So Far So Good
The first month's preparation for the Joss has gone well. Target mileage was 133 (30 per week) and 134 was achieved at about 10:35 this morning with a trip up the Pike. Not a lot, but higher than usual for this time of year. Total mileage for 2008 was 1,622 giving a weekly average of 31.
Schedule for January is 35 per week, a total of 155 for the month.
Progress on weight reduction was (predictably, given the festive season) negative, BMI up from 23.8 to 24.2 ~ "obesity" kicks in at 25.0! I now need a loss of over 2lbs a month to get down to 10st 10lb.
Injury position moderately improved. Pain from the periformis still there but generally manageable without painkillers. We'll have to see what the increased mileage does to it.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Stop Press
Results for Wansfell are posted http://www.amblesideac.org.uk/wansfell08_results.htm and I did loads better than I thought!
You'll need to be quick to view it though, as I've emailed them to request a retraction. Can't have anyone getting the wrong idea and thinking I'm any good at this fellrunning lark!
TF
Results for Wansfell are posted http://www.amblesideac.org.uk/wansfell08_results.htm and I did loads better than I thought!
You'll need to be quick to view it though, as I've emailed them to request a retraction. Can't have anyone getting the wrong idea and thinking I'm any good at this fellrunning lark!
TF
Monday, December 29, 2008
Peak 'O' Trial (Sun 28th Dec)
A bit of an informal affair this one. Originally it was billed as pre-entry only, with a choice of a 4m/1hr event or 8m/2hr event. The format - a set of check-points marked on a map, which could be visited in any order. A punch would be provided at each of the check-points to prove you'd been there. Knowing that I was doing Wansfell the day before, guess which one I opted for. Yep, that's right the 8m one!
This year Des (Organiser) decided to reduce his work-load and provide us with a B&W paper photo-copy map instead of the colour laminated version we had last year. He had thoughtfully marked the CP's with a red felt-tip pen though! My initial route choice was determined by a stop at the car for the OL1, you couldn't see any contour lines, and it was hard to decide whether path, wall, stream etc. I managed to find all the CP's in an epic 2hr45mins. The winner, Julian Minshull of Glossopdale, did it in 1hr30mins. My route came out at 9.8m.
I've marked the CP's as purple blobs on the map below, there were 8 of them (I hope it'll expand). What order would you do?
TF
A bit of an informal affair this one. Originally it was billed as pre-entry only, with a choice of a 4m/1hr event or 8m/2hr event. The format - a set of check-points marked on a map, which could be visited in any order. A punch would be provided at each of the check-points to prove you'd been there. Knowing that I was doing Wansfell the day before, guess which one I opted for. Yep, that's right the 8m one!
This year Des (Organiser) decided to reduce his work-load and provide us with a B&W paper photo-copy map instead of the colour laminated version we had last year. He had thoughtfully marked the CP's with a red felt-tip pen though! My initial route choice was determined by a stop at the car for the OL1, you couldn't see any contour lines, and it was hard to decide whether path, wall, stream etc. I managed to find all the CP's in an epic 2hr45mins. The winner, Julian Minshull of Glossopdale, did it in 1hr30mins. My route came out at 9.8m.
I've marked the CP's as purple blobs on the map below, there were 8 of them (I hope it'll expand). What order would you do?
TF
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Fielden Cup, Dec 27th
A mad rush to get everything done before this bastion of the Horwich RMI Calendar (I'd promised to post up mp3s my five desert island discs to Carms RnB Groovers list!) meant that it was a last minute arrival at the Bowling Club , just in time to register and pay my £2. I know I'm always last minute, verging on late, but generally I can depend on Bazza to be even later and yes, he was, just following me into the Car Park. Mary shouted hurry up so I had not time to argue that my terrible time at the Marl Pits Cross Country should give me a good handicap so just accepted whatever Pete threw at me. Said to both me and Baz that we can do seven and half minute miling so decided to set us both off with Mary. So no pressure, knew that Baz would beat me like he has convincingly in the last couple of cross country races (by nearly 5 minutes at Marl Pits) and Mary would wallop me on a fell race but not sure about the roads.
A fast jog to the start where all the rest were waiting for us. Pete's clock starts. Off goes the only runner with a bigger start (on 2 minutes). Where's Bazza? He's only thought that start was same as the Jubilee. How can anyone make such an error? Can't think of anyone on this list who'd make such a schoolboy error - it must be a lack of ed-ucation.
Anyway Baz gets to the start just in time and off we go - four of us on 3:30 handicap, including one I don't know who breaks away from us with Mary just ahead of me and Baz. Heading onto Horribin Lane and I've moved ahead of Mary with the other guy about 10 yards in front. I catch him on The Street and go ahead and he sticks with me. Norman is marshalling at the turn and no faster runner has caught us but the one who started off on two minutes is well ahead and there's no chance of catching him. He'll surely win unless a very fast runner comes past in the next few seconds.
The final 200 metres were spent negotiating all the families of walkers expecting the mad rush to come past. No cones so all of a sudden the finish line arrives with Pete R there. I've finished second and just managed to hold off the guy who start with Baz, Mary and myself. Very surprised that I'd beaten Baz. Then people start congratulating me as the Fielden Cup winner. I'd not realised that the bloke who was first across the line was a guest runner as was the guy I'd battled with all the way through.
It's a big trophy and I feel honoured that my name will be added to the names on it that go back to 1897. I think the aim is to get the race back to its normal April/May date for 2009.
So Ed, it could have been you. Discussing it with Mary after you'd driven past and I reckon you'd possibly have been given a 2 minutes start on us which may have been enough.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wansfell Fell Race 2.5m/1500ft
A bit of a crisp morning, bright sunshine, a lovely day for a race. Warm up was an hour trundle round the shops in Ambleside trying to keep exactly that - warm. Not something I do a lot of, shopping without money/credit card, so an extremely surreal experience. Didn't spot any bargains that would do as a prize for finishing.
The start for this one is at the bottom of Stock Ghyll Road behind the Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop, so there's a disproportionate amount of tarmac for such a short race. But I ran all of it, so that earns a tick in my book. Turning onto the fell I realised that the waterproof socks were going to be redundant for the day, nice and firm underfoot. There were lots of encouraging spectators out and thankfully I made better progress up the hill, minus the chatter.
I hadn't enquired about the route before-hand having been given a synopsis by EtU the previous week. Mmm, obviously hadn't listened carefully enough as I expected a straight out'n'back. So on the way up the fell, much mental effort was given to plotting my return 'lines'. How time flies when you're having fun, a glance at the watch revealed 20 mins had elapsed and still no sign of the leaders.
Could only mean one thing - there was a better way down, yippee! A fast grassy descent followed by a brief sojourn onto the tarmac, before turning into the finish on the car park at the old Grammar School (now part of the University Campus).
I think I shaved it under 40 mins, won by Rob Hope (P&B) in probably half the time.
My prize, a new computer. Yes I know it's a very extravagant prize for such a short race but the Barclaycard was getting very bad withdrawal symptoms. It's stop shaking now.
TF
A bit of a crisp morning, bright sunshine, a lovely day for a race. Warm up was an hour trundle round the shops in Ambleside trying to keep exactly that - warm. Not something I do a lot of, shopping without money/credit card, so an extremely surreal experience. Didn't spot any bargains that would do as a prize for finishing.
The start for this one is at the bottom of Stock Ghyll Road behind the Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop, so there's a disproportionate amount of tarmac for such a short race. But I ran all of it, so that earns a tick in my book. Turning onto the fell I realised that the waterproof socks were going to be redundant for the day, nice and firm underfoot. There were lots of encouraging spectators out and thankfully I made better progress up the hill, minus the chatter.
I hadn't enquired about the route before-hand having been given a synopsis by EtU the previous week. Mmm, obviously hadn't listened carefully enough as I expected a straight out'n'back. So on the way up the fell, much mental effort was given to plotting my return 'lines'. How time flies when you're having fun, a glance at the watch revealed 20 mins had elapsed and still no sign of the leaders.
Could only mean one thing - there was a better way down, yippee! A fast grassy descent followed by a brief sojourn onto the tarmac, before turning into the finish on the car park at the old Grammar School (now part of the University Campus).
I think I shaved it under 40 mins, won by Rob Hope (P&B) in probably half the time.
My prize, a new computer. Yes I know it's a very extravagant prize for such a short race but the Barclaycard was getting very bad withdrawal symptoms. It's stop shaking now.
TF
Trigpointing
Having visited another local trig point today, I list below a record of those 'bagged' so far:
GR654158 Hordern Stoops TP0142 Surface block
GR659149 Winter Hill TP0701 Primary pillar
GR666121 Near Matchmoor Lane TP5219 Secondary pillar
GR685132 Lomax Wifes Farm TP6865 Secondary pillar
GR678215 Darwen Tower TP2736 Secondary pillar
GR716157 Near Nico's TP2839 Secondary pillar
TF and I also have:
GR694065 Cow Lane TP2467 Secondary pillar
Our route today, taking in TP6865, was 10.5 miles as near as I can tell.
Having visited another local trig point today, I list below a record of those 'bagged' so far:
GR654158 Hordern Stoops TP0142 Surface block
GR659149 Winter Hill TP0701 Primary pillar
GR666121 Near Matchmoor Lane TP5219 Secondary pillar
GR685132 Lomax Wifes Farm TP6865 Secondary pillar
GR678215 Darwen Tower TP2736 Secondary pillar
GR716157 Near Nico's TP2839 Secondary pillar
TF and I also have:
GR694065 Cow Lane TP2467 Secondary pillar
Our route today, taking in TP6865, was 10.5 miles as near as I can tell.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
It Just Gets Better and Better
Not only does NicO have a rather fine homsestead just separated from the open moor by a muddy scramble, a fence and two feral ponies, but she has her own trigpoint and not just one, but two Druid circles! We need look no further for venues for our Solstice and Equinox "dos".
This is why she never came, she was up on Cheetham Moor in her robes (one hopes) sacrificing stuff.
EtU
Not only does NicO have a rather fine homsestead just separated from the open moor by a muddy scramble, a fence and two feral ponies, but she has her own trigpoint and not just one, but two Druid circles! We need look no further for venues for our Solstice and Equinox "dos".
This is why she never came, she was up on Cheetham Moor in her robes (one hopes) sacrificing stuff.
EtU
Better late than never
A belated thanks to Nico and David for the splendid spread on Saturday. Also to NLN for her contribution. It's alright for you workers you can blog in work-time, but some of us retirees live a hectic life.
I don't know what David had done Nico, for you to inflict us onto him, but I bet he won't be doing it again in a hurry. If he was harbouring any thoughts of taking up running, they would have flown through the window at gale force when he saw the bedraggled trio of me, JtE and EtU. Rag, Tag, & Bobtail.
By the way Nico, did you say you were going on a FRA navigation course? If not, I can thoroughly recommend it to you. Re your suggestions regarding further sorties like Saturday's and thoughts on the matter. Well, we could dispense with the running!
I've noticed that TF's photo is suffering the same disease as mine. It might be an idea to email the photo to someone(EtU) who doesn't have the problem and see what happens if they post it.
Enjoy youselves at the track tonight. I'm going for an Italian. Sophia Loren.
Finally, a thanks to David for taking us back to our cars at Belmont. I nearly ran the "runners " down on my way back towards Egerton, but I don't think they noticed. Too full of mulled wine.
Have a Merry Christmas and in case I don't see you before the New Year, All the best for 2009.
A belated thanks to Nico and David for the splendid spread on Saturday. Also to NLN for her contribution. It's alright for you workers you can blog in work-time, but some of us retirees live a hectic life.
I don't know what David had done Nico, for you to inflict us onto him, but I bet he won't be doing it again in a hurry. If he was harbouring any thoughts of taking up running, they would have flown through the window at gale force when he saw the bedraggled trio of me, JtE and EtU. Rag, Tag, & Bobtail.
By the way Nico, did you say you were going on a FRA navigation course? If not, I can thoroughly recommend it to you. Re your suggestions regarding further sorties like Saturday's and thoughts on the matter. Well, we could dispense with the running!
I've noticed that TF's photo is suffering the same disease as mine. It might be an idea to email the photo to someone(EtU) who doesn't have the problem and see what happens if they post it.
Enjoy youselves at the track tonight. I'm going for an Italian. Sophia Loren.
Finally, a thanks to David for taking us back to our cars at Belmont. I nearly ran the "runners " down on my way back towards Egerton, but I don't think they noticed. Too full of mulled wine.
Have a Merry Christmas and in case I don't see you before the New Year, All the best for 2009.
I'm bored already!
Having a slow day so far at work today, the toothaches must be saving themselves for 11.30am tomorrow, must be in Asda today. So a perusal of the net found an interesting discussion on the LDWA about runners on walks http://www.ldwa.org.uk/forum/show_topic.php?tpc=719&dir=S. I especially liked the comment
"....some will always hate them on events...." Why would that be, I wonder? Is it REALLY true? I find them to be generally inoffensive, in fact quite friendly. They don't cost much to feed because they can't run and scoff at the same time, and most have disappeared by the time most of the walkers have finished"
So I'm aiming to prove them wrong on the 3rd of Jan and scoff as much as I can on The Hebden - except maybe the coconut cake - don't like coconut. It could mean I'll be running slow enough by the end to finish with the walkers.
TF
(not at ut/up 25/12, 27/12, 01/01 or 03/01 and possibly 08/01 either)
Having a slow day so far at work today, the toothaches must be saving themselves for 11.30am tomorrow, must be in Asda today. So a perusal of the net found an interesting discussion on the LDWA about runners on walks http://www.ldwa.org.uk/forum/show_topic.php?tpc=719&dir=S. I especially liked the comment
"....some will always hate them on events...." Why would that be, I wonder? Is it REALLY true? I find them to be generally inoffensive, in fact quite friendly. They don't cost much to feed because they can't run and scoff at the same time, and most have disappeared by the time most of the walkers have finished"
So I'm aiming to prove them wrong on the 3rd of Jan and scoff as much as I can on The Hebden - except maybe the coconut cake - don't like coconut. It could mean I'll be running slow enough by the end to finish with the walkers.
TF
(not at ut/up 25/12, 27/12, 01/01 or 03/01 and possibly 08/01 either)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Nico's Noshup
Many thanks to you Nico and to David for an excellent rounding off to the year, and to you Nico for your route choice for the run. Yes, I agree, we must do this sort of thing more often. It was good that all the regulars were able to join in, and well done YJ for your brave effort when you were not quite up to it.
All the best to you all for Christmas and the New Year and thanks for putting up with me!
Many thanks to you Nico and to David for an excellent rounding off to the year, and to you Nico for your route choice for the run. Yes, I agree, we must do this sort of thing more often. It was good that all the regulars were able to join in, and well done YJ for your brave effort when you were not quite up to it.
All the best to you all for Christmas and the New Year and thanks for putting up with me!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Nice one, NicO
Many thanks to NicO and Dave and to NLN for her contribution to this morning's excellent diversion from fell running. It was a great way to round off the year and was much appreciated.
My plan to run on Tuesday 30th was unfortunately short lived as arriving home I learned that the date clashes with the funeral of a friend who was a leading light at our church and I will prefer to pay my last respects to him. If anyone was planning to join me on that day the run will now start from my house at 6.15 am...............
No takers? Then all have a very good Christmas and see you in the New Year.
Many thanks to NicO and Dave and to NLN for her contribution to this morning's excellent diversion from fell running. It was a great way to round off the year and was much appreciated.
My plan to run on Tuesday 30th was unfortunately short lived as arriving home I learned that the date clashes with the funeral of a friend who was a leading light at our church and I will prefer to pay my last respects to him. If anyone was planning to join me on that day the run will now start from my house at 6.15 am...............
No takers? Then all have a very good Christmas and see you in the New Year.
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