Weights 29/12/09

30 mins in the home gym to maintain some upper body strength .

Bench press , fly's , triceps extensions , curls , pull ups , pull downs .
Not done any weights for a few weeks and it was all a bit of an effort .
I did just manage to push out 6 reps of 100kg on the bench though . I don't know why I always want to be able to push 100kgs . I guess I like upper body strength for the Karate/Kickboxing even though it is a burden to carry round on the fell running . And , 100kg is my bench mark .

Devils chair dash 26/12/09

The long awaited introduction of the"Panther" to fell running .
The weather on the day was pretty cold and there was still sheet ice on the paths up to the top (as the results page says"
treacherous conditions") so , I was fully expecting the panther to find a warm spot in the pub and await my return . But , she decided to give it a go anyway ! I think she did really well to overcome the fear of steep slopes and icy conditions . She also managed to get it done within an hour to earn herself a finishers certificate . This was a particular surprise as I find out afterwards she stopped to drink a Large whisky she was offered on the top ! Incredible . I have warned her about excepting drinks from strange men in the mountains but she now thinks this is what happens at all fell races .
The start . The Panther can be seen loitering about halfway back on the right hand side of the photo . Ready to pounce .
The check point at the top with the devils chair in the background . This is where they were giving out whisky(I didn't realise this until afterwards,or,I might have taken a few minutes longer to finish myself)
Looking back from the check point before retracing my steps back to the start/finish line . Somewhere back there the panther is lurking .

Navigating the "treacherous conditions"

It sounds like I'm taking the mick a bit , which maybe I am , but the conditions were bad enough for one competitor to take a slip , tumble and break his arm in three places .

I will now be pushing the Panther to enter a few more races .

Run in the snow on the Long Mynd 24/12/09

A short run in Church Stretton .
A quick 30 min blast to shake off a hangover . Really nice day for it .
The run up from Cardingmill valley
View from the top

View just before the descent through the fog

Stipperstones last recce before the introduction of the "Panther" to fell running 19/12/09

A quick wander up to the "Devils Chair" for a last recce of the race route we hope to do on Boxing day . It was cold , icy and windy . The Panther didn't have much of a spring in her step until the shops in Bishops Castle about an hour and a half later . Oh well , I think she'll get it done in less than an hour on the day (every one under a hour gets a certificate) especially if I promise her muled wine at the Stipperstones inn afterwards .
A tree
View from top of the path
View looking east . You can see the Wrekin in the distance (the scene of yesterdays pilfering)

Wrekin training run with logs 18/12/09

Hadn't been up the Wrekin for a while so thought I would give it a blast .
Parked in Wellington car park and ran up the path on the east side as usual . 18 mins to the top . Not my fastest time but OK . When I was running down the opposite side I found a decent sized log at the side of the path . I thought it would be good to vary the training so put it on my shoulders and tried to run down with it . Run , hobbled and walked to the opposite side to which I started , dumped the log by the road for later retrieval , then ran back round the side of the Wrekin eyeing up future possible logs for exercise .
OK , it's a fair cop . I am really thinking of fuel for my wood burner . I recon , so long as I only pinch the stuff that's obviously been discarded some time ago and isn't the stuff the forestry commission are currently chopping down I can be conscience free . Can't I ? There is also a limit to how much I can carry (shame I can't get my truck in there I could really do some pilfering).

Kickboxing 15/12/09

The usual . Warm up , pads and sparing . Every one seems to be winding down for Christmas . Not many people turned up and only a few of those that did were up for it .

Kerridge Training run 13/12/09

A quick 30 mins up to "White Nancy", along Kerridge , down the side and back .

White Nancy on top of the hill

Training for Mrs L (AKA "The Panther") to get used to the "steep" bits in preparation for "The Devils Chair Dash" fell race we are hoping to get to on boxing day . If it all goes according to plan , this will be the her first fell race .

Although not fast going down hill , she is doing really well to overcome her fear of steep terrain .

Kickboxing 10/12/09

60 mins . warm up , pads and sparing .

Kickboxing 8/12/09

60 mins .

Cardington Cracker fell race 6/12/09

9 miles 2600ft . My second run of this race . I didn't think I was going to be very fast as I still have a dodgy ankle . I wasn't fast but did manage to knock off 4 mins from last years time . I was slower going down hill again so I must be getting slightly faster going up hill .
Photo courtesy of Phil Johnson

and Alistair http://www.fellrunningpicture.co.uk/

A good description of the race from "Also Ran Runner" http://alsoranrunner.blogspot.com/2009/12/cardington-cracker.html

Kickboxing 3/12/09

The usual warm up , pad work , sparing . 60 mins .

Snowdon run 24/11/09 and failed Peris recce

An attempt to recce the last section of the Peris horse shoe fell run . Started from the Victoria hotel with the intention of going straight up Llamberis path to Snowdon summit , then , try to find the route back that the Peris race takes .

Unfortunately the weather wasn't on my side . When I started running it was raining and windy , which I don't really mind . But , as I got higher up the route the wind picked up more and more . I had to stop a couple of time to put more layers of clothes on because of the wind chill on my wet clothes was making me pretty cold . Further up the route the wind really started to pick up . So much so that I was having to lean into the wind but then it would suddenly stop and I would fall onto my hands and knees . A few times I was getting gusts that would blow me across the path . Twice I had gusts that felt as if they would lift me off my feet . I tried to take shelter under a bridge for a while and had some coffee out of my flask . Even under the bridge the wind was howling . It was there that I came to the conclusion it would be very difficult to finish what I set out to achieve . Even if I made it to the top it would have been almost impossible to find the route down with the rain lashing in my face and stinging my eyes . I was in cloud as well which would make it even more of a task to find the route . The other thing that I didn't like the thought of was being so far away from any paths . If the worst were to happen , it would have been impossible for any one to find me (I hadn't seen anyone else on the mountain since I set off , which is unheard of for Snowdon). So , reluctantly I turned round and headed back , trying not to get blown off the path .
I usually enjoy being out on my own in crap weather (It gives me chance to use all my kit) but that was a bit extreme and I wasn't enjoying it . I think it was getting quite dangerous .

I was out for about two and a half hours . I should have been able to cover that ground it less that half that time .
When I got back to the car I had a real feeling of failure . Very disappointing . A couple of days later and I think I did the right thing . I will return to Snowdon soon to finish the job .

After this I drove to Brum and did a session of kickboxing to get my head in order .

Wrekin Wrecker Fell Race 22/11/09

Great race ! 8.1 miles and 2400ft . Just down the road from where I live and this was the second year I did this race . Last year , as well as the excellent spread of food we all got long sleeve tshirts . This year , instead of the tshirts we all got a bottle of "Wrekin Wrecker" beer . I think Newport Running Club's generosity is why the numbers swelled this year to 160 plus runners .

Photos courtesy of Alistair http://www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk/ and Phil Johnson

12 months on from last year and I think I came in within 30 seconds of last years time . No improvement ,but , I put it down to still having a dodgy ankle . I was deffinetly slower going downhill than last year so I must have been faster going uphill which is good news .

Kickboxing 19/11/09

The usual warm up , stretch , pad work , sparing , 60 mins . Ankle still not right , but , hopefully good enough for the Wrekin Wrecker on Sunday anyway .

Multi Gym 18/11/09

Very quick . 20 mins
Shoulder press
Flies
Triceps/biceps
pull ups
4 sets of 10 reps each , increasing weight each set .

Kickboxing 17/11/09

A light workout due to still having a dodgy ankle . Warm up , stretch , pad work , sparing . 50 mins .

Corndon 3 Peaks Classic Fell Race 15/11/09

A great race !
Started at "The Miners Arms". (nice pub)
This was the second year of this revived race (I don't know when it used to be run before). After twisting my ankle earlier in the week I was really pleased to be able to run (very carefully). Some local friends popped down to give some support . It's great having people cheer/jeer you on when you're struggling around . It gives a real boost . Thanks Sarah , Kate , Chris and Noel . And thanks also to Alistair for the encouragement on the last hill and some excellent photos .

The route

Photos courtesy of Alistair http://www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk/


Next weekend I'm hoping to do the "Wrekin Wrecker". My local hill .