I'm surprised that there is a hill in Coventry long enough to keep you going for 25 mins Travs!Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Printable View
I'm surprised that there is a hill in Coventry long enough to keep you going for 25 mins Travs!Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Yes it is an up and down lap of about 900 metres, and definitely stretching the definition of "hill" a little, with a max gradient of probably 5-6%.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
Thursday sees a similar session but on a much tougher hill with a gradient up to a whopping 9-10%.... unfortunately i'll be taking that one a little easier due to saturday's upcoming race.
Lovely run out this morning. Down the Strid from Barden Bridge, up The Valley of Desolation and on to Lords Seat and then Simon's Seat. Down the steep way and back along the river. Lots of sun and great views with a couple of invigorating showers and only 1 other person. Hill training for Really Wild Boar.
Club night last night and a continuous effort around a 1.5km hilly path/road circuit.
With a quick XC race saturday, i elected for only two circuits, a straight 3km blast, which i knocked out in 11:12.... this does give me some confidence that i can have a real go at 11mins on saturday.... which will be much flatter, although surface always unpredictable on XC.
I managed to hang onto the back of some of the 15/16min 5km guys for a little while today.... mainly because they were doing 5 laps (7.5km), and also because of the hilly nature of the course... predictably when the circuit flattened out they visibly pulled away.... but it was nice to put myself "in the mixer" with some quicker runners for a bit.
8.5 miles on top of 4 miles easy AM, current total for the week 45.5 miles.
Last nights RATRun was from the Barrel Inn at Bretton. Seven of us set off on a very mild and starlit evening firstly along the road to Great Hucklow then steeply and slippery down into Bretton Brook and straight up the other side to Abney Grange. Across Abney Moor to Brough Lane where we turned right to Wolfs Pit. A lovely long downhill section under Smelting Hill then steeply down to Stoke Ford.
Uphill again on an ancient bridleway through the woods adjacent to Abney Clough. It was very runnable but slippery with leaves laid on top of wet stones and I took a tumble when my legs went from under me and I landed on my right hip. Ouch. When we reached the hamlet of Abney we turned left and after initially running over fields dropped steeply into Bretton Clough. This is where the fun began and our evenings leader who knows the area well got us lost! For those that don't know Bretton Clough it contains a number of small knolls and many steep narrow stream beds most of which are covered in bracken. After much falling over, laughing and scrambling up steep banks by pulling on tree roots we found our way out up to Nether Bretton and then along the road to The Barrel. With all the faffing about, miles 7 and 8 both took over 18 minutes :rolleyes:.
Once back at The Barrel, now running late and after last orders for food, Mark redeemed himself for his navigation faux pas by chatting up the chef and getting him to rev up the fryers and provide us with fantastic mozzarella cheesy chips which were laced with salty bacon. These were washed down with Pedigree 4.5% from Marstons.
A very enjoyable evening of just over 8 miles, 1'344 feet in a very, very steady 1hr 24 min!
I'm not that fond of pedigree any longer.
I'm not either as its not the same as it used to be. The only other option was Wainwright which I find a bit watery.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Marston's ceased to be an independent brewery in 2020 when it sold its soul to Carlsberg.
Steer clear of Wainwright, it's not brewed by thwaites any more, some multinational corporation have hijacked it. One brewery whose soul is still intact is Robinson's, still brewing on the same site in Stockport, and still privately owned. They do a very nice economy IPA for the co-op.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
Attempting to combine parts of the Eyam and Bradwell Short fell race routes - and the much more interesting terrain in between? I remember an orienteering event in the area around Bretton Clough, with some interesting navigation around that area of little knolls.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
Macritchie Reservoir Park. Last time I was in Singapore, 20 years ago, it took around 12 minutes to run from my brother-in-law's house to the Park entrance; today it was 14 minutes. Then another 5 minutes to the start of the Lornie Trail, where the running becomes more pleasant (gently undulating gravelled path through the forest).
Total time running was 47 minutes, up to where I made my nav error, looking for my brother-in-law's block of flats; I thought I had gone too far, but I hadn't gone far enough (classic fell runner's error!). The woman who had lost her parrot was no help, but then, I couldn't help her find the parrot.
20 very slow and steady miles today.... running across the city (and back) to watch some clubmates in action in local university XC relay...
Jogging down the course to find a suitable vantage point, and what should i see appearing in the distance but the unmistakable silhouette of a Chorley vest.... alas it was not our very own Tindersticks, but a young student... i think a very local XC relay in the midlands would be stretching Fishwicking to the very limit.
76.5 miles for what has been a fairly textbook week.... a couple of decent club sessions, a decent race yesterday, and a good long run today (albeit a lot slower than i'd like, but given the week's efforts i couldn't squeeze in any more effort).
Next week... hopefully similar... possibly a run out next weekend in the National XC Relays at Mansfield in a 5km leg for our 2nd team.
My hip is still a bit tender from last Thursdays tumble and now a horrible green/yellow/brown colour. A 4 mile road run on Saturday and a 9 mile walk in the Hafren Forest yesterday.
Back from Wales this evening and with my Covid/Flu jab booked for first thing in the morning I decided I must go for a run just in case I'm wiped out for a few days.
At 8pm, in torrential rain, I set off on a tarmac loop taking in Bakewell and Sheldon. Past Magpie Mine into a strong headwind, back to Haddon Grove and then home. It rained throughout but surprisingly I quite enjoyed the battle!
10 miles, 925 feet in 1hr 25min.
Hip giving me a bit of jip now but don't expect to be doing much over the next couple of days so hopefully it'll settle down.
Club night last night and 300mtr hill reps.
I was still feeling a bit sore from the weekend so didn't throw everything into this session... ran them nice and relaxed just to get the legs working.
Aim for most of the group was 8-10 reps... i called it a day after 7.
9.5 miles total, 4 miles AM. Hopefully lead to me feeling fresh again towards the weekend.
A decrease in numbers tonight... clocks going back and unpleasant wind and rain, and there were only about 10 of us tonight, instead of the 20+ we had last tuesday!
AAC had 22 attend its evening "Kenyan hills on Fisherbeck" session yesterday. Tarmac can show its good side at this time of year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
An anticlockwise circuit of Barden Moor from Barden Tower with my friend and Neighbour MJ. Windy on top and wet underfoot, but no rain. Saw no other walkers or runners, just two keepers and some construction workers by the bottom dam. 13 miles in about 2.5 hrs. Hope I've recovered in time for Guy Fawkes 10 road race on Sunday.
So what exactly is Kenyan Hills, and how does it vary from hill reps?
Kenyan Hills is constant effort up and down, as opposed to uphill/downhill hard efforts.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
We typically do 20-25mins Kenyan Hill effort.
More info needed here and especially as I approach the tarmac/headtorch training season!Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
I usually aim to do long hill reps (800m) on a variable but >10% incline or a ladder session on the same road with 200/400/600/800 and efforts with downhill always just recovery.
So you need a long switchback road then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Yesterday evenings RATRun was from the Druid Inn at Birchover. I did not partake as it was Matlock AC's AGM so I joined a group of around a dozen club runners for a steady road run, prior to the meeting, taking in Matlock, Snitterton, Oker and Darley Bridge. Just over 6 miles, 700 feet in 54 mins.
Mike Blair, the owner of local running shop Run Forest Run, and now new club Chairman, provided 20 pairs of the new Hoka Bondi shoe for us to try. I found them very comfortable but a bit too squidgy. I would imagine that over a longer distance that squidginess might become more useful. They also seemed very wide. I also found that running up steeper hills I had to lift my knees higher to account for the stack. Whether this was just my mind playing tricks, due to the size of the things, I don't know.
An enjoyable change of scenery and folk but back to off road RATRunning next week.
We typically use a couple of routes... one is about 450mtrs long and we just go up the road and down the path, constantly for the duration. In a 25 minute session would probably manage 8-9 "laps" depending on speed.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Also have a 1.5km circuit which is about 600mtrs up, 600mts down, 300mtrs flat to link back to start.
I'm not sure the specifics of the course matter so much, its just that it is a constant effort rather than uphill or downhill specific reps....
Its just the hill version of a continuous hard effort rather than an interval/rep session.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
I've never done them on anything over about 10% gradient, and never on the fells.... seem to be popular as a a workout for road/XC though.
We did a different kind of session last night... a strength/mobility circuit on the side of the track, involving various manoeuvres around/over/under hurdles, jumps and cones, with pressups, squat-thrusts etc thrown in.
So no actual running reps, although i still totalled 7 miles for the session with warmup and warm down. On top of 5 easy miles AM.
Rest this morning as went into office.
Tomorrow running a 5km leg at the National XC Relays in Mansfield. Running in an incomplete "b team" so no pressure, will just go out and have a good training run, hopefully a little quicker than last year (20:18)
Thanks that may come in useful in the depths of winter as an alternative session as I could probably do something similar around my local neighborhood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
13.5 miles today. 10.5 AM, 3 PM.
67 miles for the week. A satisfactory week and another fairly pleasing run yesterday at the XC... nothing spectacular time-wise, but felt controlled and confident.
Next week will struggle to keep the miles up, due to a combination of manic workload, works on the house, and physio visit.... but with the first league XC fixture coming up next weekend it might be a good thing... really looking forward to seeing how i fare in comparison to last year.
Following a lazy Saturday afternoon watching sport on TV, the rain stopped at teatime so at 8pm I went out for a run.
A clear moonlit evening saw me set off up over the fields to Sheldon then onto Monyash, into and out of Lathkill Dale a couple of times and then down to Conksbury before back up through fields home.
Most of the run was on lovely soft fields, but slippery when on wet limestone in the dale and also when negotiating the 80 odd stiles and gates on the route. Unfortunately I disturbed many roosting birds which always makes me feel guilty on a headtorch run
Just over 13 miles, 1,322 feet in 2hrs 2mins. The best Saturday night out I've had for ages!
A thought that would never occur to me (or any of you) back home in Britain:
"It's raining. Great! I can go for a run."
The shower was too soon after lunch, and had stopped by the time I got my running kit on; but it had noticeably cooled the air, so that conditions here in Singapore were unpleasant rather than unbearable. I went a bit further along the Lornie trail than on my previous run: total time of the run was 59 minutes, but I felt rather drained of energy for the last 10 minutes.
When i was training in Thailand, the Thai fighters would head indoors in a panic immediately it started raining.
I was looked at as some kind of loony for staying out and finishing the run. Really it made no difference, was still 30deg and was already soaked with sweat anyway.
Unlike the Thai fighters, I rather enjoy having a "power shower" while running in tropical heat. But so far in this visit to Singapore, I haven't managed to time any of my runs to coincide with a tropical downpour. However, after heavy rain overnight, the temperature this morning was a mere 26C, so I went out for a run. I felt quite good, although I am finding the last section of my runs here rather dispiriting: the return from Macritchie Reservoir Park is mainly alongside a dual carriageway road; there is grass verge in some parts, but concrete in others. Flat, some more. [Sorry, I have lapsed into Singlish there. Singlish (Singapore English) is essentially English words with Chinese grammar. "Some more" is a common expression to mean "also", "in addition", etc. Any Singlish speaker would find the idea that a sentence must have a verb to be preposterous.]Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
This week has been a poor one training-wise.... works on the house meaning been without a bathroom for a couple of days, manic workload, and a trip to the physio, meant i'd only done 9.5 miles by wednesday night, and missed the first club session.
Managed a return to normality yesterday with 6 miles AM, then club night last night was a 5km effort, but for every km loop there was 900mtrs of effort, and 100mtrs slow jog recovery.
I didn't knock my pipe out on this session, but went through 5km in 21:05... considering the rest periods must have cost close to a minute, and the hilly (and windy) nature of the circuit, it seems a decent run out.
That was 9 miles for the session and 15 for the day.... back to a single session today due to more house works, not to mention staying fresh for tomorrow's XC.
Expect i'll hit 55-60 miles by the end of the week, but it won't have been a textbook week's training by any means.
Last evenings RATRun was from The Sycamore Inn at Parwich. A very mild November evening saw six of us set off through fields that were perfect for running on as the wind over the last couple of days had dried them out nicely, apart from the gateways where cattle had gathered. Gradually uphill through Eaton Dale until we reached, and crossed, the A515 at Alsop Moor. Up onto the Tissington Trail and along it for a mile to Bigginmoor Farm where we crossed the A515 again and on up to Uppermoor Farm.
From here it was downhill through fields back to Parwich. Once in the very busy Sycamore, excellent cheesy chips were washed down with Cascade 4.8% from Robinsons Brewery.
Just under 8 miles, 875 feet in 1hr 10mins
Ran, with plenty of stops, the Leg It Round Lathkill route today with the RO in preparation for tomorrows race.
It is perfect underfoot and none of the footpath in the dale is flooded so I reckon if a couple of decent runners turn up the record could go.
Only one minor snag in that one of the fields has sheep in and the farmer has put an electric fence around it to keep them in as the boundary walls are tumbledown in places. He has put some plastic pipe over the wire on the entrance to the field, as he should do, but has not on the exit. I have wrapped some polystyrene packaging around it and secured it with gaffer tape.
Hopefully we will have no complaints of tingling genitalia from any of the runners. Weather forecast is good so hopefully a big turnout.
Just under 8 miles, 890 feet in !hr 14min.
Tried the trail on the other side of Macritchie Reservoir from the Lornie Trail today: pleased to find that it was rather more hilly (no climbs of more than about 20m, but fairly continuous undulations). 33 minutes to my turn-back point, about 36 minutes coming back; yes, I did fade rather badly, despite having taken water, which I drank at the turn-back point.
Being Sunday morning, the trail was packed with walkers and runners. There seemed to be an unwritten rule that you walk or run as you drive: on the left, overtaking on the right. I didn't always manage to keep to this rule, in particular when overtaking walkers at the same time as someone was coming the opposite direction.
A power shower started about two hours after I got back, with plenty of loud thunder. I am aware that the afternoon is when the showers usually start, but I did really feel that I wanted a run this morning.
After yesterday's efforts at the XC i was under strict instructions to have an easy long run.
Ran with female company today for half of the run, which helped keep me at a sensible pace. Ended up with 17.5 miles.
60 miles for the week, considering the difficulties encountered in the first half of the week that is a very pleasing total, as i was really wondering if i was going to top 50 miles at one point.
Next week is Callow on sunday. I really need fresh legs for this one. Have done very little in the way of fell training for the past 6 or 7 weeks but feel fit... really would like to have a pop at a decent placing at Callow... whether or not i'm in pb shape remains to be seen.
Following this mornings Pilates class I was sat around all day at home, as it was tipping it down with rain, and I could feel myself seizing up.
It cleared up around 4pm so I took the dogs for a 320 chain walk in Lathkill Dale. I was still feeling a bit stiff so at 5.30 I went for an out and back tarmac run to Haddon Grove.
240 chains, 3 chains of ascent in 24.50.
More chaotic workload meant i had to miss the club training session last night.
So attempted it this morning instead. 2 x 2 mile reps with 3-4mins rest. Again pushed for time i did it on the treadmill, with 2 x 12 minute reps... even that was interrupted with phonecall, so my rest between became 11 minutes instead of 3-4....!
6.5 miles.
Had hoped to possibly get a decent steep hill session in this week before Callow, but it won't happen now, so will just go in fresh-legged and hope my fell stamina from the summer hasn't totally deserted me!
That's the best plan you'd never have implemented yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
It's a rest week for me, i've got a pond full of frogs in my throat and i've only recently started eating properly again.
I'm back from the Big Swamp now (the town in Singapore where I was staying is called Toa Payoh, which means "Big Swamp"), and I attempted a run today. The weather seemed to want to turn Loughborough into a big swamp, but the real problem was the effect of 8 hours of jet lag and two successive nights of insufficient sleep. So where the footpath to the Outwoods started climbing, my legs were telling me that they had never run uphill before. I ended up walking up Molly Webb's Hill in the woods, and instead of doing my route over Buck Hill and the Outwoods, I just ran through the woods and back down the bridleway. As usual in this sort of weather, the bridleway was in excellent condition - for canoeing.
A runner who overtook me on the path up to the Outwoods noticed my Walshes and commented that this was a good day for wearing studs. But I was actually surprised how firm the ground was, under the water. I had been under the impression that there had been quite a lot of rain here during my absence, and was expecting a mudbath. Anyway, while the British rain can't match Singapore's rain for intensity, it certainly makes up for it in duration.
I've just returned from one of my regular 7 milers on the fells behind my house. We had a deluge last night which woke me up with the pounding of rain on the velux windows in the roof, and the rain has persisted all day if with a little less ferocity. So, no surprises to find the trods up to my local trig had transformed into mini-becks and the usual ankle-deep beck I have to cross was flowing today just below my knees. Its been quite a while since Ive seen this part of the North Pennines so waterlogged, and even some of the old mine workings were gushing 'enthusiastically'.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
managed to get across to club night last night, on a pretty miserable evening.
8 miles and a circuit session, comprising of 150 burpees, 150 situps, too many awkward moves over/under/around hurdles to mention, and a load of plyometric stuff.
Although i was fired up to knock some decent reps out, it will probably be of benefit to have had a less running-heavy session prior to Callow on sunday.