Still progress with freestlye

The evening coaching block finished last week and I'm eager to sign-up for another block should there be one early summer. I've found this to be an excellent support for the intense sessions in the endless pool. The coached sessions allow more drill and equipment use than is usually permitted in a traditional pool environment but keeps the basic structure of 'lengths'. Importantly, both coaches pick up on the same points of my stroke and appear to have similar goals in mind so I'm not split into whose advice I should follow. This hasn't always been the case with swimming teachers in my limited experience.

I can't say that I enjoy the endless pool sessions but I've definitely become accustomed to the water flow, noise, and absence of a pause every 25yards or so. I'm even becoming used to the snorkel. Even so, the situation allows checks on technique and the continuous nature means that the stroke development is hindered by turns. Last session I had more trouble with my legs than previously which I think was due to too much kicking which in turn pushed my legs under the flow, needing more kicking etc. Not a problem with the stroke, more to the mechanics of the pool.

My stroke is clearly becoming more powerful and efficient based on the timing figures from my own pool sessions where I'm not manging 4:30min for 200 yards and 57s for 50 yards. Not great but better, and reproducible. The videos still show:

• Elbows low on catch, especially left
• Left arm wandering outwards on pull
• Drooping of my arms on reach, right a bit more often

The first two are very much involved in not generating ideal backwards force. The endless pool provides instant feedback on every stroke as an effective one pulls you forwards towards the mirror and weakness results in a backwards drift. This is very helpful as it does help to develop the feel of the optimum arm position.

A backwards step for foot pain

This morning I woke up with the typical pain of plantar fasciitis for the first time in many weeks. This feels like a major step back in my healing. Let's backtrack slightly. My foot pain first came to my notice as something other than a one-off niggle in early March, but I believe the onset was in February. After a few runs with background pain, and worse the day after, I stopped running. My walks continued as practice for the Peak Pilgrimage and didn't seem to trouble my foot. I also started to include some slow jogs to the weekly strength and conditioning session. 

Uphill from home was a little uncomfortable, but the session and the return uphill section were fine. By this week the physio suggested that as my 2 x 8 minute jogs were basically comfortable, try 2x 5 minutes on Wednesday as well. Yesterday that seemed to go OK after a very mild discomfort 3 minutes in on the first section.  I was pleased with that and was looking forwards to the rest of the return to running plan I'd been given.

However, this morning has been a painful indicator that the tissue isn't as well healed as we'd thought. I'm back to the plantar pain and tenderness and discomfort through the Achilles tendon and into my calf. Oh dear. Why yesterday should have caused so much irritation is unclear. Second in the week? Different shoes? Different route? Swim in the middle? The advice was to not repeat the run if the pain reappeared so that outcome was partially foreseen. Back to walks and more calf roller time as the muscle tightness seems to be re-establishing itself as a negative influence.

Peak Pilgrimage Day 4

I didn't expect to walk any unfamiliar paths today, but the route held a surprise for me close to the end. We had a sunny 17km to walk from Baslow, starting with the ascent to Baslow Edge, and then along Curbar Edge.

The edge becomes wooded towards the north

Despite walking along frequently, the distance between Curbar Gap and the main road always surprises me. The steep descent through Hay Woods was a reward with its bluebells and hints of temperate rainforest. Once in Grindleford, after the obligatory refreshments, the path turned back southwards towards Froggatt.

A variety of trees and a millstone grit wall

The guidebook offers a choice of routes from Baslow, the longer steeper one we took, or a much shorter route between Baslow and Carver. Whichever you take, you miss a church, unless you add a detour onto the edge route. We elected not to do this as the sun was hotter than expected and we didn't want to risk missing our bus home.

Stoney Middleton is a larger village than first appearances suggest and it has a rare octagonal (Wikipedia lists 11 whereas the guide suggests there are only two in England) church, in this case dedicated to St Martin of Tours.

Strong sunlight providing the atmosphere

The final walk was over 'The Cliff' towards Eyam. We've never walked on this ridge even though it is central to the historic story of Eyam as 'The Plague Village'. The boundary stone between Eyam and adjacent Stoney Middleton is near the summit of the ridge and marked the border of the 17th century lockdown. 

After visiting the last church on the route in Eyam we had a wait before the bus was due and found The Miners Arms close to the bus stop.

Summary

Over the 5 days we've recorded walking 73km, including 5km from home to the railway station, with an ascent of around 1700m. The 4 and a bit day schedule has been fairly easy going and due to the well-made paths should be within the reach of many. We were fortunate with the weather in being dry throughout and only briefly rather hot. The weather forecast was for a prolonged dry period beforehand so we took the risk on taking only lightweight waterproofs. This saved a fair bit of weight and volume. In view of the mild weather and lowland nature of the pilgrimage we packed lightly, each using 20 litre rucsacs. Our pack weights were under 5kg and 8kg, mine being the heavier due to a 1litre water bottle (there are many spots to fill-up should it be needed), a camera and various oddments such as USB charger, first aid kit and FRA-style survival bag.  

Peak Pilgrimage Day 3

Today was our longest walk on the pilgrimage at 21km with 400m of ascent. We also moved into an area we are more familiar with. Just on the outskirts of Monyash we took the path down Lathkill Dale. Over the next 5 km the dale changed from dry and grassy, to damp, narrow and oppressive and eventually to deep with a significant river.

Small falls along the river

Along the way various streams emerged from the valley walls and floor to strengthen the flow. In the valley near Over Haddon there used to be mills powered by the water. It was a fair ascent up to Over Haddon village and its welcoming pub. Along the way we passed the church on a small level piece of land. Once on higher ground, and fortified, it was a short walk to the exceptionally busy town of Bakewell. This is a handy place for provisions for the last quarter of the journey, should they be required. The church is on the far side of town, up a rather steep road.

Once again, sunlight highlights detail in a church

From Bakewell we were on a route we knew well, across the ridge to Chatsworth. We were relieved to see the village of Edensor as we descended from Calton pastures knowing that we had only a few kilometres to walk into Baslow. The guidebook suggests that one might like to detour into Chatsworth House and its gardens. We've been a few times over the years but I'm not convinced that a stately home visit sits well in a pilgrimage, in whatever way you wish to experience a few days of peaceful walking.

Although Baslow is a substantial village with 3 hotels I found very few spaces when I booked. Ultimately we were not impressed with where we stayed, especially in view of its price. On the bonus side, there are two little shops that supply chocolate bars and bananas into the evening.

Peak Pilgrimage Day 2

We were on our way bright and early today as we breakfasted ahead of the group. There were also no church stops along the path so the focus was on the route and the surrounding nature. Unfortunately, the few kilometres along the Tissington Trail to Parsley Hay were bitterly cold, despite the sunshine, due a strong wind blowing across the railway embankment. I suspect this area is often colder than its surroundings from comments by the B&B owners.

It's clearly limestone country

After a coffee break at the junction we headed off the trail across limestone-walled fields and soon reached Monyash. Today's walk was only 14km so we had plenty of time to explore the church, the village pond and the Bull's Head pub. The weather was warm and sunny so it was pleasant to watch the local heron hunt fish in the pond. "... Nature, red in tooth and claw ..." etc.

Forget-me-knots adorned many gravestones

The Sheldon House B&B was also generous and let us check-in early. We'd thoroughly recommend this as a luxurious place to stay. Likewise the Bull's Head was very welcoming and served excellent food. It was working out well to have a substantial breakfast and then a few snacks in the day before a dinner. 

I suggested that we could have walked twice the distance today but it wasn't a popular view! There's also the issue that there are actually limited places to stay so there aren't many permutations of mileage possible.

Peak Pilgrimage Day 1

The pilgrimage is designed to travel through villages with small churches, open to the public, where one can collect a bible verse and be contemplative. I left Christianity over 45 years ago but am happy to sit (briefly!) in the shelter of a quiet church, especially if it requires a walk through a new area to reach it. Even though we walked yesterday, the route officially starts today, and fortunately any rubbing shoes and stiff shoulders have resolved overnight.

Most of today's 18km was along the River Dove, with a detour uphill to Alstonefield around midway. The morning was in the ever-so-popular Dovedale, but despite pleasant weather we found the dale generally peaceful. After coffee and snacks from the popular Polly's Cottage we headed uphill to the minature Milldale Chapel.

Sunshine through the chapel windows

The route continued through farmland to Alstonefield before descending into Wolfscote Dale to rejoin the river for a few more kilometres. Here the limestone gorge is wider than in Dovedale, not so dramatic, but also usually less busy. After a few field paths that felt longer than they really are, we reached Hartington YH. 

Ropes into the belfry at St Giles Hartington

St Giles was reportedly a cave-dwelling priest, perhaps a hermit, with the power to heal animals. Other saints regarded locally are from caves which perhaps reflects the significance of caves in this limestone area?

Once again there was a school group in the hostel, who although quiet, caused some disruption to the catering which struggled with the combination of a large group meal and the varied orders of other residents. If I were to stay here again I'd be tempted to book a meal in the village if a group was eating in the hostel.

Peak Pilgrimage Day 0

We've planned to walk the Peak Pilgrimage  over the next 5 days. This will give us an opportunity to explore parts of the White Peak and perhaps have time for quietness and reflection. Our timetable is relaxed, taking 4 days to cover the approximate 70km. Our schedule can be seen here which you may copy and adapt to suit your own goals.

Today we travelled to Ilam, the start of the route, and hard to reach by public transport. We took an express train from Sheffield to Derby and connected with a local bus to Ashbourne. The bus had minor mechanical problems but completed the journey largely on schedule. At the time of writing, there are two bus routes between Derby and Ashbourne. One, is a little slower and direct from the train station. The other is more frequent, ten minutes faster, but has to be found at the bus station. Other buses travel to Ashbourne from, for example, Buxton.

Such is the difficulty in reaching Ilam by bus, that the guidebook recommends walking from Ashbourne, an easy 8km. We set our pace for the journey by pausing for a coffee in Ashbourne and taking 2.5 hours to cover the gentle field paths and riverside walk to the Youth Hostel. We had time to explore the grounds and adjacent church before eating in the restaurant.

The medieval St Bertram's bridge across the River Dove

The hostels seem to serve a standard menu which is fairly good value with adequate, but not generous, portions. They are mostly licensed for alcohol sales nowadays as well. The hostel was fairly busy as it was hosting a school party, but as our room was in an annex, and the children being tired from an afternoon of playing in the grounds, we had a quiet night.