Tuesday Night Run - 22/11/2011

Well I wasn't exactly in the best mental state, and my achilles hurt before and until well into the run, but I had a really energising night out and felt a lot better for it.

Tonight we ran up Ragleth the steep way (some call this the Skyline or Hike descent), then to the post and back. We continued on by way of the track through the woods under Hazler Hill to reach the Hope Bowdler Road. We went up to the Gaer Stone and then on along the ridge of Hope Bowdler Hill before descending and coming back by way of Cwms Farm (new path on me) and the track down which comes out by the Hike starting field.

7.1 miles; 1,450' of ascent; 1hr 41min

FMR Coaching Course - 19-20/11/2012

The second part of the Fell and mountain Running Coaching course... More to follow...

Late Night Yearlet - 17/11/2011

At the summit of Yearlet, just after midnight

Dropped by Stretton after my massage to drop some stuff off for a friend, and left there about 23:30. Got to the crossroads and had one of those "what the heck" moments, so I parked in Carding Mill Valley and went off for a quickie, up Cow Ridge and then across the head of Townbrook to Yearlet, descending via the Green Path and the ramp back into Carding Mill Valley.

3.6 miles; 1,090'; 46 minutes.

Tuesday Night Run - 15/11/2011

Ran a variant of the Bluebell run route tonight with a "B" Group as an easy introduction back into running after about three weeks off.

Headed up the hotel and then down through the woods and over to Little Stretton, then up Ashes, but past the valley between Ashlet and Yearlet and instead ran / hiked up the valley between Yearlet and Long Synalds, following the left fork to the top, then turning right onto the path down to pick up the Townbrook Valley descent.

Nice run, with Ruth, Phil, Roger, Rick and Giz. Nice to be back and out with the guys for a pint after...

Cycling - Great Chatwell - 13/11/2011

Another trip out on the cross bike, with plenty of off-road near the start and at the end.

18.3 miles, 1,030' of climbing, 1 hr 21 mins

The combination of stretching, physic, massage and cycling is settling my achilles now.

Cross Bike Tryout - 12/11/2011

Well, the cross bike is back on the road, as I've finally got round to replacing the wheel which was half inched from Tankerville back in September.

I thought I'd give it a gentle try-out round Muxton and Lilleshall first, so did a fairly easy loop with a short off-road section near the barracks.

7.6 miles; 150 feet of ascent; 30 minutes

Mad Jack's Cross-Country - 06/11/2011

Cycled over to this event from home, but pretty sick watching when I should have been killing myself at Clwydian Range instead. Our fell running friends did well with Rich Roberts winning the mens and Amanda winning the ladies.

Had to deal with a blowout on the way back due to the venerable tyre on my equally venerable tourer parting company with its bead... Bodge job, but new tyre now purchase and on the bike. I'll have to replace the back one soon...

30-odd miles, 800 feet of climbing, 2 hours 5 minutes

Cardington Cracker Part Reccie - 30/10/2011

With Tom, Naomi and Em. Sore achilles, ran over the Lawley and started up Caradoc before finding a rabbit hole. Sore achilles --> calf strain! Bugger. Time to take time out to heal.

The Night Race - 25/10/2011

Excellent race, came 15th out of 40 but 10th at the top before I lost a shoe!

Unfortunately I knackered my left achilles trying to stop Noel overtaking me near the end. Conclusion - can climb fast, descend ok when I have my shoes on, get injured running fast on the flat. Lots of sprint drills and strength and conditioning work required for injury prevention...

More to come, including pix.

FMR Coaching Course (Part 1) - 22-23/10/2011

I attended the first two days of the Fell and Mountain Running Coaching course, and then enjoyed a run up Stoodley Pike from Mytholmroyd with Graeme Woodward, the FRA Coaching Coordinator and Bashir Hussain, England Mountain Running Legend.