Pancake day

I like pancake day, because I like pancakes. And I can pinpoint exactly where and when I really started to like pancakes. The where was the "Olde Niagara House" bed and breakfast at Niagara Falls, and the when was 24th September 1992. About 8:30am. A stack of pancakes, gammon and egg for breakfast. Mmmmmmm.

This was the place, scanned in from my copious photos of the trip. One of my favourite bits of the 3 week trip, coast to coast and back again.



About 5 years ago, I decided I would start to finally make my own to recreate the Niagara House experience on Sunday mornings and it wasn't long before the Internet gave up a recipe which was damn good. I've been making them the same way ever since and demand always outstrips supply.

To work off the calories involved, from Monday (in anticipation!) I added another minute to each of my 3 sections to see what would happen. Thankfully, nothing has broken, but I can feel the additional strain in the ankle. I don't think it's going to tear again, I just think this is the residual tendon-scar tissue having a rough time in there. I don't have any problems with walking, stairs and all the old problems, it's just like one of the annoying rattles in the door of your car.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked my GP for a referral for physiotherapy again, this time on the NHS. I had a call about it last week asking how long ago the injury was sustained. As I have a record (here) that wasn't too difficult. However, no appointment yet. Hopefully, I'll get an idea about that this coming week.

I've was pretty lucky with the weather over the last week and always found the parts of the day where the rain had just stopped, or would start half an hour after I got back in. And for February, it's still really warm at 6C in the mornings. As I write it's 10C. I know it's going to be one of those record-breakingly warm winters, when the statisticians get to talk about it in a couple of months.

Results for the week.

Mon 2.69 miles, 27 minutes, 9:1 run:walk 10:03 pace. 6C
Wed 2.75 miles, 27 minutes, 9:1 run:walk 9:50 pace. 6C
Fri 2.77 miles, 27 minutes, 9:1 run:walk 9:45 pace. 6C

Hope all is well with you.

Mr Stumble.

Swinsty reservoir.

Another busy start to the week meant I had to abandon my planned run on Monday. I suppose I could have got up at 5am, but as I'm not training for anything in particular, I let it go for an extra hour in bed.

From Wednesday, things were calmer, especially as I'd taken the day off. We were off to Skipton in Yorkshire mid morning to collect my daughter who had spent a few days up there with her cousin in a rented cottage. So plenty of time for a run.

Still keeping with my trying-not-to-break-anything plan, it was yet another 8 minutes x 3, this time with the iPod, something I've not done for a while. I also allowed the pace to increase a little to an average 9:46 (gosh!). This all felt fine and although my ankle complained gently during the run, it felt fine afterwards.

After showering, and being Valentines day, there was breakfast in bed, flowers and such to sort out for D before the family climbed into the car for the two and a half hour drive via Manchester to Skipton. Stopped at a nice country pub on the way for lunch and arrived ready for an afternoon walk in the Peak district before heading home.

We drove out to Swinsty Reservoir and had a lovely walk round in some very pretty countryside. Ah - I miss being in hilly landscapes. It's fairly flat where I live, but having spent 5 years in South Wales, you miss the valleys. Here's a selection of photos taken on my Treo, so not best quality!

 

 

Fewston reservoir, taken from the dam between Fewston and Swinsty.

 

As we walked we were passed by a couple of runners. This would be a fantastic place to train, a fairly flat path around the lake, just over 3 miles round. Oh, I envied them.

On Friday, I got my second run in, yet another 8 x 3, this time in the rain. It took a while for my hands to warm up - it was 6C with a light wind, so there was a bit of a chill - and looking at my pace, it seemed to have encouraged me to try getting home sooner ave. 9:24. Again no problems aside from not being able to see much when my eye-glasses misted up. And this time without the iPod, as I didn't want it to get a soaking.

Planning to move back up to 9 minutes next week to try it out again.

All the best.

Mr Stumble.

Elliptic Curve

After a long week away studying night and day, I was very glad to be leaving Wembley for the 3 hour trek home. As aluded to previously, I have not run outside all week, and this was becaise I found the place a nasty mix of building site and, well, "rough neighbourhood" only starts to scratch the surface.

When I pulled into the car park at the hotel on Sunday night, I stepped out onto crunchy glass, glass that, earlier that evening, had been part of the passenger window of the car in the next space. I moved to an underground car park straight away.

Thus I was thankful that I had selected a hotel with a gym so as to avoid the urban dangers outside. I also avoided some freezing temperaures and snow, which was a bonus.

Although small, the gym had the two things I was looking for. An elliptical trainer and a treadmill. The plan was to use the elliptical for 10 minutes and then do 2 lots of 8 minutes on the 'mill, adding up to slightly more cardio work, but with less impact. Thus I would be able to train each day without blowing up my ankle. This worked out OK except for Thursday when I woke up feeling just rotten and abandoned hope of achieving very much of anything all day.

The results:

Monday 1.6 miles at 10 min pace ( 2 x 8) plus 10 mins on elliptical.
Tuesday 1.6 miles at 10 min pace ( 2 x 8) plus 10 mins on elliptical.
Wednesday 1.6 miles at 10 min pace ( 2 x 8) plus 10 mins on elliptical.
Friday 1.6 miles at 10 min pace ( 2 x 8) plus 10 mins on elliptical.

All this followed by that full English breakfast I spoke of last time.

I found the elliptical quite difficult. This was because I felt off balance all the time and it's like you're constantly supporting you weight on your quads - the isn't the same "rest" that you get in the return part of your stride. This may well be why it's good at what it does, but it does little for calves, as Phil says.

All the best.

Mr Stumble

The Lost Post

Very short post. I wrote a more lengthy entry last night, but got my old pal, Blue Screen Of Death, just as I was about to post. I'd hoped Blogger did some sort of auto-save-draft like gmail, but it doesn't yet, you have to press the button .. like that .. and then hit the edit button to carry on. Bah.

In short:

- Friday was an 8 mins x 3 @ 10 minute pace. Nothing unusual
- Weekend, ended up working so didn't post
- This week, in Wembley on a course.

The hotel has a gym, and I'm visiting daily, doing 10 minutes on the elliptical followed by 8 mins x 2 on the treadmill. I'm not running outside, and will explain this one in a later post.

Anyway, having just burned off 350 calories, I'm off for a full English breakfast to prepare for all the upcoming mental exertion. Doing encryption today, if one can be said to be able to "do" encryption in a single 8 hour stretch!

All the best.

Mr Stumble

Notes from a Stumble.

Apologies for falling into the "blog hole" for more than a week. Since I ran on Wednesday last week, I've been worried about this ankle again. The sore tendon is back, and I think it's the extra minute that did it.

So I took a whole week off and it got marginally better. Yesterday, Wednesday, I went out again, and held it back to 8 minutes and a very easy pace. It loosened up around half way round, and since has sat there - not so much aching, but in a pre-ache. Hard to explain.

I've finally been to the GP for another physio referral, but that won't be for a while now. Next week, I'm spending the whole week at a training establishment, next to Wembley stadium. No it's not soccer training! The hotel has a gym, so I'll be probably trying out an elliptical trainer if they have one, and if it's any good may get one myself.

Being none impact, it should be better for me, but I do hope to get a run round the stadium if I can at least one morning.

Meanwhile, planning another run tomorrow, and hopefully a more rapid post.

All the best.

Wednesday 2.35 miles 24 minutes @ 8:1 10:13 pace

Mr Stumble.