Well ... I'm no longer having any pain from my achilles and heel bone injuries which is a good thing. Still cross training hard but the most frustrating thing has been that it isn't a running injury. It happened when I fell down the stairs at home back in October.
Things are looking set for a gradual return to running at Christmas time but a visit to the physio in ten days will confirm that - hopefully.
The recent 24 hr race in Soochow seems to have been a hard one judging by Martin Fryer's comments on Facebook. Glad that he's captured a couple of national age group records though and I hope he recovers well. And a new women's world track record for Mami Kudo who ran 255.303km (158.637 miles). It appears that those runners who were used to the heat and humidity did best in Taiwan.
That makes for potentially a fantastic battle between her and Lizzy Hawker next September in Katowice.
I was under the impression that Soochow was in the frame to host this year's World Championships but it couldn't be done because of scheduled works at the university where the track is situated ... or have I missed something ? Obviously that all happened after the original venue, Basel, pulled out.
Also in the news this week ... a sprinter from London is seeking a sponsorship deal for the 2012 Olympics via eBay. He intends to advertise on the site with a reserve of £30,000 ($47,000) for which he will wear a sponsor's branded kit at training in the run-up to next year's Games. Full details can be found on the BBC website.
I like his ingenuity but I can offer any potential sponsor a similar deal at a fraction of the cost. Please contact me for details but in brief it involves one race in mainland Europe in May followed by the World Championships in September.
Showing posts with label Martin Fryer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Fryer. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Sunday, 18 September 2011
almost there ...
This afternoon I completed my last training session with the weights. Just three more runs now before the race ... fartlek on Monday and Tuesday with a final steady run on Wednesday.
Started drinking the beetroot juice yesterday. Half a litre per day every day until the race. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but it was Jim Rogers in May 2010 who introduced me to the delights of the red stuff. I used it with good results in early September of that year.
Heat training continues tomorrow for the last time and I've been asked, by Martin Fryer, to wear the Australian jacket he kindly gave me after winning the inaugural Commonwealth Championships in 2009. Of course I'll wear it ... and hope a bit of the magic will rub off.
ps ... I'll also be wearing 2 T shirts, a long sleeved top and 2 sweatshirts.
Started drinking the beetroot juice yesterday. Half a litre per day every day until the race. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but it was Jim Rogers in May 2010 who introduced me to the delights of the red stuff. I used it with good results in early September of that year.
Heat training continues tomorrow for the last time and I've been asked, by Martin Fryer, to wear the Australian jacket he kindly gave me after winning the inaugural Commonwealth Championships in 2009. Of course I'll wear it ... and hope a bit of the magic will rub off.
ps ... I'll also be wearing 2 T shirts, a long sleeved top and 2 sweatshirts.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Less than two weeks to go now and almost all the planning has been done. Transport has been arranged and so has the hotel (or so England Athletics tell me ...).
Nutrition and hydration has been planned according to my expected speed and the average temperature in Perth at that time of year.
When finding historical weather data for Perth, must be careful to choose Scotland not Australia.
Just a few items of food to buy: rice pudding, baby food, sultanas, custard, grapes and crystallised ginger.
All the training/hard work has been done now and I've recovered well from the crash training week. Now I've just got to keep myself fit and healthy for almost a fortnight. Mustn't do so much that I'm starting the race a bit tired ... but I've got to do enough so that I don't lose fitness. Like all training there's a very fine line between getting it right and overdoing things.
The race website has begun to add news items now, hopefully things will be added on a regular basis over the following days and weeks.
My target ?? Ah yes, well I plan to go out at the same pace as I did at the Commonwealth Championships but have a much better final four hours. Hopefully I've learned why my speed dropped so dramatically after 20 hours in Fitz Park, Keswick. Whatever, the main points are that I know I can run further than I did last September but after the World Championships my confidence took a bit of a knock (I don't want to repeat that experience, thank you very much).
For next year it is beginning to look more and more likely that I'll be attempting a different race distance which will be a challenge I'm really looking forward to. That will be in the second half of 2011 ... more news as it happens.
One more thing ... there's a very good piece about Martin Fryer on the Commonwealth Championships website.
Nutrition and hydration has been planned according to my expected speed and the average temperature in Perth at that time of year.
When finding historical weather data for Perth, must be careful to choose Scotland not Australia.
Just a few items of food to buy: rice pudding, baby food, sultanas, custard, grapes and crystallised ginger.
All the training/hard work has been done now and I've recovered well from the crash training week. Now I've just got to keep myself fit and healthy for almost a fortnight. Mustn't do so much that I'm starting the race a bit tired ... but I've got to do enough so that I don't lose fitness. Like all training there's a very fine line between getting it right and overdoing things.
The race website has begun to add news items now, hopefully things will be added on a regular basis over the following days and weeks.
My target ?? Ah yes, well I plan to go out at the same pace as I did at the Commonwealth Championships but have a much better final four hours. Hopefully I've learned why my speed dropped so dramatically after 20 hours in Fitz Park, Keswick. Whatever, the main points are that I know I can run further than I did last September but after the World Championships my confidence took a bit of a knock (I don't want to repeat that experience, thank you very much).
For next year it is beginning to look more and more likely that I'll be attempting a different race distance which will be a challenge I'm really looking forward to. That will be in the second half of 2011 ... more news as it happens.
One more thing ... there's a very good piece about Martin Fryer on the Commonwealth Championships website.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
An article recently appeared in the Bradford Telegraph & Argus which can be read here. And if you missed the official team announcement by UK Athletics - here it is.
About that race ... the official website now has started posting team lists - and there are some interesting names NOT appearing. Two that immediately spring to mind are the top Japanese runners Ryoichi Sekiya (over 263k last year) and Mami Kudo (254.425k last December - new women's world record). Also missing from Brive will be Martin Fryer who won the Commonwealth Championships last year for Australia.
Following my coffee policy mentioned in a post earlier this month I've been drinking Starbucks French Roast this week. It seems to be an acquired taste - very dark roasted (burnt almost) and smoky sweet - but I seem to be enjoying it more with each passing day. Something good from Taylor's Of Harrogate next week, more on that later. Perhaps.
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
random thoughts from Keswick
I'm just starting to get a report together about the race but in the meantime here are a few random thoughts, in no particular order:
The camaraderie was absolutely fantastic, not just amongst English 24 hr runners, but amongst runners in all races from all participating countries.
Thanks to Wendy Lynas for making sure I didn't collapse/faint/pass out at the end of the race.
The staff at the youth hostel were amazing, particularly those in the restaurant who kept us fed and watered ... and laughed at the size of my appetite the evening before the race.
Learnt a lot from Chris Finill, at about 16 hours it became obvious that he was struggling and was having a bad time. He still continued though and kept plugging away right to the end for the sake of the team.
An amazing new pb from Sharon Gayter - 226k
And from John Pares - 244k
A Commonwealth Record for Martin Fryer - 255k
The temperature dropped to about 7 degrees C overnight and the sight of Arun Kumar Bhardwaj (from India) in multiple layers of hats, gloves, tops, etc was a sight to behold. At this time of year the night time temperature in India is about 24 degrees C.
Andy Eccles was a magnificent cheerleader.
Alan Young must have some stunning and amazing photos from all four days of competition and from the medal presentations too.
It was a pleasure to meet people whose careers I've followed in magazines for years, eg Bashir Hussain, Carolyn Hunter-Rowe.
Meeting an old friend in Keswick on Sunday afternoon. I hadn't seen Sharon since 1986 and to see her again was great.
Lots of local people stayed awake all night to watch and cheer the runners.
The smell from the portaloos at the end of the race ...
The weather was fantastic during the race and good for the other races too. Hardly any rain for four days in the Lake District - miraculous.
The Canadian mountain runner who, on Monday morning at 8.30am, realised he needed to be at Heathrow airport for a 12.05pm flight home. He had no transport arranged and no money either.
The speed of the 100km runners - sprinters !!!
The thought of Pat Robbins and Andy Eccles carrying Don Ritchie back to his hotel from the pub at 1.00am on Monday morning [this is true - it actually happened].
My fifth position in my first championship race - with a pb too (231k). Also my team silver medal.
Wow ... all those memories. Enough to last a lifetime - or until next time.
The camaraderie was absolutely fantastic, not just amongst English 24 hr runners, but amongst runners in all races from all participating countries.
Thanks to Wendy Lynas for making sure I didn't collapse/faint/pass out at the end of the race.
The staff at the youth hostel were amazing, particularly those in the restaurant who kept us fed and watered ... and laughed at the size of my appetite the evening before the race.
Learnt a lot from Chris Finill, at about 16 hours it became obvious that he was struggling and was having a bad time. He still continued though and kept plugging away right to the end for the sake of the team.
An amazing new pb from Sharon Gayter - 226k
And from John Pares - 244k
A Commonwealth Record for Martin Fryer - 255k
The temperature dropped to about 7 degrees C overnight and the sight of Arun Kumar Bhardwaj (from India) in multiple layers of hats, gloves, tops, etc was a sight to behold. At this time of year the night time temperature in India is about 24 degrees C.
Andy Eccles was a magnificent cheerleader.
Alan Young must have some stunning and amazing photos from all four days of competition and from the medal presentations too.
It was a pleasure to meet people whose careers I've followed in magazines for years, eg Bashir Hussain, Carolyn Hunter-Rowe.
Meeting an old friend in Keswick on Sunday afternoon. I hadn't seen Sharon since 1986 and to see her again was great.
Lots of local people stayed awake all night to watch and cheer the runners.
The smell from the portaloos at the end of the race ...
The weather was fantastic during the race and good for the other races too. Hardly any rain for four days in the Lake District - miraculous.
The Canadian mountain runner who, on Monday morning at 8.30am, realised he needed to be at Heathrow airport for a 12.05pm flight home. He had no transport arranged and no money either.
The speed of the 100km runners - sprinters !!!
The thought of Pat Robbins and Andy Eccles carrying Don Ritchie back to his hotel from the pub at 1.00am on Monday morning [this is true - it actually happened].
My fifth position in my first championship race - with a pb too (231k). Also my team silver medal.
Wow ... all those memories. Enough to last a lifetime - or until next time.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
team news
Recently there's been a couple of last minute additions to the England team for the 24hr race in next week's Commonwealth Championships. The five men are: Ken Fancett, Chris Finill, Pat Robbins, Jim Rogers and myself. The five women are: Sandra Brown, Marie Doke, Sharon Gayter, Vicky Skelton and Ramona Thevenet-Smith.
There are 22 runners in the men's race and 22 in the women's race from the following countries:
Australia (six men and six women)
Canada (three men and four women)
England (five men and five women)
India (one man)
Isle Of Man (one man and one woman)
Kenya (one man)
New Zealand (one man and three women)
Scotland (three men and three women)
Wales (one man)
A few surprises here: Kenya - hope their guy isn't as good as the top 10k and marathon runners; only four countries have sent men's teams - increasing the likelihood of England being among the medals; no runners from South Africa (none in the 100k race either).
I would guess that the individual favourites would be Martin Fryer and Jonathan Blake (both from Australia) and Sharon Gayter (although Vicky Skelton isn't far behind). Martin ran a fantastic 48hr race in Surgeres earlier this year to place second on the all time list with 433.686 km - his feet were a real mess afterwards though. Sharon had a great run at Badwater [hope she's recovered].
Still relaxing lots - no loud music, no late nights, no stress ... and no caffeine.
There are 22 runners in the men's race and 22 in the women's race from the following countries:
Australia (six men and six women)
Canada (three men and four women)
England (five men and five women)
India (one man)
Isle Of Man (one man and one woman)
Kenya (one man)
New Zealand (one man and three women)
Scotland (three men and three women)
Wales (one man)
A few surprises here: Kenya - hope their guy isn't as good as the top 10k and marathon runners; only four countries have sent men's teams - increasing the likelihood of England being among the medals; no runners from South Africa (none in the 100k race either).
I would guess that the individual favourites would be Martin Fryer and Jonathan Blake (both from Australia) and Sharon Gayter (although Vicky Skelton isn't far behind). Martin ran a fantastic 48hr race in Surgeres earlier this year to place second on the all time list with 433.686 km - his feet were a real mess afterwards though. Sharon had a great run at Badwater [hope she's recovered].
Still relaxing lots - no loud music, no late nights, no stress ... and no caffeine.
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