The Valley

Couldn't resist adding this picture down the Lauterbrunnen valley taken by my daughter Vicky (photographer extrordinaire) from the train up to Wengen. Is there another marathon in the world with such an incredible setting?

Jungfrau Wrap Up

So, it's time to put the Jungfrau Marathon behind me (for this year anyway) and move on to my next objective, the OMM at the end of October, but before I do that I thought I'd wrap up by showing you what we got up to before leaving Switzerland.

The day after the race was overcast in Wengen. Rosie, Vicky and Polly took the train over to Zurich to visit Rosie's sister but Lucy and I decided to take a walk. We could see on the local live TV channel that it was actually sunny on the hills above the clouds so we took the cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen. This took us into the clouds then burst through into bright sunlight. The view was amazing:

We were so lucky that the weather wasn't like this the day before as most of the race would have been below and in these clouds. As it was it was perfect for sight seeing. We climbed to the top of Mannlichen hill and enjoyed a 360 degree view of this sea of cotton wool just below our feet. As we watched the clouds on the Grindlewald side of the hills started to creep up towards us covering the route we intended to take down to Kleine Scheidegg.

So, we walked down to Mannlichen again and into the clouds shown above. The route to KS was a nice broad path mostly sloping downhill. There were no views due to the cloud but it stayed reasonably warm. We came across one or two people wearing their JM finishers t-shirts so it wasn't just me who couldn't just take it easy after the race. In Kleine Scheidegg we bravely sat out in the cloud on the balcony at the Eigernordwand restaurant for lunch. I had one of their soups in which the bowl is actually a scooped-out loaf of bread. As I ate the soup I sliced of the top of the loaf and used that with the rest of the soup working my way down until it was all gone. Brilliant idea. No washing up.

In KS they were dismantling the equipment from the race. The showers were all packed up and the barriers had been removed. The frame above the finish line was still there eerily emerging from the mist as we walked towards it. I couldn't resist running across the finish line for a second time.

We then walked back along the race route. As we did the cloud below us cleared and we could at least see down into the valley if not up above us. Up to chocolate corner then through the dip to the top of the morraine, the highest point on the race at 2311m.

Then it was down the morraine. It looked a lot steeper going down than coming up. I was impressed anyway.

We could hear the glaciers off to our left cracking in the sun but couldn't see them. The contrast to the day before was especially noticably going down the morraine. No crowds, no bagpiper, no runners, no sun and no view. What a difference a day makes.

I was very suprised at how little my legs seem to have suffered. When on the training week they said that it's the downhill running that makes the legs ache so much and they may be right but I'd have expected to be aching a lot more after all that effort. I attribute some of that to my relentless intake of fluids and energy foods during the race.

So, we worked our way down the morraine to the cairns on the ridge above the Wixi. Where I topped off the highest cairn.

Going down from here we noticed lots of litter from the race, mostly the tops from gels and gel packets so we started doing our bit and picked them up. As we got further down, just past the notorious bottleneck where I got held up, the barrier tape from the race hadn't been cleared and the litter increased so assuming someone was going to come back a clear up I tied our stack of litter in a neat pile in the tape. Just around the next bend there was tons of litter, mainly cups, and the 38.25km marker. Between this and the Wixi had been cleared of litter so they'd either decided to come back later and clear up or had abandoned it (I noticed from the train the next day that the tape and km sign were still there).

After a walk down to the Wixi ski lift station and up to Wengenalp we left the race route and caught the train back to Wengen.

The next day we were going home but as our flight wasn't until 21:50 we decided to squeeze in a trip up to the Jungfraujoch on the train. So, leaving our cases in the chalet it's back up to KS then get the Jungfraujoch train. This goes into the Eiger then doubles back up to the underground, and Europe's highest, station. On the way there are two stops. The first is to look through the windows stuck halfway up the north face of the Eiger. This is a unique opportunity to get a climber's eye view from the north face. Amazing. Unfortunately a photograph just can't take it all in. You have to be there. The second stop was on the other side of the Eiger and looked out over the Eismeer glacier with its housesized blocks of ice in a frozen cascade.

Up at the Jungfraujoch you can go out onto a balcony overlooking the Aletsch Glacier, at 22km long it is Europe's longest ice flow. This is the Wren tribe in front of it:

You can also go out onto the snow (or rather ice, as it was compressed by tourists walking on it). I'm not sure it would pass health and safety checks in the UK as it sloped away in all directions and the only thing stopping you from sliding away into oblivion was a very dodgy looking rope fence.

At 3500m the air is noticably thin up here. We had been told that, for some reason, Japanese tourists were particularly suseptible to the thin air and would regularly faint. Sure enough all the seats around the station were taken up by very weak looking Japanese tourists, many holding their heads in their hands. We then had a look round the Ice Palace carved into the glacier.

We just had time to nip up to the Sphink observation platform (even higher than the station) before we had to dash back for a train down. We didn't get time to see the huskies or walk across the snow to the Jungfraujoch hut and look down the Eismeer but we were were happy with our little excursion and glad to get back to thicker air.

Picking up our bags we said goodbye to our wonderful apartment and set off home.

If you ever want a holiday in this incredible region and fancy treating youselves then take a look at this place (http://www.chaletwengen.com/). Our apartment covered the left hand side of the first floor (where my girls are on the balcony above).

So, after 11 months and many hundreds of miles of training, injuries, a not insignificant amount of expense from me and my marvellous sponsors and a large amount of sacrifice from my darling wife and daughters in putting up with my absences was it all worth it? Too bloody right it was. What a fantastic privilege to be free to do such a thing. I have some irreplacable memories, met some wonderful people and found out many things about myself and what makes me tick. It has been a voyage of discovery in many senses. Can't wait for the next one.

Thanks for coming with me on this trip. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Post Race Analysis

This is the heart rate and altitude graphs from my run in the Jungfrau Marathon. It tells quite an interesting story. You can see how slowly I was going for the first half. My heart rate was hovering around 130bpm when it should have been around 140. Quite a few of the dips in heart rate are from when I stopped at the drinks stations but those towards the end of the race are when I was held up. The point at which we came to a standstill just around the bend from the Wixi drinks station is particularly noticable. My heart rate slowed to 95bpm. How ridiculous is that during a marathon.

I've also superimposed the ascent (height adjusted to account for base height) of the Chiltern Hills where I train. Quite a difference. Even Ben Nevis would only come about 80% of the way up the graph.

I'm seriously considering doing it again next year to see what time I would get with a more focussed attempt at getting a good time. My time of 5h 8m equates to a 3h 20m normal marathon. I'd hope to do a 3h normal marathon so there's clear room for improvement.

Better start training then!

Official Imagery

Photos from http://www.marathon-photos.com/ (for a fee):

This is me levitating above Lauterbrunnen high street .....

...and this is me impersonating a proper runner .....

...and this is me (1500m higher and 3 hours later) pretending to be tired on the morraine...

...and cruising down to the finish line....

I'd have tucked in my shirt if I'd known I was going to have my picture taken.

Bet you didn't spot the shoe change.

..... and here's me in action (from http://www.finisherclip.ch/):

Click on the play button and look for the white cap coming down the hill.

Thanks for watching.

A Letter to my Sponsors

Dear Sponsors,

Just a quick note to say thank you again for your tremendous support and sponsorship. It really helped me to put in the necessary training that made the run on the day a possibility and a wonderful experience. Your job was done as I stood on the start line. I was in the right mental and physical state to tackle this amazing run. I'd learnt a hell of a lot in my training. How to handle injuries, what to eat and drink and even what not to eat.

Throughout the last few months I have been very conscious that you didn't have to give anything but have been repeatedly amazed by your generosity. It clearly touched a nerve with some of you who have your own similar personal experiences.

Together you have donated a significant sum of money that will no doubt make a real difference to the lives of brain tumour sufferers and their families either through research or directly in terms of support. Even the smallest token of support or understanding can make all the difference to a family under the death sentence that this condition often brings.

Thank you for helping me to make a difference.

Yours humbly,

Mick


P.S. Some of you will be relieved to know that at no stage in this run did I partake in the use of lycra.

Day 0 - Race Day

Greetings from from Kleine Scheidegge!

Job done. That's me in front of the north face of the Eiger. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was lovely and sunny but not once did I feel too hot. The scenery was stunning. My fan club were out in force (aka Rosie, Vicky, Lucy and Polly) and managed to see me at five different places by jumping on the (extremely crowded) mountain trains.

After my scary run the other week where I fell to pieces after 15 miles I was determined to make sure I kept hydrated and my energy levels topped up. As it turned out I had a 26 mile long buffet. I took so much fluid and energy stuff at each water station that I'd only just finished it by the time I reached the next one. It did the trick as I didn't have any real lows, no cramps and I feel fairly spritely considering, but I'll be giving energy bars, gels and drink a miss for a few days.

At one drink station I was handed a honey based gel sachet that has been pre-opened, unknown to me. The stuff flooded out all over my hands and got everywhere. It was horrible. I had to keep my fingers spread for over a mile to stop them sticking together. Gross.

Unfortunately, it took me a time just outside of 5 hours (5:08) to drag my carcass up the mountain but (and here comes the excuse) the crowds were horrific. I made the mistake of starting too far back and got stuck behind hundreds of other runners. Interestingly, I finished in a time identical to the expected finish time zone that I started in, just behind the 5 hour marker. Normally, I'd start as near the front as possible and run like hell to get clear but I was worried about tiring myself out on this one. Big mistake. I had no room to move for the first 20km and most of the last 4km. It was like Oxford Street on a Christmas Eve. I did manage to make up about 20 places on the last downhill stretch due to the Swiss reluctance to let loose downhill (and thanks to a wide path). In fairness being held back probably stopped me overdoing it but I reckon on the day I could have done 4:45ish. My fellow blogger Aquaasho did a fantastic run of 4:19. Well done AC. Shame we didn't meet up.

I managed to meet up with a few of my new friends from the August training week at the start, Robert (French), Rolf (Dutch) and Franz (Swiss German). I also bumped into Diana (Swiss French) several times on the run. Looking at the results I was sandwiched between Karl-Ludwig (German) and Denise (Swiss German) by a few minutes. Unfortunately I didn't see either of them.

On the run down to the finish I experienced a very strong wave of emotion. It was the pent up grief I've bottled up since Tony died. I've had similar waves recently. It's as if the pressure has found a way out but I managed to put the stopper back in. This time I found to difficult to breath properly but as I was sprinting downhill at the time I reckon it provided the distraction required to stop the wave. I was expecting to have my own private breakdown at the finish but it was just too crowded and busy to afford that particular luxury. It'll have to wait until another time.

This blog has served its purpose now but I can't shut it down just yet so stay tuned while I decide what to do with it. TTFN

The News from Wengen

Well we're here at last. The weather is perfect, sunny but not hot and the apartment is fantastic. Here's the view out onto the balcony.

Rosie and I sat in bed with our morning cuppa watching the sunlight creep down the mountainside.

They are setting up for the run just above us on Wengen main street. It's all so close now. Here's Rosie and me in Wengen looking at the preparations.

We're off down into Interlaken this morning (if I can get the girls out of bed). I need to pick up my race number and the girls have shopping withdrawal symptoms having been removed from shops for more than 24 hours.

Finally, they are ready so I have to go now. Watch this space.

Photomap

Check out the map on flickr that shows where the Jungfrau photos were taken. Very useful for those who are running the Jungfrau. This covers the last half of the race. Zoom in to the map then click on the red dots.

No More Training

Well, it's all over now. I ran my last training run last night and it's time to taper (and hopefully get rid of this heel problem in the process). I did eventually manage to get a good series of runs in the last few days after all. I did a 20km off roader on Sunday plus an hour on the bike, a 20km multi-terrain run on Monday and last night, while away from home on a business trip to Stockport, I hacked my way round a lovely 25km run along a disused railway track (Middlewood Way) and back via the Macclesfield canal. This included running the down the impressive flight of locks and aquaduct in Marple. The heel probelm is still hovering around in the background but not getting any worse so maybe I can get rid of it while I rest.

Pass the pasta please.

The Back of My Race Shirt - nuff said

Unflummoxed (maybe)

Further to my Flummoxed post of last week I may have found a reason for my lack of form. Apparently, a high protein and fat diet will result in a much lower endurance than a 'normal' mixed diet whereas a high carbohydate diet results in much higher endurance. We all know the carbo loading side of this but I wasn't aware of the effects of the protein diet.



Anyway, the night before my run I went to a barby and had two large mackerel. I also tried to get as much pasta as I could but there wasn't much around. I also don't know what my diet was leading up to that but it could have had a lot of protein in it as I'm a bit partial to fish. So, that combined with a deceptively warm day and insufficient fluids may be the cause of my problems. I'll keep telling myself that anyway.

I've been out a couple of times since and have felt fine. The hills are still fairly flat. My heel is still slightly sore but doesn't seemed to be getting any worse (or better) and I'm enjoying my running which is good. There's still that little mental niggle about burning up after 15 miles but I'll just have to change my strategy to mitigate that. I'm also very conscious that I've effectively blown my last chance to top off my training in these last weeks. The aim now is definitely to finish rather than get a good time although I'm still hoping to beat 5 hours.

Off out on the bike now. Can't waste the only sunny weekend we've had since records began.

25 Miles

I've chosen "25 Miles" sung by Edwin Starr (a Northern Soul classic) as my marathon anthem. The lyrics (with a slight tweak swapping "walk" for "run") are great for the Jungfrau, especially "I got five more miles to go now, over the hills, just around the bend". As with any song. the lyrics alone don't do it justice so listen to a clip here.






25 Miles (Edwin Starr, Harvey Fuqua, John Bristol)

Twenty five miles from home, girl
My feet are hurtin' mighty bad
Now I've been runnin' for three days
And two lonely nights
You know that I'm mighty mad
But I got a woman waitin' for me
That's gonna make this trip worthwhile
You see, she's got the kind of lovin' and a kissin'
That make a man go stone wild

I got to keep on runnin'
Oh I got to run on
Let me tell you, y'all I'm so tired
But I just can't lose my stride

I got fifteen miles to go now
And I can hear my baby callin' my name
It's as if as though I'm standin' at her front door
And I can hear her doggone plain
Now I'll be so glad to see my baby
And hold her in my arms one more time
Now when I kiss her lips I turn a backover flip
And I forget about these feet of mine
I got to keep on runnin'
I got to run on
Let me tell you, y'all I'm so tired
But I just can't lose my stride
Yeah I got to run on
Let me tell you, y'all
Hope my feet don't fail me now

I got ten more miles to go
I got nine, eight, seven
Six, oh six

I got five more miles to go now
Over the hills just around the bend
Although my feet are tired I can't lose my stride
I got to get my baby back again

I got to keep on runnin'
I got to run on
Let me tell y'all I'm so tired now
But I just can't lose my stride
Oh, I got to run on
Let me tell you now I'm so tired
But I just can't lose my stride
I got to run on

Photos

Check out the photos from my training week in Switzerland.

Flummoxed

Three weeks to go so I thought I'd have a intensive training week this week before tapering down for the big day. So, start with a nice long run on Sunday I thought. Off I went for a nice steady 25 miler on the road. Loaded up with a litre and half of isotonic, energy bars and good old banana and honey sarnies I set off on a damp but warm day. My right ankle / achilles made itself felt but it didn't hurt so I soon forgot about it. Up and down the Chilterns I went, nipping through Champneys in the process. The first fifteen miles were fine. The hills felt particularly flat and easy after my week in the Alps. I was very pleased with my performance until my calf muscles started to feel tight. Then the pain down the outside of my right knee that I've had in the past, and assume is a referred pain from my ankle, appeared. I persisted on but was not a happy bunny.

I'd drunk some 500ml of isotonic drink per hour and had my energy food so I should have been fine. The distance shouldn't have been a problem having done simlar runs several times recently without any problem. I'd rested all the previous week apart from one treadmill session so I should have been well recovered from the Alps. None of this seemed to matter as I plodded on. My legs were aching but strangely didn't feel tired. I couldn't run down hill properly because of the aching and eventually running uphill became too painful due the pain in the side of my knee. To cap it all my Polar ran out of memory so I've no record of what my heart was doing after 20 miles. I bent down to rub my knee and found the inside of my knees and my shins covered in a layer of thin white froth. I tasted it. It was salty. I kept going till around 24 miles on the grounds that if this was the real event then I'd not give in but I was worried that I might injure myself so I called home and got a lift for the final mile or two.

Here's the mystery: when I got home I found I had lost six pounds in weight and my urine was very dark (but not red as in my previous long run) and my legs were cramping but I'd been drinking sufficient fluids. What the hell was going on? I haven't cramped in months. Was that white froth actually salt from my sweat? I can't imagine that I'd sweated enough to cause all that damage. I'm still puzzled and not a little worried as I don't understand what went wrong and until I do I might screw up the actual marathon. If I feel as bad after fifteen miles on the actual event then I'm in for a horrific time as that's when the climbing starts. Knowing the route as I do now I'm not sure that I could finish if I felt as bad as I did on Sunday.

Now my legs ache too much to run so I've lost a few days a irreplaceable training. I might try a bike ride tomorrow. I know this was never going to be easy but I could do without this especially at this time.

Bollocks!

What a Week that Was

This will take a while so I'm going to do it in stages. In a nutshell I've just had the most amazing running week on the Jungfrau Marathon Training Camp in Interlaken. I'll be building my blog entry for the whole week over the next few days. Richi the head trainer (and former Swiss marathon record holder at 2:13) has asked me to write an entry for the Wednesday run so I'll do that out of sequence. In the meantime I'll post a few photos. How this for a taster:

Monday August 6: Day 1 – Getting there and introductions
Got the 7:20 Easyjet flight from Luton to Basel – Mulhouse – Frieborg. An uneventful flight landed pretty much on time. The weather was nice and sunny. A bus trip later and I’m at Basel SBB Station. The trains to Interlaken seemed to run every 20 minutes or so so I jumped on the next available one and waited to see the famous Swiss railway punctuality at work. Sure enough, the doors slid shut with 20 seconds to go and the train started to glide out of the station, in that incredibly smooth way that only Swiss trains do, bang on time. Got some lovely views of the Eiger (north face), Moch and Jungfrau from the train after leaving Bern (note that the train leaves the way it came in so make sure you’re facing backwards with the window to your left going into Bern).

Arrived at Interlaken West then Interlaken East. Had I know it I’d have jumped off at the West station as that is nearer the hotel. So I walked the half mile or so in glorious sunshine to the Hotel Metropol. I can only assume that the town planner had one of is bad days when he gave permission for this hotel to be built. Don’t get me wrong it’s lovely inside, well located, good food and a cracking view but it’s 14 stories high, ten higher than anything else in the town (city?) and is made of concrete. It sticks out of the surrounding classic Swiss buildings like the proverbial sore thumb. Mind you, I can't complain with a view like this out of my window / balcony:

To be continued.....

Wednesday August 8: Day 3 Up the Wengenwand (The Wegen Wall)
On the map Lauterbrunnen and Wengen are almost joined at the hip. It is little over a kilometer between their centres. A run of 5 minutes or so should get you from one to the other, until you look at the contour lines. Vertically there is a height difference of 480m (or 1560 feet in old money). That’s steep in anybody’s book.

I don’t know if it is intentional or not but there is a cruel trick in the route of the Jungfrau Marathon. You are taken to Lauterbrunnen via a gentle run climbing only 250m over some 20km. On your right are the stunning vertical cliffs hundreds of feet high over which several small rivers and streams launch themselves into space, vapourising on their way down. However, your attention should be on the left where the almost as steep Wengenwand sits immutably awaiting your best efforts but, and this is the trick, you don’t get to suffer it just yet. Instead you are taken in a loop up and down the Lauterbrunnen valley, allowed to stew in your thoughts. Enjoy the view because you’ll soon be staring at the ground in just in front of your feet for many weary minutes.

And so it was we set of on the train to Lauterbrunnen on a grey and wet day. The torrential rain from overnight was now coursing its way down the many streams feeding the Lutschine river. This was close to bursting its banks in many places and as we passed the path that we’d run along the previous day I could see that there was a small section of the path missing, washed away in the night. That would cause Richi to replan the run on Friday, but back to today. Some of us were familiar with the wall having run it before. Thanh has been up the wall some 20 times and I’m sure Richi could do it with his eyes closed. Personally, I had no idea what to expect, more from my own capabilities rather than the actual route. I knew from studying the map that it zig-zagged its way up mostly through trees, the path and the railway line taking it in turns to lead the way but a map is very different from reality. Would it beat me?

The rain had fortunately stopped when we reached Lauterbrunnen. We left our bags in the capable hands of the Jungfrau railway company hoping to see them next in Wengen. Off we went at a gentle pace up into Lauterbrunnen and along the highstreet heading south, deeper into the valley. Past the shops, then the car park where I'd parked with my family two years ago on the weekend when I first discovered that the Jungfrau Marathon existed, then out past the graveyard and the Jungfrau Camping site and out of the town. We didn't know it two years ago but our route to the Trummelbach falls followed the Jungfrau Marathon route. Running it brought back memories from our visit. Just before reaching the falls the route turns back along the road, this time east of the river, and we head back to Lauterbrunnen. I've used this time to drink most of my energy drink from my Camelbak bladder in preparation for the Wengenwand.

We turn left and find the river, following it back to Lauterbrunnen. Not far to go now before we leave the comfort of the valley floor. We cross the river, a few hundred metres alongthe west bank then out onto the road, across the bridge then a left turn and we're running northwards parallel to the river but slightly uphill for a few hundred metres before the route turns right up the side of the valley. We stop at this turn and Richi demonstrates how the Jungfrau Marathon record holder, kiwi Jonathan Wyatt (at a staggering 2:49), ran this stretch. He also shows us how we should run it, either short steps on the balls of the feet or at a fast walking pace. Then we are off.

I have been training myself for months to run up hills where possible by using approprately small steps rather than try a fast walk so I settle into a steady rythm with nice short steps. The uphill stretch starts on tarmac for a hundred yards or so until the houses drop away then we turn left over a stream and we're onto a track. This raises fairly gently for another hundred yards till we reach the first of many hairpin bends. Keeping to the outside to use the favourable gradients I keep my pace constant. Karl-Ludwig has decided to adopt the fast walking tactic and is keeping abreast of me. It's weird running alongside a walker at the same pace.

The path meets and crosses the railway track before turning to run alongside and above it. The railway disappears into a tunnel just as we turn another hairpin and head away into a series of six short hairpin switchbacks. I keep my tempo, using the full width of the bends. The walkers coming down the hill must think we are mad. Maybe they are right but it feels good to be in a groove running uphill. After the sixth hairpin we meet the railway again this time we go underneath it. Denise and Peter are on my heels and eventually pass me. Four more hairpins and there's a house. Is this Wengen already? No such luck. The hairpins keep coming. Four more then hope at last as the gradient eases and the path enters a flatter wooded stretch. We are up into the fields below Wengen. Another gentle rise then a downhill stretch at last.

It is here that I make one of my discoveries of the week. The Swiss runners don't use the downhills. I released the brakes and shot downhill overtaking half a dozen runners in front of me. I'm not sure if it's because they don't tend to run downhill having so much uphill to run on (and trains or cable cars to come down on) or whether they think they'll injure themselves but it was the same all week, me whizzing down the few downhill stretches leaving the Swiss runners in my wake. I put it down to the Swiss inventing mountains and the English inventing gravity. If the Jungfrau Marathon was the other way round I reckon I'd get a good placing.

Crossing the railway line we are soon onto tarmac again and a steady kilometer or so brings us into Wengen high street lined with shops and cafes. We refresh ourselves at the fountain while Dani immerses himself in it as usual. My stopwatch says we did it in 38 minutes. Not too bad after all. Later I see that my heart rate was as steady as a rock on the steep hairpins with the rate staying between 138 and 141 bpm all the way up.

Our bags are waiting for us in the baggage room where we all strip off and get changed. Any little old ladies coming in to pick up their luggage would have been in for a treat! We then wnet off to a local cafe (run by a former skiing star whose name I forget) for a drink before taking the train back to Interlaken. A grand day was had by all.

What Am I Packing?

Having now packed for a wet week they've gone and changed the weather forecast already. There are sunny intervals (and showers) for the latter half of the week now. I see Murren, which is just across the Lauterbrunnen valley from Wengen, has snow forecast down to 2800m. We will be running almost up to that height at some time during the week. So I now have to pack for a heatwave, a monsoon and a whiteout. Just in case.

The knee is a bit better today. Touch wood.

Not sure if I'll be able to blog from Switzerland but keep checking in just in case.

Auf weider blog.

Rain Man II

Just checked the weekly weather forecast for Interlaken. After a nice hot day to travel in on Monday it's wall to wall rain. Nothing new there then. I wonder what that means at 2000m? We'll either be above the clouds, in a snow storm or just cold and wet.

The forecast for Wengen (1000m (ish)) looks like the temperature will be in single figures. That'll alter my packing strategy. Lulled by the recent sunshine and our scorching visit to Italy I've packed for the heat. I'm now looking at packing my winter gear.

Didn't want a suntan anyway :o(

P.S. Knee pain is on and off now.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes.....

I've rested my ankle and it seems to be repairing nicely but out of the blue my left knee is giving me some jip. I woke up yesterday morning and my knee was very sore. It can't be due to running as I haven't done any (could it be due to not running?) since Sunday. It's a wierd sort of pain as it feels like my knee is in a vice. It can also disappear for a while then reappear suddenly. I'm lost as to what it is and what's causing it. I did have some similar pains back in the Winter and they never lasted long enough to bother getting them looked into. I'm hoping this will go away too.

I went to see the podiatrist yesterday too. He examined my feet, took some measurements of the pronation and did a parotec test. This consisted of putting some special insoles into my running shoes. These contained a load of pressure sensors and were wired up to a box strapped to my waist. I then had to run up and down the car park while it recorded the pressure on my feet. It appears that my left foot is actually worse than my right in term of pronation but I'm not putting much pressure on my right forefoot meaning that I don't get maximum takeoff on that side. Anyway, using those measurements and a scan of the contours of my foot he made a pair of orthotic insoles. These will stop my foot rolling over so much allowing my Achilles to slide over the heel more easily and allowing me to use more of my forefoot in moving forwards. I did a test run using them. The right heel is not fully healed as I can still feel it, the knee behaved itself while running and the insoles felt fine in my road shoes (Asics) but a bit tighter in my trail shoes (Salomons). I should really try them out a lot more before gong to Switzerland (on Monday) but I want to rest my heel a bit more and I'm not sure how my knee will react.


Really cheesed off and worried about this knee. Hope it doesn't spoil my week.

Frustration

Only five weeks to go and my niggling right Achilles has decided to play up. After my run on Sunday it is very sore. I'm not totally convinced it is the tendon itself as that isn't tender to touch. Could be a heel spur problem or some such thing. I'm going to Interlaken next Monday for a training week so I'm desperate to get it sorted. I've got an appointment with a podiatrist on Friday to have a set of tests (gait analysis, foot pressure etc) with a view to getting some orthotic insoles made up. This will set me back well over £300 but it has to be done. It needs doing anyway as my right foot and ankle is a mess. It massively overpronates and I reckon the arch has collapsed. Hopefully that might sort it out. In the meantime I can't run, just when I was looking to step things up. I went out on the bike on Monday evening (assuming that won't aggravate the problem) so I can keep my fitness levels ticking over but I'm pretty peed off at the moment. Any chance of getting near 4:30 on the Jungfrau has gone. I'm just hoping that I make it to the start line now.

Bummer!

KIMM and Dave

No, it's not a new double act. The KIMM (which is actually now called the OMM) was the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon. Two days of fun navigating your way across the mountains of Britain in teams of two. It's lost it's connection to Karrimor so was recently renamed the Original Mountain Marathon.

Anyway, the Dave in the title is my old workmate and running partner Dave Stephenson (that's him in front). Living 200 miles apart we don't get to see much of each other but we do usually try and do the KIMM (sorry, the OMM) and the SLMM (Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon). We've signed up for this year's OMM but don't know if we'll get an entry till later in August. It takes place at the end of October. Don't know where yet as they keep the location secret to stop people casing the area.

Would you believe it but Dave has had the same 3 and 7 day heart monitor as I had, round about the same time too. I only know two people who've had this test: me and Dave. Fortunately he doesn't need a pacemaker either.

The world can be a strange place.

Lost and Found

Did it again today. Lost me foot pod! This time I found it after retracing my steps. I then went over to where I lost my first one but couldn't find that one. Had a cracking run up and down the Chilterns in the sunshine with the dog.

I reckon I've worked out why it comes off. The Salomon shoes I wear have thin kevlar laces which are tightened using a spring loaded toggle. This toggle then fits under a flap on the tongue of the shoe. My theory is that when I bend my foot the toggle presses on the footpod and pushes it out of its clip. So I simply moved the clip further down the laces. So far so good.

While we're on the subject the laces on the new Salomons are not as good as those on the previous model. The foot pod clip has damaged the laces in a very short space of time. This didn't happen at all on my previous two pairs of Salomons.

That's progress for you.

I'm Back

Friends, runners, countrymen lend me your trainers!

Sorry about the disruption to normal blogging service but I've been away on my hols with my gorgeous wife of 25 years, Rosie. We had a great time in Venice and Rome. The weather was fantastic (especially so after all the rain we've had). If anything it was too hot (mid to high 30's). Had loads of pasta so I'll be well carbo loaded. As it was my wedding anniversary I came off the wagon and had a few glasses of wine and beers (but back on again now). I managed to get out for a couple of early morning runs. All in all I seem to have limited the damage to putting on 4 pounds in weight.

I got up at 6:00 on Friday and ran round the whole of Venice. I'm now looking for an entry in the Guiness Book of Records for the most bridges crossed in a singel run! I must have run over a hundred bridges in the space of an hour and a half. My Polar has logged an ascent of 55m for the run on what is a completely flat city. It must rank as one of my most unusual runs. Venice is essentially a city of pavements, canals and bridges. Even at 6:30 in the morning there were quite a few people about so I had to engage in a bit of tourist dodging. Overall though the run was trouble free. I tried to keep the route as simple as possible but it still involved navigating the maze of paths and alleyways. Fortunately I didn't get lost and had a fine time ticking off all the best sites in one fell swoop. It was still hot at that time in the morning and it took me a couple of days to properly rehydrate.

On Sunday we went to Rome by train, only just. They cancelled our train and didn't bother to tell us, or anyone else for that matter. We'd treated ourselves to a first class ticket and ended up standing up half the way.



After Venice's car free environment Rome was a shock to the system. It was actually better, trafficwise, than I remembered it but that's only relative. It was the usual suicide mission to cross the roads. In case you haven't been yet here's a tip to save you being stranded on one side of the road forever: find a zebra crossing and just walk out in front of the traffic. They won't necessarily stop but they will drive round you, unless it's a pelican crossing in which case wait for the green man and the same rules apply.



I went out for an early morning run on Tuesday. The River Tiber runs through the middle of Rome but unlike most cities Rome seems to ignore it's river. It actually runs in a big culvert about thirty feet below the level of the city. There's also no river traffic bigger than a rowboat as it's not navigable. Alongside it they have built a large twenty foot wide embankment so I went down and ran along that. Nothing much to report on this run other than no-one else seemed to use the perfectly good track. In any other city it would be full of people on bikes commuting to work. I can't believe that the small groups of homeless people camped under the bridges explains the lack of people using the track. Very strange.



Arrivederci.

Catching up, Canals and Pasta

Having done naff all on the running front this week I decided to make up for it today so I've had two sessions. This morning I did a couple of miles at 6 minute mile pace on the treadmill. This is part of my new strategy to get my speed up. I found the first mile reassuringly easy and even the second wasn't too bad. This has given me a mental boost as I thought it would be lot harder than it was. I can have a go at faster speeds in my intervals now.

Later on Rosie dropped off me and Phoebe dog on her way up to her mother's. We ran back along the canal (which is much more interesting than the stretch I used to run on the way to work) then round the reservoirs and back home. It was very humid and Phoebe jumped into the canal, the reservoir and then a stream on the way back. I could've fancied jumping in myself but I didn't want to encourage her. Didn't fancy catching some horrific disease either.

Canals are going to be a reoccuring theme over the next week as Rosie and I are off to Venice on Thursday (25th anniversary hols). If anyone out there has any advice on running in Venice then please drop me a comment. I reckon I need to get out very early to avoid the crowds in the twisty narrow streets. I'm also thinking of getting a boat over to the Lido as there seems to be a reasonally long road (2-3 milesish) over there. We're staying there for three days then off to Rome for another three days. Likewise, any tips for running in Rome gratefully appreciated. I somehow think I won't be getting any long runs in for a while.

Before all that we're off to Nottingham for Vicky's graduation ceremony. Anyone need a production designer for their next film? I know just where I can find one.

Ciao baby!

Niggles and Wiggles

Just had another lazy week. The achilles niggle and associated knee pain thankfully disappeared by Tuesday. On Tuesday evening I'd planned to go out on the bike but didn't make it thanks to the washing machine breaking down and me stripping it down to find that it wasn't repairable (spares not available on the internet) so I did some exercises indoors instead. These seemed to have reached the parts running can't reach as the very tops of my calves were aching on Wednesday. Nevertheless I went out on the bike in the evening and had a cracking ride. Another gorgeous summer evening through and round Ashridge forest. Saw a fox and another herd of roe deer. I felt great and was pushing hard for most of the hour and three quarters I was out. However, on Thursday the top of my left calf was extremely sore. I couldn't tell if it was strained or just good old fashioned sore from the exercise. I was worried as the last calf strain cost me six weeks off running. Fortunately it seems to have been the latter as it has just about gone now so I'll be out again tomorrow if not this afternoon. I'm having to tread a thin line with this training, getting in enough without causing some problem that stops me.


While out buying a new washing machine I also picked up a new set of scales that also tell you your % body fat and water content. It says my % body fat is 15.5 which is at the bottom end of the normal range for blokes of my age. It also gave me a water content reading of 56% which is above normal and a surprise to my normally dehydrated self. The instructions said that the algorithm it uses to make these calculations don't work on athletes but I don't think I have to worry about that just yet.


The downside is that the new scales reckon I'm 12st 5lb whereas I'm hovering around 12st on our old scales. Either way I've certainly changed shape over the last couple of months. When I last put my cycling bib shorts on there were bumps and bulges all over the place. I'm looking a lot more streamlined now. Those love handles have bitten the dust.


Just got to avoid these bloody niggles.

The Sun Has Got His Hat On...

At last it’s stopped raining. As much as I like running in the rain you can get too much of a good thing.

Had a glorious evening run with the dog on Friday. The sun was out, the tracks were dry(ish) and no-one was out at that time of day. I think the vegetation has liked this weather. I nearly lost the dog at one point in the long grass. Came across a small herd of Roe deer. It was a fantastic sight. The sun was streaming through the trees, in that sort of hazy way it only does in the early morning or evenings, backlighting the deer. Wish I’d had my camera to hand. I tried taking a photo on the phone but they’d disappeared by the time I was ready to snap. I noticed on this run that my achilles felt swollen and a tiny bit sore on it’s outside edge but it didn’t seem to affect my running.

On Saturday went into London to get myself a decent travel bag for my upcoming trips (Venice and Rome in July (silver wedding anniversary), training week in Interlaken in August, long weekend for the Jungfrau Marathon in September). It’s about time I had some time off. I only had two weeks off in the last two years for various reasons. While I was there the Tour de France just happened to be taking place so I went and had a look. Very impressive set up. They’d taken over the centre of London. It was the prologue time trial. They finished in the Mall then kept going through Admiralty Arch then round into Whitehall where all the cars and crew were waiting. All the side streets were full of French cars and vans. I went down the Mall and into Green Park. Along the Mall the fences were covered in advertising hoardings and as each rider came in the crowd would bang the hoardings making a massive wave of noise tracking the rider for the last kilometer. Green Park was full of picnicers watching the big screen in the sunshine. It could have been oh so different if it had been a week earlier.

Yesterday (Sunday) went for a big run again. My plan is to make a 20 mile run seem normal. I was in two minds to start with as my achilles was niggling again. So I went on the treadmill for a few minutes to test it out. It didn’t seem too bad so, having made sure someone would be able to come and rescue me in the car if needs be, I set off in the sunshine. I decided to go off-road after my red wee episode a couple of weeks ago. Soon forgot about the achilles and settled into a nice steady run up the hills and through the trees following the Ridgeway footpath towards Princes Risborough. Went past Chequers but it didn’t look like Gordon was in.

Having tried the homemade drink and energy food on my previous long run I thought I’d try the more scientific (and expensive) approach on this run. I took 1.5l of isotonic drink (at 6% solution, 30g carbs per 500ml), three gels (22g carbs each) and three energy bars (46g carbs each). The plan was to take in 500ml of fluids and a total of 75g carbs per hour. It’s difficult to compare the two runs: the first was a rainy road run and yesterday’s was a sunny off-roader but I can make a few observations. Firstly 500ml of fluid per hour is not enough in hot weather. Should have been nearer 700ml. Second, my banana, honey and maple syrup sandwiches where a lot more palatable than the energy bars. I did feel more tired on yesterday’s run than I did on the previous run but it’s difficult to point the finger at any one thing. More fluids might have helped, energy intake should have been OK, there was more ascent (620m) on the second run and my achilles might have been a factor.

I’d noticed that I seemed to be over-pronating even more than usual on my right foot. I wondered if this was some subconsious effort to relieve the achilles. Eventually, I developed what I think is a referred pain on the outside of my right knee. This was getting worse so I played it safe and phoned home for a lift rather than run the last 4 or so miles. This took some doing on my part as I hate not finishing things that I set out to do but having invested all this time on training the last thing I need now is an injury. I’ll have to look at my options regarding the achilles problem. I don’t think it is going to go away on its own.

Had an interesting run on the wildlife front yesterday. While up on the tops there were a couple of Red Kites (birds not playthings) doing a spectacular arial display just above me. On the way back I was running down a track when a stick just in front of me moved off the path. Turned out to be an adder a good 18 inches long or more (couldn’t see all of it in the undergrowth). That could have given me a nasty bite if I’d trodden on it. Then finally, on a path bordered by two fences a stupid sheep had escaped from the field and couldn’t get back in. Its friends were bleating for it but it kept running away from me down the path. If it had kept that up it would have been miles from where it belonged but I eventually managed to get it to come past me. That slowed me down a bit.

In the end I did 20 miles in three hours fairly comfortably apart for a couple of energy lows towards the end. Think I’ll be going back to the banana butties next time.

Treadmilling

I like my treadmill. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be out on the hills any day but when you need to get some good honest graft in without cheating (i.e. easing back) then the treadmill is the place to do it. I don't think that I could do intervals outside without someone keeping an eye on me and making sure I keep it up but on the treadmill you have to physically give in by using the speed down button. Mentally that feels more like capitulation than simply slowing down a bit. Try slowing down on the treadmill and you'd shoot off the end.

I bought mine off ebay for £800 which sounds a lot but when you consider that it is a $7000 machine that's not bad. Just googled it and you can pick one up for £550 on ebay or £5781 (+vat) on another site. It's a Precor C964i like the one in the picture but with side rails as well. Unfortunately I don't have all that space in the picture. It's in the already crowded garage which is now waist deep in boxes of stuff from Vicky's flat. Good job I'm not claustrophobic. It's the only treadmill I've seen that declines (3%) as well as inclines (15%). Being a big heavy commercial machine it's got a good shock absorbing running bed and is as solid as a rock to run on.

As implied above I use it as a task master. It shows no mercy except on the heart rate control setting when it will reduce the incline if your heart rate is too high (it'll also raise the incline if it's too low). I also use it to experiment with techniques: stride length, running style, breathing patterns etc.

I went on it tonight to do some interval training (5 x (3mins @ 6 mph + 3 mins @ 10mph)). I had to grit my teeth a bit for the last one but made it.

Not as fast as I was 10 years ago (not yet anyway!).

I feel good ..da da da da da da da...

Something happened during or after that long run the other Sunday as I've felt really good on my runs. I feel much lighter on my feet and have found myself having run over a hill while daydreaming about something or other and not having noticed the hill. Not like me at all.

Have just been out with the dog over the Coombe Hill area (that's the Wendover Coombe Hill, as there are several knocking around here). On the way up Coombe Hill there were hundreds of enormous white snails (50mm shells). I've been up there loads of times and have never seen them before. I've just looked them up and apparently they are Roman Snails (aka Burgundy Snails or, more descriptively, Edible Snails) which were introduced to the region by the Romans. Shame I don't fancy them as I could have got a bucketful. The Romans also introduced the glis-glis (or Edible Dormouse) to our area too. I found a dead one while out on a run a few years ago. I'd imagined dormice to be tiny things but this was the size and shape of a squirrel. Both of these creatures are rare. The snail is on the Red List of endangered species so maybe it's a good job I didn't eat them.

I went on my run just after a thunder storm and at one point there was a river running down what should have been a footpath. Paddling time.

Came back over Coombe Hill at the end of the run and didn't see a single snail. Spooky.

White Van Man, Floods and Ice

I'm getting my posts slightly out of sequence but what the heck. This weekend felt like it lasted a week. On Friday evening I picked up a hire van. I'd ordered a tranny but they gave me a bigger Merc Sprinter instead. Fine by me. I loaded up our old (recently renovated) Wendy House then took Vicky and Tom (eldest daughter and respective boyfriend) up to Nottingham where they were going to pack up Vicky's things from her flat (having just finished uni). I then went on to Doncaster (epicentre of all things flooded) to spend the night at Rosie's mums. I would've stayed at my mother's but she'd already agreed to put up Pat (Tony's best friend) who was down to help Max do some decorating. Rosie's mum's area was practically surrounded by flooded villages but managed to avoid being flooded apart from being four inches deep in rain water at one point.

On Saturday morning I went over to Max's (by circumnavigating Doncaster to avoid the floods) and erected the Wendy House in the rain. I didn't see the kid's reaction as by the time the house was finished they were too tired and had gone to bed.

By the way I would have gone to Max's via the same (closed) road that I ran along in my previous post Fartlek, Films and Nostalgia. Only problem was the three feet of water under which it was laying, about a mile from where this picture was taken. I suppose I could have swum it making a fairly unique double: swimming and running the same route.

After the Wendy House I dashed off to Nottingham to pick up Vicky, Tom and all of her baggage only to find them stuffing themselves in Subway and the flat in a complete state. This was not least because all of her flat mates had abandoned all their rubbish and not bothered to clean the flat. It took us hours to get the flat in a clean state, including me spending 90 minutes with my head in the freezer hacking the ice out of it. So, in the end we got home after 10 p.m. knackered, ruling out the soul night I'd planned to go to. I hope Vicky's flatmates had a nice Saturday (inconsiderate sods). Poor old Vicky was shattered and stressed out.

Sunday morning was spent trying to find space for all the stuff Vicky brought home. We now have at least two or three of everything including 5 clothes airers. As you may have seen in my previous post I then went for a run having had a lazy week after my big run.

July already!

I've lost me foot pod

Somewhere in the long grass on the lower slopes of Ivinghoe Beacon lies a lonely Polar foot pod, its little green light bleeping away to itself like a cry for help. I spent a good half hour looking for it in vain yesterday. I can only assume that I didn't clip the retaining strap on properly or that the long grass I was wading through simply tore it off. Anyway, tis gone and I'm £80 the poorer for it.

For those whose lives are interesting enough never to have come across a foot pod before I'll explain what it is. It's about the size of large cigarette lighter and it clips to your laces. When in use it transmits a signal to my Polar hear rate monitor / watch which then records the speed and distance travelled. I can then download this info to my computer and see how I've done over the course of a run. Bet you all want one now.

So to find it I just need to download yesterday's run to see at what distance it disappeared then buy another one and run the same route for that same distance and voila! there it will be (within a few yards assuming I've calibrated the new one the same as the old one).

Nearly new foot pod anyone?

Happy Birthday to Me (belatedly)

Twas my 49th birthday last Thurs so I'm now in my 50th year. I hope I don't look as old as 50 year olds did when I was a kid. I certainly don't feel it.

I'm finding this age thing very surreal. Losing my dad from a heart attack when he was just 47 (and I was 19) had a profound effect on my life expectations. I treat anything over 47 as a bonus and I certainly don't bother with a pension (shock horror I hear you prudent type say). Tony didn't even make it to 47, and having done some family history research I know quite a few of our ancestors didn't get past their 40's either. If I get to retirement age I'll deal with the pension issue then, after I've finished celebrating reaching said age. Anyway, my girls will look after their old Dad. I won't need much. Just a tent in the back garden and good collection of books.

Sleep tight campers....

Countdown

On Saturday it will be only 10 weeks to go to the Jungfrau Marathon. That's quite scary considering I started training for this last October, about 35 weeks ago. Apart from 6 weeks out for my calf strain I've been pounding the roads and tracks for 954km (600 miles) over 89 hours on 105 runs.

After my little trot around the lanes on Sunday I'm feeling quite happy with where I am with my training. My plan to get the basics right seems to be working. I've done a lot of reading and tried a few things that seem to work so I've now got a good platform to really get to work on. My basic approach from here on in is more speed, more strength and less weight. Not totally sure how I'm going to do that but at least it's a plan. More reading required.

I'm not convinced by these pre-marathon training schedules that they publish in the running magazines. I've always said that if I followed their schedule for a 4hr marathon I'd do it in 3hrs. I don't know who their target audience is but the mileage they put in these schedules seems a bit excessive. I can't see me ever getting to a 70+ miles per week routine just because of the time it would take.

My recovery from Sunday's run is nothing short of amazing. I didn't even get the tiniest cramp which is highly unusual for me. After a long hard run my feet cramp up and my calves are normally exploding with a million micro cramps. They normally look like a sack full of mice but not this time. That'll be the salt working its magic. My legs ache when I get up from sitting down but once I'm moving I forget about them. I thought I'd be hobbling for days. I might even go for a run tomorrow.

Energywise I feel fine, even though I couldn't face a meal directly afterwards (Tip: replenish your glycogen reserves by eating lots of carbs with a little protein ideally within 20 minutes of finishing your run and definitely within 1 hour. Your body is far more receptive to carbo loading during this period. This is a must for multiday events or heavy training schedules and recovery generally.) The lost red blood cells don't seem to have had much effect (hopefully).

Just booked our accomodation for the weekend of the marathon. We've got an apartment in a new swiss chalet up in Wengen. It'll mean an early start for me on the day of the event but I'll probably not be sleeping anyway. The picture at the top is the Lauterbrunnen valley from Wengen. How completely fantastic does that look? We run up the valley then back again before climbing up to Wengen and beyond. Bet you're all jealous.

10, 9, 8, 7........

Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Well, I've finally gone and done it. Today I ran at least 27 miles, unsupported. I did the decent thing and went over the Chilterns when I could quite easily have chosen a route on the flatlands to the north of us. So, attired in waterproof jacket and carrying my supplies in my camelbak rucksac I set off in the rain.

The rucksac felt like it weighed a lot more than the 4-5 pounds than it did but it was necessary to my success. As well as the 1.5 litres of isotonic drink (half fresh fruit juice, half water and a pinch of salt) I had three banana, honey and maple syrup sandwiches and a banana for energy replenishment. The cool and wet weather allowed me to get away with just 1.5 litres. If it had been sunny I'd have had to take 2 litres at least. I also had my glasses and contact lens case and emergency clothing (thin thermal vest, winter buff and gloves) and phone in case I came a cropper part way round. Once I got going I didn't notice it and it all adds to the training effort.

The first six miles were rolling and went nice and easy then it was up onto the top via a rather dodgy road that had me trapped in a tight gully at one point. I had to pin myself to the side of the gully to avoid being roadkill. Once on the top the next few miles were fairly flat (and traffic free) till my halfway point which I went through in 1:44. It was here that I caught up with the only other runner I saw all day. I caught her (20ish decked out in all the gear) going downhill and as I passed her my suspicions about her gear fetish were proven when she said "Kayanos. Good shoes!" She then caught me going uphill (story of my life). We had a quick chat before she turned off. She's training for the Dublin Marathon in October.

By this time the rain had eased so I stopped to take of my waterproof and get one of my fantastic sandwiches. They were nice and soggy and went down a treat unlike some of the commercial energy bars that take more energy to eat than they contain. The idea behind my sandwiches is to release energy over a long period. The honey and maple syrup give an immediate boost being largely sugars. The banana takes a bit longer followed by the carbs in the wholemeal bread. It certainly seemed to work for me.

The route got a lot hillier in the second half (sounds familiar), at least by Chilterns standards. The waterproofs came out again when I ran through a downpour and then off again when the sun came out for the last couple of miles.

The 'wall' didn't appear, probably because I was going at tourist pace but also because I'd made sure to keep up my fluid and energy intake. It seemed to work as I didn't feel tired at any point although my lower legs did ache towards the end. I judged the fluids perfectly as I used up the last mouthful when I reached home. I then went on the treadmill to walk for 5 mins to cool down and help keep me loose.

So here I sit, surprised that I can still walk and to be honest suprised at how easy it was, which I put down to my nutrition during the run. I've always known that I could run the distance but now I've actually done it. I'm fairly happy with the time as well considering the circumstances (not racing, self supporting, no cheering crowds etc). This is all to be confirmed (when I drive part of the route to check the distance) but according to my Polar speed pod I went through the magical 42 km in 3:32 and finally reached home after another 2.5 km.

And now for the finale! (Turn away if you're squeamish.) My pee is red! Blood, you're thinking and so was I when I saw it. I was especially worried as I'm carrying a defunct kidney. A few years ago I had a problem with my kidney which proved to only have 25% function. So, they operated on it and now it's got 0% function. "We can take it out for you" they said by way of an apology. "Keep your bloody hands off" I said. When I saw the red urine I was a tad concerned that something had happened to it. Anyway, because of the kidney op we have some wee sticks that test for blood (amongst other things) left over and according to them there's no trace of blood. Here's my theory of what it is: foot strike haemolysis. I only came across this recently but apparently constant pounding on hard surfaces (e.g. road running) will actually smash red blood cells to pieces. This is then filtered out by the kidneys and passed out in urine. I can only assume that the fact that the blood cells (or haemoglobin) are in pieces means that it doesn't react on the wee stick. Just in case you're worried, it's no longer red, just the dark yellow it normally is when I'm dehydrated. Well I did warn you to turn away.

So, all in all it was worth getting up this morning. I've cracked the distance now I need to crack the hills and the speed. Should be able to do something about that over the next couple of months. Just need to get my red blood cells back first!

Ooops, nearly forgot. I nipped into Tesco's this morning to get my bananas and fruit juice and as I was driving out two little piglets dashed out of the farm opposite paying scant regard to the highway code and ran off up the road towards the hills. Thought I might see them later but I didn't. Bet you were wondering what the picture was about.

Pedal Power

Sunday: A quick puncture repair and I'm off. A quick dash back to the house for my forgotten drink bottles and I'm off again. Spent the next three hours going up and down the Chiltern Hills like a yo-yo. I don't know who named the hills around here but they had some imagination as well as a sense of humour (remember The Crong, The Twist and The Hale from a previous post?). After Cobblershill came Hotley Bottom (great place to go after a curry?) later followed by Kop Hill amongst others.

I'd expected to get the usual cycling muscle ache not having been on the bike in ages but it didn't happen. I reckon there must be some truth in hill running using the same muscles as cycling as I also found the hills fairly easy. At least I didn't get out of the saddle once and didn't have to resort to the granny chain ring. Not bad on a squidgy mountain bike. As a long term roadie brought up on the mantra of short wheelbases and rigid frames it gripes a bit riding a bendy springy mountain bike. All that energy going into squashing springs and dampers. Suppose it doesn't matter if I'm not looking for a fast time. It felt good to be back on the bike.

The achilles felt sore during the ride but doesn't seem to have suffered for it. On Monday night I took the dog and my achilles for a test run. Did half an hour off-road, fairly flat and it felt fine. Not sure what's going on with the achilles. I can still feel it but it doesn't seem to suffer from running. Just have to keep an eye on it I suppose.

Off to bed. G'night.

Ramping it Up

Further to my previous post about gradients I decided to try a little experiment on the treadmill. So after a warm up I did 3 miles at 5mph on a 10% incline. It felt very comfortable to start with. My heart rate was 123 bpm once I'd settled in but it slowly but surely trended upwards over the three miles finishing at 135. At that rate I'd have been struggling after another mile as my rate approached 140. I'm fairly happy with that as it gives me something to work with over the next couple of months.

What I'm not so happy with is that I've got a slight niggle in my right achilles tendon. I can't feel it when I'm running but I can when walking. I once lost a whole years running when I tore that achilles. I don't suppose it helped that I tore it at the begining of a run, finished the run then three days later did a two-day mountain marathon on it. It was a team event so I couldn't let my partner down at the last minute. Not the best treatment though. So, I'd fancied trying a full marathon length training run today but am not going to risk it. I'm off out on the bike now instead.

On yer bike!

Plan of Attack

Just thought I'd lay down my thinking about how to tackle the Jungfrau. Having done endurance stuff since I was a kid I have no concerns about the distance but there is a risk of sheer exhaustion (bonk, cramp, dehydration) if I don't tackle the second half properly.

Unlike most hill races the Jungfrau is literally a race of two halves. The first is like a bog standard half marathon with only 300+ m of ascent. In the second half 'the only way is up baby!' with 1300+ m of ascent on tracks and morraine. I'm tempted to try and arrange a shoe swap at the halfway stage: Kayanos followed by XA Pros. Looking at the photos from last years event there seems to be a lot of road shoes being worn on the morraine.

I found an account of the Jungfrau in which the author had analysed the times of previous runners and compared them with their 'normal' marathon times. It seems that the price to pay for the ascent is a 47% increase in time. As I'd fancy my chances at a sub three hour marathon (assuming I actually trained) I'm setting my target at sub 4:30.

So, the plan is a steady 1:40 for the first half leaving me fresh (I wish) for the second half. This will leave me with 2:50 for the second half which means a better than 4 miles per hour pace. I've finally gotten round to calculating the average gradient for the second half. Seems I've been overdoing it by training at 15% incline as 6000 ft of ascent over 13 miles gives an average gradient of 8.74%. So, I'll now, thankfully, be training at 10%. I was getting worried over the 15% regime as I struggled to keep up 5mph for a mile. Hopefully, 10% will be a lot more doable. As it happens I did some treadmill intervals on Tuesday of 7mph at 10%. My heart rate was 143 bpm which means it's not (yet) sustainable for me but there's still time to work on it. So, 5mph for the second half should do it. Easy peasy.

Just need to shed a few superfluous pounds now. Sorry Rosie but the love handles have to go ;-)

Fartlek, Films and Nostalgia

Saturday morning was spent with Phoebe dog doing fartlek in Tring Park. (If you think fartlek is a condition due to eating too many German sausages then I recommend you google it). Poor old Phoebe didn't know if she was coming or going. Had great fun.

I was up in the motherland (Northern England) for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday Rosie and I visited eldest daughter Vicky in Nottingham to see her graduation exhibition. She has just finished her degree in Design for TV and Film and they all had a display of their work. Vicky has worked like a Trojan on her projects and produced some stunning work as well as getting the most work placements including working on 'Recovery' starring David Tennant (aka Dr Who) and on 'Hyperdrive' starring Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). There are others on her course with more natural drawing skills but it takes more than good drawings to be a good designer. It's going to be difficult to break into the insular TV and film industry but if anybody deserves it Vicky does. Good luck my darling.

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We spent Saturday night in Doncaster at Rosie's mum's. She's currently in the middle of a course of chemotheraphy. She's been battling with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma all through the period we were struggling with Tony. Let 's hope the chemo works.

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This morning I ran from Rosie's mum's to my mam's (note the shift from middle to working class there) which is 10 miles as it turned out. (1h 9 mins if you're interested). They live on opposite sides of Doncaster so I thought I'd have to run through Doncaster until I found out that yet another road closure (see previous post) meant I could use a traffic free back road instead. It turned out to be a real nostalgia trip. I went past Thorpe Marsh power station, the destination of my first 'proper' bike ride (all 8 miles of it) when I was only 6 or 7 years old. My little legs must have spun like bees wings to keep up with my dad. I remember being mesmerised by the enormous cooling towers.
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I then took a small detour through Kirk Sandall to see the first house Rosie and I bought. (We were looking at Minis the other day. They cost more than our first house did.) It hadn't changed much since we left it for the last time, at 1 o'clock in the morning on 15th April 1985: the day Vicky was born. Vicky was three weeks late in being born and decided to arrive on the day we were to move house. Poor old Rosie left in labour in the middle of the night and never went back (neither did I for that matter). Rosie's dad saw to the removals. The birth was horrific but that's another story. Suffice to say she finally arrived weighing in at 9lb 8oz and 22 years later she's finishing her degree in Nottingham.
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Just round the corner from our old house I then ran past the house that Dave Harcombe (see previous post) used to live in back in our school days. A mile or so later I ran down the bridle path that I first ran down in our school cross country a staggering 38 years ago (very scary being able to say something like that). I'd be very interested to know how fast I ran it back then. The bridle path joins the two villages of Edenthorpe (where I used to go to the youth club where I was first exposed to Northern Soul) and Armthorpe where I grew up. As you approach Armthorpe there's the only conker (horse chestnut) tree for miles. It was still there, looking just the same as 30 years ago which is a miracle considering it gets battered to death each conker season by the youth of two villages trying to bring the conkers down.

The bridle path becomes Mere Lane as it enters Armthorpe. All of my schools from being 5 to 17 are in Mere Lane. I ran past my first class room where in 1963 I joined my first class with teacher Miss Darby complete with Dusty Spingfield hairdo and horn rimmed glasses. Behind the infants is the junior school where I was once chased across the school field by a herd of bullocks that had broken through the fence. I'd been to bottom of the field to get twigs to make model wigwams. I screamed my way across the field hearing the stampeding bullocks behind me while the whole school watched me through the windows. Hhheeeeeelllllppppp!!!!

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Good old Mere Lane Stores is still there. Memories of sherbet flying saucers and liquorice twigs. The chipshop where fish and chips used to cost 9d (about 4p in 'new' money) is now a chinese takeaway.

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I ran across the crossroads by the police station where my dad was knocked off his bike by a milk float of all things breaking his collar bone, then past the high school where a uncanny number of teachers had names relating to their subjects. We really did have a music teacher called Mr Tune, an English teacher called Mr Shakespear and a geography teacher called Mr Ireland to name a few.

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Out onto Church Street I passed the graveyard where my dad's mother's parents are buried along side their daughter Peggy who died of a brain tumour aged 13 years. Behind the church was the coal mine where I spent a couple of years underground, training to be a mechanical engineer. It's now a housing estate thanks to Maggie T.
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Round the corner to my mother's house on Barton Lane. Barton is, coincidently, the surname of Vicky's young man Tom. A fine young man (especially if he's reading this. Hi Tom). They met at the wrap party for Hyperdrive. That's them in the top photo. If you missed the first series of Hyperdrive then catch the second out this autumn. It's like a cross between the Royal Navy and Red Dwarf.

In the afternoon we called in to see Tony's wife Max and the kids. Young Marcus who was born in the middle of Tony's illness has shot up into a lovely cheerful little toddler (who keeps walking into the camera when you're trying to take his picture) and Eve is now a very chatty young lady and jigsaw expert. Lovely kids and a tribute to Tony and Max.

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A good weekend by any standard.