Mark Kelly's Running Life!: Getting final training in for Tour of the Pennines

As I have the "Tour of the Pennines" coming up, it is imperative that I get some hill training in now so that my legs have time to adapt.

The "Manchester - Sheffield - Manchester" event showed my fitness and endurance are still some way off where I need to be, I want to be happy I can finish these challenges.

For the last few months, my short distance work is fine and the lungs work fine, legs are keeping good, but the rest of my body is struggling for the endurance of the events I have entered demand.

So for this session, I decided two hills over a short distance would give my legs a workout but minimise the strain.

It all went well, it was my first time up Buckstones Road (except in a car) and it is a long, constant climb, reaching the top was such a hard effort and all the time, wishing for another “Granny Gear” which is a term used for gears to help you get up hills easier, spinning the legs more and requiring less power, just more endurance.

Turning left at the top is downhill into Denshaw, as I approached the next turn there was a police incident, two cars had collided head-on, the passengers must have been taken to the hospital sometime before, the police officers thankfully didn’t make me cycling back up the hill I had sped down!

So I carried on through Delph to tackle the second hill “Grains Bar”, the way home thankfully is all downhill!

Finally at the top

As I was due for another cortisone injection in my troubled shoulder, I went for a run Thursday morning, my timing wasn’t great as I emerged off the trail, back the main road, the school kids were all streaming everywhere, cars queuing, fetching out fumes, my lungs were goosed.

It took some time when I got home to recover, twice I had to get on the inhaler. I have not had to use that since before the first lockdown, the “return to the new normal” the empty roads were a boon for runners and cyclists, almost clean air!

On Saturday I did a version of the Royton Trail, which is our (Royton Road Runners) annual race, this year the race HQ has been changed to the Royton Cricket club, which is our base, traditionally we go from near the Tandle Tavern and finish there.

So the route is not too different but the hard work up through Tandle Hils is now near the beginning and so leaves you to enjoy the rest of the race downhill and mostly flat, I live close to the route and so had the first wear of a running vest thus far this year as it was mid-afternoon and super warm.

Sunday was a planned 36 mile Cragg Vale ride, I took a nice pace ride out to Hebden Bridge, it's a good route with a warm-up distance to Kiln Lane, a steep hill on the way to Hollingworth Lake, it was
quiet on the way round and down to the turn for Todmorden Road.

It is a long easy climb up to Todmorden and undulation from there to Hebden Bridge and a nice rest for a bacon butty and latte at Coffee Cali.

Well earned rest

Latte and gel, a great combo

A quick supplemental gel for energy and it was off to Cragg Vale, arguably the longest, continuous climb in England of around 5.5 miles, not my quickest time up there, but good training and happily Royds Ices were at the top and had a rewarding ice cream

Royds ices, the depot is a the bottom of the hill

The descent back into Littleborough is steep and today a touch windy, not for the faint-hearted! It's the same route back past the lake and home, so this time put a bit of effort and got myself home for a well rewarding brew!

So got a good endurance and hill effort in, getting better now and feeling more confident about the Tour of the Pennines, which is just 2 weeks away.

As I publish this post I have raised £135 which is 27% of my £500 target which is fantastic and thanks to all those who have sponsored me so far, if you can afford and wish to help out, the link is:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mark-kelly57

Next week I will write about the energy bars I make, not just for me, something for all the family!