Saturday 30 August 2008

The Cuillin - Isle of Skye

For those of you not familiar with the Cuillin, here is a bit of info about them to start with. The Cuillin are a range of rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye. The summits of the Cuillin are bare rock, jagged in outline and with steep cliffs and deep cut corries and gullies. All twelve Munros (mountains over 3000ft) on Skye are Black Cuillin peaks.
The aim of this challenge, was to reach the summit of all 12 Munros.

Day 1 Earlier on in the year, when myself and my friend Alison booked our week to climb the Cuillin, we thought we'd be pretty safe weather wise to go for a week in late August. How wrong we were! After the long drive to Skye on Saturday, we woke up early on the Sunday morning, excited and ready for day one of our challenge!! The sky was grey, and there had been torrential rain and strong winds the night before. Oh well, this was only day one, surely things were set to improve. We drove to Glen Brittle Hostel and met our guide, George Yeomans. A veritable mountain dude - has hiked all over the world, knows the Cuillin like the back of his hand, and is a member of the Skye Mountain Rescue Team...we were in safe hands. Our plan for our first day in the mountains was three Munros, Sgurr na Banachdich (965m), Sgurr a Greadaidh (975m) and Sgurr a Mhadaidh (918m). The climb to the first summit was a steady hike, just 2.5 hours in total. The first one was 'bagged', only a bit wet! Getting to the next two summits was a little more challenging, with the ropes being needed to get across some of the trickier parts. We got the next two summits with no problems, although unfortunately the heavy cloud meant we had zero views from the top. Three down, 9 to go!

Day 2 The weather was still pretty poor, so George decided we would tackle Bla Bheinn (928m). This one sits on its own, away from the main ridge, so it was just going to be the one summit today. We battled our way up the side, against the rain and strong winds. The winds were so strong that it would actually blow us a few steps back at times! No ropes needed this time, just a steady hike to the top. Unfortunately, the cloud cover meant no views at the top once again. However, 15 minutes or so off the summit and on our way back down, the clouds cleared and the sun shone (if only we'd reached the summit a few moments later). We managed to find a break in the rocks and glimpsed a view of the North End of the Cuillin. Stunning! We also had a nice rainbow appear...the sun continued to shine on our descent....maybe the weather was taking a turn after all!

Day 3 We were wrong...the weather wasn't improving...it was getting worse! The plan for the third day was another three Munros. This time it was to be Sgurr nan Eag (924m), Sgurr Dubh Mor (944m) and Sgurr Alasdair (992m). When we set off, there was low cloud cover, but no rain, so the climb was pleasant. However, about 1 hour in, the rain started and it didn't stop. We got the first two summits and finished off with 'Big Al', the highest of the summits in the Cuillin. The fun part involved coming back down, which involved going down 'The Great Stone Shoot'. A mass of stones and rock, that you can literally just slide down. Much quicker than coming up, but not that great if you are wanting to keep your boots looking nice! haha! This was a long day, we got back to the car at 7:30pm, having set off at 9am that morning. We came across the campsite shop just before reaching the car. After fighting our way through the midgies (Scots will know what I mean!), we dived in to reward ourselves with a chocolate Magnum. I've never tasted anything so good! Despite the poor conditions, we were still on track for our 12 summits.

Day 4 Rest day today. Me and Alison went to the Old Man of Storr and did a 'smallish' hike. Still raining...but some nice views on the way down! I bumped into someone from Portsmouth Triathletes I hadn't seen in about 4 years on my way down! Small world.

Day 5 Today the plan was to do 2 Munros: Sgurr Mhic Choinnich (948m) and the Sgurr Dearg (the Inaccessible Pinnacle) (986m). The In Pinn, as it is known, is a rock climb up the one side, and an abseil off the other...we had all the gear and were raring to go. The weather again was pretty horrendous. We set off in the rain. Was quite a long steady climb to the ridge, and then a long traverse along it to get to the first summit. The rain was lashing down and the winds were easily reaching 40mph. Our guide decided that to attempt the In Pinn would be scary, not to mention dangerous. As he put it 'It's the type of conditions I go out to rescue people in!' We had to accept defeat as Mother Nature told to head back down the mountain. A shame...we weren't going to manage all 12 summits this trip.

Day 6 Our final day on the Cuillin, and we were to attempt the final three Munros up on the North end; Bruach na Frithe (958m), Am Basteir (934m) and Sgurr nan Gillean (964m). The sun was actually out (as were the midgies) as we set off, and we felt a glimmer of confidence that we would manage all three. The hike to the top of Bruach na Frithe took us around 2.5 hours. The last 100m or so took us along the ridge to the cairn. It was here that we realised that the mountain had been protecting us from the strong winds on our way up. Gusts of around 50mph were pounding down on us as we made the final effort to the cairn. In the picture, me and Alison are showing our pink t-shirts, which we'd been saving for a sunny day, this was the only show they got!It was to be too dangerous to go for the final two summits today. They, along with the In Pinn would have to wait for another day.

So, a total of nine Munros done in what can only be described as a challenging week!! A real shame to not have managed them all, but you can't argue with the weather! Alison and myself are already discussing a trip next year to finish them off. A sunny weekend, with hopefully some views too!

Tuesday 19 August 2008

Wolverhampton Triathlon

After a night of torrential rain, I woke up at the crack of dawn to beautiful sunshine. A bowl of porridge and a bottle of lucozade later, I felt ready to go!

I arrived at Chasewater Resevoir and racked my bike in the transition area, and lay everything out ready for the change from swim to bike and bike to run! I put on my wet suit and swim hat and headed over to the lake with the rest of the competitors! I was a little nervous as I stepped into the lake...this would be my first race with an open water swim. The pool seemed so much more appealing as I stepped into the cold, murky water. After a bit of a warm up though I soon got used to it. There was a fair bit of hanging around as the marshals got into place and the automatic chip timing system was prepared, but after 5 minutes or so the horn sounded and we were off!

As I predicted, the first few minutes were quite hectic. People swimming into eachother, hitting eachother over the head etc.. as we headed out to the first buoy. But as the field spread out a bit I was able to get into a rhythm. I finished the swim in 29:28 which I was very pleased with, quicker than the times I had done in training. The adrenaline of the competition must have been kicking in. Then straight into transition, a bit of a battle getting the wetsuit off and then off out onto the 40km bike ride.

The route was an out and back course, with two loops. Some of the top guys lapped me on the bike course. They looked pretty impressive in their streamlined helmets and very expensive bikes!! I felt good on the bike, and my training around Edinburgh's Holyrood Park came in handy, as most of the 'hills' seemed ok!?! I came through the bike course in 1:36:29.



Then onto the run! During my last triathlon I really felt my legs wobble as I transferred from the bike to the run, but this time they felt much better. It took me a couple of kilometres to get into my stride, but thereafter, I felt strong on the run. It was a flat course, twice around the lake. I could see the girl who'd gone past me on the cycle about 100m ahead of me, so I made it my mission to catch her up. I managed to claw past her with a couple of kilometres to go, which spurred me on for the last part of the race.

I finished the run in 54:25, giving me an overall time of 3:04:08, which I was very pleased with. I really enjoyed my first Olympic distance triathlon, was such a buzz! Was great having my family there watching and cheering me on too, made it so much better! I reckon a sub 3 hours is in me for next time!!





Friday 15 August 2008

2 days to go!

Only two days to go until event number one - the Wolverhampton Olympic Distance Triathlon. A mixture of excitement and nerves now. This race will involve a 1500m swim (in a lake), a 40km cycle, and then a 10km run to finish off with. Having only ever previously done Sprint distance triathlons (half the distance), this will be a new experience, but one I'm really looking forward too. I've had a final few easy training sessions this week, not to mention a weeks worth of amazing athletes to watch in the Olympics, so I'm feeling motivated and ready to go! Bring it on....!

Saturday 9 August 2008

It Starts Here...

Well, I've been contemplating starting a blog for a while! There are three main reasons for me starting this. Firstly, it will be a personal catalogue of my various adventures; something to look back on in years to come. Secondly, it will be a place for me to ramble on about my training, thoughts, excitements, fears etc... as I complete various events in my build up to the Paris Marathon next year. Thirdly, and most importantly I would like this to be a way of transferring some of my crazy activities into positive outcomes; raising awareness of pancreatic cancer and raising money towards it's research.

For those of you who know me and my family, you will know all about the inspiration that is my Mum! Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (for the second time) in 2003, she continues to show the disease who's boss!! We always tell her she's a 'Tough Cookie'. This of course, is a massive understatement - she is truly amazing! As is my dad who is always by her side. She inspires me in all I do, and the following events will be no exception. I reckon....if a bit of self-inflicted pain on my part, can go anyway towards helping the suffering of people affected by the disease...then it's a small gesture I'm only too willing to do.

So....over the next 9 months, I will be carrying out a selection of "Challenges", the grand finale being the Paris Marathon on April 5th, 2009. I plan to run the marathon for the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK. I will set up a dedicated donation page in January 2009, when my training will be in full swing. In the meantime, details of the charity can be found at http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/. You can donate on this page at any time.

This blog will track my preparations between now and then, and will report on my other adventures along the way. At the moment, these are as follows (more will no doubt be added in due course):

August 17th 2008 - Wolverhampton Olympic Distance Triathlon
August 24rd - 29th - Traversing the Cuillin Range, Isle of Skye
September 3rd - Self Transcedence 5km
September 13th - Edinburgh Sprint Triathlon
September 14th - Pedal for Scotland (49 mile cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh) http://www.pedalforscotland.org/


April 5th 2009 - PARIS MARATHON !!!

As you can see, the first event is only a week away...so watch this space! Happy reading...