A good week running for having 3 days rest. No short sharp hill reps or fast work and still need to get much longer days out, but 2 good runs.
Monday : rest
Tuesday : 1000ft 4 x 250 hill reps moderate pace
Wednesday : 4500ft and 12 miles at night on the Long Mynd Valleys race route in 2hours 45 ish
Thursday : rest
Friday : rest (did intend to do something beyond a dog walk, but work went mad).
Saturday : 3500ft and 11 miles great run around Nant-y-Moch area for 3 hours. Some bog trotting which slows thing down. It was a great afternoon out and got some great photo's from a couple of hills to the north I had not been on before.
Sunday : 3 * 650ft from bus stop to hill fort. times were 14.20, 14.30 and 14.40. Not use this route for a few weeks and seem to be a bit quicker. Usually do this in the dark, still no view as white out on the top.
Myra admitted she now reads my blog to get an idea of where I have been running. I am sure there is a note to self there somewhere.
Next week need to get 5500ft in the 1st 4 days as the Long Mynd Valleys race(2nd best race of the year in my view) is on the Sunday.
January 31, 2010
January 28, 2010
Doing it in the dark
I ran the route of the Long Mynd Valleys race last night. Actual race is in 10 days time so going it was good to get to know the route a little better, even in the dark. I was with a customer all day, so did not get started till 7.30pm, so finished about 10.15pm. So it was dark, but there was enough moon through the clouds to be able to make out the hills and route finding was no problem. One of these as a head torch does give you some confidence and makes route finding much easier. A few parts of the course are fast, but quite rocky, so a lot of light is really helpful. So a good week so far with a 1000ft on Tuesday and 4500ft last night.
January 23, 2010
London damages your running
Working away for 4 days this week and was quite tired on Monday, so training really was left to the end of the week. However, I did hear about a chap who did his BGR training with a Rucksack and stairs in a tower block, so maybe I am just not being imaginative enough.
Monday : Rest
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday : in London. Need to plan this better to I can do something, even if it is flat running.
Friday : 3000ft, 5 miles. Spent at office in Reading and then 2 reps of "the Blorange" in the dark, an idea stolen from Martin Beale. About 25 minutes from the tunnel to the hut which is an improvement, but it feels a lot easier than when I 1st did it 6 months ago. Rude not to when you are passing.
Saturday : 3 miles and 500ft. 3 reps of the field above the house as a warm up and then 10 x 6oft reps as fast a possible. exhausting.
Sunday : 6,000ft and 16 miles. long run of the week. Myra had a bike ride in the morning, so I got the afternoon and into the evening for a 4 hour plus random wander around Nant-y-Moch with the last hour or so in the dark. Had wanted to go faster and further. Must take something to drink with me on the longer weekend runs.
So 1,000ft short of target, but some good training the end of the week at least. Must work out how to make better use of my travel time.
Monday : Rest
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday : in London. Need to plan this better to I can do something, even if it is flat running.
Friday : 3000ft, 5 miles. Spent at office in Reading and then 2 reps of "the Blorange" in the dark, an idea stolen from Martin Beale. About 25 minutes from the tunnel to the hut which is an improvement, but it feels a lot easier than when I 1st did it 6 months ago. Rude not to when you are passing.
Saturday : 3 miles and 500ft. 3 reps of the field above the house as a warm up and then 10 x 6oft reps as fast a possible. exhausting.
Sunday : 6,000ft and 16 miles. long run of the week. Myra had a bike ride in the morning, so I got the afternoon and into the evening for a 4 hour plus random wander around Nant-y-Moch with the last hour or so in the dark. Had wanted to go faster and further. Must take something to drink with me on the longer weekend runs.
So 1,000ft short of target, but some good training the end of the week at least. Must work out how to make better use of my travel time.
January 12, 2010
Not the shape of training profile I would have liked, but the best in the circumstances. You have a goal of 10,000ft for a reason.
Monday : Rest
Tuesday : 2 miles and 2000ft in dark : 3 reps of bus stop to iron age hill fort while is the largest climb (650 ft) which is close to the house. White out on top of hill.
Wednesday : 4 reps of 250ft on hill next to house. No commute required. Dog sits half way up hill chewing a stick.
Thursday : Long day in London. Preceded by a only just make it drive over the Cambrian mountains following a gritting lorry and a failed attempt to find accommodation in Shrewbury or Telford (all full) meaning that I ended up sleeping in the back of the car in a disused quarry on the Wrekin in order to get the 6.20am train to London for a meeting which got cancelled via text at 7.08am. Head training?
Friday : felt a bit ick with something picked up from kids, so day off
Saturday : The needs of being Duty Manager and keeping law and order at a 4 year olds birthday party meant 4 x 650ft from bus stop to Iron age hill fort plus the run up to the top of the fort to start, 3000ft in less than 3 miles in the dark. 1 rep was in 16.30 and the next 3 were all less.
Note to self, you have 2 pairs of MudClaws for a reason and that reason is that anything less aggressive such as Mudroc and x-talons means you fall over on this route when it is wet, so wear Mudclaws.
Sunday : Again being D.M. and needing to look after small man while small girl and Mum are at Jack and the Beanstack meant no scope for a long run this weekend. Thats the breaks and we work around them. 4 * 650ft from bus stop to Hill Fort as fast as we can manage which was a little faster than the previous day finishing just before 9pm. Mudclaws proved to be about 30 seconds faster on the decent than mudrocks and I did not slide over, though it was a little drier.
so with some hill dog walks we come in at about 9,500ft this week, a little short of target.
Next week will have to be quite creative as I am in London for 4 days doing work type things.
Decided not to enter the Highland Fling this year. It was the best things I have ever done in terms of running and possibly the hardest. It took me at least month to recover last year and I if I am serious about a BGR, it is just too close.
Monday : Rest
Tuesday : 2 miles and 2000ft in dark : 3 reps of bus stop to iron age hill fort while is the largest climb (650 ft) which is close to the house. White out on top of hill.
Wednesday : 4 reps of 250ft on hill next to house. No commute required. Dog sits half way up hill chewing a stick.
Thursday : Long day in London. Preceded by a only just make it drive over the Cambrian mountains following a gritting lorry and a failed attempt to find accommodation in Shrewbury or Telford (all full) meaning that I ended up sleeping in the back of the car in a disused quarry on the Wrekin in order to get the 6.20am train to London for a meeting which got cancelled via text at 7.08am. Head training?
Friday : felt a bit ick with something picked up from kids, so day off
Saturday : The needs of being Duty Manager and keeping law and order at a 4 year olds birthday party meant 4 x 650ft from bus stop to Iron age hill fort plus the run up to the top of the fort to start, 3000ft in less than 3 miles in the dark. 1 rep was in 16.30 and the next 3 were all less.
Note to self, you have 2 pairs of MudClaws for a reason and that reason is that anything less aggressive such as Mudroc and x-talons means you fall over on this route when it is wet, so wear Mudclaws.
Sunday : Again being D.M. and needing to look after small man while small girl and Mum are at Jack and the Beanstack meant no scope for a long run this weekend. Thats the breaks and we work around them. 4 * 650ft from bus stop to Hill Fort as fast as we can manage which was a little faster than the previous day finishing just before 9pm. Mudclaws proved to be about 30 seconds faster on the decent than mudrocks and I did not slide over, though it was a little drier.
so with some hill dog walks we come in at about 9,500ft this week, a little short of target.
Next week will have to be quite creative as I am in London for 4 days doing work type things.
Decided not to enter the Highland Fling this year. It was the best things I have ever done in terms of running and possibly the hardest. It took me at least month to recover last year and I if I am serious about a BGR, it is just too close.
January 10, 2010
What is the snow plod multiplier?
A great week training wise, though no huge distances or climbs and I did not reach the 10k target, but 7000ft and a lot of snow plodding made for a hard week. I don't know what the snow plod multiplier is but I guess at about 1.5. Even going downhill in a knee deep drift can be exhausting. All in the local hills which are covered with power snow which has drifted in places. All the lakes are frozen as above to a good thickness, but I have limited walking on them to the ones I know are less then 3ft deep. It has been just a great week to be out, even if progress felt quite slow.
Monday : rest
Tuesday : 2 hour later afternoon, early evening snow plod for about 8 miles and 2000ft
Wednesday : 1 hour in dark snow plodding 4 miles and 1000ft
Thursday : 1 hour in dark snow plodding 5 miles and 1000ft
Friday : rest
Saturday : morning 4 1/2 hours with 3000ft and 12 miles. Even dog was cream-crackered at the end of it spending the rest of the day on her couch.
Sunday : 10 * 100ft hill sprints
So we are introducing a new metric to judge the effectiveness of my training - the dog knacker index.
January 3, 2010
How hard can 8 miles be?
I started in September with doing at least 6000ft of climb (easy when you have the Peris Horseshoe one week and Plumumon Challenge the next) per week. October stepping up to 7000ft, November 8000ft and December 9000ft of climb. I have managed to meet or overshoot the target most week. I think I missed the target by less than 1000ft in 2 weeks where work got in the way. This week was the last 9000ft week before trying to get in at least 10000ft each week until the 1st week of June.
Monday : 2500ft and 5 miles on Plumumon.
Tuesday : rest
Wednesday : 0ft and 5 miles of fast reps of a 1km loop in woods. It was blowing a gale, so the woods gave a nice sheltered run.
Thursday : 2500ft and 8 miles in the hills to the west of Nant-y-Moch. Knee deep snow with a thin crust which is hard enough to kick you shins against, but not strong enough to support your weight. Very hard work indeed, felt like double the distance at least. Super moon rise over Plumumon, but no camera. Got back to car as it got fully dark.
Friday : rest
Saturday : 2000ft and 13 miles on tracks around Nant-y-Moch. Easier going than Thursday, but still hard. Last hour was in the dark.
Sunday : 2000ft and 2 miles hill reps up to the Iron aged fort behind the house 3 times in the dark.
Product plug of the week is a pair of SealSkinz socks. I became aware of these while supporting Mark Smith a few weeks ago. A couple of people were wearing them and swore by them, were as cross the river between Great Calva and Blencathera I swore at my socks. I since bought a pair to try out and I have found them not to be 100% waterproof, but it does not matter as you feet don't get cold even if they are a little damp. Just going through snow was fine and dry, but feet crashing through the ice into the water below will make them wet, even if the water does not go over the top. Lets be fair, they are socks. If you want dry feet, stay inside or wear wellies. If you want warm feet when out and about in winter, SealSkinz do the job.
Monday : 2500ft and 5 miles on Plumumon.
Tuesday : rest
Wednesday : 0ft and 5 miles of fast reps of a 1km loop in woods. It was blowing a gale, so the woods gave a nice sheltered run.
Thursday : 2500ft and 8 miles in the hills to the west of Nant-y-Moch. Knee deep snow with a thin crust which is hard enough to kick you shins against, but not strong enough to support your weight. Very hard work indeed, felt like double the distance at least. Super moon rise over Plumumon, but no camera. Got back to car as it got fully dark.
Friday : rest
Saturday : 2000ft and 13 miles on tracks around Nant-y-Moch. Easier going than Thursday, but still hard. Last hour was in the dark.
Sunday : 2000ft and 2 miles hill reps up to the Iron aged fort behind the house 3 times in the dark.
Product plug of the week is a pair of SealSkinz socks. I became aware of these while supporting Mark Smith a few weeks ago. A couple of people were wearing them and swore by them, were as cross the river between Great Calva and Blencathera I swore at my socks. I since bought a pair to try out and I have found them not to be 100% waterproof, but it does not matter as you feet don't get cold even if they are a little damp. Just going through snow was fine and dry, but feet crashing through the ice into the water below will make them wet, even if the water does not go over the top. Lets be fair, they are socks. If you want dry feet, stay inside or wear wellies. If you want warm feet when out and about in winter, SealSkinz do the job.
December 30, 2009
2010 running plans
Other than an BGR attempt, I thought it might be useful to set out other racing plans for 2010 so I don't do too much pre and post BGR and racing seems in my life at least to have a detrimental effect on my training.
Jan : Nothing
Feb : Long Mynd Valleys Race [ hard AM ] because it is a great race and I have a target of under 2.30 as a convincer of progress for the BGR
March : Aran Race [ AM] because of the Lamb Burgers and the the Wye Valley Ultra (30 Miles) as long training run. I have managed to persuade one on my neighbors (Ellie) to do this as her 1st Ultra, sucker!
April : Manx Marathon because I have not been to the Isle of Man for years
May : Nothing
June : Welsh 1000m as last big run 3 weeks before the BGR at the end of June. I still have unfinished business with this race as a DNF last year story told here http://blogs.sun.com/clive/entry/welsh_1000m_race_tales_of
July : Snowdon Race
August : Nothing
September : Nant Peris Horseshoe because it is the best race in the calendar and I want to finish in under 5 hours. Plumomon Challange because I will be on the organizing committee next year and it would be rude not to (sweeper runner maybe)
October : Arenig Fawr race because it was fun
November : Nothing
December : Cardington Cracker
Who knows what I might skip, if I will get injured, work, kids, etc will get in the way. Other races might crop up that take my fancy, but it is good to have a plan. Those pre BGR are all convincers. I normally run a few AS and AM in May but have decided to drop a couple of races to concentrate on training instead.
Jan : Nothing
Feb : Long Mynd Valleys Race [ hard AM ] because it is a great race and I have a target of under 2.30 as a convincer of progress for the BGR
March : Aran Race [ AM] because of the Lamb Burgers and the the Wye Valley Ultra (30 Miles) as long training run. I have managed to persuade one on my neighbors (Ellie) to do this as her 1st Ultra, sucker!
April : Manx Marathon because I have not been to the Isle of Man for years
May : Nothing
June : Welsh 1000m as last big run 3 weeks before the BGR at the end of June. I still have unfinished business with this race as a DNF last year story told here http://blogs.sun.com/clive/entry/welsh_1000m_race_tales_of
July : Snowdon Race
August : Nothing
September : Nant Peris Horseshoe because it is the best race in the calendar and I want to finish in under 5 hours. Plumomon Challange because I will be on the organizing committee next year and it would be rude not to (sweeper runner maybe)
October : Arenig Fawr race because it was fun
November : Nothing
December : Cardington Cracker
Who knows what I might skip, if I will get injured, work, kids, etc will get in the way. Other races might crop up that take my fancy, but it is good to have a plan. Those pre BGR are all convincers. I normally run a few AS and AM in May but have decided to drop a couple of races to concentrate on training instead.
December 28, 2009
Plumumon in a bitter east wind
A very cold wind from the east and 2 reps of the upper part of Plumumon as detailed below.
View Pumlumon from the west route in a larger map
Each rep took 35 minutes with some quite deep snow slowing progress towards the top, but decent was great fun apart from the water ice near the bottom. Quite thick cloud on top, so little photo opportunity.
2500ft and 5 miles of the 9,000ft target and its only Monday
View Pumlumon from the west route in a larger map
Each rep took 35 minutes with some quite deep snow slowing progress towards the top, but decent was great fun apart from the water ice near the bottom. Quite thick cloud on top, so little photo opportunity.
2500ft and 5 miles of the 9,000ft target and its only Monday
December 27, 2009
Listen to the dog
A grand plan of 3 reps of Cader Idris went well in terms of an early start from the car park at 7am. Young Mr Fox was the only other inhabitant we saw on the way up the Minffordd Path. All went well, though conditions got more unpleasant the higher up you went, but in line with the forecast for some wind and rain. Underfoot was OK with no real ice to speak of and some nice soft snow patches higher up. When I got over the style at to top of Craig Cau the wind really got up and was pelting stinging icy snow into my face, but persisted for about 10m, then dog decided she had enough and turned round and went back over the style and started down the way we had come.
At that point I concluded that I don't choose to swim in rivers in winter and I don't enjoy rolling in snow. Neither was I breed to retrieve ducks that have just fallen out of the sky in sub zero conditions, all of which are are the case for a typical Golden Retriever, a breed known for disregarding the cold and wet. When dog decided that the weather was OTT, it is probably the right time to turn around.
At that point I concluded that I don't choose to swim in rivers in winter and I don't enjoy rolling in snow. Neither was I breed to retrieve ducks that have just fallen out of the sky in sub zero conditions, all of which are are the case for a typical Golden Retriever, a breed known for disregarding the cold and wet. When dog decided that the weather was OTT, it is probably the right time to turn around.
December 26, 2009
What, why, how
Yet another single issue blog which I hope will on run for 6 months. On a family holiday in The Lakes in Feb 2008, I decided to attempt the Bob Graham Round (42 peaks, 66 miles, 27,000ft of up and down and we hope less than 24 hours). I had read the book "Feet in the Clouds" and meeting a chap on top of the Old Man of Conniston who had done it a number of years before was the clincher.
I started doing fell faces just after, the 1st one finishing 3rd from last. Since then I have managed mid pack placing in medium A class fell races and a respectable time in some of the harder AL races. I have completed a couple of Ultra's with varying amounts of success, including the 53 mile Highland Fling during which I had a "out of mind" experience. What I do seem quite good at doing is setting challenges that are near or beyond the limits of my ability. I am not one of the worlds natural runners, so progress is hard one which makes it sweeter. I have a full time job and two great, but full on children and am keen to ensure neither suffers collateral damage from a BGR attempt.
The majority of my more interesting exploits have been documented on my work blog http://blogs.sun.com/clive, but somehow it does not seem right to document a training schedule and where my head is at there. Also it gets interspersed with bits of technology talk.
The nameless chap on top of Old Man of Conniston said as we parted company, "see you at the BGR dinner". This blog is about the last 6 months of the journey which may end up at the BGR dinner or just in a heap. Tentative date set today of the 26th of June 2010.
I started doing fell faces just after, the 1st one finishing 3rd from last. Since then I have managed mid pack placing in medium A class fell races and a respectable time in some of the harder AL races. I have completed a couple of Ultra's with varying amounts of success, including the 53 mile Highland Fling during which I had a "out of mind" experience. What I do seem quite good at doing is setting challenges that are near or beyond the limits of my ability. I am not one of the worlds natural runners, so progress is hard one which makes it sweeter. I have a full time job and two great, but full on children and am keen to ensure neither suffers collateral damage from a BGR attempt.
The majority of my more interesting exploits have been documented on my work blog http://blogs.sun.com/clive, but somehow it does not seem right to document a training schedule and where my head is at there. Also it gets interspersed with bits of technology talk.
The nameless chap on top of Old Man of Conniston said as we parted company, "see you at the BGR dinner". This blog is about the last 6 months of the journey which may end up at the BGR dinner or just in a heap. Tentative date set today of the 26th of June 2010.
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