Training Log Archive: Big Jon

run from home to Sluie. down drive and up past Woods-Roger's to Pitmuchie Road, up to bend then straight on to farm, through woods and across to Kinker-Torphins road. Onto OrdFundlie and down to steading and into Sluie at west. Met Ben and helped check 2 control placement. Very tired on uphills and took it very steady. Need a rest day tomorrow - doing coaching assessment at Glenmore so busy anyway.

1 hour digging holes for trees

C • what kind of trees are you ... 1

Cycle with Sarah and Ewan, on tagalong, from Dinnet to Ballater and back. Cold and getting dusk by return. Good tea shop in Ballater - hot chocolate and fruit scone, mmmmm.

3 hours planting trees and (mostly) moving boulders & stones to clear ground and build wall. Arms exhausted by end.

Parked on south Deeside Road, up Creag Ghuibhais by NWridge. Fantastic forest on the slopes and top - gnarly stunted pine trees on top of scree slopes, blaeberry growth and low heather. Down east ridge - not nice with slippery damp rock and trail shoes. South along Glen Girnock track then turned right onto west ridge - saw small herd of 10-12 deer, looked like all stags, probably some of the youngsters - and along to northern summit. Down to west on old track on hillside (probably from when the trees were felled on the slope) which shrunk to an animal track. Followed this down to old track along forest edge and then east back to car. great run and only a few minutes of light rain.

C • Hmmm.. 2

rest day - pretty tired after past few days - and spent 2 hours digging holes for trees and clearing stones from ground beside house.

Pilates session at Aboyne to make up for missing next Monday. Side bend and clams were better than Monday - perhaps twice a week sessions would be better......

C • pilates 1

From Aboyne Academy to Balnagowan past Dukes farm and a lap of the western end of the woods. very wet - esp on rides, so went cross country for much of it. Pushed a couple of sections in terrain. Legs tired but feeling fairly strong.

couple of harder sections during run in Balnagowan.

10x2+1 with Deeside Runners in Aboyne. Going OK, but tougher than anything I've managed for quite some time. Everyone there - or so it felt watching backs disappearing away!

warm up/down, only Warren joined me on long lap on way back.

To and from DAP for pilates. Forest tracks wetter than I've ever known them (and I was on the dry ones!), "Loch" of Auchlossan is huge again - about time t he farmers gave up trying to crop it and turned it into a loch/wetland - they could rent duck shooting to the gun-nuts.

Tough session - lots of upper body work, then side bends and clams. Feeling a bit tight in lower left side of back - not sure what has caused this, after 2 easier days, will keep an eye on it.

With Sarah, down lane, to river bank - except most of bank under a lot of water. Upstream to plantation and back along road and up fields. Bridges over Dess burn and smaller stream almost under water - highest I've seen it since moving here 7 years ago, but still about 5 feet short of the "muckle spate" level at the fishing hut east of Dess.