REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
INGLETON WATERFALLS
Mainly because of the below average and at best, barely average, results accumulated so far this Spring, the actual enjoyment of training and racing has been missing. For a time consuming, energy sapping pass time like running, enjoyment is undoubtedly a major factor in whether or not there is a point to it all. For me, a big part of the enjoyment of running these days is about proving a point to myself that in fact I am not at the knackers yard yet, that there is still a solid period where I can really get stuck in to some races and do myself a bit of justice. Right now, my body continues to protest and even easy runs have felt like really hard work. Infact I haven't really felt fully awake for at least a month! It could be the really warm weather which is now in to it's fourth week, perhaps a pollen allergy... but it can't be that cholesterol thing as I've been eating with intense saturated fat awareness for a whole year now like a good boy, and it's not too much mileage because I know in my heart of hearts I'm not quite doing enough - and that's the catch - I need to, but feel I'm not capable. Trying to fish a way around this by limiting training runs to fairly short distances but mixed with intensive climbing, keeping the length of off-road interval reps down to 400 metres - this doesn't seem to be working either. It just feels like I'm running myself in to a big crevice of knackeredness.
Knackered or not, I'm just going to keep on racing through the Summer and hope something clicks. It was back to Ingleton for a crack at the Waterfalls trail race with a day spent almost as identical to my last visit here twelve months ago. Family walk around the falls during the day in even warmer conditions this time, followed by chippy tea (I saved most of mine for later, again) then the race, renamed from Ingleton Scenery to the more self explanatory Ingleton Waterfalls. I suppose I'd got a bit of a thing going on in my head that I ought to smash last year's time given that I have a hat full of races behind me compared to this time last year. But it was really still quite warm and humid at 7:30pm and in any case on recent form, chasing times or going off hard was never going to work for me. I set out at a reasonable clip and with most of the uphill work done at Thornton Force, I found myself eighth. But it took a good quarter of a mile for my legs to finally engage in to some sort of efficient stride as we headed in to the faster latter half of the course. Once past a lad who was struggling a bit after taking an earlier tumble on the limestone cobbles, there was only the yellow and green vest of Keswick and a red t-shirt in my eye shot now but with some serious work to do to have any hopes of catching them. Where the might of Ingleborough comes in to view and the descent to the Eastern section of falls begins, over the brow of the drop I noticed the two guys ahead had followed the main zig-zagged path rather than the grassy direct route marked and I made up some good yardage on them here. Once it get's all windy and technical again by the falls, I got right behind them and with a thorough lack of confidence, decided to bide my time before making a move. Besides, the pressure was on them for as long as I stuck to their tail. Eventually though I had to make a move, sneaking by the Keswick runner at the bottom of some steps and then gambling a shorter line over some exposed tree roots and limestone roughness to nip ahead of man in red. He wouldn't be shaken though initially, but my head took charge of proceedings here with some tactical ingenuity rather than petulance and indiscipline as displayed a week previously. Before the waterfall trail meets the end of the main tree line, there is a section of very slight incline and I admit to taking it easy here, sandbagging and allowing red man to come by just before the gate to the old quarry. No point in killing myself here, and expecting him to take the slightly lower path from the gate - which he did - I stayed high and cut in front again. Up to fifth place now and with some reserves left in the tank, I wasn't going to let it slip. Forget times, this was all about racing the race. I gradually cranked it up from there and put a comfortable distance between us. Although bemused at the finish by my time which was ten seconds slower than 2017, I had to be happy with the way I had run the race and finally been able to engage the gearing system rather than running the whole way around gritting my teeth. I'll say it quietly after a low key race like this one, but it was also only my second time finishing as a first over 40. Reasons to be cheerful and enough to try again next week when I will be repeating another race from last year that I simply have to go back to - Blencathra.

Thursday 31st May 2018
INGLETON WATERFALLS   4.7m/886ft   Ingleton, North Yorks.
1st Man - Mathew Richardson (Saltaire Striders) 32:08
1st Lady - Jessica Behan (Norwich Road Runners) 38:16
My Stats - 34.12   5/67