Pontypridd. From Pontypridd I’m on very familiar territory and so feel a little more comfortable, almost home! As I was getting into Ponty Chelle phoned me, I was still feeling low at this point and had seriously considered calling for someone to come and pick me up, so when she said that my mother would come get me if I wanted I was in dilemma. All this suffering could end, I could go home and have a nice chill out. I thought it was a good days effort, especially as I was ill leading up to the race. I was ready to quit the race and give up ultra-running altogether, I kept thinking why am I putting myself through all this pain, for what, a medal? Yep, a medal. Another one to go in the drawer but that’s all I could picture, having three medals for this race gave me that little nudge to stick with it. I think it made me realise that all the pain would fade but I would really regret not keeping going and getting that third medal, or maybe not just the medal but just finishing, which is what the medal represents. Despite this I was reluctant to stop so she said that my father was coming to the finish so if I got any worse then I could call him to come and get me, with this in mind I plodded on. Finally I was able to get some sort of running done as I got into Ponty, but one thing about doing this race for the third time was that I knew exactly how far I had to go. Finally getting into CP4 at 7hr44mins, that’s almost 3hrs between CPs3 and 4 about 13miles was slow going but better than I thought considering. I was still on for a sub 10hrs which I was happy with but not being able to eat or drink since CP3 I was worried if I had it in me as it was still a long way. I was still able to run but needed some walking breaks to alleviate the pain when breathing harder when running. Passed Tongwynlias and onto the trail that now is directly next to the River Taff. It was nice here with a little breeze from the river. I got to about 45-46miles on 9hrs and seen a couple of guys walking, we chatted a bit and they were happy that they could make a sub10hrs by just walking it in, it would be close but possible. But, as I was still able to run I opted to keep running just to make sure. So I kept going, passing familiar sights, lots of people out on the trail cycling, running and walking. A lot of them passing on encouragement, I guess they must have spoken to someone in front of me as most seemed to know what we were up to. My farther called and said he was at the finish with my little girl Imogen so I pushed on, past the cricket ground and then finally seen the crowd waiting on the trail, a right turning off the trail and down to the finish and medal number 3! 9hrs42mins, coming 72 out of 140 starters.

Nutrition wise I have still been living the low carb high fat lifestyle. I think this was definitely my saving grace during this race as I was unable to eat for the last 5hrs I was able to efficiently tap into my fat reserves and keep going and not bonk. So for the race in total I ate a mini pepperami at 1hr, 2hrs then at CP3. I planned to get one down every hour, salty, protein and fatty food in a small mouthful and easy to carry. I’d prefer not to eat them but they are the most convenient thing I can find. A pink lady apple at 3hrs, 4hrs15mins. As I was running I realise that I may still require some carb intake, especially on such a long run. I carried gels but only as a precaution. I tried one at about the 35mile mark but couldn’t stomach it. I did order some Gu gels the week before. I used these in my Llanelli and Brecon races and they were quite nice, but they had not come in time so I got a couple of other brands, not good, so I binned it and carried on. At CP 4 I did eat 3 little sweets but I could feel my guts cramping up again so avoided eating anything else.

Analgesia wise I took a Co-codamol 8/500 and buscopan at 1hr37mins, more to slow my gut motility and help with the cramps. Another Co-codamol 8/500 at 3hr30mins then a further hit of Co-codamol 88/500 and buscopan at 5hr30mins. They seemed to work as I only needed to poo at 30mins and 1hr37mins. I needed a last paracetamol at 7hrs30mins to help with the cramps.

Injury wise my hip seemed to hold out, I could feel it niggling but that’s all it amounted to really. It didn’t seem to pull or give way on me at all. Achilles and knees felt ok as well. Left shoulder was aching a bit but didn’t cause too much trouble. Generally ached all over but that’s expected when running these distances.

I suppose I’m happy as I did get my target time, but if I had been feeling better I think I would defiantly have got a sub9hrs and maybe around the 8 and half hours mark, definitely next year! Thinking about it I am quite proud of what I achieved, just completing the race considering the way I felt not least getting under10hrs and beating my previous times by over 1 and half hours. And having the fortitude or whatever it is, stupidity maybe, to keep going despite the offer of a lift home, yes definitely proud to have it, and that medal!

Observing session May 15-16th 2013

Observing session May 15-16th, from back garden, Rogerstone, Newport, South Wales.
Clear sky all evening. Warm in the day which carried through to the early hours.
I used Sky Atlas 2000.0 as my guide, taking photos of the specific area I required on my phone and using that a hand held navigation tool, allowing me to stay at the eye piece.

With a waxing crescent moon low in North West I fancied an attempt at my project of photographing the Lunar 100. My optimism was high but the moon to low. Also, with some horizon hugging clouds it was not to be. With a waxing moon though, hopefully I will have some clear nights for the next couple of weeks to get going.

So giving up on the moon it was over to Cygnus and then down to Albireo. It’s a beautiful double star with striking colour contrast between the pair. A larger yellow star paired to a smaller blue one. I attempted some photos but I had forgotten to charge the camera battery so photography tonight was not on the cards.

Next I located Vega in the constellation Lyra. I attempted the double double but was unable to resolve them. Splitting Epsilon Lyrae is simple at low magnification but splitting each 1 and 2 was not possible, will try the 2xBarlow next time. Just down from here is Stephenson 1, a small open cluster. Between the two bottom stars lies M57, the Ring Nebula. An easy target to resolve it shows up as a hazy ring with a darker centre and a hint of some colour.

Traveling further down and lying directly between Albireo and Sulafat is M56. This is a small globular cluster that was quite difficult to see. But spending some time here and with the help of some averted vision I was able make it out fairly well, a darker sky would have been better.

Next up was the constellation Ursa Major. Firstly I located the star Merak. From here it’s an easy route to M97, The Owl Nebula. Not dissimilar to M57, again a hazy ring but with two darker regions in the centre forming the eyes that give it its name. Next to this is spiral galaxy M108. A bright core could easily be mistaken for a foreground star, but with a hazy elongated structure leading away from what is obviously the stellar core this is a good little galaxy.

Staying in Ursa Major I star hopped up to Alkaid. From here it’s an easy move across to M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy. I love this one. The two bright stellar cores of M51 and its companion M51a, with a hazy spiral structure surrounding each of them and linking in the middle, M51 having the larger of the two.

  

I find that following an observing session I take a look at photos of the objects I have just viewed on the internet. For me this helps consolidate what I have been viewing, especially as some of the objects are very faint. Also, by looking at high resolution photos after I don’t have any bias when observing them, or making myself see something I now is there but when in reality I can’t quite get it.

As it was a clear day, 16^th, I got the scope out for some solar observing. There is a lot of activity going on in the Sun lately and it was no surprise to see several sunspots. The largest being AR1745. The much publicised AR1748 is just to the left and although being smaller is attracting a lot of attention because of its recent production of large solar flares.

  

Close up of AR1745.

Family, Work, Running.

Family, work then running and other stuff. That’s the order of life right now. My family comes first whatever, which is the way I want it. I put everything else aside to make sure that my time with my daughter, partner and her 2 children is not compromised. I’d like to have more family time but we make the most of what time we do have. Lots of weekend adventures doing stuff.  Second is work. I’m lucky to be where I am, being a nurse is a great job, I mean it’s a job as such that everyone needs a job, to earn money, but being a nurse is so much more. Now where to fit running into this. I work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights mostly and then Friday to Monday I have my daughter. So that doesn’t leave much time for running. So I run to and from work. At about 4.5-5miles each way it’s a nice easy distance, especially as I’ve got a 12hr night shift in a not too quiet Emergency Department.  This allows me to get a few miles in, even though it’s not a lot, when combined with my job it defiantly feels like more. I try and run around my Monday and Wednesday night shifts, so this way I am running once a day Monday to Thursday. If m not too tired then I’ll usually go for a longer run on the Thursday or Friday morning. Although the distances are not huge it does ware me out a bit. If you check out my training log on fetcheveryone you’ll see I miss some days but this is usually because I’m tired. Injury has played a part as well, so I’m always conscious not to do too much. I think work does contribute to my training for ultras though. I defiantly spend a lot of time on my feet during my shifts so 3 twelve hour shifts add on a few miles as well. So all considering, when I actually think about it I do get a lot of time on my feet, walking and running in during the week. Race wise I only have 6 planned for this year, again a sacrifice I am more than willing to make so as not to lose any family time on the weekend. I don’t feel I’m losing out or suffering as it were by restricting my running time. My last two races have been very successful so I think I must being doing ok.

 

Staying focused is hard!

I love cake, chocolate. I’m a foodie and love all food. It’s hard not being able to eat what I want when I want. I could do you know. Physically, my metabolism can cope with anything. Performance wise, it’s mostly mental how you perform. Health wise, I’m a little more conscious of what I consume. My daughter chose a smarties chocolate cake for my grans birthday. I’m sitting here looking at it out the kitchen. I’m a little hungry. It would taste nice, I know, I’ve had chocolate cake before, it’s good. Physically, I know I don’t need it. Performance wise, fast energy, but only short lasting. Health wise, full of sugar and probably not the best quality fats. But one slice isn’t going to hurt. Bearing all the above in mind I won’t eat any. Yes for those reasons, but also because I see it as a challenge. Just as I see that next hill as a challenge, just as I see the last rep as a challenge. It’s all the same. It all goes toward the relentless commitment that’s required to achieve what you want in respect of you body, your competition, and your health.

Born To Run Ultra

  I didn’t really plan on entering anything before March this year but after having a great race in December I thought why not get going in February. So the Born To Run Ultra in Llanelli fitted the bill, not too far from home and a nice easy day out distance. Training leading up to this didn’t go to well. A bit of illness in February, I little niggle in my left knee, the usual old right hip pain and not much chance to get any long runs in put a little bit of doubt in my mind as to bagging a speedy race. I knew I would be able to manage the distance but not sure if I could maintain a good pace. So I had a 7hr target in mind which meant maintaining a 10.5min mile. But a 10min pace would see me get in in just over 6.5 hours, so if I had a spurt of energy over the last couple of miles I might hit 6.5hrs or even get under. Another factor I had to assess was my new diet. I have adopted a low carb high fat diet since January. Now running back and fore work has been ok, but not being able to get any long runs in I’ve not been able to assess if I had the ability to maintain my endurance when going long.

We booked a hotel and travelled over Friday night. Up nice and early, some almonds and 2 mini pepperamis, coffee with cream, coconut oil and dark chocolate for breakfast and dressed and off.  Not far to go in the morning with the hotel only around the corner from the start. Booked myself in with the approximately 50 others ready for the off. Weather promised for a cold day with little or no rain so layers on was the plan and dumped my waterproof stuff in the car. Now even though I have been eating low carb along with several mini pepperamis and some almonds in my bag I took 2 pink lady apples and 2 GU gels just in case.

Off we went, jogging along at a comfortable pace. 5 miles in got hit by a brief flurry of snow. It was a cold day. No more snow after that and the temp did rise slightly but it couldn’t have been more than 10`C.

The course was an out and back upside down T shape which meant covering the same ground. Not the most entertaining of layouts and all on cycle path which is not what I would class as my favourite style. I think it’s defiantly an ideal first ultra, being able to know where you are at all times. The mile markers were very frequent and entertaining, each with a little anecdote.

The splits I can remember are listed below. I think I hit the first 12-13 mile marker in 2 hours. I went out with a 6-8 hour target in mind and boy did I surprise myself with my times.

26miles 4:10

35miles 5:37 (5:40)

38miles 6:03 (6:10)

39miles 6:12 (6:20)

40miles 6:19 (6:30)

Last 14 miles in 2hrs09mins

In December when I ran Ultra-Brecon 42 miler I had a couple of low points, low energy, ‘’hitting the wall’’, bonking? Well some food and GU gels worked and got me out of it. So yes I was low on energy and needed something to give me a boost. Now during that race I had been eating mostly carb based foods. And my diet in general consisted of the ‘normal’ bread, pasta, low fat that is what the standard government guidelines recommend. So when I adopted my current diet which is based on consuming a low carb high fat intake I was out to be proved wrong. Well , after this race now where I not only avoided those dreaded low energy points, it’s always going to hurt in an ultra, but ran a fast race(for me anyway), in fact probably hitting a sub 2hr half marathon at the end of a 40 miler, then I must be doing something right?

I did consume my two apples at 1.5 hours and 3.5 hours and my two gels at about 4.5 and 5.5 hours but I did increase my speed. I don’t think this s to say that I relayed on any carb intake as I had only consumed 5 mini peperamis on the hour for the first 5 hours, plus the apples. So I think my energy levels defiantly came from a more efficient fat burning capability. Could I have achieved what I did in the last few miles without those 2 gels?  My training hadn’t been the best leading up to this, not a lot of miles in February and no long runs. So my diet must have had an impact on my performance that day?

Well, I’ll continue with the low carb high fat lifestyle and see where it leads me. Hopefully my next race will go as well, a mountain ultra will really test my energy levels.

Astronomy observing session August 10th-11th 2012

Observing session August 10th-11th, from back garden, Rogerstone, Newport, South Wales.
Clear sky all evening. Warm in the day which carried through to the early hours.
I used Sky Atlas 2000.0 as my guide, taking photos of the specific area I required on my phone and using that a a hand held navigation tool, allowing me to stay at the eye piece.

I have just recieved a BST Explorer 25mm so was keen to use it, so I got the scope out in the early afternoon for some solar viewing. Some lovely large sunspots and little clusters, kids enjoyed it too (and the missis said it was ok). Packed it away then ready for the evening.

Eager to get my new eyepiece on some DSOs I aimed at Ursa Major. I know my way around this constellation pretty well now. Got Mizar and Alcor in sight then over to Alkaid and in the hunt for M51. It was still early with a little too much light still from the recently set sun so I had trouble getting there. I did attempt M101, M97 and M108, but it was the same story. So I thought I’d hop off and wait a little longer.

Back out now I noticed Cassiopeia high over the tree line and the top of  Andromeda. Haven’t seen M31 for a while so I was keen to have a look. So I aimed my scope across at a bright star to make sure the alignment was good and noticed an elongated fuzzy patch in my finder scope. I looked through my eyepiece and WOW! I accidentally stumbled upon the Double Cluster. Now, I had only recently read about this so I was  ecstatic to have seen it.  They filled the FOV at x40 and was able to focus on each separately, was great jumping between the 2. Even through my finder scope they are a great sight. I couldn’t resist getting my camera connected and taking a few snaps. Came out pretty well, a bit of trailing in a 4second exposure but nice to be able to see them whenever I want.

So over to Mirach and an easy search up to M31. Nice and clear in the finder scope. Through the eye piece  the core is really pronounced. It was still a little too bright to get the subtle shading of the outer rings, there seemed almost clear space as you approached M110. But it’s still a majestic sight.

After my fill I headed back over to the Double Cluster. I took this in again for a little while. So I got my bearings and hopped over to M76. What a great little nebula, even at x40 you can make out the round shape which appeared slightly oval. Up to x80 and although still small,with some averted vision to help its a great view.
Heading back to the Double Cluster my next target was M103. En route though there are a number of star clusters in the vicinity so I checked a few of these out. I do like star clusters, the thought of all those stars so “close” together, just imagine being in the centre of one and looking out. So up to M103. Quite a small cluster, the brightest stars forming a triangle with a lovely orange coloured star in the middle.

Across now to Hercules. Once Eta Hurculis is located its a simple trip down to M13. Easy to see in the finder scope as a large fuzzy star. I must admit I was a little disappointed with my view at x40 and x80. Easy to make out its a very dense cluster and great to actually get my eyes on it though. Will defiantly be visiting again.
From here I hopped up to M92. Very similar to M13 being a densely populated cluster. A great little view.

Next up was Lyra. Vega is easy to locate as my starting point. A nice small constellation making navigation easy, especially when the main target is M57, and it didn’t disappoint. A beautiful blue/green circle, small but very noticeable at x40 and slightly better at x80. This is my first viewing of this and have wanted to see it for a long time so I was very happy with this one.
After a while I nudged over to Sulafat and hopped down to M56. Another nice little cluster. A nice easy one to spot and great though the eyepiece. Much better at x80 and able to pick out detail with the use of averted vision.

Finally it was over to Albireo. From here I found it quite a tricky route over to M27 following some faint stars, i did attempt it before i visited Hercules earlier but got frustrated. So back again and after a couple of attempts I got there in the end. A great view of the the nebula. Not as big as M57 but it stands out great.

Was finished by 03:20, a great night with some amazing views. My BST is my first eyepiece I’ve bought. Until now I’ve been using the skywatcher 10mm, 25mm and x2 Barlow. The 10mm is not good, the 25mm is ok though but I’m glad to get a better quality one though. So all I was using tonight was the BST 25mm giving me x40 mag and the Barlow, giving me x80 mag. Next on my list is the BST 10 mm, which was really needed tonight. But still managed to make out all of my targets.
Total haul of 9 Messiers and 1 Caldwell.

I got to view 2 planes as well. First was early evening and caught it in my finder scope then followed it through the eyepiece, close up view of the engines and wings. The second I was attempting M51 when out of no where this large wing and engine just whizzed across my eyepiece, it really caught me by surprise! When I looked up it was very surreal to see its path going through exactly where I was observing, all the sky and our points crossed.

Endurance Life Real Relay

So after participating in an endurance life event I pushed the like button on Facebook and have since recieved updates of what they’re up to. So when I saw a little caption stating that they were working on something ground brakingly massive and details would be revealed soon I was extremely intreaged and watched their page with great interest for the following days. And so it was, the Real Relay was introduced and I knew I had to be involved. Originally a rhondda boy but now living in rogerstone, newport i was game for any stage around there. So as I waited for the stages near to me to be released I was dissapointed to see that as the baton was coming to my local areas as I was working nights, so I’d either be working 19:00-07:00 or catching up on some sleep ready for the next shift, Bugger! But to add to that dissapointment I logged on too late after those stages were released and missed my chance, or so I thought. I looked back and noticed that stages 67 and 68 had been empty for a while so I got onto a colleague of mine, Kiel Finiak, who is just starting to get into running and hatched a plan. I was scheduled to work 19:00 to 01:00 on the Saturday night so we worked out that I would finish my shift then pick Kiel up eu route, sorted. So we both logged on and signed up for the 2 consecutive stages, Kiel running stage 67-Preston cross to Ross-on-wye and myself running stage 68-Ross-on-wye to Monmouth.
So I put my running kit in the car and went off to work, thankfully not too busy especially being a Saturday night in A&E! Went to pick Kiel up and drove to Preston cross to the arranged meeting point for Kiel to collect the baton at approximately 03:20. So Ed Rimmell turned up with the baton and after a couple of pictures Kiel was off down a dark, wet, foggy lane. I followed on and chatted to him for a bit from the warmth of my car then drove off to our arranged meeting point. While driving up to Preston cross we were fortunate enough to have driven all of Kiels route so settled on a meeting point that was a petrol station going into Ross. So i went in and got some hot food and coffee and waited for Kiel. As I saw his lights in the distance I quickly got changed and ready to go. Same procedure, baton handed over, pictures taken and then it was my turn, off I went! While researching my route it is a straight line down the A40, but that is a busy dual carriageway, not at all safe for running. But, I really wanted to get a picture under the Croeso I Gymru sign bringing the baton into Wales. So I settled for the winding lanes between Ross and Monmouth but coming onto the A40 for the last couple of miles to get that photo. I’d only been running a short while when my right foot and hip started hurting, a lot. I haven’t done any running for the previous 2 weeks as I was still recovering from the Cardiff city ultra, a 50 race down the Taff trail. So heading into Ross I managed to get a bit lost in the town but was soon back on track. Having to regularly check my map to make sure I was on track came in useful as the regular walking breaks were welcome. So I spoke to Kiel as he had drove on ahead to find the border sign and said he was waiting for me. Finally turned up at the sign and got the photos, very happy.

On I went for the final couple of miles into Monmouth. Down an empty high street to meet Andrew Johnson and his girl. Got there about 06:35-40. Hand over the baton, some more pictures and it was off. So we jumped in the car and back to Newport to drop Kiel off and then home myself and straight to bed as I was back in work that night.
Was such a great feeling to be part of this, especially as I thought I was going to miss out on it, even better that I got to share the experience with a friend. I did feel weird that I had done my part in carrying the baton alone through the early morning during this stage, but to know that the event was still on going and I was heading home to bed not having another part to play. I suppose I’m used to going for a run and completing a set distance to the finish, but none the less I’m so proud to be a link in this chain.
So that was me done, or so I thought. Over the next few weeks I kept an eye on its progress, watching as people picked up the empty stages and coverage of this in the media grew. Plans were starting to emerge regarding the finish in the Olympic stadium. I signed the petition and got others to do so too. But deep down, even with MPs getting involved I knew it would be a no go into the stadium just days before the start of the games, especially for a large crowd, but I was hoping they would let maybe one person, maybe the organiser, run the baton into the stadium. When the final stages were released I didn’t really think about doing it, but a close friend was home, in london, from working abroad so I took the opportunity to kill two birds. I hopped on the megabus on Saturday morning and headed for the big smoke. Was great to see my mate, went out for a “few” drinks and some food on Saturday evening, i do love london town. I only signed up for the final 5 miles as I had not run since my last stage because it turned out I had a stress fracture in my right foot following my ultra in may. I was glad with my decision to only do the last 5 as it turned out to be a hot day and i was a little hung over! So I got the tube down to tower bridge. There was already a few people there waiting there and we all got chatting. London was packed with people and as our numbers grew you could tell this was going to be epic! Then heading towards us you could see a large crowd of runners following 2 large endurance life flags, the baton had arrived. Some more pictures of all of us then off we went. It was very cool running across tower bridge watching the hoards of people parting way to let us past, lots of encouragement along the way, it was brilliant! A few stops along the way to let everyone catch up, lots of pictures en route. I mostly ran alone just soaking it all up, occasionally chatting to people though. So we finally ran out of victoria park and up to the security gates leading to the stadium where it all came to an end. One of the organisers, andrew, gave a nice speech and even though it was all due to himself and especially Kate putting in a lot of work to get this thing done you could tell how much they appreciated everyones input in looking after the baton through its journey. So then it was off to westfields for a burger and beer with my mate, the the tube to victoria and the megabus back home.
It felt really good to be around some of the others that, like me, had held the baton and carried it through their stage. I think back to my stage and how humbling it was to be carrying it in the knowledge of where it had been and where it was going to go. Being in London and running with the baton again made me realise that I think the funny feeling I had when I handed over the baton all those weeks ago was that I missed it and was longing to still be running with it, that I enjoyed the solitude of my own stage but also being part of something big, nation wide big!

Astronomy observing session May 14th-15th 2012

Observing session May 14th-15^th 2012, from back garden, Rogerstone, Newport, South Wales.
Clear sky for most part, occasional groups of clouds came over head but were moving fast so cleared quickly.*
Got scope out at 20:30 to cool, fine adjustment to collimation and then aligned finder scope.*
I used Sky Atlas 2000.0 as my guide, so all chart and star numbers are in respect of that. I would take pics on my phone of the specific parts I require and use that as my guide.

First off was Venus as it was about to set behind my neighbors house so quickly got onto it. Beautiful crescent phase from the 25mm ep. In with the x2 Barlow and 10mm to see a close up of the thin slither crescent, can’t wait for June!
With Venus now below the neighbors roof I aimed at Mars. Great view of the red planet picking up on a little greyness in the center.

Chart 13
First I located Chertan in Leo. Hopped to star No.73 then too M65 and M66. Wasn’t able to get a visual on NGC3628.
Back to Chertan then down to the right following a path of 6 stars of 7-7.5th magnitude that form a sickle shape then over too star No.52. From there it’s down too M105, M95 and M96. All three in the same FOV.*

Leo was getting low now so I fancied a go at*markarian’s chain. From Vindemiatrix in Virgo I went across to star No.33, 30 and 27. Got lost here, but was starting to get a bit cold at this point so I popped inside for a warm up, I’ll probably start off with this next time.

Chart 7
From Alkaid in Ursa Major it’s easy to spot star No.24. Then down to M51.*
Back to Alkaid, across to star No.13 then up to No.21 and No.17. There’s a couple of 7-8th magnitude stars that lead to M101. Although looking back at my charts it looks easier to hop from the Mizar and Alcor system.*

By now Saturn was clear of the neighbours house so I swung the scope over to it. Great view at x200 magnification.

Chart 2
From Merak I hopped down through a couple of 7-8th magnitude stars to a small triangle of the same magnitude stars where I found M97. Back up towards Merak and M108 comes into view.

Still in Ursa Major I started at Dubhe. Hopped up to No.38 then up to VY variable star. Up above those are a triangle of 5-6th magnitude stars pointing to M81 and M82. Great view at low power in same FOV.*

It was approaching 4am by this point and the first signs of light were appearing. But I couldn’t resist going for one more faint fuzzy. So still in Ursa Major I hopped from Phad down to the left following 4 6-7th magnitude stars that curve towards No.5 then down to No.3 and then down further to a 5 star cross made up of 7-8.5 magnitude stars where M106 is located.*

So all in all a great night, although the faint fuzzies are true to their name it just blows my mind as to what im actually seeing. First session using my sky atlas 2000.0 and what a resource it is. As it is a bit big when the charts are unfolded by taking pics on my phone and zooming in was a good way of using it. Total haul of 12 messiers, 11 galaxies and one planetary nebula and 3 planets.

The Ultra Brecon 42- Winter Edition

 Alarm went off at 04:30, despite my excitement I really could have stayed in bed. After working 4 night shifts this week I could have done with the rest, but I had other things planned. Cereal and coffee then a 5 bacon rasher sandwich, not forgetting the brown sauce, and I was in my car for the hour ish trip up to the Brecon Beacons for the Might Contain Nuts Ultra Brecon 42-Winter Edition. Amazing drive up, clear night with a bright moon promised for some decent weather for the days activity, although you never can tell in the Beacons as the weather can turn pretty quickly. I arrived at Tal-y-bont, got registered, had a chat and coffee with some of the others then popped back to my car to get changed and then made my way down to the start line in the early morning mist. It was still dark but getting lighter so I didn’t bother with any lights, not many did. As we lined up, facing uphill, at the start line we got our briefing and then off we went.

 

An uphill start, just as we mean to go on.

I didn’t really have a plan in mind, just hike the hills, run what I could and walk if I needed and then hopefully bag a sub 10 hour run. Training had gone ok, mostly consisting of running back and forth work with the occasional long run when I could fit it in. I could have done with some more hill and long run sessions but with work and family sadly my running has to take a back seat. A saving grace for me is my job, working 12 hour shifts as an A&E nurse helps a lot with conditioning, lots of time on my feet!

A frosty start by the canal.

A couple of miles in I met Natalie, who I spent most of the race with. First check point came in good time, just as the sun was rising behind us. Lucky for us the low temperature had hardened the ground up a lot so I was able to keep up a good pace. Not long after CP 1 as we were descending down into a valley I came across Natalie, who had pushed ahead, with a runner on the floor. He had gone over on his ankle and couldn’t walk on it. So me and another runner Leigh got under his shoulders and helped him down, with natalie carrying his kit. 20-30mins of struggling down some steep muddy switch backs we arrived a a farm where the owner was just leaving for town and agreed to give our guy a lift. Even though us 3 were the first on scene to help the injured runner every one who passed us offered help, pain killers, gels, water and were even willing to hang around for more support or take over from us. Its humbling to be part the the ultra running scene with attitudes like that all around you. So with our guy in safe hands the 3 of us set off with some time to make up and defiantly got into race mode spending the rest of the day pushing hard to make it up. CP 2 came and went nicely and then CP3.

Tal-y-bont Reservoir. Just passed CP2, about 12miles in, 30 to go!

I had run from here to CP5 a couple of weeks ago and to say bog is an understatement. But like earlier it had hardened up nicely in the cold weather so I made some good progress over here which I was quite happy with. Even though I was feeling strong I made sure I held back and got some food down me as I knew what was coming after CP5. The format for the day had been myself pushing hard on the hills ahead of Nat and then she would overtake me on the flats or at check points where I would catch her up later on. However when she said for me to go ahead as she was filling up at CP5 I respectfully declined as I knew the ascent from Story Arms was going to be hard and it would make all the difference going at it in a pair. Well boy did I make the right decision there as having a partner for this section proved essential, we kept a good pace hiking most of it with a bit of running in the middle part that descends into a valley. I had to laugh, it was either that or cry, as we hit the turning at the top, i think we were passing the marathon mark at this point. So all down hill to CP6 and I must say that I especially can’t wait until next year to run this bit again, the decent was so scenic it was amazing, breathtaking. Only a half marathon or so to go and most of the climbing done, easy now, right? Nope. Started to feel it now, CP6 to 7 were mostly a struggle, had a couple of low points but the free gels and some food helped me to push on. These low points are always “fun”, they are what make these events worth while for me, being low on energy in the middle of nowhere all adds to the adventure. I don’t feel like that at the time though, it’s more a case of thinking of every possible way to get out of the situation. A couple of miles past CP7 I passed a guy who said we were a about 3-4 miles from the finish and that a sub 9hour finish wasn’t on the cards, I looked at my watch and saw it was 8hrs 40mins. Now I’ve run sub 20 for 3 miles easily in the past and that seemed to fix in my head and made me run hard despite how I was feeling. I knew I had no chance but still I went for it. Well I caught up with nat who had pulled away earlier, and a couple of other guys that had passed me. Then me and nat just pushed and pushed to the end, leaving the others behind and passing a couple more runners. Getting dark now we should have got our torches out but with the lights of the finish in sight we ploughed on and got home in 9hrs 15mins. Ecstatic with that time, and walking into the cafe to a round of applause felt awesome. Will book some annual leave before any future races as I felt ok after but defiantly could have done with being a bit more rested before. Nutrition wise I was quite happy. Two pink lady apples, nice and juicy. Two mini pepperamis. 5 go ahead crispy slices and yoghurt breaks, savoury but with fruit and sugar for a little lift. I never use gels but took 2 of the free GU samples they gave us, I used one and it really helped. The consistency was good and tasted ok. I’ll be ordering some for the future events.A great event with some great runners. My first MCN event and defiantly not my last, planning on doing rounds 1, 3 and 4 of their race series next year. Top marks to the MCN team for showcasing our beautiful country in this way and allowing us to experience it.