Cycling Trip

After some prompts from Owen (consistent nagging), I thought it was time to add to the blog myself with an update on the progress I'm making against my own GOAL this year. 

The next big challenge for me after the Strathpuffer is the Saddleback Fred Whitton Challenge (http://www.fredwhittonchallenge.co.uk). The ride takes in all the major Cumbrian fell road passes, climbing just under 4000m over 112 miles. It is something I've wanted to do for a few years, but never had the courage to enter. 

Following on from the Strathpuffer ride I was pretty tired, not just physically, but mentally too, so I thought I'd reward myself with a few weeks well earned rest... then in the services on my route home from Inverness I received the delightful news that my application to the 2017 'Fred' had been accepted and I was entered into the ride. Great I thought (or words to that effect) I guess I better forget my weeks of rest and start training... after my Big Mac. 

I'd been out on my mountain bike a couple of times every week in the run up to the 'Puffer, so I thought I'd be in pretty good shape for my road bike training and to get into the swing of things I thought I'd enter a few other events to get my road bike legs back. 

I did the Eden Valley Epic earlier in March and I'm booked onto the Lakeland Loop in a couple of weeks which are both great rides with a good couple of hilly bits. My main miles were planned in on this weekend gone, where myself and Owen from Go Cumbria embarked on our annual cycling trip with friends. The plan was to cycle to Edinburgh over 3 days, 100 miles up the coast on day 1 from Whitehaven to Dumfries, 80 miles on day 2 up to Glasgow and 60 miles on day 3 along the canal path to Edinburgh via Falkirk. 

We couldn't have asked for better weather, the weather was so nice we added in a few extra cake and brew stops and we we're even able to sit outside and enjoy our healthy food in the sunshine. 

Some highlights from our weekend ride; 

Day 1 - We kicked things off with an argument, Owen tried to convince me Edinburgh was on the coast of Scotland and that we needed to dip our tyres in the sea at Whitehaven and then again in the sea at Edinburgh to complete a kind of Coast to Coast. I disagreed, Edinburgh is not on the coast and I wanted no such part of silly things. Then Owen slipped down the jetty ramp and slid into the sea, getting wet feet and almost dropping his bike - so all was forgiven. 
The views around the coast road were fantastic, the weather was amazing, when we arrived in Dumfries we could practically see where we started in Whitehaven. I was so determined to complete my 100 mile challenge on day one that I think I was genuinely the only one of us disappointed to see the site of our hotel after just 98.5 miles. So I ended up doing a couple of laps of the A75 while everyone checked in just to hit my target. 

Day 2 - We left bright and early, full of cooked breakfast and our pockets overflowing with flapjack from the all you can eat breakfast. It is important to make sure you eat healthy on these trips, my food of choice for the weekend was flapjack, wine gums, jelly babies and fudge. Until we got to Moffat, where I ate a waffle and some carrot cake. There is a film documentary called 'Finding Traction' about a runner called Nikki Kimball, she runs a 273 mile trail and in that she talks about food while training, that it is important to eat what your body craves, rather than sticking to 'healthy snacks and energy bars'. This is definitely a philosophy I agree with - as you can tell by my gut and man boobs. 
The day ended with Owen trying to ride up the kerb in front of the Duke of Wellington in Glasgow and getting it wrong, falling in front of a bus load of people (though he will deny this and instead claim he decided to get off his bike and go for a run instead). 

Day 3 - The final leg of our trip saw us ride around Glasgow lost for an hour or so looking for the canal and then a ride along the canal from Glasgow to Falkirk and then on to Edinburgh. We got to see the Falkirk Wheel, which as an Engineer I was very excited about and took lots of photos from many different angles. 
We started off very leisurely, we had the whole day to kill and it was our shortest distance to cover, or so we thought. Our leisurely pace was fantastic and very enjoyable, until we realised we were 17 miles outside Edinburgh and that our train left in an hour and fifteen minutes. The last 17 miles were a bit hectic and we arrived at the station at the same time as our train home, jumping in as the doors opened. 
We also did not see the sea in Edinburgh. Given how close we were to missing the train, I did not point this out to Owen in case he decided to try and go find it and we missed our train. 

Overall it was a good training ride, not many hills and a bit slower than my usual training pace, but it was great to get some big miles in my legs and a good bit of time in the saddle before I step up the hill training over the next few weeks. We covered over 240 miles, ate a lot of cake and had a great time. If you've any suggestions for our next road trip, please let us know (gocumbriaevents@gmail.com). I think carting around two massive panniers full of clothes and kit I didn't need was good training too, it made most of the flat sections feel like hills to be honest. Anyway, I promise to keep you all updated on my 'Fred' preparations over the next few weeks. 

Cheers for all the support, it is great to have all your comments, likes and feedback, and really helps keep Owen and I motivated. As well as training for my ride and Owen for his big run, we're also working hard in the background on organising events, once we're through the start of summer we will be able to make some exciting announcements. Watch this space! 

Whatever you're up to, however it's going, keep it up, keep pushing yourself and make sure you enjoy it. 

Get Outside and Live - Go Cumbria

Paddy 
www.go-cumbria.com 

A great reason to run - Anthony Nolan

Hey everyone, I thought for this blog post I would put in something from someone else’s perspective. 


As I’ve mentioned on previous blogs I am doing my ultra on 22^nd April with a work colleague. His name is Matt, and while Matt has set himself this GOAL of running an ultra he has added something extra on to it.


Matt like me is a dad of two children, and his son’s child minder, and also a family friend, Ellie Arnold very sadly died at a young age. 


Matt says, “Ellie got diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anaemia at the beginning of January 2016. After a difficult but courageous 3-month battle, resulting in a bone marrow transplant Ellie finally lost her fight at the end of March. A truly devastating loss for her family & friends, and indeed anyone that came across her! One year on and she is still very much missed!


Ellie was an amazing woman, so full of life, energy and good fun. We all miss her terribly and this awful illness stole her away from her loving family and her friends.


So, I have entered my first marathon and will be completing my first ultra-marathon which is 47 miles with the aim to raise money and awareness of blood cancers and blood disorders after we lost the beautiful from our lives. 


Doing this fundraiser won't bring her back, but hopefully it will be able to raise some money and awareness of an awful life destroying illness in her memory.”


Matt has decided to run for the Anthony Nolan (https://www.anthonynolan.org/). Every day, Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with a blood cancer or blood disorder. They do this by matching incredible individuals willing to donate their stem cells, to people who desperately need a lifesaving transplant. They also carry out cutting edge scientific research, fund specialist post-transplant nurses and support patients and their families through the transplant process and beyond. They won’t stop until they save the lives of everyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Every penny you donate brings them closer to that day.


I’m sure you can all agree, that Matt is doing an amazing challenge to raise as much money as possible for a fantastic cause.

You can help Matt raise money for this great cause by donating to his fundraising page – if you can spare anything at all it would be greatly appreciated!

 https://www.justgiving.com/Matthew Waning?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=Matthew-Waning&utm_campaign=pfp-email

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Anthony Nolan and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more.

Thank you for your support!

Me and Matt will be doing the run on the 22^nd April and Paddy will be doing a live updates of the event via social media so you can follow us on Twitter (@GoCumbria), on Instagram (@gocumbriaevents) or on Facebook (@GOCumbriaEvents)

GO and Get Outdoors And Live!

Owen

Ultra-Marathon Training: 33 Days to go

This weekend saw me getting out and getting 19.8 miles in the pouring down rain.  You’re probably thinking why 19.8 miles, it is because I arsed up my km to mile calculation.  My Garmin was set to km rather than miles, and I calculated I would need to run 32km, when in fact I need to run 32.19km……damn you maths!!!!!

Never mind, it was a good run in horrible conditions and was another step on my training towards my GOAL of completing the 47 mile ultra-marathon.

Derwent Water is a great location and is about 9 miles around (not 10 like I thought!), one side, the Portinscale side, is mainly forest where the trail path is easy going, at the top of the lake it turns into marsh, which the National Park authority and National Trust have provided boardwalks to run and walk on.  Once off the boardwalks there is usually a small section of trail path before hitting the road. I say usually because on my run this weekend it was about 200m of ankle deep cold water which required me to run through.

Out on the road there is a short section along the road to the Ladore Falls Hotel, before cutting through into a natural woodland for 500m.  This eventually pops you out to run along the shore line.  With the lake being so high part of the shore line was under water meaning you need to thread your way through the forest.  Eventually the path becomes more manageable again and sits above the lake giving easy running into the town of Keswick.  Before starting again for the second loop.  The second loop is always a bit tougher because you know what is coming, like wading through the 200m of cold water.

When I hit about 17km, my legs were feeling tired, and the last 2km were tough but a plodded on throughout.

I was using High 5 energy gels for this run along with a Mcvities Chocolate Hobnob Flapjacks (a favourite of mine see my earlier blog: “5 tips for new ultra-marathon runners”.

Sunday was a day of rest and stretching, or as much rest you can have when looking after an 9 mths old!

I hope you all had good weekend adventures, let us know on Twitter (@GoCumbria), on Instagram (@gocumbriaevents) or on Facebook (@GOCumbriaEvents)!

GO and Get Outdoors And Live!

Owen

Evening Run Around Grasmere Run

Evening Run Around Grasmere Run

Distance: 4.9mi/8km

Location: Grasmere, Cumbria, Lake District

Trainers: New Balance I080v4 (512.8 miles)

Elevation: 417ft

Today I was working in Kendal and on my way home decided to stop off at Grasmere.  I’ve never run around Gasmere, cycled past numerous of times, but never run it.  I parked in the layby just outside of Grasmere and ran along the pavement by the road side before heading into Penny Rock Wood and following the River Rothay.  After crossing the bridge there was a climb up Loughrigg Ter, before descending down through Redbank Wood back into Grasemere.  Weather was beautiful, couldn’t ask for a nicer night for a run!

View towards Helm Crag from layby

                                                                Rocking the shades!

View over Grasmere

Trusty New Balance (512.8 miles down)

Remember GO and Get Outdoors And Live!

Owen

5 Tips for new ultra-marathon runners

My next big GOAL for 2017 is running an ultra-marathon! After being all talk about it last year me and a friend in work have put our money where our mouth is and agreed a date for running an ultra.  In January, we decided to run the Derwent – Source to Sea approximately 47 miles!  This will take us over a mix of terrain, from high up on the fells, down through some woodlands to Derwent Water, around the lake to Portinscale and onwards to Bassenthwaite Lake.  After Bassenthwaite Lake on with the road shoes and off along the road to Cockermouth, Seascale and finally the sea at Workington.

This is not my first ultra and probably won’t be my last, even though after I keep finishing one that’s what I tell my wife! My first ultra was with Rat Race, running 70 miles along Hadrian’s Wall in 2 days - meaning back to back ultra-marathons, 32 miles on day 1 and 38 miles on day 2.  I successfully completed this after doing a 110-mile bike ride followed by a marathon up and down Ben Nevis, 3 weeks earlier.

Why am I telling you all this?  It’s certainly not for bragging rights, it’s just to illustrate that I’ve done an ultra-marathon and I’m planning to do another one, so I thought I would share a few tips that I picked up just in case you are planning to take on the challenge.

1.       Comfortable trainers.  Pick your trainers to suit the terrain, and make sure you try them and wear them in before you do your event!!

2.       Practice with your equipment. (not a euphemism for anything!) When you do an ultra you are likely to have a hydro pack/bottles, rain coat etc. Your event might have mandatory kit that you need to carry, find out what it is and practice running with it.  You don’t want to be on your run when you find out that something rubs or hurts, or you don’t want to turn up to the event and find your bag is too small to carry all your mandatory kit!

3.       Practice with your nutrition.  This is so important.  I remember when I first started doing long distance cycling and running events and cocking up my nutrition, meaning I ended up bonking (reaching a point of exhaustion because you have no fuel left).  When you are hungry, I’ve found it is too late.  Instead keep your energy levels up -  I use a mixture of gels and flapjack bars (I like Mcvities chocolate hobnob flapjacks, because they are small and easy to open, have a chocolate coat for instant energy boost and oats for a slow burn).  You need to know what works well for you and practice eating on your runs.

4.       Choose your clothes wisely.  Not much to say here, pretty self-explanatory, practice with the clothes you want to wear, something light and breathable.  And mostly importantly ensure it doesn’t chafe!!!!

   5.       ENJOY IT!! When your head is down and your tired and feel you don’t want to carry on, look up and see where you are running.  I ran Hadrian’s Wall and there is amazing scenery all the way around.  I’m planning to run right through the heart of the Lake District, I know I will get tired and I know I will get despondent, but it is at these moments that it is important to look up and see where I am, appreciate the beauty and freedom and the fact that I’m getting a chance to experience it!

   6.       Ok I know I said 5 tips but this is linked to 5, so in reality it should be 5a rather than 6….

5a. Talk to the people around you, that is the great thing about these events they are bringing together like minded people! The person standing next to you at the start line is as bonkers as you are, they’ve signed up for the event as well!!!  People make events, me and Paddy definitely believe in this and this is part of the reason why we set this company up.  On my Hadrian’s Wall run I met a guy who I ran  probably ran 60 out of the 70 miles with, I never met him before and I haven’t met him since but we talked and motivated each all the way around.  And I truly believe that I don’t think I would have made it if it wasn’t for the encouragement of a complete stranger.

We are scouting this route out for a potential event in the years to come, love to hear your views on it.

Also, I’ll be on social media talking about my training leading up to the event so you can follow us on Twitter (@GoCumbria), on Instagram (@gocumbriaevents) or on Facebook (@GOCumbriaEvents)

I’ll be doing the run on 22^nd April and Paddy will be doing a live feed of the event.

GO and Get Outdoors And Live!

Owen

Ready for a new GOAL?

2017 time for a new challenge, many of us start a new year with exciting challenges and goals (many of them decided after a drink or two at a New Year's Eve party!) But how many of us carry them out? I think I'm on the third attempt of learning Spanish!

Mid-way through 2016 Paddy had text me, just as my daughter was being born, “Do you want to do a 24-hour bike race?”. Now to be fair he had mentioned this before, but in my defence, he also said we’ll start on an easier course like the Silverstone 24hour Cycling Grand Prix.  In my tired and emotional state I agreed to it and didn’t ask any further questions, until I had already said yes….., then I found out it was the Strathpuffer, a 24 hour mountain biking race in Inverness (www.strathpuffer.co.uk) in January!  This became my new GOAL, so for the rest of 2016 I needed to get MTB fit!

So, on the way back from the GOAL I had set in 2016 and had achieved, Paddy turns to me and says that we should do something similar in Cumbria. I had been awake for the better part of 30 hours, I was sore from falling off my bike at least 3 times and the bongo bus was doing little to de-ice me after cycling through -8C. So, while having an amazing experience I was less than anamoured about doing it again let alone organising one. But I (finally) de-iced, had a good sleep (or as much as you can do with a 4-year-old and a 6-month-old) and the pain eased (with paracetamol), I started thinking what a great idea this was.

Hey presto! A new GOAL for 2017 (other than trying to learn Spanish, again)! Set up a company that can bring new experiences to people, with a focus on getting people out and trying different experiences. It doesn't matter who you are or what you have done before you can do something amazing.  Holding running and cycling events for all levels of competitors!

I’ve lived in Cumbria for the better part of 10 years, and to me it’s one giant play park!!  Whether it’s running and cycling up, down, over or around a fell, through a forest pine forest or ancient woodland, next to or through one of the many lakes, rivers, becks or meres, in the light and in the dark, through a city or town or along a Roman wall, come rain (most of the time), shine or snow, Cumbria and the Lake District has it all. 

Paddy and myself want to give everyone that opportunity to experience this amazing place. 

In 2017 me and Paddy will be working hard to get some events set up for you to come and enjoy this place.  Your job is to have FUN!!! (also, follow us on Twitter (@GoCumbria), on Instagram (@gocumbriaevents) or on Facebook (@GOCumbriaEvents) 😊

Watch out for new events!

GO and Get Outdoors And Live!

Owen

Welcome to Go Cumbria

Go Cumbria is a new events team, set up to promote the Great Outdoors in and around Cumbria and the Lake District. 

We organise running, cycling and mountain biking events, endurance events on and off road to test all abilities - our GOAL is to challenge people to Get Outdoors and Live. 

We want you to Get Out into the Great Outdoors. Whatever your level, whatever your sport, Go On, push yourself, join the GO Cumbria team and get stuck in. 

You can contact us to find out more by emailing gocumbriaevents@gmail.com - or follow us on social media for up to date information.

For all our latest news, announcements and for information on upcoming events please visit our facebook page. 

www.facebook.com/gocumbriaevents

Our aim is to promote health and wellbeing in Cumbria, we want people to get outside and enjoy themselves, getting fit and experiencing the Great Outdoors. 

We’re organising a series of events each year to encourage people into outdoor events. In Cumbria we live amongst some of the most beautiful natural terrain, almost purpose built for running, cycling and jumping about in.

From organised events to regular social meets, whatever you’re into, whatever your level, we have the event for you; 

1. -Trail Running
2. -Fell Running 
3. -Head-torch Running 
4. -Mountain Biking 
5. -Road Cycling 
6. -Endurance Cycling (8/12 & 24 hour races)

Kicking things off in the spring/summer of 2017 will be our regular social rides and runs, then our first events in winter 2017 will be our night head torch trail running events. A series of evening trail runs around some of our amazing Cumbrian terrain. The events can be entered individually or you can enter the whole series to compete for the overall crown. 

Contact us to find out more, and for a list of events near you - we can be contacted by email, twitter, facebook or Instagram.

Paddy & Owen

Why are we doing this?

Why are we doing this? Great question and one our wives are still waiting for us to answer!  

Owen and I share a love of the great outdoors, between us we're always coming up with daft ideas and events to do, just to see if we can. Whether it's completing the Wainwrights, cycling the Fred Whitton Challenge, running up Ben Nevis, flying down hills as fast as we can or doing the Coast to Coast we love getting out and about. 

Go Cumbria started on our way back home from Strathpuffer (www.strathpuffer.co.uk) - what a fantastic event! For anyone that doesn't know what it is, it's a 24 hour mountain bike event in  Scotland, just north of Inverness. If a 24 hour bike event isn't tough enough, this one is held in January, in Scotland, the north of Scotland. It was dark for 17 of the 24 hours, it dropped to minus 8 degrees and the heater in my van stopped working. In between laps to keep warm we had to double up on base layers and sleeping bags just to keep warm... but while we were out on track it was quite an experience, one I will never forget and one I hope to repeat again. 

Anyway, on the drive home Owen and I agreed we wanted to do the 'Puffer again and couldn't wait to sign up for the 2018 event. From that the conversation grew and we started wondering if there were similar events nearer to home in Cumbria. We couldn't find one so decided we wanted to set up our own 24 hour mountain bike event. 

As much as he might claim this was all my idea, Owen is the brains behind what came next. As I was sat eating my tea one night Owen phoned and suggested rather than jumping straight into organising a 24 hour bike event, it might be easier (yes that's right, easier) to arrange other events first, so rather than arranging one 24 hour mountain bike event we decided to arrange running, cycling and mountain biking events in and around the Lakes and here we are - Go Cumbria is born.

We just want to do all the things we love doing, but a bit closer to home and share it all with you. 

Paddy