Restless Rest Day

Rest day today which should be a good thing after 54 miles this week, but I am itching to run! I won't run as a rest will be more benefit than a run I think.

Got my Chevin Chase race number today which is great as it fills up really quickly. A great 7m trail race but more importantly it gives me something to do and a reason to get out the house on Boxing Day!!

Fast 10 miles

Route: 10 miles, road, undulating/hilly
weather: 9C

Ran a quick 10 miles tonight at a good sub 7 pace. Quite pleased with how strong I felt as this is the end of a reasonably high mileage week (54 miles) including one fell race and some hilly training runs.

Rest day tomorrow and although I will take it and do probably need it, for the first time I don't actully feel like it! Good sign?!

Maps

I seem to be spending a fortune on maps at the moment. Ordered a couple of Harvey maps for the WHW to study and have just ordered two OS maps for the Round Rotherham 50 and two more for the Thames Ultra 50. Not a big fan of difficult navigation so am hoping my next two ultras will be straightforward. The Draycote 35 in Feb is certainly idiot-proof as it's round and round the same reservoir for 35 miles! Oh well, I'm certainly keeping OS in business at the moment!

Midweek run

Route: 7m, mostly flat with one big hill, road
weather: a bit nippy, 8C but with a breeze

Not much to report really, straightforward midweek run on my own. No niggles, felt ok all the way round but can feel that this has been a high mileage week. last run of the week tomorrow. Can't run with the club tomorrow, so will head off and do a headtorch session myself.

27/11 club run

Route: 7mish, 7.20ish pace, undulating, road
Weather: warmer than I thought so was utterly over-dressed!

Thanks to John and Chris at the club for a great 7+ run round Menston. The legs felt tired tonight after a 30 mile w/e. Should be a 50+ mile week this week. Next week, I will cut the mileage back a bit for the RR50 which I will run on Sat 8th.

Many thanks to my recent sponsors who have brought me up to 60% of the £1000 target. I really appreciate it and I know what a difference it can make to my charity Epilepsy Action

Further 10

Route: 10m, undulating, road.
Weather: 9C

Completed my second run of the day with Carl from Otley AC who kindly let me run with him on his long run. Ran 8 min/miles for 10 reasonably hilly/undulating miles.

I wasn't sure how the legs would react having stopped for a couple of hours after the earlier fell race, but although they felt a little heavier than usual, they coped remarkably well. I did feel tired at the end, but I was not exhasuetd and could have run a few more miles I think. Overall, a good day's running.

Rivock Edge

Route: 7.5 m, fell and trail, hilly
weather: pleaseant 10C, light breeze

Ran the Rivock Edge Fell Race today. This was my first fell race 3 years ago and it took me over 1hr 20mins back then and I felt like death at the end. Today I ran round without totally going for it in about an hour and felt like I could have done it again at the end. Nice to see some improvement!

Planned to run back but was a bit cold, so will go out again for 10 miles later on today.


Thanks to Faceman for keeping up to date with my training via the blog! He knows more about me than my wife! And cheers for the good company and cracking curry last night.

Reservoirs, forests and fields

Route: 11-12m, fell, road, trail, hilly
Weather: cold, 5C, windy showers

Ran with John from the club - great to have some comapny and he took me on a route I had never been on before, North of Otley to near Memwith Hill and round and back through Stainburn forest. I might see if I can remember the route sometime as I really liked it.

Felt good running at a reasonable pace and it was nice running with John as a year ago I couldn't possibly have kept up with his pace (and the conversation was ok too!!)

Thanks John. Rivock Edge fell race tomorrow at Silsden. Might run the race then run home, might not (!) Will see how I feel.

Moonlit run and 50%

Route: 7 miles, hilly, trail and road
Weather: 3C, windy (felt colder)

Good run with the torch over the fields to Farnley, Clifton and Weston. One guy's headtorch failed but it was so bright from the moon, that he could carry on fine! Felt strong and no stomach cramps. Felt colder than 3C due to the wind. Forecast for -5C tonight - Brrrrr.

Thanks to Ella for sponsoring me and bringing me up to 50%!

£500 to goto get to the target of £1000 for Epilepsy Action.

Another late short one

Route: 4m ish, trail and road, hilly
weather: light rain 9C light breeze

Ran up the Chevin again. No probs with hills, but still a bit of stomach cramping tonight, so kept it to another short one. Glad to have gotten out though.

Zero Visibility!

Route: 4mish, road and fell, hilly (I think!)
Weather: 8C, rain, mist

Went out to run 6m but ended up doing about 4m as I couldn't see anything and it was getting a bit treacherous to run any further. The mist and fog just caused the headtorch beam to reflect back so it was effectively useless. I hope it's not similar conditions on the big day!

On the plus side, I am now back to 100% and feeling fit.

Foggy Run

Route: 7m, road and trail/field
weather: cold and foggy

Back into it again today after the w/e stomach bug. Don't normally run on a Monday, but wanted to get some mileage in this w/e. Am rapidly approaching my first 50 miler in three weeks time and am not sure I'm up to it yet. Next coupld of weekends will run 10m (race) Saturday and 15m on Sunday, then 10 and 20m the following w/e then 50m on the following Sat.

Ok run tonight - legs a bit sore, but just cos I've been sat down for a few days. Still a bit of stomach cramping tonight, but should be right by tomorrow.

Little Bug

Have had a few days off since Tuesday as I have had a little stomach bug or something. Felt it was better to rest and recover fully than to push myself and end up being out of action for a longer time. What's that? A sensible, mature approach to training?! Surely not!!

I did have a good chat to Paul Tranter who lives close to me and has finished the WHWR before (and is running this year). He gave me some useful tips on pace, support locations, kit-list etc. Great to get that inside info when you're a first-timer. Paul will also be running the Marathon de Sables next in 2008 for Facing Africa. Have a look at his homepage: Paul's Desert 'Marathon'

I will be trying to keep up with Paul for as much of the Rotherham Boundary 50 on December 8th.

Fast Menston Triangle

Route: 8.5m, road, undulating/hilly
weather: cold, clear, light breeze

Ran with one other club member round the Menston triangle (not quite Bermuda - an 8.5 mile hilly-ish road route). Ran a quickish pace, probably averaging between 7 and 7.30 min miles (didn't wear a watch). Enjoyed it very much and recovered quickly. John (who I ran with) is also keen to join me for 20 miles in two Sunday's time which is great. Next Sunday for the long run I am at my Brother-in-Law's in Warwickshire so I will head up to Draycote Reservoir and do a few laps (I will run the Draycote 35 there in Feb). Might even attempt the full 35 if things feel ok then taper down over the next two Sundays for the Rotherham 50 on 9th December. Sounds like a plan. Scary.

Cold long run

Route: 21m, road and trail, hilly
weather: much colder than I had anticipated!

Set out for a 25m run today and managed 21. Could have easily gones the extra 4m, but I was just so cold! Had seriously under-dressed.

Ran a nice route today with some good hills and some lovely scenery. Ran a steady 9min/mile average which is still a bit quicker than I would have liked.

Saturday evening run

Route: 8m, trail/road/hilly
Weather: windy, light rain, cool (10C)

Another great run at a steady pace over trail, field and road around the back of Otley. I love this route at the moment.

Felt good all the way round. Will run 25ish tomorrow and see how strong I feel at the end.

Climbing

Went for a climb tonight at The Leeds Wall with my friend Iain - someone who will hopefully be running the last bit of the WHWR with me next June. Good to do a different sort of cross training. Can't feel my forearms this evening, but great fun.

Great evening run

Route: 6m, undulating/hilly, road and trail
Weather: Beautiful, cold (4C), clear and breezy.

Ran with the moonlighters from the club around 6 and bit miles at a good pace. Split off at the end to keep the pace up with one other guy. Great run, really enjoyed it and felt like I could have run lots more.

Just a run

Route: 5.5m, road, hilly
Weather: Light drizzle, mild

Late night run as couldn't make club run. Ran a steady 8 min average pace.

Road shoes after 600+ miles

Bought a new pair of road shoes today. I really must change them sooner this time!

Boredom Training

(Edited to say that it was only the 2md loop that counted as boredom training - the comapny was very good on the first lap!!)

Route: 20m, road, hilly
Weather: Another great November day!

Ran 2 X Otley 10s back to back. I ran the first one with someone from the club who wanted to know the route. We ran this at an avergae of 9min/miles. Ran the second one alone at an average pace of 8.20 min/miles.

I decided to run 2 hilly loops to get used to being bored while running. In a 24+ hour race there must be moments of boredom.

Anyway, at the end of the run I felt good and strong - probably could have run another loop. I didn't though :)

I must get new road shoes this week as mine are in a dreadful state and my feet are starting to get sore - something they only do when I need to change my shoes.

Warm November Run

Route: 11m, Road, Flat with two nasty hilly sections
Weather: 17C, sunny

Nice steady run in balmy November(!) weather this morning. 11 hilly miles to and along the Otley 10 route.

Full strength again

Ahhh! Injury free! Virus free! What a great feeling. Total runner's high this evening as I ran 6 hilly miles with the rest of the 'moonlighters'. Felt like I could have run for hours tonight. I wish you could analyse why it is you feel like this sometimes and not other times and bottle whatever it is you find!

Route: 6m, trail, road, hilly
weather: mild but windy

Halloween

Route: 6m, road, undulating/hilly
Weather: really mild

Finally back to near normal again after a few disappointing runs. Ran a quickish 6m and felt strong at the end.