Arthur 2 Times

That’s the name of the MTB route Duncan and I decided to do today, starting at a little village called Cilcain near Mold in North Wales.

I wanted to do a ‘moderate’ MTB route but am loathe to go to trail centres because, as with fell running, I do this sport to get away from the crowds so why would I want to go to a trail centre full of people? I want to be in the great outdoors on natural terrain, not on purpose built trails.
　

Arthur 2 Times is all on bridleways and with the odd bit of C road and is around 18 miles long with around 2,500 feet of ascent.
　

After parking in the village, the route then climbs up the road before arriving at a bridleway and then makes its way along into forests. The weather was lovely today and the bridleway was full of fallen leaves, which crumpled under our tyres.
　

One of the things I enjoy about mountain biking, again like fell running, is that there’s no shame in stopping for photo opportunities. With road running and road riding, it’s just relentless forward motion with the aim of just getting where you’re going as quickly as you can but with mountain biking, it’s much more leisurely and relaxing.
　

With that in mind, there were plentiful stops of admiring and photographing the scenery, as well as food stops, brake pad changing stops and puncture stops.

This is where mountain biking is inferior to fell running – there’s so much faffage involved. With fell running, or any running, you just get your shoes on and off you go but with mountain biking there’s lots of messing about before hand getting everything together, oiling your bike chain, checking the tyres etc. If you’re not riding from home you have to mess about putting your bike onto the bike rack. Then there’s dealing with any mechanical breakdowns out on the trail and washing your bike off when you get back home.

　
The other problem with my new hobby of mountain biking is that if I want to do it with Duncan, where does that leave Ruby dog? I was sent a video the other day of a doggy backpack which fits a dog about the size of ruby is and you strap her to your back with her paws on your shoulder, which looks ace but I’m not sure Ruby would enjoy that and also, what happens if you fall off? Thankfully, we have the lovely Dawn and Dan to look after Ruby for us (although I am a little concerned that one day I may return to pick her up only to find they have left the country with her). However, we would be very bad parents if we kept fobbing our dog off on other people all the time so I might have to find somebody else to ride without, although they would have to be either very patient or equally as useless!
　

Anyway, back to the ride…

　
Whilst the majority was on easy bridleways there were a few gnarly (well, to me anyway, not so much to Duncan) descents, one of which saw me having an ‘unintentional dismount’ resulting in me coming down quite heavily on my cross bar. Thank goodness I’m not a man!

　
The climbs were tough too. I don’t know whether I have lost fitness in the last couple of months or whether my new bike isn’t as good at climbing as my crappy old bike, but Duncan was way ahead of me which, in all honesty, upset me a little. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way towards Duncan it’s just that I should be much fitter than he is so I couldn’t get my head round why I couldn’t climb the hills, especially as I had done so well at it the first time I went out a couple of months back. I wasn’t even breaking a sweat back then, wasn’t in the easiest gear and wasn’t out of breath. It was a doddle. But today, and the last couple of times I have been out, I’ve been finding it really hard work. It could also be due to the fact that on all these times I have struggled, I have done a lot of other exercise on the lead up to it, for example yesterday I did a very tough S&C workout in the morning which has made my hamstrings ache like mad and I followed that with a six mile run, the second half of which was at a decent speed. I also did a spin class on Friday night and ran on Thursday night and, at the minute, that is quite a lot for me.

　
Duncan did suggest that I raise my seat a little which might help and he started quoting studies at me about how a slight increase in seat height can give a 10% power increase or something like that. He has been insisting I raise my seat for ages now but I don’t like the feeling of not being able to touch the ground at all. At the minute, I can only just touch the ground with the very tip of my toes but Duncan wanted to raise it so I couldn’t touch it at all. Eventually, I relented and let him raise it and I actually think he might have been right. It did feel a bit better. However by this point, some 15 miles into our ride, I was already incredibly tired so I’m not sure just how helpful it was and will have to see next time I go out and am feeling fresh.

　
About three miles from the end of our ride, a group of mountain bikers that we had earlier been chatting to said they were going a different way back into Cilcain and Duncan fancied going that way too because it looked quite gnarly. I didn’t want to though and so, for the first time in ten years of Garmin ownership, I actually used the ‘back to start’ function on my watch. It’s amazing! The route we did involved going out for a few miles, then doing a loop and then coming back in those same few miles and as I was past the loop point by now, the way back was the same as the way out. I used the watch and every so often it would beep and vibrate on my wrist and display ‘turn approaching’ which I thought was great. Small things eh? I’m going to buy a cheap mount for it now so I can put it onto my handlebars which will make it easier than being on my wrist.

　
Duncan changed his mind about going the other way back. He made out it was because he was being chivalrous and not wanting to leave me on my own but I don’t buy that because the last few miles were all downhill and he left me for dust so I didn’t see him at all until I was back at the van.
　

There was a little café/shop where we had parked in the village and, even though we needed to get back as we were going out for a meal for my mum‘s birthday, Duncan insisted that no MTB ride could end without a coffee.
　

Really enjoyed the day out and now that I have discovered how great my Garmin is, I’m looking forward to programming routes into it for me to follow so I can go out on my own a bit more.

　
Total distance – 17.6 miles

On a Whim

On the way home from my strength and conditioning one to one session this morning, I was driving along Horrobin Lane when I saw John Coope, Hazel and Nicole running towards me.  On a whim I decided to pull over and have a little jog out with them, seeing as I was already in athletic gear and had some time to kill.

I ran along The Street with them and then towards the Yew Tree and along to the bridleway at Healey Nab.

Part way along the bridleway, there is a public footpath sign on the right which goes into a field. I've never been along this path before, but believed it led out to the bend near Watermans Cottage where all the steps are so I decided to give it a go and I left John and the girls there as they continued on to White Coppice.

It was lovely to have their company for the first few miles and I'm really glad I saw them rather than just driving home and slobbing out on the couch.

The 'new' track was lovely, if a little on the muddy and slippery side.  It was a nice little trail through woodland skirting Anglezarke Reservoir.  When I uploaded to Strava later on, the only one of my friends who has done the route before (or at least Strava'd it) was Adrian H so it doesn't look like it's a route many people do.

At the end of the trail, I followed the road past Watermans Cottage and then turned right after it, through the woods on the other side of Anglezarke.

I then followed the Anglezarke trail out onto the road and then ran along and up the 'cascade' towards Yarrow Reservoir.  From there, I just ran back down to the van on Horrobin Lane, had a quick stretch and drove home.

P.S. No foot pain!

Total distance - 6.1 miles

Pooped!

I went out for a plod at lunchtime today.  My aim was to just run along to the top barn and back.

To say it was an easy plod, it felt like a lot of hard work.  My legs felt like they needed a good oiling to make them work properly, probably due to the pasting Dave gave me at the gym yesterday.

My feet felt fine though and when I got back home, I had an e-mail waiting for me from my healthcare people who are now making me an appointment with a consultant to discuss my options.  It's weird at the minute because there is so little pain left, but there is a dull ache and a feeling that all isn't well but I'm in a kind of limbo land of not knowing what to do about it.  Hopefully this consultant will have dealt with MTP synovitis before and know what he/she's doing.  I really hope so because so far I feel like I haven't had any helpful advice from anyone.

Total distance - 4.15 miles 

Fitness Assessment # 3

As you probably know, I have been doing some strength and conditioning training for the past few months.  I started with a fitness assessment, then did six weeks of training followed by a second fitness assessment where I had improved considerably.  I was then set a further six week programme and, at the end of that, we decided not to do a further assessment because my progress had been so good the last time.  I therefore started my next six week programme and that ended on Saturday.

I had an appointment at Sportesse this morning for what I thought was the first session of my new six week programme but, when I got there, I found that I was having another fitness assessment.  Oh no!  Ah well, I'm just glad that I didn't have time to worry about it beforehand.

I went through all the tests again and had improved again on almost everything.  My squat was now as good as it was possible to get as I could get all the way down.  On my first assessment, I only got to a 90 degree angle. My stride had also increased again and I was able to do more press ups and plank for longer.  There were other tests too which I had improved on and I must remember to ask Dave for a copy so that I can post my results on here.

The only tests I was worse on were:

- I didn't manage to stand on one leg with my eyes closed for as long.

- My sit to stand wasn't as good.  I managed to get to the bottom step but didn't manage to get up whilst holding weights (last time, on my right foot I got up whilst holding a stone in weight).  I think the reason for this though is that my quads have been really tight recently from the mountain biking.

- My VO2 max test on the rowing machine wasn't as good.  This isn't much of a problem though as my cardio work has decreased more and more the past few months since stopping running so I can't expect great results here.  I also hadn't really eaten this morning as my house was devoid of food so I probably didn't have enough energy for a VO2 max test.

All in all though, it was really positive and I'm now looking forward to starting my next six week programme.

Bring it on!

Improving on the MTB

Duncan and I went out on the bikes this morning but I made sure he didn't take me on any silly routes this time and that we stayed relatively gentle so that I could practice my new found skills.

We rode along to the school then to Liverpool Castle and then followed the reservoir along to the prep school.  From there, we rode to the bowling club and turned down the track towards Yarrow Reservoir.

We then continued on into Lead Mines Clough and I had to face that big climb up towards Jepsons Gate.  I did better this time than I had last time (last time I accidentally changed into a harder gear rather than an easier one and ended up stopping dead and not being able to get moving again) but I still didn't quite make it to the gate.  I was less than ten metres away from it though so was really mad at myself for not making it.  If at first you don't succeed, try try try again! 

On the other side of the gate, it is still quite a climb but, legs now incredibly tired, I managed to make it to the top of that one.

We came out at Jepsons Gate and rode down the road to Watermans Cottage.  We then headed into White Coppice and, just before arriving at the cricket club, bumped into Adrian H and Echo out for a run so we stopped for a natter before continuing on our way through the cricket club and up the road.  At the top of the hill we turned left along the road and then right into the bridleway along Healey Nab.  I'm not ready yet to go onto the mountain bike single track trails there so we just continued along the bridleway coming out onto Back Lane.

We rode along to the Yew Tree and then up the 'cascade' back towards Yarrow.  It was tough climbing the cascade but I managed it OK.

We then rode back to the bowling club and along past the side of the prep school, turning left after it and heading up to the road.  We crossed the road and then went up the track onto the path which comes out behind the high school and then we just went home via dog poo alley.

Whilst I was much faster on the descents today, due to my increase in confidence, I was pretty tired and finding the climbs particularly difficult.  They felt harder than they had done when I did practically the same route a few weeks ago.  I have been doing a lot in the past few days though, including my longest run in five months yesterday so I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  I'm just going to concentrate on the positives - I wasn't squeezing my brakes for dear life all the time and felt much more in control on the descents.

Total distance 12.3 miles 

Good Morning Winter Hill, It's Been a While

The pain in my feet has largely gone away now, however I do get occasional dull aches and my second to on my right foot is still numb and tingling.  Even though there is very little pain, I'm aware that there is still a problem.  It's quite difficult to describe but the best I can do is to say that they don't feel very 'well oiled'.

Still, I've reached a point where I just want to get back out running again so have decided to just go out a couple of times a week for short distances relatively slowly.

Usually on a Saturday morning I go to the gym to do my strength and conditioning workout but I did that yesterday and so decided that I'd meet the WFDBWGUA lot this morning and get back up onto the hill.

At the UTUP were EtU and TLoB.  We set off and headed towards the top barn then up through the terraced gardens out onto George's Lane.  We had walked the majority of this but I decided that I wanted to keep the promise I made to myself a few years back of never walking up the Pike.

On the way up, we bumped into Dave J and Charlie-dog who were out for a morning jaunt.  A short natter later and we carried on up to the Pike and I'm pleased to say that I did make it all the way up and my toes didn't seem to give me any grief (I usually feel the pain most when running uphill on my toes).

I decided to rein myself in on the descent and take it nice and slowly mostly because my Hoka trail shoes have absolutely appalling grip on them.  I wonder whether they'll ever make a fell shoe?

At the bottom of the Pike, we ran into Lindsey B and Andy S.  Lindsey was saying she was knackered but I think her achievement in the past few months is absolutely massive.  That girl really is a machine!

After a chat, we carried on along to the kennels then up to Two Lads.  From there, we headed over to the mast, but took the road route rather than the wet route.  Even though I ran it all, it was tough going and my legs felt like lead.

We carried on round to the trig point (I didn't go up to the trig with the others though as I didn't fancy sliding around in my useless shoes and so stayed on the tarmac).

We then ran down the diagonal and I don't think I have ever descended it so slowly.  Again, partially due to my shoes - not only have they got very poor grip but they aren't overly tight around my ankle and so I found my foot slipping around in them - but also because, if I'm completely and utterly honest, I'm scared!  I'm scared of overdoing it and hurting my foot again.  The pain I felt on that day out with John when my foot problems came to a head is not something I ever want to repeat.  It's the most painful thing that's ever happened to me.

At the bottom of the diagonal, I decided to head back as I didn't want to do too much too soon and so I left the others to carry on along towards Hordern Stoops.  I ran along a bit and then hopped over the stile and went down through the plantation to the bridge near Dangerous Corner.  I then carried on to the pigeon tower car park, along to the top barn and then back down to the bottom barn.

I really enjoyed myself this morning and it was great to be back out and with good company.  Thanks for the company guys!

As I'm sat typing this, my big toe on my left foot is throbbing a little but, other than that, I haven't had any problems during or since running.  Fingers crossed...

Total distance - 6.5 miles

Secondary to Primary

Having struggled to fit in any exercise lately due to work, I was determined to do something today, even if just a short run... which is exactly what I did.

I ran from home for the first time in five months and headed down to Rivington & Blackrod School. I then ran along to Liverpool Castle and followed the reservoir towards Go Ape.  I realised that I was feeling really good and running well, although as in previous posts, I probably shouldn't be going well at the minute and should just be plodding during my recovery.  Ah well, I knew I wasn't going very far so what's the worst that can happen.

I finished my run by the prep school where Duncan was walking Ruby and gave me a lift back home.

On uploading my Strava later on, I found that I actually had my second fastest (out of 27) time on the segment 'secondary to primary'.  Oops, probably went faster than I should have done!

Total distance - 2.2 miles