Form Is Temporary...

Saw this semi-literate graffiti when driving home from a race last year.  Captured my mood perfectly.  Why is my mind so weak when it comes to self-belief?  I can really be my own worst enemy!  I was a bit sad when the council replaced the sign.

I'm worried...

I've not had a decent training run in what seems like forever.  I've lost that sparkle, the one that drives me on and convinces me I'm making constant progress.  My last PB is a distant memory.  Is this the start of my inevitable decline?

But what are you talking about?  This is periodisation.  Your last race was only five weeks ago and it went really well.  Since then it's been all about long and slow, building the miles again.  It's the same plan as ever. 

But the PB thing... I FEEL slow.

And so you should!  The PB's should come again after two weeks of speedwork, then you taper, then the next race.  It's always like this, why are you beating yourself up?

But that last long run, I had to actually stop and take on fluids, I'd nearly ground to a halt.

But you've just answered your own question you idiot, you were chronically dehydrated.  Getting your fuelling wrong was daft but that doesn't mean you're losing fitness.

But I feel so tired, sluggish.  There's no spring in my step.

Look at your diary, you did over 8,000m of ascent last week, and even more the week before.  And didn't you just win a mountain bike race at the weekend?  Relax, recover and start the speedwork as planned.

But that was mountain biking, this is running and there was no real competition, it was a gimme.  And I ache, what if the speedwork doesn't show results?

Hang on a minute, you've been sneezing, you're snotty and your resting heart rate was up this morning.  You're ill, and possibly overtrained.

But it's just a head cold, I've been on Google and read up, unless it hits my chest it shouldn't effect my training.

But listen to yourself, you've been doing big miles, loads of ascent and you've got an illness.  Hardly a recipe for feeling sprightly is it?!

I suppose you could be right, but what do I do?

Stick to the plan!  Couple of days rest, let the cold clear and then on to the speedwork and don't forget to rest and rest properly.  A decent nights sleep wouldn't go amiss.

Ok, ok, Mr Sensible, I'll do what you say.  You know best...

Damn right I do, you've been following this cycle for years and it nearly always works.  Why are you so insecure?

I don't know, it's just that I really want this next race.

I know and you really wanted the last race too and what happened there?

Yep, you're right, I know you are, it's just hard sometimes.  I get the fear... I'll try to keep the faith...

2 Days and One Decent Tempo Session Later

That was awesome, I'm back!  Can't wait to get back out, reckon I could squeeze a mountain session in later tonight.

Wait a minute, what about the recovery?

Yeh, whatever, did you not see my splits?

Give me strength!  Do you learn nothing?  Rest hard, train hard.

Nice idea, but I think I'd better capitalise on this form whilst I can.  Maybe some hill reps...

LISTEN TO ME!!  You need to recover.

Aye OK, maybe later, now where's my X-Talons...

 

New Routes, Repeats and Rab Sponsorship!

Some of the delights of Owey Island pic - Ronnie Smith

(Paul) It has been pretty hectic over the last few months. Settled weather and keeping a clear diary has resulted in lots of climbing trips to places like Fair Head, the Mournes, Spain and some Donegal islands - well, Owey in particular.  The (slight) downside to this is no time in front of the computer to write up these little adventures - just a few Bookface updates here and there!

Climbed a few 7Cs in Margalef!

What I did hear this week is that Rab are going to start sponsoring me with some gear! It's pretty cool to now be associated with one of the biggest manufactures of outdoor clothing in the UK and Ireland. They have promised some bright colours so the pictures should be good - I'm just going to have to work on doing some cool stuff while I'm wearing it now!

Back to climbing and what has been going on. Going back a few months I organised a 10 day youth climbing trip to Siurana and Margalef in Spain for 10 youth climbers from all over Ireland.  10 days, 10 youth and some of the best sport climbing in the world = being totally knackered! Youth climbing in Ireland is in a great place at the minute, lots of coaches putting the effort in and plenty of opportunities to put their climbing wall skills to practice on real rock as well! The Spanish trip was brilliant and it marked my last trip as Mountaineering Ireland youth development officer - although saying that, I am taking 18 kids away to the Burren next week but freelance this time. Many thanks to Ricky Bell, Michelle O'Loughlin and everyone at MI.

Climbing on Raven Crag, Langdale on the BMG Rock 1 training.  pic Adrian Nelhams

The start of May saw the first of my official British Mountain Guide training courses - Rock 1.  It took place in the Lake District and was headed up by Adrian Nelhams and Stu McAlesse. I, like the other trainee guides, really enjoyed it and are definitely psyched for what's to come! Here is a link to a write up I did about the Rock 1 course.

Cow shed lecture, FH Meet 2014

May seemed to fly by with a mixture of teaching and guided climbing work, at venues such as Fair Head, Dalkey, The Mournes and Donegal.  I worked on some Mountain Skills assessments along with Vertigo Outdoors and a bit of route setting when the weather wasn't playing ball.  This also left me plenty of time to get out cragging and organise the Fair Head Meet 2014. Here is the little video Ricky Bell put together from the FH Meet 2013; I think (hope!) most folk get the humour at the start of the video!

First pitch and first ascent of
un jour, peut-etre, Fair Head
pic John McCune

Me on Death or Glory, probably freaking out at this point
pic John McCune

The run up to this year's meet gave a good spell of sunshine making for some great climbing conditions at Fair Head. Due to its mostly north facing aspect, high temperatures and little wind, climbing in the shade was very enjoyable - I do enough suffering in Scotland and the Alps! Climbing mostly with the ever-psyched John McCune and others, we ticked off a few first ascents, second ascents and repeats of seldomly travelled classics.  Most notable were the first ascents of the 4 pitch Un jour, peut-etre (E6) - John lead the 2 crux pitches and Full of Energy, Ready 2 Party (E5) - where I was belayed by John Orr.  With John McCune we also made the second ascent of Stop Making Sense (E5) and we also climbed London Calling (E5) and Death or Glory (E4 - but bit of a chop route at the grade).  The Meet was well attended and the Weather Gods again helped - you can read the UKC article here.

Still hanging with the youth. Taking Saul up Salango - his first route at Fair Head!

The start of June was the second of the Rock training course titled Rock 2! This time it took place at Plas Y Brenin and was headed up by Martin Chester.  North Wales really is a hub for Guides and Mountain Instructors and over the 4 days I was introduced to more guides who hopefully I will be working with in the near future!  Tamsin, a trainee guide on the course, put together a nice little summary here.  Thanks to Gore for the subsidy for the course.

Teaching climbing on the Rock 2 training, N. Wales. pic Steve Long

June involved a bit more work including a Climbing Wall Leading Award (CWLA), Climbing Wall Award (CWA) training and assessment, some site specific training and assessment at a few little climbing walls and some more guided rock climbing!  With regards to the CWA I have put a few more dates up for courses starting in the Autumn. Check out the CWA page on the Rock and Ride website for the dates.

Back on Mad Dogs after being rescued 8 years before! This time it went well. Thanks Craig Hiller - the pics and video to come!

Climbing in June didn't take a back seat either. I managed to lay Mad Dogs (E5) at Spellack in the Mournes to rest after being rescued on it 8 years ago.  The same day I held Mr Bell's ropes on his new line aptly called the Peace Donkey - if you have a look at the route beside it you'll get a chuckle out of the name! A good day for both of us and good to hang out with friends.  Craigy was on hand with his camera so some good video footage should materialise once he gets a chance to look through it.  After that quick Mournes hit I got my first taste of Owey Island - which blew me away! I'm hooked!  The place is so amazing that it deserves its own write up, I just couldn't do it justice here, so I am settling for putting together a few topos and getting pictures. New routes and pristine granite pretty much sum Owey up!

2nd ascent of Part of the Friction. Destined to become a wonder-classic!  My new lines takes the pocked wall on the left. pic Eamon Quinn

So that brief summary takes me up to the start of this week. I headed out with young Quinn and on Monday we hit up Blue lough Buttress. I haven't been there in ages and Quinn had just climbed a new lin, so I was keen to repeat it. His route was amazing - probably E4/5 6a as it is quite go-ey at the start and the gear is small and fiddly. The climbing is really Mournes-esk, relying on a lot of friction and it is also quite techy, so the name 'Part of the Friction' describes it well.  I also knew there was a wee line left of it but word is that it had less gear and the climbing was harder.  Equipped with cleaning gear we abbed down the line to have a look, little gear was confirmed and the holds were pretty awful, but at least it was a slab!  A bit of psyche was required, I tied in, took my time and arrived at the crux (just above the sideways blue DMM offset wire). I must have spent 20 mins trying to work out how I could get the reach for a sloppy pock hold thing. With no other way than to jump I sent for it - probably scaring Quinn just as much as me!  I managed to hold the next few moves together as falling was not an option and topped out FOMO, E6 6a/b.  Description below.

FOMO***
E6 6a/b
20m
Paul Swail & Eamon Quinn 30/06/2014.

Excellent technical slab climbing up the line of pocks 3m left of Part of the Friction.

Climbing boldly but easily up to a downward point peg. Make moves past the peg using a mono hold until you get established on a sloppy foothold on the left wall.  Place a blue DMM offset wire horizontally and hope it cams (gets stuck). Make a dynamic move left to a pocket and continue up the wall until a large flared groove is reached. Finish easily to the top.

So in summary, it has been a great few months for finding the perfect balance of climbing, training and working!  Psyche in general has been high this summer with folk having wee adventures in cool places, on our doorstep.  We often take this life of play hard/work little for granted and every now and then something happens to put it into perspective, keep us humble and make us realise how lucky we are.

Hanging, chillin and enjoying these wonderful places climbing takes us.
pic Pat Nolan

Sponsored post...Cotswold Outdoor and some words about climbing skiing and work!!

The last few weeks have been pretty mental with lots of work, a bit of play and friends coming and going.  Things have just settled down to give me a bit of time to relax and get prepared for the youth climbing trip I have organised to Spain next week.

Gynocrat in the rain!

March saw little change in the weather. It was pretty minging, wet and windy for most of it!  The occasional days that we were greeted with sunshine were few and far between. I guess to try and get trad climbing this time of the year you need to hit up the sunny sheltered sports.  Lower Cove is about the only cliff we have that ticks all the boxes, shame about the good hour walk-in! I had 2 very different days there back to back; the first one with my good pal Doc Crawley who was home for a few days just before Paddy's day, when I managed to drag myself up Pressure Point (E6) in near perfect conditions. The second I was in with Quinn Snr & Jnr climbing a few of the Mournes' classics.  It was pretty awesome to see Quinn Snr at nearly 70 years old climbing Gynocrat in the rain!  Them old skool dudes sure are hard as nails.

The simple life - we could get very used to it!

Having had a very busy last while with BMG training and work Ellie and I booked a wee trip over to Austria to see Stevie and Dik.  The plan was to ski but with the relative low altitude of the Tirol region and the lack of snow this season and super high temps we ending up doing as much climbing as we did skiing and not to mention eating lots of Lindt chocolate!  Do you think there would be a market for guiding in Austria? I sure do hope so!

Wall games to look at stable clipping positions

The last week of March was very busy running climbing training both site-specific and NGB (National Governing Body) qualifications through BOS - the Irish Training Board.  All of this work was based in Dublin so it gave me the chance to hit up Awesome Walls, Dublin for some training - they even gave me a couch to sleep on one night!

I also ran the first Climbing Wall Leading Award in Ireland.  Folk have been waiting for years for the CWLA to be introduced in Ireland.  It is a bolt on qualification for people who already hold the SPA or CWA and want to teach lead climbing indoors. Between myself and Rob Davis from Vertigo Outdoors we had 8 people on the course and ran it jointly.  This worked very well with both Rob and myself bouncing ideas off each other throughout the day. I think everyone on the course got a lot from the day. I will have some more CWLA dates on the site in the next few weeks.





Back on the climbing front (for myself) I managed to have an amazing day last week repeating one of the finest lines in the Mournes. We're All Learning (E7 6c) a steep slab with a crack that runs out at 3/4 height to give a tenuous, thoughtful sequence and interesting climbing - thankfully above some bomber gear that I picked up at Cotswold Outdoors (as the video will show you).  I originally tried the route in the winter but it was totally baltic and kinda gave up not being able to feel my fingers and with a freezing belayer (cheers Quinn). This time I was feeling more optimistic with blue skies, no wind and temperatures hovering at about 8 degrees.  After a play on a wee toppy and drying out the shady side of the crack I was keen to get onto the sharp end.  As you can see in the video this try didn't go so well.  I just didn't find my balance point, rushed it a bit and like in slow motion I was off!  Unfortunately the cold temps killed the battery on my phone so I wasn't able to get the ascent on video. Bit of a shame as I let out a massive 'psych whoop' when I got the finishing jug!



Yesterday I took a bit of a punt with the Hawk and Eamon and headed to the 'head'.  It was a cracking day - a tad on the chilly side but the banter made up for it!  Nice to get back up to Fair Head getting a bit of mileage in.  I did Jolly Roger in a oner and the Hawk ran up Toby jug - we then all ran away and drank some tea!

Eamon, Eddie and plenty of down on Toby Jug, Fair Head

Hope everyone is getting out and about. I will put some CWLA and CWA dates up for May and June in the next few weeks.  For now here is a little video of me taking some air time on my first attempt of We're All Learning!

Skiing - Irish style

Climbing our line on Bernagh to check snow conditions!

So over the last few weeks conditions in the Mournes have been alpine.  Blue skies, no wind and snow covered mountains.  Who would have thought you could be skiing after work at the start of April!!






I was lucky enough to get out and enjoy these conditions.  Along with a hardcore crew of Craig, Graham, Ellie and Paddy we skinned many peaks, descended many slopes and had many a big smile.  Below is a short GoPro edit of what we all truly enjoyed.

I think you could still be skiing in a weeks time.  The lee slopes (west facing) still have a huge amount of snow on them and those patches are not disappearing to quick!

Apres ski Newcastle STYLIE!

Facing The Challenge - The Donard Hat Trick

I'll start this post with a caveat, I haven't completed this challenge, in fact if I'm totally honest I haven't even attempted it really!  I have however come up with a tough new testpiece and developed a fair idea of how spectacularly hard it is so I thought I'd throw down the gauntlet to anyone who wants to take it on.

The Mournes skyline, Donard is the big pointy one

Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland's highest mountain stands at 853 metres tall and towers over the seaside town of Newcastle, County Down.  It forms the centrepiece of the iconic Mourne Mountains skyline which can be viewed from miles around and inspired Percy French's famous poetry.  In ancient times the summit was said to be the home of Saint Donard who provided the name for this spectacular lump of granite. 

In real terms 853m barely makes it a mountain really but the proximity to the coast and the relentless gradient of the main walking track make it an enticing challenge for hikers, charity walks, people in flip flops with a bottle of Lucozade and all sorts of others.  A clear view of the summit from the comfort of Newcastle's many cafes seems to have the effect of dragging the foolish and unprepared towards it in a frenzy of summit fever, keeping the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team busy and teaching some harsh truths about the mountains to the uninitiated.

Personally, I'm not uninitiated, I'd like to think I know the mountains well.  I've been up Donard many times in near 30 degree heat (honest), howling blizzards, daytime, nighttime, racing, training and so on.  In fact, it's got to the stage where I don't really consider running up and down Donard once to be much of a challenge and that's where the hat-trick idea originally came from.

My Mourne Wall efforts in the Summer set me looking for new challenges but the onset of Winter and a rare attack of sense have kept me away from the Mourne 500 (more on that to come).  I wanted something controllable and safe but also horrifically difficult whilst also being theoretically possible, easy!  A while back I read an account of someone doing ten ascents of Donard in a day and that set me thinking, what about ten timed ascents with a target to beat?  I quickly realised that my boredom threshold would prevent this becoming a reality but what about something shorter, quicker and slightly less ridiculous, what about three sprint ascents?

A few years ago I read with shock that people actually run up and down Donard in less than an hour. It was even more of a shock when I realised that I was also capable of being one of those people!  I regularly run it for training in just over the hour mark and so my triple ascent time target needed to be close enough to the hour to be very tough but not so close as to be unachievable.  I settled on 70 minutes for each circuit, a total of 3 1/2 hours, non stop, starting and finishing in Donard car park each time.  There are different routes available and even on the Donard race consensus is split between heading up the main walking track or dragging over bog and moorland up the steeper but half mile shorter Black Stairs route.  Personally I think the Black Stairs are quicker but for the sake of not falling off a cliff I decided to make the rules strictly main track only, up and down.  This makes one lap 5 miles with over 5500 feet of combined ascent and descent, possibly one of the toughest runnable 5 mile laps anywhere!

Rules decided, the only thing left was to slap on the Inov8's, eat a bar and get going...

Except it's madness!  70 minutes is a pretty respectable time for a main track lap when only doing one, surely it's not possible to maintain that pace over the three?  I decided the best way to find out was to do two laps first and see what effect it had.  So it was that I found myself jogging up the rooty initial track after work on a grey November afternoon.  I was keen to maintain a steady pace so I didn't really push myself, summiting in just under 46 mins and not really sprinting the way back down.  I was hoping for about 1:08 so was pretty annoyed with myself when my warm up lap was actually 1:12:40, way off the average target for the three laps!  No problem I thought, I'll push hard on the second lap and make the time up.  Wrong!  As casual as the first lap seemed, even keeping within my limits clearly took its toll and despite pushing hard my second lap lost me more time.  The increasing headwind which always funnels down the valley certainly didn't help the ascent and the impending darkness definitely slowed the descent, particularly in the forested end sections so the 1:16 second lap wasn't really a surprise.  Total two lap time, 2:28:15, over eight minutes off target, back to the drawing board!

For a while I pondered increasing the average time allowed to 1:15 but what's the point of moving the boundaries just because I'm not good enough to complete the challenge?  Better to keep trying until I can do it.  A different approach, less headwind and not doing it on a work day could maybe see me get closer to the target.  Two out of three isn't bad and so on a blustery Saturday morning I left the car park at a decidedly brisker pace.  The headwind was still a definite factor but despite not going too hard I still summitted in sub 43 and hit the bottom in 1:06:30, three and a half minutes banked and I could sniff a possibility!  The second lap was tough, the wind was really sapping and there is only so much motivation you can glean from the shocked expressions of the people you're passing for the second time on the way up.  I got to the top at 1:54:20, it was going to be close.  The initial descent is steep and littered with boulders, not the greatest combination for seized knees, creaking hips and tired quads so I maintained the best style I could and tried not to fall and smash myself.  Finally the wind became a friend as I stretched out my paces along the beautifully constructed mid section, skipping over rocks and driving as hard as I could over the short sprinty rises.  I kept the pressure up all the way to the bottom, only the early onset of cramp slowing me on the final car park sprint.  And the result was... 1:19:26!  On target for two laps, very pleased and yet even more daunted by the prospect of having just 1:10:34 to do the last lap with legs like rocks. 

Can I do it?  I don't know.  I didn't eat or drink on those two laps and obviously refuelling will be essential to complete the three but with a constantly running clock it will have to be done on the go either whilst panting hard going up or concentrating hard going down, not easy.  I feel close enough, and yet also far away enough to stay inspired by this one, pretty soon I'll go for the three laps and see what happens.

And that's where it stands.  Except I'd like to see this challenge achieved, not just by me, by anyone.  I've recently mentioned it to the elite of Mournes mountain runners and received a luke warm response so I'm throwing it open to all.  Ironmen, Mountain Marathoners, Endurance Cyclists, Mountain Bikers, if you are someone who thinks they're fit or know someone who thinks they're fit then get them to drop me a line and have an official attempt.  I'll be there at the finish to cheer you home and buy you a pint.  There must be someone out there who'll have a good dig at this... 

 

Contact ian@rockandrideoutdoors.com if you think you're up to the challenge and I'll give you all the info.

Mountain Skills with Tollymore!

Group shelter, an essential piece of kit for when out in the mountains

Yesterday seen me out working with Tollymore National Outdoor Centre.  We had a small group of engineers in who survey land to see whether it would be possible to use it for windfarms.

We looked at navigating with 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps, river crossings, survival skills and the pros and cons of using a GPS!

How to we cross this one?

It was cool to be back out in the Mournes working with folk who are really up for learning new skills.

We are currently getting some Climbing, Mountain Biking and Winter flyers done. I have just received the first draft and they look cool!

Ian has also confirmed the design for the biking jerseys, drop him an email on ian@rockandrideoutdoors.com to place and order or see the design.

A week in the Mournes

Last week seen me work 7 days straight on climbing courses.  I was very lucky with the weather all week.  I got to visit crags like Lower Cove, Pigeon, Spellack and Altnadue Quarry and climb routes such as Castrol R (E1), Falcon (HS), Gynacrat (HVS), Dot's Delight (HVS) and the Mourne classic Pillar Variant(S).  My clients were really keen to look at placing gear, building belays, lead climbing and belaying and multi pitch climbing.  Well by the end of the week they were both confidently leading S and there multi-pitch rope work was very slick.  It was really satisfying to see the progression people can make in just a week.

At the weekend I was working with a group from down South. On the Saturday 4 of them wanted to look at building belays and setting up at the top of the crag.  With the slightly dodgy forecast the decision was made to go to Altnadue Quarry. Not an amazing venue for climbing but really good for looking at the fundamentals involved with belay set ups, belaying and for group use.  We covered a lot and by the end of the day all 4 clients were working independently.  Nice one guys.

The group for Sunday were more advanced so Spellack was the venue.  After 20 minutes we were at the base of forest view buttress and the team were getting kitted up to start leading.  These guys wanted to look at more advanced techniques so we covered tying off a belay plate, escaping the system followed by counterbalance rescue and snatch rescue and the very useful skill of abseiling past a knot.  These are all very useful skills to know especially when venturing onto more committing cliffs in Ireland.

A special note should be made for Harry who had to be rescued because he got his rope stuck...............

For anyone interested in any type of climbing instruction just get in touch.  Quality is guaranteed!

A chilli Grand Central

The venue

Today I had the pleasant company of being out with Anthony and Emma from Dublin. They travelled up from Dublin yesterday and stayed in the Meelmore Lodge campsite.  The two of them were really keen to look at the techniques involved with multi - pitch climbing, so the obvious choice for this was to head up to Bernagh Slabs.

Emma with her textbook rope management!

Anthony on pitch 1

Upon arriving at the slabs all of our layers came out and were put straight on, it was pretty cold!  A brilliant first multi pitch route is Grand Central a VD that goes up the middle of the slabs.  We broke the route down into 4 pitches and climbed it in series.  This gave both Anthony and Emma 2 pitches each to look at stance and rope management, leaving stances and belaying.  On the descent we looked at a retrievable abseil and got down to the car just as it started to spit!  Thanks guys for a cracking day out!

Don't for get our evening rock climbing sessions start on Wednesday 18th April!  £20 per person for the evening is a total bargain!

Alpkit Sponsorship and my first blog!

So just after Xmas Alpkit  and myself started a little sponsorship deal.  For everyone that doesn't know about alpkit you should defiantly check out their website.  They are a small web based company that produce, design and sell come really affordable equipment.  With no middle man their prices are better than any shops!

The first bit of kit they send out to me was their Filo Down Jacket.  At £95 it is a total bargain.  It is half the weight of my old down jacket and the cut is very technical.  When I put it properly through it paces (hopefully in the alps this summer) I will do a proper review and write up on it!

Well here is my first official blog with alpkit, and no doubt there will be more to come!

And here is a picture from work this weekend!  Repeat bookings are coming in already!

Meelmore with NI Bootcamp!

Looking up into Hare's Gap!

This week I had the pleasure of working with Ian at NI Bootcamp.  We were working with a really cool bunch of folk from Belfast many of which had never been into the hills before.

Descending over Spellack

Our walk ended up taking us along the Trassey Track and over Slieve Meelmore before descending over spellack.  It was a shame the fog never lifted but none the less it was a great day to be out!