Tuesday night I did a speed session.
1 mile warm up jog from home to the woods then a few strides (4 short sprints to get the muscles ready) followed by 6 x 3 min efforts around and offroad circuit with a 1 min jog recovery.
Actually the fast lads were doing the laps in 3 mins mine were more like 3.15 to 3.30. I really need to work on my speed as I felt like a cart horse.
Well its about time England broke a record for something! The Test team has been unchanged in 6 Tests which is a new world record!Its about time we had some consistancy, they have a had a revolving door selection policy for years. So many conty players have 1 or 2 England caps its a joke. The Aussies did not have the world beating team they had for 10 years by getting rid of you as soon as you have a bad innings or get a bit of tap when your bowling. They had about 13 or 14 playrs that made up their test team for years and look how good they are! Admittedly it isnt all about keeping the same team, they’ve had some awesome players, but they knew where they stood. They didnt have to worry about getting 100′sand 5 wicket hauls to stay in the team. In England if you werent ripping the heart out of the opposition straight away that was it, you were out. And they brought in someone who was playing well at county level, and most of the time they struggled. The step up is a big one, and when your expected to make waves thats alot of pressure to handle. So im all for a this new found consistancy in selection, it helps with team spirit, confidence and gives players faith in their management.
Lets see if we can survive a battering from South Africas nasty fastys. The most hostile bowling line up in the world apparently, it should make for an interesting summer!
Well I’ve given my 320s some stick now so I thought I’d let you have my thoughts.
Firstly they are a very good looking and comfy shoe with no pinch points or loose areas that can rub and cause blisters. Like other Inov 8s they also have a very roomy toebox (area around the toes) which I really like as it prevents the loss of toenails when doing long descents.
The lacing system is simple but effective and the laces themselves are good at staying tied.
The cushioning is good – perhaps a little too good for a trail shoe – but Inov 8 would argue that the 315 is there if you want less cushion.
The tread pattern is fantastic for off-road use – just nice simple blocks that stay clear in all but the worst of clag.
On the downside, they do tend to feel a bit heavy when wet and don’t appear to dry as quickly as a 315. More of a worry is their performance on wet rock where you have to be REALLY careful on certain rock types (particularly that found on Scafell!!!). The boffins at Inov 8 need to get their thinking caps on here and develop a compound that wears well but prevents the wearer looking like a pig on stilts whenever the floor’s wet.
Overall, I think they’re a great shoe capable of handling anything from long road runs to ultra distance trail runs to fell races that are predominantly track based (pure fell needs a lower profile stud such as a Walsh).
My last piece of advise would be to make sure you don’t buy a size that’s too small – I would always advocate going up a half size rather than down if ever you’re unsure.
Trying to get some routine back into my training now.
Did an hour and ten mins yesterday on the local fells and did a quick 35mins after work tonight. Boy is it wet on those hills – must be summer!!
I feel I need to work on my hill climbing ability which I know means only one thing – Hard Work!!
I plan to re-introduce some structured hill sessions and speed work into my weekly schedule to regain my previous short race form.
Well, things aren’t going too well at the moment. We got hammered at the weekend! Some awfull batting led to a spectacular collapse and we lost by 100 runs.
On the plus side my bowling is looking really good at the moment, my run up feels much better and im getting it in the right areas again. I took a yard of pace of my run up which has helped get me into a rythm again, and i was getting the ball to move about a fair bit, in the air and off the seam, which has given me some confidence back.
Started doing more coaching now and I have been working on batting with the kids, they’re picking it up quite fast but they know how to frustrate me, trying to get them to keep it down on the floor is a nightmare. They all want to hit sixes like Kevin Pieterson
Well I’m back at home after our epic adventure.
What a week that’s been.
After our very quick start, we had a major problem in the Irish sea at 1.30am Monday morning when we blew out 2 sails – (the main and the kite for any sailors out there). The kite went under the boat and the sailors had to recover it in a big big sea – those are brave lads who really worked their butts off for us runners.
This lost us a lot of time but we eventually got to Fort William and Rob and I ran the Ben to bring the team home in 9th overall. We were a little dissappointed after our ‘storming’ start but after a beer or two we all agreed that as it was a first time out for all of us a top ten finish in one of the toughest adventure races in the UK is not too bad!
I’m now very tired and very smelly so it’s in the bath and then off to bed.
More soon…..
last week saw me finish my first 3 week block of summer training. it finished off with a cople of track sessions, some plyometrics, long CV sessions and plenty of court work. had a 3 day rest to recover and unwinded a little bit and having an easier goin week this week. with more power , shorter work being done to have me moving sharply for the italian open next week..
This is mental torture – only a few miles from Fort William but not a breath of wind – sailors are wrecked, no sleep for 35 hours – We just want to get to get off and on the hill.
Shoulders and triceps ladt night. Had the weekend off again, really bad, i need to stick to this routine, it’s 8 weeks till holiday!
I did:
4 sets of clean and press
4 sets of lateral raises
4 sets of reverse flyes
4 sets of arnold presses.
then:
4 sets of narrow dips
4 sets of tricep push downs.
However, feel bad with myself as i drove to work again today and didn’t cycle… need to be more strict with myself.
had some good pitta breads and tuna today so am ready for a big session tonight.
james
Loading ...