April Showers & Spring Chickening!

What good weather!

It makes me so happy that it is now consistently light in the evenings, this week has felt like spring. Tuesday night I headed out with Front Runnerr for a 10km run around Hathersage. I have meant to join more of their runs as they are such a friendly group – very welcoming and a good pace for all levels – but have unfortunately been a bit busy. Initially, I found the run quite tough, heading up from Hathersage to Stanage – I hadn’t maybe appreciated how stiff I would be from Sunday, but I soon warmed into it. We then ran along the top of Stanage along to Burbage, accompanied by a spectacular sunset, before heading back down to Hathersage. If you are looking for a new route check it out, despite steep start it’s a excellent circuit!

Find a map of our route and more about Front Runner here!

Photos from Tuesday’s run around Hathersage (taken by Front Runner)

Fell running in the Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Fell running in the Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Saturday I headed back to Hathersage – this time for a bit of shoe shopping! I have had my current shoes about three years, which I know is exceptionally good for climbing shoes. Unfortunately, they broke about two weeks or so ago beyond repair – but as it turns out this has been a bit of a blessing in disguise, I hadn’t realised quite how much a better pair of shoes could help my climbing. Anyway, I popped along to Outside, one of my favourite shops for everything outdoors, there is SO much in here I would buy! After a lot of trying on, I went for La Sportiva’s Katana Lace – I have very narrow feet, and this seemed to fit best.

Next, it was time to test them! We headed to Stanage always a lovely spot to climb when it is sunny. Now, I hadn’t quite anticipated how different it would be climbing in new shoes – I suddenly found I had a toe! In terms of being able to place my foot and stand on smaller hold, this was great… less good when it came to walking down on the decent ha. We did a number of great routes including having an attempt of Flying Buttress Direct. Unfortunately, we got shut down on this – I think I need to train my strength – but it is certainly a good project to work on. My aim is to be able to lead it by the end of summer!

Sunset at Stanage:

Sunset from Stanage, Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Sunset over Stanage, Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Sunset over Stanage, Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Sunday I headed out for a quick jaunt on the road bike – out along the Snake Pass then linking round to High Bradfield on to the tour route, about 30km. This all went smoothly with nothing particularly out of the ordinary except seeing an albino peacock!

It’s an albino peacock (and a very blurry picture of me!):

Road biking in the Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Road biking in the Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Road biking in the Peak District | Outdoor Adventure Motivational Speaking | Hetty Key | Mud, Chalk & Gears

Hope everyone has had a good weekend out in the sun!

Comment

There is no comment on this post. Be the first one.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.