Sunday Sep 30 |
 | running 2:19:00 [3] | |
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| Long run with Niall on Ilkley Moor. Great day for it. Felt quite tired to begin with and we were pushing the pace a bit up the hills. Suddenly started feeling great after about 90mins going up a big hill (of which there were lots) which i think is when my energy gel had kicked in (needed a couple more, i only had one). The last 30mins were a slog across the top of the moor and down the other side but we kept up a good rhythm as neither of us wanted to admit to the other we wanted to slow down. Both felt wrecked afterwards. Saw a landowner with a big knife, crocodile dundee stylee. |
Saturday Sep 29 |
| cycling 1:04:00 [2] | |
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| Cycled out to Danefield and had a mince around there. Uphill most of the way there and absolutely nailed it on the way back. |
| running 1:02:00 [3] | |
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| Steady run with Niall on the 7 arches route through Meanwood etc. Legs feeling tired as it was only about 2 hours since i finished cycling. |
Friday Sep 28 |
| running 1:06:00 [3] | |
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| Steady across Becketts, Boddington, down Meanwood to the 7 arches then back through Meanwood including the nice looking bit near the park. Bit tired. Realised i may need some new lycra as my favourite pair have a rather large hole in an inconvenient place. Put it this way, if i forgot to wear pants things could be revealed which are meant to stay hidden. Enough said. |
| Free weights-core stability 50:00 [2] | |
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Thursday Sep 27 |
| cycling 1:09:00 [2] | |
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| Fast paced cycle past Cookridge tower then following the roads that lead to Danefield. Free styled it a bit near the end as i didnt have a map but eventually came out in the right place. Im doing this instead of a morning run as that would be on roads and therefore hurt my legs. Also, its nice to get out and see some new bits of the countryside. Lots of hills. |
| running 41:00 [2] | |
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| 1st session of the Leeds uni x-country interval sessions. Introductory session so fairly short and not too painful. Lots and lots of people. Time includes running there, strides and drills before and after. Im rubbish at strides and drills but interested to see what effect (if any) it'll have on my running. |
| running 20:00 [5] | |
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| 45 sec on 45 secs off, 30 secs on 30 secs off. Repeat 8 times. Managed to start and finish with the 1st group but only because they were looping back on the recoverys. Didnt feel any effects from the morning session. |
Wednesday Sep 26 |
| running 1:30:00 [3] | |
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| Had a medium length run cruise down Meanwood+Adel woods, going to try this mid week and see how it goes. Love these sessions where you can just lope along not really putting in too much effort. Anyway, i was loping along through Adel Woods when i saw a woman taking up the whole width of the narrow path. So i slowed down to get past her (she was quite wide) and as i do i was surrounded by a frenzied pack of about 8 large dogs all barking and growling at me. They were bashing into me and being generally aggressive (one of them headbutted me in the arse) so i managed to get past them and suggested in a polie manner to the woman she should have them on a lead. She did not like this and told me to stop being pathetic and it was my fault for being out running. Now, im quite a laid back sort of fella but this enraged me so i offered her my opinion that she was a 'fucking idiot' before i left the scene at high speed before she could set her pack of dogs on me. Bint. |
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| C • Look just stop being so pat... 3 |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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Tuesday Sep 25 |
| running 29:00 [3] | |
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| Warming up and running back home trying not to break an ankle through the woods now it gets dark early (boohiss). |
| running 28:00 [5] | |
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| Longish Intervals at Becketts with Niall. 5mins on, 2mins off, repeat 4 times. Proper gut busting session where you're desperately wishing it was over for the whole time whilst trying to run just that bit faster than your training partner. Time seemed to be going backwards on the last one which seemed to last forever. Think the proper insane killer sessions with Leeds Uni x-country start on Thursday, i cant wait (note sarcasm). |
Monday Sep 24 |
| cycling 1:04:00 [1] | |
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| Recovery cycling down the very wet canal path, through Calverly Woods and back. When i returned I looked like id been to a spray on mud salon, if such a place existed. |
| Free weights-core stability 50:00 [2] | |
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Sunday Sep 23 |
| running 3:33:00 [3] | |
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| Today i had a moment where i thought i was going to die. Not actually on the run but in the car with Schnitzer on the way to Langdale. He is one crazy driver. Had an adventurous run in the mountains starting in Langdale then heading up The Band and onto Bow fell where the cloud had descended and it was difficult finding the correct route as the path had disappeared into the tangle of rocks and mist. However, being hardy mountain men (im even trying to grow a beard) we took this turn of events in good humour and proceeded using map and compass along to Ill crag via Esk Pike and past Broad crag onto Scafell Pike where we admired the view. Then came back via Tongue Head, Angle tarn and Rossett Gill. Felt great till about 30mins from the end when my legs were a bit tired and i got a bit peckish. |
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| C • Langdale 3 |
Saturday Sep 22 |
| orienteering 1:05:00 [3] | |
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| EDS weekend. Bigland slopey bit. Control pick+bit of a warm up. Navigating very smoothly and visualising well until no.10 where i got distracted and lost map contact and made my customery mistake. Ended up relocating off no.11. Also missed no.16 by a few metres but very good apart from that. Great area with hardly any bracken. Ian overtook me about 2/3rds way round as he was moving faster than i was but then i sneaked past him when he missed one later on. |
| orienteering 54:00 [3] | |
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| Summerhouse Knott. Line courses+normal course. One wobble on the 2nd line when i climbed too high but apart from that it was sweet as anything. Bit of windblow in places. |
| orienteering 28:00 [3] | |
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| Sprint race Summerhouse Knott. Not exactly a sprint as it went through some really rough windblown bits. 7mins run to start then collected the tapes from the race which hardly anyone did as people were getting tired. Ran at a steady pace and prob lost 30secs on being slightly off within the feature on a couple of them. A great days training with nice people. |
Friday Sep 21 |
| running 1:03:00 [1] | |
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| Easy run but my training partner was more interested in playing on the circuits type equipment in Bramley Falls Wood so i practically had to run behind poking with a stick to keep her going in the right direction. |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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Thursday Sep 20 |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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| running 15:00 [3] | |
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| Warm up and down |
| running 28:00 [5] | |
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| I finally got off my backside and did some proper training. Ran the same route as yesterday and did 10x 2mins on x 45secs off. Moving quickly and feeling good. |
Wednesday Sep 19 |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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| running 50:00 [3] | |
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| Run with Niall down the canal, through Bramley Fall woods, back across the canal, through Horseforth woods, loop around Becketts. Niall likes running fast so some of it was at what i would term tempo pace. Its getting so dark so i think its time to charge the old head torch up. I should probably do some intense stuff soon, i just cant be arsed. |
Tuesday Sep 18 |
| running 30:00 [2] | |
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| Easy recovery run with Ian, Chris and Niall. Lots of chat and an easy pace. Bloody freezing! |
Monday Sep 17 |
| Free weights-core stability 50:00 [2] | |
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Sunday Sep 16 |
| Note | |
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| We were going to go to the event at Inshriach west today (which i saw some controls for on Friday) but it was raining and i realised i had a 500 mile drive home so we quickly gave up on that idea. Still, we had enough fun trying to stop the bikes becoming airborne from the bike carrier due to the extreme weather conditions. We discoverd that enough vulcan o tape+sellotape will hold anything together. |
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| C • How very dare you... 1 |
Saturday Sep 15 |
| orienteering 1:26:00 [3] | |
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| Inshriach South. Control pick then middle course. This was the first day it rained loads and was freezing. Spiked all controls except one on the middle course which i couldnt believe id missed so i turned around at the control and went back to myattackpoint and realised i'd come in off the wrong path junction as the one id used as an attackpoint had totally vanished and been swallowd by the forest. Andy L saw a capercaille (allegedly) and i heard a funny story about Rhys saving Speakey from such a beast in Sweden. |
| running 1:03:00 [3] | |
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| Steady around Rothiemurcus. Had a run in with a dog owner but couldnt think quickly enough to formulate a better comeback than "whatever" when the stupid bint informed me her darling dog was only playing. In hindsight i should have retorted "how about i play at putting my foot up your arse" or something to that effect. |
Friday Sep 14 |
| orienteering 2:12:00 [3] | |
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| Well, i said i'd be back to finish this race and today i damn well finished it. Most people were tired and hungover so there wasnt any organised training so i drove out to Uath Lochan and ran to the start (about 7mins) then ran the M21E classic race from the scottish (where i retired). Ran at a steady pace throughout as i was a bit fatigued from previous days and didnt want to do myself an injury out in the forest miles from anywhere. Spiked the 1st five then proceeded with caution into no.6 which i couldnt find at the 6 days. Hit it fine but can see why i had such problems with it. Was clean around the rest but missed no.8 and hit the ride below and had to come back up the slope to it. Ran back from finish (about15mins ish). Was a great course and it felt like the 1st day if winter due to the chill in the air and the light failing towards the end (although it was about 7pm). |
Thursday Sep 13 |
| orienteering 1:53:00 [3] | |
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| Hung the kites for the boys classic race on Loch Vaa by running the course from start to finish. Fantastic mix of terrain types meant constant switching of techniques was needed. It was a joy being out alone puntering along putting out controls in such a great forest. Best area ever, fact. |
| orienteering 50:00 [3] | |
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| The woman from the o centre wanted us to collect a control which had been left out on a course in the open bit on the other side of the railway of Loch Vaa. Ran the course without kites out but when got to the collecting one i discovered it was under water in a 20feet wide pond (which was supposed to be a waterless depression). So i left it there. Bit tired after the mornings exertions. |
Wednesday Sep 12 |
| orienteering 25:00 [2] | |
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| Roseisle. I got rather excited whilst putting out some controls due to the glorious weather and gorgeous area. |
| orienteering 55:00 [3] | |
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| Contour only exercise+control pick. |
| orienteering 42:00 [3] | |
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| Collecting controls and running along the beach wherever possible in a baywatch stylee |
| orienteering race 18:00 [4] | |
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| Pairs relay with Lizzie. Ran hard and spiked the controls. We won. |
Tuesday Sep 11 |
| orienteering 1:16:00 [3] | |
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| Revack. Middle course then collecting controls. Few wobbles but generally very good. Felt awesome running as well. Good area. |
| orienteering 1:02:00 [3] | |
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| Inshriach South. Planned and ran a course. Was awesome being out in the forest with no-one else around (apart from JT who i never saw). No controls out but was navigating sweetly. |
Monday Sep 10 |
| orienteering 44:00 [3] | |
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| 2xline courses in Inshriach North. |
| orienteering race 42:00 [4] | |
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| Peg relay in Inshriach North. Raced Andy L (who put the controls out) and JT through the 1st few and was in the lead by miles till i came out of a control in the chequerboard 90 degrees the wrong way (didnt check compass) but corrected with minimal time loss. After that i couldnt find the one in the low visibility extremely dodgily mapped bit by the road (im not just saying that, ive always thought that and so does everyone who goes in there) and lost interest a bit. Hard to see what else i could have done differently there, i went in off the closest attackpoint on a careful bearing at a slow speed and still couldnt find it. Puntered around the rest of the course. |
| orienteering 10:00 [2] | |
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| Collecting controls
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| cycling 1:18:00 [3] | |
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| Cycle up to the Cairngorm ski centre in a tour de france style peleton with 6 other people on road bikes and me on a mtb. Was riding hard and slipstreaming just to keep up on the flat then when we hit the 3 miles to go sign where the road goes vertically up we fragmented and it was every man for himself on the gruelling ascent. I was sweating like a (insert inappropriate comment here) and had to bust a gut to maintain a decent pace. Was 3rd to the top but on the descent my massively poor aerodynamics let me down. Funniest bit was Gareth falling off his bike at the top trying to unclip whilst his hamstrings were cramping up. |
Sunday Sep 9 |
| running 30:00 [3] | |
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| Went out for a morning run around Becketts as wasnt sure if we'd have time for training in the evening. |
| running 1:05:00 [3] | |
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| As it turned out we got there about 6ish so i popped out for a steady run around Loch Eilien or whatever its called. Ran from the cabins and cruised all the way around the loch and back. Predictably enough i had the 'come on eilien' song in my head all the way around. Even had some good natured banter with a dog owner when it tried to chase me. Must be the feel good holiday vibes. |
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| C • Never... 1 |
Saturday Sep 8 |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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| Probably the last for a while. |
Friday Sep 7 |
| cycling 1:10:00 [2] | |
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| Nothing particulary interesting happened. Although i did cycle up Butt Lane. |
| Free weights-core stability 50:00 [2] | |
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| Grr i am a machine. |
Thursday Sep 6 |
| cycling 1:05:00 [2] | |
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| Rapid cycle through the beautiful rolling Lancashire countryside. Felt good and was moving at some speed (at least it felt like i was). Saw a sign advertising a 'ploughing match' which could have 2 meanings, one a lot more interesting than the other. I know which one i'd rather watch... |
Wednesday Sep 5 |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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| Ah blessed lazyness... |
Tuesday Sep 4 |
| running 2:03:00 [3] | |
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| Ilkley moor. Hmm terrain. Got a bit overexcited and ran for a reasonably long time. Felt quite slow. Ive got to learn to take it easy! Its so hard when you're on holiday. Also managed to fit some new brake blocks to my bike (pretty good work since i am apparently useless at most practical things) which means i can go down hills with some hope of stopping. |
Monday Sep 3 |
| running 25:00 [3] | |
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| Warm up and down around Beckett. |
| running 35:00 [5] | |
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| Had a go at doing some intervals: 5mins on, 2mins off x 5. Was running fairly strongly but didnt seem to have much leg speed. |
| cycling 1:07:00 [2] | |
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| Went for a cycle on my decent bike out down the canal to Calverly woods then did a loop through and back. Saw what i thought was a naked man and woman on a balcony overlooking the canal but on closer inspection on my way back past they turned out to be shop window dummies, how disappointing. |
Sunday Sep 2 |
| running 30:00 [3] | |
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| easy |
| Free weights-core stability 30:00 [2] | |
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| My TFL's are now so strong they can lift the weight of a small car, fact. |
Saturday Sep 1 |
| running 15:00 [2] | |
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| warm up and warm down. Had a stone in my shoe for the whole race. How interesting. |
| orienteering race 1:14:00 [4] | |
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| Aire long O. Given my recent form i decided to run short which was a shame as ive been looking foward to this event for ages. As it turned out short was the most orienteeringy course with the least dead running and it was basically like running a proper course. Ran at a tempo rather than race pace and wanted to try and not lose even a single second which i managed till a control in Shipley Glen where i wasnt concentrating properly (i was looking at the view) and misread the paths slightly so dropped into the woods thinking i was perfectly on target when i was on a path about 30m higher than where i wanted to be so lost a couple of mins as i corrected myself (dont know where that time evaporated to). Felt quite good and it was fun running through the streets of Baildon on one leg. Stopped for a chat with my mum at one point late on in the course. |