Wish I'd Have Stayed in Bed(mond)

Waking up at 5:15am when my flat is the same temperature as outside, is not inspiration for a mid-distance run. Add the rain and fog, and I still question why I bothered. Anyway, left the flat and headed to St. Albans to meet Kate, before heading to Fitness First to ditch my bag and head out towards the country lanes. Yesterday was my physio session with Karen, who couldn't stress enough how much I need to lay off the stretching, and that I am just too flexible. No wait - wrong way round!

I'm glad Kate was also questioning why we were doing this, given the bad weather. But we up the high street, towards Batchwood road, before heading up Blue House Lane and into the woods towards Bedmond. It is amazing how dark it is now. You actually cannot see a thing. We just hope the cars see us, as their headlights blaze through the hedges. But luckily, the lack of light disguised the hills, so when we were into mile 7 and I wondered why my legs were tightening, it was a relief to see we had finished the bulk of the hills. So back towards St. Albans, before breaking out onto the Chiswell Green road, then heading back passing the fancy houses and then back to the gym.

11.6 Miles in 1:28. Nothing amazing, even though we were sure we were going faster until we heard the 7:30 bells from the tower. Planning on doing Yoga later.

Run, Spin, Wind & Rain

As with most Wednesday's, I got up at 5:15am, shot over the St. Albans, picked Kate up then headed to the gym before embarking on a medium paced run before the 7am spin. The only difference was the weather and the light - or total lack of it!

So we headed out towards Hollybush, running up Blue Tree Hill. The turning from the A414 to Hollybush was enough to make you turn back! Kate had almost turned back yesterday as it was just too dark, but braved it. Given that we only ran this a few days ago, the change in light was unbelievable. So the pace wasnt too fast, given fear of breaking legs and needing to save some pace in case the grim reaper were to show. So we finished the run in around 48 mins (5.87 miles) - can't expect great things given the weather and the bad light.

Next was spin - usual 45 min session. Dodgy bike meant my leg kept spinning out the peddle. Quick shower then off to DSGi to prepare for the launch of Windows 7 and the promo codes.

Physio tonight with Karen then longish (11-12 mile) run in the morning with Kate - just hope we get some light (-:

4:30am - 11.2 mile run and PT session

Back at 7:30am today from the Tuesday session and starting from home as off into London today. So a steady 11.2 mile run around Chiswell Green, from St. Albans, missing out Batchwood as the rapists and mass murderers may still be looming form the night before. Finished slow in 86 mins, but guessing this decrease in speed was due to yesterday afternoon's reps.

Arrived at gym before 6:30am's session which today entailed:
Set 1 - 10 pullups (full dangle) & 10 press ups on medicine ball (repeated 3 times)
Set 2 - 55kg Bench Press (10-15 reps) couples with 25kg bar for biceps (15 reps). (repeated 2 times)
Set 3 - Dips (15 reps @ 90 degrees), with bicep curls (25kg X 15 reps) repeated twice.
Set 4 - Pyramid on treadmill (1 min at 10km/h flat, 1 min @ 15km/h, 1 min at 10km/h incline 8)
Set 5 - Dumb bell raises (floor to over head for 1st set, then floor to side for second) with 20 then 100 back tail raises off the mat (repeated twice)
Set 6 - Stepper (level 20) at overspeed coupled with cable pull, and incline chest press - 30 reps (2 diff sets)
Set 7 - Leg Press (79kg) - 2 sets of 15, with a final hold of 15 seconds.
Set 8 - Quad stretches

and all done by 7:30am.... Now off to London

10 X 400m Intervals

Today is the forteenth day that comes around twice a month (or thrice if I am really unlucky) where I have to be at work for 7am. As much as I had planned to do a 5am run, the fear of relinguishing my duvet was too much. The thought of cycling was also deterred by the near miss with a Morrison's lorry on Saturday, who came to the conclusion that I was an appartion and he could drive through me.

So having spoken to Kenny on Saturday and Spearsy yesterday about intervals, I decided it was time to do more speed work, and 2 sandwiches and a flapjack later, that time had arrived. The session was simple - run from Fitness First in St. Albans to Westminster Lodge, do 10 reps of 400m with a 60 second rest in between, before running back to the gym. Simples!

All went to plan. Best lap was 80 seconds, with a maximum speed of 4:26 p/mile. Definitiely something to work on. Planning to do intervals once or twice a week now at Westminster, so if you wanna join me....

Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16680349

A Bike, A Bison & 16.5 Miles

This weekend was jam packed with endurance. The plan for Saturday was to meet Kenny and Paul at the West Common roundabout, however only Kenny showed as Paul was saving himself for today's (Sunday's) grand finale.

So we set off down towards Redbourne before finally heading to Whipsnade and Dunstable whilst taking in Berkamstead, Ashridge, 6 Deer and some wallabies. Despite seeing the wallabies when we reached the top of Bison hill (which had been deemed impossible by some), I was safe in the knowledge that we hadn't climbed up to Australia as Kenny reassuringly pointed out that we were by the fence of the zoo. Averaging around 20 miles for the duration, we then headed back home (Kenny to Harpenden and me to Hatfield), meaning I completed exactly 50 miles in 186 mins.

So Sunday came only to soon and Simon and I had planned a twenty-one mile 7-7:15 run either in Hatfield or Harpenden. Harpenden was the choice and off we set with Niall, Kenny, Paul and newbie John, before taking a lead along the St. Albans Road and heading towards Fishpond Lane, around the park and back towards Wheathampstead. After going through many fields and slipping in speed, we mutually decided to cut the run short and stay fresh at the end. So we arrived back at Niall's house a little after 9:15am, having completed 16.5 miles.

Check out the stats here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16574655

So the afternoon consisted of work, Curb Your Enthusiasm and ironing, before heading to Fitness First for some x-training, an interval spin and then abs. Off to nan's for dinner then home to bed as an early start tomorrow.

Twenty Mile High

So this is my first post in a very long time. Sunday marked the day of my planned long run. With only four weeks to go until the New York Marathon and the Herts 10K being only a week away, it was time to get some miles in at speed. The rest of Running Fource were doing an easy hour in Harpenden, whilst Niall recited Abba versus from his gig the night before.

So I set off at 7am on this cold morning, heading out from Hatfield towards WGC and then into Panshanger. A minor detour (i.e. missing the turning for Hertford) meant I had already accumulated an extra 1.5 miles by the time I reached the Cole Green Way. I then headed up towards Hertford, being crossed twice by a one eared dog and some serial rapist on a bike. With the aim of hitting Hertford with 10 miles on the clock, I actually was closer to 12. I then span round and headed back along the Cole Green Way, before doing a lap through Panshanger. Again, I found myself de-touring from the usual route. Thirty odd minutes to be precise, before I was back on track. I then looked at my watch and realised I had already run 19 miles and still had some 5 or six miles to go before I hit Hatfield. I carried on until I passed the Welwyn/Hatfield roundabout, where I hit exactly 20 miles and decided to walk the rest. My aim was to run 20/21 miles and I wasnt going to run any more. Walking towards Stanborough Lake, 2:33 mins of sweat started to freeze, and I whimped out and called a taxi home (it would have still been some 2.5 miles to walk).

All in all, pleased with the run. Even managed Spin in the evening.

Ramada Wolverhampton - Don't Bother!

Dear Sir/Madam

I am emailing you regarding my recent stay at the Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton. I booked a family room via Expedia, to stay for one night at this hotel on 5 September 2009. Judging from the website and the Expedia rating, I gathered I would have a comfortable, enjoyable stay here, whilst making a leisure visit for the Wolverhampton Marathon.

I must say how wrong I was. Upon arriving at the hotel at around 4pm on Saturday (yesterday), I was made to wait as my booking could not be found. After several minutes it emerged that rather than my name being as it is on the booking (David Adam Moritz), it was in fact, “Adam, David Coritz”. How on earth someone makes a copying error like this is beyond me. Surely the hotel would have received my name and details from Expedia? The next insult was being shown a docket for a single room, amounting to £52. I paid £62 via Expedia for a family room. If you are going to try and rip me off, at least don’t show me the real price. Although this error was corrected, the real fun began around 9pm.

As I stated, I stayed at your hotel for the sole purpose of the marathon. I run many races throughout the year, and whilst training is obviously essential, a good night’s sleep prior to an event is as pivotal. Having the whole room shake from between 9pm – 1am due to a wedding reception being held metres from my room is not acceptable. Having kids running up and down the corridor at all hours is not acceptable either. I did not get an ounce of sleep. At one point I telephones reception, and mentioned that I could not sleep and this was unreasonable and was told “but, the noise has been going on since you arrived. Was it not a problem then?” As much as may look a bit withered at the best of times, I have not reached the point in my life where I need to go to sleep at 4pm, which I am guessing is what this male receptionist was referring to, as this is when I arrived. His tone of voice and explanation made me feel like this is acceptable and I should deal with it. I understand that people have weddings and consequently have parties, but surely you have a responsibility to the fellow guests in the hotel? If I wanted to hear the bass line to Loveshack, or screaming kids singing along to girl bands in the middle of the night, I would pitch a tent outside one of London’s many nightclubs!

I feel I should be compensated for this very unsatisfactory stay at the above hotel. I got very little sleep and awoke in a foul mood. Despite this being a rant however, I must compliment the female receptionist who was on duty when I arrived on Saturday afternoon and into the early evening, for her diligence in correcting the room error, organising me a taxi and allowing me to have an earlier breakfast. Her level of service was excellent, however the rest of the visit was unacceptable.

I look forward to hearing from you within the next couple of days.

Sincerely

David Adam Moritz