Unsure if it's down to the amount of training i have done,
A good friend of mine Nick Cable, said that your legs can take 10 time more than you think,
But this week, i really can't see that, but then when i look at the miles i have done in the last 4 weeks over the time taken and ft of ascent, then maybe......
151 miles
34,297ft
at an average pace of 12.35min miles
That might explain it.
its calf pain, just constant aching, and stiffness,
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Weekend Training - 13th/14th February
Well, that's what i call a weekends workout,
Saturday start early with hill reps, found a hill not to far away from home,
Its part of the Wilmot Wander route, cross the main road nr the back of Quarndon, and up the hill,
I have found a section that is not to steep to start with, but then just creeps up on you,
Started in the dark at 6.45am, and pushed hard up hill keeping at least 18.30 min mile pace and then for the downhills,
These i took at 7.20's so really punished the quads,
I had been doing this for 1 hr 15 mins when i reached the top of the climb to find a dog and a runner, nutter, must be like me i thought, and he was Stephen Burt, somebody that follows my blog, strange but true, had a natter then we went on our own separate ways,
(Stephen is competing in the DarkWhite Mini MM's this next weekend so good look for that, and see you soon! Drop me a line to let me know how you get on.....)
Managed a total of 6 miles and 2000ft of ascent, in 1hr 30 mins, good solid BGR times
Sunday, well that was a whole new world, agreed to run a route that i have run a few times before, starting at the water tower on Radbourne lane, across the Vickerwood estate towards Allestree Water Tower, then follow the Wilmot route in reverse until you reach the a split in the footpath, take the left towards Holbrook, four sharp descents and climbs later we returned to the split,
This is a tough little route covering 18 plus miles and 4650ft, covered in 3hrs 44 mins.
Total for the weekend 24 miles/6650ft -
My legs today feel like tenderised meat, its not pleasant.
Saturday start early with hill reps, found a hill not to far away from home,
Its part of the Wilmot Wander route, cross the main road nr the back of Quarndon, and up the hill,
I have found a section that is not to steep to start with, but then just creeps up on you,
Started in the dark at 6.45am, and pushed hard up hill keeping at least 18.30 min mile pace and then for the downhills,
These i took at 7.20's so really punished the quads,
I had been doing this for 1 hr 15 mins when i reached the top of the climb to find a dog and a runner, nutter, must be like me i thought, and he was Stephen Burt, somebody that follows my blog, strange but true, had a natter then we went on our own separate ways,
(Stephen is competing in the DarkWhite Mini MM's this next weekend so good look for that, and see you soon! Drop me a line to let me know how you get on.....)
Managed a total of 6 miles and 2000ft of ascent, in 1hr 30 mins, good solid BGR times
Sunday, well that was a whole new world, agreed to run a route that i have run a few times before, starting at the water tower on Radbourne lane, across the Vickerwood estate towards Allestree Water Tower, then follow the Wilmot route in reverse until you reach the a split in the footpath, take the left towards Holbrook, four sharp descents and climbs later we returned to the split,
This is a tough little route covering 18 plus miles and 4650ft, covered in 3hrs 44 mins.
Total for the weekend 24 miles/6650ft -
My legs today feel like tenderised meat, its not pleasant.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Grindleford Recce - 31st January
Woke up, got ready, had granola, nuts and fruit breakfast, and pint of Water.
Defrosted the car, picked Steve up and drove to Bakewell,
Parked car in Bakewell nr the Monsal Trail at 6.35am,
Warmed up, checked map, put head torch on and off,
We had arranged to run the complete ruote of the Grindleford Gallop, 21 miles, but decided to start at the Monsal Trail checkpoint,
www.grindlefordgallop.co.uk/
The weather was cold, sharp frost overnight, and the ground hard underfoot,
First leg went really well, knocking 30 mins of previous recce, it helps when you don't have to check the map so much,
Through Baslow and up from the Village onto Balsow Edge, past Eagle Rock and along the ridge until we dropped down to then go back up to Curbar Edge then onto Frogatt Edge.
The run across Frogatt was great, great views and you could see the cold mist in the valley, so many photographers out trying to get that special sunrise shot over the edge.
From the end of the edge dropped down and then made our way on a bit of the route i have never ran, straight after Eyam, a lane, green lane, that was so icy, the ice must have been 2 inches thick in places, a real wind tunnel bitter wind,
Then across to the climb up Longstone More, two, three, four, five stiles, one of which didn't even have a fence either side, a real push until the top of the moor,
A really rocky descent down into Great Longstone, and then pick the Monsal Trail up,
At this point Steve seemed a little rocky, i think he needed fuel so pushed some into his face and then plodded down the Monsal trail,
Finished in 4hr 34min, great effort, tired but not broken, covered the 21 miles and 4,345ft.
I think on the day of the race, if paced properly might be able to crack 4 hrs.
Stephen Shaw
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
18th Wilmot Wander - 32 mile Challenge
Well, i trained for the miles and arrived at Chaddeston Scout Hut at 7.30am on Sunday 24th January,
Start time for the Wilmot Wander was 8.06am,
The Weather was fine, clear but a little cold, no worries the next 32 miles would keep me warm,
The first 22 miles of the challenge was tough with approx 3500ft of climbing, sticky mud with flooded fields,
Lily not getting to close as "your a sweaty daddy" Checkpoint at The Bridge at Duffield
The route took you out of Chaddeston, towards Morley, then across towards Duffield, Radbourne, Mickelover, Findern, Stenson, Swalkston, and then on the old railway line into Pride Park, over the A38 to finish.
My personal experience was as follows;
Started well and soon found myself passing runners and walkers, as each group set off at 2 minute intervals, arrived at first check point feeling comfortable
The climb's felt easy, and the conditions suited my pace and running style,
The miles passed and then i was caught by a team of two, who flew past me and followed what i thought was the wrong path leaving Morley, i had a feeling that this was wrong and switched my route to the the correct exit across the road,
I didn't see them again until the Water Towers at Radbourne lane,
Claire and Lily were meeting me on route in four places,
Coming down the road into Checkpoint at The Bridge at Duffield
First place was second checkpoint at the bridge pub, Duffield, the 6 miles i covered before that are a regular training route, so i felt really comfortable, and didnt realise that i was running so quickly, i was running this at race pace and come down the hill into the checkpoint steaming!
Quick drink, check in, number 49, kiss from Lily and Claire then off!
The next leg was again training route for me, so just kept plugging away at the runners and walkers in front of me, was also getting passed by a few as well, but would never have kept up with them.
Pushed across the fields at the back of Vickerwood Farm and across the road nr the Mackworth Hotel, up the two fields to meet Claire, Steve, Anya and Lily cheering me on,
Stretched a stiffening calf, water and gel then cracked on 18 miles in, and going well apart from the calf,
As i reached the A38 i had ran with and by some great runners, but kept ticking of the miles,
From a mental point of view i always, split long events into groups of miles, for this i had thought a lot about this, and my mental split were,
6 miles
10 miles
6 miles
6 miles
4 miles
Splitting like this makes the distance easy to manage mentally, and from experience never think about the distance covered...
So arrived after a very long and drawn out 4th section at the Stenson Bubble, all toe path and tarmac left, must be at least 9 miles of this, swapped shoes and lost about 5 mins on two teams that i had been pulling away from, but needed a few mins to take on fuel and water, including the last gel,
Change of shoes at the Stenson Bubble
Only the toe path to go and i could see the two teams in front of me, so set off at 8.30 min mile pace to claw then back, to my amazement i did, by the Swalkstone checkpoint,
5 Miles to go, and as i set off, for the final push a team of three guys came behind me, one of them was really struggling, but with a team of three you can double time the distance, run and walk run and walk, i kept with them with only 2 miles to go and then held back a bit,
Looking at my Garmin i pulled myself over the A52 bridge at 6hrs 20 mins and made a final dash for the scout hut,
Finished,
Final time, was 6hrs, 23mins, 58 seconds, 32miles/4325ft of ascent,
Personal thanks to Claire, Lily, Steve and Anya for your support! and Special thanks to Claire for the great Sunday lunch i received when i got home.
Start time for the Wilmot Wander was 8.06am,
The Weather was fine, clear but a little cold, no worries the next 32 miles would keep me warm,
The first 22 miles of the challenge was tough with approx 3500ft of climbing, sticky mud with flooded fields,
Lily not getting to close as "your a sweaty daddy" Checkpoint at The Bridge at Duffield
The route took you out of Chaddeston, towards Morley, then across towards Duffield, Radbourne, Mickelover, Findern, Stenson, Swalkston, and then on the old railway line into Pride Park, over the A38 to finish.
My personal experience was as follows;
Started well and soon found myself passing runners and walkers, as each group set off at 2 minute intervals, arrived at first check point feeling comfortable
The climb's felt easy, and the conditions suited my pace and running style,
The miles passed and then i was caught by a team of two, who flew past me and followed what i thought was the wrong path leaving Morley, i had a feeling that this was wrong and switched my route to the the correct exit across the road,
I didn't see them again until the Water Towers at Radbourne lane,
Claire and Lily were meeting me on route in four places,
Coming down the road into Checkpoint at The Bridge at Duffield
First place was second checkpoint at the bridge pub, Duffield, the 6 miles i covered before that are a regular training route, so i felt really comfortable, and didnt realise that i was running so quickly, i was running this at race pace and come down the hill into the checkpoint steaming!
Quick drink, check in, number 49, kiss from Lily and Claire then off!
The next leg was again training route for me, so just kept plugging away at the runners and walkers in front of me, was also getting passed by a few as well, but would never have kept up with them.
Pushed across the fields at the back of Vickerwood Farm and across the road nr the Mackworth Hotel, up the two fields to meet Claire, Steve, Anya and Lily cheering me on,
Stretched a stiffening calf, water and gel then cracked on 18 miles in, and going well apart from the calf,
As i reached the A38 i had ran with and by some great runners, but kept ticking of the miles,
From a mental point of view i always, split long events into groups of miles, for this i had thought a lot about this, and my mental split were,
6 miles
10 miles
6 miles
6 miles
4 miles
Splitting like this makes the distance easy to manage mentally, and from experience never think about the distance covered...
So arrived after a very long and drawn out 4th section at the Stenson Bubble, all toe path and tarmac left, must be at least 9 miles of this, swapped shoes and lost about 5 mins on two teams that i had been pulling away from, but needed a few mins to take on fuel and water, including the last gel,
Change of shoes at the Stenson Bubble
Only the toe path to go and i could see the two teams in front of me, so set off at 8.30 min mile pace to claw then back, to my amazement i did, by the Swalkstone checkpoint,
5 Miles to go, and as i set off, for the final push a team of three guys came behind me, one of them was really struggling, but with a team of three you can double time the distance, run and walk run and walk, i kept with them with only 2 miles to go and then held back a bit,
Looking at my Garmin i pulled myself over the A52 bridge at 6hrs 20 mins and made a final dash for the scout hut,
Finished,
Final time, was 6hrs, 23mins, 58 seconds, 32miles/4325ft of ascent,
Personal thanks to Claire, Lily, Steve and Anya for your support! and Special thanks to Claire for the great Sunday lunch i received when i got home.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Grindleford Recce - 17th January
GrindleFord Gallop Recce,
Planned to do the Lambs Longer Leg at Hayfield on Sunday 17th, but due to the continued bad weather and snow in Hayfield in fact across the Uk it had to be postponed, the organizer stated that he had walked the course and felt that it was to dangerous to run.
nr Ball Cross Farm – Baslow
As a result I decided to go and recce the second half of the Grindleford Gallo route, which covers Bakewell – Baslow,
Parked just nr the Monsal trail on the B6048 and ran the section up and across Edensor, through Chatworth and into Baslow, leaving Baslow up Bar Hill Road, onto Baslow Edge, Turning at Eagle Stone,
Eagle Stone
Great day all round covered 12.85 miles and 2996ft Ascent
Good training for the Wilmot Wander
Hill Reps x 6
Created a loop at Markeaton Park, Friday 15th January,
It covers 1 mile dead, with 210 feet of ascent per lap,
Tough little route, long drawn out climb to start, tricky little traverse and then small sharp climb and then descent through woodland, run into park is 1.5 miles warm up,
Then on with it, headtorch ready, lungs ready,
Felt really tired, long week at work, friday night
Did six laps, and managed to keep steady, but not race pace of 9.11, just a matter of doing some training i think,
It covers 1 mile dead, with 210 feet of ascent per lap,
Tough little route, long drawn out climb to start, tricky little traverse and then small sharp climb and then descent through woodland, run into park is 1.5 miles warm up,
Then on with it, headtorch ready, lungs ready,
Felt really tired, long week at work, friday night
Did six laps, and managed to keep steady, but not race pace of 9.11, just a matter of doing some training i think,
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wild Trails to Far Horizons: An Ultra-distrance Runner
Just reading this little beaut! and having problems putting it down
If you need any motivation read this book,
Day 1 - 145 miles
Day 2 - 96 miles
Day 3 - 79 miles
Mike Cudahy is one of the foremost ultra fell runners in the country and now something of a fitness legend. In the course of decades of running he has covered distances from 70 to 270 miles, finding inspiration in challenges such as the West Highland Way, the Scottish 4,000 foot peaks and the Coast-to-Coast. In 1984 he achieved the ultra runner's equivalent of the four minute mile, the first under three day completion of the 270 mile Pennine Way.
The semi-autobiographical account of his ultra career constitutes the first part of this book.
'The Kingfisher's Wing' both continues and develops the theme of endeavour and inspiration. Included in this set of essays are three episodes from Mike's record traverse of the Munros, his 500 mile, ten day run through the Scottish Highlands, a 120 mile winter walk and a solo winter traverse of the 4,000 foot peaks shortly before a hip transplant. These tales of endeavour are seeded with essays of a more whimsical nature.
Throughout, Mike describes the inspiration which motivates and supports his challenges, in particular, the power and beauty of nature, the love and support of friends and the almost self-destructive will to succeed; this latter never more strikingly presented than in the final essay by fellow ultra runner, Mike Hartley.
The book contains guidance and advice for those who may aspire to emulate the achievements described. Above all, however, is Mike's observation that, 'the human condition is an amalgam of beauty, joy, sorrow and striving. Human frailty is not so important as how that frailty is embraced. Only endeavour which fails to enrich the spirit truly fails.'
If you need any motivation read this book,
Day 1 - 145 miles
Day 2 - 96 miles
Day 3 - 79 miles
Mike Cudahy is one of the foremost ultra fell runners in the country and now something of a fitness legend. In the course of decades of running he has covered distances from 70 to 270 miles, finding inspiration in challenges such as the West Highland Way, the Scottish 4,000 foot peaks and the Coast-to-Coast. In 1984 he achieved the ultra runner's equivalent of the four minute mile, the first under three day completion of the 270 mile Pennine Way.
The semi-autobiographical account of his ultra career constitutes the first part of this book.
'The Kingfisher's Wing' both continues and develops the theme of endeavour and inspiration. Included in this set of essays are three episodes from Mike's record traverse of the Munros, his 500 mile, ten day run through the Scottish Highlands, a 120 mile winter walk and a solo winter traverse of the 4,000 foot peaks shortly before a hip transplant. These tales of endeavour are seeded with essays of a more whimsical nature.
Throughout, Mike describes the inspiration which motivates and supports his challenges, in particular, the power and beauty of nature, the love and support of friends and the almost self-destructive will to succeed; this latter never more strikingly presented than in the final essay by fellow ultra runner, Mike Hartley.
The book contains guidance and advice for those who may aspire to emulate the achievements described. Above all, however, is Mike's observation that, 'the human condition is an amalgam of beauty, joy, sorrow and striving. Human frailty is not so important as how that frailty is embraced. Only endeavour which fails to enrich the spirit truly fails.'
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