Training over the Christmas period has presented new challenges. First there is the diet. Lots of Carbs good. Carbs wrapped round the outside of mince pies less good. Perpetual piles of cakes on the table behind my desk even less good. But I have managed to keep the weight almost flat over the last 3 weeks.
As for running, fitting things in has been the challenge. Sunday 20th I set out to do eight miles, but cut it back to five and a half when (having stopped briefly to help rescue Lawrence, who was suffering from back problems) I spotted a huge snow cloud coming my way. As it was the last 20 minutes was in a significant snow storm!
I did manage a run at lunch time at work on 23rd - from work to Waterstones and back, the return leg carrying a copy of "Shapeshifters" (Allan Lee illustrated children's version of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" - highly recommended, especially for Lee fans!) which was one of Maggie's Christmas presents.
And then the slush turned to ice, making the paths un-runnable for a couple of days.
But back to training now - 8 miles yesterday, 10 today, both through a mixture of slippy ice, slippy mud, claggy mud, and wet bog (in one case capped with ice almost but not quite thick enough to carry me - an illusion of dryness, quickly turning into very wet feet!). Both went well, though, with the 8 mile run only a minute or so off Personal Best, which had been set in much better conditions in the summer.
Monday 28 December 2009
Sunday 6 December 2009
Gower Race Completed
And so I come to the first of the Half Marathons.
First, let me explain the madness of the weekend it was part of. On Friday 4th December I left work at lunchtime, and Maggie and I set out on a 1000 mile journey. By the time we got home for the second time on Monday lunchtime we had visited both our sons (separately, including loading Lawrence's belongings in Oxford and listening to Andrew play in the school Orchestra in Canterbury), both my half sisters (separately), my sister, one of Maggie's brothers, stayed 3 nights in 3 different beds, and squeezed in the half marathon as well!
The race was at the very end of the Gower Peninsular in South Wales - an extremely picturesque location, although it was a rather grey day. The organisation by the guys from Endurancelife was as efficient as I have come to expect - as was the comment at the pre-race briefing that they "believe in giving extra value for money", which on this occasion turned out to mean that the race was about a mile longer than a "normal" half marathon. They had also published new elevation data - the good news being that it no longer went as much as 1000' above sea level. The bad news being that it went close to 600' twice, with another significant climb in between, and in total close to 2000' of climbing. You might also remember that it hadn't been entirely dry for the preceeding week!
The race started with a leisurely mile down the beach. Fortunately the tide was far enough out that we were able to run on firm sand, which wasn't too difficult. Then round the coast path at the northen end of the course, before dipping back close to sea level and the first check point - 2.8 miles done in 25'24", and all was looking good. But that was before Llanmadoc Hill, which peaks at 186m (614'). I am exceptionally proud of the fact that I ran ALL THE WAY UP (and all the way down again. At the top, which is relatively flat, we also discovered the effect of a lot of Welsh rain on the top of a Welsh hill - i.e. a lot of mud!!
In training, I had discovered the importance of nutrition when running this kind of race, and had found a good way to keep going was to have half a Twix at around 1/4 distance and half at around 1/2 distance to provide energy for the latter stages of the race. During the race, I discovered the difficulty with this. It's fine on the flat, but nibbling Twix while running downhill makes it very hard to breathe properly - and the result was a most uncomfortable stitch by the time I reached the village of Llangennith at around 5 miles, something I haven't had for quite a long time.
The next stage out of Llangenith proved the value of the training in Turkey Run State Park. If you go to their web site, you will see much of the interest there is in the form of gullys, and (surprise surprise) when it rains the paths at the bottom of the gullys become streams. Which is just what had happened to the trail up towards White Moor. Which probably ought to be renamed White Marsh, as it was decidely soggy! Across there, then down to the south coast, and the second check point - officially 8 miles in 87'40", but I think that it was in this stretch that the diversion which added the extra mile was, so it was probably nearer 9 miles.
The second check point had jelly babies (hurray) - except by this stage I was full of the second half of my Twix, so didn't really need them (but had some anyway, on principal). It also was at the bottom of the steepest hill on the course. Only 100' or so, but sufficiently steep and wet that running up it was pretty much impossible (or was for me, at any rate). But I got up that, and round the very beautiful bit of the southern cliff path near the Worms Head, with a cheery wave to the coastguard. Back to Rhossilli. And then up The Beacon. Summit at 193m (637'), and yes, we went right past the trig point. Along the top, and finally down a steep, wet and slippery slope back to the starting point.
I finished in 2hrs 19'05", which given the extra mile was just around 10 minute miles. Given the terrain I was more than happy with that - I would have settled for anything under 2 1/2 hours. I was even happier when just as I finised and got into the marquee to de-register, the heavens opened - those behind me would have got very wet! I was 104th out of 281 finishers, which I was also pretty pleased with - top 100 would have been nice, but maybe next time. For calibration the winner took 1 hr 38'38", and the last man home took 3hrs 40'27".
Sadly Maggie decided it was cold and damp and she didn't want to go out, and the official photographer didn't get any pictures of me, so there aren't any pictures of me. But you can get a feel for the race overall from the photos on the Endurancelife site.
So now it's back to training ready for South Devon in February.
First, let me explain the madness of the weekend it was part of. On Friday 4th December I left work at lunchtime, and Maggie and I set out on a 1000 mile journey. By the time we got home for the second time on Monday lunchtime we had visited both our sons (separately, including loading Lawrence's belongings in Oxford and listening to Andrew play in the school Orchestra in Canterbury), both my half sisters (separately), my sister, one of Maggie's brothers, stayed 3 nights in 3 different beds, and squeezed in the half marathon as well!
The race was at the very end of the Gower Peninsular in South Wales - an extremely picturesque location, although it was a rather grey day. The organisation by the guys from Endurancelife was as efficient as I have come to expect - as was the comment at the pre-race briefing that they "believe in giving extra value for money", which on this occasion turned out to mean that the race was about a mile longer than a "normal" half marathon. They had also published new elevation data - the good news being that it no longer went as much as 1000' above sea level. The bad news being that it went close to 600' twice, with another significant climb in between, and in total close to 2000' of climbing. You might also remember that it hadn't been entirely dry for the preceeding week!
The race started with a leisurely mile down the beach. Fortunately the tide was far enough out that we were able to run on firm sand, which wasn't too difficult. Then round the coast path at the northen end of the course, before dipping back close to sea level and the first check point - 2.8 miles done in 25'24", and all was looking good. But that was before Llanmadoc Hill, which peaks at 186m (614'). I am exceptionally proud of the fact that I ran ALL THE WAY UP (and all the way down again. At the top, which is relatively flat, we also discovered the effect of a lot of Welsh rain on the top of a Welsh hill - i.e. a lot of mud!!
In training, I had discovered the importance of nutrition when running this kind of race, and had found a good way to keep going was to have half a Twix at around 1/4 distance and half at around 1/2 distance to provide energy for the latter stages of the race. During the race, I discovered the difficulty with this. It's fine on the flat, but nibbling Twix while running downhill makes it very hard to breathe properly - and the result was a most uncomfortable stitch by the time I reached the village of Llangennith at around 5 miles, something I haven't had for quite a long time.
The next stage out of Llangenith proved the value of the training in Turkey Run State Park. If you go to their web site, you will see much of the interest there is in the form of gullys, and (surprise surprise) when it rains the paths at the bottom of the gullys become streams. Which is just what had happened to the trail up towards White Moor. Which probably ought to be renamed White Marsh, as it was decidely soggy! Across there, then down to the south coast, and the second check point - officially 8 miles in 87'40", but I think that it was in this stretch that the diversion which added the extra mile was, so it was probably nearer 9 miles.
The second check point had jelly babies (hurray) - except by this stage I was full of the second half of my Twix, so didn't really need them (but had some anyway, on principal). It also was at the bottom of the steepest hill on the course. Only 100' or so, but sufficiently steep and wet that running up it was pretty much impossible (or was for me, at any rate). But I got up that, and round the very beautiful bit of the southern cliff path near the Worms Head, with a cheery wave to the coastguard. Back to Rhossilli. And then up The Beacon. Summit at 193m (637'), and yes, we went right past the trig point. Along the top, and finally down a steep, wet and slippery slope back to the starting point.
I finished in 2hrs 19'05", which given the extra mile was just around 10 minute miles. Given the terrain I was more than happy with that - I would have settled for anything under 2 1/2 hours. I was even happier when just as I finised and got into the marquee to de-register, the heavens opened - those behind me would have got very wet! I was 104th out of 281 finishers, which I was also pretty pleased with - top 100 would have been nice, but maybe next time. For calibration the winner took 1 hr 38'38", and the last man home took 3hrs 40'27".
Sadly Maggie decided it was cold and damp and she didn't want to go out, and the official photographer didn't get any pictures of me, so there aren't any pictures of me. But you can get a feel for the race overall from the photos on the Endurancelife site.
So now it's back to training ready for South Devon in February.
Training Update - November
November's training turned out to be more interesting than I expected. As well as exploring an ever expanding network of footpaths around home, I spent ten days in the US courtesy of Rolls-Royce. The down side was 10 days of US size portions and hotel breakfasts - not good. The up side was the opportunity to get to a gym on the working days, and at the weekend to explore two state parks. On the Saturday, I ran just about every trail at Turkey Run State Park Indiana which has good geology, and decidedly interesting topography. I think the locals out for their Saturday afternoon stroll found the mad Englishman who ran past them lots of times as he looped round the various walks somewhat strange! It probably confirmed the stereotype. On the Sunday, I travelled from Indianapolis to Mount Vernon Ohio, and stopped at Alum Creek State Park, where I ran two laps of the multi-purpose trail (which was supposed to be for hiking, cross country skiing and snow-mobiling - but it seemed most suitable for running to me!). In all, the two days added up to 27 miles, by the end of which I was pretty confident I could do the distance for the first half marathon.
November was finished off with around 7 miles near Thornton-le-Dale in Yorkshire where we went for a long weekend. Altogether, I did 99 miles in the month, and had done 229 in total preparation for the Gower Half Marathon.
November was finished off with around 7 miles near Thornton-le-Dale in Yorkshire where we went for a long weekend. Altogether, I did 99 miles in the month, and had done 229 in total preparation for the Gower Half Marathon.
Sunday 8 November 2009
Charities Chosen
OK - serious time. This is where you have to get your money out. I have chosen the four charities I want to support...
The Alzheimer's Society - an undersupported area of medical research with real hope of making breakthroughs in a condition which affects the lives of millions of sufferers and careers.
Rainbows Children's Hospice - a local hospice in Loughborough which does fantastic work with children with life limiting and life threatening conditions.
The National Trust Neptune Coastline Campaign - the races are over some of the most spectacular coastline in the country, much of it owned by the National Trust - but they need help to maintain it, and to protect more of it.
The Tolkien Society Education Travel Bursary - I owe much of the happiness in my life to the Tolkien Society, from meeting my wife to finding many of my friends. The Education Travel Bursary is a new venture to promote the educational side of the society by helping Tolkien Scholars to attend events and visit places relevant to their work.
Links to the relevant online sponsorship pages are on the left. Please choose your favourite(s) from the list and give generously - remember I am doing 7 months of dedictaion and pain for this!!
Many thanks.
The Alzheimer's Society - an undersupported area of medical research with real hope of making breakthroughs in a condition which affects the lives of millions of sufferers and careers.
Rainbows Children's Hospice - a local hospice in Loughborough which does fantastic work with children with life limiting and life threatening conditions.
The National Trust Neptune Coastline Campaign - the races are over some of the most spectacular coastline in the country, much of it owned by the National Trust - but they need help to maintain it, and to protect more of it.
The Tolkien Society Education Travel Bursary - I owe much of the happiness in my life to the Tolkien Society, from meeting my wife to finding many of my friends. The Education Travel Bursary is a new venture to promote the educational side of the society by helping Tolkien Scholars to attend events and visit places relevant to their work.
Links to the relevant online sponsorship pages are on the left. Please choose your favourite(s) from the list and give generously - remember I am doing 7 months of dedictaion and pain for this!!
Many thanks.
Dovedale Dash
Broke off serious training for one weekend last Sunday to take part on the 54th Dovedale Dash - 4 3/4 miles of complete madness, given it had rained hard for several hours before the start, making the course a quagmire (except for the bit through the ford across the Dove, which was just deep, wet, and cold). 1150 took part, and I came 217th, which I am pleased with. 40 minutes 12 seconds, which was also OK given that I have been training for much longer distances.
Training Underway
Training is well underway now. Between the start of July and the end of October I have now done 130 miles, and I'm now typically doing 20 miles a weekend. Just need to get some more miles under the belt before the first race.
Races chosen
Plunge taken, registration paid.
I'm going to do four half marathons in the Endurancelife "Coastal Trail Series".
5 Dec 2009 - Gower
27 Feb 2010 - South Devon
27 Mar 2010 - Pembrokeshire
22 May 2010 - Exmoor
Details of these can be found by following the "race details" links. These are no ordinary half marathons - if you don't believe me, see the elevation data for the Gower race! Completing these and staying fit through the whole of the winter is going to mean a lot of miles of training!
I'm going to do four half marathons in the Endurancelife "Coastal Trail Series".
5 Dec 2009 - Gower
27 Feb 2010 - South Devon
27 Mar 2010 - Pembrokeshire
22 May 2010 - Exmoor
Details of these can be found by following the "race details" links. These are no ordinary half marathons - if you don't believe me, see the elevation data for the Gower race! Completing these and staying fit through the whole of the winter is going to mean a lot of miles of training!
Saturday 31 October 2009
Welcome to my blog
Welcome to this, my first venture into the world of blogging.
So why am I doing this??
18 months ago, I was a balding, middle aged and somewhat overweight Engineer. Then in December last year, I discovered trail running. Come May, I had completed four trail 10k races and thoroughly enjoyed them in a completely mad and masochistic way, given that they featured hills, "water hazards", beaches, mud, and all kinds of other things to make them much more challenging than a typical 10k. I was still middle aged, still balding, and still an Engineer - but decidedly less overweight.
So I thought to myself "what next"? How can I keep the challenge going? And I came up with a challenge for myself. During the course of the winter and spring of 2009/2010, I would undertake four trail running half marathons, and I would add committment and motiviation by doing them in aid of four of my favourite charities.
This blog is the story of this challenge
So why am I doing this??
18 months ago, I was a balding, middle aged and somewhat overweight Engineer. Then in December last year, I discovered trail running. Come May, I had completed four trail 10k races and thoroughly enjoyed them in a completely mad and masochistic way, given that they featured hills, "water hazards", beaches, mud, and all kinds of other things to make them much more challenging than a typical 10k. I was still middle aged, still balding, and still an Engineer - but decidedly less overweight.
So I thought to myself "what next"? How can I keep the challenge going? And I came up with a challenge for myself. During the course of the winter and spring of 2009/2010, I would undertake four trail running half marathons, and I would add committment and motiviation by doing them in aid of four of my favourite charities.
This blog is the story of this challenge
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