Just signed up to the widget 'daily mile' The gadget on the right.
At first glances it doesn't seem t0o do very much, but once you get into it - I'm beginning to like it.
It is obviously very visible it that it shows what you have been doing on your last run / workout.
That seems to be quite a motivation.
Anyway, I'll have a go with it for a week o so and see how I feel about it then.
If it's proving useful, worthwhile, then I'll stick with it, if not I'm sure there are others out there.
I tried to find one on the Garmin site with no luck.
If anyone knows of something better out there please drop me a line.
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Sunday 29 May 2011
Kilian Jornet - Kilian's Quest
Top top video of an epic tale of a man who ran up and down the Matterhorn in 3hrs and 14 mins, and a young man who wishes to one day ‘descend like him’…
The way he ascends is amazing!!
Running again - or something like!
Saturday night.
35 mins of Turbo! First exercise for about a week.
Felt surprisingly OK.
Sunday Morning.
After a week of sickness today was my first attempt at something like a meaningful run.
Met Nick at 7.45am at Clough Head Car Park.
Nick has benn steadily increasing his runs over the last few weeks, and so wanted a 'steady' run.
This suited me down to the ground.
Set off at a steady pace - something like 10 - 11 minute a mile.
The initial route wasn't too hilly so was OK.
We headed up along the Rossendale Way into the wood above the reservoir.
The run along the top of the res was good.
We then headed up 'the climb' - only about 300ft, but, steep, boggy and lots of wet slippy rock.
One of my favourite little climbs around.
Not long ago I was able to really run this climb - decided to try that today and hey I still could.
Surprised me there.
Rest of the climb was good, no side effects, no real sluggishness.
Mainly just a feeling of ' It's good to be back out here!'
Not sure how long we were out, and don't care, but about 6 miles of fun.
35 mins of Turbo! First exercise for about a week.
Felt surprisingly OK.
Sunday Morning.
After a week of sickness today was my first attempt at something like a meaningful run.
Met Nick at 7.45am at Clough Head Car Park.
Nick has benn steadily increasing his runs over the last few weeks, and so wanted a 'steady' run.
This suited me down to the ground.
Set off at a steady pace - something like 10 - 11 minute a mile.
The initial route wasn't too hilly so was OK.
We headed up along the Rossendale Way into the wood above the reservoir.
The run along the top of the res was good.
One of my favourite little climbs around.
Not long ago I was able to really run this climb - decided to try that today and hey I still could.
Surprised me there.
Rest of the climb was good, no side effects, no real sluggishness.
Mainly just a feeling of ' It's good to be back out here!'
Not sure how long we were out, and don't care, but about 6 miles of fun.
Thursday 26 May 2011
Marshall Ulrich putting up with pain
Had a rough few days with a sickness bug.
It's been a while since I felt so rough
That feeling of no energy, can't do anything, can't get too far from the toilet.
Then I came across this article by Marshall Ulrich on putting up with pain, suffering and endurance.
You can read it here
Humbling really, shows you how you can put up with so much if you put your mind to it and are in good shape.
Need to run soon!
It's been a while since I felt so rough
That feeling of no energy, can't do anything, can't get too far from the toilet.
Then I came across this article by Marshall Ulrich on putting up with pain, suffering and endurance.
You can read it here
Humbling really, shows you how you can put up with so much if you put your mind to it and are in good shape.
Need to run soon!
Wednesday 25 May 2011
The past two weeks
Over the past two weeks it would be fair to say that I've done a bit of running (not a lot) but plenty of exercise.
The running I have done has been, for one of the first times enjoyable road and trail runs, not my typical fell runs.
The reason for this has been that when I've been running on roads and trails they have been with 'the girls.'
Both R and H have come up with a training regime for themselves.
Monday they bike, I run. Which in theory sounds OK and going uphill it is. They drop to low gears and I keep going. On the flat and downhill, gravity and wheels gives them a real opportunity to go quicker - which they do!
The upside for me is I run quicker to keep up with them.
Wednesdays we all run together, a kind of recovery run session of about 5 miles. Again I get the opportunity to run certain sections harder, go back to them and run them again.
In between times, 5 a side football Wednesdays, Badminton Tuesdays and Thursdays and at least 3 turbo sessions a week ensure I'm still fit ish.
From Friday we're off for a week so the plan is to get back out to the fells for some long sessions. A 20 miler is planned for Wednesday next week. That will let me know how my running has been affected or not.
The running I have done has been, for one of the first times enjoyable road and trail runs, not my typical fell runs.
The reason for this has been that when I've been running on roads and trails they have been with 'the girls.'
Both R and H have come up with a training regime for themselves.
Monday they bike, I run. Which in theory sounds OK and going uphill it is. They drop to low gears and I keep going. On the flat and downhill, gravity and wheels gives them a real opportunity to go quicker - which they do!
The upside for me is I run quicker to keep up with them.
Wednesdays we all run together, a kind of recovery run session of about 5 miles. Again I get the opportunity to run certain sections harder, go back to them and run them again.
In between times, 5 a side football Wednesdays, Badminton Tuesdays and Thursdays and at least 3 turbo sessions a week ensure I'm still fit ish.
From Friday we're off for a week so the plan is to get back out to the fells for some long sessions. A 20 miler is planned for Wednesday next week. That will let me know how my running has been affected or not.
Saturday 14 May 2011
Weeks overview (Monday to Friday)
Monday 9th - Turbo time - 40 minutes of turbo. Tension set at 30 out of 50. Revs starting at 80, building to 100. A good session - enjoyed it.
Tuesday 10th - Badminton - 60 minutes of quick, sharp running.
Wednesday 11th - More turbo - 45 minutes. Tension 30 out of 50 - revs straight to 80, quickly to 90+, kept this up for 35 minutes, last 10 minutes with revs up to 100+ - Tough session!
Thursday 12th - Badminton - 60 minutes. A good session, but, tweaked my knee! Painful!
Friday 13th - Indoor football for 75 minutes. Lots of running! Really tough, hard session and very enjoyable! Young uns Vs Old uns. Young uns 25 and under! Felt like an old un after 10 minutes, then felt pretty good at the end!
Looking forward to a couple of runs over the weekend.
More to follow.
Tuesday 10th - Badminton - 60 minutes of quick, sharp running.
Wednesday 11th - More turbo - 45 minutes. Tension 30 out of 50 - revs straight to 80, quickly to 90+, kept this up for 35 minutes, last 10 minutes with revs up to 100+ - Tough session!
Thursday 12th - Badminton - 60 minutes. A good session, but, tweaked my knee! Painful!
Friday 13th - Indoor football for 75 minutes. Lots of running! Really tough, hard session and very enjoyable! Young uns Vs Old uns. Young uns 25 and under! Felt like an old un after 10 minutes, then felt pretty good at the end!
Looking forward to a couple of runs over the weekend.
More to follow.
Monday 9 May 2011
Saturday 7th May - Longish hillyish run
Met Nick at 3.30pm.
When we set off we had no idea where we were going, it was just a case of set off and see where we go.
We ran from Clough Head car park out along the Rossendale Way. We went as high as possible before dropping into the wood above the reservoir.
The weather was perfect for running, no breeze and warm without being too hot.
Once into the wood we followed the track above the reservoir before following the climb out towards Hog Lowe Pike. Although the climb isn't too tough, only about 400ft, it does in places get quite steep and in places pretty challenging, yet you can really have a go at the climb and have a good run at it. Once at the top, the views are great. This makes it one of my favorite climbs on a run.
When we set off we had no idea where we were going, it was just a case of set off and see where we go.
We ran from Clough Head car park out along the Rossendale Way. We went as high as possible before dropping into the wood above the reservoir.
Once into the wood we followed the track above the reservoir before following the climb out towards Hog Lowe Pike. Although the climb isn't too tough, only about 400ft, it does in places get quite steep and in places pretty challenging, yet you can really have a go at the climb and have a good run at it. Once at the top, the views are great. This makes it one of my favorite climbs on a run.
A view of the valley
We then just ran again, taking in parts of the valley before going back and running the climb again.
We set off home running another short, steep climb (flat out) before reaching the Rossendale Way again. As we emerged from the wood it just started to rain so we took a detour straight over the moorland before climbing the valley on the other side before making it back to the car.
Another cracking run.
Definitely ran the hills harder today, not a case of just running up them, ran them hard.
You really know the difference between 'just' running and 'really' running!
Roll on the nest run!
Saturday 7 May 2011
Sad news
Really sad news this morning - a true gent, family man, neighbour and running friend sadly passed away after battling with illness for a couple of years.
Tony was a real outdoor man who spent time showing me new local routes, runs and trails that he had found, or ones that he had run with his running club Clayton Le Moors Harriers.
As with everything, he did this with a smile on his face and spring in his step.
Our thoughts go out to his family.
R.I.P. Tony
Tony was a real outdoor man who spent time showing me new local routes, runs and trails that he had found, or ones that he had run with his running club Clayton Le Moors Harriers.
As with everything, he did this with a smile on his face and spring in his step.
Our thoughts go out to his family.
R.I.P. Tony
Friday 7th May + Kenny Stuart - King of the Mountains
A lovely evening, sun shining, no wind - perfect for running.
3 mile run with R and H before dropping them of at home and running another 3.5 miles.
It was one of those evenings when you feel really good, running becomes,dare I say ... easy.
After 6.5 miles tonight I did a further 30+ minutes turbo.
Last nights turbo was tough, tonight much easier.
Revs were at 80 to start with, soon reaching 90+ with the last 15 minutes at 100.
A really good evening session.
Looking forward to running hard tomorrow.
Not yet sure where I'll be running, but will be running hard.
This is probably the main thing that came out from my recent race.
I think it's easy to not push really hard in training, so that's an area I will try to readdress.
I was recently reading about Kenny Stuart - King of the Mountains and his attitude to training - inspiring!
The article is here
3 mile run with R and H before dropping them of at home and running another 3.5 miles.
It was one of those evenings when you feel really good, running becomes,dare I say ... easy.
After 6.5 miles tonight I did a further 30+ minutes turbo.
Last nights turbo was tough, tonight much easier.
Revs were at 80 to start with, soon reaching 90+ with the last 15 minutes at 100.
A really good evening session.
Looking forward to running hard tomorrow.
Not yet sure where I'll be running, but will be running hard.
This is probably the main thing that came out from my recent race.
I think it's easy to not push really hard in training, so that's an area I will try to readdress.
I was recently reading about Kenny Stuart - King of the Mountains and his attitude to training - inspiring!
The article is here
Thursday 5 May 2011
Great video
A friend emailed this link over.
It's Ricky Lightfoot, a top fell runner vs a top downhill mountain bike racer.
A great little video - click the link and enjoy!
Click here
Tonight after a badminton run around for an hour I jumped back on the bike and did 40 minutes turbo.
Now, I've not done any turbo for a few weeks and ... it showed!
I set the tension at 30 out of 50 as I normally do, but because I've not done any for a while I found it hard work!
In the first few minutes my revs were at 80 (just). 5 minutes later I was at 83 (just) and so it went on. After 15 minutes my legs were tired, but I upped the revs to 90.
After 20 minutes I was at 90 revs, but it was hard work. This carried on for 40 minutes in total.
Hard work, but after it was over OK.
When you think I was doing 40 minutes easy with the tension at 30 then increasing the tension to 40 and 50 and still finding it OK it just shows that if you want to be good at something you need to keep doing it.
Note to self - More turbo needed!
It's Ricky Lightfoot, a top fell runner vs a top downhill mountain bike racer.
A great little video - click the link and enjoy!
Click here
Tonight after a badminton run around for an hour I jumped back on the bike and did 40 minutes turbo.
Now, I've not done any turbo for a few weeks and ... it showed!
I set the tension at 30 out of 50 as I normally do, but because I've not done any for a while I found it hard work!
In the first few minutes my revs were at 80 (just). 5 minutes later I was at 83 (just) and so it went on. After 15 minutes my legs were tired, but I upped the revs to 90.
After 20 minutes I was at 90 revs, but it was hard work. This carried on for 40 minutes in total.
Hard work, but after it was over OK.
When you think I was doing 40 minutes easy with the tension at 30 then increasing the tension to 40 and 50 and still finding it OK it just shows that if you want to be good at something you need to keep doing it.
Note to self - More turbo needed!
WB 2/5/11
It's been quite a quiet week really.
I'm struggling to get miles in at the moment.
I was a bit tired, thighs were achy after the Hameldon Fell Race Sunday, but nothing too sore.
Monday turned into a rest day in general, but did include a 2 hour walk, with a bit of running in the afternoon then a run with two of my girls (R and H.)
I'm trying to incorporate a few of these in a week for them and also as a few slower runs for me - time to recharge.
Tuesday was badminton for an hour. Lots of quick running. Felt pretty good at this point.
Wednesday I went for a run with R and H again, about 3 miles in 30 minutes with a bit of climbing involved. They struggled a bit, but in a few weeks I expect the slow runs to get quite a bit quicker!
Thursday is badminton for an hour.
Friday I'm going to do a road run / trail session in the early evening, I'm thinking of trying to get a 10 miler in, time permitting - I'm not a lover of road running, but when I'm struggling to get miles in during the week, then road / trails will have to do.
Over the weekend I want to get out to Pilgrims cross to start upping the miles again.
Hopefully that will take me to about 40 miles for the week.
If I can keep this mileage up things will be going well!
I'm struggling to get miles in at the moment.
I was a bit tired, thighs were achy after the Hameldon Fell Race Sunday, but nothing too sore.
Monday turned into a rest day in general, but did include a 2 hour walk, with a bit of running in the afternoon then a run with two of my girls (R and H.)
I'm trying to incorporate a few of these in a week for them and also as a few slower runs for me - time to recharge.
Tuesday was badminton for an hour. Lots of quick running. Felt pretty good at this point.
Wednesday I went for a run with R and H again, about 3 miles in 30 minutes with a bit of climbing involved. They struggled a bit, but in a few weeks I expect the slow runs to get quite a bit quicker!
Thursday is badminton for an hour.
Friday I'm going to do a road run / trail session in the early evening, I'm thinking of trying to get a 10 miler in, time permitting - I'm not a lover of road running, but when I'm struggling to get miles in during the week, then road / trails will have to do.
Over the weekend I want to get out to Pilgrims cross to start upping the miles again.
Hopefully that will take me to about 40 miles for the week.
If I can keep this mileage up things will be going well!
Monday 2 May 2011
Great Hameldon Fell Race - 1st May
A new month and my first race of the year.
The Great Hameldon race is the first race in the Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix, so always attracts quite a large number of runners. On this occassion there were 180+ runners who set off around the 6 mile, 1100 ft course. The weather for the day looked great, blue sky, but not too warm. Gathered on the start line was Danny Hope, brother to Rob Hope. Over the last year, Danny has won a number of top fell races and regularly finishes in the top 3 of races. What other sport allows mere mortals to compete against the elite?
The gun went and away we went.
The route takes us around the football field, before heading up through the coppice. The pace was pretty quick at this point and in the back of your mind you always wonder if you've set off too quick. I'm sure this comes from not racing much. I reached the top of the climb, 3/4 of a mile into the race felling pretty tired already, at this point trying to put any negative thoughts firmly at the back of my mind. Emerging from the coppice brought us into a head on strong wind. Out of most of the running conditions I least like, a head on wind is one of my worst. I really struggle to take in meaningful breaths. Could this by down to asthma, don't know.
Anyway, the climb continued, I was about mid pack, I could make out runners in front of me, but the runners behind were quite a way behind. I followed the route along the bottom of Hameldon, before beginning the climb up the hill. This was tough! On reaching the trig, you turn and head home. This was pretty quick, but, not as quick as I wanted to go, or as quick as I've gone on training runs. Probably due to heavy legs from the race so far. The route took us out, avoiding the cross over of slower runners. The race at this point is a bit of a blurr, can't really remember the last climb, other than it hurt. The run off the coppice, through the trees was tricky and the last lap around the field to the finish could have been quicker.
On crossing the finishing line, the 'family' was there cheering me on - a real highlight!
When the girls saw Nick start has last leg around the field, off they went to run in with him.
On reflection a great race.
My Garmin under measures, it clocked the race at 5.75 miles, which was off putting, when you are trying to estimate the time you will run in.
Speaking to another runner after the race, his comment was - It's all pain! - Can't argue with that, because it really was.
I finished 3 seconds faster than 2 years ago and when I go over the race in my head, as you do, there were opportunities to go quicker. It is frustrating to think you could have done more. I'm already looking forward to next May! - My goal - 2 minutes quicker.
Note to self - To run better races, you have to run races!
The Great Hameldon race is the first race in the Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix, so always attracts quite a large number of runners. On this occassion there were 180+ runners who set off around the 6 mile, 1100 ft course. The weather for the day looked great, blue sky, but not too warm. Gathered on the start line was Danny Hope, brother to Rob Hope. Over the last year, Danny has won a number of top fell races and regularly finishes in the top 3 of races. What other sport allows mere mortals to compete against the elite?
The gun went and away we went.
The route takes us around the football field, before heading up through the coppice. The pace was pretty quick at this point and in the back of your mind you always wonder if you've set off too quick. I'm sure this comes from not racing much. I reached the top of the climb, 3/4 of a mile into the race felling pretty tired already, at this point trying to put any negative thoughts firmly at the back of my mind. Emerging from the coppice brought us into a head on strong wind. Out of most of the running conditions I least like, a head on wind is one of my worst. I really struggle to take in meaningful breaths. Could this by down to asthma, don't know.
Anyway, the climb continued, I was about mid pack, I could make out runners in front of me, but the runners behind were quite a way behind. I followed the route along the bottom of Hameldon, before beginning the climb up the hill. This was tough! On reaching the trig, you turn and head home. This was pretty quick, but, not as quick as I wanted to go, or as quick as I've gone on training runs. Probably due to heavy legs from the race so far. The route took us out, avoiding the cross over of slower runners. The race at this point is a bit of a blurr, can't really remember the last climb, other than it hurt. The run off the coppice, through the trees was tricky and the last lap around the field to the finish could have been quicker.
On crossing the finishing line, the 'family' was there cheering me on - a real highlight!
When the girls saw Nick start has last leg around the field, off they went to run in with him.
On reflection a great race.
My Garmin under measures, it clocked the race at 5.75 miles, which was off putting, when you are trying to estimate the time you will run in.
Speaking to another runner after the race, his comment was - It's all pain! - Can't argue with that, because it really was.
I finished 3 seconds faster than 2 years ago and when I go over the race in my head, as you do, there were opportunities to go quicker. It is frustrating to think you could have done more. I'm already looking forward to next May! - My goal - 2 minutes quicker.
Note to self - To run better races, you have to run races!
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