Tuesday 14 September 2010

Well blow me down!



Enjoyed  the delights of an undulating circuit of the Strid Woods at Bolton Abbey yesterday, starting off from Barden Bridge,pictured here.  Aim being to give the legs a reminder what running inclines is like. 6 miles; a reasonable start to the week.  No real attempt to push the pace after yesterday's 10 mile on the road but concentrated on trying to maintain good style on the inclines.
  


Today, I returned to the canal  to give the calves a bit of a rest on a flatter, more forgiving  course. I watched the clouds darken and the rain fall for most of the morning and equipped myself accordingly;  preparing to suffer a very wet run.   But by the time I'd driven from Wharfedale to Airedale, very strong winds had blown the clouds through and the skies were blue and cloudless.  Typical English weather!
  Of course it meant contending with a headwind  for 4 miles. took me all my time to avoid not being blown into the canal on occasions. At least the back half 4 went well with the jacket firmly tied around the waist.   8 miles.  Significant negative spilts!
  I see the mention of  future INOV 8 road shoes has sparked a thread on a fellrunners website http://www.forum.fellrunner.org.uk/  and perhaps as expected  there is some "eyebrow raising" about the £95 price tag and the diversion of interest from the offroad company.   INOV8 might also be concerned that the price of their GORETEX shoes looks high compared with others. ASICS ( one model 30% cheaper) ADIDAS and NIKE all offering very competitively priced GORETEX shoes.  More on these to follow.  Meanwhile,  any new fell running readers might find a previous blog posting on the minimlaist trail shoe the SAUCONY PEREGRINE to be of interest.
  8 p.m. now and I'm comfortably dry and warm typing this whilst watching Manchester United v. Rangers in the Euro championships league but I'm mindful of the hundreds of runners out there coping with the autumn/winter elements for the first time this season.  It would be remiss of me not to mention a great new jacket FASTRAX have introduced for nights such as this.  A snip at £30!  Check out
http://www.fastrax-online.co.uk/

 

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