Pre-Lakeland 50 Thoughts

In just under a week, I'm going to be toeing the line of the Lakeland 50 for the sixth time.  I'm looking forward to it as I love the race, the people involved and the atmosphere that is not only inclusive for the athletes but the families of the athletes (and has given my youngest daughter an obsession with foxes!).

I'm also pretty excited about testing myself against a really strong field.  Danny Kendall (5th overall at the MDS and ran just over 8 hours a couple of years back), Jayson Cavill (last years winner), Ben Abdelnoor (The Noor, one of my fell running heroes and current record holder), Andy Horrobin (ex elite cyclist and scarily fast oldish bloke), Lee Knight (will actually push himself hard enough to make his eyeballs bleed), Marcus Scotney (Winner of most things, and current fastest person to Troutbeck) is on the entry list, Anthony (Forest) Bethell (King Raidlight and a talented runner), Matt Wilson, Steven Lord, and probably a few others I have missed!

My main goal is to improve on last years' performance - to actually win the damn thing this time.  This means my game plan is going to (potentially) have to change from last year.  2015 was another warm one, so my plan was to take it (relatively) easy to the top of Fusedale, then pick it up along Haweswater and pick my way through the carnage.  That worked up to a point, but even though I took 12 minutes out of Jayson over the last 16 miles, he had built up enough of a lead initially for that not to matter at all.

Secondary goal (if I fail the first) is to get around in under 8 hours.  Unless it's stupidly hot again, I think I'm capable of that.

Fall-back goal:  Get on the podium.

This year, the plan is to stick with the guys at the pointy end, and see who lasts it out.  I'm pretty confident of putting in a good showing.  I've been using TrainAsONE (link here, get involved in the Beta) and it has made a massive improvement in my pace vs heartrate.  I'm also part of Team Mountain Fuel (Link here, it's awesome stuff) and have based my nutrition strategy around the Xtreme Energy carb drink.  It's brilliant, and has totally revolutionised my fuelling. It works incredibly well (for me) when backed up by jelly babies!  It also means that I'm not lugging around 19 gels with me this time.

How I'm fuelling: Pretty much a 500ml bottle of Xtreme Energy between each checkpoint, and top up my jelly babies on the way round.  Most checkpoints have jelly babies, so I'm going to have to carry less.  From Kentmere onwards, it's all about salted flat Cola at  checkpoints as well.  Tastes pretty grim, but does the job.

Both of my daughters are ready for the Lakeland 1, and are perfecting the dance moves as I write.  I think Esmee should get herself a new mile P.B. as well.

Gear Review: The North Face Better Than Naked Long Haul Short

I’ve reached the point in my running life where I’m always on the lookout for new shorts.  All of my old faithfuls are slowly disintegrating, and my shorts rotation is diminishing.  Enter Father’s Day, and a new pair of The North Face Better Than Naked Long Haul Shorts (Long Hauls from here).

The Long Hauls consist of an outer short, with a long, tight fitting internal short with FlashDry™, a proprietary TNF material additive which improves moisture management and temperature regulation.  It also helps them dry out really fast as well.

When you first look at the shorts, they look mostly like normal, slightly longer shorts, with a strange, thick black band running around the top.

That unusual looking band is where part of the genius of these shorts lie.  Contained within the band is a series of elasticated, open pockets to expand your on-the-go storage options.  There are 7 of them, the pockets at either end being slightly larger.  The smaller will fit gels, keys, ipods, whilst in the larger I can fit in a Berghaus Vaporlight Hypersmock.  There is also a zipped pocket on the back which is big enough to fit in a 5-inch smartphone of your choice.

If that wasn’t enough, there are also pockets on the liner short - 2 larger pockets on the right leg, 3 smaller pockets on the left.  I’m not entirely sure exactly what I could put in there, as they would be a faff to get to whilst racing and they aren’t particularly deep.

So how do they actually feel on?  They are fantastic.  The FlashDry™ does what it says – keeps everything moisture free, and breathes exceptionally well.  I have worn them for extended periods in hot weather, wet weather or both combined (English Summer!) and have had no chaffing or discomfort whatsoever. 

I have even tried them out fully laden, 10 gels, 1 waterproof, ipod, phone, keys and was very impressed.  Because the pockets are above the hips and where the draw-cord is, they don’t slip down.  The contents are kept firmly in place from the elasticity of the pockets, and don’t bounce.  The gels are easy to access, and I was able to remove/replace the phone without any faffing which was a surprise.

The only downside to the shorts is that because they are so breathable, in cold weather everything gets a bit…cold. 

These shorts are by far the best I own, and have revolutionised my load carrying, and are a perfect companion for packs without any up-front carrying capacity.

Recommended.