Friday, 5 November 2010
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Monday, 11 October 2010
Thursday, 7 October 2010
2011 and all that
I’ve still got a couple of races to complete this season but already my thoughts are wandering to what races I will enter in 2011. Annoyingly some of the races I want to enter fall on weekends I’m not free.
I’ve already registered an interest in next years Great North Run, even though I said this year would be the last. Despite its many faults (over priced and over crowded are two of them) I did still feel genuinely excited when my race number dropped through the letter box this year. The best solution would be if the Great Langdale Marathon were to be held on the same weekend as the GNR. That would give me the perfect excuse to bugger-off to the lakes for the weekend and avoid GNR withdrawal symptoms as well as the Metro queues.
I’ve wanted to run the Great Langdale for a while now but haven’t been fit enough. Having recced some of the course last weekend I realise I’m still not fit enough! But I could be in eleven months time. I live in hope…
Friday, 24 September 2010
End of week report
Posts have been a bit thin on the ground due to time constraints. My training this week has consisted of the Great North Run on Sunday, a relatively easy session on Tuesday and a 20 mile run yesterday. I’m feeling a little bit stiff today!
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Burn in Hell sinners!
Respect to Brian Paget for introducing the phrase "Tactless religious assclown" into the lexicon.
Read all about it in the Gazette.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Friday, 3 September 2010
O. Ivar Lovaas RIP
Obituary New York Times
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Summer Holidays
Finding time to train and blog in the school summer holidays is always a challenge. This week I’ve managed to squeeze in a 400 X 12 interval session and a 16 mile run. The last one-and-a-half miles of the 16 miler were very tough going.
Monday, 9 August 2010
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Thursday, 15 July 2010
The accidental duathlete
The Start time of the Ryton Triathlon was approaching but the anemometer on the roof of the Sailing club was consistently showing gale force winds. The race organiser, keen that we should all have the opportunity to go for a swim in the Derwent reservoir, delayed the start of the race by 30 minutes. We continued to get changed into our tri kit. My brother rubbed his bodyglide wetsuit lube onto his testicles then offered the bar to me. I un-politely declined.
The organiser decided to ask the rescue canoeists to paddle the swim course to get a more accurate idea of conditions at water level. The wind prevented them from even getting their canoes into the water. At about the same time a 65mph gust almost flipped the rescue rib over in the middle of the lake. The decision was reluctantly taken to turn the event into a duathlon.
My relief was short lived. The cycle course was very tough. The scenery was superb on the route but cycling along the A68 with strong cross winds isn’t my idea of fun. Me and Bob leap-frogged each other throughout the race; he was stronger on the bike but I had the edge on the run. About ten minutes before the end of the race we agreed we’d both given it a good go so decided to finish the race together. At several points during the race we’d joked that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ The joke didn’t seem quite so funny when we heard after the race that one of the competitors had died during the swim at the Ripon Triathlon.
What a difference a day makes
Yesterday I struggled to run two-and-a-half miles at a very sluggish pace. Tonight I ran fourteen and felt great. Life is like that sometimes.
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Good Luck!
Friday, 2 July 2010
It’s better to give than receive
Oh wow! I’ve received a blog warming virtual present from Brian Paget. It’s very kind of you but you shouldn’t have. You really shouldn’t have!
Click here and follow the link to see my new gift.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
I always knew that these fad diets were dangerous
I’m attempting to ‘lose weight and get fit’ but I can safely say that this has never happened to me.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Too good an opportunity
I know I said I was taking a couple of days off training but sometimes you just have to grab opportunities as they occur. Swimming is by far my weakest triathlon discipline and I’ve been struggling to fit in any open water sessions. In fact the last time I swam was in the castles challenge tri off Bamburgh beach. This evening I had no excuses. The weather and tides were right and I was available. I grabbed my wet suit and was off. I put in a good 800m or so, confidence building swim and the only down side is a few wetsuit armpit burns. I’m now drinking a nice Italian red to numb the pain. Must remember the wetsuit lube next time.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
When your body (and your HRM) is telling you to take a day off
Training has been going well and I’ve been making slow but steady progress. At least I had been until I attempted some interval training yesterday. On Saturday I’d improved on my best Parkrun time by a colossal 4 seconds and was feeling that all was well with the world.
An interval target pace of
Sunday, 27 June 2010
What I get up to on a Saturday morning
Photos taken by Mark (can’t find his surname) and lifted from the Newcastle Parkrun website.