Although I haven’t been reporting every bit of exercise I’ve been doing in my weekly blogs, we’ve been keeping up our usual training regime every week for the past 6 months:
- Monday (Spinning session & Gym)
- Tuesday (Smaller walk – 2 to 3 hours)
- Wednesday (College)
- Thursday (Hockey training)
- Friday (Gym)
- Saturday (Hockey game)
- Sunday (Long walk – generally 5+ hours)
For Tuesdays walk we decided to do the part of the first section of the Parish walk, starting at the NSC, through the access road to Marown church. Then on to the Mount Murray via the Newtown road, returning to the NSC, approximately 10/11 miles.
A big part of the plan has been related to hockey, which has now sadly come to an end due to the end of the season. This week we replaced the hockey training on Thursday with a welcome return to playing squash, unfortunately after a break from playing, I still suck at it!
On Saturday I went into town to scout out some of the equipment I’ll need for the Kili trip, there’s an awful lot of it, and quite a lot of the items are things that I can’t really see myself using (well, hopefully not) after the trip, such as head torches, gaiters, sleeping bag liners, trekking poles etc! It’s a good thing I haven’t been drinking or getting takeaways for the past month as I might actually be able to afford some of this stuff :).
Sundays walk was another trek down south, starting at the hallowed Sloc, walking as fast we could we travelled via Ronague via Colby & then Gansay & the back road of Port St Mary back to Port Erin, grabbing another ice cream & returning to the bottom of the Sloc.
This walk wasn’t as big as our usual efforts, concentrating more on speed & trying to keep ourselves in one shape & not pick up any injuries before we set off for our trip! It’s getting scarily close to the events now!
Monday, May 31, 2010
It's how close?
Monday, May 24, 2010
New Shoes?
For this weeks Tuesday session we walked from Marine drive, through the Old Castletown road, via Kewaigue, returning to Douglas head. This walk was different in two ways; the first was that we tried to go as fast as possible over the whole route (instead of the usual method of just trying to make it round a long distance in one piece).
The second change was that I got a chance to wear my new pair of trainers! After giving up on the useless Intersport to order me a pair of trainers in the right size (for the second time), I did a bit of research on the Internet & ordered a new pair of Asics that came highly recommended.
I’m very pleased to report that they were extremely comfortable & felt a lot lighter & more padded than my usual worn out set, and even better there were no blisters or aches afterwards, although I must admit I was wondering how they’d cope with a longer walk.
We went out for our usual Sunday walk, starting at Fleshwick, walking up the stupidly large hill at a fair old pace without any breaks! This makes me realise just how far I’ve come from the start of my training as I think back to the first week where I had to stop regularly & thought I might die from severe unfitness.
We then continued on around the coast line, visiting the hallowed Milner’s tower, walking from Port Erin along the promenade (getting an ice cream on route – for energy purposes, of course), up over the hills behind the marine laboratory, through the sound & Cregneash, then via Port St Mary & Port Erin to return to the car at Fleshwick – without one blisted (these are definitely the shoes for the parish).
Another bit of great news – Celts won the league by beating Saracens 3 – 1 in another closely fought game. Saracens were a very good & friendly opposition team to play against.
I’ve attached a picture of the Celts team that I’ve talked so much about in my blogs – a great bunch of people. Unfortunately I won’t be able to play in the final game of the season next week due to work commitments.
Click on the picture to see a bigger version of the image.
The second change was that I got a chance to wear my new pair of trainers! After giving up on the useless Intersport to order me a pair of trainers in the right size (for the second time), I did a bit of research on the Internet & ordered a new pair of Asics that came highly recommended.
I’m very pleased to report that they were extremely comfortable & felt a lot lighter & more padded than my usual worn out set, and even better there were no blisters or aches afterwards, although I must admit I was wondering how they’d cope with a longer walk.
We went out for our usual Sunday walk, starting at Fleshwick, walking up the stupidly large hill at a fair old pace without any breaks! This makes me realise just how far I’ve come from the start of my training as I think back to the first week where I had to stop regularly & thought I might die from severe unfitness.
We then continued on around the coast line, visiting the hallowed Milner’s tower, walking from Port Erin along the promenade (getting an ice cream on route – for energy purposes, of course), up over the hills behind the marine laboratory, through the sound & Cregneash, then via Port St Mary & Port Erin to return to the car at Fleshwick – without one blisted (these are definitely the shoes for the parish).
Another bit of great news – Celts won the league by beating Saracens 3 – 1 in another closely fought game. Saracens were a very good & friendly opposition team to play against.
I’ve attached a picture of the Celts team that I’ve talked so much about in my blogs – a great bunch of people. Unfortunately I won’t be able to play in the final game of the season next week due to work commitments.
Click on the picture to see a bigger version of the image.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Woohoo, go Celts, it's your Birthday!
Now that the evenings are lighter myself & Dave have decided to start going for walks every Tuesday to supplement our weekly training regime. On our first Tuesday session we decided to walk from Ye Olde Laxey town up to the top of Snaefell.
We set off along the tram lines & I used this as another opportunity to wear the hiking boots that I’ll be using on my trek up Kili. Again I was pleased with their performance as they had to deal with all sorts or terrain on this fairly long walk, navigating over the railway sleepers & rough terrain, let alone the jumping over the big drainage gaps & dodging the mad sheep.
Saturday was a great day as we managed to beat our closest rivals Vikings Saxons in a toughly contested hockey game, the end result being 2 – 1 to the mighty Celts. This has continued our unbeaten season run & means that we need to get at least one draw from our next two games to secure the division 1 title. I also enjoyed this game as I played a full game & felt well conditioned, being able to run for the full 70 minutes without feeling too tired in very hot conditions.
On the Sunday walk we decided to complete another session in the south of the Island. Starting in Colby we walked via the Southern 100 course through to Castletown where we joined the coastal footpath, trekking from Scarlett through to Port St Mary then through Cregneash & the Sound back to Port Erin & then on to Colby. A decent distance to walk over different terrain & I’m afraid to say that it was actually reasonably enjoyable!
We set off along the tram lines & I used this as another opportunity to wear the hiking boots that I’ll be using on my trek up Kili. Again I was pleased with their performance as they had to deal with all sorts or terrain on this fairly long walk, navigating over the railway sleepers & rough terrain, let alone the jumping over the big drainage gaps & dodging the mad sheep.
Saturday was a great day as we managed to beat our closest rivals Vikings Saxons in a toughly contested hockey game, the end result being 2 – 1 to the mighty Celts. This has continued our unbeaten season run & means that we need to get at least one draw from our next two games to secure the division 1 title. I also enjoyed this game as I played a full game & felt well conditioned, being able to run for the full 70 minutes without feeling too tired in very hot conditions.
On the Sunday walk we decided to complete another session in the south of the Island. Starting in Colby we walked via the Southern 100 course through to Castletown where we joined the coastal footpath, trekking from Scarlett through to Port St Mary then through Cregneash & the Sound back to Port Erin & then on to Colby. A decent distance to walk over different terrain & I’m afraid to say that it was actually reasonably enjoyable!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Raaamsey Yessir!
This week we decided to complete Parish walk completely & trek from Ramsey to Douglas. Admittedly we completed the course over 4 different walks which perhaps may not quite be in the spirit of the competition but it’s still a good feeling :).
We had a guest walker in Mr James ‘Pasty’ Russel who has also entered the Parish this year. It was good to have him along for the walk as it helped to pass the time with another person to chat with, but more importantly than that he actually knew the way!
My directional sense is pretty poor at the best of times, but this combined with my poor knowledge of the roads ‘up north yessir’ is actually quite a worry for me in the latter stages of the Parish, so James’ knowledge was greatly appreciated.
The weather varied from being sunny & hot to wet & cold over the day each making a noticeable difference to the ease of walking & the amount of layers needed, something I will have to make sure I’m prepared for by stocking my support car with everything I could possibly need.
Some people refer to this stretch of the parish as the “home straight” as it is only a mere 23.5 miles to go until you reach the finish line on Douglas promenade & this became a running joke throughout this walk, every village we passed through meant we were on the home straight & it wasn’t long until we finished (I realise any readers must be disappointed at missing out on such wit).
Fortunately (perhaps not the correct term), we also killed a few hours of the walk by playing the song name game. This consists of naming a band that ends with the previously stated bands last letter, needless to say, this game drives you mental, but it does take your mind off the walk & also made me realise how inventive Dave & James are at making up band names!
We finished the walk in a very reasonable time & although it wasn’t as far as previous efforts & my feet were sore I felt good after it & felt like I could definitely have continued on a lot further.
Amazingly enough I went a whole week without an injury, woohoo. This combined with the face that I am now on an alcohol & take away free diet until I have completed the Parish walk, should hopefully help with the month or so up to the first event!
We had a guest walker in Mr James ‘Pasty’ Russel who has also entered the Parish this year. It was good to have him along for the walk as it helped to pass the time with another person to chat with, but more importantly than that he actually knew the way!
My directional sense is pretty poor at the best of times, but this combined with my poor knowledge of the roads ‘up north yessir’ is actually quite a worry for me in the latter stages of the Parish, so James’ knowledge was greatly appreciated.
The weather varied from being sunny & hot to wet & cold over the day each making a noticeable difference to the ease of walking & the amount of layers needed, something I will have to make sure I’m prepared for by stocking my support car with everything I could possibly need.
Some people refer to this stretch of the parish as the “home straight” as it is only a mere 23.5 miles to go until you reach the finish line on Douglas promenade & this became a running joke throughout this walk, every village we passed through meant we were on the home straight & it wasn’t long until we finished (I realise any readers must be disappointed at missing out on such wit).
Fortunately (perhaps not the correct term), we also killed a few hours of the walk by playing the song name game. This consists of naming a band that ends with the previously stated bands last letter, needless to say, this game drives you mental, but it does take your mind off the walk & also made me realise how inventive Dave & James are at making up band names!
We finished the walk in a very reasonable time & although it wasn’t as far as previous efforts & my feet were sore I felt good after it & felt like I could definitely have continued on a lot further.
Amazingly enough I went a whole week without an injury, woohoo. This combined with the face that I am now on an alcohol & take away free diet until I have completed the Parish walk, should hopefully help with the month or so up to the first event!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
