After passing all the tests (though I'm not sure exactly what these were) I have finally been allowed contributor privileges on the WFDBWGUA blog. All I had to do was come up with a user name and, after much deliberation, I remembered the telling off I got from Kev (KLM) on our last trip to Darwen Tower when I was complaining about getting lost and he said 'you're never lost, just temporarily misplaced' and decided that would be a great user name. It's now my user name on this blog too as it uses the same one.
I made my first post on the blog last night asking if anyone was 'UTUPing' tomorrow which means 'usual time, usual place'. KLM replied that he was and so I got up this beautiful sunny morning and went to the UP at the UT. Colin (CW) also turned up, having already run a couple of miles from his car, followed shortly by Gordon (t'Y) who turned up just as we were about to leave. I'm wondering now how Ed got the nickname 'the unready' and not Gordon?
We set off and headed up to the top barn, the pigeon tower car park and then along through the woods to Dangerous Corner. On the way from Dangerous Corner to the turn off to head over to Spitlers, Gordon decided to have a race with some road riders and got so carried away that he went straight past our turn off and didn't hear us calling for him to come back. Eventually he turned round though and we all ran down towards Higher Hempshaws. Shortly afterwards CW left us and headed off towards Lead Mines Clough and the rest of us continued to Spitlers before dropping down to Piccadilly on Belmont Road.
We crossed the road and took the path through the woods past Hollinshead Hall, coming out onto Tockholes Road, then crossing over and heading towards Darwen Tower.
We split off at this point, with KLM and me taking the low route past New Barn Farm which then goes up very sharply via Aggie's Staircase, and t'Y taking the route which gradually climbs up. It was quite well timed as we all ended up at the top of Aggie's at around the same time and then carried on along to the Tower. Despite being pretty tired at this point, having just climbed up Aggie's, we climbed the stairs to the top of the tower as, to be honest, it would be rude not to.
After having a photo shoot at the top of the tower (hopefully I'll get the pics of t'Y and add them later on), we set off back down again and took the route t'Y had taken up. I was quite surprised by this route as there still seemed to be a lot of uphill sections on it, even though we were heading back downhill. Odd.
We crossed back over Tockholes Road and made our way back through the woods to Piccadilly. We took a different route back and headed up to the top of Great Hill. I haven't been up that side of Great Hill before and it's quite a steep trek compared to going up the other ways.
From Great Hill, we went over to Round Loaf, again splitting up to take different routes to see which was best. t'Y and I took a more southerly route and KLM more northerly. There wasn't really anything in it distance wise as we all joined at the same point at the same time.
From Round Loaf we dropped down to the Bomber Memorial and then into Lead Mines Clough. We then headed up the Sheep House Lane a little bit, before turning off on the right through the fields to Dean Wood House. We followed Dean Brook, went up the steps, through the field and out to the stocks at Rivington before heading back to the car park.
We bumped into John Coope just before arriving at the car park, who had been out for a walk and he followed us back to the cars where we had a quick chat and a stretch before heading home.
To get some of the place names stated above, I've been studying my OS map of the area and I'm now getting all anxious that there are so many footpaths on there which I haven't ventured along yet and I'm wondering how I can fit them all in, there just aren't enough hours in the day. I just want to explore and try not to get too 'temporarily misplaced'.
Run Stats:
Weather = great!
Company = great!
Route = great!
Overall = great!
Total Distance - 14.3 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/147599443
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Friday, 30 May 2014
Fartleking Around
Before I get to today's blog, here's a very quick lesson in Swedish for those of you not familiar with the word 'Fartlek' - it means 'speed play'.
I'm working from home today so went out for a nice early run on my own (for anyone who's thinking I'm not doing much work if I'm typing this - it's lunch time, I'm allowed a break!). Duncan dropped me off on the road to Belmont and I set off through 'Old Rachels'. I hadn't actually set out to do any kind of session, just have a nice run, but I was feeling pretty good so decided that after a mile warm up, I'd do a bit of speed work.
It was such a beautiful morning and I was too busy admiring the scenery that I actually missed getting to the one mile mark (even though my watch not only beeps but vibrates too!) so it was a bit further than a mile before I started speeding up. Because I didn't want to spent time looking at my watch and I hadn't set it to a structured training session before I set off, I decided to just fartlek and not stick to any distances/times. I just set myself some points to run fast to and then allowed myself a little break when I got there and continued doing this for four miles.
From Old Rachel's I headed along the path all the way to Lead Mines Clough. There were lots of sheep with lambs along the path and, after my incident a few weeks ago, I must admit I was a bit scared. Most of them ran away before I got near them but there were the odd few which stood glaring at me until the last minute and then ran away which put me a bit on edge as I felt like they were going to come and butt me!
I then ran through Lead Mines Clough and out towards Yarrow Reservoir, before heading down to the bowling club and following the reservoir back towards home. It was such a relief when my watch beeped at me for five miles and I could slow down as I was really exhausted by this point. My mile cool down run home was painfully slow but I felt really drained. It felt great though and I wish I could remember this feeling as I always dread sessions like this and forget that they actually make me feel really good when they're finished. I suppose it's the opposite of the child birth thing people keep telling me - you forget the pain. In this case, I forget the elation!
On looking at Strava, the majority of my run was downhill but I'm still really pleased with how well I was doing as quite often I looked at my watch and I was doing a 6.45 minute mile pace and quite comfortable (my best race pace is 7.45 minute mile).
Anyway, back to work now :(
Total distance - 6 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/147179080/overview
I'm working from home today so went out for a nice early run on my own (for anyone who's thinking I'm not doing much work if I'm typing this - it's lunch time, I'm allowed a break!). Duncan dropped me off on the road to Belmont and I set off through 'Old Rachels'. I hadn't actually set out to do any kind of session, just have a nice run, but I was feeling pretty good so decided that after a mile warm up, I'd do a bit of speed work.
It was such a beautiful morning and I was too busy admiring the scenery that I actually missed getting to the one mile mark (even though my watch not only beeps but vibrates too!) so it was a bit further than a mile before I started speeding up. Because I didn't want to spent time looking at my watch and I hadn't set it to a structured training session before I set off, I decided to just fartlek and not stick to any distances/times. I just set myself some points to run fast to and then allowed myself a little break when I got there and continued doing this for four miles.
From Old Rachel's I headed along the path all the way to Lead Mines Clough. There were lots of sheep with lambs along the path and, after my incident a few weeks ago, I must admit I was a bit scared. Most of them ran away before I got near them but there were the odd few which stood glaring at me until the last minute and then ran away which put me a bit on edge as I felt like they were going to come and butt me!
I then ran through Lead Mines Clough and out towards Yarrow Reservoir, before heading down to the bowling club and following the reservoir back towards home. It was such a relief when my watch beeped at me for five miles and I could slow down as I was really exhausted by this point. My mile cool down run home was painfully slow but I felt really drained. It felt great though and I wish I could remember this feeling as I always dread sessions like this and forget that they actually make me feel really good when they're finished. I suppose it's the opposite of the child birth thing people keep telling me - you forget the pain. In this case, I forget the elation!
On looking at Strava, the majority of my run was downhill but I'm still really pleased with how well I was doing as quite often I looked at my watch and I was doing a 6.45 minute mile pace and quite comfortable (my best race pace is 7.45 minute mile).
Anyway, back to work now :(
Total distance - 6 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/147179080/overview
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Flies!
A slow trot with Ruby around Rivington was the order of the day after another hard day at work. They all seem to be like that at the minute so it was nice to release the stress with a leisurely run.
We set off and headed down to the school, then along to the top barn. We came out onto Sheephouse Lane and ran down to the stocks and through the kissing gate across the road, down the steps and along Dean Brook. We then ran up to Yarrow Reservoir and then down onto Knowsley Road and along The Street back to Rivington.
We then made our way home through Rivington via Liverpool Castle.
The run was pretty uneventful except that about a mile from home a massive fly flew up my nose and I had to stop to blast it out which was pretty disgusting really. Only seconds later, another fly went into my right eye, and then shortly after that, one flew into my left eye! Nice! At least none went in my mouth today though.
Total distance - 6.35 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/146597234
We set off and headed down to the school, then along to the top barn. We came out onto Sheephouse Lane and ran down to the stocks and through the kissing gate across the road, down the steps and along Dean Brook. We then ran up to Yarrow Reservoir and then down onto Knowsley Road and along The Street back to Rivington.
We then made our way home through Rivington via Liverpool Castle.
The run was pretty uneventful except that about a mile from home a massive fly flew up my nose and I had to stop to blast it out which was pretty disgusting really. Only seconds later, another fly went into my right eye, and then shortly after that, one flew into my left eye! Nice! At least none went in my mouth today though.
Total distance - 6.35 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/146597234
Monday, 26 May 2014
Sunny Run with Ruby
Duncan went out on a bike ride with his mate, Nige, this morning so I set off for a run with Ruby at the same time. We all headed straight up the continuation of Brownlow Road towards Wylderswood Stud. I left the boys when we got to the bottom of Wilderswood though as I went up through the wood and they stayed on the path which goes off to the left up to George's Lane. I came out onto George's Lane and headed off towards the Pike, thinking that I would bump into them as they emerged onto George's Lane but I didn't. I carried on along and ran up the Pike where I got chatting to a mountain biker on the top. A bit later I saw Duncan and Nige riding along George's Lane passing the Pike so I decided to run down my favourite bit and try to catch them up.
I managed to catch up to them at the Pigeon Tower so stopped for a discussion on what routes we were taking next. I decided to run along Belmont Road and then head up the diagonal to the mast. I'm not entirely sure what they decided to do as Duncan couldn't make his mind up so I just left them there.
I got to the diagonal where a couple of lads and a girl were doing reps so I stopped for a chat with them and they said they were training for the Three Peaks Challenge in July. Good luck guys! I think I Saw Duncan and Nige down on Belmont Road at this point, but I'm not sure and carried on up the diagonal. Needless to say, as I had stopped for a while I ended up 5 minutes slower than my Strava PB although I don't think I would have beaten it anyway as I was feeling a bit lethargic this morning.
Once onto the mast road I headed down and, just after the mast, turned off to the right to head cross-country to Two Lads. From there we ran down the west (?) side to come out on the bend of George's Lane. I really tried to beat my Strava PB on this bit again but have uploaded my results and am way off. I think I stopped too early at the bottom as I stopped at the kissing gate but the segment on Strava seems to go on a bit further. I also had to dodge my way around two horses just before the kissing gate too as they were right on the path and I didn't fancy getting that close to their back ends in case they decided to give me a swift kick. I also had to yell at Ruby to get her away from them before she got a hoof in the face.
We then headed down the path which Duncan and Nige had come up earlier and takes you back down to Brownlow Road.
It was a lovely morning for a run out on the tops and I had Ruby off the lead almost the entire time which was great.
A bit of a chill now and then off to be in the audience of 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in a couple of hours. Can't wait!
Total distance - 7 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/145711409
I managed to catch up to them at the Pigeon Tower so stopped for a discussion on what routes we were taking next. I decided to run along Belmont Road and then head up the diagonal to the mast. I'm not entirely sure what they decided to do as Duncan couldn't make his mind up so I just left them there.
I got to the diagonal where a couple of lads and a girl were doing reps so I stopped for a chat with them and they said they were training for the Three Peaks Challenge in July. Good luck guys! I think I Saw Duncan and Nige down on Belmont Road at this point, but I'm not sure and carried on up the diagonal. Needless to say, as I had stopped for a while I ended up 5 minutes slower than my Strava PB although I don't think I would have beaten it anyway as I was feeling a bit lethargic this morning.
Once onto the mast road I headed down and, just after the mast, turned off to the right to head cross-country to Two Lads. From there we ran down the west (?) side to come out on the bend of George's Lane. I really tried to beat my Strava PB on this bit again but have uploaded my results and am way off. I think I stopped too early at the bottom as I stopped at the kissing gate but the segment on Strava seems to go on a bit further. I also had to dodge my way around two horses just before the kissing gate too as they were right on the path and I didn't fancy getting that close to their back ends in case they decided to give me a swift kick. I also had to yell at Ruby to get her away from them before she got a hoof in the face.
We then headed down the path which Duncan and Nige had come up earlier and takes you back down to Brownlow Road.
It was a lovely morning for a run out on the tops and I had Ruby off the lead almost the entire time which was great.
A bit of a chill now and then off to be in the audience of 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in a couple of hours. Can't wait!
Total distance - 7 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/145711409
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Feeling Weary
I went out reasonably early this morning to try to get a run in before the heavens were due to open.
I went out on my own for an easy come back from foot pain run round Rivington. From home I headed down to the school and then along to the castle, where I then skirted the edge of the reservoir along to the prep school. I was really tired, just wasn't feeling it at all, probably because I haven't done much running at all in the past two weeks due to 'crunchy' foot.
I carried on to the bowling club and then started to head out towards Lead Mines Clough. It really was a struggle running up that slight incline along the side of Yarrow Reservoir but I carried on regardless. Once I got to the gate to Lead Mines Clough I decided to turn round and head back to Rivvy. At least it was mostly downhill now so that was a relief.
Once I got to Rivvy, Duncan was there playing ball with Ruby so I decided to call it a day at that point and get a lift back home. Hopefully tomorrow's run will be a bit better.
Total distance - 5.2 miles
Week's total distance - Approx 9.2 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/145711410
I went out on my own for an easy come back from foot pain run round Rivington. From home I headed down to the school and then along to the castle, where I then skirted the edge of the reservoir along to the prep school. I was really tired, just wasn't feeling it at all, probably because I haven't done much running at all in the past two weeks due to 'crunchy' foot.
I carried on to the bowling club and then started to head out towards Lead Mines Clough. It really was a struggle running up that slight incline along the side of Yarrow Reservoir but I carried on regardless. Once I got to the gate to Lead Mines Clough I decided to turn round and head back to Rivvy. At least it was mostly downhill now so that was a relief.
Once I got to Rivvy, Duncan was there playing ball with Ruby so I decided to call it a day at that point and get a lift back home. Hopefully tomorrow's run will be a bit better.
Total distance - 5.2 miles
Week's total distance - Approx 9.2 miles
http://www.strava.com/activities/145711410
Friday, 23 May 2014
(Foot) pain free running!
Yippee! Just went for a very leisurely run around Rivington with Ruby but I'm happy to report that there was no foot pain whatsoever. We only did around two miles (not sure exactly as I forgot my Garmin) but that was enough for Ruby as she's not feeling it lately. She starts off well but then after a while I feel like I'm just dragging her along. I think it's too hot for her. I wonder whether I should take her for a hair cut?
Hopefully I'll be able to get some longer runs in over the long weekend without the pain coming back.
Total distance - 2 miles (ish)
Hopefully I'll be able to get some longer runs in over the long weekend without the pain coming back.
Total distance - 2 miles (ish)
Monday, 19 May 2014
What a Pig!
Yesterday was the Bupa Manchester 10k. I never run this race as it's not my bag at all. Firstly it's a road race, secondly there are WAY too many runners in it and thirdly HOW MUCH TO ENTER?!?!?!? There's no way in the world I would pay £40 for a race where the t-shirt you get isn't even technical. To add insult to injury I noticed the other day that they charge a whopping £26 for a race photo after the event! What???? Are you serious???
For the past four years I have helped out with the race though, with Tony and Brenda. We are always 'pushers' meaning that we stand between the finish line and the water/chip collection/goodie bag pickup, with the aim being to keep the runners moving so that the finish area doesn't clog up. Runners were dropping like flies this year due to the heat and the lack of proper hydration so I did a lot of running around finding medics and escorting runners back to their family and friends.
Despite my dislike of this money making race, I do really enjoy helping out on the day and it's a really good atmosphere.
The best bit about the day though has to be all the free food! You get a free lunch and as many free cakes and pastries as you can eat which I obviously took as a personal challenge. I can't help it, if there's free cakes then I'm there and I feel like I'm missing out if I don't try them all. I can't believe I'm going to tell this to the world but, during the day this is what I ate:
50g Porridge with syrup
Mini pain au chocolat
Choc chip muffin
Chicken sandwiches
Chocolate wafer bar
2 x bags of drumstick sweets
Bag of crisps
Choc chunk cookie
White choc chunk cookie
3 x homemade crunchie cupcakes
Sausage pasta
Pint cider
2 x cheese, chutney and salad barms
Utterly disgraceful! There is probably over 4000 calories in that lot and, seeing as I haven't run since Monday, there really is no excuse for my glutinous behavior.
In a bid to ease my guilt I tried a run tonight with Ruby to see if my foot was any better. It wasn't. I managed two miles before admitting defeat and meeting Duncan at Rivington Bowling club for a drink instead.
Total distance - 2 miles.
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