SportsShoes Blog

we started off 9th seeds and in our group we had poland, czech rep, hungary and gibraltar. we topped the group relativly comfortable and drew spain in the playoffs.
 
losing the opening ties 3-0 and 3-2 but winning the next 3-0 it came down to my match and id to win 3-1 at worst. had a slow start losing the 1st 11-1 but snook the 2nd in a tiebreak which gave me the momentum and won the next 2 11-3 11-4..
 
we played Scotland next, which was a really tight match again. We lost the opening matches 3-0 and 3-1 but securing the next 2 ties 3-1 and I won 3-0. With the match tied on matches and sets it went down to points and we lost by 3!
 
In the final match we played Finland and again it went on points countback but this time we managed to win by 8 points.
 
7th overall which wasn’t bad but we were aiming for 5th. The main thing though was to secure a place in the top 8 for next years event. Personally it went quite well as i won 7 matches out of 7 and a stretch of 11 unbeaten matches wearing the irish shirt..

21/09/09

Well I’ve now moved into my new flat in Manchester and I’m back into track training for a competition in Barcelona later on this week! After Trophee d’Or stage race I flew back home for a 12 day break from the bike! I was pretty busy, seeing friends and family, shopping, going out etc.  I also went to Barcelona for a 3 day holiday, it was really nice to get a bit of sun and see the sights! I’m sure my next experience of Barcelona will be a bit different though, a lot less lazing around in the sun and eating tapas and a lot more hard work!!

I’m really enjoying being back on the bike though and getting back on the track.  I’m sharing the flat with another cyclist, Dani King at the moment until the other girls get back from the World Road Race Champs in Mendrisio.  It’s really nice, situated in the student area of Fallowfield, Manchester.  It’s pretty busy around Fallowfield at the moment as its Freshers Week- we’ve stayed away though- don’t want to be catching any freshers flu!

Training on the track has been pretty mixed really, on some sessions I’ve felt quite good and on others, terrible! I guess it’ll take a while for my legs to adjust to riding the track again and get used to pace judgement necessary for individual and team pursuiting. I’m going through the motions though and hoping I’ll be able to do a decent time for the 3k individual pursuit in Barcelona.

I’ve been getting in the miles on the road after the National Senior Track Champs. The Nationals went really well, I came away with 3 silver medals and 1 bronze and a new PB for the 3k pursuit, 3.43.3

After then it was back on the road for a 24 hour week of road and rollers! My new flatmate Katie had moved in so we did some really good rides, occasionally getting lost as we explored! One particular 5 hour ride turned into a 6 hour epic where we only just got back before it got dark!!

We’ve also been doing quite a bit of test work at the moment, with ramp tests, skinfold measurements and submaximal power tests at the EIS, with the aim being to repeat them in 6 weeks time to test for specific improvements.

This year whilst I’ve done plenty of interesting fell races my big challenges have been on the bike (the Fred Whitton and La Marmotte) and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed both these events I feel I’ve missed out on a good running challenge.

So, to make up for it I’ve entered the West Highland Way (WHW) race in June 2010 - 95 miles from Milngavie near Glasgow to Fort William in the highlands.

I’ve known about this race for years and thought about doing it a few times but never actually got round to entering. It must have been fate as the other day the WHW popped into my mind for no apparent reason and I thought I’d take a look to see when entries opened. I accessed the site and found that I was bang in the middle of the entry window so after a quick check on family holiday commitments I took the plunge and sent of my application.

I’ve not yet had my entry confirmed but as they’ve increased numbers to 175 this year and I have all the required entry qualifications (previous experience of races over 65km) I’m pretty sure of a place.

This race is a little unusual as you need a support crew of at least 2 people and to make things even more difficult one of them has to be capable of running the last 2 sections with you should the need arise.

A quick text to my pals Steve and Robin and the team sheet was complete. These are two chaps that I’ve been through a lot with (sleeping on the summit of Scafell Pike and in a cow barn under a foil blanket to name but two) and they both understand long distance running. Steve has done the tour du Mont Blanc race and run the UK coast to coast solo in 3 days and Robin and I did the 3 Peaks yacht race together in 2008. Together we’ll make a great team.

So, how do you run a 95 mile race? Well, a lot of it is in the mind so in addition to putting in the miles, my first and most important task is to get the race fixed in my head. Just like Linford Christie used to visualise himself crossing the finish line in first place (after 9 and a bit seconds) I’m picturing myself trotting into Fort William - hopefully in time to beat last orders - and hopefully inside 24 hours (the cut off is 36).

I’ve already planned a few interesting training runs for next year that will build me up to the big day in June and will tell you more about these in due course.

Tomorrow its just a steady 2 hour+ run around Ikley Moor - this can be hard enough so as I said earlier I need to get my mind round carrying on for another 20+ hours…..with enough jelly babies and flat coke anything’s possible!!!

The Shepherds Skyline runs from the Shepherds Rest pub on the hillside above Todmorden and is a real classic fell race - 6 and a bit miles long with an uphill start then a long run along the skyline (believe it or not) to Stoodly Pike monument. From here you drop down a steep hillside to London Road before turning and pulling right back up to the skyline and retracing your route to the finish.

I’ve done the race a few times and really enjoy it and this year I was even more motivated to run well as my lads, wife and dog all stayed to watch.

More than that, both my boys ran in the junior races before the senior race and both did brilliantly so the pressure was really on dad to perform!!

The junior races at Shepherds are fantastic - proper fell courses even for the Under 8s - which I think is superb. The looks on the faces of the kids who ran proved to me that given the chance to get muddy, wet and tired - THEY LOVE IT.

My youngest son ran in the Under 10 race which featured a long steady climb from the start followed by a sharp descent into a stream then a hands and knees scramble back up to the highest point of the course before a plunge down the hill to the finish. As an under 10 Ben had to complete the lap twice and showed real determination and commitment to come home in 4th place. He also had his friend Jack with him who raced around the course to finish a very creditable 10th place - well done to both of you!! 

Max then ran in the Under 12s race which started in the same way but then after the steep downhill they had another serious climb straight back up the moor before dropping down and looping round to the finish. Max did exceptionally well especially as he was up against the under 14s who ran the same course. His sprint finish (which he won by a nose) was superb - but what was even better was that the lad he beat came straight over and shook his hand - a true sporting gent!!

My race also went well and I felt strong all the way around finishing in 14th place out of 263 starters. Full results here http://www.todharriers.co.uk/shepherds_skyline/skylineres2009.htm

No racing next week as it’s the second weekend of my Fell & Mountain Running Coaching Course.

Just in case any of you are interested (and to remind me for next year) here’s a listing of the kit I took on this year’s OMM 2 day mountain marathon :-

Inov8 X-talon 212 shoes (worked a treat once again!!)

Thorlo Trail socks

Hummel leggings

Hummel base layer

Ron Hill Gilet

Montane DT waterproof jacket

Buff

Karrimor KIMM Sack Rucksac - 25litre - with shoulder bottle holder and 600ml bottle - emergency whistle - Silva compass

Alpkit 400 down sleeping bag in dry bag

Trangia Pan (small) - lighter - matches - coleman F1 stove - coleman 100gm gas cannister - pan handle - titanium spork - Life Systems pocket first aid kit inc spare batteries, swiss army knife and Ibuprofen.

Day 2 clothing - Nike leggings, Under-armour short sleeve base layer - Endura arm warmers - buff - gloves (not used) - all day 2 clothing packed in sealable sandwich bags

Wild Country Solace Inner tent + poles (partner carried outer and pegs)

Food - tea bags - pork pie - brown sauce - pot noodle - Mountain House Spag Bol - cup-a-soup (not used) - cashew nuts - porridge with sultanas and coffee-mate!! - 2xSnickers - 2xBrunch bars - 2xZipvit power bars - dried apricots - peanut butter sarnies - bottle of Ben Nevis Whisky (small!!)

Waterproof bottoms (not used)

Alpkit headtorch

Survival bag

Sleeping mat cut down to 3/4 length and width trimmed to fit in rucsac.

All equipment packed in to a bin liner inside the sleep mat.

As always the first time you pull on the pack it feels quite heavy but after a few minutes you get used to it……