Time Table - Genesis

I have made myself feel a lot better by looking at the age correction tables for my age group for race times over different distances. The way it works is that the older and more decrepit you are, the more you take off your time. It's a bit like a Golf Handicap so you could match yourself to someone of a younger age OR to yourself in a time long gone. It's brillaint!

SO... I did the Bridgend 5km last night (yep, I know what you are thinking) in 23mins and 13secs (c'mon it was hot and hilly) and multiplying that by my 87.47% gives me an adjusted time of 20mins 18secs... a much better result and a time that I was running when I was in my 30's. It's like taking off the VAT off your running...

It will be interesting to see if I can run a 3hrs 56mins next time on a marathon as that would be a 3hrs 31 mins marathon which is near my Pb of 3hrs 24mins of 1996.

I am running a 2 miler tomorrow night so let's see how that goes with that one eh?

Maybe getting older is an advantage...

Still Alive - Negative

In my defence of not killing myself on the 145 - I have decided to kill myself in other ways and here's a Power-Hour that you might want to try yourself. An hour where for 30 minutes you run at Tempo Speed and then the idea is to negative split your way back and see how much you beat it by.... I did by nearly 3 minutes yesterday up and over the hill along Leckwith Road. It felt very good indeed...

A lot easier than a One Mile time trial that I did on Friday at Les Croups Running Club, OUCH... the only good thing is, that after that NO SESSION will ever be as hard.

Today's Power Hour on the Treadmill also felt good. This was post training with Rory Gonzalez from Germany who had flown in for one of my Marathon Clinics, she's hoping to run a sub-4 hour marathon again - and she'll do it in just 15 weeks time. You mark my words...

More tomorrow...

Used to be - Rory Gallagher

Well I had to give into a bit of self realisation today as I ditched my GUCR145 attempt... probably forever...

I've been thinking about this race all year - and it got me wondering what I was trying to achieve as I've been 3rd and 5th in the race before back in the late 90's and 13 years on, my memories of my favourite race could get shattered by a lengthy day or two out on the Grand Union Canal.

Don't get me wrong, as I know I can batter out 145 miles in one go if my life depends on it but it doesn't... I'm not sad, just happy that I managed to do this race so well back then. So for now I will just keep on enjoying my running...

More tomorrow...

Too old to Rock and Roll - Jethro Tull

I was told today that I was too old to be having a mid-life crisis and that the marathons that the LDWA marathons that I enjoy running are for old people...

Charming...

As you are never too old, you've just been around a bit longer than most folk.

Age is a funny old subject... I'm 50... and have the mind of an 18 year old... That's because I once was an 18 year old. Being told to act my age doesn't help you see...

What I do know is that I saw and touched the Olympic Torch, which was most uplifting and gave me a spring in my step for a mile time trail tonight - not bad for a man past his sell by date..

More Tomoz...

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Photograph - Def Leppard

Well, all of the photos that were taken at the weekend's Aspire Cardiff ULTRA, are finally up on our flickr site. The best of the 700 odd pics were those taken by Ian J Berry with his uber-high quality big lense (gosh I want one of those babies) you'll be able to spot his pics straight away...

Anyway, the views on the pictures were well over 15,000 on Monday (a record for our picture website) and over 8000 a day since...

The Cardiff ULTRA, really raised our bar this year and next year's entry is now online for next May...

Now, where's my copy of What Camera or is Ebay best?

The Race - Yello

Well what a day that was... We simply had a ball at our 2nd Aspire Cardiff Ultra and the runners did too by the amazing messages in the emails we have received today. It was just a really special day down in South Wales.

There were some brilliant running out there too... not only a winning time of 6hrs and 54mins but also a great run my from one of my coaching trainees, Andy Saville, who clocked a brilliant 7hrs 41mins and took 7th place overall. Not bad for someone who was completely out of sorts in our ULTRArace 45 earlier this year and maybe the lift back with me on day 2 was a good move for our Andy.

His running performances of late have been awesome! Nice one matey!

Anyway, it reminds me that I should take a spoon of my own medicine and get out there too, so post well deserved sleep, I will be back out on the case...

Honest!

Distance - Toxic Federation

Well tomorrow is nearly here and 200 nervous runners are preparing for 50 miles of the Aspire Cardiff Ultra... We're all ready and it's a 4am alarm call for us at Sophia Gardens to get the competitors coached up from Cardiff at 5.30am in time for the 8am start at Brecon.

It will be interesting to see if anyone can beat Martin Rea's last years time of 6hrs and 53mins... let's hope the extensive route marking will assist some of the more directionally challenged, at least Steve Smith won't get lost as he's not running the race, this year! Ha ha...

We'll be out on the course and at the finish of course for Cardiff's bestest ULTRA-marathon! Let the games begin!!!

More during the race and later on tomorrow...

Show me the Way - Peter Frampton

Well all of the arrows and all of the Ur stickers have been added to the 50 miles of the Taff Trail... even Stevie Wonder would find his way on this route! Fighting talk I know but all that running and bending is not good for a man of my years...

It's amazing that there was a rain free day in South Wales where I could actually get the paint and the arrows to stick... in the persisting rain it's a real no go, so if you are doing the race hopefully there's no worries now of taking a wrong turn and ending up in Barry by mistake!

I will be out on the course again tomorrow and there's only a few more things to prepare for race day itself... so it can't be bad eh?

More tomorrow...

Blue Peter - MIke Oldfield

Well what on earth is going on in BBCTV Land? Blue Peter gets just 200,000 viewers for it's one show a week now when only 10 years ago it banked a huge 1.2 million and in it's heyday used to regularly hit a cool 8 million.

It's very sad for a show that has had over 4600 shows and given over 50 years of children a million uses for a plastic washing up bottle and some sticky backed plastic... John Noakes will ALWAYS be one of my larger than life heroes - he was just simply ace back in the early 70's.

I did of course get my own 'Blue Peter Badge' in 2009 at a senior age of 47, whilst training Helen Skelton for her 78 mile Namibia ULTRA-marathon... hopefully my part in the show didn't slash audience figures and I feel sorry for Helen as she's a grand girl with a very bright future in Television.

Hopefully, the programme will escape the BBC Axeman and our of childhood's will be able to live on knowing that Blue Peter is still alive and breathing - with one fatal flaw perhaps, that no-one knows when it's on and apparently, (my Daughter Pearl 7 included) preferring a bit of Tracy Beaker instead.

Where's Noakes when you need him eh?

Bike - Pink Floyd

Jenny and I have been out marking the first half of Aspire Cardiff Ultra course today from Brecon down to the lovely Merthyr Tydfil and here's a video... and a lovely day out it's been too. Wales in is Bloom and high up the valleys, there are even trees with the hint of leaves on the trees.

Hopefully we are going to be in a positive weather window for the weekend and we will all be able to enjoy Wales at it's finest. If it all goes wrong we've still got the £200 off voucher for Memoria... so there's always a positive.

More tomorrow from the second half of the trail...

Burn - Deep Purple

Is someone trying to tell me something?... or is the Death Industry having a hard time in the recession as this is the best piece of Direct Mail I think I have ever received. Even better is the £200 off my funeral that I would get by producing the mailer... if only I wasn't DEAD.

It also offers a 'Guided Tour' of the ALL the facilities and a 'Full Colour Brochure'... makes you wonder eh?

I did phone them this morning to take them up on their kind offer... but there was no answer... shame as all that marketing has gone to waste, or they are overwhelmed with dead bodies. I was going to suggest a celebrity endorsement with Katie Price & Jodie Marsh amongst others who might want to undertake their offer... you might have some other suggestions! (Nearly added Lenny Henry I must admit)...

ANYWAY...Look for yourself at MEMORIA Cardiff's Newest Crematorium ... that's http://www.memoria.org.uk/

Surprined that they didn't show a Bar-B-Q along with the Headstone and Coffin Curtains! The World's gone MAD!!!

DIY - Peter Gabriel

Well you can tell it's getting to Summertime as the News Stories are getting more and more ridiculous, like today's stop press news that Orangutans have been taught to use I-pads. A valiant effort but if my Mum and Dad can use one then ANYONE can in my opinion so it's no need to 'Hold the Press' really...

And is yes our front page news a Dancing Dog?...  I'm sure the Opera Singing Duo of Jonathan and Charlotte were just mildly peed off missing out on £500k to Pudsey and Ashleigh... or it's Manchester City 'buying' the Premier League trophy?

It's been a strange old weekend...

We went to Rhosilli and very nice it was too... make you think that we ought to be making our own entertainment... I mean why watch other people play sport and be SO fanatical about football for example with it's young, overpaid, psychopaths (such as Joey Barton) running round a pitch when it's so much better and more fulfilling to actually take part in sport yourself...

Maybe some of the money billions that are pumped into Football could be spent getting more people out into the countryside enjoying life for themselves...

More from The Grumpy Old Man tomorrow...

Just like starting over - John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Q - When does a Month make a Week.... A - When it's a Month off from running and it makes you very Weak...indeed! That old Marathon des Sables and a couple of weeks sitting in the car on the JOGLE Ultra have really taken their toll, I can tell you. I'm out of breath just putting my trainers on...

Since our return to ARAF I have been running down to Cardiff Bay in a 10km loop like a really old man (no comments please) and today my legs are all 'Dommed up'... it's just like starting running all over again. I know it won't be like this forever but going out for a few miles post seeing Rainer Koch annihilate the JOGLE at 9-10 minutes a mile all day, everyday does make you feel like one should hang up ones trainers and think about retiring somewhat.

The only saving grace is that Rainer is well off the scale and actually I still have that super-human feeling about what I have done and can still do against my own age bracket is all that matters... my 38th in the super vet class at MdS is keeping me going right now!

Well there's hope isn't there?

More tomorrow...