A taxing afternoon

It's a full rest day today. No training - other than the mental agility training required for the completion of my tax return. Why does it have to be so full of such unfathomable language? I needed the full might of my maths degree to conquer it but conquer it I did - all I have to do now is pay the bloody thing - doh.

I shall be abstaining from all forms of alcoholic beverage tonight so that I am completely ready for tomorrow's race, the hangover 10k, Weston. Here's to hoping my dreams will come true in 2008 - hope yours do too. Bottom's up everyone and have a great 2008.

Thought for the day: Good manners are a way of showing other people that we have respect for them.

Erratum

I have wronged 'The Beetle' in my post of Friday, Back to the country for a second day. I obtained his time from the gps track but he mustn't have stopped his watch through the line. Anyway, I now right that wrong. His finishing time was 24:19, being much quicker than the stated sub 26 I gave him. It also means I now know exactly who The Beetle is, and unfortunately for him, still means he didn't beat for a third time in a row ;)

The deer hunter

We all made it back safely from the killing fields of Ashton Court this morning - and no one lost a leg - always a bonus. We did lose someone for a few minutes but found them eventually.

Anyway, we stayed within the confines of the park and meandered our way around for about an hour. I wore in my new gladiators - they ain't so new anymore. There were only three of us today but it was pleasant company, it didn't rain and it wasn't that cold so I'm not complaining. After the run I headed - can you guess? - that's right, I headed home - after I'd been to the gym of course!! I only managed 45 minutes on the bike today - but then I am tapering for the Hangover 10k on Tuesday. It will be a complete day of rest for me tomorrow - other than work.

I hope to go pretty quick at the Hangover but it isn't a quick course so there's no risk of a pb. I must at least beat last years time of 39:07 though.

Thought for the day: There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes.

Planning...

I took another day off running in favour of the nice warm gym and my beloved exercise bike. I'm not even going to mention the setting as I suspect you already know. I obviously did a few weights after - my legs are still dead, five hours later.

Anyway, today I planned. In fact, I planned like there was no tomorrow. I have pencilled in 25, yes, that's twenty five races for the first three months of 2008. If it all goes off properly I will have topped this years tally by five races but it is going to be a tall order. There are 7, that's right, seven double header weekends - now that just ain't easy on the body.

Some of the notable doubles are the Rhyader Round the Lakes 20 (miles) followed by the Ironwood Challenge (8 miles) on the weekend of 15/16th March. I shall, of course, be attempting the EAS 10k and Chilly Duathlon again, both taking place on Sunday 9th March. Also worth a mention is the Llanthony fell race followed by the Gloucester 20 (miles) on the weekend of 1/2nd March. For the full list of my (proposed) races you can click on my race schedule link on the right.

Well now I've bored you I'll leave you in peace.

Thought for the day: The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

PS, I've just realised that Rick was first Vet 50 at Clevedon so well done - he's well and truly on the comeback trail. And well done to Terry T for first Vet 60.

Back to the country for a second day...

In the form of forty five minutes on the cross country setting on the bike. It was just a gym recovery day for me. I worked till midday and the buggered off down t' gym. I liken the cross country setting to the really steep ascent sections of a fell race. For minutes at a time the pedal rate is so slow but the quads burn. You have to force the pedals round and the heart rate and breathing are right up there. And as you pedal you pray that the little red led's on the display will somehow speed up across the screen to end the agony - but they don't.

I pushed a few weights before finishing off with my now customary ab crunches - 80 this time.

And did you see me in the Evening Post on Thursday? You didn't? Well you would have needed optical enhancement - I was the small dot to the left of race winner Craig Peter's (No. 745) wearing the red and white of Bristol & West.

Thought for the day: Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.

Uh, [raises finger to the audience] just one more thing. While surfing the web - as you do - I came across 'The Beetle' who obviously ran and gps'ed the Clevedon Boxing Day race. TB put in a respectable sub 26 minute time, and has uploaded the route to mtbguru.com

Getting blown...

...off the mountain. Well apparently it gets windier than what I witnessed today but it sure seemed windy to me. It was easily my windiest trip over the mountains - no, stop it.

I was lucky enough to have a guide - I said, stop it - as in someone knowing of the route - for today's day trip across the black mountains. We ran out from Llanbedr in a big loop partially covering the routes of the various fell races that take place there. Overall conditions were pretty good if a 'little' windy. We were never above the cloud base so there were some nice views to be had. In all we covered 14.5 miles which took in close to 4,000ft of ascent. On the way back I lost a contact lens in the wind which made it hard work getting my footing but you'll all be glad to know I made it back safely.

With every run on the mountains I learn a little more and in this game knowing the mountains is as much a part to racing well as out and out speed and strength are. Give me a few years and I'll know every nook and cranny - well, maybe not. Today was good and I look forward to my next guided tour.

Thought for the day: The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not necessarily to have conquered but to have fought well.

Well that went surprisingly well

Well that was a bloody good - and I must say, much needed - confidence booster. What a great race the Clevedon Boxing Day 4 Mile Race is. Well organised and well supported.

I honestly felt I had no hope of running quickly today. I've not been training properly for a few months and haven't done much really hard effort speed or interval work. It's unfair to say I haven't done any but somehow I've been lacking the fire in my belly to really push myself. Yes, I've done few tough session and a couple in the last week but is it possible to turn things around that quickly? I don't know, but either way not only did I get close to last years time, I actually managed to knock a massive three seconds off - yes, you did read that correctly - three of our earth seconds. Or to put it another way, 3000 milliseconds - whoo, hoo. I finished in 38th place this year, up from 53rd last year (in a field of 800+ finishers). Suffice to say I am pretty satisfied in a good days work. My time for the record, was 23:13.

Well done to Sean - my apprentice has learnt well from the master, to finish in 16th place overall, in a time of 21:55. And well done too, to Rob W for an impressive 22:52 in 32nd place - I had him in my sights but 100m is a long, long way in this game. And bad luck to Nick, who had a piece of misfortune in the race but I know he's tough enough to come back quicker, stronger and fitter. And well done to Helen for a top two finish in the women's race. And well done to Rick for beating me - the swine - but not unexpected. And nice try Mike T but I couldn't let you beat me three times in a row, could I? And I'd like to thank my mum and dad for conceiving me, 36 years, nine months and three days ago. Special thanks to my dead cat, spike, who sadly passed on twenty three years, one hundred and thirty six days ago, without whose whimsical chasing of inanimate objects none of this would be possible. Thanks to birds for singing, the bees buzzing, the fields that are green - the fields that are not green, the sky and lastly and most importantly, oxygen for making all this possible - I think I might be lacking some at the moment. (By the way, I made up the bit about the cat, thought it would add an emotional nuance to the proceedings).

And on a final note, I managed to get myself a big cheer for being the 2nd woman home - but that's a story for time and another day...

Thought for the day: A true friend is someone who is there for you when they would rather be someplace else

The alternate queens speech

Ooh, hello ducky - not that kind.

Well here we are. Christmas day. Ready as always to eat too much and drink too much but with the Clevedon Boxing day race tomorrow I shall control myself to the max. I had a look at my time from last year - and to be honest - it scares me. Could I have been that quick? The records don't lie, but can I be that quick again? I'm not sure but I will give it my best shot. Hopefully cometh the hour I can step up.

Anyway, now is the time to reflect on the year just passed. Can we all look fondly back? I hope so. But if your year wasn't so hot may you be granted a better one in 2008. May we all run as swift as the wind, stay injury free and be happy.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Thought for the day: Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.

PS I didn't get out for that early morning run - maybe next year...

The ritual of the Christmas run

And so it is at this time of year that the ritual must be fulfilled and the sacrifice made - as in accordance with the prophecy. And so it came to pass, that, at the allotted time, the trinity of three set off on a journey that was to test their friendship to the very limits. A journey from which they would return changed for ever. A journey taking them to the furthest reaches of the....... Avon Gorge tow path.

Yep, we, the three wise monkeys, from Bristol Water set out on the customary Christmas lunch time run. We decided upon the tow path this year and headed out for an easy five miler.

'I feel awful', 'I'm so slow', 'This is rubbish', 'I don't know why I bother' - yes, the ever eloquent Clive T was on form - as always. Graham and I soldiered on under the barrage of negativity. The weather was kind and all in all we had a nice easy run and a chat - putting the world to rights in the process.

And finally, I'm going to try - yet again - to get out for a run Christmas morning. I've been threatening to do it for a few years now but never managed it - maybe this year, eh? - maybe not...

Thought for the day: Your friend is that person who knows all about you, and still likes you.

Old age

It was a wintery seven and a half miles up at Ashton Court today. At the start we were shrouded in the early morning mist but by the end the sun was shinning, the birds were singing and life was good. It was nice to see Mike still committed to the cause - he's training for leg seven of the Castles relay [winks to camera, he doesn't know it yet] - and, looking strong. Please don't let him beat me at Clevedon, please, please. The list of those who're going to beat me is growing daily - time for some spinach.

Anyway, after mince pies at the end it was away to the gym for me for more on the bike - I think I'm becoming addicted to it.

Thought for the day: Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration, of another’s personhood.

Last day of 35

Well, today is the last day as thirty five year old - oh, how the ever advancing father time marches onwards. I'm not bitter. On the whole this has been a good year. There's been a few lows in amongst the happy times. My running hasn't been what it should have been in terms of time and PB's but it's been a year in which I have simply enjoyed running - and, of course, discovered a new event, which seems to suit my mad cap style - namely the fell running. And I especially enjoyed the first part of the year, in which I managed to race those twenty races in the first three months. I aim to break that tally in 2008. And then there was all the filming - which was fun in a sort of 'look at the twonk with the camera on his head' way. Flippin' heck this is turning into the mad runner's review of the year - I'm stopping now.

I didn't run today on account of getting up late - and being too lazy. I made it down the gym though, for an hour on the the bike - cross country setting - what other setting would I choose? That produced more of the 'burn' - it really is a fantastic workout. Then it was onto the weights before finishing off with 75 ab crunches - which I am glad to say I'm still managing to perform - I'll be up to 100 before long.

Thought for the day: The big shots are only the little shots who kept shooting.

I do nuffin

I didn't fancy it tonight - so I did nothing. I intend to do some training tomorrow, just haven't decided quite what just yet. I will almost certainly end up down the gym but I don't just want to go for a long run beforehand. I shall be thinking long and hard on what exactly I shall do...

Thought for the day: A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.

Freezing fog froze my face

Well I had the desire tonight. I went straight to the gym from work, got changed and headed out before I could change my mind. I ran 1.15km reps, six of them. I almost, gave up after the fourth but the Rocky I training music fictionally played in my mind and that lifted my spirit and allowed me to complete.

I ran along by the quarry at the top of Ashton Court. It's a reasonably flat gravel path but the outward rep is slightly downhill and the return, slightly uphill - duh, rocket science. It was hard work in the cold, foggy darkness and although I ran slower than I wanted to, my reps were at least, consistent - and as a bonus, wearing two - yes, two pairs of gloves tonight, I did manage to keep my hands warm even if my face wasn't.

I find it terribly hard to train solo, especially in non-ideal conditions so the fact that I stayed the distance tonight proves something to myself - I don't know what, mind you, but definitely proves something - maybe that I truly am mad? But who cares?

Anyway, so what were my splits I hear you all begging to know? Someone, anyone? Well I'm telling you anyway. They were 4:05, 4:16, 4:06, 4:16, 4:05 and 4:14. Pacewise that's about 3:34 km's for the downhill ones and 3:42 km's for the ups and please, before you judge too harshly, bear in mind that I was on strict 60s recoveries - so strict in fact that some were only 55s because I didn't want to cheat myself. All in all I'm satisfied I put in the effort. And I reckon that the off road nature of the reps and the darkness accounted for a few seconds - but maybe I'm just cheating myself.

So was that the end? - what do you reckon - I was on a roll. I headed back in to the gym for a half hour interval session on the bike on reasonably hard resistance. The effort began to tell after twenty minutes but I held on to finish. Then it was inevitably onto the weights for a quick work out before heading home for tea...

Thought for the day: The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

So cold things shrink

Ooh, it were bitter tonight, bitter I tells ye. So c.c.cold th.th.that I thou.thought something m.m.might shrivel up and drop off - namely, my p.p.p.proboscis - well? What were you expecting me to say?

It was just Sean and Bruce again, thought we might see Nick but alas no. Anyway, we ran ten 400's using the rotational technique - I always enjoy safe training and the rotational technique helps avoid premature exhaustion. And on a cold night like tonight it's always good to wear protection as well - a good sturdy pair of gloves. But boy did my feet get cold, just couldn't keep them warm. Oh well, home now and beginning to thaw out...

Anyway, I was around about 76s per lap tonight with a 45s jog recovery. A couple were slightly quicker and a couple were slightly slower but I averaged 76s off, what for me, is a reasonably short recovery. Bruce was looking good hitting 73/74s and Sean was unstoppable on 69s - stop it. I find it so hard - I said, stop it - to breath deep in the cold, the back of my throat just stings. I'm pleased with tonight's session in light of the harsh conditions. Just hopping things warm up a little because these endless cold days are beginning to get on my nerves.

For tomorrow I am going to try and get out for some longer reps, maybe as long a mile but I really haven't decided when or where. I really need some though. If it's cold again I'm not sure I'll have the mental strength to get out there - here's hoping...

Thought for the day: Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.