Kit Review no.1

Craft Pro-Zero Extreme long sleeve base-layer
I've never bought any kit by this manufacturer before, and that continues, as this was a prize from the Black Sheep Brewery Race Series, and a very useful and welcome one at that.

Craft Pro Zero Extreme base layer

It's one of those items of clothing that, when you put them on, you instantly feel toasty warm. It has become my first choice for winter runs, as it keeps me incredibly warm for such a thin garment and I can get away with just this and a wind-stopper jacket on even the coldest days, i.e. no need for multiple bulky layers. It is close fitting, and wicks very well. Available from Wiggle at £27 or Always Riding at £23. Unfortunately not made in UK.

"Slip Sliding Away..."

"God only knows, God makes his plan 
The information's unavailable to the mortal man 
We work in our jobs, collect our pay 
Believe we're gliding down the highway, when in fact we're slip sliding away'"

caption not needed

I was only thinking about how slippy and slidey it was when I was out running this afternoon, but those lyrics are so good I thought i'd leave them in anyway. Managed to stay on my feet for 10 miles on uneven and frozen Castle Eden walkway, trail shoes were obviously a good choice. So that is one target met (15 run miles) whilst another (76kg) was missed by a country mile.

"The boat that i row won't cross no ocean..."

although it does move around a bit on the laminate floor in the hallway. I don't suppose Mr N. Diamond ever came up with that as the next line. Ha!

Spangly-shirted guitar-thruster and sometime actor Neil Diamond 

That's another 6 indoor row km clocked up, steady away at 4m50s / km. Still got 10 run miles to do before the week is out, i.e tomorrow, so it'll either be one long run or my first two-a-day day in a while.

Motivational Platitude of the Week

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts for ever."

Lance Armstrong (quite good bike racer)

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

"Be running up that road...

be running up that hill, with no problems..." Perhaps Kate Bush was a frustrated fell runner?

Never seen at fell running events.

 There's a smashing local road which is ideal for hill intervals; there are good landmark points at helpful places along it's 0.5 mile length, there is very little traffic, it has decent street lighting and the gradient changes 4 or 5 times. So i've done a few hill reps tonight (two 800m reps to be precise), just to ease myself back into running, having achieved double-digit run miles only once in the last eight weeks. It felt good to pull on my trainers and get out on a solid surface without worrying about how to explain to the emergency services why i'm out running in the aftermath of a snow storm.

"Nowhere to run to, baby...

...and certainly not while it's so wet and icy."
Not sure if that's the original lyrics, but perhaps it should be.

Vitruvian Orange Man 
 (by Leo Blanchette)

Too much compacted snow and ice to be able to get any running done, and so another run-free week passes by, although 20km on the water-rower should mean i'm not getting too rusty. Must make sure I get out and start building up miles before Edinburgh training starts. Only got 3 weeks to go, so 15 miles, 25 miles and 35 miles are planned for the next three weeks, all very easily achievable, especially with school hols starting soon.
This Friday (17th) is a big weigh-in day, if i'm going to achieve my statedtarget of  'lightweight rower' status I need to be at 76kg on Friday, especially if i'm going to lose another 3.5kg in the two weeks over Christmas and New Year. (How likely is that?)

Motivational Platitude of the Week

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try' ". 

Yoda

"Laying out my winter clothes...

...and wishing I was gone, going home running"

Now that the Great Snow of 2010 is all over and done with, the impending Great Thaw means that local tracks and trails that were good for running on are now just a big mushy mess and no longer good for anything other than getting cold feet  / wet clothing / injured joints. Not that I was planning on being out in the dark tonight, but i'm hoping that by the weekend there are some usable routes for some decent runs.

Slush: not conducive to happy running

This evenings trainingwas a 30min session at 5min / km on the rower, and it must be having a beneficial effect cos it seemed too easy. As a result, my new base pace will be 4m.50s / km, and see how i get on with that.

Rhododendron...is a nice flower

Tat must be the most obtuse song lyric, ever.  5 house points if anyone can name the song.

Anyway, a new session on the rowing machine tonight, and definitely one to repeat and expand on, i.e. 10 minute warm up and then 4 intervals at 2 minutes effort and 3 minutes recovery, then a short warm-down. 7km covered in total. Next step is to do more intervals, or lengthen efforts and / or shorten recovery.  Will probably build up to 6 reps before tweaking durations. 

Less than 4 weeks to go to the start of structured training for Edinburgh. I need to build up weekly run miles  so that  the first week of 44 miles(!!!) isn't too much of a shock to the system. 

Let's All Laugh at (insert rival team name)

Peter wasn't convinced that vertical tiddly-winks would be a success...