life

just read ian charter's moving tribute to darren h. i didnt know darren but that doesnt stop you from feeling sadness or taking time to think about stuff, life.

ian wrote something at the end, which is nothing but inspired

'don't be sad that its over, be glad that it happened'

(thanks ian)

on track

so..so far it's all going to plan. injuries overcome and about 6 weeks of good training completed. this time im building up slowly and it seems to be working. im now at about 40 miles pw.
a week in the lakes was a tonic..lots of walking (with mrs uc and his nibs) and running (with his nibs). sadly my i phone passed away up on park fell head..torrential rain got the better of it..so no pics from me..thankfully mrs uc took some

yesterday i did the inagural 12.12 trail race over burbage moor and the surrounding area. organised by the bigrunningweekend im sure the event will take off like the lakeland 50/100 eventually did. i used it as a good training run finishing strongly and feeling fresh enough the day after ie today to face another hard week of training.
another thing im doing differently this time is a lot of running specific gym work. ive never been a great fan of gyms but this time im trying to rebuild properly (a bit like the six million dollar man... 'david donaghue a man barely able to run...gentlemen we can rebuild him') and im actually enjoying it as i can see and feel the benefits, unlike before when i just fannied around on machines doing anything i fancied but doing nothing of any real benefit
in two weeks im doing the yorkshireman half thats not a half, and hoping to get to that in better shape still.
then its the inaugural glencoe marathon which im really looking forward to.
all this with an eye to my big 2013 goal
slowly slowly catch the monkey as they say

where have all the bloggers gone

does blogging have a natural life cycle..especially for something quite narrowband like running? is there only so much you can say before you start to feel like a doddery old dear, with rotten fruit in a bowl, constantly banging on about roughly the same things. this blog goes back to 2008 and for me at least it records some of the great stuff my and the ultrarunningcollie have been up to as well as the occasional random post on something non-running. but i feel less enthusiatic about blogging these days and so it appears are a lot of other fellow bloggers whose posts i really enjoyed but who also appear to have dried up..its not the same

heres a roll call of some of the blogged out bloggers (where are you?)

will meridith
loneliness of a part time runner
kate/cake
running bear
donning studs in may
run like a girl
julies running blog
calva or bust
andrew and jasper
desert running

then theres a few who like me seem to be just hanging in there, blogging much less frequently and with less umph than before

run forest run
4 winds
ultra stu
then stop
smiley runner

theres others too

its a shame. a moment , albeit a long one, where we shared stories. the triumphs. the disasters. the in-betweenees. the highs. the lows. the injuries. the funny side. but most of all the craic, the commaraderie and the support...it was a pleasure, a joy and we met some of you too..i wish we'd met more. maybe we will. one day

there's a little bit more left in our blogging days..if only charlie could type you'd probably get a daily post!

the whaley waltz

the whaley waltz fell race..run from whaley bridge up to windgather rocks, turn around and run all the way back down. then jump into the river goyt to amuse the baying  masses, hungry for entertainment. so i did my best peter kay bombing entry impersonation. its that simple. its bloody marvellous. and one of my favourite races ever
i bomb at 1 minute into the film.. marks out of ten??

as giddy as a giddy thing

the recovery's coming on well (touchwood) so i was trying to decide where to go next this year..to have that little goal we all like to have

casually reading the events listings in trail running whilst on the loo (is that level of detail really necessary? - ed) i spotted the inaugural glencoe marathon. ten minutes later i'm in. i can't wait. it looks awesome

im a huge fan of running in scotland. there's something a little distant and spiritual about the place. and the people i've met (ali, debs, murdo etc etc) are so welcoming
16 weeks to go from this coming monday..perfect
only downside..no dogs..so no ultrarunningcollie on this one..he's taking it quite well though
will i see any faniliar faces there?

mixing it up

as you might know for the past few months i have struggled with my left foot, to the extent of enforced walking for 8 miles during the L50 recce at the beginning of april
i had hope that the trouble would pass and that i could crack on with the L50 training plan. no such luck. 8 weeks ago i hobbled round the edale skyline and called time at 12 miles. since then i lay off running totally for 5 weeks and was scanned in 3 places on my foot/ankle. no break (phew) , PF and degeneration at 80%, and tendon inflammation over my 5th metertarsal and ankle....so all manageable (fingers crossed). and over the whole process i've learned a lot about what works for me and my body and what doesn't
anyway, there's always an up side. with the prospect of less, if any, running, i started a contingency plan consisting of swimming, cycling, spinning and gyming...basically anything active that ends in 'ing'

so far so good..i'm actually enjoying it all..am starting to get fitter all round and, wait for it, have just re-introduced my running....15..22...25 mins...a little way off any ultra goals
anyway im going to build it back up, but slowly, and try to build a better, fitter me..a bit like the bionic man without the luxury of the six million dollars
it does mean no L50 this year and a host of other events, but im quietly excited with having to replan and rethink everything...so hoping for a few short fell races then maybe something slightly longer in sept/oct time
and charlie is relieved that im slowly back running so he doesnt have to constantly peg it when im out on my bike

discombobulated

i smile to myself. discombobulated?!  karen uses that word a lot. and i used to think it was one of her made up ones (we all have them) until i heard someone on the telly use it. a quick apology for all my mickey taking was offered up.

and so here i am and that mad word currently describes quite nicely my running state.

with just 13 weeks to go before the lakeland 50 i have arrived at a crossroads, quite unexpectedly, and ground to a halt, not quite knowing which sign to take, which route to follow.

i arrived at this same junction twice in succession, at the end of a couple of long-ish runs. normally there'd be no stopping, in fact no other choices to ponder but quite clearly something is changing for me. it might be a passing phase, it may be something a little more permanent (for the time being anyway).

one way points to 'run long* and race', another 'run long for fun'. but two new signs have been put up..'short** and race' and 'short for fun'.

this i think is my 5th year of ultras and i've truly loved the whole journey..sitting here thinking about and you wonder 'whats the bloody problem then..just get on and enjoy it some more!'..the lakeland 50's, the Highland Flings, the C2C and so many others..all great memories and times.

but..and there's always a but..or several buts
- i've got those t - shirts
- i've enjoyed running faster in training since november (and not enjoyed the walking bits of long stuff)
- shorter means more time for other stuff in life
- i also have a foot injury (that ive kept quiet about until now) that hurts at times
- i think i just feel ready for a change

 all that said though, theres a lot to leave behind if i walk away from ultras.

hence why im rooted to the spot at this crossroads, feeling a little..well..discombobulated i suppose.

*ultra distances
** non-ultra distances