not strictly fartlek but speed work-ish. 1m warm up, 3m at 7.20 pace, 1m warm down. a look at the the graphs and wiggly lines from the training brain show i probably could/should have pushed harder. but it's wet and am i tired and it's done now.
first week over, all sessions done. just one easy run swapped for a pedal.
29 November 2009
28 November 2009
snow on the tops, apparently
rode to work in the dark and the wet. was busy but time passed quickly. rode home in the dark and the damp. discovered jane had been having some winter fell fun. jealous, me, never.
27 November 2009
mmm...ham
6.26m, 1015.7ft all done and straight after breakfast as well. due mainly to the 'food and farming' awards being on instead of 'desert island discs'. tired heavy legs, hamstrings ridiculously tight. rest now 'til 'fartlek sunday'.
trainer tune: don't upset the rhythm, noisettes
trainer tune: don't upset the rhythm, noisettes
26 November 2009
finger of fudge
after a bit of virtual coaching (jumbly and trio, julbags thank you) i put my cup of tea down, turned off the radio and headed out the door. long run done. 10m, 1456.9ft.
trainer tune: pearls a singer, elkie brooks ....(i know!!)
a gentle spin this evening with chris, means that i can enjoy a guilt free finger of fudge. i got seduced by the retro packaging whilst in the queue at the grocers this afternoon.
25 November 2009
speed work...
i was off work yesterday. it seemed to be raining every time i looked out the window. hmmmm, the plan of a fast 5 miler wasn't going to happen and my legs still had essence of pendle in them. all was not last though. a night ride over the border in derbyshire. proper hills, proper mud and folks on 'proper' bikes. there's nothing like trying to beat gears up a hill. an evening of interval training.
edit **
thanks to jane's help i did do an easy 4 after work as planed
23 November 2009
the plan....
so, here's the idea. i'm going to attempt to train, specifically for one race. that's right, no more aimless pavement pounding, no more 'oh, i'll run tomorrow, today is biking weather'. no longer will i turn up to races with my fingers crossed and more stubbornness than fitness.
the event, the west highland way race. the plan, i've got 30 weeks to get my legs to agree to run the 95 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. this time i'm feeling focused, i've got pieces of map on the bedside table, cutoffs memorised, a willing support crew (jane and vikki), a new pair of trainers, but most importantly a training schedule.
i only work 3 days a week (4 every 4th week), which is good for getting longs days out. but fitting in a proper rest day has proved difficult. my shifts are 12.5 hrs and most of the time i'm on my feet and probably walk an average of 7m and a lot of stairs (always quicker than the lifts!). having a rest day whilst at work is a bit counter productive. so, i'm working in 3 week blocks. 10 nice little bite sized chunks, with a complete sitting on my ass, radio listening, cake eating, rest day every 2 weeks.
the other issue is my shifts don't follow a pattern but i am given my rota about 3/4 weeks in advance. it's a bit problematic but with organisation i should be able to do all the sessions. even if not always in the ideal order.
my aim is to do all long runs back to back. when the mileage increases, to get at least one of them properly off road. the terrain of the whw is more trail than fell, so i'm not too worried about trying to get miles of bog hopping in. but all of the pavement pounding will be on the hilliest roads i can find. the other crucial session will be the weekly speed work. it's likely that i'll be on my for this and i'm already predicting that this session will be my weakness.
on days off i'll try and double up some sessions but you never know, i might feel like doing the easy run after work! the session marked run/mtb is a bit vague but will either be a steady run of 4-8m or a ride. i think singlespeeding has a lot in common with running-that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it!
the other big change is diet. this doesn't mean that the cakes will stop. just that they'll hopefully last a little longer. eating and drinking well on days off is going to be really important and something i don't currently do very well. i might introduce a weekly weigh-in and am thinking about keeping a food diary.
i'm probably a bit premature 'announcing' this, as my entry is yet to be confirmed (i do have a 'plan b', just in case)...but i'm working on the premise that the more i tell folk the more real it is. and the more likely i am to stick with the program. virtual kicks up the ass are welcome!
it's going to be hard. my legs feel like lead just typing this. it's going to be cold and damp, most of the runs will lonely affairs with car fumes and street lamps. i'll have to turn down spring biking bivvys, impromptu trips to the pub and get myself organised. but the payoff will be huge. a journey from the lowlands in the south, via lochs, moorland and munro vistas, to the heart of the highlands. the route, i already know. the scenery, wild and beautiful. how i'm going to cope, that's the unknown, that's where the adventure is. and so the journey begins.
the event, the west highland way race. the plan, i've got 30 weeks to get my legs to agree to run the 95 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. this time i'm feeling focused, i've got pieces of map on the bedside table, cutoffs memorised, a willing support crew (jane and vikki), a new pair of trainers, but most importantly a training schedule.
i only work 3 days a week (4 every 4th week), which is good for getting longs days out. but fitting in a proper rest day has proved difficult. my shifts are 12.5 hrs and most of the time i'm on my feet and probably walk an average of 7m and a lot of stairs (always quicker than the lifts!). having a rest day whilst at work is a bit counter productive. so, i'm working in 3 week blocks. 10 nice little bite sized chunks, with a complete sitting on my ass, radio listening, cake eating, rest day every 2 weeks.
the other issue is my shifts don't follow a pattern but i am given my rota about 3/4 weeks in advance. it's a bit problematic but with organisation i should be able to do all the sessions. even if not always in the ideal order.
my aim is to do all long runs back to back. when the mileage increases, to get at least one of them properly off road. the terrain of the whw is more trail than fell, so i'm not too worried about trying to get miles of bog hopping in. but all of the pavement pounding will be on the hilliest roads i can find. the other crucial session will be the weekly speed work. it's likely that i'll be on my for this and i'm already predicting that this session will be my weakness.
on days off i'll try and double up some sessions but you never know, i might feel like doing the easy run after work! the session marked run/mtb is a bit vague but will either be a steady run of 4-8m or a ride. i think singlespeeding has a lot in common with running-that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it!
the other big change is diet. this doesn't mean that the cakes will stop. just that they'll hopefully last a little longer. eating and drinking well on days off is going to be really important and something i don't currently do very well. i might introduce a weekly weigh-in and am thinking about keeping a food diary.
i'm probably a bit premature 'announcing' this, as my entry is yet to be confirmed (i do have a 'plan b', just in case)...but i'm working on the premise that the more i tell folk the more real it is. and the more likely i am to stick with the program. virtual kicks up the ass are welcome!
it's going to be hard. my legs feel like lead just typing this. it's going to be cold and damp, most of the runs will lonely affairs with car fumes and street lamps. i'll have to turn down spring biking bivvys, impromptu trips to the pub and get myself organised. but the payoff will be huge. a journey from the lowlands in the south, via lochs, moorland and munro vistas, to the heart of the highlands. the route, i already know. the scenery, wild and beautiful. how i'm going to cope, that's the unknown, that's where the adventure is. and so the journey begins.
21 November 2009
tour of pendle
there's a saying that if you can see pendle hill it's about to rain. if you can't see it, it is raining. i zig-zag'd all over that hill and visited the summit trig twice. i never once 'saw' pendle hill today. thick clag on the top, winds so strong i discovered orifices that i never knew i had, and a constant drizzle. the downs were slightly less terrifying this year but the ups were just as hard i as remembered. hands on fell, fingers crawling for grip, dragging myself up. but, didn't get lost and actually managed to knock a few minutes off last year. 'fell running doesn't get better than this'.
a few more shots from jane here
16.8m, 4830ft, 3:42
jane's on for doing it next year. i'd better start practicing my descending...
a few more shots from jane here
16.8m, 4830ft, 3:42
jane's on for doing it next year. i'd better start practicing my descending...
20 November 2009
ysp
i've never really thought about the work of henry moore before. it's almost that it's so ubiquitous i haven't noticed. previously i've been drawn to more conceptual art. objects that shock and ideas that polarise. but that was when i was a teenage art student.
you'd never catch me on a bike back then, let alone a damp fell side. but through running and biking i'm discovering a love of wild places. seeing landscapes as potential adventures. putting myself against nature and reveling in the sense of insignificance that brings. the frailty of life and the exhilaration of living.
i wasn't expecting these feelings to bubble to the surface today. almost like a jolt of clarity and inspiration. if you're in the area, go to the yorkshire sculpture park. if not, make plans. i'm certainly going back.
you'd never catch me on a bike back then, let alone a damp fell side. but through running and biking i'm discovering a love of wild places. seeing landscapes as potential adventures. putting myself against nature and reveling in the sense of insignificance that brings. the frailty of life and the exhilaration of living.
i wasn't expecting these feelings to bubble to the surface today. almost like a jolt of clarity and inspiration. if you're in the area, go to the yorkshire sculpture park. if not, make plans. i'm certainly going back.
19 November 2009
warm and dry
yup, this evenings ride was positively balmy. today i chased 2 fixies and a bouncy bike. however chris did mention that he thinks i'm getting faster, "when we're waiting for you, we measure the time in seconds rather than minutes". he was invited to call in for cake on the way home.
still about 4 portions left.
still about 4 portions left.
18 November 2009
addicted to sugar
been feeling a bit fed up the past few days. putting it down to a hangover plus high sugar intake. jane thinks it's the lack of running. a weekend of fells, log fires and good food awaits though. i've also been making the final adjustments to 'the plan', soon to be unveiled...
15 November 2009
14 November 2009
the longest-shortest birthday ride
tomorrow i slip cleanly into the 30+ age category and what better way the put off impending gifferdom than to go and play on bikes. my vague plan of riding somewhere in hayfield was given a sprinkle of magic, secret trail dust thanks to
rich. local trails for local people.
normally when we get together our rides tend to be long affairs, early starts, late finishes, mile munching terrain and ending up sleeping on the fell side. today's ride was a different beast. the distance was short, so short in fact, that jane actually ran further than us.
but no mile was easily won. winching ourselves up, faces gnarled into the headwind. divert from the path, seeking the easy line. there is no easy line. tyres sinking into peat, then the boots. keep on pushing. a warning of such is given, "you can give it the beans but there are some drops". i get to the back of the queue. brakes squealing like a pig, trying to make the turn. too steep, too scared.
a promise of the best singletrack in the peaks. a bold statement. today, i think we where shown a glimpse of it. some excelled, some pushed too hard. me, i excepted defeat too soon. but to get better you have try what you can't. it's just playing on bikes really. i felt like a big kid. thanks for coming guys...
rich. local trails for local people.
normally when we get together our rides tend to be long affairs, early starts, late finishes, mile munching terrain and ending up sleeping on the fell side. today's ride was a different beast. the distance was short, so short in fact, that jane actually ran further than us.
but no mile was easily won. winching ourselves up, faces gnarled into the headwind. divert from the path, seeking the easy line. there is no easy line. tyres sinking into peat, then the boots. keep on pushing. a warning of such is given, "you can give it the beans but there are some drops". i get to the back of the queue. brakes squealing like a pig, trying to make the turn. too steep, too scared.
a promise of the best singletrack in the peaks. a bold statement. today, i think we where shown a glimpse of it. some excelled, some pushed too hard. me, i excepted defeat too soon. but to get better you have try what you can't. it's just playing on bikes really. i felt like a big kid. thanks for coming guys...
10 November 2009
the booze ride
rain didn't stop play, just altered plans. no 'street' ride this evening. instead, all singletrack leads to the pub. a birthday pint for simon. some muddy trails, cupcakes and a whiskey stop. rode home with a slow puncture and a sugar high. bike still needs cleaning and hip flask will need replenishing.
08 November 2009
glory scones
back in september, whist struggling around keilder, i met rosemary. emails have since been exchanged and some 'racing' plans made. today was the first of such outings. thankfully it was going to be much sorter than the last time we met, a trailquest in the dark peak.
the objective is the same as orienteering, visit as many check points as you can, picking up the most points and don't be late back. you just have to do it on a bike. rosemary took charge and was a brilliant navigator. all i had to do was keep up, not drop the control descriptions and make sure i bib at the check points. i managed all three but only just!
we rode some great trails, had a good laugh, gasped for breath, squeeled our brakes, didn't eat enough and made one fatal error. up and over is very rarely quicker, despite some fearless descending by rosemary. death or glory. we should at least get a prize for the most penalty points gained!
jane had a slightly more successful day of racing. running in the leg it round lathkill race, her main objective was to not come last. which she easily achieved. photographic evidence here. in fact i don't think she tried hard enough, she still energy to bake scones when she got home. me, well, my bike still needs cleaning.
the objective is the same as orienteering, visit as many check points as you can, picking up the most points and don't be late back. you just have to do it on a bike. rosemary took charge and was a brilliant navigator. all i had to do was keep up, not drop the control descriptions and make sure i bib at the check points. i managed all three but only just!
we rode some great trails, had a good laugh, gasped for breath, squeeled our brakes, didn't eat enough and made one fatal error. up and over is very rarely quicker, despite some fearless descending by rosemary. death or glory. we should at least get a prize for the most penalty points gained!
jane had a slightly more successful day of racing. running in the leg it round lathkill race, her main objective was to not come last. which she easily achieved. photographic evidence here. in fact i don't think she tried hard enough, she still energy to bake scones when she got home. me, well, my bike still needs cleaning.
06 November 2009
'exceptional contribution'
allowed to finish work early-good. attending works awards ceremony this evening-good. three course meal-good. awards followed by disco-not so good. having to wear horrible, scratchy, tight, stupid clothes-very bad. and all because our team made an 'exceptional contribution'...tonight i am going well above and beyond the call of duty!
03 November 2009
cake hole
a few runs, a bit of a cycle and some warming rays have stopped me falling head first into a cake hole. i've been stood on the edge for the past few days, what with work, rain and tired limbs. plans are coming together and entries have been posted. fingers are crossed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)