Another trip to the excellent Derwentwater Independent Hostel with the High Terrain Events crew was always going to be a superb weekend but I think this one was the best yet…Except for the fact that Scotty J (Swoon Swoon) wasn't there of course.
I didn't arrive till early Saturday morning, I didn't want to push my luck too much with two nights away. I am informed that the group had a lovely summer evening run down the lakeshore towards Keswick and then an evening looking at training programmes and Q and A with the lovely Ricky Lightfoot.The weather driving up to the Lakes on Saturday morning was rather blustery and this was the dominant weather for the weekend. I arrived early enough for breakfast…..of course. Then was introduced to the group and we all got kitted up and headed off for a nice long run up some big hills.
As usual my attention to the surroundings was minimal and I probably couldn't really tell you where we went. But Mr Mulvey will let me know so I can add the route details. We covered part of the Scafell Trail Marathon route (Excellent race if anyone fancies a tough route in June) and the group ran at a good strong pace. We collected our Mountain Guide Murphy at Seathwaite????(I may be very very wrong!) and carried on up towards Scafell and Sty Head. The winds were incredibly strong and it was strange running and actually being blown off course and not fully being in control of where my feet were about to land.It was a cold and windy day so we didn't undertake navigation on this run just continued to get miles under our belts and a great time was had by all. It was great to have Ricky with the group offering advice and chatting whilst we ran. Ian as always was ever ready with the camera and has an array of superb photos from the weekend.
We returned to the Hostel about 2.00pm and were grateful for lovely warm showers. The food at the Hostel is amazing and really caters for runners with large appetites…..two cakes for lunch….need I say more? I was struggling a little bit with a tight groin so was looking forward to doing some stretches to try and help it. Also a little visit to Duncan my super Physio at Athlete Matters on Wednesday should see me right for the Ultra at the weekend.After lunch we did a session on Core work and stretching lead by myself which I enjoyed! I think people maybe hadn't been introduced to glutes before and we did some nice exercises to stretch out those glutes which were tight from the big hills!
I t was funny listening to the moans of pain from Simon Banks and Ian Mulvey…..our fit and healthy guides……….
Not to mention the "ouch" cries from Mr L himself ;-)
We had a discussion session on Nutrition and Fueling for long runs…I think there were a lot of 9bar fans after the weekend……and a big thank you to 9bar for providing plenty of scrummy tasty bars for us to munch.
We then looked at a range of training plans and how people train differently and the way people fit training into their lives. I always enjoy this session and for me over the last few months I've had to really adapt my training to try and fit in looking after Juliet and not abandoning her every weekend to go the the lakes.
In the evening we tested out Headtorches on Walla Crag and the wind was again fierce and I was a little more than relieved to get back unscathed. A huge tasty tea followed and then I think I vanished off to bed about 10pm.
There were rumours of a Gruffalo in the hostel wearing a pair of pants during the night……but I am unaware if the rumours have been confirmed.
Bright eyed and bushy tailed we rose on Sunday morning for a session combining running, navigating, ascending and descending techniques.
We were expecting the wind to have dropped bout actually it hadn't dropped much. Another excellent session though with great coaching advice from Paul Wathan topped off an excellent weekend.
After that it was back for another Runners lunch and then fill in evaluation forms and head off home. I think everyone who took part got a lot from the event and I certainly enjoyed myself. Running, meeting new people and eating good food. PERFECT.
If you fancy being part of the next one High Terrain are planning another one in November....or take a look at their website for a range of excellent events.
