SportsShoes Blog

Well I had my scan and have got the all clear as far as a stress fracture goes which is great news. This means i can now get back on the excercising and fitness work. If it had been a stress fracture al i could have done was rest really until it had healed as they can hang around for a long time unless it heals properly. I’ve now got a course of Physio to do and have lots of excercises to help strengthen the weak muscles in my lower left back. Hopefully i can keep on with the excercises and get my back sorted and pain free before proper training and nets start again in January. I am starting running as of Monday so ill be blogging on that and letting you know how it goes!!

Hey how about this for a dandy shoe and sock combo…..

Pretty ghastly huh?

Well yes I’d agree but never mind what they look like, they both work a treat.

The shoes are Nike’s new Zoom Skylon and I had second thoughts about buying them, not just because I thought everyone would take the p*** out of me because of the colour but also as they hardly have any rubber on the outsole and I thought they’d wear out in a flash. However I’ve had them a couple of months now and done quite a few road miles in them and I have to say nobody has laughed at them - in fact I’ve had some admiring glances from my running pals!! More importantly, my worry about wear appears to be unfounded. The rubber that does exist on the outsole is perfectly positioned to take all the major impact so where the spongy phylon hits the floor it’s only acting as a support rather than having to resist abrasion.

I use neutral shoes so these have no medial support. They feel very well cushioned without being at all squidgy. I reckon the best thing you can say about a shoe is that you never think about it when you wear it - they just do what they’re supposed to do.

The real reason I bought them was because they’re so light - I wanted to elliminate any excuses so when I come home last I know it’s all down to me and not my equipment!!!

So far these shoes have been perfect - perhaps the best road shoes I’ve ever had.

As for the socks - wow they’re crazy aren’t they? I think the designers at Thorlo must have been having a laugh. Either that or their purchasing people got a great deal on some hideous coloured cloth!!! These are their brand new Experia running socks designed to offer protection exactly where it’s needed and very little in between.

I’ve used them on a good few road runs now and think they’re fine. They fit very well and again you don’t notice them when you’re running. I’ve not done long distance in them (only up to 10 miles) but I’ve not had a hint of a blister or any rubbing. As you may know I’m a bit of a Thorlo fan but my summary of these is that whilst they are as good as other running socks I’ve used they’re not really any better. I’d still use Thorlo Trail for anything extreme but will continue to use these for road training and dog jogging.

JI have ust come back from a break off the bike and so I’m getting back into it again now. Went to the gym last Thursday and absoloutly died!! Apart from that I’m just doing easy riding at the moment as I don’t have any competitions for a while.  The weather’s pretty bad at the moment - typically it was lovely weather during my week off! I tried to go for a run to make the most of the weather but only managed 20 minutes and had aching joints for 4 days afterwards! I should be hearing pretty soon about whether I’ve got a place on the Olympic Academy Programme which I applied for at the end of August! Fingers crossed!

Trainings been pretty stop-start recently. I had my end of season break after the Europeans then got back on the bike, then picked up a cold, tried to train through it and it got worse etc etc! Im using Vicks first defence at the moment though and that seems to be really helpful - as soon as I feel slightly under the weather I start using it and *touch wood* seems to be doing the trick!

I found out about a month ago that I’ve been accepted on to British Cycling’s Academy Programme for U23’s! This has been my aim all year and it means that, when my A Levels are finished in July, that I can go full time as a cyclist It also means other things such as new bikes, so I have to leave my sponsor this year of BH -  they are great bikes and I would definitely recommend them. Also I will be going on the Athlete Whereabouts System…meaning that soon, testers will be knocking on my door at 6am!

I’m going up to Manchester this weekend for a few days on the track before my next competition, the Revolution meeting on 15th.  Other than that it’s going to be pretty quiet competition-wise for the next couple of months.

Better go… Need to get out training in that lovely winter weather!

I had a reasonable run today at Shepherds Skyline although I didn’t feel that great until the last couple of miles.

I came in 27th out of 360 starters so not too bad I guess although on a good day I would like to think I could have been a minute or so quicker.

Results here : http://www.todharriers.co.uk/shepherds_skyline/skylineres2008.htm

I am currently competing in the above event. unfortunately a day before the event started i got food poisioning so wasn’t in the best condition. I played Neil Hitchens in the 1st round and somehow won 11-8 in the fifth. I’ll never Know how I won that match! Unfortunately, this match plus not eating for 2 days took has taken its toll on me and consequently I lost 1/4s in 3 to another englishman Tom Pashley.

 Very frustrating as I had higher expectations.. not to worry.

 Next is the kenya Open which kicks off in Nairobi on wednesday..

Tuesday speed session went OK - warm up, a few strides then 12 x 1min efforts in hideous weather - the meat feast pizza that followed made up for it though!

Wednesday - can’t remember what I did!!! Sign of age I guess but I think next year for the 1st time I’m going to keep a training diary.

Thursday - busy day - dog walk, bike to work, bike home, 1 hour hard with Harriers, walk dog - that’s not a bad day’s training is it - all fitted neatly around family and work.

Friday - nowt but 2 dog walks

Saturday - took the dog out then took my eldest son to cricket practise - he was training at Benton Park school with 3 Yorkshire team players. As a none crickiter myself I didn’t recognise their faces or names but they seemed like very nice chaps and Max really enjoyed it. Whilst he was playing I went for an hour on my singlespeed over Otley Chevin and found a bunch of trails in Chevin Forest Park - must explore further. On my way back I also found a really smart BMX track at Yeadon tarn - I had a quick ride round on my Kona MTB but oh to be 14 again on my Pirahna with Cro-mo aero forks and Skyway Tuff2 wheels (sorry just reminiscing for a sec).

This afternoon, the good lady and the kids have gone to the Cubs Gang Show - thankfully I got the job of looking after the dog so we went for a big walk over the moors. She loved it and must have done at least twice the distance I did so she’s now fast asleep - here’s a pic of KIMM on the wiley windy moors.

We’re going to an 80s night tonight - it’ll be either hillarious or dreadful - can’t decide which. Got my bleached 501s, denim jacket, white Tshirt and Ray-Bans at the ready - bring it on!!!

Had a tough match Versus yesterday, going down in 4!! after winning the first 11-7 a drop on intensity saw the match go level at 1set each. the 3rd was anyones with Miguel putting 2 good rallies together to close it 11-9. the 4th was nip and tuck all the way. Saved a couple of match balls but wasn’t quite enough as went down 13-11. There were 1 or 2 erorrs at crucial times and this was the difference but have learned alot and picked up some good ranking point.

Next stop , Nairobi , Kenya!!

Just come back from my long weekend in Manchester. It was really good to see all the other riders again and speak to them after their success at Manchester World Cup! We did a group road ride on Monday morning for a couple of hours that included a steep cobbled hill..it was the moutain bikers that took us up there! In the afternoon it was time to go over to the track for a bit of an induction talk and to collect new kit! On Tuesday we were up at 6 and left at 7 to ride to the track for an 8am track session.  It was strange being back on the track but it was a good session.  The others did madison training and me and Jess Allen did some rotating stuff behind the motorbike.  After that it was back to the flats for a quick lunch and a cuppa before riding over to the EIS for a biomechanical analysis.  This involved being filmed from different angles on my bike either riding normally or doing a 30 second effort.  This data will then be checked to see that there’s nothing weird going on position-wise on the bike! After that it was time to head on back home! It was really good to spend time with the other academy riders but a bit of a pain having to be back for school on Wednesday morning!

Zoomed to work on the singlespeed yesterday - it’s amazing how great it feels to be out in the cold and wet if you’re geared up for it.

Right now it’s blowing a gale and raining outside and it’s only the fact that I know there’ll be a bunch of other nutters on the training field in half an hour that’s stopping me tucking into my meat feast pizza right now!!!

An hour of pain laden speed session awaits - best go dig out my spikes.

Oh and here’s a shot of me in my official blogging jacket….