Kit Review

Before being laid off through injury I had purchased some new trail running shoes as the road shoes just weren't hacking the mud and grass. These are still brand new in the box due to said injury so in the light of having booked 2 trail events I thought I best dust them off and head off in them.

Having read many reviews and looked at all sorts of trail shoes I decided I wanted to see how my first pair would fair so didn't want to spend a fortune - in stepped New Balance Factory Store at Shap. Despite not being my first choice they are still very comfy and supportive (and they're black and orange!!) Plenty of good grippy tread to get stuck into the mud and puddles with once I finally head out - post run review to follow.

Having been injured and still concerned about future injury not only have I looked at some massage for the old legs but have been reading about compression kit. A quick chat with the local Runners Centre and I was sold on a pair of Zoot CRX Calf Sleeves. Hopefully between massage, ice, rest and the sleeves I can keep the calf issues at bay log enough to complete the event I have entered. Again, post run review to follow.

That's Done It!!

Having seen our lass complete her 1st 10k road race coupled with being off for a while it spurred me on to set a goal - so that's what I did. Not once but twice!!

So I am now fully signed up for:

Lakeland Trails Coniston 10k - 05/10/13 http://www.lakelandtrails.org/coniston/index.php
Kendal Mountain Festival Haglofs 10k - 16/11/13 http://www.openadventure.com/kmf/

All that is left to do is shift the calf problem and get some training done!!

1st Egg Chase of the Year

Well that was better than expected! Half a game in the back row and a 95 -5 win. Calves as per usual at the moment are now very tight so a swim tomorrow and some rest me thinks!

Recover Run Episode 2

Well I'm back from a fortnight of camping in what turned out to be some reasonable weather - however 16 days on the Isle Of Man is far too long no matter how much you like bikes!!

A little light cycling and plenty of walking was about the only exercise I got in between twirling spanners and splashing fuel about but the daft lad came home in one piece and with another replica for his finishing time so well done Crofty (apart from smooching Nick Jefferies!)

Now that's all over and done with back to my running. This week I have managed to get out twice for a couple more light runs to test out how the leg is holding up - new orthotics in and off we go.....

Monday

A reasonable effort given a fortnight of Stella, Pizza, Kebab, Stella, Curry, Chinese & Stella


Wednesday

Again steady away so not to tempt fate!


Well the weekend is upon us so I was planning an 8-10k trail to get back into the offroad stuff but an offer of a run out with Kirkby 2nds has reared it's head so I may well go egg chasing instead and swim on Sun - I guess we'll wait and see........

Recovery Run - Episode 1

After a couple of weeks out I decided to try a quick run beofre heading off to the Isle Of Man for just over 2 weeks. I was feeling fit and just wanted to get back out there....
Not a bad effort after injury! A fortnight off now.....

Motorbiking, Motorbiking

Another signature from Aintree!!

My 2nd outing at Aintree was blessed with mostly good weather, a brief shower in the morning soon blew out and we were left with glorious sunshine for the rest of the day. A steady start and some pointers from some seasoned veterans (2013 Champion & Team Boss) saw me progress to getting some good corner speed (apparently) and eventually getting some of the corners nearly right!!

However, being lapped race after race did nothing for my confidence neither did the odd excursion grass tracking. All this plus a bit of de-hydration made me fall out with myself and only compete in 3 of my 4 races.

On my return home I compared last outings pace with Saturdays to find almost a 10mph avg speed increase!! Maybe I should've listened to my experienced team and stayed for the last race - oh well there is always next time!!

(pic to follow....)

The Shin Splint Saga

So still suffering from the shin splints despite exercises, compression bandages and ice I thought I'd try and maintain my motivation with some swimming.

Sunday afternoon:

After a nice swim on the Sunday I was up for some early morning swims before work so got straight back in the pool on Monday morning - mistake!! Shoulders and legs were still hanging from what I thought was a leisurely swim on the Sunday.

Still keen, or so I thought, it took 2 days to return to the pool due to lack of AM motivation (something I have been plagued with for a long time!). Thursdays effort was good completing another 500m set. Shoulders, legs an old rugby injuries made me start to wonder if some dry land exercises wouldn't go a miss so back to the weights bench and stretch exercises for me!