spike envy

looks like everyone's (kate ;)) going on about them so here's my humble set..they're doing a grand job keeping me upright



so grip taken care of..pity i didn't remember to sort myself out in other areas

painful schoolboy error :0

snow patrol

saw them friday night..awesome awesome awesome

then today we did our own...




and here's the hypnotic title track from fallen empires..enjoy :)

those days when..

..you're just glad you can do what you do. its right on your doorstep. and you don't need much to do it.

about an' interesting experiment' and the art of persuasion

'hi marc [recce/race director] i really dont think i should do the recce given i haven't run more than nine miles in one go since september'

'are you sure? it could be an interesting experiment'

interesting? daft more like

fast forward three days and there i am sat in the dog and gun in keswick with simon moorehouse, enjoying the biggest bowl of goulash known to man, washed down with keswick ales of equal calibre, and having some top craic about running, mountains, mountain running, and running in the mountains

(simon and charlie heading over to wasdale)


so what of the 'interesting experiment'? well lets just say that the day contained every reason why we do what we do. never ending climbs. tricky descents. bogs galore. and a star filled sky shining down us to the finish. 27 miles/7000ft of sheer joy..and a reminder that for me there no better place in the world than the lakes

(looking back to wasdale as we ascend black sail pass)


post recce stiffness aside..this little outing might just have stirred me into thinking about a serious assault on the full 100 in 2013. now that would be a 'very interesting experiment' i reckon ;)

ready steady...

so here it is, our provisional line up leading to the lakeland 50 in july..hope to see lots of familiar faces along the way

jan..coniston to buttermere recce 27m with charlie
jan..inskip derby arms half (pardon me?)
feb..a day out somewhere with raldiss and charlie
mar..cloud nine 9m (clues in the name) tbc
mar..wuthering hike 33m (derby tups fault)with charlie
mar..dalemain to ambleside recce 25m with charlie
apr..grasmere fells and tarns and gingerbread 21m with charlie
may..sandstone trail 33m with charlie
may goyts moss 7m tbc
june..wincle trout 6m tbc
june..baslow boot bash 26m tbc with charlie
june..whalley waltz (get in!!)
july..osmotherley phoenix 33m with charlie
july lakeland 50 (praise the lord!)..charlie tbc

im still on my diet of around 26 weekly miles of the 'faster stuff' and no long runs. i guess the plan for the year will be more about intensity and less about distance..it'll be interesting to see how it goes. im really quite giddy about it all

first experiment is the recce this sunday..27m/7000ft (the forecast is amazing)..and i haven't run more than 9miles in one go since september :-0

wish me luck (though i have a feeling his nibs will burn it up)

decisions decisions

as the 2012 plan gathers shape what should it be in march....??

a. wuthering hike aka haworth hobble 33m (the longer one and the one on which to get lost a third time in a row)
b. edale skyline 21.5m (the faster medium one with a real threat of being timed out :-0 )
c. derwent dambuster 10m (the easy option but all in the name of charideee)
d. cheeky trip to the lakes and some proper mountain running

almost in with the new

never wish time away, you cant get it back, but forward planning is ok / essential (delete depending on your level of OCD).

i took this pic yesterday on our trot out. its our nearest trig, the cloud,and probably my most frequent hill run

i wonder what was going through charlie's mind (as he looked west)?

mine is like a washing machine right now trying to plan 2012, mixing up old and new events. there are two definites right now... the lakeland 50..and OMG! the next 8 weeks of 'that' training plan, which now has 3!, yes 3!, fast weekly sessions in it (that surely warrants overuse of exclamation marks). the official plan still has no long runs in it but im afraid i just cant leave it until march to start those..it doesn't leave much time, so I'll be gradually sneaking a few in ;-)

time to pull my socks up once again methinks