A return to form...in a way.

Hello,

once again a big gap in blogging! working full time again, an illness for myself and a very scary 10 days of Azja being extremely ill took care of most of February!

The biggest news of the Year since my last post is the discovery of a very serious gas leak in my house, luckily we bought a new oven and it was discovered that the connection between the old oven and the gas supply was totally unsealed and 'rotten' - the gas engineer who fitted the new oven said it was the worst he had ever seen and attributed our survival (yes he thought we should all be dead and couldn't believe we werent) to the fact that we are always out of the house, and sleep directly below and open window. And we now have an oven that works too.

So the long term illness that had been plaguing me since August 2014 has pretty much cleared up, my lack of energy and desire to run has been replaced with renewed desires and energy to burn! Since starting running again in November i had struggled to hit 50 miles a month with my running, opting for little 5k runs and in February only making 38 miles, which is awful even for me! With energy back on my side i put 22 miles in for the first week of March, including a good outing over Walla Crag, a 4 mile speed session and my longest run since July 2014 with 9 miles around Derwentwater foreshore!

This week i put in a 5k shakeout yesterday and have the Ennerdale 25k/16mile route planned for tomorrow. For my long runs i've opted for an almost Maffetone Method style, but instead of measuring my HR (as it's completely mental) i run to the point of almost being out of breath, and hold it on the line. I used it for the 9 mile run around derwentwater last week, and despite being 20 minutes slower than pb, i felt stronger on the run, and definitely not as wasted at the end!

Hopefully will get back to blogging more, especially soon with reviews of the Vivo Trailfreak and the NB MT00v2!

And some exciting/daunting news to come shortly....

Grisedale Pike

Evening all,

just a quick catch up and a few pictures for you 😊

in my last post i was pissed off & upset that i'd had a few anxiety attacks whilst driving, thankfully there has been no repeat of them, despite doing the exact same drive earlier this week, happy days!

So we finally had some snow last weekend! And it was still around when i had a day off! I was pushed for time as i had to be in Manchester for 12:30 so i opted for a quick run over the first half of a popular route know as The Coledale Horseshoe.

The route starts with a 2300ft climb over 2.28 miles to the summit of Grisedale Pike. It's a tough slog, 2 steep ascents with flatter sections between, and then a mixed bag of scrambling and steep scree (talus). With snow mostly calf deep all the way up, and deeper where there were drifts.
The weather was perfect, a balmy -3c in the car park - which was frozen solid - meant microspikes were needed from the start! Looking East from the climb the sun was just rising over the Dodds and Helvellyn.

I reached the summit about 10/15 minutes slower than usual, a mixture of conditions underfoot and the fact i'm 20lbs heavier at the minute and severely unfit! As usual the wind was whipping across the summit, so i took a few snaps and took off towards Hobcarton Crag.

The route drops down and rises slightly before the start of the Crag, then you drop down onto Coledale Hause. Coledale Hause is a small col in the middle of several mountains with two valleys leading away in opposite directions, the normal horseshoe route goes straight across and up the face of Eel Crag, but as i pressed for time i took the descent down one of the valleys to Force Crag Mine, which then links up to the old mining road back to the car park.

Coming off the Hause the snow had drifted into the top of the valley, making it thigh deep in places, and making running look like a really cold snowy version of a Baywatch intro video as i tried to clamber through the snow! 

All In all it was 6.5 miles with 2464ft of ascent. More importantly it cast aside the self doubt i've been feeling since coming back to running after last years illness. Despite getting out for runs i was fooling myself a little. Sticking to a local 5k route more often than not, and making no effort to up the mileage on single runs or weekly mileage. With little confidence to hit the fells.

As i said earlier i'm a ways heavier than i was pre illness, but now with a bit more confidence back in the arsenal, i will try to push the distances weekly and the weight will hopefully fall off!

Loving the VivoBarefoot Trailfreaks on every run since Christmas & paired with Kahtoola MicroSpikes they were awesome on the run! 

As always Nathan Vaporwrap carried spare hat & gloves, Leki poles, Montane primaloft jacket, hydration & phone.

Tubthumping

Evening.

Took Azja and her sister to Manchester Airport this morning, setting off at 2am. 

Started having hot flushes and adrenaline surges after about an hour, precursors to anxiety/panic attacks. It wasn't until the 4th such episode that i said anything to Azja. No idea why they started, no idea why they stopped after 4 attacks. I do know that after almost 6 months without them they have knocked me back a bit.

I had been doing really well with them, eating out, eating at friends, visiting places without ill effect and then out of the blue hit with 4 in a row in the space of an hour.

I made it home without serious incident, but its really done me over, i can't go back to that place & start again. I Thought i was free of this affliction, to live normally - if not a little nervously.

In a few days i'll most likely feel better, and i need to try to draw strength from the fact that i did continue and make it to the airport and home again.

But if i had been planning on travelling with them, i dont think i could have managed, not today anyway.

2014

Hola Amigos!

So 2014 is almost finished, and 2015 is almost upon us, time to look back and see how far we came!

I set no resolutions for 2014, no goals, just RUN! I had an idea to hit 1000miles, almost double my 2013 total (530) but i wouldnt kill myself to reach it.

January & February flew in with 100 miles & 90ish miles respectively, including a pb at 25km distance at Ennerdale, taking 20+ minutes off my previous best. 

March set off well, staying on point with about 25/30 miles a week. Hit with a sore throat at the end of week two, which developed into a huge infection & a hospital stay for iv antibiotics & fluids. Obviously at this point March was written off!

April, May & June saw a return to form with just shy of a 100 miles a month each, and got my weight down to an adult all time low! Though my pace remained awful, usual story! 

I don't remember what happened in July, it must have been an injury/strain as the mileage just fell apart! There was a brief respite at the beginning of August, but then...

Mystery illness started! From early August until the start of November i suffered from this illness, which no one could figure out. Constant retching and nausea for 8 weeks just about saw me off. I was tired, sore, sickly, and not running! Countless blood tests, numerous trial & error/ non effective medicines & a few procedures to see inside, again to no avail!

A few weeks of non retching & feeling 'human' and i was allowed to run again, thank #%}~

November had me back above the 50 mile mark, some solid miles on Latrigg and a super awesome ascent on Red Pike with Azja. 

December will see me break the 50mile a month mark again, and over 700 miles for the year with an average of over 150ft per mile, which is nice! 

In other news i came on leaps & bounds with regards my anxiety & panic attacks. Owed entirely to the work of Sally Stubbs with to work tirelessly to unravel & heal 32 years of surgery, fears of everything unravelling, cancer diagnosis & surgery, and a general lifetime of waiting for death. 

Now i look forward to the future, look forward to more miles, look forward to a life with Azja. 

I look forward to living.

And more #CumbrianKrupicka

Red Pike

 On the last day of November, and to herald a month of being back in the running game, myself and Azja headed to the picturesque Buttermere Valley for a run up my favourite mountain, Red Pike. Situated in the North West of the Lake District National Park, Buttermere is a relatively small lake, with an even smaller village which takes its name from the lake too. The lake itself has a beautiful 4 mile trail (bar 1/4 mile of road) running right along the sides, and is a very popular destination for walkers and runners alike. However it is nestled at the foot of a large horseshoe of mountains, on which the number of people seen during a run can usually be counted on one hand!

As I said our destination today was Red Pike, which sits above the North West Corner of the lake. It is by far my favourite mountain. The views from the top are without doubt some of the best in England, and if you continue your run over the adjoining peaks of High Stile, High Crag, Seat and Haystacks you are in for a very special day indeed. Alas we were doing a simple up and down, but it still has plenty to offer!

We started out from the Bridge Hotel as always and joined the path down to the lake, crossing the foot bridge over Sour Milk Gill as it pours into the lake. From here you immediately start climbing a rock staircase, which takes you about 600ft up through the forest to the top of the tree line.

Azja & Milo start the climb!

Almost to the tree line.

Upon reaching the tree line, there is thankfully a 10 metre section of flat trail and a gate to negotiate, which gives you some time to suck in some oxygen after the leg burning start to the run! The trail pretty much stays as a bouldered staircase up through the first mile/1000ft of climbing, and then changes into a boulder strewn path that is still uphill, but feels flat after the staircase! We stopped at the mile to have a breather and a drink. I was happy knowing that at this point every step I had taken was a running step, and though I'd had to pause a few times, I hadn't walked any part of it, and neither had Azja.

The views from our little break were fairly amazing though!

Muddock Crags overlooking Buttermere

We continued onwards and upwards towards flatter ground at Bleaberry Tarn, as Azja continued to beast the ascent! Whilst I pottered up behind with burning legs and heaving lungs! a few walking breaks started to appear about now!

Typical terrain for the first mile and beyond!

Maddock crags & Buttermere

As the incline evens out the running becomes a little easier and we made our way on the flat ground to the tarn which is a mix of boggy, gloopy mud and big rocks which make a bit of a path, but it's really anyone's guess as to which line to follow! Azja was a good 2-3 minutes ahead of me at the tarn, her ability to climb was not expected, but I was super happy to see her charging off round the tarn and onto the next staircase climb towards the summit! Gladly I recognised a gentleman and his daughter who were having a break at the tarn as customers from work the previous day, so I used this as an opportunity to have a breather and a crack with them about their day and how they were finding the climb etc.

As I was chief water carrier however I noticed Azja had stopped and was waiting for me to catch up so she could grab a drink!

Waiting Patiently for water & treats for Milo!

The staircase gradually merges into scree and loose rock towards the top of Red Pike, and footing can be a bit tricky, today it was super greasy underfoot, and it made the going even harder, but with the summit just about insight, we pushed on. Again I was noticing that I was running more of the climb, whereas normally I would just get my head down and grind out the ascent in a hike, especially at this stage as the climb intensifies and the ground becomes less secure!

Azja & Milo still putting in work!

Crummock Water and the slopes of Melbreak

Just below the summit there is a small scramble through a gouge in the rock caused by the 2009 floods. There is another route which we used to descend, but I find the scramble on the ascent to be quicker and more fun! Milo had to be lifted over a few of the obstacles, his little legs and lack of any jumping ability wouldn't allow for any climbing unaided!

Bleaberry Tarn below the scramble

Surveying the land below the summit

My Queen of the Mountains 

After the scramble there's a steep but manageable run out onto the top and to the summit, I went up first to capture Azja's very first proper fell running summit. The picture says it all!

Mere feet from the summit, one happy Azja!

We hung out at the top and got the obligatory summit pictures!

Queen Of The Mountain

Cumbrian Krupicka

Looking towards the Scafell Range

Ennerdale sneaking in

Loweswater, Melbreak & Crummock Water

Melbreak &Crummock Water with a cloudy Grasmoor

Summit Photo's done we had a quick drink and then headed down the way we had come. I was looking forward to this part as descending has always been my talent with fell running, I'm still slow, but faster than ascending!!

When I was almost back to the tarn I heard a yelp and stopped to look for Azja and Milo behind me. I could see Milo looking off the path into the grasses but no sign of Azja until up popped her head amongst the grass! She had slipped on the rock and taken quite a fall, she assured me she was ok, and I waited for her to catch up. She was running again as she got to me and once again said she was ok, and we continued down. We passed all the hikers who had been descending as we went up, and as we crossed the footbridge once more, I unclasped my bag and ran into a freezing Buttermere for an Ice Bath - Legs only! 

2081ft in 1.87 miles for the ascent and the same for descent. Time wasn't something we were concerned with as we were taking a lot of photos, it was Azja's first proper fell run and I'm as unfit as ever!!

2 Weeks Running

I had a bit of PF pain in my left heel after last weeks runs, so i took Saturday & Sunday as rest days. Monday was my first day back at work since illness, i had planned a little headtorcher with Azja, but opted for food & tv instead :-/

I was working a night shift on Tuesday, so i got up early to take Azja to work then ran the 5.5 mile loop on Latrigg. The climb up Spooney Green felt great, i was dismayed to see a pretty slow time to the summit! It was a good run out though, with over 1200ft of climbing and plenty of mud!

After nightshift i slept all day Wednesday :-)

Thursday saw Azja & I head down to Buttermere for a lap of the lake. It was windy as hell and pouring down, perfect! 

First 1.5 miles i felt great, gliding along the track out of the farm towards Gatesgarth, i took a ridiculous fall after the footbridge, and i have no idea how it even happened, literally tripped over thin air!

Coming out of the trees we were subjected to the full strength of the headwind coming down from Haystacks, and running uphill on the road above the farm i'm fairly sure i was running on the spot! 

Once we were across the top of the lake the wind was behind us, and i had a really good run back to the beach area at the bottom of the lake, we had a quick ice bath in the lake then carried on and ran back to the car.

Friday i was involved in filming a vlog for the therapist who helped cure my panic attacks, which i will go into in a seperate blog.

I signed up for my local parkrun and my plan was to run the 5k parkrun on Saturday morning, then carry on up Latrigg and back before work to extend the session and get some climbing in the legs. I didnt realise however the public bathroom at the start of Parkrun had been closed, and the nearest one was 1/2 mile away. I legged it back into town, and back to the start but everyone had left! So i ran around to Spooney Green lane and ran the Latrigg loop anticlockwise. The first mile felt ok, but miles 2 & 3 were just torture, i couldnt get a rhythm and had no strength on the climbs. After the stile into the field up to the summit i started to feel a bit stronger, and managed to run most of this climb. I paused at the summit for some photos (a breather) and then stepped on the gas for the 1.8 miles back to the car. I got down in 13minutes & change, not bad for me when including gates and a fallen tree blocking the path!

Today i planned another round Buttermere but i was really tired, so spent most of the day watching running videos, and then headed of for a 'Turkey Fields' 5k

It's one of my favourite routes, uphill from my house through town for a mile, a 1/3mile descent to the river, into muddy fields to follow the river back to town, over a footbridge, up a really short but ricilously steep bit of road then a shallow descent back to the house. It has about 150/60ft of ascent, and a few obstacles - stiles, gates and 2 main road crossings, so my 32 mins was a surprise time, i expected about 35/36 minutes considering my recent lay off.

A good week back, including the return to work. Trying not to get hung up on times and walking breaks due to the lack of running since August, but i'm my own worst critic, and nothing is ever good enough!! 

Laters taters

Return of #cumbriankrupicka

My last post, way back in August was a dark journey into uselesness, and its been a long path to last friday, when i was allowed to start running again!

I wont go into details, but i was poked, prodded, investigated and operated on, mostly to discover the cause of my retching, and some in the constant care of my heart. I've either been in hospital or the dr's surgery once a week for 12 weeks give or take the odd week off! All towards the word last week to start running again! 

So, health crap aside, lets go running! 

12 weeks without a run after averaging 25/30 miles a week previously had taken its toll! I'd piled on almost 14lbs, and some days id been bed bound with illness. 

First run back was 3.6 miles with about 550ft ascent. Surprisingly i climbed the first 220ft ascent quite well, and managed to keep trudging over the undulations and down the descent. The climb up 'Bastard Hill' reduced me to a walk and i allowed gravity to guide my descent back to the car!

The second outing was less impressive!! Feeling buoyed by the success of the first run, Azja & I headed to Dodd. A 4 mile run with 1400ft of ascent in the first 2 miles. After the 1st mile i was very glad that the light had gone & we hadn't brought headtorches, which forced an early descent!

2 days later i headed up Latrigg after dropping off Azja at work. I have a love / hate relationship with Latrigg. I'm ridiculously slow up its initial 900ft/1.75 mile ascent, but i love the views and the descent! Today it took even longer! Which is fine, i fully expected it to be worse! But Cumbrian Krupicka returned! 

      I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaack! (Chunkier)

Agent A & I headed out a few days later to a fun route above Loweswater. He is averaging 2-3 miles a week for the year, so we were about even fitness wise! There's a long slog up an old farm road, then a steep, undefined route up open fell to the first summit. These first 2 miles were, as expected, slow and littered with walking sections. After this there is a steep descent then it undulates across the tops for a mile or so. Cue lots of photos in perfect Autmn conditions! 

                 Crummock Valley

                 Cumbrian Krupicka 

          Agent A above Crummock

After the undulations & the final summit there is a perfect singletrack descent back the car. I said to Agent A as we descended that it's the type trail you could run all day & never get tired of, it's a gem, hidden away beyond the popular fells.

Today Azja & I had to visit Keswick so decided to have a bimble up & down Latrigg together.

I was fairly happy to see that my ascent was 4/5 minutes than Monday, and a bit closer to my average! Our initial plan was to head straight back down, but the sun was breaking through, and it wasn't too cold, so we opted for the longer route back through Brundholme Woods. 

       One of the best views in England

               100+ steps of torture!

       Azja cruising through the woods

              Mud glorious mud!

The moving time for the run was only actually 3 minutes slower than pb, but we had a lot of photo stops, breathers & stitch stops! 

So i'm back & raring to be fitter than ever before! My plan is try to be conservative, quality miles over a quantity of miles. With winter fast approaching i'm looking to concentrate on my climbing ability and speed work, rather than just banging out miles for the sake of it. Unless of course it snows, then there'll be a few longer outings 👍

It feels good to be running again! Thankyou all for your support, patience and humour, it has truly helped me these past 3 months.