I’ve lost count how many times I’ve ran or walked around Ladybower Reservoir now, it’s been a few. Not only are the views impressive, but there are some challenging climbs, some excellent, runnable trails and it’s only a smidge over 90 minutes to get there from home. So, with a long trail run in the plan for this past weekend, I loaded Archie into the car and off we set for Heatherdene car park.
Parking what3words: halt.bandaged.hindering
The car park does get very busy, with limited spaces, but you should be OK if you get there early enough. There are toilets there (good ones too), along with some picnic benches and the cost is £6 for the day.
As I always do, we set off across the dam of the reservoir and straight up to Win Hill via Parkin Clough. I’ve read that this is the steepest section of path in the whole of the Peak District. That seems like quite a claim, and I’m not sure if it’s true, but what definitely is true is that it’s a slog getting up. From the main path at the bottom to the summit of Win Hill, it’s just over 1 km and the total ascent is just under 300 m. If you’re running up that, then I doff my cap to you because, even walking, it’s a tough old climb. It’s worth noting that it can also get very muddy and slippery following wet weather, so please take care. The path follows a stream / mini-waterfall and is covered by trees, so has little opportunity to dry out.
It’s worth the climb though. On a clear day, the views from the top of Win Hill are some of the nicest around (not so much on a cloudy day).
From here, there are a few onward route options. Looking over to the left, you should be able to see Lose Hill, the Great Ridge and Mam Tor. For a similar distance to the above, you could head over that way, and then back to Heatherdene via Cave Dale (highly recommended) and the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. However, from this point I often head straight on over Win Hill and down towards the reservoir. This is a cracking trail and entirely runnable. In fact, in the route outlined here, there is around five and a half miles of runnable trail before you hit the next big climb. Great fun! Great training too, as there is a real mix of surfaces to negotiate. The descent starts off on hard packed trail, but you’re soon running on grass, both stable and loose rocks, forest paths and muddy trails.
I was a bit nervous about Archie not really having much water on route to cool down in. It wasn’t particularly hot, but I do like to try and incorporate a stream or river of some kind for him to have a splash and cool down in if I can. Thankfully, we came across a weir and I stopped for a few minutes to allow him to have a bit of a splash. He seemed appreciative.
We eventually came to Alport Castles Farm, pretty much at the bottom of the castles themselves. The running stopped as we crossed the bridge and began our ascent. This climb was 200 m, over the course of around a mile. Again, gorgeous views.
We got to the top, took a few photos, took on some food and water, and set off back towards the reservoir, knowing that the day’s climbs were now behind us. Aside from a few minor bumps, particularly on the paths around the reservoir, the majority of the remainder of the route was runnable.
The trails got quite busy coming back down from the castles, with a lot of families and couples making their way up. It was also quite busy around the reservoir, as you would expect. It’s low ground here, with minimal ups and downs, so makes for a nice, gentle stroll. Pounding man and trotting dog were probably not what most were expecting to see on a Saturday lunchtime, but Archie did amazingly well at sticking by my side, both on and off the lead.
It’s probably the best he’s ever been behaved while we’ve been out, and he was rewarded as all good boys should. We were back at the car inside 3 hours, adding a bit on at the end to ensure a 15+ mile run (15.5 in the end), and he didn’t seem too fazed at all. I’m convinced it’s more about time on feet than it is about distance or pace. He seems far more tired after a long 12 mile walk than he does a 15 mile run. I think the sniffing provides mental stimulation, of which tires him out. Of course, when running, he has less time to do that, so it’s more physical tiredness only as opposed to mental too. And I’m sure he’s way fitter and more capable than I am.
Nutrition
I thought this would be a good time to test out some nutrition, and see how my stomach coped with taking on real food while running. After listening to the Tea and Trails podcast, 60-90 g of carbs per hour seems to be the ideal target for longer distance running. Given that I haven’t done much of this so far, and the fact that I was only running for 3 hours here, I opted for the more conservative end of that, and packed food accordingly, along some some extra, emergency nutrition, just in case.
You search online for running nutrition and are hit with a plethora of options, all of which seem absurdly expensive. But, it’s just carbs that we’re after, right? Why do we need specific sports nutrition? Can’t we just get our carbs from ‘normal’ foods, which cost a fraction of the price? I understand that what else is in the foods can have an impact on how your stomach reacts to them, but after reading through some ultra running Facebook pages and forums, it seems everyday foods are very common.
Energy gels are obviously a typical choice for energy while running, especially as they are easy to take. I had a singular Protein Rebel Maple Ignite energy gel that I got as a freebie in my Shakespeare half marathon goodie bag, so I decided to take that with me and give it a try. Looking at the ingredients, it’s made up of 99.1% grade A Canadian maple syrup and 0.9% sea salt. Excusing the sea salt, could you not just buy a bottle of maple syrup from Tesco (or other) and get largely the same thing? £6.45 for a bottle containing 330 g, versus £1.63 (if you’re buying 36 at a time) for a 36 g gel.Definitely something worth trying in the future, I know others do this. Regardless, the gel tasted great (very sweet) and I’m confident it helped on my second climb, up to Alport Castles.
Energy bites are something else that seem to be all the rage at the minute. Veloforte, Precision Fuel and Hydration, Clif, Kendall Mint Company, they all seem to do them. Again though, looking at the nutritional numbers, they’re not too dissimilar to good old Jelly Babies. So, Jelly Babies was what I took. They went down well, and didn’t make me feel sick afterwards. Win!
The other food I took, were fig roll biscuits, recommended by a friend who did The Lap as his first ultra earlier this year. Easy to carry, they don’t squash or crumble in a pocket, and they carry 13 g of carbs per biscuit. Tasty too. Again, went down and stayed down, so they will be on the menu for future long runs.
Drink wise, I took two 500 ml bottles. One was filled with water, and one had an SiS Hydro tablet in. I’m not a huge fan of the SiS tablets, and the drink doesn’t always sit that well. I have a tube to get rid of though, and on ‘shorter’ runs like this, it doesn’t matter too much. I don’t think they will play a part in any of my races though.
All good so far then, although I am aware that, nutritionally, things rarely go badly in training, and are more likely in a race. I don’t think it will matter too much in the marathon, as I probably won’t take on a great deal of real food. I still have some Hi5 energy gels from half marathon training that are likely to see me through that, but moving into the 50 km’s and beyond, it’s good to get some training in on what my body can eat while at intensity.