SportsShoes Blog

had a tough match earlier with Chris Gordon, US no2 and world 66. lost the first game 11-8 but made him work pretty hard to win it. upped the pace a little in the second. got an early lead and maintained it right the way through to tie at 1 game all. as the match went on i was seeing the ball vetter and hitting good length. holding him and working him and in the end won 8-11 11-4 11-7 11-1 in 88min.. tough match tomorrow againt Daryl Selby ranked 35..

In Chicago at the moment competing in the above evnt. amazing city and venue. court is built outdoors on the main avenue. great exposre for the game and players. first round went under way today. played dutch international Bart Ravelli and won comfortably in 3 , 11-1 11-2 11-5. have USA no.2 and world 66 tomorow so should prove a tougher test.. looking forward

So I decided late Saturday to race the Sedbergh Hills race on Sunday. This is a serious AL fell race at 14 miles and 6000ft of climb. (AL or A Long is an FRA grade which measures height gained and distance and the system goes from CS to AL). Sedbergh is in the Howgills above the Dales and to the right of the Lakes and it’s an area I’ve never really visited. I’ve heard a lot about the race and was quite keen to give it a shot as, if nothing else, it would give me some decent climbing practise before the Ben. As I didn’t know the course and I’d trained all week before the race (including Saturday) I decided to simply treat it as a long training run - which is exactly what it turned out to be. I ran with my pal Andrew Jebb (brother of the fell running supremo Rob) for the first half of the race but had no option but to let him go after checkpoint 4 as he was simply too strong for me on the long climb up to ‘The Calf’.

I managed to perform a bit of a crowd pleasing comedy tumble on a track about half way round which resulted in a badly sprained and bruised thumb! Not the most common of fell running injuries….

Anyway, I really enjoyed the race despite blowing quite badly between checkpoint 5 and 6 and having to eat almost all my emergency rations (SIS Go Gel, chocolate raisins and a brunch bar - didn’t need my ‘break wax in case of emergency’ babybell though - that’s in there to fend off cramp should it rear its ugly head)- now I know the route I think I’ll be back for more next year.

Had a rest Monday, although the old legs didn’t feel too bad, and then tonight went for another hour on the roadie - my how my 3 Peaks traning is really coming on!!! Oh and by the way I was wrong in my earlier post it was 16.5 mph avereage not 17.5 - I’m even more rubbish on a bike than I thought I was.

Thursday night it’s the Bingley Harriers backpack run from Beckfoot School to the pubs in Ilkley - this started off as a crazy stunt amongst a few of us but has turned into quite a tradition - full report soon.

Anyway - anyone see the Olympic triathlon this morning? - what about the Bingley Harrier leading from the front until 2.5km out - a fantastic performance by Alistair Brownlee - he’s my tip for the top in 2012 (oh and his brother Johnathon for silver!!)

I’m just going to write a quick post today on how to perform a deadlift correctly. When i look around the gym i see so many people doing it incorrectly and always want to tell them how to do it but i’m not one of those people … you know the kind, the guy who is pure beef who feels it is his mission to tell you every exercise you are performing wrong. First time you see it as helpful but after a while it’s like “dude, leave me alone!”.

Anyway, here is a good video i found which may help with your deadlift form:

I did these this morning, feel great!

James

Here’s how my week after a big lakes race looks (I’d like to know what the top lads do in comparison) :-

Sunday was very much a recovery day from the race and the beer!! Early to bed Sunday night ready for the week ahead.

Monday - walk with the dog first thing (she’s only a pup so no running yet but as she’s a border collie she’ll be helping my fittness regime next year). Then a very steady 40 mins trot home from work and an even steadier cycle back with my son to rescue the car.

Tuesday - 50 min run afetr work - not feeling too bad on the flat and downs but no steam on the hills. My iPod phones finally conked out tonight - I guess they just got fed up of being filled with sweat and rain….

Wednesday - rest

Thursday - felt OK so joined the lads at the club for a blast. I hung on with the fast boys for an hour of fast(ish) hills but then my wheels came off and the weekend really started to show its teeth. I had to let them go and trot the last couple of miles back at my pace.

Friday - quick spin out on the MTB with my son - his technical skills are really coming on well now and he’s starting to appreciate that there’s more to MTB riding than just blasting downhill.

Think I’ll do a couple of hours run tomorrow then we’re off to Dalby Forrest on Sunday to let my son have his first taste of a trail centre - he’ll love it!! 

I’ve more or less fully recovered from my hamstring strain. Last few  weeks have been pretty tedious with rehab etc… but mentally refreshed and super keen to get my summer training back on track! Be in the full swing of things come Monday hopefully.

Just got back from the Italian Open in verona. unfortuneatly i strained my hamstring out there. it was tight before i headed out there but i thought it was fine and not surprisingly it got worse and was unable to play to the level i needed to play at to do well..

been resting well and looking after it and hoping to regain full fitness asap and get bk to training hard and gearin up for september which is the next time i intend to compete..

Need to get some miles in this weekend to burn off all the brithday cake.

It’s Wasdale Fell race tomorrow - I’m not doing it but my OMM partner Jamie is. It’s one of the toughest races in the UK - at over 20 miles and with around 7500 ft of climb over many of the Lakes’ highest peaks it’s a real beast. I did it last in 2006 but decided to skip it this year as I want to make sure I’m fully recovered after the yacht race.

My next race will be Borrowdale fell race in August - another long (17 miles) lakes race that takes in Scafell, Great Gable and Dale Head. It’s a tough one but there’s a big party in the evening so that should keep us going till the end.

Then it’s the 3 Peaks cyclo cross in September (better try and get a few bike miles in me thinks!!) followed by the OMM in October.

By the way - anyone watch Superstars? - I remember watching that when I was a kid - Brian Jacks (remember him??) what a hero!!

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..

Hi guys, just back from Snowdon - 24 miles in 4 1/2 hours - not bad on no sleep, 1 bag of crisps and half a malt loaf! Going to try and get some sleep now.