Snowbound - Genesis

Only right with the weather that we are enjoying/loathing right now. It has made me think back to my winters' past. I can't remember 1963 but my mother told me yesterday that she didn't leave the house for two weeks and that there was no water or central heating!

I do remember the late 60's when our school playground was frozen over for weeks on end and we all became great at sliding on the ice. I used to run and then slide for miles on my slickened Clarks Commandos Shoes... boy they were fast and totally polished on the sole.

Then I am not quite to sure what happened... too many sunspots or warm summers came and went and hardly a snowflake fell until 1985 and then 2000. Maybe we are in for one of those winters followed by one long hot summer - yes please. I am living with a 166cm Blue Icicle that barely comes out of gloves to thaw out.

So for that reason alone bring on the Sun! For those of us still wanting to slide on playgrounds at 48 years of age - Let it Snow and Freeze over!

Now where are those Clarks Commandos?

Lola - The Kinks

I heard today that one of the boys from my old primary school is now a woman... which came as a bit of a shock if I was being honest. But... after a few minutes I thought good on 'em as at least they are now living their dream and are maybe comfortable at 48 years of age about who they are or what they want to be.

It must have taken a huge amount of confidence and pluck to have told friends and family let alone work etc. about not being person X and now being person Y...

The bit I admire about my old school friend is that lots of people SAY what they are going to do, or be and there are those who never ADMIT who or what they are... Mr S.Cowell and Mr R.Williams please take note... My old schoolfriend has come out and told the world....They've got it right and I am proud of them... nice one...

More tomorrow...

Groovy Train - The Farm

We are officially Welsh, well ULTRArace is should I say... Yes, we are now affiliated to Welsh Athletics. It's really exciting and we are now an 'Official event provider to Sport Wales with our 50 mile Cardiff ULTRA. How cool is that!

As far as us being Welsh personally well Jenny already runs for Wales and has a Welsh mother but I am sure my Granddad would be battling in my corner to say that I am a little bit Welsh from his being Barry born and bred. He would be SO proud. ARAF!

It's warm news on what's been a cold old day in central Derbyshire... Breaston was an absolute ice-box earlier on when we ran round and it's looking very chocolate boxy... It's starting to feel just that little bit Christmassy dare I say and yes I now it's November.

More running tomorrow will help keep us warm I am sure...

Zero 7 - Destiny

There are people you meet who are young in life but you know will be stars of the future. One such young man is Benno Rawlinson whom I trained again today in preparation for next Aprils MdeS. I blogged about Benno last February and said then that he was a Superstar of the future... and today I know for sure he is.

Watch out for this Guy as he will climb mountains and really make his mark in the future... not bad at 25 eh? Last time I met someone with his spirit was when I trained little Helen Skelton from Blue Peter and we have all seen where she is going...and what she has already achieved.

Some people have just got IT... lots of people spend a lifetime trying to get IT. What sort of person are you?

More tomorrow...

Dark - Toxic Federation

Is anyone else struggling with the Dark Days of Winter? This time of year is just pants in my opinion! So I have had an idea... I thought I would request more of the frosty, bright, crisp mornings that I loved last winter, well as a starter, anyway.

Now I am not too sure when one sends that type of request to but it needs to be ordered as so far I have endured more than my allotted amount of wet, muddy and damp running on events such as Round Rotherham and Breacons Ultra already as Blamires can vouch for... let alone in training.

And there's still Luton Marathon, next weekend to come, Yikes! .... (and that's always been a very rainy affair in my times of running those three laps of lovely Streatley)...

So we need a solution Guys, one thought is to migrate the whole of the UK south, possibly next to The Maldives each winter? Or we could buy their weather instead of the rubbish stuff that someone seems to have ordered here..

Thoughts?

Play Away - Ending Song Theme Song

I just had to put something in the days blog about Brian Cant today, especially after seeing him this morning on BBC Breakfast. Play School, Play Away, Camberwick Green et al, were all part of growing up and part of an amazing BBC for children in the 60's and 70's.

Anyway back to Brian, and it was so sad to see him suffering with Parkinson's Disease and a shadow of his former self. You see for me it's sad as I have a firm memory of those days and at 77, sure he is no longer the vibrant person he was. It's like that too for John Noakes, Peter Purves and John Craven. It's a bugger this getting old lark!

I hope for his sake that Brian can take pleasure from all the young children's lives he has touched over the years and will be able to Hugh (it was never Pugh), Pugh, Barney, Magrew, Cuthbert Dibble and Grub for some years to come...

Priceless stuff eh? Although I do like Iain and Hacker the Dog on CBBC... wonder if the same will be said of them in 40 years time... hope so as they are a real hoot!

More tomorrow...

Lost Prophets - Rooftops

Rory says:- I think I am still sweating after my 45 mins in the 'Porsche Human Performance' labs today. Body comp, muscle stats and watching your heartrate adapt to increasing amounts of humidity and body temperature takes you right into the Morocco zone, are only a fraction of what you can learn about yourself and potential performance in a very short time, I can assure you.

I took my session a lot easier than Jenny I am sure but my heart rate hit 135bpm at 8kph in 45 mins...and that's just about flat out for me at MdeS. It certainly felt that way and add a 6.5kgs pack and we'd be there!

We are going to go back and get really busted up I think so watch this space... it's highly recommended especially if you are into Grand Prix Racing. It's based half way down the Hanger Straight at Silverstone in a Giant Porsche playground.

More tomorrow...

Gonna Make You Sweat - C&C Music Factory

Well I'm currently sat at the Porsche Human Performance laboratory at Silverstone having completed my 45 minute stint in the heat chamber - Rory is mid-sweat!

I must say it is a great experience - you drive alongside the racecourse for a good mile before reaching the Porsche building which has racing cars parked inside - I am currently sat on the first floor looking out at the track watching some racing wannabes 'race' around the track for the day!

Anyway, back to the heat chamber - it was about 35 degrees - I only ran at 10.5km but that was comfortable. Every 5 mins you have your body temperature checked and are asked your Perceived Rate of Exertion. The idea is that your body adapts to the temperature change - these adaptation effects last about 2 weeks. According to Andy who runs the operation, the optimal number of sessions is 14, but you gain 70% of the benefits in the first 5 sessions - all of these should be done in the month prior to your desert run.

Effects include an earlier onset of sweating which means your body is more efficient at cooling itself down and a lower heart rate whilst exercising in the heat. They can also test your sweat content for sodium (and other) levels... this sounds like an awesome idea for those contemplating the MdS or similar as it will give you an accurate reading regarding how much salt you need to take on during the event. Given the fairly random recommendation of 20 tablets/day in Morocco for everyone regardless of size, weight, body shape or gender, this is definitely something I would recommend...

Anyway, Rory must be nearly finished now - more later...

Eminem - Recovery

Theme of this weeks daily blogs and a feature of this months newsletter will be about recovery. Getting fixed after smashing one's self around 45 miles of Likeys' Brecons ULTRA this week is a perfect reflection of what I am talking about.

I am interested in running and achieving... not having a day off and getting repaired and ready for the next BIG challenge.

Tomorrow's trip to the Porsche Human Performance Laboratory will hopefully give me an insight to where my body is right now... I wonder if you are meant to do this with buggered quads and a sore back...

Must get another bottle of my own medicine!

The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden

What better way of clocking up my 666th Marathon and 170th Ultra-Marathon by bashing in 45 miles on Likeys Brecons Ultra. Two laps of a pretty ferocious part of the Brecons including part of our Cardiff ULTRA course around Talybont Reservoir was the backbone of this event.

Considering my back problems of the week I was surprised how I got into my ULTRA race pace and caught up with my good friend Blamires just before the halfway point. I worked hard with him and Matt Dawson for the second brutal lap around Fan-y-Big in the fog and the darkness of a rainy evening in wintry Wales. My God it was bleak....I felt really lucky to be in my group as on one's own it would have been quite a scary old second loop.

We were very happy to finish, I can tell you and I hope everyone got back safely on this one...

Legs today are grand and back to training this week... Looks like 666 worked out just fine for me in the end eh?!

I'm still standing - Elton John

Well, by hook or by crook I have managed to get myself in one piece for this weekend's Brecon's Ultra. I think I will just have to be happy in getting round and I am hoping Blamires is going to be there so that I can partner up with him for a good day out in Wales!

It's a bloody early start and part of the event is on our Cardiff Ultra route so a bit of planning round Talybont won't go amiss.

Jenny is already faffing and in pure race mode ready to smash her tootsies into oblivion in the hope of winning...

It's just great to be back running if I am being honest!

Girls Aloud - Biology

Amazing thing the old body and it's remarkable just how it fixes itself so quickly... my ligament damage in my back has nearly gone today and no doubt I will be fixed enough to get me round 45 miles on Saturday in the Brecon Beacons.

To say it's been a pain is an understatement and I got to the point today when I had enough and moved on, back willing or not.

Mind over matter is the motto and if you don't mind then it doesn't matter they say... well we'll find out over this weekend eh?

Ten days of non-exercise is really annoying if your body is used to getting a daily helping of endorphins. Tomorrow's trip to ARAF will help focus the mind I am sure and more from there tomorrrow... now where's my red and white scarf?

Why? - Annie Lennox

Hmmm, no prizes for guessing why I used this song title.... WHY is it that no matter what I do my feet still fall apart at even the sniff of an ultra?! These are (embarrassingly) my feet today - the toenails on my toe next to my big toe are about to come off on both feet with nothing but blood blisters underneath them. More worrying, both of my big toenails are also on their way out - that nice red stuff on my left foot is juice weeping from my big toe as I have just stuck a pin underneath the nail. I have 10 blood blisters and all in all, they are very manky indeed. So what next....?

Well this is a result of a 3-day 82-mile Ultra. I had an idea on Day 2 (too late to save the damage already done but a thought for next time)... I took out the insole in my trainers and I think this would have helped. I have a feeling I am curling my toes upwards and they are hitting the roof of the trainer. So from now on I am going to try have a size smaller (to stop them bashing the end of the shoe) and take out the insole. I have also restarted a course of foot-dipping - this time in very salty water to harden them up.

Watch this space - if you can stomach it...

I must say though, all of this is self-inflicted - poor Rory stood cheerfully at checkpoints for the whole 3 days and his back has gone as a result of standing around and stretching the ligaments in his back - how ironic, and I am feeling more than a little guilty since he was keen to run too... sorry Rorz xxx

John Miles - Slow Down

I think Jenny will have to hide my shoes at this rate... as I am officially the worst patient EVER! Worst of all is that I know I am and that she is fighting a losing battle trying getting me to slow down. She's doing a sterling job really and is not remarking too often at my strange 'list to port' that my back has given me. I really HATE being ill...

That said... it's been a good day. I haven't strayed far of course as I have been a busy boy catching up on all those horror jobs, I set to one side.

The pain management is coing via a cocktail of drugs that would stop a charging elephant in it's tracks and would be worth a few quid on the streets of Nottingham I'm sure. Nevertheless, I could play football as well as England are tonight on my own without a Zimmerframe... shameful is a word that comes to mind when I think of being proud to represent your country at a sport AND get paid bucketloads to do so. What a bunch of No-Hopers...

Anyway, more tomorrow from a less sickbed I hope and I will be talking about the 'Rise of the ULTRA-marathon'... now where are my footie boots it's nearly half-time in the match and I might be called on to liven up the second half... 'Nurse, Boots and more Drugs please, I'm on!'

ACDC - (You) Shook me all night long

Well good news for me is that I have buggered up a ligament in my back that attaches to L4 and L5 in my lower back and have over extended it probably over the weekend by standing around lots! My Osteopath, Vaughan Cooper didn't take long to figure that one out and turned me inside out it felt on the old slab...


It f**king hurt, I know that...


It didn't hurt so much when I got the Diazepam down and hit the deck this afternoon like a 747 hitting the tarmac without it's gear down. Good job Jenny woke me up at 1800hrs or I would have been there all night long...


Not quite sure now what will happen this week as I am now super crocked for the weekend...


Ho Hum...

Body and Soul - Coleman Hawkins

After a weekend of no exercise, I was somewhat bemused when I trapped a nerve in my back this morning and aged 50 years in a nano-second. Regulars will know in the past my L4/5 in my lower back is a right bugger and stops me dead in my tracks. I think a trip to Doc Martyn for some 'Very Happy Pills' is on the cards tomorrow!

What with me bent over and Jenny walking most strangely following her weekends 82 miles on mushed feet we looked a right pair earlier on walking in town.

My aim is to be back fit and ready for the weekend, so watch this space. Hopefully some mind bending drugs will put me back on the path...

Now, where's my Zimmerframe?

One Year Later - (Original Ukulele Song)

Well what a funny old weekend of rain, running and romping over the Ridgeway! Only I didn't really do much of anything apart from get rained on... I saw a lot of running, ate a lot of checkpoint food but throughly enjoyed meeting all the runners on Neil Thubron's, Druids Challenge event.

Feedback was that lots of the runners had enjoyed my after dinner slot, last night but then if I can't talk about ULTRAs and ULTRArunning to ULTRArunners, then I had better pack up. I am of course open to offers for any after dinner gig you might have in mind :-) so just contact my tour manager, Jan Slater.

Moving on swiftly, and I am going to have to train off all the cake excess and get ready for next weekend's 45 miler...

No peace for the wicked and well done to anyone who competed this weekend... remember to Train and Think as a Champion.

More tomorrow...

Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles

Well that's two days completed of crewing on the Druid's Challenge and another great insight into what makes people tick in 'Our World'. Seeing the lead athletes batter thru Checkpoint 2 today made me realise once again just how much I have to re-commit myself to this running lark.

The importance of running at tempo and performing to the best of one's ability has never been greater emphasised to me...

It's been quite a strange place to be on the outside looking in on people beating themselves up over three hard days on the trail. As the outside world goes on, the three days of this event will be a microcosm of effort and a harmony of like minded folk, drawn together by running ULTRA-marathon prevails... makes you glad to be alive eh?

More tomorrow...

Umbrella - Rihanna

Needed it today as I helped by good friend Neil Thubron out on his Druid's Challenge race on the Chilterns. Jenny was running and I spent a lot of my time encouraging people at the 17 mile point. I didn't even mind that I was soaked as it was really inspiring and it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves.

There's even more of it tomorrow and on Sunday, looks like I will be taking over from Jenny to have a go in the mud... must say that I am looking forward to it!

More tomorrow folks...

Hungry like the Wolf - Duran Duran

Is it me or is it the weather as I am bloody starving ALL the time? I am 5kgs more on what I was mid-summer ,even though I watch my wasteline. However, the urge to get more food in the Coleman boiler is just too much to handle right now.

It's quite adsurd as I spend a lot of my time telling others to slow their calorie intake down. If I was 15, I would say I was going thru a growth phase! My fat % is the same though so I am getting solace from that!

Maybe it's the weather and I just need food to keep me warm... A weekend on the Ridgeway, freezing my nuts off will hopefully see me a couple of kilos lighter next week (not saying that my nuts weigh a kilo each of course).

Anyone else feel they could eat a dead horse? I could, with chips and a good chunk
of bread ta!

Off to chew my toe nailsto beat the craving and that must count as recycling bodyweight! Doesn't it?

Secret Affair - Time for Action

Rory says:- We've been talking lots in the ULTRArace office this week about events that we want to do over the next couple of years. Yes the yearly sabbatical to Morocco will still be there but our hit-list is growing ever wider afield it seems.

We are getting to the level where the training is starting to pay off and I might, I say might have a go at the Spartathlon! It's about time eh? I should have done it when I was 34 as I stood a chance then... now... well we'll see...

Yes there are great races here that are on the horizon and Beachy Head is set in stone, after our great run there this year and we both want to do Snowdon. My 50th birthday is in February 2012 so I am looking for something special then. My 49th will be in Apeldoorn, Holland for 6th Feb 2011.

My real focus will be a 6 day or 24hr track... I am just plucking up courage. What's your special race? I forgot Davos already!

Watch this space...

The Verve - Lucky Man

Been out bashing another MdeS wannabe around the Breaston Beast today...it was wet, muddy, hilly and a made a bit harder following nearly four hours of track running only three days ago. Does make me fell lucky that I can do this, not only as a job but actually be ABLE to do this, especially as I have beaten my body into the ground so many times over the years.

You see it's not a bad experience... it's really refreshing and there are always new things to see and today's candidate Phil was most interesting as he owns a Print Management Company... my old job in the 90's. Talking to him reminded me of all the passion and technical information that this role demanded in me and just how important it seemed at the time and unimportant it really was looking back. Years of ladder climbing, buying, negotiating and on the job learning! Can't say I miss that... I did have a nice BMW328 though :-).

I s'pose that and other projects I have worked on have helped me to where I am now... You never know all those marathons might help me one day!

More tomorrow... my legs are aching...

Armed and Ready - MSG

It's time to take stock from the weekends marathon and use the run as a positive base to perform from in the future. Luton awaits on December 5th and the work I do between now and then will hopefully pay off as I go hell for leather on my training.

It will be one based on a higher mileage mixed with shed loads of hills. I already know that my performances have improved with the hill reps that I have been doing and I will be increasing this type of training LOTS. The gym work I did yesterday, even though fatigued thru the marathon, has shown me that I am getting stronger. My fat % is not increasing yet my weight is, so it looks like I have been running a little too lean previously.

To help the mileage I have an MdeS day tomorrow... the rain hasn't made that much of a prospect if I'm being honest...

More tomorrow...

In and Out of Conciousness - Robbie Williams

The old legs were twitching last night and I must say that my Quads were totally mashed following 105 laps of a 400m track... I am sure the constant left turns every 100 metres strained my left Gastrocnemius. I have never had such a tightness there before but Jenny suffered in a similar way so maybe there's some theory there in the madness. Well that's my theory anyway!

I am slightly more bemused/bit annoyed that I don't know how far I ran yesterday in the time I did - I put a lot of effort in on this one and it's a shame I haven't got some accurate data from the performance.

This last few months have shown me what I am capable of and I am now thinking of a big juicy challenge next year to have a go at. Now I am fit, I need to build on that and start to train harder and prepare for action... I feel very excited, so watch this space.

More tomorrow...

Everything Counts - Depeche Mode

As the great Dave Gahan once said 'It's a competitive world - Everything counts in large amounts'... and plenty of this was done today. Muggins without watch or Garmin was completely buggered really as I did 105 laps of the Enigma Track Marathon in Milton Keynes.

Race Organiser, Dave Bayley did a great job really and a big kitchen clock at the start/finish of each lap would have helped no end. I did run bloody hard all the way on this baby and my 3.44 time is an alright reflection of my effort.

What the race did have was a great atmosphere and lapping and being lapped by others was most uplifting. Seeing Jenny get a new PB was just glorious to witness. Shows all that hill training is starting to work eh? My next offensive is Luton where I know that a three lap 26.2 awaits and I can get closer to the 3.30 mark...

More tomorrow as the old legs are now f**ked!

The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

Jen says:- I had decided yesterday not to blog about racing today as I didn't want to tempt fate... just read the blog Rory wrote yesterday and see he wrote about it anyway:-) As it turns out I had a great run today, I felt really strong up to about 2:15 and just pushed myself around the rest. It was a track race so it was all very friendly and sociable. Thanks to David Bayley for all his hard work that went into organising it...

I managed a new PB which I'm pretty pleased with given I haven't been able to get up to more than 30m/week 'cos of injuries, etc. 3:13:24... and a trophy too! I might just get that application in for a London Championship place...

Unfortunately my feet aren't feeling as elated as I am as you can see from the photo. Beginning to wonder if anything will ever cure my manky feet! Ah well, that's not a worry for today.

A big congrats to Rory too as he managed to (officially) knock 16 minutes off his anticipated 4 hours and probably another 5 at least unofficially as he did at least 5 extra laps! All good training I suppose!

Dizzee Rascal - Round We Go

We will be going dizzy in Milton Keynes as we are running in circles tomorrow in a track marathon in Milton Keynes. I must say that I am not really too sure how this one it going to go as it's something I haven't done in such a long time. Who knows what will happen.

Back on planet normal, today's been a bit of a carbo-loading bloaty day where it's been really important to keep the legs rested, yet mobile enough to keep them flexed and ready to run tomorrow. 105.48 - 2.00 minute laps will give me a 3.31 marathon but I am probably a bit knackered for that and a sub 4 is just running at just under 2.20 laps. Jenny's 1.51 a lap seems a mile away from my old plodding time for sure. Hopefully we can gee each other on as she passes my every 13 laps or so. Gosh that sounds dermoralising!

Then again I hope to pass other runners so it's all a bit relative really! Then even more again, just getting thru this one will be good. It's been on my mind this week...

Time for kit check and packing to be off early... will let know know asap tomorrow what happened...

Bee Gees - You should be Dancing (12" Promo)

Rory says:- I did an interview with Men's Running Magazine earlier today and it was a trip down the Coleman memory lane as I went through some of my running stories of 1994-2010. A few minutes is all it takes to cover nearly a generation of my running history, it makes me want to relive so much of what I have already run.

You see it's only yesterday that the Old Bee Gees were dead popular and the chest wigs and perfect teeth were the in thing. 1978 is a lifetime ago and more than that for two of the four Gibb Brothers. Thinking about it with two Beatles, a Pink Floyd and a Freddie gone (at 45 in his case)... We should be Dancing and doing the things that keep us Stayin' Alive!

Making it happen, when you can, is really what I am saying I s'pose... time for inspiration before the weekend's track marathon. Not sure about this one and well out of my comfort zone, if I am being honest!

More tomorrow...

Sun always shines on TV - a-ha

What on earth is going on with our weather?... The Christmas Lights are going up around the countries towns and cities, I am walking around in short sleeves in the mornings 14 degrees C and a rain jacket in the afternoon dodging puddles from a massive mid winter rain storm.

For the record... it's November 3rd! Not mid Summer or Winter...

Can we have the frosty dark and miserably cold days we used to have please? You knew where you stood when Christmas was in December and the sun shone in July and August. Not this funny old stuff we are having atm.

Our school playground froze over for a month in November once and we used to wear hats and scarves INSIDE our house just to keep warm when we were kids. You knew where you stood back then. It's all going to pot! A report today mentions that we are all getting fatter because we don't have manual jobs... I think it's just down to are too many choices, too many people offering options.

Coffee isn't coffee any more... it's a million combinations... a cue of five or six at Starbucks can last a lifetime, it drives me mad! What happened to waitresses? Take in, Take out? Shot, No shot? Milk, no Milk - Choccobollocofrapperknobocano's Grande Bloody Latte... it's all too much.

Make a note - Keep things simple! That goes for the weather please as it's just got far too out of hand recently. Now where's my Maxwell House? I need some simple Caffiene...

More tomorrow...

Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars

Sometimes you just have to be inspired by good things you see, hear and feel ... I have been thinking about that a lot in the last few days. Music, TV Shows even the bloody X-factor are helping me to inspire myself on at the moment and try and perform at newer higher levels of fitness.

Otherwise... why bother? Yes my level of fitness will keep me slim and hopefully keep my heart going for many-a-year to come BUT it's a criminal waste not to take it to the limit and see just what I am capable of. I even did an hour on a spin bike today... my first hour and boy did I sweat. I hope it will as I do more and more in the future. At 48 hopefully it will save my old joints a bit longer!

Loads to think about here, especially as we get towards the end of 2010 and think of the new ULTRA season ahead...

Are you ready to be inspired and perform... breakdown some barriers and set some new levels? Let me know eh?...

Something for Nothing - Rush

It's been a funny old day and I now know I am getting to the age when I can stand back and have a good moan at what goes on around me. My expectations of others are getting lower and lower... how do I know this? Well just look at today and what we pay our rates and taxes for... this morning the bin man came at around midday and I had to take out the bin out so they can load it without wheeling it from the side of our house ... not like the old days when they came and got it from 'round the back' oh and it's every two weeks, so everything goes really rotten and smelly. There's no milkman and the postman turned up at 15:45 this afternoon as he lives 'four doors away and it's not his round and he's only doing it as a favour'... or so he says... oh and it was junk mail!

What IS going on?

Today, we were told that 'Heroin is not as bad as Alcohol... well they are both as bad as each other if you ask me... unless you are celebrating sensibly or in long term pain and need Opiate based drugs, which are then good for you. Why did anyone commission that survey?

Our days are becoming more and more Hi-Vized I am afraid... it seems we are just out for what we can get and trying not to get blamed for anything we do that's wrong. Where's the value in that? Stand fast for what you believe in, is what I say... and have the proud values of the days when there were two post deliveries a day... a milkman that delivered at 5am and when we didn't need surveys to tell us what's good and not good as we knew it for ourselves and valued the opinions of those around us.

More tomorrow... gets off soap box...