Middle Pack

Will I ever go back to running as much? Have to say probably not. A great bike and I wish I could give a decent review of it but as I have so little experience owning decent bikes I feel it unfair. Suffice to say it is damned fast and great fun to ride although the back end does kick a fair bit.

Done just shy of 200 miles in the first two weeks that I have owned it, however I have now decided to take off the computer as I am only checking total miles. I am experiencing a different type of tired than from running as you can really notice the difference between a battered impact tired from running to the general dull ache of biking.

Also managed to get myself to Dalby on Sunday and have another go at the Red route that I did a couple of months ago. Set off from the bottom car park and the first section up to Dixons hollow I was bouncing and pinging off rocks all over the place. A quick stop to deflate tyres and then I was setting off with a bit more speed.  I managed to get stuck in a pack of 4 lightweight full suss bikes for the next section. Bit of banter and I tried to hang on downhill whilst not running into the back of them on uphills. As most of it was sharp downhills then I was probably going as fast as I dare.  As soon as the flat ground re-appeared I was off then up the adders back climb, with them just a distant memory.

I had my first major bail soon after as well. A head over the bars moment, a bit of blood but the most important thing was the bike wasn’t scratched! Really my own fault for hesitating on a drop and ending up going too slow. From there it took a good 5 minutes to get any decent speed up without hanging on the brakes but I soon got most of my confidence back on all apart from the steeper stuff.

Dalby is surprisingly a lot bumpier than I initially remember (I was on a full suss). Not very tricky or rocky, just loads of little bumps and roots that can shake you around a bit. Once the tyre pressures was sorted I was good to go though. Finally managing the whole route in 2 hours 11 minutes.

Enjoyed that as a good workout, pretty annoying timing that the physio has told me to start running again. So I supopse I need to put my bike down for a day and give it a go?

I got this bag back in September and has been well tested in the months in between. These have included my daily commute, the OMM and various other days out in the hills.

On first inspection the thing that I noticed was the weight of this bag. Very lightweight, no frills bag. No strapping, no extra un-needed compression straps (although it does have some compression straps. Lightweight everything! It is currently weighting in at 335g. Making it just a tiny bit heavier than the new terra nova bags.

I much prefer the sleak black look and subtle styling as opposed to the in your face neon of the pro range. The lack of webbing and stuff hanging off it, not only makes it look better. It actually makes you think a bit about what you want and what you actually need from a bag. I like the webbing on the OMM bag as it is useful, yet I never use it? So how useful is it? I usually keep a bottle in the side webbing on my other bag and then have to nearly dislocate my shoulder to try and prize my bottle in and out of it. With the Inov8 one, I have just got myself shoulder strap bottle holders. easily sorted and a lot easier to access. I know i could have done that on the OMM one but I was determined to use the webbing for the purpose they were designed for, depsite being not fit for purpose.

The comfy chest strap seems to sit slightly lower than my OMM sack, This means extra stability and a lot less bounce. There is a whistle integrated into the buckle to ensure you never forget it. The waist strap has two integrated pockets for storing stuff you may need in a hurry. One is a showerproof pocket, which is handy for yuor mobile or generally things you do not want wet, whilst the other is a stretchy mesh pocket where I jam in sweets, flapjacks and gels.

It has a central zip, just like the previous range of Inov8 bags. This, I find both a good idea and a bad idea in equal measures. I just cannot decide if I like it or not? On the one hand, it is great for trying to find something that is in your bag should you need it. You do not need to empty your full bag to get to the bottom. On the other hand, it does make it slightly harder to pack, especially when you are trying to cram everything in. I guess because it is different to convential bags it will just take some getting used to. Don’t let it put you off as it works well, it just seems odd.

The quality of the bag is good, it still looks like new although it hasn’t had the same daily abuse as other bags I own. I am not sure if it would stand up to the abuse of a daily commute bag as it doesn feel so strong and robust but for its purpose as a lightweight race bag it is ideal.

The one downside to the bag is that it doesn’t have an option for a hydration bladder. Not much of a problem for myself for mountain marathons, but it is if you wnt to use it for other activities such as mountain biking. This may influence other peoples choice. If you want hydration bladder then you are better off looking at either the pro range or the OMM bags.

I would highly recommend this bag if you are trying to get your mountain marathon sack weight down, or if you are not one to traditionally use bladders on ultra runs. It is extremely comfy, functional and most importantly of all, it looks good!

A long year for me! In some ways great, in some ways I am glad it is over.

I have had some great times over the year. Here are some of the sporting  highlights:

Best Fell Race: Ennerdale Horsehoe

A great route, great scenery and felt good all the way round. A really good result at the end of it. Weather was perfect. My only regret for this year is not being able to do this race due to other commitments but 2010 I will be there. Pendle has to be up there as well as another cracking race where I left smiling despite struggling to walk the next day through ankle trouble.

Best Adventure Race: Dark and White

A bit unfair as I only did 2 Adventure races this year. Both of them late Jan / Early Feb but I like the Dark and White races as the organisation tends to be very smooth (so are open Adventure) yet low key. I also liked the little twist of an ‘O’ course and a proper fell course. Dates just been released for 09 so must see if I can get these done again.

Best buy: Inov8 Mudclaws.

Despite the fact the first pair went back, depsite the fact the second pair are showing wear and the stitching is coming undone. I cannot see how these shoes can be bettered? I may try the X-talons next but they have a lot to live up to.

Best Mountain Marathon: Rab Mountain Marathon

The OMM was a debacle that promised a lot and failed to deliver. Maybe its just too big now? Saunders I was too slow to get entry in. Lamm I had no interest in and the Highlander just too cold. The Rab was great size, great course, great location. Oh and I won! The mini MM’s are also great fun. A real shame that I could only do one this year.

Best training session: Run to work

A strange one here. Probably my most beneficial training session over the year has been my tempo runs to work. Exactly 4 miles there and 4 miles back. A reasonably hilly run and a great set up to the day. Best time 23.48 A great way to get your milage up with 8 free miles. The bus takes over an hour! This was a close run thing as I also did a two day weekend run of over 60 miles mountain marathon style which I think helped me a lot

So these are the highlights. I did 2 Adventure Races, lost count of the fell races, 2 Orienteering events, no road and no trail races.

So the lowlights:

Worst Injury: Ankle Injury

High Peaks Marathon and a cold windy night in the peak. Me rolling round in a bog grabbing my ankle after going over on it for the third time. Game over for me. X-rays showed a previous break and a misformed ankle. 2 months in pot and a seasons goal ruined and still lingering problems from the same injury.

Worst buy: Watch

This is the worst buy mainly because it was an un-needed buy. I turned up at the D&W Adventure race with no watch. A bit of an issue in a timed event. I bought one at the event for £40 gone. Set off and somehow managed to stop the timer on it mid-race. Won’t mention the make as it is an okay watch. Just a bad buy at a timee when I was skint.

Worst Race: Duddon Valley

A great course but in bad conditions for me. A really really hot day and me being a bit enthusiastic meant I struggled badly for much of the race. Deyhdrated and sluggish and the toys went out of the pram early on. I will be back to banish the demons of this race but not till 2010.

Worst training Session: Track

Its flat, short and running on hard ground. A real way to show my weak area of running. Suppose that is why I have only shown my face twice this year at track session. Will do it more this year.

So a quick summary of the year. A busy one for my first full season running. Just hope that 09 is even more productive and i get a few more wins under my belt.

I wish I had tried this shoe earlier. They just looked too aggressive. A bit clumpy, almost overkill? Oh how wrong can I be?

These shoes encourage you to fly down hills with what may seem like reckless abandonment but in these shoes you are in control. You know that if the foot hits the ground then you are not going to slip. Almost to the point of feeling like your knees will pop out before your shoes slip.

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Inov8 have recently revealed their new kit for 2009 at the Kendal Outdoor Retail show last month. With the X-talon 212’s shown along with a further dizzying array of different shoes (Am I the only one to lose track of them all?).

They have also gone for a womens range of trail shoes built on a different last, with narrower heels to fit the female shape. No pink there though I noticed.

The main thing that was of interest to me was the updated rucksacks and bumbags. I avoided the last range due to the bright yellow colours and the horizontal bladder. Much preferring dark colours to match my mood and bottles as they are easier to fill and you do not have to carry as much water. It looks like Inov8 were thinking along the same lines. They call it “deliberately stealthy” I call it more tasteful. But I see their point. In a mountain marathon or adventure race the guy with the inov8 bag stands out like a beacon on the fells, alerting you to their presence and singling them out as a competitor and possibly near your destination.

The new bumbags are both jet black The large one (I guess to replace the race 4) now have an external bottle holder and I am guessing by the looks of the design they now have two pockets with the bottle holder in the middle of those pockets. This means no horizontal bladder. The smaller bag (to replace the race 2?) does not have a bottle holder and I am unable to tell if there is room for a bladder or not. I am waiting a response from Inov8 on that one so hopefully I can update on that soon.

The rucksacks all have similar shapes to last years models, although I notice that one of the sizes seems to be missing from the line up. That will help matters as they did have 3 bags between 18l and 22l which is a bit of overkill. This will make my decision on my next bag a difficult one as more and more lightweight rucksacks come onto the market.