Monday 31st January - Road run

Weather has gone cold again, but no rain or worse snow.
Felt the need for a run! - Good signs!
Set off steady. The cold weather had my coughing lots.
Straight up Fielding lane which basically means a run of 1 mile all up hill.
Along Willows lane, past the golf club, down towards the turn for St Oswalds school.
Turned arou nd here and back the way I came.
Further up Fielding Lane then down Fielding lane, along Pothouse lane twice, then home.

Stats say - 5.2 miles, 48.44 mins, 655 cals

 Try to get another road run in this week on Wednesday, then if possible Friday as well - time will tell.

Sunday 30th January - Hilly 6 miles

Thought about running out to Bull Hill and back, but had a change of plan on the drive to the start point.
I was wondering how hilly and how far my steady run from Clough Head car park is, so ... that was the run.
A steady start got me to the top of the first climb feeling good. The next section is a good run - easy.
Another small climb at the side of the quarry, a new ish quarry formed a few years ago - Jamestone.

Feeling good but only a mile or so into the run. The next section is pretty much up and down climbs, nothing too extreme, but steep.
Out to the far hill along the Rosendale Way, still feeling good.
Running around the far farm and back.
Out to the next far hill getting to the top feeling still good.
A trip in and out of the old quarry and a tough climb to the top of Deep Clough.

In and out of Deep Clough, the climb out was tough, then a steady run back home.
The run was 6 miles long and hilly as you'll see from the graph below.
The good thing with this route is I can keep adding climbs on and on and incorporate the other side of the moors as well, right out to Peel Tower if wanted.
Now that's a possibility for a run in the holidays.
6 miles, 1225 ft of climbing in 67 mins.

Stats for the week - only managed 24 miles running + 4 miles walk Saturday
Need to up the mileage to 30+ from next week.

That was the week that was

Busy week this week, hence a summary of the week.
Monday - as previously posted was a road run.
Not the most enjoyable but a fitness necessity.
I do think I'm pretty lucky to have a hill (although road) on my door step it gives me ample opportunity for fitness runs.
Tuesday - Badminton, plenty of constant fast running for an hour.
Wednesday - 5 a side football for an hour. Another fast session, non stop running.
Thursday - Badminton, more fast and furious running for an hour.
Friday - Rest day
Saturday - Was meant to be an hours run at some point, but will be a family outing with friends.
Sunday - 10 mile run planned out to Bull Hill. I'll plan to do the same route as last Sunday. Looking back on that run, I did struggle towards the end of the run, the last mile and a half in particular. It will be interesting to see how I get on tomorrow. Was very chesty last week, feel better this, hopefully will be fine - stay tuned!

Last week I managed 30+ miles, it looks to be about the same this.
Hope to up the miles over the coming weeks.
Running Saturday and Sunday will help, with an additional road run Wednesday or Friday depending upon what happens over the week.

Monday 24th Jan - Road run

After the excursion to Bull Hill Saturday a rest day was in order Sunday (felt tired) so tonight was time to run again and of course test out the watch again.
The basic idea was to run Fielding lane and add bits as and when I felt like it - no plan as such just go with the flow.
I must confess I do like the option on the watch to add splits. I've set mine to add splits every hour, so after each hour I know my pace - it tends to make you run quicker / harder.
The first mile was up hill, but not too steep at around 8 min 30 pace.
Having run the first mile I did hill sprints.
Up hill hard for 0.8 of a mile jog back and repeat until another mile was completed.
Then it was a case of run to the crest of the hill, have a run around and back home.
4.66 miles later and the data is below.
Sports Track is unbelievably good for free software!!

Saturday 22nd Jan - Nearly got to Peel Tower

The plan was to run to Peel Tower and back today.
However I set off for the run too late so shortened the run to Bull Hill and back, works out to be a 10 mile run rather than a 15 mile run.
Set off at 2.30pm feeling pretty tired, chesty and generally weary.
The day was pretty clear, but cold with the temperature hovering around 1 degree.
The run up Musburry Heights was tougher than usual.

The view up the first climb

However the route into the next valley was pretty good and the further I ran the more comfortable I got.
The running here was good, the ground being frozen in most places.
Once round the first valley the run climbs up towards the Tor and again I found climbs pretty tough.
The run into the next valley was good with a final climb up to the trig on Bull Hill.
I got there in 48 mins which was quicker than I felt I was going.
After a minutes rest at the trig the return journey began.

Track from the trig towards Peel Tower

Pretty good in places.
Back at the chimney I stopped again to drink and at this point felt the energy in my legs leave me. If I'd have carried on rather than drink would this have happened I wonder.
Ran back through the woods over the reservoir still feeling tired.
Made the last climb and returned back to my starting point.

Garmin says 9.7 miles in 111 mins with 1335 ft of climbing using 1,147 cals.
Details in the graph below.

Thursday 20th Jan - Badminton

1 hours badminton tonight.
Lots of running, quick feet etc.
Good session.
Started feeling a bit chesty, coughing lots etc last few days.
Need a long sweaty run Saturday to get rid!
30 mins BW exercises - chest arms and back
The plan is a 15 miler to Peel Tower and back Saturday.

Watch this space.

Wednesday 19th Jan - Double dos Wed

5 a side football, 4 - 5 pm.
Another quick session, fast and furious for an hour.
Feeling strong, could have run for hours.

8 - 8.45pm - 45 mins of turbo.
5 mins of tension at 30 at 80 revs.
40 mins of revs between 90 - 100 a minute.
Hard work and my thighs really felt it at the end.

Tuesday 18th January - Badminton

Quick, fast, loads of running.
A good session.
Legs still tired, but feeling stronger.
To be honest, I thought I would have ached more after the Hameldon run.
Good signs.

Monday 18th Jan - Hill runs

Started road runs again recently, mainly because I can't get enough miles in fell running due to the weather and dark nights etc.
Set off at 8.00pm ish.
.25 of a mile into the run which is flatish is a hill a mile + long.
Did the old, run to the second lampot and back down to one and repeat.
Some of the lamposts being quite a distance apart, and the hill being steep in places it does make for a hilly run that saps the legs.
Stats say 3.6 miles and 400ft of climbing.

Sunday 17th Jan - Hameldon Hill

Met Dave at 3.00pm to run Hameldon Hill.
I had already decided to run the 'alternative' route because the first half of the run is all uphill - no rest bite!
The first part of the run, up through the coppice was pretty tough.
Chest tight, been coughing a lot lately, very chesty.
Once over the first climb things got better.
We found an alternative route to the top of the disused quarry, then completed the climb to the bottom of Hameldon Hill.
Views were great - This is Hamelson Reservoir from the bottom of the hill

Very wet here, what paths were there were now mini streams.
The climb up Hameldon was very boggy, wet and slippy.
The run off Hameldon was a different kettle of fish!
Ran the to sections quickly waiting for a bit after each section.
The final run back was also pretty hard.
A thoroughly enjoyable run!
Started used Sport Tracks software to analyse data from the watch - Great!

Shaded = Elevation
Red = HR
Blue = pace - where it rises it's where I was waiting.
Set the watch to lap every mile, so you can analyse data regularly - see where you run well, slowly etc.

Also data uploaded to Google Earth

Plus Google Earth allows you to re visit the run!

Friday 15th January - More turbo

Legs are tired this week after more night runs (even though they are road runs) I'm trying to run hills when out on the roads. Also starting 5 a side football on Wednesdays caused muscles to ache that haven't ached for a while.
A quick 40 mins. 30 mins done at high revs 90+ and 10 mins of 1 minute sprints.
And my legs were tired before I started ... Now!!!

Thursday 14th Jan - Badders

Legs were tired today after football and running yesterday.
Hamstrings were tight, need to start stretching more.
Good session at badminton.
As usual, lots of running, quick!

Watch says - 60 mins, Avg HR 126, Max HR 149, Cals 524

Gentle turbo planned for Friday pm, rest day Saturday and a run around Hameldon Sunday pm.
The new watch will be on so we'll see the sort of data it produces.

12.1.11 - Football and running same day!

After school 5 a side football with the children from school.
5 a side was really 5 vs 8.
Lots of fast running.
Good fun but very tiring.
Felt good though - fitness is pretty good at the moment.

Got back in from work at 8.00pm.
I was out running at 8.10pm for a quick few miles, and to test the watch.
On first opinions it does just what it says on the box.
The watch was pre set to show 4 screens.
Time, avg pace, cals and distance travelled and was easy to see.
A great running tool because you can see exactly how far, fast you are travelling.
Ran up, down and around Fielding Lane.
Legs were tired after an hours football, so took the run steady.
It was more of a lets try the watch!

This is a chart from Sports Track software I have been using.
The greyed out area is the elevation in feet.
The red line is my heart rate and the blue line is my pace.
Impressive data!!
Role on Sunday's run!!

11.1.11 - Badminton

An hours fast, quick and very enjoyable badminton!
Wore the Forerunner 305.
Obviously couldn't track distance, because the GPS wouldn't work indoors, but look at the heart rate data!

How's that for detailed data!
Now need to find time to go for a run and check out what it really does!
Second thoughts need to use Polar HR monitor indoors to get cals, max, avg hr etc.

Monday 10th January - Turbo

Too much going on tonight with the children netballing, work to prepare etc
No time to run ... again!
Only thing left is Turbo.
Set the tension at 30 out of 50.
First 5 minutes was revs at 80 +
After that revs were upped to 90 + for the next 25 minutes.
The next 10 minutes were revs at 100 +.
The last 5 minutes were minimum 110, but averaged 115 revs.

Watch says - 45 mins, Avg HR 114, Max HR 136, Cals 412

A new watch on it's way

With the slow and steady demise of my trusty Polar HR watch, I have decided to treat myself to a new watch.
I have spent a while looking at a whole range of running watches that are available out there.
To be honest there are literally thousands to chose from.
From a purely personal view point, I want a watch that will tell me how far I have run (accurately) and how many feet I have climbed.
So ... I have ordered a Garmin Forerunner 305.
I looked at the new Garmin watches and I know the newer ones look better but, for what you get with the 305, that has to be the one for me.
Inbuilt GPS, tracks exact position, gives speed, avg speed, distance, height climbed, you can upload the route to Google Earth, heart rate monitor and if you run the same course, route again, you can run against a virtual partner, (you, last time you ran.)
The watch is due Tuesday, I'll be running Wednesday to see if what it says on the tin is what you get.
Hopefully I can accurately say how many miles and how many feet of climbing I'm doing in a week and it's another incentive to get out and run! Not that I need one at the moment!

Sunday 9th January - Hameldon Hill from a different way

After two days off and a hectic Friday and Saturday, Sunday was a time to run.
I decided to run from Peel Park Pub towards the 'Great Hameldon Fell Race' route.
6 miles and 1100ft of climbing.
My best time for this is just over 50 minutes, my aim to get under 50 mins.
From the pub it is a pretty steep first climb, through the Coppice where if you go too hard you do soon start to struggle.
Took it pretty steady, but increasing the intensity of the run as the climb continued.
Pretty tired at the top.
After going under the bridge for the dual carriageway I turned left off the normal route and headed up the embankment, another steep climb. The top of the climb comes out near a disused quarry.
From here you can make out Hameldon in the distance.
However to get there you run still uphill for a mile, mile and a half - can be a drag.
The closer I got to the foot of Hameldon, the boggier the ground.

At the foot of Hameldon it was that wet, I should have brought trunks!
After wading through bog after bog (thigh deep) the climb to the top of Hameldon was good.
From this direction the climb is longer but not as steep.
Again at the trig there was plenty of water and still a bit of snow.

The run back was steady, the temperature was now dropping quickly.
Felt pretty good but the run wasn't pushed too much.
Towards the end of the run, I got tightening in my hamstrings, so slowed off.
the last thing i want is an injury.
Today's distance was somewhere between 6.5 and 7.5 miles.

Watch says - 61 mins, Avg HR 143, Max HR 161, Cals 701.

Thursday 6th January - Badminton

An hours badminton tonight.
At times it was 2 v 1, with me being the one!
Loads of running.
Quick, very pacey!

Watch says - 60 mins, Avg HR 134, Max HR 158, Cals 606

A good enjoyable hours workout.
Maybe turbo for an hour tomorrow and running at the weekend.
Unsure yet where to run.
Maybe explore Hameldon and the surrounding hills more. Great Hameldon then Hameldon Hill and out towards Burnley, an hour out and an hour back.
Or Musberry heights, Alden Ratchers, Bull Hill and if time Peel Tower and back - (20 miles)
See what Saturday brings.

Wednesday 5th January 2011 - Turbo time

A night to watch / listen to football.
City played Arsenal tonight, so I found time for Turbo, not running.

45 minutes of hard work.
Tension at 30.
First 5 minutes were at 80 revs, slowly building up to 90 over the 5 minutes.
The next 30 minutes were at 90 - 100 revs, depending upon the state of the football!
The final 10 minutes wer at 100+.
The last 10 minutes were pretty tough!

Watch says 45 minutes, Avg HR 134, Max HR 145, Cals 546.

Badminton tomorrow, can't see me getting a run in now until the weekend.
Seriously thinking about running to or from or both work.

Tuesday 4th January - Badminton's back

One hours badminton tonight.
Legs still feeling sluggish after recent runs and turbo.
Not too sharp tonight.
I think it's time for a run tomorrow night, steady up and around Fielding lane (hills)

Watch says - 60 minutes, Avg HR 116, Max HR 140, Cals 410.

BW exercises with a tension band.
Doubled over for certain exercises.
Focused on arms, shoulders and chest - good session.

Sunday 2nd January 2011 - Turbo returns.

Had a mad idea to do some turbo tonight, even though my legs were already pretty tired.
Set the tension at 30.
5 mins with revs at 80+ - felt tired
15 mins with the revs at 90+ - felt a bit better.
5 mins with the revs at 100+ - felt tired.

Watch says - 25 mins, Avg HR 129, Max HR 147, Cals 224

After 2 minutes rest, I did a pyramid.
Tension at 20, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+
Tension at 30, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+
Tension at 40, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+
Tension at 30, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+
Tension at 20, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+
Tension at 30, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+
Tension at 40, 1 minute at 80 revs then 2 minutes with revs at 100+

The last 2 sets were difficult.
Watch says - 20 minutes, Avg HR 136, Max HR 155, Cals 208

Sunday 2nd January 2012 - Good run

Went out this afternoon at about 2.30pm.
The weather is turning cold again, about -1 when I was running.
No set run planned, so I went exploring, a bit like yesterdays run.
Headed in the same general direction as yesterday.
On the flat I felt good, uphills were more difficult, achey legs after a few big ish runs.
Where it was boggy yesterday, ice had formed making running easier, but trickier.
After scouting around for a bit I crossed the stream (see below) and headed up.

At the top, the views were great, right back into the valley where I intended doing a few steady hill reps, up and down the valley wall on the right hand side.

At the top of the climb I took the usual path out towards Hog Lowe Pike.
When out on the moorland, the running was pretty tough today, the ground was a mixture of bog and ice and the tusocky grass was everywhere.
A quickish run took me to the top of the Pike.
From here I dropped right off into the valley and followed the path taking me parallel to the reservoirs.
I followed this at a quick pace until the climb to the chimney.
That was hard going!
Back down and along the same path.
I thought about adding another climb in, but my legs were beginning to complain!
A steady climb out took me to the ruined farm house next to the edge of the wood.
Again great views from here.

You can make out the tussocky grass in the fore ground that made some of the running tricky.
Dropping out of the valley and back up the other side was good and the last climb up the height of the road was quick.
A last blast back to the car.
Watch says - 70 mins, Avg HR 144, Max HR 161, Cals, 873.

1st January 2011 - First run of the New Year

After a late night last night, I decided to meet up with Nick at 10.30am.
We met at Clough Head, but were unsure of route choice, so just set off running.
Through the gate opposite the car park and then right in the direction of the route to Hog Lowe Pike.
However we turned left on line with the end of the woods above the reservoir.
Dropping down into the valley, to then climb straight back up the other side heading for the ruins of a farm.
This joins part of the Rossendale way leading into the woods.
We followed the paths out of the woods onto the route above the reservoirs.
At the sign post we turned back on ourselves and up the hill.
The climb is long, but runnable all the way. A great training run!
The picture shows the bottom of the valley showing the height of the climb.

At the top the view back into the valley was great.
We followed the ridge around to the style that leads to Hog Lowe Pike and headed back down into the valley, past a ruined house and down to the main track.

A really great training run!
We decided to do the same run again to see what sort of time it would take to complete a loop.
We set off at a steady pace and when we got to the climb I picked it up and struggled at the top of the climb.
The run around the ridge was quick and the run back to the start through the trees was fast ish and slippy.
I did the loop in 15 minutes, Nick clocked 17 minutes.
We headed back the way we initially came in which was a steady climb back out of the valley, through the wood, passed the ruined farm, dropping down into the valley before climbing out.
A steady run back to the last climb, which was taken at a good pace.
At the top of the climb the win had picked up and the temperature dropped to 0 degrees, a real difference to the temperature in the wood, which felt quite warm.
The photo below is Nick branching out, or is he barking up the wrong tree??

A cracking run today and one you can keep adding climbs to.
Looking forward to running that route again - maybe tomorrow!

Watch says - 95 minutes, Avg HR 144, Max HR 166, Cals 1126