Pen yr Ole Wen

Peak: Pen yr Olau Wen
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
A ferocious northerly made life very hard this morning, along with drifting and unconsolidated snow. There was no prospect of climbing, although all the peaks were clear first thing and conditions looked good for a long walk round the Carneddau ridges. The reality was somewhat different - a familiar feeling, as Steve and I trudged up the East ridge, some very deep snow drifts in places. Tiring progress, although it was at least relatively sheltered until we emerged on the plateau towards the summit. This got even worse as we made our way across the ridge to Dafydd - the wind and windchill as bad as I have known it in 32 years. Not necessarily the worst, but as bad! Onward progress was impossible as we were getting blown off our feet in the wrong (southerly) direction. So the only option (communicated by pre-arranged hand gestures!) was a direct descent down to Ogwen cottage, which at least made for a nice little traverse. I rarely use this route, as it's a notorious slog in ascent, but it is quick - even in these unconsolidated conditions with frequent waist-deep drifts. Back to the car via the lake.

Tattenhall border league

Race: Tattenhall 9.8k (Border League race 4)
Time/Position: 38.20 (72nd from 372)
My 500th competitive race, so an anniversary of sorts, although I hate to think how slow my 1000th will be if this trajectory continues. Still hopeful that resuming speed training will help avoid the kind of situation I found myself in again today, really struggling to maintain any kind of pace. It's one of my favourite BL routes, but this was by far the slowest I've ever run it. Conditions weren't great, with a strong headwind on the run-in, although it was a great help for the long climb up to the Peckforton Hills at Burwardsley. The long straight back to the finish was tough, with my lack of speed really showing: unable to stay with any groups so constantly exposed to the headwind. Kate and I then had lunch at the Pheasant, followed by a very windy walk along the Sandstone Trail.

Dash in the Dark

Race: Dash in the Dark, Llandegla, race 3 (4m/700ft)
Time/Position: 28.03 (7th from 89)
Having missed the first two races this season, it was nice to be able to squeeze this one in: I've been doing these night-time winter fell races for many years, and always enjoy them. With no speed, I just treated it as a session and tried to keep a reasonable pace ticking over. Conditions were standard: fairly mild, all the recent snow gone, moist underfoot but not unusually so. A giant chip bap at the Rose and Crown was a nice way to recover.

Chester-Moel Famau run

You might as well make ultra training interesting, so linear runs with an obvious target make sense. I'd hatched a vague plan to run from my office to the top of Moel Famau a few months ago (it is always visible on the horizon from the Chester campus) and conditions were ideal today: cool, dry underfoot, a gentle breeze. I set off at a gentle pace, skirting the Roodee to pop out in Saltney. Then comes the worst section: along the cycle path by the main road to Broughton. Resisting the temptation to jog home, I finally left the main road and continued up the Warren along the edge of the Hawarden woods to cross the A55 by the footbridge. Then comes the Dirty Mile through Dobshill and up to Buckley, and another change of atmosphere. Moel Famau now in front, of course, and another section run hundreds upon hundreds of times before. Fast running for the drop down into Mold, then the gradual climb up to Gwernymynydd. My plan had been to wait for the usual Friday night Collie run, but I reached Cadole in two hours, quicker than anticipated, so continued up after dumping my sac in the Collie toilets. I got it into my head that sub-3 hours would be a good target, and tried to get to the summit without switching the headtorch on. Down to the Alyn, along the Leat, then the 'classic route' to the summit: reaching it in atmospheric conditions just as the last light faded (2.54 from the middle of Chester). The descent was a tad more painful, on tired legs.