Race Report:- Maverick Inov-8 X Series: Peak District (7/7/2018)
Date: 7/7/2018 (Saturday)
Middle Route: 27.1km
This is the
second race I entered in fell/trail conditions. I signed up for the long route
46km in February and decided to scale back the distance to 27km as I found I
could not fit long runs during the Ramadhan month.
Then
5 days before the race day I was down with chest infection. I suspect this is
due to lingering cold emerging from air travel and it just got worse on the
return flight to England. I was bedridden from Monday to Wednesday, coughing up
mucus while pumping a lot vitamin C and water in my body to get better. By
Thursday night, I know there is no way I will be able to race on Saturday. A
short email to the race organizer informed me that there won’t be any cut-off
time for participants doing the middle route, aka I can walk this course. My
peak flow reading on Friday morning was 300 when the ideal reading for my age
and height is expected to be 420. It is settled then, I will have to walk this
route or I will trigger another round of asthma attack.
I
revised my strategy for this race and treat it as time-on-your-feet training
session. My aim is to get back before the end of England vs Sweden Quarter-Final
match. That works out to 5km/hour plus 1 hour per 300m ascent or 8 hours in
total. A stress-free and relaxing walk on a clear day while I played around
with my nutrition strategy.
The
race started and finished at the Hope Sports Club, Hope Valley. Flag-off
happened at 0906.
I
started the race by slow jog and this turns out to be a good strategy
considering there were 3 kissing gates / stiles in the first kilometre that
forced everyone to line up. After a road crossing, the participants started to
spread out. I continued with my small jog. Once the course entered into an
upsloping sheepfold, I took out my walking poles. Then started power hike all
the way to the top. The course continued until the climb towards Win Hill, my
favourite hill in Hope Valley.
There’s a race photographer stationed just
before the summit and I decided to pose for a picture. Why not, 90% of the
participants have passed me at this point. The course is properly marked so for
some participants this is a fast race.
I
enjoyed the course very much until the 12th km, much of it by
walking. It is midday and the temperature was somewhere around 27-degree
Celcius. The 1-liter I took with me were not enough. The lack of shades on the
moors made things worse. Instead of prolonging my condition under the sun, I
decided to start slow jog knowing that there will be a water station after
Grindsbrook Booth. I passed by several other participants at this section. I
was so happy when I got to Ringing Roger. Yes, this is home territory. Only to
realise that I only used Ringing Roger to measure my uphill climb fitness and I
never realised that its descent is quite technical. I have slowed down again to prevent quick steps that could cause my heart rate to spike.
I
reached that water station, filled in my water bottles drink 2 cups of water (I
do wish Hydrapack Speed cup came in bigger size), and eat half of a flapjack.
Then continue walking. I found it interesting that the organizer uses the
Hollins Cross to get to the Great Ridge. Of course, there was a marshal there
to ensure no one take a short cut to the Great Ridge. In my past training,
usually used Barber Booth that connects to Rush Edge and Lord’s Seat and drop
down to Mam Nick and go up again to Mam Tor. Of course, lack of nutrition and
water made me think that I will need to drop at Mam Nick and do the steep climb
up Mam Tor. I’m glad that the climb up Mam Tor is not as steep as I’ve imagined
in my head.
I
finished my water when I got to the Great Ridge. Bummer. I also need to eat at
this point. I know that I can get to Lose Hill in 45-minutes but not in this
condition. I then hike as quickly as I can. Once I’ve reached the top Lose
Hill, I kept my poles in my quiver and start a slow jog down to Hope.
I’ve
reached the finish line after 7hour 9 min and 36 seconds. That translates to
15.51/km. When I go to the finish line, Inov-8 folks set-up a huge TV under their tent showing the World Cup match.
In general, I’ve performed better that I’ve expected considering that
I’ve walked 75% of the course. I finished 92 out of 95 participants overall and
I am the 32nd female out of 33. Not bad, since I’ve coughed up mucus
and blow snots along the race course.
The
next day I started running at easy pace from Hathersage to Stanage Edge and
back. Later that day, I’ve spend several hours with Dave Taylor working on my
technical descent skills. It was a good weekend in the Peak District.
Race organizer: Maverick Race
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