Health & Wellbeing Part 2
- Run Ultra Wales 50
- Run Ring O Fire
- Surf
- Regular yoga sessions
- 50% vegetarian
- Regular stargazing
- Cold water swimming
- 3 Peaks
- Snowdon sunrise
Ultra Wales 50
I haven't run an ultra since before the first lockdown, so I'm thinking one is long overdue. Rather than travel thousands of miles to do one, I've decided to stay local. Ultra Wales 50 starts and finishes at Coed y Brenin, a forested area largely populated by mountain bikers, and just 90 minutes drive from home.
It's not the easiest of races, with sections of it at sea level and others the summits of Cadair Idris (398m) and Rhinog Fach (712m). A total of 2,898m of ascent altogether. Fortunately (whichever way you look at it) I have some good climbing terrain on my local section of the Anglesey Coastal Path (more about that below) and Eryri / Snowdonia National Park isn't too far away.
I have 20 hours to complete the course but aiming to go quicker than that at a pace that will prove to be good training for the much longer Ring O' Fire Ultra (more about that below) which I'm entered into just 2 months later.
UPDATE - due to a knee condition showing its teeth, and ongoing physio, I have decided to pull from this race and focus on Ring O' Fire
Ring O' Fire
The Ring O' Fire Ultra is one of 2 nemeses in my life. I managed to conquer Exercise Cambrian Patrol before my military career came to an end. ROF, however, is another matter. I have tried the full distance once, back in 2016, and I crashed and burned 44 miles into day 2. That still rankles with me as, looking back, I was well within the cut offs and could have toughed it out. But I didn't.
I have entered twice more since, both times withdrawing before the start because I simply wasn't fit enough, knowing how sharp the teeth of the race are. I entered and completed the 36 mile Firelighter version, which is the first stage, but
it's not the same. I thought my chance of glory and gone as the cut-off times became more challenging and I got slower.
I had given up hope altogether until the ultra gods smiled on me and the organisers changed this year's edition to a single stage with 55hrs to complete. I was in within 2 minutes of the entry window opening!! Perversely, non-stop is more my thing and I'm actually looking forward to the experience and the ultimate feeling of never being completely defeated by anything event I have tried. Just need those Gods with me for 3 more days.
UPDATE - Despite getting myself a crew to help with fluid and nutrition and a host of other things, the aforementioned knee complaint and a total lack of training resulted in me dropping from the race after 60km.
My main strategy had been to get to the first major checkpoint where a 4hr rest window was allowed. I believed I could do that but I had started to really struggle on downhill sections and I feel I made the right decision, from a personal safety perspective, to withdraw. I have to be realistic to understand that, apart from 2 relatively short recce runs with other competitors and the 3 peaks, I just hadn't prepared anywhere near enough.
I'm sort of impressed with myself to go as far as I did, under the circumstances, but I have to accept that this is probably a race too far.
I'm still alive!
Surfing
"Surfing's the source, change your life, swear to God". My favourite line from one of my favourite films.
I'm never going to reach the levels of Bodhi or Johnny Utah but I'm convinced I can ride a wave at least once. I had a go many years ago when on holiday in St Ives and I was rubbish!! But I think, if I continue to work on my core and balance with my yoga, I can pull it off. Just need to work out where and when.
"If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price." In my case, that will be being seen in a wetsuit in public!!
UPDATE 28 JUN
So I surfed, sort of. A 2 hour beginner's lesson at Hell's Mouth/Port Neigwl taught me that I will never be a surfer. I loved the experience but, the truth is, I juts can't stand up!! Amyway the effort was made, it was a great day, and I'm claiming this task complete... bruh!!
Regular Yoga
I've pretty much nailed this one. Other than when I was in Antigua plus one other day, for some reason, I've done my regular session every morning since the beginning of November. Because I now get up a lot earlier, I'm also going to bed a lot earlier. This, in turn, means I drink less, so it's all good. Plus I'm noticing my flexibility and posture are improving and my gut is retreating. And, in my 60th year, I can put my socks on standing up. Ask around, that is no mean feat!
Become Half a Vegetarian
This is another one that I've got in the bag. Because I have developed the habit of planning the week's meals ahead, it is very easy to make sure 3 or 4 nights per week that these are veggie or even vegan in some cases. I've now got enough options to make it variable and tasty.
Because my portion control has always been terrible, there are always leftovers to put in tubs for lunches. So many days during the week will be 100% veggie without even thinking about it.
Stargazing
When I was with the Army Reserve and used to train on Tuesday evenings, this was something Claire and I would do on a regular basis, whenever there was a clear sky. Didn't matter what time of the year or how cold it was, when I got home at 23:00ish, we'd go out with a drink and sit and natter for usually around 2 hours. We saw some fantastic skies due to there being next to no light pollution where I live. Occasionally, it would be so clear that we could see the Milky Way with the naked eye. We also saw many shooting stars.
The clear skies are still there but I'm usually inside and into an evening routine so tend to forget to have a peek outside. This peek will now be part of that routine.
The very short video clip above came from me setting up my Google Pixel 8a to take a 5 minute exposure. Somehow it managed to capture a shooting star; don't know how or why, but it pleased me immensley!!
Cold Water Swimming
Cold water. Even the words make me shiver!! I bought a recovery pod sometime ago which I fill with cold water and added ice to ease my aching muscles after a long run. I even thought about using it for a morning dunk. All of these things can be done within the warmth of the house and I still hate it.
So, why on God's green Earth, would I want to swim in the stuff? I don't even stand up on my paddleboard in case I fall in!!
But, it's supposed to be extremely good for circulation, which is very important as you get older. I've got all the gear, including neoprene, gloves socks and hat so I've sort of backed myself into a corner.
Start Monday!!
Well Monday came and went but finally got out on 13 Apr on a reasonably sunny, yet cold day and made the first entry. With wetsuit plus neoprene gloves and socks, this was actually quite comfortable. Head was dipped a few times to get the effect of the cold. See video
Been a couple of other times since the first effort and have discovered that it's not awful enough that I won't want to do it again, so I'm claiming this as complete. Post October might be a challenge though!!
3 Peaks Challenge
Ben Nevis
I'm planning the big yin first, purely because it's the furthest away and this will allow me to finish on my doorstep, relatively speaking.
It's a good 8+ hours up to Fort William and the start of the ascent so I'll need to plan a day of driving before even starting the challenge.
At 4,400ftasl, Ben Nevis is comfortably Britain's highest peak so it will be good to get that out of the way first.
The Result
So, Ben Nevis was bagged as planned on the Saturday morning, without any dramas. We never realised that you start at see level, which made it a long way up. Certainly worth the effort and we were incredibly lucky with weather and views from the top (see below). Coming down did not prove too much of a hardship - we had been told that some people exert so much effort getting up that mountain rescue have to help them down!!
The drive to Scafell was without issue and we arrived at the Wasdale Inn campsite, not quite early enough to get a meal but early enough to get a couple of beers before bedding down for an early start.
I was awakened at 04:00 by the sound of rain on canvas, which refused to stop and was accompanied by clag right down to ground level. As neither of us had been up the peak before, and didn't know what to expect , we decided to postpone this and, ultimately Yr Wyddfa on safety grounds.
I returned alone to Wasdale Head the following weekend, this time early enough for some very nice scoff and made the ascent the following morning. I had been led to believe that there were navigation challenges to this peak, which is partly why we didn't go up the previous week. It turned out that there is a well marked track the whole way and, where the track does disappear slightly, there are plenty of cairns to lead the way. The summit is a bit underwhelming but still managed to get a couple of good snaps in the clouds!
The drive to Llanberis was horrendous with lots of delays on the M6 and A55. It was gone 16:00 by the time I started my way up Yr Wyddfa via the Llanberis Path tourist route. This was only the second time I had used this path and forgotten how long it actually was. And, because I had started so late, there was the advantage of not going up with hordes of others. This being the main reason I don't go near Yr Wyddfa anymore but was prepared to tolerate them to get this element ticked off
So, I completed the 3 Peaks, albeit not as a 24hr challenge, which I never intended to do anyway. As a brief review of the attraction of each, I would definitely like to do Scafell again as it is more isolated than the mass tourism of Ben Nevis and Yr Wyddfa.
Scafell Pike
I'm aiming to box off Ben Nevis and get to Cumbria in the same period of daylight, with the intent of starting Scafell Pike (not to be confused with plain old Scafell) at day break. It's the short arse of the peaks but, what it is lacking in inches, it makes up in gradient. Relentlessly steep, hard and rocky is how t'inernet describes it!!
Yr Wyddfa
The local hero, Wales's tallest mountain and the scene for throngs of hikers throughout the year. Ordinarily I won't go near the place but, on this occasion, I will have no choice.
The plan for this one is to summit Scafell Pike, drive to Eryri and hike up Yr Wyddfa in the darkness. If the mountain gods are with me, this will also let me tick off the last thing on this section - the Eryri sunrise.
Snowdon Sunrise
Despite my English heritage, I actually prefer the use of the mountain's Welsh name. But in this instance, the long standing English name rolls better in the header.
I have ascended Yr Wyddfa/ Snowdon many times before being put off by legions of tourists queuing from far back just to get the summit selfie. I don't begrudge them as it is a big thing for many but they just clog up the mountain for me. I have always preferred the Carneddau range on the other side of the A5 to be honest, so there isn't any FOMO on my part.
One thing I have never done though is experience a sunrise from the summit, which from pics I've seen, is a sight to behold.
Hopefully I will get the opportunity at the back end of the 3 Peaks challenge, meaning I'll only need to make the trip once. But, if not, the mountain weather forecast is usually pretty good so I'm confident of knocking this one off.