its sunday morning here in old portishead, the rain is pouring down and i feel about as useful as a non catholic nun in a brothel. still i'm back at work tomorrow ready in anticipatin of the annual christmas rush and i can't wait for it to get some over time done (thats just inevitable at this time of year) and to get some semblence of routine in to my life. its amazing how having one week off can recharge your batteries and get you away from the drudgery of nine til five or in my case six til two. by the time i've had my run today i will have done approximately 66 miles this week plus a 43 mile bike ride to priddy and back, which is right at the top of the mendips, which i really enjoyed in the cold and wet, thos mendip hills as martin greenwood correctly pointed out have a real reputation in the cycling fraternity, because some of them are steep, and it is a bleak desolate landscape up there, nothing for miles and miles apart from maybe four or five houses and zero shops or pubs. oh and the mendip race way that me and my brother used to frequent when we were much younger, for banger racing.
so the route i took for the ride was portishead-clevedon then along the b3133 to langford, then up the b3134 up rwoberry hill to priddy, before turning right towards cheddar down the famous cheddar gorge really strong headwind, then back to langford over shipham hill before going back the way i came.
thursday i did a quality session of a hilly 4 x 1.1 miles when i was averaging about 6:30 per rep around eastwood in portishead one of my favourite running places because its just so quiet and peaceful and you have the sound of the waves crashing on to the beach which adds to the atmosphere
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Saturday, 21 November 2009
a first for me
for once in my life i, in preparation for the big event next year (the marathon) i am learning to plan things in advance. it will be an 18 week programme based on the marathon preparation programmes that are usually published in the running magazines for the january editions. i will be having a couple of easy weeks in the new year to ensure that i don't peak too early for the big day and end up blowing a gasket half way through the race or some thing. i think we all know some one who's done that but that was due to being under trained (severely). i wont embarass the person concerned by mentioning the name scott roberts, but his hamstring has allegedly been playing up ever since that day
for my long runs to try and relieve some of the tedium that some times comes with them i will be trying to do a different course for every single one of them, i've got various courses around places like kingston seymour, yatton and a few other local places planned. as far as the dietings concerned my weight is down to 83kgs at the minute, prompting the usual questions that athletes often get asked by people who know nothing about sport like 'are you anorexic?' or 'are you eating properly?' please don't ask those because it does my head in frankly but thanks for your concern.
not bothering with a long run tomorrow, will do a 10k time trial around portishead. had originally planned the swindon 10k and had offered to meet up with martin greenwood for the race, but its just as well as my cars packed in so the logistics would be rather difficult. the old mountain bike is ok for local trips and the odd jaunt out of old portishead but swindon is just a bit too far. saving every penny at the minute with xmas just around the corner needing a new car and i also want a new racing bike as i want to do some cycling after the marathon next year to save the wear and tear on my body and also because i think i might do well with it. i've been cycling too and from work, and that huge steep hill that i live at the top of is quite a test even for some one like me who is relatively fit
for my long runs to try and relieve some of the tedium that some times comes with them i will be trying to do a different course for every single one of them, i've got various courses around places like kingston seymour, yatton and a few other local places planned. as far as the dietings concerned my weight is down to 83kgs at the minute, prompting the usual questions that athletes often get asked by people who know nothing about sport like 'are you anorexic?' or 'are you eating properly?' please don't ask those because it does my head in frankly but thanks for your concern.
not bothering with a long run tomorrow, will do a 10k time trial around portishead. had originally planned the swindon 10k and had offered to meet up with martin greenwood for the race, but its just as well as my cars packed in so the logistics would be rather difficult. the old mountain bike is ok for local trips and the odd jaunt out of old portishead but swindon is just a bit too far. saving every penny at the minute with xmas just around the corner needing a new car and i also want a new racing bike as i want to do some cycling after the marathon next year to save the wear and tear on my body and also because i think i might do well with it. i've been cycling too and from work, and that huge steep hill that i live at the top of is quite a test even for some one like me who is relatively fit
Saturday, 7 November 2009
the royal victoria park 4 miles
i have just done this famous local race around the royal victoria park in bath near the world famous royal crescent, a 5 lap course around the park that is quite hilly and undulating. parts of it are reasonably steep to run up and no part of the course is flat, your always either on a up hill or a down hill. i spent most of the morning trying to find the registration tent warming up and trying desperately hard to go to the toilet so i didnt get caught short in the race. so thats three things i tried to do and i only succeeded in two of them. by the end of the second lap i was, shall we say close to "using the bushes" or "doing a paula", but hold on i did manage to do just about, but add about 400 yards to the race distance at the end for a quick go in the toilet. cue a time of 24:46 at the end which was quicker than i expected given the nature of the course but it was exactly 100 seconds outside my best from nigh on 2 years ago at clevedon on boxing day. i still feel though that come the may bank holiday next year i will be running a sub 3 hour marathon in edinburgh.
the situation at work has calmed down somewhat although we're a long long way from resolving the dispute, they now have a frame work for talks on the changes that we all agree are necessary to make royal mail a modern efficient and successful business, but both the local and national strike ballots are still in place but it is now agreed that all industrial action is now suspended until january. the union were caught between a rock and a hard place really because this could actuallly prolong the dispute more than is necessary if they don't come to some sort of agreement, but the impact to other people notably those whose businesses rely on the royal mail at this time of year for xmas presents etc would have been huge. the cost to my self may be greater in the long run, but i can afford to lose a days pay here and there, but preferably not over christmas, but the cost to customers could have sent them in to irreversible decline, so on balance probably the right decision. i've had a copy of the interim agreement emailed to me and really it's only a frame work for talks but at least brendan barber and the tuc have given them a frame work with which they can move forward in unison, but it will be interesting to see whether pigson, crony and mandy actually stick to their side of the agreements fully for once and not just when it suits them. the next two months will be both challenging and interesting for royal mail and the communications workers union
the situation at work has calmed down somewhat although we're a long long way from resolving the dispute, they now have a frame work for talks on the changes that we all agree are necessary to make royal mail a modern efficient and successful business, but both the local and national strike ballots are still in place but it is now agreed that all industrial action is now suspended until january. the union were caught between a rock and a hard place really because this could actuallly prolong the dispute more than is necessary if they don't come to some sort of agreement, but the impact to other people notably those whose businesses rely on the royal mail at this time of year for xmas presents etc would have been huge. the cost to my self may be greater in the long run, but i can afford to lose a days pay here and there, but preferably not over christmas, but the cost to customers could have sent them in to irreversible decline, so on balance probably the right decision. i've had a copy of the interim agreement emailed to me and really it's only a frame work for talks but at least brendan barber and the tuc have given them a frame work with which they can move forward in unison, but it will be interesting to see whether pigson, crony and mandy actually stick to their side of the agreements fully for once and not just when it suits them. the next two months will be both challenging and interesting for royal mail and the communications workers union
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