So 2013 rounded out fairly smoothly. A small hope to go and attack a quick 5k faded out due to scheduling but it wasn't a problem, the focus for the rest of the year was to get to New Year's Day fit and rested and ready to toe the line at the Hardmoors 30. I really enjoy the feel of the Hardmoors family and their runs and I was particularly looking forward to this one being as it used a chunk of the route I'd followed during the Hardmoors 60 back in October.
The Hardmoors 30 was great, well at least it was for the first 20 miles and again 2 hours after the finish. The bit in the middle was a bit messy. The race is along the Yorkshire coast using the Cleveland Way and the Cinder Trail, an disused rail line. Ravenscar south to Hayburn Wyke along the coastal path, inland a little at the 4.5 mile mark, this was the only tricky navigation part and usefully it was early in the race and so there were plenty of other runners around. Through the self clip and onto the cinder path back to Ravenscar. Still going well at this point but I was aware that I was probably going out a little too hard. I was also planning on drinking minimal water during the race and sticking mainly to a few gels and running too hard to early could cause problems later in the day. Blew through Ravenscar checkpoint and back to the cinder path to Robin Hood's Bay. Still going a little hard but letting the undulations in the route define the pace a little and at the halfway mark my plans of getting sub 6 hours were being altered for a comfortable sub 5:30, even allowing for a considerable slow down in the final stages. It wasn't to be, but not for the reasons of pacing or nutrition. Through Robin Hood's Bay checkpoint and a nice reminder of that car park from Hardmoors 60 and back on the final section of cinder path in the race and into Whitby. It was quite lovely crossing the the viaduct into the city.
Up until this point, the weather had been pretty much perfect. I'd been running in my light waterproof simply because it was as easy as stopping to take it off. As we turned into the city and back toward the coast, we could see the clouds gathering, nothing major, and it was only after the checkpoint and leaving the city up those infernal steps to the abbey that the weather started to settle into the pattern that we would be suffering under for the remainder of the day. At least I only had 10 miles of it, there were some people out there for a damn sight longer. The rain set in, the temperature dropped, but worse, the wind picked up. The going underfoot on this part of the Cleveland Way was patchy even in October, before months of pretty solid rain, during this race, even with with the soles of those beautiful Fellcross, there were some sections that took a little concentration to keep momentum. And descending on wet steps frankly scared the hell out of me at any kind of pace. This is something that I need to work on. The grind back to the finish line was a bit of a blur after a while. My legs felt reasonable but I had started to go off it a little mentally. Back through the check point at Robin Hood's Bay, where my enjoyment of recalling the Hardmoors 60 was definitely waning. The jacket was beautifully waterproof, but my gloves, much less so. For the last couple of hours there wasn't a lot of feeling in my fingers and due to the reduced pace, my feet were also starting to numb from the cold. Either way, I knew that I would finish it and it was for this reason that I didn't do the more sensible things such as change my gloves for a dry pair. I really should know better. I edged past a few people during this slog, and two guys dropped me looking good and I was happy to let them go. There was little to race against for pacing purposes until we met up with the finishing section of the Hardmoors 15 guys and gals and then in the final mile or so of the race, there was a solid climb on particularly muddy ground which I chose to walk easily. I saw there were some people catching up with poles but it wasn't possible to tell which race they were in. I decided to let them close the distance as my legs still felt good and figured I would gun the last half mile from the top of the climb. I'm glad to say this worked out as three dropped places in the last mile would have been a little depressing.
This isn't the best race report. Of late, I've become aware that I don't pay a lot of attention during races, even when I am going easy. There are some good reports out there by Fiona Fisher, John Kynaston and Norry Mcneill, all of whom seemed to be far more awake than I was during the day. After the race, it took me more than 30 minutes to get changed due to shivering, and more than another 10 minutes before my hands stopped shivering enough to be able to drink my coffee. It was not a pleasant recovery, but things came together quickly enough after that.
Since the turn of the year, with this race being the start point, it has been time to get training before my first 100 mile race. I'd like to say that I am excited, but I'm really not. But at least I am scared enough to train properly. Still, 18 weeks to go until the Valleys 100. Plenty of time to get excited, or injured...
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