[tomtom]

Mon: drive back from Lakes...

Tu: Anston with Nai and Dolly. Frodo again. Good session - Nai nearly flashed everything up to 7A - and looked strong. I felt weak - Dolly in between I guess... Spent alot of time working Nazgul LH. I eventually worked into some sort of form and after about an hour came really close a few times before powering out. Attention then moved to Frodo. Despite being tired I managed to curl my body up above a right dropped knee and static up to the high hold in the roof... I was then powered out to try and move from that (to gain the undercut) but in a session the problem had gone from impossible to on the list. Hope to return on Mon and Tues and get at least one of them... well thats the plan..

We:

Th:

Fri: Blackwell then Rubicon. Looked too sunny for Rubicon so went to beginners wall. Had some fun there remembering the beta for swing time and Man of Steel (which I think might be easier and very soft for 7B) and did most of the moves.. but didnt really have psyche for them (as done before) and wanted to save some energy for other things. Had a play on advcanced training - and it felt harder than last year :D wondering if I can lank to the crimp keeping both my feet low... which would be cheating I expect :D Then on to Rubicon as it was overcast. It was deserted!!! Tried Kudos again... played around with getting my heel up this time - which felt OK for 2-3 times then felt like it was tweaking my knee so tried other ways... no-where on the press. Tried BSD crouching (first move felt miles off) and ended up doing most of the moves on A bigger tail - with straight arms and sagging body... which felt encouraging...

Sa: One hour car work out swapping out winter to summer wheels/tyres..

Su: Depot with the nipper in the morning (no climbing for me) and just doing a BM session to keep my fingers in... Its going really well and feeling really strong. Which is a bit disappointing as I would like to be converting that feeling into rock performance instead of a wooden bar in my attic...

[yetix]

M:rest
T:rest
W: virtual crag, ticked hackers homeland sds (7a) hyperlink sds (7a+), both felt fairly steady and didn't really hurt my injured fingers.
T:rest
F:rest
S:bench press 5x5 @62.5kg, felt pretty steady and not done for a while, will have to likely invest more time into this again as finger feels a little tweeky
S: easy bouldering at depot, 3x5s hangs at bodyweight on the BM 18mms, felt okay, wouldn't want to add weight though right now. And i-y-ts on the rings.

Font next week so will see how my fingers get on!

[Will Hunt]

T - Caley crag. Spent time taking photos of people and did Pedestal Arete which I'd never done before, assuming that it just used the rancid pebble. Did it with the finger slope, can't think why I haven't done that before.

[jwi]

Mon April 22
Climbing outdoors, Gorges du Tarn
7a+ rp. 56m. Putting in the clips for J. Harder than on sat, but still got up
8a (Astrotarn) RP attempt. Fell quite low down. The crack was wetter than on sat. Horrorshow. Arrived at the hard bit exhausted. Dogged to the top and cleaned it. Felt awful
7c os failed attempt. 50 m affair with three hard moves high up. Very hard to read. Bad connies. Felt totally broken afterwards.
Horrible days performance-wise in GdT.
Tue April 23
Sick. Fever. Stomach. Buh.
Thu April 25
Bouldering in gym
Felt like the worst climber of all time, so I tried the campus board instead. Wolfgang Güllich turned in his grave. (3-4-5-6 on small rungs was best).
Fri April 26
Bouldering in gym
Was already a bit better. Some bouldering then some circuits on the three 2-finger pairs. Then set and tried a stamina circuit that was slightly too hard. Planned to do 2x15 min on but managed 7min + 5min.
Sat April 27
Pullups on slightly skewed trapeze 3 sets. OK.
Sun April 28
Lifting up in-laws pump + hose from an 85 m deep well.

[shark]

11.1-3 average 155.8

M. AM Crag X on own. 12 degrees. Good conditions with slight breeze and also waterfall in full flow helps I think. 6 or 7 goes on JR. Best go pretty sure I would have got it except only had three fingers in slot under bulge - see below. Few goes at start of Moff traverse. Did first five moves a few times. Fingers feeling stronger on holds. Particularly pleased with 3rd crossover on Moff which I struggled with last year and doesn’t feel a big deal now. Felt more tired at end than I felt I should be

T. Felt tired and ill - scrubbed notion of FB'ing

W.

T.

F. Afternoon. Malham. 3 weeks since last session- felt like 3 months. Had a bit of a cold.Cloudy good conditions. Warm up on Consenting. Dogging go on the Oak. Felt light and strong. Tried the throw move and stubbed my thumb on the horn taking a lump of skin off the thumb under the nail. Came down and taped it up using superglue. Awkward climbing with it as I use thumb a lot. First redpoint go I climbed well and felt strong setting up for throw but having hurt my thumb wimped out of grabbing horn. Next go got to set up but tape slipped off. Applied more superglue. Next go slipped off same place due to bleeding on hold. Decided to call it a day. Left the rest of them to it and went to the Listers for a pint

S. Felt ill. Eve Dragged myself to do Norton's 50th. Cheered up catching up with the gang including Bubba.

S. PM Forced myself to do an weighted hangs session on Ergo Edge. Below par scores unsurprisingly

Feeling pretty hacked off to come down with a third cold in succession with scarcely a break between them. Appreciate that keeping my weight down may not have helped. Similarly the thumb injury might have been less drastic if I'd not been using antihydral.

Booked to go back with Paul on tuesday and friday. Thumb still a mess and feel listless from the cold. Time for wine   


Best go on JR

[Murph]

Get well soon Simon.

T- fingerboard. Decent session. Trying to be faithful to the half crimp and taking notes when it doesn’t feel quite right or certain fingers open up. Up to +40 for 10s on bm medium and +24 for first 9 then 10s on bm smalls. Stretches. 5.5k jog.
W- social climb on ropes at the foundry. Nothing to report really.
T- 10k jog run into work. Felt ok. Fingerboard up to +40 and +24 again. Felt fine really.
F- took the 3 year old for a wander round Burbage. Repeated Mermaid 7A that was nice. Lots of stretches.
S- graves parkrun - first fast run in almost a year. Felt good. Unimpressive performance but nice to make most of a wet morning. Took the 5 year old to awesome. More max hangs. Best session yet I reckon. 2 x 24kg x 10s on bm small strict half crimp. First time I’ve felt I could have gone harder. Stretches.
S- kids climbing at Burbage then, following a child meltdown had a short pass to walk back with a mat. Repeated Breakfast 7A (after being shown the short person beta by a 6 footer!) and repeated Puck SDS 7A+ on my last go of the day. That was quite good. Also ticked for the first time Tiger 6A - long-standing hard-for-the-grade nemesis problem that I was pleased to tick.

65.8kgs lowest of the year.

Stretches are helping I reckon, and I’m enjoying seeing a bit of progress on these half crimp hangs. Things looking ok. Realistically Tsunami is going to have to wait for another lifetime though but I’m enjoying pottering at the minute.

[duncan]

STG: Don’t get injured. Climb some cracks.
MTG: Colorado bucket list in May, a classic sea cliff E5 this summer.
LTG: 5.13 at 60; a LH&F BHAG.

M - Fingerboard. Max-ish hangs on BM 18mm edges. Quite a good session.
T - Shoulder strength:  IsYsTs on the rings etc. Hip stretches. Westway routes: 250m in sets of 50m up to 6a+.
W - Shoulder strength.
T - Wesway routes in doubles to 6c, this actually felt a bit like training.
F - Shoulder strength.
S - Wynd Cliff, seemed likely to be sheltered from the high winds, with Mike P. An unpromising day due to the iffy forecast and non-quality venue. Had a really enjoyable time, in the way that one star routes can be more fun than ‘classics’ due to lack of expectation and because it’s about much more than just the rock. It was dry, calm, sunny, deserted, and the place is rather lovely in an adventure-in-the-lost world style. Rock is a bit shite and I seem to be losing what’s left of my trust of small gear in non-Pembroke limestone. Did three good long 5.10s (~E2) and a couple of 5.8s (VS/HVS). No not quite the big day but - with the driving and trad. faffing - it still seemed quite tiring.
S - Shoulder strength, hip stretches

Decent week, some actual training rather than just rehabilitation.

Plan: one more day outside with some crack climbing, a light training day, then call it good. Off to Colorado on Saturday. 

[monkoffunk]

STG - Climb Fighting Torque
Plan/train for Spring Font trip
Weight 72-74kg
MTG - go to Ansteys, go to Font
More volume: Climb 10 routes 7a-7c+ by end June (0/10)
Portland Font 7A+/B from unfinished list, autumn
LTG - 7C

M - Rest, diet back on track. Always hardest first day after a cheat/break!

T - work long day. Max hangs.
Warm up, pull ups 2x5+0, 1x5+6kg, 1x5+10kg
10 sec hangs
1x0kg
2x10kg
1x20kg
4x25kg
25kg is my 10 second limit for sure currently.

W - Rest.

T - Session 15. Well I was wrong on Friday. Thought I couldn’t be closer to Fighting Torque without doing it, but somehow I managed it. Guess I’m not ready to end the project. This time no excuses, conditions were perfect, I was just shit. Fell off going for the jug on last hard move. Hit the wall quite hard apparently, as in video, although I didn’t really notice at the time, too focused on the disbelief of not doing it. Anyway, I don’t know, can’t be that disappointed when the climbing is that good! More psyched to get back after getting so close. Session definitely counted for my weeks PE training.

Also got a anaesthetic registrar job offer for Wessex which I guess was the highlight of the day in the end.

Possibly NSFW language:


F - Pre night shift. Woke up feeling ok. Sort of wanted a rest day, but knew I’d want to sleep most Saturday if had busy first night, so made decision to climb Friday and Sunday. Ideally would have rested, but quite a good session climbing mostly comp problems. Don’t need any finger strength at all, so mixed in a tiny bit on campus board and some pinch hangs. Ready for rest tomorrow.

S - Yoga at 0200. Really do rate it for recovery. Particularly find that upper back on right gets right after trying Fighting Torque. Did some good stretches for that, eagle arms being best I think.

Rest. Weight 72.4kg, but really thirsty!

S - Yoga at 0330.

Afternoon campus session.
Middle BM rungs. New half spaced rungs are small.

LR 123456789
LR 13579
L 145.5 R144.5(!mistake)
L145.5(touch, weak!) R146
LR136 (good)
Long rest
L 146(touch, going for 6.5) R 14-(non starter)
L14141(feet down final 1) R14141

Last night shift, more rest and resetting time tomorrow.

Psyched for this week, one Portland trip and then the weekend down at Anstey’s. Should be awesome.

[gollum]

Deload Week

M - Rest day.  Spend all day at work from stupid o’clock so just get a steady run in when I get home and some gentle stretches.

T - Push day. Some benches off the pins for triples up to 90 followed by some standard bench up to 95 x 3. Bit of shoulder pressing and finish with dips and band supported press ups which are great for core.
Gentle trot in the evening.

W - Steady session at Depot with campus board to warm up and hitting al current benchmarks. Follow that with a board session on the 50 which has highs and lows. Finish of with some minute on two off and some TRX stuff.
Steady run with Mrs B later on.

T - Steady early run to blow the cobwebs.
Strength intervals work on the Depot 50 in the evening. These go better than they ever have and feel solid on all the reps. Fail on a couple of top moves but to be expected. Progress it would seem. After that just boulder got fun for a bit.

F - Steady pull day. Deadlifts to 150 to warm followed by shrugs and Roman Chair. Rows for a change followed by lots of curls of various sorts.
Steady 10k when I get home with 6k up the hill and 4 back down. Very relaxing.

S - Early morning run as want to get two in today for the distance but the least time to recover for tomorrow.
Depot session to try to get ahead for the week I am away. Edge pulls with 20k on 14mm edge followed by strength intervals on 50 board. Manage to fall off last move of Steady Intro which would have been good to finally do but I’m not going anywhere and neither is it. Good set of intervals all in all. Then spend a couple of hours just playing about in main room. Do a couple of problems and finish with minute on two off. Tired by the end.
Another steady trot in the afternoon with Mrs B.

S - Fabulous day out running in the Lakes in the sunshine. Four passes race route. Six hours on our legs and felt strong throughout. Reckon Transvulcania is going to be okay in a couple of weeks.

[nai]

M did my monthly max hangs session, F3 and F2 only, broke F3 PB again.
Bit of core then went to check out Hollin Hill with Plattsy.  Didn't quite live up to the amount of stars allocated on UKC but a gently overhanging wall covered in positive crimpers, what's not to like.
Tried a bunch decent problems in a nice shady spot and crucially, not busy on a nice bank holiday.  Bit of confusion as to where some lines actually start, go and finish but pretty sure I did one of the 7A+s. And didn't do a couple more...
Bit more core and some shoulders back home

T - Frodo with Dolly and tomtom.  Got a bit frustrated, was shut down on Nazgul and Frodo. Nazgul just needs a bit of manning up (or footwork) for the final lurch but somehow couldn't make myself go for it.  Nowhere near on Frodo.

W rest

Th - Rubicon.  Had a random, really terrible night's sleep despite being fairly tired  Knew I wasn't on the the ball while warming up at home, thought I'd be able to battle through but  it wasn't happening. Nowhere near on The Press, same as really on BSD.  Salvaged the session with Caviar starting to come together a bit but only in a way that I can get to the hard bit consistently now.  Should learn that a bad night possibly means you're overdoing it and need a rest so trying to push on really isn't going to work

Core and shoulders back home

Realise I've had a fairly intensive three weeks and that I probably need a few days rest. But had plans for Friday

F - First time on a rope since September so tried Tequila Mockingbird, obvs.  Well, I had a partner who'd done it recently and was willing to put a rope on it and feed me beta, so it seemed like a bit of a gift horse.  Three burns on a top rope, did it in sections and some were starting to get semi slick by the end but a bit of a way to go really.  Great route, everything else can go on hold, this has just become my new number one project.

Decided I'd take three days rest before bouldering on Tuesday then returning to Tequila on Wednesday


S
Unfortunately I'm not very good at doing nothing

Up before the crew so 6x5 mins LI @ 8am
Core, because I try to do some every other day, and it's the other day - LVL sits, lever progressions - improving, 3x 3min floor circuits

Took kids swimming in the afternoon and accidentally did 40+ lengths

Call that an Active rest day

S REST

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - pull ups 5x10; overhead walk 1/1 x5; dumbbell thruster 1/1 x5. Very tired.
Tue - rest.
Wed - static ab wheel, strong. Overhead walk, shoulder walk, dumbbell thrusters. Very tired.   
Thu - rest.
Fri - dumbbell complex, clean and press.
Sat - boxing bag; farmer's and deadlift complex. Tried the feat as per LFOS thread.
Sun - a beautiful complex that I named "The Yoke Complex": 5x Hackey Pull, Bentover Shrug, Snatch Pull, Muscle Snatch, x5. Brilliant.

Finally two months of commuting are over. No more 6 am alarm! Very happy that I managed to keep some training up.

[cheque]

Rehab Diaries Week Thirty-six

STG- Sub-HVS *** Peak Grit Trad list (17/20 remain), onsighting HVS/ low 6s by end of September.

M- Logged this last week.

[bT-T-[/b] Rest. Took a while to recover from two days on with big walk-ins.

F- Foundry autobelays with the Trad Rack Simulator 5000^TM. I added a new weight to this so it's now 5kg exactly and there's a weight for each of my harness's gearloops. This feels both more like a trad rack and strangely more manageable- I think thiks might be down to getting stronger from climbing with it (and clmbing with a real rack of course) though!

There are 11 autobelay routes at the Foundry up to 6a+ (the hardest I've climbed with added weight), three 4s, a 5, a 5+, three 6as and three 6a+s. Worked my way up and then down these, with a section of six 6a+s in a row in the middle, taking breaks when I felt like I needed them. I only feel off one route, the final 6a, which would suggest that session fitness rather than strength (at this level) is the stopper. Really tried to keep my technique together and climb the routes the same way towards the end as I had when I was fresh- not easy as I was boxed! Going to add a 6b or two in there next time.

Basically this is a climbing-with-weight version of the exercise bike routine my physio gave me- a pretty good example of how rehabbing my injuries has helped me plan and mentally approach the climbing-training side of it better. 

[bS-S-[/b] Race support for my girlfiend running the Blackpool marathon. She did it in 3:54:17 which is slower than her only previous marathon (she runs all the time and races throughout the year but prefers the 10k-half marathon bracket, largely due to the time demands of training for longer races) but within her target time. So pleased for her as with all last year's upheavals she lost a lot of fitness, psyche and confidence for running. No training involved for me beyond wandering along the promenade and carb-loading in the car.

My current stage of getting in condition for trad onsighting has seen my training/ rehab structure go out of the window in April- I've just either gone out trad climbing or climbed indoors with the weight belt and then had resultant periods of unbelievabable tiredness and soreness that I've needed days on end to recover from. I think I'm at the end of that period now though- didn't feel too bad after Friday and I'll be back at the gym this week. Another bank holiday weekend coming though so hopefully back up on the moors attacking the routes on my list!

[spidermonkey09]

T - some repeaters in the evening. Opted against adding weight reasoning I was a bit knackered from the BH weekend. Did pretty well on them though.

W - Short session on the board at the Depot, making the most of it while I still have a membership there. Did some good PE work and felt like I had good session fitness.

T - Malham after work. Felt like the tank was half empty which makes sense given third day on. Still did good link and had good session on headwall refining beta. Crimpy crux up top still feels hard and rags my skin; need to get stronger fingers.

F - rest! Finally.

S - Malham. Pissing with rain but bizarrely good conditions considering. Did really good link from kneebar to shit undercut rest, went for crux move out of this but didn't quite commit despite feeling quite fresh. As a result I caught the hold but dropped it as was a bit surprised I'd got there. Quite encouraging though as think If I'd actually tried I would have got a few moves further. Fiddled around on crimpy headwall after this and found potential new sequence utilising smaller moves but on rancid little crimps. Undecided whether this is a goer. Did some good reps on it anyway and memorised foot movements for exit from crux sequence to top rest. Dogged up Baboo iun the evening which was fun; nice to do some different moves.

S - went back to Malham as didn't fancy sitting inside while it was sunny. Went up Bat Route in sunshine which was dumb idea, but was getting bored sat around. Tired from previous day but did a bit more work on crimpy headwall and found new foothold which seems most promising option. Came down and tried Space Invaders in the afternoon as arm was feeling a bit tweaky. Went up once and fell off top section. Second go nearly did it but pumped out on slopey rail with a few moves to go. Good fitness training anyway and shouldn't take too long.

Quieter week ahead as my skin is trashed and I need a rest. Resting today, some Max hangs tomorrow I think and then Malham on Thursday and Saturday.

[xelaxela]

Power Club

Goals: Remain Uninjured , 62kg, back to bouldering 7C regularly in UK
Currently: Still OK, 76.2kg, 6C regularly (7A indoors)

M - Family day out to the lakes with the Wife and 1 year old son, Managed to swing an afternoon at Langdale Boulders but it was roasting and I got a bit red. Managed Triple Dyno - Dyno 2 f6C, Problem 8 SS f6A, Problem 8 f3+, The Crack f4 ended up climbing away from the crack at the top felt harder than the last time I did it, also managed to some other stuff but just warm ups really.
T - 45 minute indoor bouldering conditioning session before work, 5 routes without touching the ground as a warm up, 5 mins rest then 30 problems of varying difficulty max 30 seconds rest between each.
W - Rain!!! ended up climbing inside again at Blackpool Bouldering Wall, worked a V6 yellow on the 40° overhang that I hadn't managed and ended up getting it just before they turned the lights off.
T - Early work meeting so didn't manage to make it to the wall ended up doing circuits of 20mm Edge Max Hangs 10 seconds body weight plus 40kg for 6 sets, weighted pull ups 5 pull ups body weight plus 32.5kg for 5 sets and hanging leg raises body weight plus 10kg for 5 sets with 3 mins rest between each circuit
F - 45 minute indoor bouldering conditioning session before work, 5 routes without touching the ground as a warm up, 5 mins rest then 30 problems of varying difficulty max 30 seconds rest between each.
S - Rest
S - Rest

[tommytwotone]

Goal: 3 (now 1, 2 down...) new outdoor 7as before end 2019.


Missus and kids were away Mon - Thurs, gifting me a few days at home (working during day sadly) but a nice bit of rest / peace and quiet.


M: Filey with family.
T: Big Depot after work, felt flat and a bit brain dead after a day-long training thing at work, but threw myself into it. 10 x autobelay routes, then a decent volume of bouldering including 2 x Purples (V5-V7) in pretty short order.
W: Nowt.
T: Nowt. Trip to hospital for a fairly unpleasant medical procedure in the afternoon, investigative and thankfully threw up nothing worrying.
F: Nowt.
S: Took the lad (aged 2) to The Lab and he had a great time - first time the penny has dropped and he did loads. Remembered to take the little stuffed toy with me this time and he loved clambering up and getting it off holds I put it on. He even sat still while I did a bit, though this was just a few rushed easy things to get the blood pumping.
S: Nowt.

[Smith42]

M - Stanhope Dene, new sport climbing venue in Weardale, nice enough but all just a bit short and grades all over the place.  Did half a dozen routes onsight up to 7a+.

T – Home wall, warmed up with @ 20mins bouldering usual Max Hangs workout. (3 sets of repeaters, progressive hangs the two sets of four reps @+ 25kg).  Felt really solid.  Then went to Shaftoe to try Purely Belter but conditions really humid so had to sack it off.

W - Lunch time quick one hour work out. (Aero Cap and core) 10 mins on/off on the yellow circuit and TRX core workout during resting 10mins.  Then in the evening did ten mins continuous climbing as warm up, then flashed Purple circuit and then boulder 4x4x4s Aero Power. (Approx. 1250moves)

Th – Forearms ache but went for another Aero Cap work out, 15mins on 10mins off three reps then TRX core workout.  (approx. 750moves)

F- Gym, was going to do cardio but felt like it’s a while since did chest and legs so did that work out instead.  Benched 75kg which felt heavy!

Sat – appalling forecast for everywhere so ended up at Sunderland wall and did Aero Cap work out leading on the big wall 8 routes.

Sun – Finally made it round to Kilnsey.  Surprised to see it bone dry everywhere, did New Mystique for warm up then BTB up Comedy and did it first RP although very close to dropping it. Feet came off three times before I had got to the second bolt, (obviously spent too much time bouldering on grit and I v not yet calibrated for the polish) but recovery at the spike and last bolt felt respectable for second day on.  Went to Brimham to try project but felt tired by time id got there and warmed up so sacked it off.

Big volume of training this week and finger pulley is only mildly affected when crimping hard so I’ll avoid that for now. 
Pleased to get second route 7c tick, good bench mark route for me for where my fitness is but also my desire to try hard. 
Next week will be strength and antagonistic work outs then off to Kalymnos whoohoo!

[Coops_13]

M:

T: Morrison Bouldering. First taste of outdoor bouldering in Colorado, only 20 mins from home! Did three nice V5s. Dasani - a cool powerful arete feature. Double Arete - nice technical and burly double arete. The Slapper - nice tenuous problem, felt soft but others struggled

W: Apartment gym. First visit to the apartment gym - not huge but modern equipment. Warmed up legs then went on smith machine. Romanian deadlifts up to 180lb, squats up to 140lb, bench up to 130lb. Did further supplementary exercises including wrist curls before 10 mins stretching

T: Spot Denver. First look at this new gym 10 mins walk from apartment. Disappointed to find that the boards and training area weren't up yet, and the A/C didn't work. Some really good setting and really weird grading. From one spot to five spots. Loads of easy stuff... Did an amazing boulder though and flashed some hard stuff (v satisfying). New holds tough on the skin

F:

S: Flatirons - Satellites Bouldering. Spent most of the day at a dealership getting a new car but did manage to get out. Longer walk-in than expected got us to the boulders at 1620ish. Warmed up quickly and got straight on The Turning Point V8. Should have done this but didn't due to getting calf cramp from getting dehydrated on walk up. Then skin deteriorating and ripping off the holds once I'd recovered from the cramp. Amazing problem - next time.

S:

[Duma]

Deload Week

Ha!

[Duma]

Goals: Uninjured, 70kg, 8A in UK, Rocklands in June.

M - TCA, tried to boulder but didn't have it in me. Undercut touches on moonboard, then attempted 7c+ pe circuit but failed at #31, earliest I've failed on this since I set it, not done any pe stuff for ages though so no surprise.

T - TCA, max hangs 6x10s +25kgs. 30PU, 15VSit, 15SU 15PINCU.

W - UCR, circuits, 5x doubles on two different 7a/+, prob too easy as only failed at end of final rep. 30PU, 15VSit, 15SU.

T - TCA, flashed all the new 6A to 6B+ set to warm up, either feeling good or they're a bit easier than the preceding set. R hamstring feeling bit tweaky though. One arm hangs on lattice edge, 6 x 10s, started at - 11.25kg but had to increase assistance to 12.5kg by the end. Then forerunning circuits, 1 x 6a+, 1 x 6c+, 1 x 7a+. 30PU, 15VSit, 15SU, 15PINCU.

F - 30PU, 15VSit, 15SU, 15PINCU.

S - 30PU, 15PINCU.

S - 30PU, 15VSit, 15SU, 15PINCU.

Av 70.3 kg

Night shifts so quiet weekend. Weight in right direction and hardly drank this week though.

[SA Chris]

M - 6 km easy run
T - nowt
W - 8 km easy run
T - Lunchtime Yoga
F - 6 km easy run. Probably shouldn't have but wanted to get to 500km for the year.
S - Travel. Went straight to Marathon Expo "for the experience" as my number had been collected for me already. Just insane number of people, too much noise, too much stress, left after half an hour.
S - London Marathon Big Day. After a shitty and restless night sleep in the hotel, made way to Greenwich Park. Day overcast, cold and windy. After much deliberation about what to wear, handed drop bag in and then stood about waiting, eating drinking and queuing for bogs. Finally got under, strategy for first half was getting miles down without feeling like I was doing much work, staying hydrated and keep getting gels etc in. All fine apart from needing a quick pee at about 10km, and was ahead of pace. After crossing tower bridge, lost focus a bit and was looking out for mates going the other way, plus struggling with crowds. All good doing Canary Wharf and Isle of Dogs, slog set in on the long stretch back, but feeling OK, and just adrift of pace. Spotted family just by St Paul's, buoyed on from  them, tried to push pace a bit, but leg started playing up, pain at top of tibia, same as I've had before. TBH it was grumbling all the way round. So managed to up the pace a bit, but really difficult in amongst so many slow runners, and could see to 4:00 pacer just ahead of me, so tried my hardest to catch him, but was redlining at this point, and gave whatever was left. Chip time 4:00:12. The 12 seconds grate a bit, but I can't really complain. Amazing day out, and an unforgettable experience, the sounds the sights and the crowds are something else! Recommend to anyone who has done done any running to do it, just for the experience.

However;

Due to the running crowds and the course it's a hard one to get a good time on; I ran 1.5 km over distance according to my watch, as it is nearly impossible to follow the blue line if you are a punter like me.

I'll probably do another one, but it won't be London. I think it would be selfish to deny someone else the opportunity.

I do struggle with the environmental impact. The amount of rubbish, bottles, gel sachets, road awash with lucozade has to be seen to be believed.

It's marketed as Everyone's marathon. If you read the blog of one of the tail pacers (this is an official pacer btw) it's sad what the back runners have to put up with https://www.facebook.com/MarathonQueen2ComebackQueen/posts/470569213680766?__tn__=K-R

Thanks to all the UKBers who donated, if anyone else would still like to;  https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/chrisfryervmlm2019

Certainly a novel way to spend 50th birthday.

[Duma]

Well done Chris!

[Murph]

Hey Chris thanks for sharing that here. I think yours is what’s known in the game as a 3:59:72 

What a shambles though at the back though - and the waste, but there’s no getting away from that.

[Steve R]

Keen to give this a go.  Always enjoy a good lurk on the thread and very occasionally contribute a (non)smart-arse comment so thought I may as well get stuck in.  Hopeful it'll help keep the instant gratification self on a tighter leash if nothing else!

Aims (remarkably similar to Duma's):  uninjured, 70kg, all the 8's

M - Headpoint new routing on North York Moors sandstone followed by (optimistic) DWS prospecting around Filey.  Not entirely out of the question, need a boat to confirm.
T- can't remember, probably nothing
W - First session at mad volume, new wall just opened in Hull.  Just unstructured circuiting on brand new holds and mad volumes so inevitably harsh on skin but nice session.  Really well executed wall - great effort by Mike and Amanda building it and getting it open.
T- More unstructured circuiting at mad volume.
F- Knackered, just stretching
S- Back again to mad volume.  Beastmaker board this time, got registered on the led console thing and started working through the existing problems.  The holds, angle, size and aesthetics of this board amount to an absolute chef-d'œuvre as far as I can tell.  The hardcore might prefer it steeper but, for me, it feels absolutely spot on.   
S-Rest

twatted finger best it's been for months this week so pleased with that, weight 76kg

[tomtom]

W - First session at mad volume, new wall just opened in Hull.  Just unstructured circuiting on brand new holds and mad volumes so inevitably harsh on skin but nice session.  Really well executed wall - great effort by Mike and Amanda building it and getting it open.

Hey up Steve - still not been to MV - but glad it sounds great (weathers been too good to stop going outside and check it out..    ) Good to see some fresh ideas and hopefully mix up the climbing/bouldering wall scene in Hull a bit after years of the other place...

[cheque]

Good effort Chris. My other half (who's just surprised me by signing up for the Chester marathon in October) always says she'd never do the London marathon as it's such a clusterfuck. Her dad did his worst time by miles there about 20 years ago after losing his glasses in the crush at the start!

[SA Chris]

Thanks. Got my eye on Chester too, and / or York.

To be fair, they have got a lot better at organising the starts, with 3 different start places, and start waves in each, so nowhere near the crush of the mass start of the old days, plus there are timing chips now.

You need to look where your going, and sometimes overtake slower runners or walkers, but it's never terrible.

Tell her good luck from me, and look up a training program to follow, but don't get too beaten up about sticking to it religiously.

[T_B]

Well done Chris, that's a solid effort.

I dunno how I feel about the 'back of the pack' in marathons (as someone who 'races' near the back of the pack at fell races).

I appreciate that London is a charity-raising exercise for most people, but 10 min/km pace is walking.

Respect the distance. Do a 10K or a Half.

(That said, the FB post doesn't exactly reflect well on VLM). Have you soon the youtube video of Ben Parkes vlogging. 2:35 with a GoPro!

[shark]

Thanks. Got my eye on Chester too, and / or York

Impressed you are starting to think about doing another one this year already!!

Sonia says the Chester one is a good event. Reasonably flat and pretty - starts and finishes on the racecourse. Can be busy accommodation wise if it coincides the Gay Pride event

[tommytwotone]

Effort Chris - after a few halfs I began thinking about the big one but could never bring myself to commit.


I gather the York / Vale Of York one is a good one in terms of being relatively flat, not massively oversubscribed and at a sympathetic time of year weather / temperature-wise.

[andy_e]

Effort Chris - after a few halfs I began thinking about the big one but could never bring myself to commit.

I'm sure you'll manage a full pint. soon, just keep training. 

[SA Chris]

Yeah, i know what you mean about London - a lot of people (me included) do it for the experience / profile, and apparently quite a few get in on the ballot as the organisers like a big spread of finish times; i expect the majority of reasonably keen runners are putting in expected finishes in the 3:30 - 4:30 time, so those who are talking 6 upwards have a better chance of a ballot place. And then it's easy to get a charity place if you are prepared to raise the cash.

If i hadn't got in i would have been just as happy doing Stirling.

TTT, wait til the kids are a bit more self sufficient maybe, choose one get a place and go for it. I was doing a long easy run on a Saturday afternoon, just building up distance (I maxed out distances at 32 km, and that was only twice), and 2 short hard runs on a lunch hour, either intervals, tempo or hill reps, and the occasional recovery run thrown in. Having your wife training for a major event at the same time as you is best avoided (she managed 3:52 and got a Good For Age time again!).

[SA Chris]

Impressed you are starting to think about doing another one this year already!!

Is it wrong to be disappointed by the lack of DOMS? My leg has stopped hurting already, and the slight tightness in the calves has already gone. Feel like I should have pushed harder, but sore leg kept me back. After Ring of Steall it took a full week for me to walk normally.

[cheque]

Tell her good luck from me, and look up a training program to follow, but don't get too beaten up about sticking to it religiously.

Yeah, she's all about the training plans. Not worrying about sticking to them is what she needs to work on though! I'm just surprised that she's going for another this year. The previous time she ran one she got plantar fasciaitis after and couldn't race for 6 months but she's a had a similar experience to you after this one (ie not as sore as expected) and wants to capitalise on the distance-fitness that she's gained.

[SA Chris]

Tell her to look at the cushioned Hokka trainers. A mate of mine has a Morton's Neuroma, and couldn't do more that 5 k without pain 18 months ago, and put in 3:15 at Stirling Marathon, without even a grumble of pain. You will look a bit like Disco Stu though.

[AMorris]

A bit late to the party here, but I had a fairly decent week. The highlight was using the beautiful weather to get up to Porth Ysgo, lovely place

M - Rest, saving skin for the brutal Gabbro.

T - Ysgo. Gorgeous day, if very warm, so everything felt much more difficult than it usually does here. My only real aim was to get on Higginsons Scar, which was absolutely as good as I had hoped it would be and probably the best 6 I have done anywhere. Did 'The Nose' first go after trying to pull on using the wrong bit of arete, the first move felt hard in the heat but great problem. Flashed simons arete from the designated 'good sidepull' detailed in the guide, never is this 7A, felt 6B tops. I suspected there is something I missed, but others seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Did Brian Spray a few times to dial it in for PMMH, but the first stab to the black sidepull felt absolutely miles away. I could be missing something, or it was the heat, or I am just weak, but it felt desperate for the grade. Did a few other things but nothing of note. Unfortunately Jawbreaker sitter is still out of action cos of boulders covering the start holds 

W - No skin, rest.

T - Hang session followed by core. Both feeling great. Starting to add weight to the one arm bottom middle rung hangs which is encouraging. Outside edges still feel hard on one arm.

F - Training, but my fingers were feeling weak so I sacked it in in favour of rest and a few pints.

S - Wildly hungover...

S - To the wall for the first session there in a while. Fingers felt strong, and a bunch of tricky edge problems were climbed, but power wasn't there unsurprisingly.

Elbow rehab continues as normal, and still improving thank god. I am just waiting for my next opportunity to go and try various projects up north, whenever that will be...

In the meantime, there is plenty of hard choss around here to keep me interested. It gets reset every time there is a storm after all.

[spidermonkey09]

It gets reset every time there is a storm after all.

 

[Duma]

The guardian has picked up on the post you linked Chris : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/02/london-marathon-runners-harassed-to-speed-up
Sounds like vlm are looking into it.

[SA Chris]

Was on Radio 1 today too. Reducing what could have been the best achievement of their lives into a degrading experience.