Physio, planning and perspective

Well I don't want to turn this into a training log so I won't rattle off a bunch of stuff I've been (not been) doing.  If I look at my training the volume is good but I wonder if I have making the most of my time.  Perhaps I'm just feeling sorry for myself because I had too much to drink over the weekend or maybe it has been the niggles I've been getting with my legs.

I went to the physio tonight who took a look at my stride.  I've been going to see him for a few sessions now and the original shin splints is better.  My right shin doesn't have pain now and the left is much better.  I have however been getting pain in my right achillies.  So much so it gets tight and I can't really carry on running.  I had though that this maybe down to shoes and that was my physios first guess, but we looked at my arches and I don't seem to have much control over them.  I'm sat trying to do some exercises for them now but it takes so much concentration.  He has also given me some exercises to strengthen and stretch my calves by lower them over a step.  I'm gonna have to cut this short because I can't bloody write whilst trying to do these arch exercises, especially on my weaker right side.

I've got the wolf run this week and its a shorter week with the bank holiday.  I want to try and get 3 runs in, 6km in pool and a couple of bike sessions but maybe optimistic!

Busy!

Well I've been busy sweating so not had time to write about any of it!

Highlights:

About a month ago went to Llandegla with the people from work - Nick fell in a massive puddle at the start of the first section after the slog up the hill.  Not just any puddle, it was Llyn Llandegla!  He was submerged so deep only his neck and head were out - there were huge chunks of ice so fair play to him for staying in such good cheer for the rest of the route!

Got a 910XT forerunner and retired the 305 to my dad.  Bit annoyed you need to do some working arounds with the TCX/GPX files on larger routes or the zoom plays up - apparently you need to select the normalize route option on http://www.gpsies.com if you convert, look in advanced options for the space evenly option.  If you don't do this the track disappears and it keeps redrawing which takes an age!  Also zoom at highest level didnt work - I'm yet to verify this!

Chiltern Kanter - First go at running an LDWA event.  Did the first 12/13 miles in 2.5hrs which was good - finished in 6:45hr overall.

Mud & Mayhem Duathlon (Thetford) - Planned a time of 2:30 from an educated guess - finished in 2:09 so pretty pleased.  Felt a bit off too - so definitely room for improvement.

Second Lap!

Strava - I've been blowing up trying to tempo run too fast but managed a PB the other day on a 5k route - about 25mins :)  Need to be careful that this doesn't dominate the schedule and I continue paying attention to my heart rate for cardio runs.

Today I bought a Ribble R872 - so hopefully the peddling should be stronger soon :)  Need to get the turbo from my dad!

I also managed a PB in the pool - averaging 1:50/100m over 400m - it's all going the right way!

Tomorrow I'm getting into work early - long run at lunch, somewhere between 7.5-8.5 miles :)

I've been doing weights - although haven't done any for a week or two since the Kanter - although I just did 30 push ups with some left in the tank.  I need to get back on this although I have the South Wales Three Peaks (17 miles platinum route) on Saturday which I'm walking with my dad, so I'll be back on weights next week - need to get squatting!

Bit of a sketchy post - really need to do this more regularly!

Oh one other thing - got my Fellsman entry! :S

Quick one...

Yesterday I swam somewhere between 2000-2500m in the local pool - took just under an hour-ish.  I hate counting laps and since I want to do longer events I've been thinking for sometime about retiring the Forerunner 305, my trusted steed.  This watch has been without doubt the best gadget I've owned.  I said before I'd do a review of it/how I use it (not to DC Rainmaker standards probably definitely).  It should be replaced tomorrow by a 910XT (perhaps a tri beckons, although this will mean buying a road bike - I've always wanted to do the Bala half ironman although it's probably a stretch for June/July).  I had a cheeky look at an open water swimming site at lunch, I really fancy it this year - perhaps if I'm good I can ask for a suit for my birthday.  Also dropped the Commencal at the bike shop to get the shifters upgraded from X7 to X0 ready for Llandegla on Saturday.

Tonight I decided to run down the to gym which is just under 5km away.  I did a bunch of chest stuff which I can't be bothered to describe but was pretty knackered after, then I ran home.  I've been suffering with shin splints so I jumped in a cold bath.  I'm gonna try and rub down my calves so hopefully that will straighten it out - it seems worse on tarmac than around the park.  All in all really got into trucking along when feeling tired (I was tired when I got in from work) - its what endurance is about - almost a hazy dream like experience - so relaxing when you get in the zone.

Monkey Trail

My first time on the Monkey Trail.  I've ridden Follow the Dog a few times.  Got their later than I'd planned so only had time for one lap so I went at it about as quickly as I could.  I took my Cube bike which is great for covering distance on but a bit sketchy on technical stuff some times (it's a hard tail).  I'll have to write a review of it some time.

I had to stop 3 times unnecessarily (twice for seat post adjustments and once for a rider asking if I'd seen someone.  Other than that it was balls to the wall and I did it in 1hr 55mins which I was quite pleased with.  Damn seat post slipping slightly mean eventually my back starts aching (which is the only clue it's slipped) and this is because of my hamstrings tightening up.  Overall a great ride and I look forward to doing it in the dry in under 1hr 45 mins.

Back to it!

Well it's been an eternity since I posted last.  Basically I got fatter, just over 17 stones to be precise.  I tried getting back into running and made some progress but it didn't last.  I was reluctant to post anything on here as it's a bit depressing if it all slides again!  Anyway I've been fairly consistently training since before Christmas (maybe November), I'm now about 15.5 stones.

I bought a bike and started riding to work and going out to trail centres with friends.  This resulted in me buying a bigger bike - a Commencal Meta SX.  I love riding it around Llandegla and I'm getting higher with the jumps every time :)

I've also got back into running and I'm down from over 10 minute miles to under 9 minute miles (I can squeeze out an 8 min/mile but not consistently yet!), I'm also cross training with mainly swimming but sometimes rowing or other stuff.  I miss the climbing, but for the time being I'm concentrating on other stuff, the biggest of which is the Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc in 2014.  I've entered a bunch of LDWA events and I'm hoping to get a place in the Fellsman which is a qualifying event for the UTMB.

I read an article in Outdoor Fitness in which a guy (whose name I can't recall) who won the 50s (I think) age group said that he wished he'd started resistance training a long time ago and that he could bench press 100kg.  With this chiming in my ears I've gotten back into weights too and I'm doing 3 sessions a week.

I say this every time I get into my fitness, but this time I hope it doesn't just last a year or two in the usual boom/bust cycle.  In the mean time I'll put it all on here again.....

Brecons with WMC

Jo and I headed down to meet the club at the Llangorse meet a couple of weekends ago with a bunch of beer and a bottle of wine ready for the obligatory drinking.  We didn't arrive until around 8pm ish and proceeded to crack open some ales.  I've not really played dominoes with the club but sat and had a few games and enjoyed it - despite not being able to hold my dommies like a "mon"!  Jo, Geordie and I stayed up drinking until about 1pm ish.  Nice prep for a day out on the hill!

We got up and out around 9am, feeling a bit rough but with a belly full of porridge for a day out on the hill.  We'd got a route planned which I'd made a GPX for.  We drove through Brecon and on for about 30 mins to Glyntawe and set out, it was a beautiful day.

After a short steep pull we were up to the ridge of Fan Hir, this was the majority of the height gain for the day and the views were cracking.

Me on the ridge to Fan Hir

We carried on along the ridge, enjoying the views.  With a small down and up we were on the summit of Fan Brycheiniog with a trig point (if memory serves me right).

Jo at the trig of Fan Brycheiniog

We stopped for a spot of lunch and then started up to the final summit of the ridge; Bannau Sir Gaer, for the most spectular view of the day above Llyn-y-Fan which has a bothy on its shore.

Jo above Llyn-y-fan

At this point we deviated from the beaten track to head for the final summit of the day; Garreg Las.  This is the great thing with bagging hills, it often takes you to places you wouldn't normally go.  The three hills we did previously would seem like an obvious route and Garreg Las is out of the way and over rougher ground with a poorly defined path.  We didn't really try and get onto the col between Garreg Las and Carreg yr Ogof, instead opting for a direct line to the stone shelters at the summit.

Jo and I in the shelter on the summit of Garreg Las

We dropped back down onto the col and then over Esgair Ddu and down the other side and crossed the stream, from here on there were loads of swallow holes and a pot hole - if it hadn't been getting late I would like to have looked for it.  After a short pull over the small hill of Banwen Gwyn we skirted around Disgwylfa to drop down to the Campsite and a short walk back car, we just got back as the light was fading.

I was pretty zonked after not having a full day in the hills for ages.  We walked down from the farm we were staying at to Llangorse for some grub, where Jason a new guy to the WMC was on a blind date - much to the mocking of some of the guys in the club.  He had a smile on his face so I guess it was going well....  We stayed for a quick drink and had a Pendryn before walking back.  We drank the rest of the booze and got some kip.

The next day we rolled out of bed at 9am and thought about going for a walk, or maybe climbing at the wall in the accommodation but apparently you needed to join and therefore it was quick steep in cost!  We had a look and it looked quite sweet.  We hatched a plan to head back via Church Stretton as I kept promising to show Jo the Shropshire Hills every time we were over.  We had a spot of food at the top of the burway as a nice way to end the weekend.

Since then I've been running more and climbing every tuesday.  I also went along to meet some of the guys at the bowline climbing club at their AGM.  I got a couple of numbers for some of the guys and hope to do some running and climbing with them this year now meeting the WMC guys is so difficult in the week.

WMC Scotland 2011

With crap (by which I mean no) preparation and a little trepidation I set off for the 2011 WMC Scotland meet.  The blog post is a little late as I've had a lot going on and no internet connection at home but I'm all up and running now so here is what I can recall!

Day 1 - Ring of Steall

I decided to go out on my todd for this one.  I hadn't been out for a while so I wanted to go at my own pace and over the past 6 months I've had a lot on so time on my own to relax seemed the order of the day.  I got up and drove down Glen Nevis and parked up.  After a short walk the beautiful Steall falls came into view.

Steall Falls

I had fun crossing the wire bridge and made my way past Steall falls and up the track before it dissapeared under snow and avalanche debris.  I found it tough going to be honest and as I got up to a gully I thought I'd climb up that.  A bit stupid really as a) the snow wasn't in good condition, b) I was on my own and c) the Ring of Steall is hard enough as it is without mucking around.  All that said I was there for the snow and it was good fun, even if a little sketchy at points because it got quite steep on powdery snow :S

Wire Bridge

View up to An Gearanach

I slowed down after getting up and finally plodded up to the top of An Gearanach, by this point it got bloody cold and windy.  I really started buzzing as I got out on the ridge, it was real Scottish weather.  It is what I love about mountaineering and being alone really added to it.  Rather stupidly I'd got my phone in my map case which was around my neck and under my arm, because of the strong winds it kept smacking me in the face so I decided to stop and take it off.  I think by this point I'd made it An Garbhanach.  As I took the map case off the wind whipped my case off and over the edge of the ridge.  I looked over the edge and could see it perched on the edge of a steep drop.  

Me on the ridge

I was really annoyed but I'd only just paid £150 excess for a lost phone and I didn't want to lose it and decided if I took my time I'd be ok.  I climbed down making sure everything was bomber planted and then scampered back up to get my pole.  I fully extended it and climbed back down.  It wouldn't reach and I tried to get lower but my cramps where on a rocky slab and I was really worried.  I planted my axe really good and got my feet as good as I could and leaned down.  Fully stretched I managed to get the the map case strap around the pole and scampered back up.  I was pretty sketched out after that and running late with visibility of just a few feet I decided to turn back.  All in all a good first day though.

View on the way back down

Day 2 - Anonach Mor

After chatting with a few guys in the Chalet I agreed to try Right Twin with two guys from the club.  We got the ski lift up and then started walking around the Aonach an Nid.  It was snowing and we were breaking trail (at least the other Dan was).  I found it really hard going, it didn't help that I managed to fall into a rabbit hole and twist my knee although this didn't become noticeable until coming down.  As we got near the first chairlift we stopped to put our crampons on.

Me getting geared up

We carried on the next cable car and a combination of the snow conditions, my fitness and the other guys lack of experience was playing on my mind.  As we got up a guide was doing skills with a couple of ladies and stated he thought there was a good chance of avalanche.  We ate some food and chatted before climbing up onto the ridge overlooking the crag where Right Twin (II) is.  It was a complete white out but the cloud broke slightly for a few seconds while I had the camera in my hands.

East face of Aonach Mor

The top of the col was quite corniced but I could see a gap and decided that we'd try and get through that and on to the summit.  I decided to put my googles on which was a good idea.  We decided to eat a little food before setting off.

Me on the ridge

We walked up and it slowly steepened until we were using one axe daggering and using our hand for support.  I was having a job kicking steps because the snow was soft and as we went into the most recessed part the spindrift had gathered which made it difficult to get purchase.

Dan Box topping out

Me on the summit of Aonach Mor with Carn Mor Dearg in the distance

We walked back down following the ski routes.  By this point my knee was pretty sore from the rabbit hole earlier and I was feeling the strain of two days in the hills.  I was glad to get back to the ski centre and get down.  A nice day out though, even without the route.  Apparently the place to be was the west face, but still a good day out!

Day 3 to 5 - Tatting around

The next day I was pretty achey and decided to head to Fort William to the leisure club for a soak and relax.  It was my turn to cook so I did venison in red wine with a gorgonzola scone and roast spuds which worked out well!  

The next day the weather was aweful so I headed to the Ice Factor.  Nobody was up for climbing on the indoor ice so I did some bouldering.  I don't know why, maybe confidence but I didn't fancy doing the routes.  After a couple of hours I was pumped!

The day after I stayed in and feeling crappy from lack of fitness decided to go for a run behind the chalets.  I did 5 miles with just under 1100ft of ascent.  Not too bad!

Day 6 - Stob Coire Raineach (Buachaille Etive Beag)

On the final day I wanted to bag another Munro and decided to get an easy one under my belt.  Although I had the option to do Stob Dubh too if I felt like it.  Me and Dan Box set off and again my legs felt like lead, even though I had a tiny sack on (with no crampons in it).   As we made it up the weather turned grim and we got blasted with hailstones.  I was wishing I'd made some room for them in my sack!  By the time we got back to the col between Raineach and Stob Dubh I was soaked and cold and given the strength of the wind wussed out going over the ridge to Stob Dubh.  

Me on the summit of Stob Coire Raineach getting blasted by hailstones

We ended up back at Ice Factor for a coffee before going home to get changed.  I've left out most of the social stuff and there was plenty all week but we ended up in the Clachaig Inn for tea.  I had a venison burger and loads of beer which was then swilled down with Whisky at the pub near the chalets.  I didn't get to bed until at least 2:30am and I was pretty rough for the drive home!

All in all a good week but more for relaxing and refocusing as I was dissapointed with my fitness.  I really need to get on this!