Eleven and a Half is the new Twelve and a Half

I suppose you will realize by now that if I had been doing mega-training, this blog would have been full of my derring-do.

So the last real action I did was the final Winter Walking League at the end of March. This was held on the NSC perimeter road, on a new super spongy surface, guaranteed to give a glut of personal bests. And so it proved. For once IOM Government have improved a road surface for sports people other than those who ride Japanese super bikes.

For the first time all winter, the weather was perfect and there was an excellent turn-out. A mass start was slightly daunting as it takes a while to find out your level.

Twelve and a half laps were required, and my first schoolboy error was to hit the wrong button on my Garmin Forerunner at the start. I got it going properly as we started the second lap, and spent the rest of the race trying to add the time of what I guessed the first lap might be, to what was showing on the watch. That way, with a tired mind, lies confusion.

Second schoolboy error - over reliance on the mileage shown on the Garmin Forerunner is not good for you on a course which has been measured by The Experts Who Scorn The Great Satellite In The Sky.

Steve Partington lapped me three times, and in working out how far ahead he was, my numbers got mixed up. On my ‘last’ lap, I was closing reasonably quickly on Colin Moore, who has been a couple of minutes quicker than me all winter, no matter how much I improve. I thought I may be able to close him before the finish and gave it my all.

Everything.

As I buzzed down the finishing straight, I was too far away to catch him, and then came a call from a long finished Steve Partington - “keep it going Dud” - combined with someone waving a bell at me. Another full lap to go as your body and mind scream “No!” Eleven and a half does not equal twelve and a half….

That was a devastating feeling. All you want to do is collapse in an exhausted heap, totally, totally spent, but you have to pretend you know exactly what you are doing, and set off on a racing last “extra” lap. So off I set, trying to work out the arithmetical gymnastics of what Mr. Garmin was telling me, in a state of exhaustion. Mental arithmetic and race-walking are not good bedfellows.

In the event I did not catch Colin, but I knocked about 45 seconds off my previous time, and finished in 1.08.06. That is a four minute improvement over the winter.

To get any quicker will need a much better technique, but I enjoyed the experience. The last time I did anything similar was over ten years ago in the Fireman’s Runs at Ramsey, and before that in Douglas.

The organization of the Winter Walking League was superb, and many thanks to Steve Taylor and all the officials who give up Sunday mornings for the sport. And the walkers themselves were friendly and supportive and if any “non-racer” fancies a go next season, go for it, you will enjoy it and be encouraged no matter what your level is.

So that is the speed work done for the Parish - now to get in some serious miles and hills. I’ll save the speed bit for the final two miles along the Douglas Prom in June……… hopefully……

The Joys of Amoxicillin....

More Blog Neglect. I am expecting Murray and his Blog Police to come round soon one midnight and take me away for a good thrashing with well worn Reeboks. And you can't outrun Murray's Athletic Stormtroopers. They train too much.

And so to training, and I hope the last ever mention of The Great Snot. I did 5 miles at the NSC a couple of weeks ago, and struggled with the breathing - so much so that I finally went to the Doctor.

I had been to a Doctor a couple of weeks earlier for something else, but that day had just done a 12 mile walk, so TGS had temporarily ceased, as it does after exercise - so I forgot to tell him of my cold. Men are generally useless, and particularly so around Doctors....

You feel an idiot going to the Doctor with a cold, but it had lasted exactly three months on the day I finally went to see her, and she didn't mind at all. I was given a course of anti-biotics - Amoxicillin - which I started taking that day, a Monday.

I went for an eight mile walk around Lonan Old Church Road the next day and what a difference. The pills had obviously started their work immediately, for I was able to finish the eight miles in 1.33.04, my quickest ever, by about five minutes. I have never been able to average more than 5mph over any distance longer than 5 miles before, except on the flat in the Winter Walking League. The Lonan walk includes plenty of hills and although I was tired at the end, I felt so much better than I have done all winter.

A couple of days later I went on the treadmill at the NSC and did six miles, set at 8.7kph, (and a final burst at 9kph) which I was able to maintain comfortably.

So praise be to Amoxicillin and Doctor Gavin.

The real bonus is being able to taste my food and Okells again, and I can now expect to play a full ninety minutes for Laxey this weekend against Liverpool Collegiate, instead of going off at half-time, a mucus stained wreck.

On a less happy note, the re-organisation of Government did not go as I hoped. I was given The Dream Job in January - responsibility for Sport and Leisure. I was looking forward to a long working relationship with Andy Varnon and Paul Bridson (The Man Who Won Laxey The Grand Slam) and Geoff Karran on Sports Development and the Sports Council, and Carl Glover and his team at the NSC. The work they do is inspiring and we are very fortunate to have them and all the facilities they provide. That role finished today, and I will miss working with them.

In the re-shuffle I stay in Education, and I was also asked to take over responsibility for Health, which I have done as of today. That will be a real challenge and I am excited about working there. I was in the DHSS, responsible for Social Services, for over two years, so I know a lot of the people in Health. You can blame me now if the Reciprocal Health Agreement goes wrong again.

Perhaps my first action should be to recommend Doctor Gavin for an MBE for services to Average Sportsmen With Blocked Noses and her prescription of Amoxicillin....

Winter Walking League and some more history soon......

Good Times/Bad Times - Good Days/Bad Days

I am a guilty of a bit of neglect of this Blog, but Other Events Loomed Large recently.

An update on my training - I had a bit of a splurge a couple of weeks ago, but once again the Great Snot is laying me low and that combined with work has kept me off the roads for a few days.

So, I went to see Higgy at St Pauls Sports Shop in Ramsey, and bought the promised pair of boats and have broken them in. They are Reebok Premier Road Plus VI, similar to trainers I have used in the past. Sounds a fancy title, but doubtless a much lower pedigree than my Saucony Fast-Twitch. But they seem to be doing the job. Higgy has plenty left if you need some.

After my 8 mile walk on the 25th February, where my time was distinctly average, I went out the next Tuesday and did a ten mile walk - from Onchan via Lonan Old Church Road, up to Ballacannell and back the same way. I just felt right that day and finished the 10 miles just 33 seconds outside two hours, despite the hilly nature of the route. I was minutes quicker at every point than I was on the 8 mile walk.

What is it that makes some days better than others? That was a good day.

A few days later I did six miles at the NSC. I worked out that in competition at the last Winter Walk League, I averaged just over 5.45 mph for the 10k of that walk. That converts to about 8.7kph and I tried to keep that up on the treadmill, and found it almost impossible. It just shows that in competition, when you are trying to catch the walker in front, or trying to escape the heavy breather coming up behind you, that you put in a much greater effort than you can in training.

A couple of days later, I did a 12 mile walk, again out via Lonan Old Church Road, down to Fairy Cottage in Laxey, and back the same way. This time I was minutes slower, at 2 hours 29 minutes, and the last couple of miles I seemed to have little energy. Tiredness brings a real lack of concentration and times slow as technique disappears. It also showed that I am not yet fit, and I need to get some gym work in. That was one of the bad day/bad time days.

A further trip to the NSC last week, and I managed 5 miles at nearly 8.7kph, a good day. Since then, and I hate to mention it again, the Great Snot has returned.

The chemist has advised sorting it out the Continental Way - a nasal spray called Sterimar which is in fact a Sea Water spray. It's all the rage in Germany where apparently squirting sea water up your nose is amongst the top ten Germanic Winter pastimes.

A couple of weeks ago, a journalist from IOM Newspapers, Jackie, rang me up to talk about the forthcoming Legislative Council elections, during which she asked me my age. Having to say it out loud made me realise what it actually is, and what on earth I was doing even contemplating doing the Parish. Jackie told me that last year she got to Maughold where she stopped. This year Jackie you will finish. It's down hill from Maughold. Honest...

One of my Government roles - working with Sports Development and the NSC is in a state of flux with the re-organisation of Government going on, the change of Ministers, and possible moves for the rest of us also-rans.

I cleared the first hurdle by having the good fortune to be re-elected on Monday and await the other changes which should be announced in the next few days. I have asked to stay with Sport and Leisure, where the new Minister is David Cretney, a Parish Walk trainer and finisher of note. Cret has an interesting sporting CV - Parish Walk Finisher, London Marathon Finisher, and 100mph+ laps of the TT Course to his credit. Short of winning a stage of the Tour de France, there is not much else for a Sporting Manxman to achieve.

Next Blog - more Tips on how to Just Survive the Parish.

The Joys of Vaseline....

A Spring-like day, and by some reckonings today is the first day of Spring.

Expect to see hordes of eager and earnest walkers on our roads from now on, and a big leap in the number of entries.

So now may be the time to impart my promised knowledge of the pitfalls the first time walker needs to avoid.

Training

1 The more you do, the better you will perform. You are less likely to be injured and you will get further. Lack of enough training has been my downfall, even when I finish.

And here is what I have learned from my post-walk visits to Hospital:-

2 Doctors and Nurses laugh at you, and stick your feet in agonising bowls of salty water and secretly video your agony for the amusement of their friends

3 The muscle alongside each shin is packed in tight and the fitter you can get those muscles, the better the blood supply to the muscles will be. If those muscles are not fit, over 85 miles, not enough blood gets to the muscle and there can be an infarction of the muscle – that is a death of muscle. That happened to me (and many others) and causes agony for weeks after – and a nasty side effect is that you get micro-fractures of the shin bone.

Or that is what a masochistic Doctor at Noble’s told me, at the same time banning me from playing football for three months. Doctors always tell the truth of course.

4 The cure for that is in your method of training – if you are non-athletic – go for shortish (4-5 mile) walks as fast as you can. Really give it stick and you will feel the tightness of those muscles. Unless you feel that, you are not doing enough. Proper athletes like the top walkers already have that fitness.

5 Next – cut your toenails. The jarring of your toes on the edge of your trainers, particularly going downhill from the Round Table will cause you problems. Get your nails as short as possible. You may well still lose nails, but you will find them again, months later when you are making your bed....

6 Don’t buy or use 1000 Mile “Blister-Free” socks. I wore 1000 mile socks for the year of that infamous picture of my feet. And the 1000 Mile socks had done their damage by the time I got to Peel. I knew things were not good, took my trainers off at Peel to have a look and only my experience of viewing many post mortems enabled me to carry on. I wrote to the manufactures and tried to claim 915/1000's of my £10 back. They didn’t reply.

7 Get your socks from a site called “Running Bear” as recommended by Steve Partington – I have had fewer problems since using those.

8 VASELINE, VASELINE, VASELINE. I was slow to accept The Joys of Vaseline but now I cannot get enough. Stuff your shoes and socks with the stuff. And don’t forget to grease your erogenous zones.

You know where they are.

9 I never used to stop at all, but the last couple of finishes I have stopped just after Jurby and changed my undershirt, cleaned the blood off my feet, re-Vaselined and changed socks. That break really refreshes me, only takes about 3 or 4 minutes, and gives you a renewed burst of energy.

10 There is a limit to the number of pints of Okells you should drink as you walk past the Mitre at Kirk Michael. Just because they are free doesn’t mean they are good for you….

11 Whisper it, but Solpadeine can be Your Friend…..

More Vaseline based tales soon.....

8 Mile High.....

My compromised breathing, aka The Great Snot has been a real problem since the last Winter Walking League on 7th February. I have managed just three outings to the gym, the last of which I only lasted a mile on the treadmill before I had to stop.

And that is the problem with the gym, and the treadmill - once you feel unwell, you can just jump off.

So yesterday evening I did the Real Thing. No jumping off. I did an eight mile walk from my home via Lakeside, Groudle Road, Lonan Old Church Road to Baldrine and back. A reasonable time but nowhere near the pace of the Walking League. Lots of stiff little hills of course, and slowed down by TGS. But halfway into it, and I could smell the countryside and when I got home I could actually taste my food. For a couple of hours the nose was cleared, but it has come back. It seems I need constant exercise to keep it clear.

As to the Walking League, I have now done three rounds, the first and the two at Andreas. Each time I have knocked a couple of minutes off, and I have realised that when you are competing you are really going much quicker than training walks or even a blast in the gym. The competitive urge gives you that extra pace which is hard to replicate in a training walk.

In the first round at Andreas, Steve Partington was there giving encouragement and tips on techniques. Am I alone in following his advice as I walk past him each lap, and then lapsing into the usual trudge as soon as you think he is out of sight? Arms pumping, pushing off from the heels, while he watches, the usual flailing struggle out of sight.

The second round, after a bit more training, I was going much better - Steve still shouted his advice and I was managing to keep to his advice, even round the corner out of sight. But when you get tired, it is hard to keep your concentration going, to concentrate on keeping up the technique.

So it seems to me that the first thing to do is get really fit - then tiredness won't interfere with technique.

Finally, at the Walk in Andreas I met my fellow blogger, Dave Walker. I had presumed from the amount of training he was getting in that he might be a shift worker, and I guessed he might even be a Policeman.

It turns out however, that he is a much more important and valuble member of society than that.....

More 8 mile highs next week.......

Parish 2000 - Running for Jack

My first serious Parish foray was in 2000. Playing for us at Laxey then was Lee Partington, a skilful midfielder who helped set us on our way to the glory of later years. His brother Steve was an occasional spectator and had just set up a charity in memory of his son Jack. I think that was the year that he and Cal ran a series of Marathons from Liverpool down to London, and then completed the London Marathon.

So about 25 club members, players, helpers and ladies entered the Parish Walk together to raise funds for the charity. We started at the Villa that day, and we all wore our Laxey kit, and started from the back.

Top Tip: Always start at the back - the views are much better. And you spend the day overtaking everyone, a great psychological boost. I may even have done a couple of Parishes when I have never been overtaken at all.

(Top Tip for a Good Time - DON'T Start At The Back)


Anyway, in 2000 on the way towards Rushen I walked with George Lawson, Dave Callow and Barry Williams. On a crowded pavement just after Ballasalla, I tripped and fell and broke a finger.. Stubborness always overrules fractures in my experience, so I carried on, my hand and shirt bloodied, and helpers amongst the spectators handing me tissues every so often to soak up the blood.

And so to the Sloc. The Sloc in Parish folklore is like a fabled monster. Just the words, "The Sloc" conjure up some evil presence. It certainly did it's job in splitting up the four of us, but it was nowhere near the monster I had imagined. Those Who Know will know that Ballakillowey and Ballajora are the Real Monsters. Going down hill into Dalby was far worse than the Sloc, and the feet were getting very painful.

As I walked from Dalby to Glen Maye, a big blister under the ball of my left foot burst, and I was in agony - the result being a very debilitating limp. Fortunately, a mile or so later, the big blister under the ball of my right foot burst, and the pain was evened up, so I was able to plough on, limping with both feet equally - and that equals walking normally, but with a pained grimace on your face.

I have learned to totally ignore the pain of blisters. You just pretend it is happening to someone else. I was once told that blue-eyed people have a higher pain threshold, so I make it so. It is probably rubbish, but it works for me as long as I keep believing.

So, with no limp to hold me back, and a quick infusion of a Lucozade Sport, I suddenly started to pick up pace and picked off a load of people on the way to Peel. I finished second of the Laxey crowd, with Michael Cowin - Chippy - already there a few minutes ahead of me. He always had a good engine as a footballer and I am sure he would have been a more than useful walker if he had taken it up. My time was somewhere around 7 hours 40. Of course, the post walk warm-down was a few pints in the Creek, followed by even more later at the Mines in Laxey. It was a great day out for everyone, good for the Club morale, and we raised money for Running For Jack.

And that started the bug for me really - the feet were a mess, but the last few miles into Peel had been a real buzz. I was definitely going to have another go. Maybe even train for it...

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I have only trained twice since doing the Winter Walking League at Andreas the Sunday before last. Work has got in the way, in particular the Tynwald sitting this week. We sat until 12.30am (from 10.30am) on Wednesday debating the re-structure of Government, and the other two days went on until late in the evening. There was an amendment which could have led indirectly to the privatisation of the NSC and the Sports Development Unit, so I spoke against that, pointing out that private ownership would scupper all the wonderful voluntary work being done, and the work, especially with children, being done by Sports Council, Sport Aid and the NSC staff.

And for those interested in bodily secretions, the Great Snot continues. The less I train, the worse it gets. Must get Training......

The Quest for Speed - Part Two....

Murray's guest bloggers over the years have given me some inspiration - in particular the 2007 Bloggers. Following the advice of Steve Partington and Mark Hempsall, I bought a pair of Saucony Fast Twitch trainers, which I still have. Lovely and light, they survived the meagre training of 2008 and the 20 odd miles I managed in the Parish, and I am still using them for training this year.

However, they are now a bit thin on the sole, and Slippery When Wet. They will be fine on the 10k distance for the Winter Walking League, but I think for someone of my size and weight I need something a bit more substantial, particularly over the full 85 miles.

So next week I intend to visit Colin Higgins at St Paul's Square and he will pluck out from his myriad of boxes a pair of chunky size 12 boats to cushion me through the day and night.

Saucony for Speed, Chunky Size 12 Boats to get to the finish.

The other device, which I now treasure, was advocated by Mark Hempsall. A Garmin 305 Forerunner. This picks up satellites and tell you how fast and exactly how far you have gone. It does lots of other things as well, including being able to be uploaded onto computer. I haven't bothered with the extras - reading instruction booklets is an alien pastime for me. I just have the speed set at Minutes per Mile and try to always be faster than 12 minute miles.

Sometimes, deliriously, you find you are going quicker than 10 minute miles and then like a dagger through the heart, you find on some stretches you have slowed to over 13 minutes. Those are black moments indeed....

And that Garmin is the Fish Wife of Electrical Gadgets. It nags. And nags. And never stops Nagging. If at a glance you see you are slowing down, you just have to speed up. It is a constant reminder and MAKES you go harder. I love it and hate it.

Training - still a bit barren, because of breathing problems caused by The Great Snot.

After my six mile walk last week, the next day I followed up with 5 miles on the treadmill at the NSC, and this week have been to the NSC twice, with a six mile walk, and a seven mile walk. It is getting easier, and while trying to build up fitness I have stopped sticking the Treadmill on "Hills" and starting at 8.5kph, - it was just too much in my present condition.

I have decided to be sensible in my build-up, so I stay off the "Hills" setting for now, and start off at 8.2kph and don't hit 8.5 until halfway through. By the last mile I can cope with 8.7kph, and I do believe I can detect a bit of the old swaying hips that the "real" walkers seem to use. Plus, I have stopped collapsing afterwards, which was happening last month.

So training is not going wonderfully, but much better than ever before. It normally takes a daffodil or two to get me out for my first walk, so doing the Blog is making a huge difference.

My Hi-Viz top is still a virgin though - next week for sure.......