SportsShoes Blog

First things first – I’m an engineer OK – always have been always will be – I feel like I should apologise but I won’t – we built the world!!!

Anyway, as I’ve been trotting around recently I’ve been pondering over the question ‘how important is a light weight running shoe?’ Inov8 seem to think it’s very important and have based the names of their whole range around the weight of the shoes – 212, 285, 315, 320 etc etc etc.

All I know is that last year I decided to try a light weight road shoe – Nike’s skylon – and I think it’s fantastic. Since then I’ve also bought Inov8′s lightest shoe the X-talon 212 which is also superb. When you pick one of these up you really are struck by their weight or lack of it (strictly speaking – as an engineer – I should of course be refering to their mass – but that’s another story).

So, here’s something to think about.

This year in the 3 Peaks Race which is 24 miles long I intend to use Inov8′s 285 trail shoes instead of my old 320s. That’s a saving of a whopping 35 grams / shoe – probably about the weight of a pencil – nothing I hear you say. Quite, but what about this :-

Average running stride length = 1.5 to 2.0 meters – so let’s say 1.75m

3 Peaks = 24 miles which is 38624 meters

38624 meters / 1.75 = 22071 steps

Each step I’m not picking an extra 35 grams off the floor with my leg muscles so that’s a total saving over the course of the race of :-

773 kilograms or 3/4 of a tonne!!!

Now that’s got to help……what do you reckon?

If you don’t believe me ask Lloyd Scott – he took 5 days 8 1/2 hours to do the London marathon ‘cos his shoes weighed 11kg each!!!

This Sunday it’s the Baildon Boundary Way half marathon – an event I’ve done a couple of times in the past but not for a few years.

This year I thought I’d introduce it as a final training session before the 3 Peaks Race which is on the 25th.

I would also like to try and get under 1 hour 30 mins as I’ve never actually done this in a half marathon. The only road half marathons I’ve done were the Great North Run in 1998 and 1999 but these were the first races I did and since switching to the dark side (i.e. fell racing) I’ve never really logged any PBs on tarmac.

There’s part of me that would like to do a road half and full marathon to see what I could do – I’d like to think that a sub 1.20 for the half and sub 3 for the marathon would be well within my reach right now.

The Baildon Boundary Way is a cracking race and very popular attracting 500 runners almost as soon as the entries open. It goes from Baildon, through Esholt along the canal to Saltaire then up through Shipley Glen and over the moor around Hope Hill and back to Baildon rugby club. It’s a pretty flat and fast course but the gradual climb in the middle is hard to get right as it’s probably about 2 miles long.

I’ll be using my new superlight Inov8 285 trail shoes to see how they perform as I’m considering using them for the Three Peaks but have a few doubts over the fit – I can struggle round 13 miles if they don’t feel good but don’t want them hindering me around the 24 miles of the peaks - I’ll let you know how they go.

Anyway, here’s an interesting article that links in quite well to my earlier post about drugs and sport. The science suggests that caffeine can generate a marked improvement in performance with very little in the way of side effects. I must admit to having signed up to this theory a long time ago and I always preceed my races and long training runs with a good strong brew. So, that raises the questions - ’am I cheating?’ - ’am I using a performance enhancing drug?’ well my view is if you can buy it at Morrisons it’s legal…;-) 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/health/nutrition/26best.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

I know I’ve not posted for a while but I’m still here and still putting in the training.

Last week after the Hobble I had a very steady week but still managed a speed session on the Tuesday, a run on Wednesday and a bike to work and run on Thursday. Then Saturday I did a long bike ride into the dales which was nice but for the cheeky wind which seemed to be with me all the way round…here’s the route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2656087

Then I ran with my dog 3 times on Sunday – nothing long or hard – just a 25 min jog 1st thing (with my youngest son) then ran down to watch my eldest play footy – then ran home again before having the mums and dad around for Sunday lunch (how’s that for fitting training in around the family).

I’m feeling a bit tired and off pace this week – don’t know why – I’ll try and run through it.

No races planned now until 5th April when it’s the Baildon Boundary off road 1/2 marathon  - I’d like to try and break 1hr 30 for this which I’ve not done before (best 1.32). Then 2 weeks later it’s the 3 Peaks where I’d REALLY like to get uner 3 1/2 hours.

Must go now got to take my son to footy then I’ll sneak in a quick 45 min session (off road with headtorch me thinks) while he trains.

9 Miles – 2250ft of climb – English Championship Race

There was a big turnout for this year’s Half Tour of Pendle (HTOP) including a great contingent from the mighty Bingley Harriers. It was an English Championship counter and with over 400 runners the start was a bit of a scrum. The organiser was trying to get folk back to the official start line but it proved to be like herding cats so he gave up and just shouted ‘go’. A mad dash through Barley village ensued but soon we were all cruising down the bridleway alongside the reservoir towards Pendle Hill.

A couple of cheeky tarmac climbs on the road quickly lined out the field and by the time we turned off the road and on to the hill all jostling had stopped and racing had commenced.

Pendle Hill has the honour of being one of the biggest hills in the world (as it misses out on being a mountain by about 15 feet) and this year I managed to run it all from start to summit in 21 mins. After turning at the summit there’s a long descent down to the Nick of Pendle which starts as boggy moor then into a nice stretch of technical singletrack before breaking out on to fast open moorland. I caught and passed my mate Mitch as we left the singletrack and wondered how long I could keep ahead as he’s a demon climber. After turning at ‘the Nick’ it was a fast blast down to a reservoir before a tough steep climb over heather covered tracks took us back towards Pendle Hill.

From the top of the moor it’s a killer descent back down to a stream where there was quite a crowd watching the descenders and secretly waiting for spills and blood.

Once across the stream there’s a sharp pull back up to some farm fields after which it’s a sprint back to the finish field over undulating but good ground.

I could see my mate Jason Stevens of Calder ahead – this week he’d got me beat from the start – but I felt good about my race and was pleased to have held Mitch off and beaten my other pals James Senior and Steve ‘Carnage’ – both of who have beaten me soundly in the past.

I crossed the line in 1 hour 12 mins and some secs and think I was 59th overall.

The race was won by my Bingley team mate and fell running legend Ian Holmes in 1hour and 3 (I think). This was a stunning performance by the 43(?) year old master of the fells as he led home a very high quality field of young(er) pretenders including Rob Jebb, Andy Peace, Rob Hope and plenty more.

What a stunning days in the hills we had yesterday.

The Trog is a 20 mile (measured at over 21 by some Garmin wearers) fell race around the moors above Hebden Bridge, Oxenhope and Haworth.

http://www.cvfr.co.uk/Races/Trog/troghome.htm

The WHOLE course was snow covered yesterday – literally from start to finish – which is something I’ve never experienced before. The weather was generally fine and at times when the wind dropped and the sun was out it was actually quite warm. However, when the wind was up and the sun in, it was blooooming freezing.

Before the race there was a shoe debate – should it be trail shoes or studs? The majority (including me) opted for studs (my very warn down walshies) and it proved to be the right choice. I think I’d have struggled in anything else.

About 110 runners set off in the full Trog (there’s also a half Trog run on the same day) and the field quickly spread out as the first couple of miles are a gradual climb over the moor. I turned at CP1 in 11th with my team mate Rob Jebb leading the field (as expected) and breaking the trail – a tough job that he did all day.

As we crossed the next couple of moors towards the Withins Ruin, myself and a Clayton runner had got into a good rhythm and we picked up and passed a friend of mine Jason Steven of CVFR as he struggled with the snowy conditions. Jason usually beats me but today was going to be my day….

As we turned for home (just 10 miles to go) we caught another chap and once I’d passed him I was in 7th overall which I held to the finish. As we started the descent towards the finish I managed to break my Clayton challenger and althouh I could see another group of 4 runners ahead I couldn’t catch them despite throwing caution to the wind and chucking myself down steep icy bankings and through snowy fields.

The race was orgainsed by the excellent team at Calder Valley Fell Runners and their hospitality extended to soup, sarnie and a cake at the finish for all runners – washed down with as much tea and coffee as you could drink – excellent!!

Overall Bingley Harriers had a great day with Rob winning the full Trog, myself in 7th and Lee Athersmith winning the half Trog with my mate Martin following him home in 3rd.

For anyone who’s interested, here’s what I packed for the race (the silver wrap is half a malt loaf squashed flat!!) :-

In the race I only had half the drink, one gel and a mini mars bar that I sneaked in for good measure (the cheese is there as a salt boost in case I feel cramps coming on) – the malt loaf wasn’t needed and was there in case I started to ‘bonk’ and needed to refill the tank with ‘real’ food.

My kids are now fully signed up members of Bingley Harriers and are both training with them on Tuesday evenings.

Hopefully they will do some races a bit later in the year when they can put in to practise all they’ve learnt.

I’ve always said that I’ll never push my kids into doing a sport they don’t want to do and I can honestly say that I have never pushed or even suggested that they start running but they seem to really enjoy it.

I think it’s fantastic that they want to follow in my footsteps – although I know it won’t be long before I’m following theirs as they run off into the distance leaving me puffing and wheezing with my knuckles trailing along the floor.

My youngest son is already telling me he wants to run the Ultra-trail Tour Du Mont Blanc when he’s 18 (he’s 8 now!!). At his age he’s no idea how hard runnning a 100 mile race is but I love his enthusiasm and, if one day he does it, I’ll be the proudest dad in Chamonix!!

The strength, stamina and speed they’ll develop running will obviously benefit them physically but will also no doubt help them with their many other activities such as footy, tennis, swimming etc etc etc

If there’s any mums or dads out there wondering how to get their kids into running / athletics (or even kids wanting to know where to ask Dad’s taxi to take them next) then bring them on down to Bingley Harriers (or any other local running club for those outside the area) – the junior section at Bingley is brilliant and very well run by some thoroughly decent chaps – a big hello and thank you to Dave, Graham and Tony who, along with a few other ‘oldies’, give up their valuable time to take the future stars of road and fell on their first training runs.

Well I’ve just passed a milestone in my running career.

I sent my entry off for the Langdale Fell race on Friday and had to circle the MV40 category on the entry form. I’m not 40 yet but Langdale’s in October by which time my life will have officially begun.

My training’s going steady at the moment but I’m looking forward to the lighter mornings when I can run off road with the dog – it’s still a tad dark for the woods and trails so I’m sticking to the back roads for the next couple of weeks.

Now that I’m running with KIMM in the morning a full week’s training should be about 10 – 12 sessions which I’m hoping should start to bear some fruit as the season progresses.

Next race is likely to be the Trog – weekend after next – this is a 20 mile grueler over the Pennines starting from Old Town near Hebden Bridge then over to the Withins ruin and back via lots of hills. A training run over Oxenhope and Ogden moors yesterday confirmed my suspicions that it might be a tad damp underfoot – think some new fell shoes might be in order as I was sliding about like Jane Torvil in my Walshies yesterday. This time I might try some of those spangly new Inov8 212 X-Talons – they look nice and with a funky name like that who can resist!!??

I need to start to think about getting some biking miles in as well as my entry to the Fred Whitton bike ride was succesful - aaaaggghhhh! My plan is to do lots of endurance training by biking to and from long slow running events.

How come when the news is full of stories of obesity, our obsession with the TV and the general laziness of our society, running races (particularly fell races) are seeing the biggest entry numbers for years.

I know it’s not exactly a new sport (in fact I’m sure it could put a case forward as being the oldest) but it really amazes me just how popular running or more specifically racing has become over the past 5 or so years (maybe it’s all down to the SS Blog!!). When I first enetered the 3 Peaks Fell Race (in 2003 I think) there were only about 250 runners and people were telling me that back in the good old days there were 2 or 3 times that number competing. I remember thinking at the time that I’d taken up a minority sport that was on its way to becoming extinct!!

Just 5 years on and here I am in January already having entered the Half Tour of Pendle in March, the Baildon Boundary and 3 Peaks Race in April, Wasdale in July and the Ben Nevis Race in September – and today I’ve been sent an e-mail with the Langdale fell race entry form and a message saying getting in quick as it’ll fill up – it’s not until mid October!!!

I’m not complaining, I think it’s fantastic that so many folk are running races – for many it’s a brave step to pin a number on and actually pitch yourself against others and the clock rather than just trotting round your well worn home circuit – but I’m sure if you speak to anyone that’s run a race they’ll tell you that’s it’s so much more fun than simply training.

I also think that if you get into racing, it brings a whole new meaning to training as now you’re not only doing it to get or stay in shape but you’re doing it to improve your performance, beat your mates or even try and win. Also, chances are that if you start racing you’re more likely to keep training which means long term health and fittness rather than just a short term improvement before slipping back into general laziness….

However, as a word of warning, if you’re thinking that getting good at running might be a route to making a fortune I’d forget it – I’ve got friends who are as good at racing on the fells as Kaka is at footy and they think they’ve had a good day if their prize money covers the cost of their petrol to get to the race…..

Thankfully it’s not about money it’s about getting out there in the fresh air, seeing our fabulous countryside and challenging your body against the best and worst the British weather can throw at it.

Go on enter a race and when you’ve done it and your covered in mud, your lungs feel like they’re going to burst and you want to be sick – tell me you didn’t enjoy it!!!

PS – A big hello to Pete D – thanks for reading.

Well I’m ill again! I seem to have caught every virus going so far this winter. Since the Revolution I picked up a cold which meant being confined to my bed and drinking honey and lemon on my 18th birthday! After a week off the bike I then tried a bit of steady training and a trip to the gym which then resulted in a chest infection. I’m on antibiotics at the moment so hopefully it will clear up soon.  I’ve just sorted out a 6 month gym membership with Cannons Health Club in Cottingley which they have kindly provided for free through the BOA.  Having a gym so near will cut down the travelling time as I currently train in Leeds.  I’ll continue to go there once a week as the strength and conditioning coach there, Mike Morely really knows his stuff, but then go to Cannons for the second session.  It’ll also be nice to finish off the weights with a quick trip to the jacuzzi and pool..all to help muscle recovery of course!