From Steve:
"Turkey no longer frozen due to accidentally leaving it in garage. Now a cooked and partially eaten turkey. Damn! I knew there was a day coming up soon that we could have saved it for."
Monday, 13 December 2010
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Turkey Trot
Steve ran the Keyworth Turkey Trot Half Marathon and staggered back to his car carrying his winnings under his arm (one very large frozen turkey)
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Snow!
Due to the appalling weather, Police have advised people not to go out unless it is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately it is absolutely necessary that Steve goes out and runs 16 miles tomorrow morning
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Great Training Idea #1 again. The 200 Mile Week
In order to get used to running day after day, Steve decided to attempt a 200 mile week, starting on September 2nd. This he duly managed, by doing one big run each morning of around 15-22 miles with a shorter one in the evening and two or three miles with his faithful dog, Jeffrey at lunchtime.
He noted the following:
Running speed dropped steadily down to 7mph after three days, but didn't go any lower.
Appetite doesn't increase massively
Thighs ache a bit and slight feeling in one hip, but nothing major. (All runs were on road)
He noted the following:
Running speed dropped steadily down to 7mph after three days, but didn't go any lower.
Appetite doesn't increase massively
Thighs ache a bit and slight feeling in one hip, but nothing major. (All runs were on road)
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Sheffield to Cranleigh Day 5
The final day featured another bit of the Grand Union Canal followed by a short stretch of the Thames Path, blazing sunshine and Steve feeling decidedly unwell about halfway through the afternoon. A pint of milk, a few veiled threats and a cup of tea kindly provided by our film maker Ben Southern, soon got him back on his feet again and by six o' clock we arrived triumphantly at Finill Towers.
44 Miles today, giving us a total of 246 for the five days.
To sum up: it didn't kill us and we could certainly keep going, (although I've no idea for how long.) Legs feel stiff and right Achilles is a little puffed up but nothing serious. The mileage was further than we need to do in America, we had no backup (and we carried rucksacks), but we didn't have to face the heat of the Nevada desert or look out for snakes. Steve lost 3 pounds in weight over the 5 days so a rough calculation indicates that he should return from America weighing 6 stone.
44 Miles today, giving us a total of 246 for the five days.
To sum up: it didn't kill us and we could certainly keep going, (although I've no idea for how long.) Legs feel stiff and right Achilles is a little puffed up but nothing serious. The mileage was further than we need to do in America, we had no backup (and we carried rucksacks), but we didn't have to face the heat of the Nevada desert or look out for snakes. Steve lost 3 pounds in weight over the 5 days so a rough calculation indicates that he should return from America weighing 6 stone.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Sheffield to Cranleigh Day 4
Giles kindly gave us a lift back to yesterday's endpoint and we continued down the Grand Union towards Harrow where Chris's friends were no doubt celebrating their good fortune to be putting us up tonight.
An easy day today of just 41 miles. Chris is glowing with lack of sun lotion.
An easy day today of just 41 miles. Chris is glowing with lack of sun lotion.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Sheffield to Cranleigh Day 3
I awoke to grey skies and a slight feeling of seasickness from sleeping on an inflatable bed. With my contact lenses in, the pouring rain became evident. However it takes more than a bit of drizzle to stop Pope and Finill, so off we set down the Grand Union Canal towards Milton Keynes where Steve's friend Giles had kindly been bullied into giving us a night's accommodation.
My feet were completely soaked within two minutes of running along the canal towpath, so it was some while before I realised that my trainers felt slightly loose. This puzzled me, as I was expecting my feet to swell slightly with all the miles and I stopped to investigate. The reason soon became apparent. Jez had thoughtfully removed the insoles from my shoes to enable them to dry better when he put them next to his boiler. Unfortunately he had forgotten to put them back in before he handed them to me the next morning and I had foolishly not noticed.
The 'Mizuno' imprint on the soles of my feet is still visible. I should ask them for sponsorship...
Things soon brightened up as we came across a barge operating as a cafe which provided Steve with the opportunity to eat more buttered toast along with eggs, mushrooms beans and sausage. Happy Days.
Milton Keynes appeared and then inexplicably faded from view as unbeknown to us the canal follows an extremely wiggly path. We asked a fisherman how far we had to go and he replied '4 miles'. This cheered us up no end and we pressed on, however when we asked another couple about an hour later, they claimed that it was now 6 miles! As we clearly had no idea where we were and it was after 8pm, we phoned Giles who took pity on us and drove out to pick us up. It turned out that we were only about 3 miles from his house and had completed 55 miles.
My feet were completely soaked within two minutes of running along the canal towpath, so it was some while before I realised that my trainers felt slightly loose. This puzzled me, as I was expecting my feet to swell slightly with all the miles and I stopped to investigate. The reason soon became apparent. Jez had thoughtfully removed the insoles from my shoes to enable them to dry better when he put them next to his boiler. Unfortunately he had forgotten to put them back in before he handed them to me the next morning and I had foolishly not noticed.
The 'Mizuno' imprint on the soles of my feet is still visible. I should ask them for sponsorship...
Things soon brightened up as we came across a barge operating as a cafe which provided Steve with the opportunity to eat more buttered toast along with eggs, mushrooms beans and sausage. Happy Days.
Milton Keynes appeared and then inexplicably faded from view as unbeknown to us the canal follows an extremely wiggly path. We asked a fisherman how far we had to go and he replied '4 miles'. This cheered us up no end and we pressed on, however when we asked another couple about an hour later, they claimed that it was now 6 miles! As we clearly had no idea where we were and it was after 8pm, we phoned Giles who took pity on us and drove out to pick us up. It turned out that we were only about 3 miles from his house and had completed 55 miles.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Sheffield to Cranleigh Day 2
We headed off to Warwick, where we had invited ourselves to stay with Ultra Running Legend Jez Bragg. Today's journey was all on the road, varying from nice, quiet country lanes to the Coventry Ring road which we somehow ended up on within minutes of handing Chris the map. Once again the weather was lovely until we arrived at Kenilworth, where Jez arrived to meet us and it started to rain.
After taking one look at Steve, Jez assured us that it was only 2 miles to his house. After 45 minutes, we came to the conclusion that we were either incredibly slow runners or he had taken optimism to new heights. Eventually we arrived at Chateau Bragg where he had kindly laid on a barbecue in our honour and put Steve's trainers in the airing cupboard to dry. (This is significant- see next post)
Anyway 58 miles done today!
After taking one look at Steve, Jez assured us that it was only 2 miles to his house. After 45 minutes, we came to the conclusion that we were either incredibly slow runners or he had taken optimism to new heights. Eventually we arrived at Chateau Bragg where he had kindly laid on a barbecue in our honour and put Steve's trainers in the airing cupboard to dry. (This is significant- see next post)
Anyway 58 miles done today!
Saturday, 12 June 2010
Great Training Idea #2 The Run From Sheffield to Cranleigh
We decided to run from Steve's house in Sheffield to Chris' home in Cranleigh, Surrey. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway at 8 am sharp this morning, carrying the absolute bare minimum of gear, we set off from Sheffield in the sunshine and headed South. Steve expertly guided us on a picturesque route, mainly off road via Fox House, White Edge, Chatsworth House, and Matlock, following the Derwent Valley Trail into Derby.
On the south side of Derby lay the Bed and Breakfast Steve had pre booked. (To be honest it would be more accurately described as a 'Bed' because the owner explained very carefully that they did not provide breakfast. Indeed she seemed quite proud of the fact.) Nevertheless, it was conveniently situated near to a curry house and our room had a TV so we could watch another dismal World Cup performance by the England football team. We covered around 48 miles today and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Here's the foolish pair setting off. They won't look quite so jolly by the time they arrive at Cranleigh...
On the south side of Derby lay the Bed and Breakfast Steve had pre booked. (To be honest it would be more accurately described as a 'Bed' because the owner explained very carefully that they did not provide breakfast. Indeed she seemed quite proud of the fact.) Nevertheless, it was conveniently situated near to a curry house and our room had a TV so we could watch another dismal World Cup performance by the England football team. We covered around 48 miles today and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Here's the foolish pair setting off. They won't look quite so jolly by the time they arrive at Cranleigh...
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Great Training Idea #1 High Mileage (120 miles in 3 days)
Steve has just finished his 3 day experiment! Results are as follows:
Monday: did 22 miles in the morning, 10.5 miles pm and 7.5 miles early evening. So 40 miles in 5 hours 30 mins.
Tuesday: did 19 miles morning, 10.5 miles pm and 10.5 miles early evening = 40 miles in 6 hours.
Wednesday: 20 miles morning, 10.5 pm and 9.5 miles early evening = 40 miles in 6 hours.
Conclusions:
Steve now knows that he can survive the first 3 days. The remaining 72 may present some problems though...
Let's hear his words of wisdom:
"I reckon I could keep on going, so that’s good news. No injuries, blisters, or any real problems, just a general tired feeling. This amount of running does take up most of the day though and I haven’t had the energy to do anything else other than a bit of reading and writing. Whether or not that would improve as I got more used to the distance, or whether it would just get worse, I'm not sure.
My running speed dropped rapidly and stabilised at 6.5-6.75 mph. Whether it would have slowed further in time is something we will have to find out. Longer runs in the morning gave me a big psychological boost because of the feeling of 'miles in the bank'.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Training
You can't just set off from San Francisco and hope to run all the way across America without having done any training first, unless you are Forest Gump.
In order to gain the stamina required to push out endless 40 mile days without getting injured, we came up with a rough plan, which may be of interest in case you are thinking of following in our footsteps...
Here's a few things we did:
1) Run high mileage for several consecutive days, to see what happens.
2) Run from Sheffield to Cranleigh in Surrey.
3) Run some ultra races.
4) Do a couple of Bike Races (Steve's idea)
5) Run round the Lake District for 3 days (Steve again)
6) Run some foreign marathons (Madrid, Lisbon, Seville) (Another of Steve's ideas)
In order to gain the stamina required to push out endless 40 mile days without getting injured, we came up with a rough plan, which may be of interest in case you are thinking of following in our footsteps...
Here's a few things we did:
1) Run high mileage for several consecutive days, to see what happens.
2) Run from Sheffield to Cranleigh in Surrey.
3) Run some ultra races.
4) Do a couple of Bike Races (Steve's idea)
5) Run round the Lake District for 3 days (Steve again)
6) Run some foreign marathons (Madrid, Lisbon, Seville) (Another of Steve's ideas)
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
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