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I wonder how far that chart goes...if you keep that rate up you’ll cease to exist around December 2012...

JacobH wrote:if you keep that rate up you’ll cease to exist around December 2012...

If I keep feeling anything like I did when I woke up this morning I may expire long before then

Hey, ho - off for another 10+ miles in the hills

DRT wrote:Hey, ho - off for another 10+ miles in the hills

Those of you who know me well will no doubt recognise that sometimes I start out with a limited scope and then, through over-enthusiasm and a lack of self restraint, end up with something far beyond what is sensible. I normally confine this trait to my organisation of Port tastings but today I extended it into my physical exercise, and am now regretting doing so.

Minutes before leaving the house late this morning I glanced at a map and chose a place to park the car and a route to walk. I gave it no more thought and set out from Hope village along a path that I know well. After over an hour of exhausting work climbing around 2,000ft from where I started I looked at the hills that encircle the Edale Valley below and thought: "I could walk along the ridge to Jacob's Ladder and back along Edale Road". Sounds simple, but it turned out to be a walk of 21 miles, another 1,000ft of climbing, 6 or 7 miles through a very wet peat bog and many streches through deep snow. Seven hours later I arrived back at the car. For the last 3 or 4 miles along the road it felt like I had broken galss in the soles of my boots. Everything hurts.

...but I've now walked 51 miles in 3 days against my target of 50 in 4

If my legs still work tomorrow I think I will go for something a little more sedate.

DRT wrote:If my legs still work tomorrow I think I will go for something a little more sedate.

They do not work sufficiently well for me to be able to motivate myself to pull my boots on again so it's a day off for me. I have a long way to go before I'm fit enough to tackle the 95 miles of the West Highland Way plus three Munros over ten days in July

2 lbs a week is actually pretty aggressive without a trainer, so you're doing great! I didn't actually set out to lose weight (just get in better shape) but still managed to lose about 2 lbs a month for the first year. It's slowed dramatically now, but then again I'm also right about where I should be weight-wise now (185).

Went for 5.2 miles this morning, but took it really slow because I just didn't feel like going out. I made it, though!

DRT wrote:Those of you who know me well will no doubt recognise that sometimes I start out with a limited scope and then, through over-enthusiasm and a lack of self restraint, end up with something far beyond what is sensible.

Is he talking about his Port cellar or his hiking?

Glenn E. wrote:

DRT wrote:Those of you who know me well will no doubt recognise that sometimes I start out with a limited scope and then, through over-enthusiasm and a lack of self restraint, end up with something far beyond what is sensible.

Is he talking about his Port cellar or his hiking?

Both

Hiking I like, running I hate. In less than two weeks time I have to take part in a 120 mile relay run at work. I've got a 5 mile leg that is almost all up a very steep hill. So I figured I should start training for it sooner or later, so last night I ran 1-mile for the first time. I hate running. No idea how long it took me and don't care. I hate running. figure if I do a few more practice runs like yesterday I'll be ready. I've already got the cardio fitness from all my bicycle racing, I just need a little to transition to running. Can't wait till this run is over...did I mention I hate running

Andy Velebil wrote:Hiking I like, running I hate...I hate running...I hate running...did I mention I hate running

It sounds like you hate running almost as much as I do. Even when I was young and fit I used to detest having to go running as part of our physical education classes at school. I didn't mind running around playing football, rugby, basketball or any other sport but running just for the sake of running wasn't for me.

So, Mr V, suck it up and get running up that hill !!!

I hated running when I was in high school, too, probably because I was so bad at it. I wasn't fast, and because I wasn't fast I couldn't get on with training to be able to run long distances.

But now I'm old enough that I no longer care whether or not I'm fast. I started running to support my wife training for her first half marathon, and liked it enough that I've kept running and am not training for MY first half marathon.

I'm not fast and probably never will be. But running has one HUGE advantage over just about any other sport - there's no gear. Sure, you need running shoes, but you need shoes to do just about anything. I can run any time, anywhere. That makes it a LOT easier for me to stay in shape! (Such as it is.)

Now hills... I'm with Andy on that one. I hate hills.

Ran 5.2 again this morning and lopped 8 minutes off of yesterday's dismal outing. Same route. Same time of day. No idea what changed.

Week 12: Another pound gone.

A busy week at work has prevented me geting off my a*se since Sunday so it's off to the hills for me tomorrow morning and again on Sunday.

This requires no explanation.

One would hope, however, that they have sufficient staff to ensure that the (drunk) runners don't get lost on the course!

DRT wrote:A busy week at work has prevented me geting off my a*se since Sunday so it's off to the hills for me tomorrow morning and again on Sunday.

A great day today - summer seems to be arriving at last! I was out in the sunshine for 6 hours (minus two periods of 15-20 minutes in darker places that served strange, golden, thirst-quenching liquid in pint glasses ) and walked a great circuit of:

Hope Village >> Win Hill >> Hope Cross >> Druid's Stone >> Edale >> The Old Nags Head >> Mam Tor >> Back Tor >> Lose Hill >> The Cheshire Cheese Inn >> Hope Village. 16 miles and over 3,500ft of ascent. I must be getting fitter as that walk would have left me feeling half dead two months ago.

I plan to do a similar walk tomorrow.

DRT wrote:16 miles and over 3,500ft of ascent...I plan to do a similar walk tomorrow.

Similar, but not quite as much as yesterday. I did 14 miles and 2,000ft of ascent - making it 30 miles and 5,500ft over the weekend.

I also managed a "first" for me today. I hiked over Brown's Knoll, a particularly boring and annoying stretch of the walk as it is about 3 miles of trudging through a peat bog/moor with no obvious path and it sucks all the strength from your legs as you are continually ankle deep in mud. I didn't see anyone for about an hour and then I met a young couple walking towards me. They stopped about 5 yards away from me on the opposite side of a flat piece of ground filled with black peat. It looked baked dry but, knowing what the surrounding ground was like, both the young couple and I were wary about how firm the ground was. We chatted for a few seconds and agreed on what looked like the best crossing point. As they stepped onto the hard black surface I stepped towards them. Half a second later I had both of my legs submerged in wet peat up to my waist. I managed to grab onto the long grass on the opposite side of the crossing and pull myself out, almost losing both my boots in the process. When I stood up on the other side, covered from the waist down in thick black oily glupe I looked over to the young couple, who had diverted their course and escaped clean and dry, and treated them to a string of expletives (not directed at them) that would have made my old Grandmother turn in her grave. I then trudged on for the next 2 hours attracting amused glances and comments from everyone I met until the sun and wind dried me off and I was able to brush the peat from my trousers. To put the icing on the cake I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my calf either falling into or getting out of the bog. Despite all of that, I am certain that the young lady was very impressed and thought I was probably the coolest guy she had met on her walk.

Hahaha... that's awesome, Derek!

Awesome, as-in, "I can't believe he actually did that, I sooo glad that wasn't me!"

I ran in a 12k race this morning and had set myself a reasonably challenging goal - 10-minute miles, or 1:14:30. I've only just recently managed to run 5 miles at an average of 10 minutes per mile, but I always seem to run faster in a race so I thought I might have a chance.

I finished in 1:13:28! Yay! Sadly, that put me in 41st out of 45 in my age division.

It was a great course, which helped. There were hills, but there were small and of the gently rolling variety so they didn't cause me any problems going up or coming back down. Part of the fun of this particular race is that members of the Seattle Seahawks (American football) were present at the starting line and also at the turn-around point which was at their new, lake side training facility.

Ran 9 miles yesterday for only the second time. This time I took an energy gel with me and ate it between miles 4 and 5. I wasn't particularly fast or particularly slow, but felt pretty good the whole way. I think the gel really helped, and now next time I need to figure out a way to take some water (or Gatorade) with me also. These longer runs really take a lot out of me.

This coming week is back to a more even plan again - 4, 7, 5, 7 - and then next Sunday we're doing the Top Pot Donuts 5k. I do believe that should qualify for the irony thread as well.

So saturday was my big run at work. just over 5 miles and 1,000' of elevation gain in the first 3.5 miles I haven't got my offical time yet (it was a 120 mile relay race), but I was told I was averaged somewhere just under 8 minutes a mile for my leg of the race. At it was 92 degrees when I started my run. I'm still sore....

I can't say that I hate running, but it isn't my perferred activity either. I used to run all sorts of marathons, Ironman (Kona), ect., but during my training for the Los Angeles marathon I was averaging 70 miles a week - which really took its toll on my knees. At that point I figured that tearing my knees up just wasn't worth it. I still backpack quite a bit and I also get in a fair amount of local hikes as well. I can't say that I have any desire to return to distance running per se, although I might consider it as part of my training for another run at Ironman.

Marc

My regimen is a daily ride to and from work, 6.5 miles each way. It's also good for the alertness what with all the potholes, buses taking up all the road, black cabs doing u-turns, blind pedestrians etc.

Today finished a repeat of Week 13 on the training program... I'll now go back to Week 11 and finish the program out on schedule for the half marathon at the end of June. (I started my training at Week 8 in the program because I was already well ahead of this program's pace when I started it, and have been repeating weeks 11-13 waiting for the calendar to catch up.)

7 miles today. Garmin has changed their web site and now have an elevation correction feature which allows you to ignore the elevation claims of your (wildly inaccurate) GPS watch and use surveyed elevations instead. So I now know that the massive hill on this run is 90' high over 0.28 miles. Nothing like what Derek hikes, but not at all fun to try to run!

I've been working on my stride and think I've had an epiphany. If I use my hips a little bit more I gain a couple of inches on my stride seemingly without using any additional energy. So I get to run faster without any additional effort other than the concentration currently required to do it. Yay!

72:52 today. A good warm-up for the Top Pot Donuts 5k Dash tomorrow morning.

Another 2lb shed this week

Today I walked 15 miles in the Pentland Hills with a total ascent of around 3,000ft. It was a tough walk after not doing any exercise for two weeks. Back home now so I'll be off to the Peak District tomorrow...

Apparently having the proper incentive helps one run faster. I ran this morning's Top Pot Donut Dash 5k in 27:56 according to my watch, which is a new personal best!

DRT wrote:Another 2lb shed this week

Today I walked 15 miles in the Pentland Hills with a total ascent of around 3,000ft. It was a tough walk after not doing any exercise for two weeks. Back home now so I'll be off to the Peak District tomorrow...

Glenn E. wrote:Apparently having the proper incentive helps one run faster.

Apparently walking 15 miles and climbing 3,000ft after two weeks of no exercise leaves your body in tatters and acts as an incentive to spend the next day reading a good book.

Whee! The official results have me 3 seconds faster... 27:53. My goal was 9-minute miles, which I officially just barely beat!

As we all know, Port contains carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are good for exercising as they provide energy.

So this weekend I shall perform a test. I shall test to see whether or not having a Port tasting the night before you plan to run 8 miles provides good carbo-loading.

The things we must do in the name of science.

Glenn E. wrote:I shall test to see whether or not having a Port tasting the night before you plan to run 8 miles provides good carbo-loading.

The things we must do in the name of science.

Glenn,

Taking one for the team is admirable. Thank you for the sacrifice

Derek

Today I climbed the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head.

A very, very hard climb which starts just above sea level and for the most part is a stone staircase of lung-busting proportions. Most of the 3,000ft ascent is achieved in about 1 mile of very steep climbing and after that there are many false summits which sap the strength from your will and your legs. This is definitely the most difficult lump of rock I have ever climbed. The walk/climb took around 5 hours to cover less than 7 miles. The 376 mile round trip by car to get there took another 8 hours out of my day.

The view from the top was stunning, as was the view from the bottom and all points on the ascent. This is perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever been. It took my breath away in more ways than one

If I awake with any motivation whatsoever I may head off on another epic journey to climb another famous UK peak. The way I fee right now the chances of that happening are very slim.

Congrats on your summit!

Yesterday I managed to complete my 8 mile run and test the theory that calories are calories, ergo Port should work for carbo-loading before a strenuous event.

The results are mixed. Yes, I had sufficient energy for my run, but the other side effects were not a bonus. I believe my water intake during the tasting fell slightly short (1.5l for an 8-Port tasting), for while I did not awake with a hangover I also did not awake feeling spry and ready to run.

So in the future I believe I will save Port for post-exercise recovery instead.

DRT wrote:If I awake with any motivation whatsoever I may head off on another epic journey to climb another famous UK peak. The way I fee right now the chances of that happening are very slim.

Glenn E. wrote:Yesterday I managed to complete my 8 mile run and test the theory that calories are calories, ergo Port should work for carbo-loading before a strenuous event...results are mixed...did not awake feeling spry and ready to run.

Perhaps the half bottle of Taylor 55 I consumed last night can be blamed for my lack of motivation, sore knees and back and blistered feet this morning? Snowdon will have to wait for another day

Yours truely standing by the Trig Point on top of Scafell Pike yesterday...
The image quality is rubbish as it was taken on my BlackBerry. It was actually a very clear and sunny day with excellent visibility.

Today I climbed Stuchd an Lochain (Munro 197 - 3150ft) in glorious sunshine. The very steep ascent was rewarded with fabulous views as far as the eye can see.
More tomorrow

Today Billy and I climbed four Munros: Carn Gorm (Munro 103 - 3,376ft); Meall Garbh (Munro 186 - 3,176ft); Carn Mairg (Munro 91 - 3415ft), and; Meall nan Aigean (Munro 169 - 3,218ft). The total ascent was 4,872ft and the 11.5 mile walk up, along and down this range provided some fantastic views and a great day out, apart from the very sore knees from the very steep descent from Meall nan Aigean.

Here are a few pics:
The last picture shows a spectacular view from the summit of Carn Mairg looking west along Loch Rannoch and over Rannoch Moor towards Ben Nevis, which is the huge bulk of grey rock and snow in the centre of the horizon.

An excellent day out

amazing pics, looks great. I am sure you are happy right now.

I am as well, went to Stamford Bridge today to see Chelsea thrash Wigan and win the Premier league this season. Was also great!

next week after the 78 Vintage Port tasting DrDirk and I will walk from Hastings to Winchelsea via Cliff End (part of the Saxon Shore Way)

regards

WS1

Fantastic pictures, Derek!

I had a very busy weekend that necessitated re-arranging my running schedule. So I ran on Friday to make room for a quick weekend trip on Saturday.

Friday's 10-mile run went very well... for the first 6 miles. Then I started slowing, though I wasn't feeling tired or anything. I drank some water and ate some energy gels during the 6th mile, so I figured I was in good shape to finish the run. But just before the 9 mile mark I bonked pretty hard and struggled to finish the last mile. My pace dropped to a mere 4 mph (barely faster than walking) and my legs felt like dead wood.

Annoyingly, within 15-20 minutes of making it back to my car I felt fine again. It's possible that I simply didn't consume a sufficient number of calories while on the run and I ran into a glucose-debt wall. Next time I run more than 8 miles I'll eat more before the run and then more during the run as well.

So then the interesting part of the weekend... we got up early on Saturday morning and hopped on a bus to Vancouver, British Columbia. Once in Vancouver we boarded a cruise ship that was headed back to Seattle. All the food we could eat, party and dancing all night, breakfast the next morning, and then we were home again! The 1-night cruise is something that Holland America Line does twice a year when they reposition ships from the Caribbean to Alaska (and vice versa) and is needed due to US laws that prohibit foreign flagged ships from carrying passengers between US ports unless they stop at a "far and distant" foreign destination in between. So when the ships leave Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, sail through the Panama Canal (stopping on Lake Gatun to satisfy the foreign destination requirement), and then disembark in San Diego, California, they are left with some sailing to do and no way to conveniently include passengers on the trip. So they do a short 3-day cruise with no stops from San Diego to Vancouver, then another one overnight from Vancouver to Seattle. The bus tickets and assorted taxis cost more than the cruise!

We were pretty beat today so spent most of the day recovering. I'm back to running on schedule starting tomorrow morning!

Just to change things up a bit this week, I deviated from the program's scheduled runs (4, 7, 5, and 7 miles) and instead ran 7 miles on each of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. That gave me Monday off to rest a blister that formed last week, though it doesn't seem to have helped as I'm still fighting it.

All-in-all the runs went well. I'm able to run 7 miles solo at a 10:30 pace pretty easily, and with a partner at a 10:00 pace. I'm still not fast, but I can keep going much longer these days.

Three weeks from today is the longest run of the program (prior to race day) - 12 miles. Last week's 10-miler's issues have me worried about finishing that long of a run, so I'm going to have to carefully plan my food intake. But I still have three weeks to prepare.

2:20:00 for the half marathon still looks achievable, but it will be tough. That would be just over a 10:30 pace for 13.1 miles. I've done 8 miles at a 10:30 pace solo before, and I've done 7.5 miles (12k) at a 10:00 pace before in a race, so the trick is just maintaining it for the full 13.1.

I went to Wales on Saturday morning for my first experience of walking up the mountains of Snowdonia. What a spectacular weekend it turned out to be

On Saturday I climbed Y Garn (3,107ft) and Elidir Fawr (3,031ft). The 7 mile hike had a total ascent of 3,608ft.

Today I walked The Snowdon Roller Coaster from Llanberis which takes in Moel Eilio (2,382ft), a couple of other little bumps and Moel Cynghorion (2,211ft) before ascending to Snowdon (3,560ft). I can't find a reliable measurement of this route but from the map it looks to be around 15 miles. The total ascent was 4,801ft. Over the weekend I climbed 5 (possibly 6) good sized lumps of rock with total ascent of 8,409ft over approximately 22 miles. There isn't a single part of my body that doesn't hurt.

Here are some pics...

Great pictures!

DRT wrote:I can't find a reliable measurement of this route but from the map it looks to be around 15 miles. The total ascent was 4,801ft. Over the weekend I climbed 5 (possibly 6) good sized lumps of rock with total ascent of 8,409ft over approximately 22 miles. There isn't a single part of my body that doesn't hurt.

I just found some measurements of a version of this route that misses two significant ascents that I included in mine. It seems I walked 14 miles and ascended 5,607ft yesterday, which makes it 9,215 ft in 21 miles over the two days.

Derek, I'm worried about you doing all this hiking. Just look at how skinny you are in those pics. You're obviously not drinking enough port.

I dunno Andy, the picture's a bit dark but it looks like he has a bottle of Port in his hand on the Snowdon Summit.

Andy Velebil wrote:Just look at how skinny you are in those pics.

I haven't had that said to me for over 30 years - and it is definitely a camera trick

DRT wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:Just look at how skinny you are in those pics.

I haven't had that said to me for over 30 years - and it is definitely a camera trick

Whew, and I thought that last pic of the smoke was you making rabbit stew.

I had a head cold this weekend so I didn't run on Saturday. I seem to be over it now, though, so went out for a pleasant 5.2 miles this morning. Hopefully I can remain on schedule for the rest of this week, as next week ends with a 12-miler!

Saturday was hot. Very hot. So we headed off to the Drumochdar Pass between Perth and Inverness to climb four Munros: Geal-charn, A' Mharconaich, Beinn Udlamain & Sgairneach Mhor (don't ask me how to pronounce any of them!).

It was a walk of 15 miles with 3,881ft of ascent. Not easy in temperatures in the mid 20s and the final 5 miles back from the foot of Sgairneach Mhor to the car was exhausting.

Here are the pics...

It's Bank Holiday weekend in the UK so the opportunity for four days of walking in the hills was difficult to resist.

This evening I headed off to the Peak District for a very familiar set of hills to get my first walk of the weekend in. 12 miles and 3,215ft of ascent in 4.5 hours. A good start

Here are the pics...

The weather is awful today so I went for a shorter walk. It was horrible. I climbed Bleaklow Head from Birchen Clough lay-by on the A57 Snake Pass. The 7.5 mile route had a mere 1,257ft of ascent but the constant rain and wind made it a very miserable three hours.

Here are the extensive views from the second highest point in the Peak District...

I need some of this tomorrow... ...as I am heading to the Yorkshire Dales to attempt this.

You best start being nice to your son, he's getting bigger than you. And I don't want to know what those two sheep were up to and why you were taking pictures of them

Andy Velebil wrote:I don't want to know what those two sheep were up to and why you were taking pictures of them

They were running around head-butting each other about 2 feet away from an 800ft cliff - the last time I was up there I saw a sheep that had gone over the edge in the same place - it's head was caved in, neck broken. It had landed with such force that it was doing a head-stand with all its legs in the air and a dead lamb hanging out its rear end. Not a pretty sight!

I can proudly say that I have joined in this exercise frenzy and have done my bit to match Derek's mountain walking, Glenn's marathon sprinting and Andy's cycling from Los Angeles to Seattle for a port tasting.

This afternoon I went to Henley, had tea in Raymond Blanc's spledid tea shop and strolled to Temple Island and back. Total distance covered was approximately 2 miles with a cumulative ascent of about 20 feet since we had to cross the bridge twice. Now at home, exhausted, I am fishing out the remains of my Ferreira 1963 and have my feet up in front of the telly.

Well done!

Yesterday's weather was icky, so I didn't run then as scheduled. Instead I ran this morning and did a pleasant 7 miles. I have to run on schedule all this week because next Saturday is supposed to be a 12-mile run and I want to make sure I'm ready for it!

I debated opening a '77 Dow today, but ultimately chose not to because my guests will appreciate the Recioto I have chose instead more than they would have appreciated the Dow.