Training Log Archive: simonw

Bob Graham leg 2.
Supporting Andy Blackett on his successful 23:36 round.
With Roger & Helen Skelton.
Started with clear weather but clag set in on clough head which kept coming and going until the end.
Took the travellator up Fairfield which I didn't much care for but apart from that it was a good day out.

He was about 30 mins up on a 22 hour schedule when arriving at Threlkeld.
20 mins up by the time we reached Dunmail.
Must have lost a bit over leg 3 and a tough night section on the already tough leg 4.
Good effort though for a second attempt.

This is what it's all about. So jealous of Rhesus living up there.

A bit blurry on the old quickroute but worth doing to see the Fairfield travellator route and the nav wobble off Nethermost.

First day out of the office in a while and got up to Anglessey.
Shan't be doing any running round Snowdon though with the BG leg tomorrow. bugger.

Very slow Thursday Chasers plod from Whitehouse with the oldies!
There's nothing to be gained by me doing these runs. I already know how to run slowly.
Need some faster Chasers to push the pace a bit

Can't remember if I did anything today.
Gone a bit slack with updating AP

Tony back from Swindon for the day so it's the usual flat trail run.
From Whitehouse straight down Sherbrook Valley to stepping stones and back up the other side. Quite hot day. Nice. Huffin' & puffin' a bit.

Pleasingly the best orienteering run I've had to date with only two mistakes, missed the road going down to 3 which was really a dirt track. Would have been quicker to 1 going down Holly Drive and not Pine Crescent Kept in contact with the map and planned the route as I went along.
Legs felt heavy after the weekend and the perception was that I was moving slowly.
Did help not having to punch. Dibbing or clipping always ends in a time wasting fumble and losing contact.
Good course

Diddly squat.

Wrekin fell race.
With offers of a free place in the Stafford half and another offer of British champs sprint 'O' on Saturday I declined both on the thinking I'd gain more enjoyment from this one.
A real good 'un. Finished in 24th behind 15! Mercia Fell runners and got chicked by Anna Bartlett and Mel Price, same as in trig race.
Descending like a faggot as per usual but only lost 1 place on final steep descent. Felt really good on the climbs. Caught in a bottle neck early on but wouldn't have made much difference. Feels good to make a hard effort in a race.

Results

Family bike ride down to Shugborough a wiggly way but mostly on the canal.
Busy at Essex bridge with bikes. Everybody being courteous passing except for the cock in the MAMMOTH jersey. Make way, make way. Should have thrown the prick in the river.

BG recce leg 2 next week. Amen to that...

Canal run to Penkridge with family on bikes. Pushing Mary on the bumpy bits. Very stop/start.

Canal run back from Penkridge. With just Edele on bike this time. Kids wanted pizza at Grandads.
Decent effort but feeling sick after half a lemon drizzle cake.

Hillyish short run with Fly. Just to take her out. Broc Hill - Sundial - Around Brocton area.

Same road ride as the other night in the dark. Like pulling teeth. Shame I only live 1 mile from work or I'd retire the road bike to 'ride to work' duties only.
Chase x roads and back down camp road - Chase road corner - Brocton - Milford.

A few laps round Wildwood ring road. Not much effort, just spinning.

Did nothing today except fix the mower and mow the lawns.

Run to circuits with Henry on bike

Bleep test scored 11.9. Piss poor but heavy legs from previous 2 days. Perhaps could have done a bit more with someone pushing me or a rocket up my arse.

'The long run' with Stampy, SimonH & SteveC.
Nice to have Stampy out again as the pace slowly increased as did my heart rate right until the end. Good solid effort that wasn't planned but felt good.

Run home from circuits with Henry on bike

Another most excellent headtorcher. Sky as clear as you like.
Home - Jacobs ladder - Milford - Canal - Haywood - through Shugborough - Satnall Hills - Cross road on Chase back to Milford - Milford road home.
I've refused to go anywhere with work this week and getting some decent sleep

Nice headtorcher over the chase to chase road corner via Brocton & back via Milford. Clear sky and feeling good again. Torch off most of the time.

C • like 3

Having a part Irish wife means St Patricks day is a big deal so all the in laws are round and the x-talons are stuck in the dog house with Fly

Standard big block.. in a hurry but feeling heavy

Running the gauntlet in the dark to Pottal pool - Chase x roads and back down camp road - Chase road corner - Brocton - Milford.
Felt pretty strong for a change

Great run with Fly from boulder straight down Sherbrook then up and over towards big quarry

Circuit training. Still not 100%. Just feel weak, queasy, like a virus. Who knows

Run to circuits with Henry running

Lots of club talk going on so went for the long run on my own. Despite feeling 'off' still did it in my fastest time ever and wasted 2 minutes on a pee stop and road crossing.
Should be good to go tomorrow.

Run home from circuits.
Henry understandable knackered after his school XC run earlier

Still feeling weak but motivation coming back. will try and push it at circuits

Feel like going for a long run after the Hobble to make up for my lack of effort but ended up relaxing and floating on a narrowboat from Lichfield to Fradley junction... until Skipper Henry took over and grounded us on the bank

Event: Wuthering Hike/Haworth Hobble
 

Wuthering Hike
Feeling crap all week and no better at the start so didn't bother racing it. Just treated it as a day out.

From blog
'See the man o'er there in the dress. He'll park you up'


March arrives and 'Antisocial' from the FRA forums will be around helping you park your car or guiding you towards registration for the Wuthering Hike, or Haworth Hobble as it used to be known.

It seems like the start of the season as this race has always marks the first of the runfurther series and an opportunity to catch up with old friends and acquaintances. I wasn't to be disappointed. Nick, showing off his new tattoo and emblazoned with runfurther 'merch'. (Did he get 3 runfurther/inov8 caps for his grand slam?). Of course, Mark and Danny were out for a run around. Stephen and Jason, the Lakes 50 team winners also still seem to have the ultra bug and many others all eager to get some points on the board.


Training from since last October really has been going well in comparison to previous years and while not getting in that many really long runs my general fitness and speed seems to be increasing, however in the week or two running up to 'the hobble' I'd had some really long stressful days at work and instead of tapering to full fitness I was just left feeling run down and tired. Adding to the stress, for the drive up to Haworth my dad had given me his old sat nav which I decided to use for the first time ever. Bad move. I had no idea where it was taking me but I suppose that's the idea. I ended up going some daft route around West Yorkshire through Sowerby Bridge with the map on my lap and the gadget not updating quick enough. I did arrive in good time but more stressed out than I would have done if I'd have gone my usual route. Don't know why I bothered, not as if I'd never been there before.

Another year, Another March morning in Haworth


A record turnout it seems this year and I never even heard Brett set us on our way. I was unsure how to play it this year with my previous times being 2009-6:35, 2010-5:48 and 2011-5:47 I wasn't predicting a PB. I settled into a start easy strategy and ran with Mark and Danny to see how it felt.


As we exited Haworth and ventured off road it did seem a bit wetter than previous outings. The nicely laid flagstones turned out to be very slippy and it was either use them or go through the gloop. I didn't find this too much of a hardship as I've now set aside a pair of X-talons just for racing in to prolong the grip.


Widdop Resevoir and Long Causeway checkpoints came and went and we chatted away merrily all the way. It was about Long Causeway that I realised that it was supposed to be a race and I'd taken considerably longer than I should at the checkpoints, in fact way longer than I have on previous efforts and the walking breaks were coming more often.

I should have pushed on after Long Causeway but got too comfortable and and stayed with Mark and Dan.


My previous lethargy had now cleared and I was feeling stronger. I usually don't stop at Stony Lane for the hot dogs but on this occasion the CP had moved a few hundred yards to the path junction meaning you didn't have to go out of your way to get one. It tasted pretty good and was just the job for this relaxed pace.

On the way down to Todmorden we see Wendy Dodds and a few others coming the other way, missed the CP apparently.


Climbing towards Mankinholes. Stoodley Pike ahead

The navigation or should that be memory of the route from Todmorden golf club down to the road went like a dream with the optimum route taken and the shoes gripping well in the mud. I waited for M&D half way down just in case they went astray.

Next up was the first of the two steep climbs, this one up to Mankinholes and my holding back earlier was paying off as it didn't seem that bad.

'Mr Brightside' was on hand at Mankinholes CP with, for the second year running, a bottle of Jura for anyone who would like a tipple and/or a box of saxa table salt for anyone suffering from a dose of cramp(quite common after the Makinholes climb). I declined on both, I'm not really a Whisky fan and cramp isn't usually a problem. Incidently I'd gone for a healthy approach on this one with a handful of Nakd bars and a carton of alpro soya chocolate milk for later on. The Nakd bars were going down well and no stomach distress was evident.

Clearly More takers for the Jura than the juice!

Route choice was bang on again up Stoodley Pike with a nice steady traverse but it was quite blustery up there with not a sole in site. We quickly made a beeline for the Pennine Way.


As an aside, regarding the Pennine way. Mark had come up with a plan that if he didn't get into UTMB 2012 then he would have a go at the Pennine way for a personnal challenge. He eventually come up with a 6 day schedule going North to South at between 35-57 miles a day stopping at YHAs or whatever was available. As with many others, neither of us got a place at UTMB so I've jumped on the opportunity to Join Mark on this journey into multiday trips. All accomodation is booked and it's all on for the Start of September. Should be epic!


Meanwhile.... The plod continued down the new Pennine way track and I braced myself for the bog at the bottom. I was pleasantly surprised when a newly layed path of flagstones appeared to keep our feet dry.

The weather had brightened up a lot since the earlier mist and we were heading towards Hebden Bridge, The Lesbian capital of Britain apparently and just on queue a pair of young ladies walked past hand in hand.

Hebden Bridge is always a bit tricky navigation wise for a those not 'in the know' and there were a couple with the map out scratching their heads. We quickly pointed them to the steps through the gap in the houses that leads to the long climb up to Heptonstall.

It was here that the chocolate milk came out and I've got to say it went down a treat. Can't remember where I heard of this stuff but it seems to work and is a change from the sickly sweet usual juice drinks. I was still feeling plenty strong enough but had resigned myself to the fact that I'd played it all wrong and left it too late for a last minute attack! I'd simply started too slowly and took it too easy.

Similarly at the Midgehole CP8 and road/path junction at CP9 I just treated it as a day out and took my time.

It wasn't until the final mile or so over Penistone hill that I began to feel a little tired but even then I could have pressed on through it.


Navigating through the high street was again, bang on for a faultless run all the way around. The map never made an appearance.


You know you've had a bad run when you arrive at the finish and there are people changed, packed up and leaving. The after race stew did taste good though.



Oh dear 6:29 is very slow and It has taken me a week to stop being angry with myself for not giving it a proper go. I was hoping for at least 1 hour faster than that and should have given it all I'd got at the start. If I'd have fell apart in the latter stages I would probably have still beaten that time. That's a definite lesson learnt. It's all too easy to treat these races as social outings but on this occasion I feel it was an opportunity wasted. Yes, I felt negative and ill on the week running up to it and not too good on the start but after a couple of miles can honestly say I could have tried harder. Lets move on shall we..

C • not a good week... 2

Mungo bone recce

Little blow out with Fly from chase vista to Mungo Bone start.
Did mungo Bone then a bit more.
Worryingly, the legs feel like jelly.

Mungo bone times:
9th Mar 15:23 (ill)
14th Jan 15:09
7th Jan 15:20

An enforced easy week due to the stress at work and t'hobble at the weekend.
Not feeling that confident of any improvement over previous efforts despite being more active than ever on the run up to it.
Same time for 2010 and 2011. See how it goes

20 minutes on the turbo. Easy

Run to circuits. Late from work so arrived just in time for the run

Probably just above a medium intensity.
The longer route with SteveC and MarkG.

Run home from circuits with Henry running as well.

Chet and back just for something to log. Felt good afterwards

Easy road ride after the weather picked up a bit.
Didn't feel too good this morning, sniffing and sneezing. Dosing on vit c again.
Chase road corner - Brocton - Tixall - Baswich - Home

Pyramid set
5 min warmup
1,2,3,4,3,2,1 min efforts w/1 min recovery
3 min cooldown

Big block. Nothing special except an urge to try and run fast to get it over with.
Should be running for time not distance so maybe should have carried on for 45 - 60 minutes.

Seeing as National Grid have given me the run around for 2 days i've decided to not bother doing any work today and just go running instead.
With Fly along canal to Teddesley - Bednall - Brocton - around Oldacre - Brocton golf club - home.
Great run only spoiled by NG ahem..engineers constantly calling me to shift the blame if half of London loses the electric