mr b's comeback

[Last Man Home]

I think the forestry commission has provided a cracking solution around here. Their access roads are solid and even enough for some pace, even in the dark with a torch, along with being rough enough to keep the ankles and knees “stabilised”. There are hills of all angles, flat sections etc. so developing a mixed or specific session is possible. They also tend to stay non-slurry even in the wettest weather and the trees take the sting out of wind & ran. It’s also great for flat out sprint sessions when the imagination takes over and convinces you that the rustling from your flapping jacket is really an axe-wielding sabre-toothed bogeyman coming to get you....

[mr brightside]

I'm not near any forestry commission tracks, the thursday session is from home. I need to spy out a 5k route for emergency use when time is tight, the quality isn't to be had in the woods at this time of year. I could just do less carr bridge drive reps, but i think a 5k road loop round some quiet bits of cookridge will do.

Today's hills session was a new route, a 9.5m/2800' tour of Old Cote Moor which i won't be repeating. The improvised return leg which contoured the side of Littondale was just a bit tiresome and involved hopping over too many walls. I got the descent in from the Litton Birks race, but i think i'll revise the route. The weather was awful, but i did stumble, literally, across Boreham Cave. The rocks at the entrance were so slippy i fell on my hands twice, apparently there's a chamber in it called the China Shop...

Did i mention the weather was terrible? My OMM smock did a good job at keeping me dry though. The high trod along the ridge is snowbound so you're in the heather all the time, drifts are knee deep. Deffo revising the route.

[mr brightside]

I had a variety of aches and pains after yesterday's run, most of them worringly indicative of stability and compensation problems. About 2mins after setting off for the run i got a twinge in my thoracic spine which felt alright at first, but got a lot worse last night and kept me awake a bit. I have a history of stability problems originating in the spine that then go on to ruin my left knee; it's not ruined, but it's sore.

I think a sensible recovery is in order so i'll forget about running this week and switch to the shorter Strid Wood timed route for saturday. Current PB for this is 32.56, that's for the Pavillion to Barden Bridge and back using both banks and the high path option on the way back. Well spoken people from Ilkley and their brigades of children and dogs get in the way a bit if you don't get up early, so early it'll be. It'll be a good tester to see how i'm recovering and a bonus if i beat my PB.

Longer term i think i'm going to keep the AM hill sessions down to 7-8mls/2200-2400'. Any prolonged advance on these 'golden mean' figures seems to result in some sort of problem working its way in. I chewed my way through 2800' quite easily, it's nice to know i've got my left knee tracking better because that would have been the first thing to go.

[mr brightside]

Strid wood timed today. Start at pavillion, over bridge and up to Barden bridge, then back using the high paths in the woods. PB for this is 32.56, result was 33.05. Felt alright in the legs after last weekends niggles, ok in the back too. 6.45mmp is fairly good for a constantly undulating route with 600' of climb.

[mr brightside]

36m on the bike yesterday. Didn't fuel properly, bonked, when will I learn.

[mr brightside]

About 6m with horsforth harriers tonight. Very steady pace, just ticking over and focusing on good gait etc.

[mr brightside]

25.2m on the bike yesterday. See bike ride thread for details.

[mr brightside]

Not a lot of quality work recently, I've been keeping my powder dry for today's run: a full horsforth boundary with horsforth harriers. Ten miles of sludge, stodge and tarmac mostly down to the time of year of course, but I met some lovely women, all of them taken as usual. So business as usual in a day in the life of me.

[mr brightside]

36m on the bike today. Cold and icy.

[mr brightside]

Two Dales AM loop today, 7.8m/2250'. It's quite snowy above a certain height in the dales! The ridge path on old cote moor top is pretty much snowbound. Most of the route today was powdery and easily runnable, there were one or two hardy folk around. On the last climb out of Arncliffe taking the Starbotton path it got quite blizzardy near the top, and at the ridge it was just powder flying everywhere and the run off to knipe end was a bit dodgy, what with the hidden rabbit holes and unpredictable snow depth.

I finished up walking the last half mile back in due to some unexpected lateral right knee pain. Don't know what brought it on, seemed to be tracking related.