King of Pain - The Police

I can't remember a time when my legs hurt SO much after a little old ULTRAmarathon. But by Jove they are K I L L I N G   M E tonight. Talk about Doms I have more like Double Doms! Add to that a whopping bruised hip from my sack of spuds fall at 30 miles or so and I'm not too good today...

You get the picture!

Let's hope tomorrow sees an improvement as I want to stop my penguin like gait before people start talking. It just shows you that it doesn't matter who you are OR what you've done you are never free of getting an ULTRA bash lash...

It doesn't matter though as I am still in a state of great happiness about the event and am very optimistic about my Autumn season.

More tomorrow... now where's that walking stick?

Round Round - Sugarbabes

It was more like up and down at 'The Round the Rock ULTRA' on the Island of Jersey this weekend. If you were ever looking for a good Ultra weekend away, then this might be the one for you. There's over 1000 metres of ascent and the organisers had worked very hard in trying to make this first edition go as well as possible for the 100 or so runners.

The course - well it's a great circuit of a beautiful island... the billions of wooden sleepers with metal staples hammered in to stop you slipping used as steps up and down the cliff paths are something I would like to forget BUT coming away being able to run at the end of this race is a good reflection of my present level of fitness.

I must say that I got a case of the emotions at the end of the race as I had worked so hard to get that under that sub 10 barrier I had set myself. Jenny would have been well under 8 with more consistent route marking as it was a bit tricky in places. She still managed to beat me by 90 mins having run over 2 miles more! Makes you sick eh?

Anyway, I am very happy with my run and will now have a couple of days off before getting back running mid-week.

More tomorrow after I have found my missing Quads... those bl%dy steps were killers!

Living on an Island

Well you find us on the island of Jersey tonight in preparation for tomorrow's first Round the Rock Ultra. It's funny that no one really knows how far it is... But 46-48 miles is about right we believe.

Getting lost is the biggest issue of the race. Let's hope the organisers route marking is still there tomorrow eh?

We are starting at 6am and a sub 10 for Jenny and sub 12 for me are the targets... We'll see eh...

ULTRArace.co.uk - The Home of ULTRArunning.

Location:Jersey

Feet Up - Bob Merrill

It's been one of those rest days today that you have to have leading up to any ULTRArace. Yesterday's 10 miler signalled the last of this week's efforts prior to the 48 mile 'Round the Rock ULTRA' around the Channel Island of Jersey.

I have to be relaxed about refuelling the 'Old Coleman Body' as really I wanted to run again today but my knowledge and experience tells me that three days of exercise abstinence will make all the difference to my weekends expected time.

It does say that you have 12 hours to get round the island so hopefully I will be inside the time limit although if my memory serves me right its a bit bumpy around the northern coast... hmmm we'll see eh?

Biggest challenge is to get all our gear into hand luggage including Gels, Powders and Suncream... oh the joys of BMI Baby! After East Midlands Airport, the rest will be easy!

A New World Record - ELO

Well I must say that I enjoyed a good run out with the Long Eaton Running Club last night. I am using these runs as a tempo session and really got up on my toes around their course (that passed rather tantalisingly close to home) and reminded myself of the good old days at Stratford-upon-Avon Athletics Club!

On my return, I excitedly opened an email from Guinness World Records to say that our proposal for a GWR has been approved. Now all we have to do is make it happen. More details next year as it's TOP SECRET right now.

Running another 10 miler today was a whole lot easier knowing that there is a clear goal now in sight for all the hard work that's going in over the next few months. Smashing up my arms for the second day in a row also felt the right thing to do...

There's now two days of rest until our 45 miler around the coastline of Jersey... What a good tester of fitness that will be... I am really looking forward to it too!

ULTRArace.co.uk - The Home of ULTRArunning

Step on - The Mondays

And yes the running crusade continues on day 2 of my year if fitness... Following a Park Run, Marathon and a heavy leg bashing my butt cheeks are now in a state of repair and good enough for a run out tonight with Long Eaton Running Club.

There is a little trepidation on my part and no doubt Jenny will bash on with the faster club runners. Let's hope a 5.6 miler leaves me some energy for the 45 miler in Jersey at the weekend.

More later... Post Run...

ULTRArace.co.uk - The Home of ULTRArunning.

Location:Breaston

Lucky Number - Lene Lovich

What has the world come to when you have to have a number to collect your child from a holiday play camp... well that's exactly what happened today. In our Hi-vis, high-intensity blame culture, cover our arses world a simple, I have come to collect my daughter Pearl Coleman and 'Hello Daddy' is obviously not enough!

I did chuckle... and wondered how we used to manage, back in the old days? Maybe in the past the wrong child has been picked up on purpose, although I am more than happy to get my own daughter.

It's far too complicated and a reflection of our modern day world... The simple analogy is that if a 6 years and 5 months little girl can work out the simple recognition of her own parentage, why do we need a six figure reference number allocated to our own child.

I don't think I would have liked being a number and let's hope Pearl doesn't like it too... I now know how Patrick Mcgoohan felt! And I'm not a number either...

More tomorrow...