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

the last post, being kind of non-running in content, didn't seem to enthuse the world too much so I'll cut to the chase and give you my current xmas number one..that isn't a song as such

working in advertising there are from time to time ads that come out and for whatever reason you think to yourself 'i wish i'd done that'. right now there's one playing on the airwaves that is simply one of the most moving and inspired pieces of film ever. it's simplicity is boiled down to the naked human truth that 'giving is better than receiving' and delivers this truth in the most endearing and disarming way possible. hats off to john lewis and their agency adam and eve. it's a film that i simply want to watch time and time again.
so for those of you who haven't seen it (and those who have too), this is my present to you. i hope you enjoy it as much as i do

happy xmas guys from me and the ultra running collie x

collies christmas countdown

seeing as the running plan is simply being worked through there isn't a great deal of running news to blog about..except that a number of regular bloggers seemed to have gone awol..running bear, emma, julie to name a few..come back your words and craic are missed

so with christmas just around a snowy corner i'll be posting my top 5 christmas hits over the next few weeks for all to enjoy a bit of a sing-a-long

and at number 5..a little number that takes me back to my teens at a time when i'd broken up with my then current girlfriend..i was no fan of this group or genre of music whatsoever but the timing of its release hit me between the..
and as an added bonus there a bit of a fellrunning feel to it (well at the start anyway)

collies round up

1. the pooch has got his full winter coat on whilst there's been sightings of hair on the head of his follower. yes folks, after 5 years shaven, the locks are flowing once more. kind of.

2. earlier this month i legged it round lathkil, my first fell race since the waltz. this time there was no river dousing but a fine slurry yard was there to be negociated

3 whoever thinks running long distances is harder than short ones run hard is maybe not right. they're both hard but for totally different reasons. i get more anxious before a 5 x 4min solo track session these days than i do lining up for a 50 miler

4 training plans look easier on the paper than they actually are

5 my current plan has meant i've had to let go of the reins and my security blanket and trust in what has been laid out in front of me. it might be working. but its certainly shaking things up and that feels good

6 its the forth week of the plan and the prescribed eating regimen of no rice, bread, pasta etc. overall ive done ok apart from one reckless night and on a few occasions i've been seen sneaking in a few potatoes, beers and crisps when nobody's looking. mums the word ;-)

7 i am now officially asthmatic. i did wonder what might be holding me back from being a front of pack runner..well now i know why ;-)

8 next up is gravy pud fell race..because northern boys love gravy

9 and probably like you we're starting to get into the xmas spirit in the UC household..ding dong