SportsShoes Blog

Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet recently - I’ve been so busy trying to get ready for my weekend in the Alps.

Following my thrashing at the Millennium Way realy I felt really rubbish for a week and had a very stiff left hip which I spent some time getting moving again. Then the weekend after the relay I did my last longish bike ride before La Marmotte which was a 77 mile tour of the dales. To say my run the weekend before was so bad, my bike ride felt great and I only stopped once during the whole ride and that was just for 5 mins to chat to my pal Robin in Skipton.

Should you be interested, my route is here :  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2948158

It’s a great route which takes in some fantastic scenery whilst managing to stay away from busy roads - the climb out the back of Settle is a tad on the cheeky side though….

The following week was quite steady and I was plagued again with tight hips and hamstrings - I think it’s the strain placed on the muscles when they’re asked to switch from biking to running and back to biking again. What I’ve found is that if I stretch the problem disappears - how often is that the case!! Whenever we go to the physio, all they tell you to do is stretch more but I’m as guilty as the next person and quickly become lazy when it comes to post race / training stretching routines.

Last Saturday it was the local village gala and I ran in the Eldwick Fell race which is a great little race organised by Bingley Harriers. The weather brought the crowds to the gala and we managed a record entry for the race with 114 starters - I managed 12th place which I was quite pleased with as I only decided to run a couple of hours before the start.

On Sunday night, I took my mountain bike out for a quick spin - I think it’s the first time I’ve rode my full suss Marin Mount Vision this year and to be honest I’d forgotten how much fun it can be. I was only out for an hour but had a blast charging round the local woods and moors like a big kid…note to self - must do it again soon.

This week I’m concentrating on resting ready for Saturday. When I did the Fred Whitton a few weeks ago I trained every day before the race and felt tired right from the start. I don’t want to feel the same this weekend so I’m having a VERY easy week and even reducing my dog jogs to steady walks.

We leave for France on Thursday and then have Friday to rebuild the bikes, eat and chill out ready for the big day on Saturday.

La Marmotte is a 112 mile sportive race around the alps taking in the famous Tour du France climbs of Glandon, Telegraph, Galibier and Alpe d’Huez.

Before the final climb there’s a 40 km down hill section which is preceded by a 35 km climb!! I can’t even imagine how this is going to feel as we just don’t have those sort of  roads here in the UK.

I hope we get the weather as my intention is to try and enjoy the ride and soak up the scenery. 112 miles in fog and rain over some of the toughest passes in Europe would be little fun!!

I’ll be back next week with a full report.

A

I’m back from Cardiff after winning the Super 8 women’s 1500m there. The Super 8 concept is such a great idea and definitely must be the way forward for league athletics.

I was there representing Sheffield, being my nearest city. Eight cities competed against each other, London South were the winners and Sheffield finished 4th. Next year the plan is to have 4 meetings making up the league. Very Exciting! The only damper was a certain sports brand pulling their athletes because of the Super 8 meeting having their own brand. Hopefully this can be sorted for next year!

So just a run with a couple of surges in on Thursday an easy run Friday morning and some drills then off to Watford Saturday to race in the BMC (British Milers Club) meeting over 800m. Very excited about setting PB in the 800m, my first one of the season. The BMC meet will be my 3rd race in 7 days. Been really good to do this as preperation if I get selected for the Worlds because I could potentially have 3 races over 5 days!

Ok well I will let you all know how I go at Watford! Wish me luck. x

Well here goes, my first ever blog entry!

I’m sat in yet another hotel room in Cardiff getting ready to compete tomorrow night in the Super 8 meeting. I’ve just returned back from Poland where I competed in the 1500m at the 55th Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meeting and ran a lifetime best of 4.05.06 , the World Champs A Qualifying time! Woo Hoo, I knocked nearly 3 secs off! What a relief. Feels great to have the qualifying time in the bag and all I need to concentrate on now is getting in that top 3 at the trials in July and I’m on the plane to Berlin!

I was in the SportsShoes shop just before I left for Poland and purchased the Skins half shorts and I love them! Felt great to race in! I also got a new pair of the Saucony Triumphs, which I also love! The cushioing is just the best. I raced in the Saucony Endorphin MD spikes and they are fast! Really get you up on your toes and also have great cushioning.

Ok, well I’ll be on again soon to let you know how I go in the Super 8 meet. Look out for me on Sky Sports 2 Friday night showing the highlights! I’m the one who will hopefully be winning with the big curly hair!

Charlene x

On Sunday I ran leg 2 of the Bradford Millennium Way Relay for Bingley Harriers with my mate Jamie Robinson. Well I say mate - he used to be until he reduced me to a pathetic, jibbering wreck by whooping my feeble butt all the way round the 10 mile route from Oxenhope to Laycock - I was blowing and in trouble at Bronte Bridge which is only about 1.5 miles in….

Actually I got exactly what I knew I’d get as Jamie is running really well at the minute and I feel a bit off form but non the less it’s never fun watching your partner bounce off into the distance as you keeping tripping over your own tongue.

We took over in 6th position from our friends Steve and James who ran leg one and we managed to claw back a couple of places over the course of our leg but because of me we lost time to the three faster teams in front of us.

Thankfully we had some strong pairs further round the course and by the end of the race we were in 2nd place overall about 4 minutes down on the winners Pudsey and Bramley.

I was really disappointed with my performance at the weekend and don’t know what to blame. In all honesty I think it’s simply a lack of quality training and reduced running mileage. In trying to get bike fit for the Marmotte cycle race I’ve had to drop the long runs and spend more time in the saddle. This appears to have had a negative effect on my running, particularly my climbing ability, and I wonder if it’s because the muscles are being asked to work differently in each discipline.

After Sunday’s race I’ve had a really sore hip which I think might be a bit of stiffness in my IT band - so I’ve been rolling around on the floor with a tennis ball massaging my hip (great little trick taught to me by the physios at Carnegie Sports College). I had a complete rest on Monday and then tried a speed session tonight which seemed to go quite well - this is what I need to do more of to regain my speed.

I am entered to run this weekend’s English Championship race at Tebay but I think I might use the time to put in one last big road ride before the Alps.

Tomorrow it’s the Millennium Way Relay - a 50 mile off road route that goes from Bingley over Oxenhope, Oakworth, Laycock, Steeton, Silsden, Addingham, Ilkley, Baildon and back to Bingley.

The course is split into 5 legs and each leg is completed by 2 runners.

I’m running leg 2 for Bingley with my mate Jamie Robinson. We have a reasonably strong team in the event this year so I hope I can do OK but I’m a little worried as Jamie is running much better than me right now so I think he’s going to run me into the ground (he’s looking forward to it as I killed him in the Calderdale Way relay a couple of years ago).

Our leg is 10 miles long and goes from Marsh near Oxenhope over Bronte Bridge then out to Laycock via Oakworth and Goose Eye. It’s a real up and down affair and the finish is truly awful as it’s a quarter mile of very steep tarmac hell to the handover so everyone will see us (well me at least) at our very worst as we cross the line and pass the baton to our leg 3 team mates.

Jamie and I recced it a couple of weeks ago and it was very wet. It should have dried out a bit now but I think I’ll still use my inov8 X-talons.

This week in prep, I’ve done very little just my 20 min runs in the morning and a 3 mile race (very low tempo) with my kids on Tuesday night. Then a steady hour on the road bike today.

I’ll be back soon to let you know how we got on……..

Last week and into this I’ve had the longest break from action for as long as I can remember. I did a whole 8 days, Tuesday to Tuesday, without running or biking - I did however have a bit of a swim in the Med but it wasn’t exactly serious as me and my boys had a ’silliest entry’ competition which I reckon I won with my ‘front somersault butt splash’.

I thought the break might have done me good but when I got back and tried to train I felt like a lead weight rather than a springy fully rested athlete. I’m not convinced munching pizzas and guzzling beer while sitting on the balcony watching the world go by is what you’d class as quality training. Oh well, at least I only do it for a week - some folks live their whole lives like that.

Anyway it’s back to business now and after cycling to work on Wednesday I ran with my dog Thursday morning then did a hard run Thursday night with the guys at Bingley Harriers. As is always the case - on the night when I’d have settled for a steady hour, Robin (a close friend of mine who is a fantastic athlete and far quicker than me) was up for a blast. He took four of us on a hilly off road 10 miler around Bingley and St Ives and I was definitely the wooden leg of the team hanging on to the back of the bunch with my tongue trailing on the ground.

Friday morning my legs felt as stiff as a very stiff board but I still managed to hobble my way around my dog jog which I think helped the recovery process.

This morning, despite the lovely British summer weather (cold, rain and wind) I did what the Tri freternity call a BRICK or a ‘bike run session’. Not really sure why they call it a brick - perhaps triathletes aren’t too great at spelling (maybe I’m perfectly suited to the sport….!!).

I did 1 hour on the bike at reasonable intensity then jumped off, stripped off a couple of layers, put on my trainers and shackled the dog before heading out for a quick 20 min run through the woods.

I’m starting to use my HRM a bit more now and today’s sesh used 1300 Cals of energy over 1 hr 20 mins with an average of 153 (85%) and a max 0f 172 (96%). I’m not entirely sure what to do with the data yet but everyone seems to swear by heart rate training so I think I’ll give it another try.

Just 4 weeks to La Marmotte in the Alps so I need to try and get some more long bike rides in but next weekend it’s the Millennium way realy where I’m running leg 2 for Bingley with my pal Jamie so my biking might get curtailed.

Tonight we’re off to a 70’s Fancy Dress Disco - photo to follow…..

Now if you’ve read my earlier postings you’ll know that a) I have an ambition to do an Ironman and b) I’ve recently entered the Ilkley Triathlon.

Now the Ilkley race is to the Ironman what  a walk in the park is to the Ultratrail Tour Du Mont Blanc. The run for example is just 3 miles compared to the full marathon and the bike is a 10 mile sprint rather than a 112 mile slog but here’s my real problem - the Ilkley swim is just 500 meters (in a nice clean, warm pool) compared to the 2.4 mile swim in icy open water - sounds easy doesn’t it. Well yes - until you try.

I took my kids to the pool today and thought I’d have a bash at this swimming lark - how hard can 500 meters be I thought - after all I got my 1500 meters badge when I was at middle school - and there my friends is my problem, whilst I can still swim (they say it’s like riding a bike or falling off a log or something) it’s yonks since I’ve tried to actually keep going for a distance of more than around 10 yards…

I think the Ilkley pool is 25 meters so through the application of some complex mathematics I reckon I’m going to have to do 20 lengths - 20 lenghths!!! - I was blowing after 20 flailing strokes of my arms today. Suddenly 500 meters seems a very long way…..

Oh well, as you know I like a challenge so I’m determined to stick at it and turn myself in to Bingley’s answer to the ‘Thorpedo’ over the next few months.

Hi everyone,

Apologies for being slack on my blogging recently but my training has really taken a back seat of late and i’m very disappointed in myself. It seems to have been one injury after another.

First my neck, then my back then my wrist and so on! makes me wonder whether keeping fit is good for your health! haha.

Anyways, I had a good session back last night on my chest and triceps. Bit tight in the back today but that is to be expected i guess.

Just got back from a week in the lake district and did a lot of walking which seems to have been a good kick start to my summer regime ( although no point as it is such RUBBISH weather at the moment, so much for the promise of a good summer ).

Going again tonight, going to try and have a workout on my shoulders, i’ll let you all know if they hold up tomorrow.

James.

The Lakeland Hundred takes place on 31^st July 1^st and 2^nd of August.

Competitors set off at 7.30pm on Friday and have 40 hours to complete the course.

The race route starts and finishes in Coniston Cumbria, circling the outer reaches of the national park.

The route avoids the high fells but with 100 miles and over 20,000ft of ascent, it is certainly not to be taken lightly. To put it into perspective, four times around the route of “The Three Peaks,” would be four miles shorter and take in 2000ft less climbing.

Taking part in such a long event brings with it many different kinds of running related problems.

Obviously there is the distance, the time spent on your feet. Should you sleep or not. Running in the dark and how to best navigate at night. What and when to eat and drink. The best kit for the job and how to transport that kit around. Finally for me the killer….how to avoid what I term as…. “The Archimedes Principle”

Wikepedia describes Archimedes as a mathematician and philosopher, and tells us he is his famous for making a startling discovery. Now we are supposed to believe that as he lowered himself into his bath, he suddenly realised that his weight, placed in the water, caused the water level to rise. So thrilled with this realisation was he that he jumped up shouting, “Eureka – I have it” This does seem a bit obvious and I think as usual, history has a slightly distorted view of things. It’s my belief that his moment of enlightenment was for a different and more painful reason. Was Archimedes a long distance runner?

Running, whilst requiring physical effort, could not really be described as a contact sport. Long distance running is a whole different kettle of fish. How often have you seen marathon runners with a blooded vest because they forgot to cover their nipples? Ultra distance running is even more open to this heavy body contact. Running 100 miles with a ruc-sack or bumbag brings pain in places you did not know you had. Add to that what can best be described as the sanding of your nether regions that no amount of Vasaline will prevent, and you are ready to discover what our Philosopher friend had on his mind. Only then, after your first really long run will you make a startling discovery of your own. As you gingerly lower yourself into your bath water, you will discover the true meaning of the Philosophers cry “Eureka I have it ”.

Chuffing Chaffing = the Archimedes Principle.

As I mentioned in a previous post I’ve thought for a few years that one day I’d like to have a go at an ironman - I think it’s a supreme test of the human body and completing one, in whatever time, is in my opinion a fantastic achievement.

Well this week I’ve taken one (very) small step closer to my dream by signing up for the Ilkley Triathlon. Where an Ironman is a 2.4 mile open water swim followed by a 112 mile bike and then a full marathon, the Ilkley race is a 500 meter pool swim, a 10 mile bike and a 3 mile run - so, whilst it is a triathlon, it’s not really in the same league - but, as they say - from small acorns grow mighty oaks……we must all start somewhere.

I did think about the Ironman last week when I did the Fred and towards the end I was asking myself if I could jump off the bike and knock out a quick marathon - I’m afraid the answer I got back was a resounding “No way don’t be so stupid!!”

Anyway I think the Ilkley Tri might prove a tad easier but having said that it must be more than 10 years ago that I actually swam 500 meters in one go so I better dig out my speedos and learn how to swim.

This week following the Fred last Sunday I’ve been really tired. Having thought about my performance last week I think I went into the race with insufficient rest and the race itself finished me off. In the week prior to the race I trained every day (twice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and although it was all low intensity stuff I think it was a mistake.

This week, I had a bit of tendonitis in my achilles so I had Monday off then dog jogged each day, plus a cycle to work on Wednesday and a steady hour’s run on Wednesday night.

This morning I did a 25 min run with the dog then a 1hr 20 mins bike at reasonable effort. My plan is to train quite hard next week and then take a week off to let everything get back into shape.

There’s loads of great races between now and my trip to the Alps in July, some of which I may try and do, but I really need to get as many bike miles in my legs as possible before I attack the Alpe d’Huez.