Run wheeze cough wheeze

Yes, it is the season for young children (can't really call Eilidh a baby anymore) to catch all manner of cold bugs and pass them with gay abandon to their parents. As a consequence I have been coughing and feeling woolly headed for almost 2 weeks now with the most persistent of chesty colds.

Without as much gay abandon I have opted to continue training in the windy wet of recent evenings. I have reduced my aerobic exertion levels, so no speed sessions, and think I feel the better for it. Never sure however if one should persist and train through colds or just sits down and rest. Cue exercise induced wheezey gasping and phlegmy coughing (mm nice).

It has got to be better than this approach to exercise though ...

A brief, but enjoyable, musical interlude

Normal service shall be resumed momentarily. In the meantime enjoy the cerebral and auditory pleasures of Mister Cutler and the Butthole Surfers.

Ultra races for 2010

Right then, my ultra racing plans for 2010 are shaping up well and will be (assuming I have in injury free year next year):

16th January - 45 mile Country to Capital - entered
February - ???
20th March - 55 mile Hardmoors 55 - entered
24th April - 53 mile Highland Fling - entered
29th May - 145 mile Grand Union Canal Race - entered
24th July (?) - 50 mile Lakeland50 - not entered yet
27th August - 103 mile Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc - not entered yet
Then not decided but tempted by the Tooting Bec track 24 hour event, or I might just sit down and go aaah.

I'll try to use the races both as events and as peak week training runs. Any suggestions for a long (ultra or off road marathon) for February would be much appreciated.

I now need to find some time to put together a detailed 4 week periodised training plan. I didn't do anything detailed last year, trying instead to run a rough 4 week periodised plan from memory along. It didn't really work. I didn't know how I was improving really and it was easier to bail out of sessions when they weren't written down.

The evils of Debenhams and House of Fraser

I have never been one to purposefully devote leisure time to shopping, much preferring to run up hills, drink beer, watch movies or read a book. However I do upon occasion venture into the shops which populate the centre of Milton Keynes. Some of them are good, and some, namely Debenhams and House of Fraser, are, well c**p.

Debenhams' problem is poor quality stock. They charge double or triple the price of stores like Matalan, but Matalan clothes last for years whilst Debenhams clothes fall apart within weeks or months. My wife is now the proud owner of 3 pairs of bust trousers and 3 bust shirts / tops. Buttons fall off, hems come undone. Not what you want or expect. The response to a complaint from my wife was to say that stores offer a 20% off if you are willing to effect a repair yourself. Not really the point, and having a standard response like this shows they know that their products are of poor quality. Don't shop at Debenhams.

The problem with House of Fraser is just with one member of staff in their Milton Keynes branch. I was standing with our daughter waiting for my wife to look at some tops. My daughter was touching some dresses which were hung up, when a rather stuffy lady full of 'children should be seen and not heard' attitude came over stating that our daughter was pulling on the dresses and that she should stop. My daughter clearly wasn't pulling, she was feeling the fabrics, something that all shoppers do. Her hands were clean so I failed to see the problem. We left promptly and won't be buying anything from there again. I'd advise others to do the same. Why spend money in an unfriendly, unwelcoming, anti-child store?

There. I feel much better now. Catharsis via blog post is great.

I'm in!!! Grand Union Canal Race 2010

Got the great news today via an hyperlink in an email from the Essex Bling Lord Mike Mason - I've got an unsupported entry for the 145 mile Grand Union Canal Race (GUCR) 2010.

Entry list here - http://www.gucr.co.uk/template.asp?doc=235

The race objectives are fairly straightforward but the distance is long, and the terrain relatively homogeneous which will bring its own challenges. From Birmingham to London in a oner. Woohoo.

Completion will qualify me for the Spartathalon 2011 so my plans are falling nicely into place.

Any tips for the race or training for such a long bit of basically flat running much appreciated.

28th Ridgeway Run race report, and help my daughter is turning into an aussie!

11th October (yes, this is another tardy blog by the busy bald academic) saw the 28th running of Tring RC's 15km Ridgway run. Tring is a nice Buckinghamshire town nestling at the base of the Chilterns, below the 87 mile long distance path called the Ridgeway. There is an annual race run by the TRA which takes in the whole route but Tring RC's Ridgeway run is a more modest affair distance wise, but much faster.

The undulating (+/- 620') route starts in Marsh Lane and runs along road for a mile before heading up and into the rolling, hilly woodland around Auldbury and the Ashridge Estate, along the lovely forested 'ridge' (remember this is the Chilterns, so no lofty cliff top paths here) towards Ivinghoe Beacon before turning down then up Pitstone Hill along the Ridgeway for a bit then back down along Marsh Lane and into Tring. Nice mixed terrain although perhaps a little too much road.

Ridgeway run profle

My previous fastest time had been 1:10:47 in 2008 so I was very pleased to come in under the 1:10 mark with a time of 1:09:38, in position 38 of 473 finishers. Either the UTMB hadn't knackered my legs in, or they had given me a super boost of strength or as I suspect I hadn't run the 40 Mile High Peak 40 ultra 3 weeks before it for the first time in 4 years (had a friend's wedding you see).

Me grunting my way out of Marsh Lane at just below 6:30 pace

The race itself I found to be the most enjoyable shorter race I've run for a while. The weather was good and I consciously played around with my psychological approach to see what worked best. I don't normally focus on closing down the distance between the heels of the runner in front and me but did during this race and it worked a treat. I didn't lose motivation or slow down unwittingly as can sometimes happen. Rather I remained focussed, was able to not notice the effort of running as much and overtook quite a few folk mid-race. I was so full of UTMB ultra camaraderie I kept encouraging people who were slowing in front of me to keep going etc. that I got a few odd looks. Not the done thing in shorter races.

Me grunting my way up the rise after Pitstone Hill

I caught a white vested runner on the 'ridge' section only for him to catch me up on the descent towards Pitstone Hill. I kept the distance constant with the aim of taking him, but after a while he pulled away gradually, seemingly having kept more in reserve than I. However I caught sight and began to close the distance as we headed along Marsh Lane towards the finish. I knew I could catch him if I timed my sprint right and oh so nearly, very nearly did. I sprinted with 100m to go and he was clearly surprised but noticed me just as I was about to overtake. He had enough notice to get a split second head start that he just maintained to the finish. I could tell though he was slowing as we neared the line so reckon if I'd just started my sprint 50m further back I'd have taken him. Oh well, we live and learn.

My daughter is turning into an Aussie - help!

Clearly I knew I was marrying into good Aussie Queenslander stock but I had no idea that so much of the Aussie habit is apparently genetic. Our daughter Eilidh is about to turn 2 years old on the 17th November and the photo below was taken during the summer when she was about 19 or 20 months old so it is a little dated now. Look at it though. Can't you just imagine her with a stubbie of beer in one hand saying 'jeez' or 'she'll be right' ... ? Help! With no particular input I have given rise to a mini-Paul Hogan! :-)

Little Eilidh looking Australian in her wendyhouse