Petestack Blog

Time to try the Mizuno Wave Harriers, and a nice wee outing up Binnein Beag looked like some good ground to give them a whirl… but I swear that my subsequent ascent of Sgurr Eilde Mor and descent to Luibeilt (what, Luibeilt, again?) formed no part of the original plan!

Now, Binnein Beag is a great wee peak, but surprisingly far from anywhere with a lengthy approach on (mostly) good paths from Kinlochleven and a shorter, but tortuously rough, alternative from the top car park in Glen Nevis. So I took the Wave Harriers, popped in my newest orthotics, laced them up and set off up the killer climb to An Cumhann (northern flank of Meall an Doire Dharaich), surprising myself by running it all (which I’ve done before, but is neither as quick nor as efficient as walking the worst bits). And then a wee voice told me if I could do that I could probably keep running all the way up to Coire an Lochain. So I did. And then a wee voice told me if I could do that I might be able to run all the way to the summit of Binnein Beag. So I did, although I was struggling up the steepest parts of the final cone. Not the quickest or most efficient way to get there but, as good self-discipline in training and an interesting test of fitness (passed!), all good fun. Then I stopped to refuel (92 calorie cereal bar + water), recover and adjust my laces to get a really tidy fit at the heels before starting to pick my way down the rocky summit cone at a pace that might well have been slower than my ascent.

So what to do next? Well, I’d given some thought to extending the mileage through the circular tour round Sgurr Eilde Mor and was still considering just returning by my outward route when a wee voice told me that I’m supposed to be training for a big ultra, not going for a picnic, and climbing Sgurr Eilde Mor to pick up the circular path on the way down might be more appropriate. So off I went, although (feeling virtuously wasted by my run up Binnein Beag) I did let myself walk a fair bit of the ascent this time. And then I set off quite gently down the long north-east ridge (still some snow here, though not in anything like the quantities Binnein Mor’s still holding) with a clear view of Luibeilt to set that wee voice nagging again… ‘you’d like to do this whole ridge, wouldn’t you, but don’t want to go all the way to Luibeilt again… not when that means running seven miles of track to get home?’ So, guess what, the wee voice got its way and I was soon plodding through the bog to Luibeilt, after which I thought I’d better pick up the pace and started working a bit harder (see those arrows on the map stretching out?) to get that seven-mile track bash out of the way. A good afternoon’s work at 19 miles and c.5,700 ft of ascent, with some hard running, some jogging and some (whisper it softly!) just ambling along.

And what of the Wave Harriers (main reason for taking some proper hill ground this time out)? Well, on the basis that I’ve just put 19 miles on them out of the box with no problems, I’d have to give them the thumbs up. Thought when I set out that the heels might be just a tad sloppy when everything else seemed perfect, but my feet soon expanded to fill them (no way I could go down half a size) and the relacing on Binnein Beag got them really secure. Might have expected my bunion to rub when there’s reinforcing webbing over the mesh uppers just where it’s pushing against the side of the shoe, but the skin’s still intact there. And the studded soles seemed to cope with most steeper grass and heather (took a couple of slides on some very wet stuff) without being too sensitive for bashing along rough landrover track, so that’s good. Would I run a Tranter’s Round in them? Yes, I think they’d be well suited to that. And a Ben Nevis Race? Very possibly, if I ever get a place again. Are there still alternatives I might like to try sometime? For sure, but these suit me better than most of the hill/trail shoes I’ve tried. And will I be buying any more Inov-8s? Hmmm, never say never, but I’m not seeing that right now.

So I bought all these sale-price shoes a few weeks ago, but the Flyrocs were a mistake and I doubt I’ll be buying any more Inov-8s. Fortunately, however, I’ve found a buyer for the unused Flyrocs and got myself a pair of Mizuno Wave Harrier 2s instead. A shoe that I thought worth trying after hearing good things from Iain Ridgway before tracking down a solitary sale pair in (last year’s?) yellow at £40 + P&P from Achilles Heel in Glasgow. And, when I say a solitary pair, I mean that the only available pair at that price just happened to be my size (11.5 UK/46.5 Euro, which luckily appears to be a perfect match for my 11 UK/46.5 Euro Asics when Iain tells me he takes a 10 UK in both and I’d probably have been looking for an 11 if I’d been thinking straight!). So they arrived today, fit comfortably out of the box, take my custom orthotics very nicely and appear to suit my broad, ugly and congenitally abnormal feet better than any Inov-8 or Walsh. Meaning that, for the first time in ages, I’ve actually got some serious off-road shoes I might prefer to my Asics for the kind of terrain where I’m needing serious off-road soles!

So that’s the shoes, and I’m looking forward to trying these ASAP. But I was also going to talk about my orthotics, because I just got a new pair to supplement my now well-worn original two with this year’s ultras in mind, and can get another if I order the insoles myself (which I’ve been attempting to do, but not yet found available to non ‘healthcare professionals’) and give them to the podiatrist for modification. Speaking of which, it’s worth noting that, with the crucial 7° (might even be 8°) wedges on the existing pairs holding up remarkably well but the rest of the insoles starting to go after a good couple of years, I did discuss the possibility of me reusing said wedges on stock insoles and wasn’t told not to (just that I’d lose some of the advantages of the medical ones if I did). Something else I’d never noticed before lining up all the insoles to photograph tonight is that the grey and beige components of the wedges on my existing pairs have been layered the opposite way round, but can truthfully say after so many miles on both pairs that I’ve never noticed a difference in performance between them. What’s potentially most significant of all to me, however, is whether they’re going to spare me the injury problems I had both before and (for a long time) after the 2007 WHW Race when I never had them and didn’t even know I needed them. And, you know what, something’s telling me they might just!

Most of my regular runs have names, or at least labels I use to identify them for logging purposes. But I don’t really know what to call tonight’s (to Loch Eilde Mor by Leitir Bo Fionn and back by the big hairpin, Mamore Lodge, mast and West Highland Way) except ‘nine mile loop’… because it’s measuring exactly nine miles door-to-door and none of those features actually distinguish it from several other circuits I’ve already got named for them. However (whatever it’s called), it was just good to get out when I never got out Monday (combination of feeling lousy and heavy rain) or Tuesday (feeling worse) and, while one rest day might be desirable and two tolerable for a good reason (like picking up an annoying cold), three’s starting to sound a bit worrying! So happy to report that I’m feeling a bit better now (despite coughing a bit when I got in) after covering the nine mile loop (with c.2,000 ft ascent) in under 87 mins, which doesn’t feel like hanging about on that terrain.

Wanting a good run this afternoon but not sure what to make of a strange day (alternating sunshine and heavy showers), I settled on a fine-looking scenic route to Luibeilt over the isolated Corbett of Glas Bheinn (which I’m afraid to say I’d only been up once long before my serious running days) and back by the track. And how inexplicably I’ve neglected Glas Bheinn when its otherwise undistinguished profile makes for gloriously carefree hill running, with gentle gradients and accommodating surfaces combining to keep the ascent, continuation north-east over Carn Dearg and descent from Ceann Caol na Glas-bheinne all very, very runnable. So the final approach to Luibeilt might be as soggy as anyone who knows this area would expect, but it’s still an absolute peach of a run and one that I’m sure to be doing again!

It’s also been another good week, with 50 miles of running and 30 of mountain biking (all proper off-road stuff demanding some serious effort) so far making a very satisfactory follow-up to last week’s 90 running miles with a day still to go (fancy the bike again tomorrow if it’s nice). Not going to pretend I’m never tired or haven’t been falling asleep at some odd times (which I’m quite capable of anyway!) but, once I get out there and (usually) through the first big climb, I’m still generally feeling strong and able to push myself quite hard. :-)

Must be about a week of dry, spring weather we’ve had now, and those hill tracks and paths below the retreating snowline all seem to be in just about optimum running condition. So tonight I headed up to Loch Eilde Mor via the Grey Mare’s, then over Meall na Cruaidhe to the Dam and back by the Ciaran Path to give me a very runnable 11.9 mile circuit with great views all round but especially towards the Grey Corries (still holding fair quantities of snow), two Buachailles and more distant Schiehallion. Also noted that I was feeling strong after a rest day followed by two evenings mountain biking, so won’t hesitate to mix some more cycling into the ‘programme’ when I’m needing a change or simply feel like some fun. :-)

To the non-runners among you, it’s not what you think! A runners’ bonk (aka hitting the wall) is basically grinding to a halt when you run out of fuel, as might happen when you’re nearly finished that afternoon double crossing of Rannoch Moor you set out to do without any lunch, in which case you probably deserve it…

So I’m on my second week of holiday and (freed by the forecast from imminent climbing or walking plans) chasing a 70 mile target for the week. Which starts well with 30 miles salvaged from the rain over Monday and Tuesday, and continues with this daft notion of breaking the back of it by running another 25 miles over the Moor from Kings House to Rannoch Station and back (which I might have saved for Thursday or Friday to give myself a rest and let the ground dry out a bit, but decided to chance on a fine-looking Wednesday afternoon). All well and good but for the 1:16pm start with just a banana eaten since breakfast, but I’m feeling strong at Rannoch (where I drink my bottle of water and eat my two cereal bars before turning for home) and most of the way back before hitting a bit of a wall with just two or three miles to go. And the reason? Not enough fuel, I guess, but I’m partially revived by thoughts of more liquid and another two bananas in the van and get there in the end. 4hrs 40mins for the 25 miles, which doesn’t sound that fast but really isn’t too bad at all when the central section of ‘path’ between the good tracks at either end is heavy going (tip… if you lose the path, as I did on the way out, make for the telegraph poles to locate it again). So that’s that, I did it and can afford to take the rest of the week a little easier now. Except that I’m now thinking of 80 miles, but can’t see another 25 in four days being that much harder than another 15!

When I bought my Forerunner 310XT, I also decided to get the new soft-strap heart rate monitor, and said (in my brief 310XT review) that ‘The new soft-strap heart rate monitor is nice and was worth getting even though the 305’s monitor will work.’ But I’m not so sure now, and thinking of trying the old one again because the new one seems more temperamental and has quite simply been telling me lies today (see trace below, where I was attempting to maintain a heart rate in the low 130s but it’s trying to tell me I was hitting 160s and more, which I can pretty well only do in a flat-out sprint, between 2:00:00 and 2:30:00!). Now, the old one also tended to produce an early spike (although never the monster spike-and-dip this one gave me on Saturday) but thereafter stayed wholly reliable for the rest of the run, and that’s what I need for my ultra-marathon pacing. So I’ve got to work out why the new one’s tending to lie after a while (seems like it might simply not be maintaining such good body contact, but that’s not good enough if it’s going to keep happening) or get the old HRM going again.

Must also just revisit one other Forerunner feature before moving on, and that’s the altitude readings (as already briefly discussed in another blog post). On which note, I discovered changes to Garmin Connect when I uploaded today’s run, with ‘Elevation Corrections’ now enabled by default and defined (to paraphrase a wordy explanation) as your GPS positions cross-referenced with elevation data from professional surveys to give you more realistic figures. And they’re certainly quoting you significantly reduced elevation gain and loss (maybe too much in some cases, which makes me wonder how many points of reference they’re using) when it’s enabled, because I tried it both ways with tracks from several runs.

And so to ‘ringing the changes’, which is just a way of suggesting that I’m trying to get away from constant repetition of my old stalwart routes (even though I ran one of them twice yesterday!) and get out to enjoy a more varied programme now that I’m on holiday for a fortnight and longer evenings are here until the big race. So this afternoon I tried an anticlockwise loop from the forestry west of Ballachulish along the partially completed cycleway (very nice while it lasted) towards Duror, then up Glen Duror through trees and snow to Gleann an Fhiodh and back by Ballachulish. Which came in at 15.6 miles and a fair bit of ascent including some curious diversions through the Glen Duror forest, where I’d planned to take the LH track the whole way if I could locate it above Lagnaha but things weren’t always quite as straightforward (they rarely are with forestry) as you’d think from the map!

No, I haven’t being buying more shoes since yesterday! But I’ve been out again in the same ones, trying the same HRM pacing trick on a 14 mile round trip to Luibeilt that starts with a climb I’d rate more severe than any on the West Highland Way. So perhaps it was a mug’s game trying to keep to 125 when I was backing off big time and even 130 was only giving me an average of 2.9 mph up that first, steep mile, but the ease with which I was able to maintain mid to high 120s for the rest of the course suggests that I’m still running well within myself at that, which is basically what I was wanting to know. Since it also took the remaining 13 miles to drag the average speed up to just 5.4 mph, and said average was clearly still affected by two short stops (to don Pertex smock and trousers when the weather turned nasty and remove an annoying stone from my shoe), it seems stupefyingly obvious that you can never regain what you lose by moving too slowly (as likely to result from setting out too quickly and blowing up later as being too cautious early on) or not at all. Which leaves a WHW race strategy based on perfect pacing and minimal stopping (neither of which I achieved last time) looking crucial if I’m to hit my target (which I still regard as ‘on’!).

Might just add that the two obvious heart rate ‘spikes’ late on (approaching and starting the final descent) are possibly rogue readings and the Gel-Enduros seemed little more secure (although certainly no slippier) than standard road shoes on that same descent (which I’ve covered significantly faster with more serious studs and attitude to match!).

Since I’m running on rough ground all the time, pushing my road shoes beyond their designed remit on almost every outing and like to have several viable pairs on the go, I rarely buy running shoes a pair at a time. So, with the mileage steadily building towards June’s West Highland Way Race, my last two pairs of Asics GT-2130s becoming ever more bashed up and most of my existing off-road alternatives somewhat out of favour, I really needed to stock up, spent part of Monday evening trawling the net for good deals (aka sale prices) and now have five new pairs of shoes!

So what did I get, and why?

• Two pairs of Asics GT-2150s because (bar a single failed experiment with ill-fitting Saucony Hurricanes in 2006), Asics 2000 series have served so well as my ‘main’ shoes over the years that I’ll quite happily take a new pair of UK 11/Euro 46.5s out of the box and run 30 miles or more in them just like that. But these are my first black ones (chosen because the white ones might as well start black with the usage they get from me!).
• Two pairs of Asics Gel-Enduro 5s because I’ve kept looking for road-type shoes (which are generally kinder to my funny feet) with trail-type sole patterns, these were pretty cheap and (despite what I’d call a fairly ‘token’ trail sole compared to more specialist designs) had to be worth a gamble. Also in black, and maybe that little bit more ‘appropriate’ to some of my rougher local courses.
• A pair of Inov-8 Flyroc 310s because they were also on sale and, out of the many different Inov-8 hill and trail shoes I’ve owned, the similar (but slightly heavier) Terroc 330s have probably fitted said funny feet best. To which I might add that the Gel-Enduros seemed a bigger gamble because I was banking on the fit being similar to my previous Asics 2000 series, and thought I was on pretty safe ground with the Flyrocs because all those different Inov-8s I’ve owned (think that’s Mudrocs, Mudclaws, Roclites and two pairs of Terrocs) have been UK 11.5/Euro 46.5s. But the Flyrocs are maybe feeling just a little short at that (although maybe still OK with a bit of wear since they’re not looking any shorter than my existing Mudclaws and Roclites), whereas I took out a pair of the Gel-Enduros today, popped in my magic insoles (with the 7° sideways slope!), ran 17.2 miles on the West Highland Way and was well pleased with them.

Now that’s the shoes dealt with, what about the heart rate? Well, being absolutely convinced that 90% of the WHW field are setting off too fast and even pace (or perhaps more accurately even effort) will get you there quicker in the end, today’s run was an exercise in maintaining an even level of effort by monitoring my heart rate (IMHO so much better suited to this aim on anything other than flat courses than going by either minutes-per-mile pace or simply gut feeling). Which is basically what I did for the first 19 miles of the 2007 race (so who remembers that ‘four hours to Balmaha’ mantra?) before starting to let gut feeling interfere with the HRM’s infallible judgement. So today I was trying to keep the heart rate to something approaching (or just above) ultra-marathon rate, set a top alarm for 125 and lower alarm for 115 and happily achieved exactly what I wanted in covering the ground (from Blackrock Cottage to Inveroran and back) well quicker than I’ll need for the race while having to keep backing off to stay below my chosen upper limit. Which hopefully both makes this limit sustainable through some longer training runs and suggests that whatever sustainable limit I set myself for the big race should still produce the pace I need over the long run. And that would be the end of today’s story but for the late decision to make Inveroran rather than Victoria Bridge my turning point leading to a serendipitous meeting with WHW record holder Jez Bragg and friends there. So I stopped to chat for five minutes (about, amongst other things, his winter WHW run in December) before leaving to get running again when my heart rate had dropped to 75 and lips probably started to turn blue. And arriving home to open Jez’s blog account of that winter run and receive an email from Murdo McEwan (who was involved in it) about his published account of the very same. Now, how amazing is that?

To anyone interested in the heart rate trace below, I’d say ignore the opening spike and succeeding drop (causing false readings for longer than normal until I stopped to wet the HRM band), but note the evenness thereafter which brought me home on a predominantly uphill leg not much slower than I went out!