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This discussion has been reminding me of my first encounter with Calderdale, at the age of 17. Slowly pedalling up the A646 on a bike with a mechanical problem as it got dark on a late September evening, and having to walk the bike most of the way up the lane to Mankinholes Youth Hostel. I got the bike fixed in Todmorden the next day, and headed off: up one of the vertical lanes that goes up to the Long Causeway.
I was using a 1/4-inch-to-a-mile road map with no indication of topography. "Ignorance is the mother of adventure."
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I’ve done the Hobble three times, and each time I’ve come down into Todmorden from the Long Causeway/Golf Course area by a different route. Always manage to find that horrible, muddy, steep enclosed track, but when I hit the housing estate I just seem to throw all thoughts of navigation out of the window. This year I found my way blocked by an inconvenient railway line...
Danger Mouse... good to hear of your progress... but once you can regularly knock out continuous running, don’t completely forget about interval sessions, although (pardon the pun) don’t try to run before you can walk...
Interval sessions (reps of harder effort with rest periods of jogging/walk/rest) are a fantastic way to improve speed and the ability to hold a faster pace for longer... but (purely in my opinion) until you can for example knock out several consecutive days of perhaps 5 or 6 steady miles without issue, then you’re better off just concentrating on regular running and upping that distance.
Once you’ve got that ‘base’ then intervals are a great way to progress, but if you attempt too much in the way of hard sessions before you have that base, then you’d be inviting injury.
With the absence of any Heptonstall-esque hills to climb, I reverted to one of my bread-and-butter hill sessions this evening... a hard hour on the treadmill at 15% gradient. Managed 5 miles and 3100ft which is majority a decent power-walk with some faster bursts in between. Not my best session, but I’ve been doing a lot of squats and various leg weights recently.
Talking of weights, I’ve always been a great believer in having decent core and upper-body strength to combat injury. But I’ve slightly changed tack recently... from doing regular lifting of weights, I’ve started to work hard at rope-climbing exercises instead. I’m pleasantly surprised at how it seems to be a full upper body workout, hitting all areas, and not just the ones you’d expect from an overhead pulling motion.
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Thanks Travs, that makes total sense and I will definitely remember this, there's no doubt that the interval training has brought me on in leaps and bounds.
My plan is to continue to use the RunKeeper app from Asics and follow their training (although I am unsure which programme to choose after the couch to 5K). I can imagine this would be pure hell for some people, but I am really enjoying being told what to do by a top class coach, even the enthusiastic 'American style' encouragement makes me laugh and is enjoyable, finally being able to see my progress in my account is priceless. Well worth the £30 for the year.
That's interesting, I know someone else who swears by rope work, I see him on the rope climbing machine at the gym sometimes and one time I tried to do what he does and failed - it's seriously hard work!
I am a fan of yoga, it's very long story but back issues in early life got me doing very gentle Hatha yoga in the mid 90's, and until some years ago I was practicing fairly regularly, at one point up to 2 1/2 hours of Kundalini every morning. Learning how to relax into stretches rather than 'pulling' is one thing I will never forget, it's like when you learn that you don't have to have a vice like grip on a hammer for it to work, you just need a 'firm' grip; all the related injuries are much less likely happen.
By now you will probably see a pattern - basically I lapsed with everything a number of years ago and I am just getting back into it all now. I really should start the yoga again, perhaps not going so far with it this time though :)
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Attempted to repeat last weekend’s 20 mile run, but at an improved pace. In hindsight a bad idea... suffered with a bit of illness last week, plus the heat, made it a tough one...
Actually I was running reasonably well, perhaps even slightly ahead of last weeks pace, but had to call it a day at 13 miles, suffering a little in the legs and the head... I’ll put it down to the heat and try to forget about it...
Could have really struggled and dragged out the full 20 miles, but thought that curtailing it and saving the legs for next week will be of most benefit. Final total for the week 38 miles and 10100ft.
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Buck Hill and Beacon Hill, leaving after 7pm so that the temperature had dropped a bit. Longest run since my latest injury, and I definitely don't feel fit enough to take on the Longshaw race next Saturday.
It has been a matter of pride to run all the uphills, except for a few paces on the rocky bits of the hills. Today I had to walk a few more paces on Beacon Hill. It's probably not very sensible to insist on running, when I would be walking some of these gradients in races.
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Good to hear you’re back running Anthony...
September is always a great month for races.... in fact my favourite, with June a very close 2nd...
Next week Stretton Skyline, followed by Mountain Trial, Peris, and the Road Relays thrown in there too... not even got time for the fantastic Black Mountains this year, and never even had time to ever consider the likes of Ben Nevis or Grisedale Horseshoe...
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Good stuff ak
I managed my 20th consecutive Parkrun (well 50 min Parkhike) yesterday. Good to see Martin from Clayton out doing a bit of light Fishwicking
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Well done DT, although you can't quite match the achievement of young Caleb Bishop, who last week completed his 50th Parkrun at Dishley (Loughborough) before his 5th birthday.
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Made the most of having to get the early ferry back from Harris and had a bit of a bimble around the Quiraing on Skye this morning before heading back to the mainland. Lovely weather if a little breezy.