Week Ending: 7th January 2018
MONDAY:
Watched the Morning After fell race runners come smiling their way back through the streets of Church Stretton. Very jealous I wasn't running.
TUESDAY:
90 minutes + 30 minutes.  Caer Caradoc and Long Mynd.
A trip down memory lane running the hills surrounding Church Stretton. These hills are responsible for me taking up running seriously, after an impromptu entry into the 2006 Boxing Day, Devil's Chair Dash fell race led to one of those ah-ha lightbulb moments in life.

I entered the race on a whim after seeing it advertised in the local paper and am not really sure what drew me to it - I wasn't doing any running at the time, focussing solely on mountain biking - perhaps it was that it sounded so ridiculous, a mid-winter fell run with no training, why the hell not. Anyway, entry secured we struggled a little to find the start line as it was tucked away down a dead-end valley in the middle of nowhere down a tiny singletrack road and ended up turning up late to the start. The organisers were very relaxed and let me start anyway, so without a warm up and straight out of the car I started up a track that very quickly became narrower and steeper. Immediately gasping for air, I was pleased to see that I quickly started catching a few of the back-markers and managed to settle into a sort of jogging shuffle as I tried not to walk on the steepening terrain. Suddenly a shout of "RUNNERS" came from just ahead, followed by what sounded like stampeding horses, as the leaders came charging downwards back towards the start/finish. I remember actually stopping and getting out of the way, such was the speed they were travelling. It was incredible to see people running so fast down such a steep, slippery, rocky hillside and after my initial shock abated, my second thought was, <<I need to learn how to do that !>>. I can't honestly remember much more of the race, except that my descent was like a baby taking its first steps compared to the guys in front. I was sliding all over the place, my road running shoes providing no traction on the wet ground, and my cyclist's knees and quads could not handle anything more than a gentle jog down the slope to the safety of flatter ground. However, despite my less than graceful downhill skills, the seed had been sown and I was immediately hooked on this crazy sport called Fell Running.

Fell Running is a uniquely British sport of medium to long distance (5km to Marathon) events in the hills (fells), with routes often taking the shortest route up and down a hill, not necessarily on a track and often unmarked, so local knowledge rules (check out the excellent book Feet in the Clouds, by Richard Askwith). I loved it, and completed a summer racing the Shropshire Fell Running series before leaving it behind when we moved to Australia.

After finishing my run, I headed back out with Harry, and Esme, with her kids Wilf and Dora for a brilliant 5k loop up Cardingmill Valley. Wilf proved to be an absolute gun on the hills, nearly keeping up with me on the climbs and flying down the other side (aged 9). A real talent!
WEDNESDAY:
Off
THURSDAY:
45 minutes. Wey Navigations.
Counting down the days until our return to Australia. Did a bit of exploring today on the canal paths making up the Wey Navigations. Obviously flat tracks, but nice to be able to get off the road and run, even this close to London.
FRIDAY:
Off
SATURDAY:
30 minutes. Wey Navigations.
Basically a repeat of Thursday's run.  We fly tonight.
​SUNDAY:
Off

Week Ending: 31st December 2017
MONDAY:
Off
TUESDAY:
2 hour.  Foulshiels Hill. Mixture of Road, Trail and SNOW!!
Running in the snow is one of life's great pleasures and of course, something I very seldom get to experience. Well, today we received an incredible gift and woke to a fresh blanket of the white stuff covering the town and the surrounding hills. Once we had made a snowman, thrown a bunch of snowballs at each other, and run back inside to defrost our aching hands it was time to head out for a run. I had been checking out the hills around Selkirk with the help of an OS map and decided on a obvious looking peak, Foulshiels Hill. Close enough to run to from home, but high enough and far enough away to feel like an adventure.  I found the snow covered trail easily enough and the fresh snow was not slippery, especially with my fell running shoes (Inov-8 X-Talon 200). As I got higher the trail all but vanished and I was forced to break a path through the powder.  Scottish hills are usually covered in a thick layer of heather and adding a 20cm layer of snow on top makes for tricky footing.  Fortunately, there were no unexpected holes to twist an ankle and the trip to the top was made without incident.  Running down again was akin to running flat out down a sand-dune. Each footfall was a accompanied by about a half metre slide through the fresh powder, like wearing shoes with 50cm deep cushioning. A great buzz and a wonderful way to round off Christmas.
WEDNESDAY:
Off
THURSDAY:
Off
FRIDAY:
Off
SATURDAY:
Off
​SUNDAY:
30 minutes. Road run around Selkirk.
Last little run in Scotland. Most of the snow has melted in the town although the tops of the hills still have a good covering.

 I Week Ending: 24th December 2017
MONDAY:
Off
TUESDAY:
Off
WEDNESDAY:
Off
THURSDAY:
Off
FRIDAY:
45 minutes. Road run through Bristol.
Up until the age of 18 I lived in Bristol, where the town and its surrounding hills and woodlands offered an amazing network of roads, trails, and footpaths to explore on foot and by bike. My teenage years were spent mostly riding mountain bikes (back when if you wanted suspension you bought a gel cover for your seat and if you wanted brakes that worked you rubbed Coca Cola onto your rims to increase the bite from hopeless cantilevers. Today was a trip down memory lane as I snatched a few minutes before we left for Scotland and ran up to the top of Cabot tower in the pre-dawn mist.
SATURDAY:
Off
​SUNDAY:
90 minutes. Selkirk exploring, mix of road and muddy trail.
With jet-lag still affecting the family and my parents being later risers, I snuck out early this morning, donned the head torch (it doesn't get light in Scotland until 8am in December) and hit the hills. With no idea where I was going, I just followed my nose and ended up, as is often the case with these improvised runs finding a bunch of unexpected delights along the way. The run finished at The Haining, a beautiful small Loch with a grand old house overlooking. These types of houses are so common around here that you take them for granted after a while. Coming from the Gold Coast where buildings are bulldozed if they get any older than 30 years, it is a stark contrast to see some much history both in the landscape and the way people have shaped it over the centuries.

Week Ending: 17th December 2017
MONDAY:
Gym.  Deadlift 115kg 4x3reps.  Superset with Plyometrics.  + Core circuit.
TUESDAY:
​Run 1 hour.  Nerang SF singletrack with Simon, Hunter and Brad.  A really good pre-Christmas catch up. Simon and Hunter recently ran the GSER100 in Victoria and it sounds like an absolute brute of a race. 
WEDNESDAY:
Ride 1 hour MTB with Harry. Not really a training effort but great to get out with the kids when I can. It won't be long before they are waiting for me to catch them.
THURSDAY:
Run 40 minutes. Improvised session on the driveway at home.  12 reps x 30 seconds uphill sprint.  Did the session with Amanda and Harry and to keep things competitive we staggered the start times so we could race each other to the top.
FRIDAY:
Travelling
SATURDAY:
Travelling
​SUNDAY:
Run 30 minutes. Shanghai. En-route to the UK for Christmas we elected to have a stop-over in Shanghai and rising early this morning I donned my running shoes and decided to check out a section of the city. I love exploring new places on foot as it gives you a sense of vulnerability and excitement that you don't get from a vehicle. Although I only ran about 6km along a busy suburban street, I enjoyed this run way more than I thought I would. It had everything you could hope for from an urban run in China: hazy smog filling the sky, stray dogs barking in the street, rickshaws loaded up with improbable loads wobbing along the road, electric scooters zipping through the traffic, street side stalls with strange smelling foods and steam rising from battered looking pots and pans. It would be impossible to plan a run like this, you can only have these experiences when you least expect them. Running through the streets of a new city is the best way to witness a slice of a new culture and gave me an unexpected and unforgettable run.