Archive for September 2011
Jon O’Groats to Lands End (JOGtoLE) Day 4
24/09/2011 by admin.
“Stuart had another good day today.
Doc was a bit worried about his achilles and cut a slit in the back of his left trainer to relieve any pressure from the shoe, and dressed his blisters before he set off. His hamstrings were also a bit tight today.
It was a bit drizzly this morning but quite still and Stuart started off walking with Andy as he as the last few days and then walked alone to mile 5 where Alan braved the rain again on the bike. Alan kept him company to Lairg which was the 15 mile point where we were greeted by Heather, Doc’s wife, who is joining the team here for 4 days.
Heather was keen to run with Stuart straight away and only intended to run 5 miles, but at the 20 mile mark she was enjoying herself so much that she continued to the finish line. You can see video of them crossing the finish line on Youtube under ‘JOG to LE’. There are a couple of other videos there too taken by Andy.
Stuart really enjoyed running with Heather and it was great for him to have a new person to chat to en route. We had a little celebration when he reached the 100 mile mark overall.
He has a few more blisters this evening, but otherwise is in pretty good shape.
If you look on the Follow me Live link on the website, you will see that a lot of today’s run was downhill so that made it a little bit easier. There were a few difficult moments for the map readers today where we were ticked off for not being ahead of the runners, and when we went to decide where the finish line should be, we found that our planned route along the sysle path was only accessible by a foot bridge across a river and there was no way to get the car the other side of the river before Stuart and Heather got there. A quick re-adjustment took us down the A road from Lairg to Bonar Bridge instead.
Stuart only had to stand in the ice bath today as Doc did not want his hamstrings to tighten up any more. I think he will probably be saying everyday from now on that his hamstrings are tight if it means he can avoid sitting in the icy water.
We were a bit worried this evening that Dick had not kept up his high standard of accommodation bookings, because our hotel looked as though it had been closed down for some time. However, we need not have worried as he has come up trumps again and it is lovely inside and they could not be more helpful, we had a delicious evening meal and they have even given us the number of the local newspaper to try to get some additional publicity.
We have been given more money for the cause by people in the hotel and out on the road. We must have seen about 20 cyclists at various times today going in the opposite direction with only 2 days to go before reaching John O Groats. Stuart said he thought they were mad. What???
Well that’s 1/10th of the run completed which is a great milestone.
Thanks so much for all of your support, especially to Frances who has contacted John Beattie (ex British Lion) at BBC Scotland to see if he can help promote the run on his radio show or newspaper column in the Glasgow Herald.”
You can donate through Just Giving on this link.
Saturday’s CCC Session
22/09/2011 by admin.
Although there is no CCC on Saturday, participants will still be meeting for a workout at the Reservoir at 9 am.
Jon O’Groats to Lands End (JOGtoLE) Day 3
22/09/2011 by admin.
Update from Stuart’s supporters on today’s marathon.
“Day 3 was a good day. A beautiful route alongside the river Naver. An undulating single track road but a steady climb overall with a relentless hill at the end as you can see via the ‘Follow me Live’ section of the website: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/user/2525466
Stuart was really pleased with his time today. Just over 6 hours which was quicker than yesterday but he did an extra mile by accident yesterday! He still has a bit of a problem with his left achilles and soreness at the back of his right knee. Still on the painkillers (but less than yesterday) and the Voltarol gel. Doc thought it would be a good idea not to have an ice bath today, which Stuart was delighted about. Yesterday he had a 3 minute cold bath at the hotel which he did not enjoy. Stuart got one small blister today which Doc is going to pad before tomorrow’s run.
We had all sorts of weather today - a lot of heavy rain but some beautiful sunshine too. The temperature ranged from 7 to 23 degrees but was mostly around 10 - 12. Stuart decided to start by walking the first couple of miles again today and thinks it might be a good idea to do that everyday. Alan accompanied Stuart by bike from the 5th mile to the 15th during which he got soaked again, but didn’t get as cold as he did yesterday. Andy took over and cycled from mile 15 to 21 where we reached Altnaharra, then abandoned the bike and ran to the finish line with Stuart - well, walked mostly as the hill was so hard going.
I am delighted to say that Sue Dale will be driving for us between 2 and 9 October at the same time as Frances. Sue is a keen runner and trained psychiatric nurse, so has a perfect CV for the job!
Tomorrow we head for Lairg and then towards Inverness. We are on to our 4th OS map already.”
Jon O’Groats to Lands End (JOGtoLE)
22/09/2011 by admin.
Stuart Hardie has completed 2 of 40 marathons. He had a tough day yesterday but completed the marathon in 6hrs 10 despite some aches and pains, windy conditions and hills to contend with.
You can follow Stuart’s progress via this link.
Healthy Rice Pudding
18/09/2011 by admin.
Breakfast today comprised my own recipe of rice pudding with no sugar. Yesterday I cooked up organic brown risotto rice - this cooked for 70 minutes at a low hob temperature. It was well worth it as it was probably the most tasty rice I’ve had. This morning I added coconut milk to a bowl of rice, ground pumpkin seeds and a dessertspoon of St Dalfour’s no added sugar fruit jam. Very tasty indeed.
Jon O’Groats to Lands End (JOGtoLE)
17/09/2011 by admin.
Some of you may already know that on Tuesday 20th September … that’s next week! … I set off from John o’ Groats to run 40 marathons in 40 days finishing on 29th October at Land’s End. The run is intended to raise funds for a number of charities but principally the Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby. You’ll find all the details on the website http://www.jogtole.co.uk/ There you will be able to keep up to date with progress.
The physical effort required successfully to complete this challenge you can’t help with but I am hoping that you will help me achieve me financial goal by spreading the word of what I am about to undertake to all your Linked In, Facebook and Twitter contacts. You can give directly to Spoon at www.justgiving.com/stuart-hardie or you can send cheques made out to JoG to LE, a registered Guernsey Charity.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks in anticipation for your help and support.
As aye
Stuart Hardie
Tuesday’s CCC Session
17/09/2011 by admin.
We will be meeting in the rear car park at Saumarez Park at 6.30 pm on Tuesday for the last CCC session in this block.
If you wish to start the new block please contact me for more information.
Today’s CCC Session
17/09/2011 by admin.
Well done to my hardy CCC group for sticking out the horrendous weather this morning.
Barefoot Running…..Update
16/09/2011 by admin.
I ran for 2.3 miles yesterday on the treadmill in my barefoot shoes. I increased the pace to something much more challenging. I could certainly feel my calves during the run. I focussed on ensuring that although my forefoot struck the ground first, my heel also touched the ground to take some pressure off the calves. I stretched well again after the run. Although a little tight, my calves are in pretty good shape today so I believe that I am progressing with improved technique and my muscles adjusting to the changes.
I wonder whether this will generally make my running feel easier and help to make me go quicker.
Barefoot Running…..Update
14/09/2011 by admin.
I have now completed 3 runs using my Vivobarefoot Shoes, all on the treadmill. My first run 3/4 of a mile, then 1 mile and on Sunday I ran 1.5 miles. I could feel my calf muscles working on each run due to the different style of running, ie leading with my forefoot. I spent extra time after each run stretching my calves.
On Monday my right calf was feeling particularly tight so I gave both calves a massage and they were feeling a lot better today. However, despite my keenness to do another run in these shoes and my lack of patience, I decided it would be better to do yesterday’s run in my normal (non-barefoot) running shoes. This is the first run I’ve done in my normal shoes since I started running in the barefoot shoes. The run went fine and my calves felt fine.
My calves have loosened and I can hardly feel them now. I will therefore do another run in my barefoot shoes in the next day or so. I am hoping that I will soon be able to try out my trail barefoot shoes very soon with an off-road run around the Reservoir.
