After the Bala Challenge I had planned to go climbing with Chris Ellis on Sunday however I ended up at the Ludlow Spring festival to enjoy some real ale and goat burgers (well deserved I thought).
Monday I got back to the gym and did a recovery run on the treadmill on a modest 3% gradient and did 3.5 miles in 27 mins. I felt good and could of opened the taps a lot more but I decided that I shouldn't and try my best to use it just to loosen up. I'm conscious of the fact that I don't want to overtrain too much as I've decided on an elaborate plan of training until I get to the Alps in mid July. Basically I'm planning to do a very easy recovery run (up to 5 miles but more likely 5km) on Mondays, climbing every Tuesday, a fell race or cross country race (up to 5 miles) on Wednesday then an LDWA event every weekend (at least 25 miles) with maybe some additional climbing on Sunday if it falls in and I'm not too tired. As a result of this plan I'm somewhat concerned about nutrition. I want to continue to lose weight and I feel I am doing so at a healthy rate but I'm concerned that because I have to travel from work to do an event that a) I'm eating late but more importantly b) I'm eating junk because of availability and worrying about a). I'm also trying to keep my eye on not pigging out too much after the longer events, because although you burn so many calories and get "the hunger" for a day or two its important it doesn't carry on for days. On the Tuesday I couldn't be bothered to go to the crag (Ippikins) as the weather was crap, its a massive rush and I haven't bouldered for a while and I'm big believer in the strength/technique gains from bouldering. I headed to the Shropshire Climbing Centre. I was bouldering on my own but managed to hook up with a couple of the locals. There has been a reset and I really enjoyed the new routes. After 2.5-3 hours there I was knackered and went home. I really need to make an effort to boulder more often now the weather is nice and the tendency is to hit the rock.
Yesterday my hips were feeling a bit tight and I was generally feeling a bit tired. I also have decided to stop drinking caffinated coffee as its a quick win at the desk but I've been starting to feel a bit skatty in the afternoon so I've stopped. By the time I got to Church Stretton for the Caradoc Classic I was ready for a kip rather than a fell race! I decided to get my head down and go with the motto of "it's all miles on your feet". I consciously started right at the back and overtook a few on the way to the foot of the hill. The initial climb is a killer and I made it to the gate without being overtaken albeit walking as fast as I could (even this is hard graft). I then struggled to gain a rhythm to the top and walked quite a bit more. My lungs and legs felt ok, I just felt zonked out. I had my sights on a guy in front of me although as we started down the steep bank I couldn't keep up because I was reluctant to push on steep ground feeling tired. By the time we gained the path I settled into around 7:30 min pace and pushed hard to the end overtaking the guy in front and nearly catching the guy in front of him. All in all not a brilliant race as it took 37 mins and I finished 104/118 (albeit with a tight pack) but I'll keep pushing, I think properly rested I could of done much better. I think the next two days are are going to be for a good rest with some stretching and exercises on my gluts to get them ready for the Stanage Stumble (25 miles) on Saturday.
Heading down from the summit - pic from http://www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk/
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