Thorn Bouldering Video re-Edit

Bouldering at the excellent Thorn Crag with Andi Emery and GCW.

One Eyed Willie 6a
Red Rose Addict 6c+
Fresno 6a+
Score 5
Grit Nose 6a+
Burnt Heather 6b
Neil's Thorny Arete SDS 6a
Budmunk 7a+
Elemental 6c
Neil's Slab 4
Easy Karma 5+
Mothership Reconnection 7a+
2001: A Grit Odyssey 6c+
And For My Next Trick 7a

Music by Primus and Ministry


Thorn Crag Bouldering from GCW on Vimeo.

Preston Guild Series Ticked!

7/5/12  5k  25:47
30/9/12  10k  56:50
28/10/12  Half Marathon  1:52:33
(4/11/12  Tatton Park Half Marathon  1:48:41)
18/11/12  10 miler  1:25:06

You can tell I am not a runner.




And from this video of old stuff, you can tell I'm no boulderer either.  Some problems from Lancashire Grit/ Sand stone.

Windy Clough-  Bodacious 7a. Bully for Bugs 6c, Wall 6b+, Country for Old Men Variant 6c+, Mr. Owl ate my Metal Worm 7a, Welcome to the Palindrome 6c, Live Evil 6c+, No Country for Old Men 7a+
Heysham Head-  Spiderman's Toxic Sunday 6b+



Windy Clough and Heysham Head from GCW on Vimeo.

Bouldering in Silverdale Part 5

Bouldering In Silverdale Part 5 from GCW on Vimeo.

Bouldering in Silverdale Part 4

Bouldering In Silverdale Part 4 from GCW on Vimeo.

Bouldering in Silverdale Part 3

Bouldering in Silverdale Part 3 from GCW on Vimeo.

Bouldering In Silverdale Part 2

Bouldering In Silverdale Part 2 from GCW on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/50644007

Videos

After the Vimeo disaster, I've had quite a few people asking after the videos.  I will try to gradually re-edit and re-post.  I hadn't realised how many videos I had!!

Bouldering In Silverdale Part 1 from GCW on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/48288803

A reminder of France!!

Dry days- 90
Days of rain-  65

Long time no blog!

Dry days- 84
Days of rain-  62

We seem to be in the middle of a heatwave at the moment, yesterday the car suggested 28 degrees.  Too hot for me.

I have realised it's been a while since the last blog post- this is because we have been beavering away to get the house in a decent condition.  As with most old houses, little jobs are never little and have often generated a much bigger job.  Lighting has been a major pain in the ass,  the wiring has been botched together in the fittings so I've had to modify most of it as I change light fittings.  This in addition to the Doc's preference for fittings with no space for wiring have made for some colourful language.  All done now though.

We discovered that the oven on the range was buggered, as was the extractor hood.  I know about caveat emptor, but the vendors refused us access to look around again and check stuff.  I suppose that should have rung bells in itself.  Anyway, on Wednesday I managed to strip the extractor and range out and put them  outside for removal when the new one came.  When I went out five minutes later it had all gone, I can only guess some scrap merchant pinched it.  Now we have a fully functional cooker, although no hood yet as the back plate isn't in stock at present.

I have my pride and joy hi-fi in the house now.  The Doc has decided where it needs to go and wants the cabling run under the carpet.  I made a booboo and bought new cabling that was too thick, so I went back yesterday to swap it.  The new one is three times the cost per metre. I'm also getting a new stand, the Atacama Equinox being current favourite.  I'm picking the cabling up on Saturday so I'll order something then.  I have also lost my spikes on the old Target speaker stands.

Other than dressings with pictures and mirrors, the interior of the house is nearly there.  It's been fairly stressful though, but at least it's habitable now.  The garden and exteriors need blitzing, but that's not something I'm any good at so it's a case of getting people in.  But we are approaching the time when I can turn my attention to Board work..........

Busy busy busy

Dry days- 71
Days of rain- 58

What a week!  The Doc and I have spent most of our time trying to get the new house sorted after the dirty buggers vacated it in a right state, including piles of flour in the cupboards and live wires left around.  Cleaning is almost complete, but every room needed decorating.  This was too big a task for me so we have had to get someone in.  I've been fixing stuff, changing lights, clearing the garden, getting 240V shocks etc etc.  The kitchen is almost done now, and the bedrooms shouold be painted this week so we are hoping to be in in a fortnight or so.  Understandably, the board has taken a back burner.

Yesterday was the first of the Preston Guild races.  The Doc and I got to Preston for 10, parked in a back street and wandered to the Race HQ.  This event was very well organised, all credit to the Red Rose Runners.  I was aiming for under 25 minutes, but wasn't too hopeful due to a heavy cold.  I got totally stuck in the pack initially so my first 1km took over 6 minutes.  I managed to get going after this, but the final time was 25:47.  Both the Doc and I really enjoyed the run actually, great fun.  The next up is the Manchester 10k, which I hope I feel better for.  Other than that it's just lots of work on the new house.

I hate this new design of Blogger

Is it only me that can no longer format paragraphs and get pictures to embed correctly?!?!?

YYFY!

Dry days- 67
Days of rain- 53

Marathon Day!

Due to the new house I haven't been running this week. However, despite this I was going to take today seriously and approach it properly- I only had a couple of beers last night. I had bought a shower-proof jacket yesterday in Preston after looking at MetCheck. The weather has been terrible this week, and today was no exception. The Doc and I were out of the house just after seven, after I'd eaten mini Shredded Wheat at six and a banana smoothie just before we left. There were no signposts for the Marathon or its parking, plus there were road closures, so it took a bit to find where we were going. The parking mentioned in the booklet for the race wasn't great. One was full, the other had decided it wasn't accepting event parking. We ended up in some backstreet and then walked in the pissing rain to the start.

It was cold, windy and very wet standing around waiting for the gun. After saying farewell (possibly literally) to The Doc I jogged up and down a bit to try to get warm. I had my Helly Hansen long sleeve thermal on, then my Satch T shirt and the shower-proof on top. I wasn't exactly warm like this, so I didn't envy the people huddling under trees in T shirts and shorts. I had said I'd do the run in five hours, so I was in the penultimate wave which took 6:24 to cross the line after the gun. The first five or so miles were past the fire station and Kellogg's and was quite built up. This meant that whilst everyone goes soaked in the continuous rain, the wind wasn't a factor. Once outside the M60 this came into play and the rain became horizontal. I was utterly soaked by this stage, and cold. Between twelve and sixteen miles we zig zagged around Dunham Massey, through country roads with three inches of standing water and then through a park with two inches of standing liquid mud. My feet had been wet before, but by now they were waterlogged and covered in mud. At this point a stop in at the Rope and Anchor was tempting, but I pushed on. At various Marshall tents there were lots of runners in foil huddling for shelter. A lot of people on the route looked very very cold, and many were walking. To be honest, conditions were awful and about as bad as you'd ever want for a long distance run.

24 miles saw me back inside the M60 and a little more shelter, thankfully. At least I wasn't going to get any colder than I already was. After the 20 mile point I felt more upbeat, and managed to up the pace a little. I seemed to be overtaking quite a few flaggers now, including most of the 4:30 and 4:15 pacemakers. My habit of stomping up hills in shite weather was holding me in good stead. I managed to run all the way, and finished in 4:38:59 which was nicely under my 5:00 target and considering the conditions I was quite pleased. The Doc was relieved to see me at the finishing mud bath. She was pretty cold just from standing in the rain. After that we came home to warm up in the bath. So, unending rain and wind. Lovely, I think I'll leave Manchester next time! Although I think I'll enter the London Marathon ballot tomorrow when it opens. And I need to decide on the Preston Guild half vs marathon.

Split times:
10k-  1:05:28
10 miles- 1:44:31
Half- 2:16:36 (Second half- 2:23:22)
20 miles- 3:30:29
Finish- 4:38:59

New House

Dry days- 64
Days of rain- 53

We got the keys for the new house yesterday. When we got into the place we found it was a bit of a tip- half the cupboards had cornflakes/ flour/ etc scattered through them. now it's emtpy you can see how battered the carpets are and how much decorating needs doing- basically everything.

The Doc spent a few hours cleaning last night, I pulled rawl plugs out of the wall and filled holes, then started on painting the kitched. The Doc seemed a it taken aback by how much needs doing, but it's all superficial stuff so it'll be great at the end of the day. Having said that, a board is a little down the list at present.

Marathon this Sunday, then we have a week off so if I'm in any fit state I'll get more work done on the house.

Wainwrighting

Dry days- 62
Days of rain- 48

Today was supposed to be my 5 miles easy jog/walk, but as I was off yesterday I decided I would try to tick a few Wainwrights. The weather was so-so on the way up and I was parked up at Hartsop by 11:30. I had decided to use this as a bit of a trining session so I pushed myself a bit to see how fitness was. I followed the track up to Hayeswater, then left up the fell and on to The Knott. I was pleased to stomp up to here fairly quickly and managed to overtake quite a few people. At the summit it was trying to snow, so I stopped and put my waterproof trousers on.

I dropped down from the Knott and then headed left to Rampsgill Head and on to High Rise. It cleared for a while so I had some good views over to the North. Back to Kidstye Pike, then to the Straights of Riggindale in order to head up to High Street. On the way a Coast to Coast walker asked me where they were going as they were lost. i would have thought it prudent to be able to navigate effectively before doing such a walk, or am I being elitist?

High Street's wall reminded me that I had been up here years and years ago with my father. I remember huddling behind that same wall 25 years ago, hiding from the wind. I remember my Dad finding half a maggot in his apple- it took me years before I'd eat apples again!

From High Street over to Thronthwaite Crag, then back down over Gray Crag- the descent from here was rather slippery and tedious- and back to the car in under 3 1/2 hours. I'm feeling the fittest I have in years. Doing 7 Wainwrights in a day has brought the total for 2012 to 9, one more and 10 Munros and that's one of my aims ticked.

I've just found this article which is basically what I did. I think their distance is 2 miles too high though.

After a blast back home I went to see The Hunger Games with Doc Jnr 1, which was pretty good.

Pleased for once

Dry days- 61
Days of rain- 47

My running training has been moved forward one day out of sync due to other commitments. It was a lovely day yesterday, I could have had a couple of hours out on the rock but motivation was lacking and it's so close to the Marathon that I had to force myself to get out running.

I was supposed to be doing a 6 mile gentle run but I set off to see how fast I could do a 10k, since I felt quite good the last time I went out. I set off pretty fast, which winded me a bit as the first 3 miles was pretty hilly and I thought I'd have to stop and have a lie down. I managed to keep going, and after a while I settled into a reasonable rhythm. I was pleasantly surprised that I could pick up the pace over the last mile and made the 10k in under 48 minutes. Now I know in real terms that is pretty slow, but my previous best 10k was 56 minutes so being 8 minutes quicker is quite good for me. I feel quite fit at present, which is a nice change, and I'm almost (but not quite) looking forward to the 29th when I will either die or cross the line in a blaze of glory*.

Thursday I am supposed to be doing an 8 mile gentle run, but I may go to the Lakes on Wednesday and stomp up a few hills. Hopefully that will get me nearer to my Aims for 2012.




*Well, not so much a blaze of glory as I'm not aiming for a good time- I just want the self satisfacion of having managed to complete a Marathon.

15 days to go

Dry days- 60
Days of rain- 45

I've had a hell of a week at work, so that's all I've done this week. This morning I headed out for the easy 10 mile run. The first 5 miles took me 52 minutes but I was feeling good. I decided to stretch out a bit and see how could get on. I managed the last 5 miles in 46 minutes, at around 9 minute miles. This felt pretty easy, and I managed the ten miles in 1:38 which beat my aim of doing the Preston Guild ten miler in under 1:40. I may have to look at a quicker time to aim for.

Catch up

Dry days- 58
Days of rain- 42

I haven't blogged for a few days, I don't seem to have had the time to do so.

Wednesday morning dawned with heavy rain. I had intended to go somewhere but the forecasts suggested crap weather in most places. In the end I opted for a trp to Wet Pooh. To avoid a repeat of recent disasters, I phoned first to confirm the bouldering was open. It was fairly quiet when I got there, just a couple of one to one tutoring sessions. I warmed up by doing all of the problems up to V4, then flashed half of the V5s and failed to do the other half. There is only one V6 in this set, albeit there are a few v6/7s and lots of harder stuff. After a couple of hours and a warm down of traversing I headed home rather tired with sore skin.

On Thursday evening I continued my Marathon training with what was supposed to be an eight mile run. I intended to do four times around my usual two mile circuit, but each time I went past the teens at the bus stop I got abuse. After the third time around I couldn't be arsed with a fourth round of abuse so I quit and headed home. Six miles in around an hour, another slow 10km.

On Friday I decided to have a wander up to Healey Nab to have a look at my old project. It started drizzling as I walked in, and it developed into proper rain by the time I put my boots on. The tops were all wet, so I could only warm up on the Project which felt hard. The undercuts were dry, but I didn't make any progress at all. The rain got heavier and I left pretty quickly. I did notice that somebody has chalked up the right wall project traverse, although this still looks hard.

Yesterday, it was the last big run in the training schedule. It as raining in the morning, but after a banana smoothie I headed out at my steady pace for a real test of my fitness. The route I had picked had quite a few hills on it, so not the easiest run. I felt pretty good up to the fifteen mile mark, but the rain and wind was starting to chill me at this point although I managed to plod onwards into the more sheltered final stretch. The drinks bladder I recently purchased from Rock and Run is a godsend, very handy just to top up on fluids whilst continuing to run. My carefully planned snacks of pork scratchings and chocolate seems to be the perfect blend of proteins, carbs and salts. At. 18 miles I was only a few hundred yards from home, but I needed to do one circuit of the local two mile ring. It took a little effort of willpower to set off around this, but once I got going I did the last two miles at ten minute mile pace. Back at home I had managed 20.5 miles in 3:42 which Haile Gebrselassie wouldn't really be impressed with, but I was quite happy- if I can carry on at that pace I know I can do a sub five hour marathon, which I would be very happy with. Once home, I cooled down and had a shower then a tin of beans on toast. Yum.

Today the Blobs, myself, the Doc and Doc Jnrs went to Sizergh Castle for the egg hunt. It pissed down all day. As Doc's brother and his daughter were with us, the Big Car was full so I went on my motorpipe, which was quite fun with zero visibility and gallons of spray. We managed the egg hunt in the rain, with surprisingly little moaning. I think the turn out was poor due to the rain as they were giving an extra egg out if you found number 17, of which there were two. We had a picnic to eat, but the consensus was to bail and have it at home in the warm and dry. We all headed back, but I caught the Big Car up quite quickly as it was stuck in a queue, and I was filtering through. The M6 was busy and I spent a fair amount of time filtering through queues here too. I got home pretty bedraggled, but an hour before the Big Car crew. When they returned with a puke coated Doc Jnr 2, who had barfed up the chocolate egg he had consumed on the way- this apparently looked like chocolate sauce, but didn't taste like it. After everyone was home we had picnic at home and chilled out. What a day, typical Easter bank holiday in the UK.

I'm working all this week, and my colleague is away so I am expecting to get battered. I need to try to fit more running in this week as it's not far away now. And then I can concentrate on bouldering.

Parbold

Dry days- 55
Days of rain- 37

It's been too hot for me recently. This morning was another sunny day with clear skies, and hot. It's only four weeks to the Manchester Marathon, so I continued my training by doing 12.5 miles this morning. I thought I'd try to push it a little, and managed the first five miles in 52 minutes, ten quicker than usual. I felt the last 3 miles, but managed to keep pace and got back in 2:01:46 which I was fairly pleased with. The Doc did her usual 5k run. The Preston Guild 5k is close on the tail of the marathon.

This afternoon the Doc dropped me off at Parbold Hill then went onwards to look at furniture shops. I had a look at Parbold Hill Quarry, which isn't in the Brick that I've found and the only reason I knew of it was seeing James Jennings' photo topo over on UKC. The main Mentalist wall was nice and clean, although slightly seeping/ muddy in some of the slots. I jumped on Fundamentalist which felt hard until I managed to get the hang of the pop to an edge, then I managed it first link. Mentalist is a fun problem too. I had a look at Mentalist Direct, getting close to latching the high left sidepull by the power of lank. I was thwarted by mud in the right hand starting sidepull.

I did Vesuvius/ Vesuvius Base Camp, which both felt miles easier than the V6 they are given. I eliminated the back wall too, but they still felt around 6b+. I did Etna after this, which I found hard. It was only when I got home that I realised this uses the arete, so I had added my own eliminate up the face.

Walking back up the hill to the road was hard work in the heat with a heavy bag and pad. Feeling OK now though.

Here's some footage from today, as well as last Sunday at Duxon Hill:

Too hot to run, but run I did

Dry days- 48
Days of rain- 37

I'm sitting in the garden, in the sun, and typing this. It has been a beautiful day, but very warm. Today was my 18 mile training run, and since I've been a bit lackadaisical recently I HAD to do it. It was pretty hot, and the route was pretty hilly. I managed to run all of it except for three points where I walked in order to have a snack and drink. I drank two litres of fluid on these stops.

The whole thing felt very hard work due to the heat, so the time of 3:21 wasn't great. Although, if I maintain that speed that would be under the five hour target for the marathon. We shall see.

Warm

Dry days- 47
Days of rain- 37

On Thursday I did my training run- six miles run, with the last mile a sprint. Other than being harassed by teenagers this went ok and I felt ok.

Today I nipped back to Duxon Hill Quarry. I did the Groove and the crack, as well as a left hand finish to the Groove. Shed Seven still has one move I cannot do, and I don't get many tries as the holds shred you skin. I added a new (eliminate) problem on lovely slopes. Worthwhile at 6a ish.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do 18 miles. The clocks go back tonight so hopefully the longer evenings will afford some climbing pleasure.

Rubbish

Dry days- 44
Days of rain- 37

Yesterday I continued the Marathon training with a sprint/ jog session: 45 seconds fast run, the three minutes jogging. I was supposed to do six cycles of this, but I lost count and ended up doing seven. I felt rough during the sprints but managed to recover fully during the jogging sections. I thought I'd done ok until I stomped around the hillside today.

I'd arranged to meet the BeardyBeast at Caley at 10:00. I was a quarter of an hour late, but luckily so was BB. We wandered up to the crag, BB wanting to look at Strangeness. It looked in need of a clean and brush. We tried the two problems on the small wall opposite Rick's Rock, on the Pinch boulder. These were greasy and we hated them. BeardyBeast fell from the last move of Rick's Rock a few times due to the greasiness. Then we moved on to the boulders. I have to say, we weren't psyched. BeardyBeast had a look at Scary Canary, which looks nasty We did a couple of the easiest things, BB did the Flapjack traverse despite it being a bit wet. I struggled on the first move, which was was a little irksome. BB did Mr Smooth fifty times just to annoy me, then I failed on it. Again. I hate that problem. By now it was nearly home time, but I had a brief play on the Horn left hand which was super greasy. And after that we headed home.

Mothering Sunday

Dry days- 42
Days of rain- 36

It has been a beautiful day today, clear skies. It had been wet overnight but the ground dried up nicely early doors. Knowing I need to get back on the running program, I managed to drag my lazy ass out this morning. We were going round to the Doc's brother's for Sunday roast, so I headed out at a decent time for a run. It felt quite tough as I haven't been for some time, but I managed 13.5 miles before having to head back to get ready to go out. It took me a disappointing 2:25 for what is effectively a half marathon.

If this weather stays settled I may try to head out on Wednesday for a bit. No idea where as yet, we shall see.

Shit skin for grit

Dry days- 40
Days of rain- 35

Yesterday I was taking the Doc's Big Car for its service. This meantime had a few hours, and a courtesy Volvo C30 diesel, to play with. After a check on UKB I was put off Yorkshire, so I opted for a Peak raid.

The sun was out as I left Lancashire, but the cloud set in over the Snake and passing Stanage I couldn't even see the chalk on Hamper's Hang! Burbage was cold and in cloud, but I headed to the Famous Grouse area to warm up on Breakfast. This puzzled me. I tried various things including an illegal lank to that high right hand crimp with the foot lock still in place. After an aeon on failing, three guys appeared and joined me in the quest. James, Ryan and another dude whose name I didn't catch had a go. They suggested better beta, a clamping foot thingy, and I should have done it except for being tired. After a while I admitted defeat and moved rightwards.

I was so close to Jason's Mono it sent me mental. What a frustrating little shit! I then wandered along Burbage and need up at The Terrace. I had a brief go, he starting few moves feeling ok apart from the incredible skin pain. one to look at again once I'm stronger.

Just made the mistake of googling masterchef to watch the final Oh, well. At least I know who wins.

Back to the roads

Dry days- 34
Days of rain- 33

I still feel pretty rubbish, sore throat and generally washed out. I was keen to get to Almscliff today, but it was pissing down here and a BeardyBeast report from further East was the same. Both MWIS and the MetOffice said similar, so I had no option but to try to get back into the running program, since I've missed two weeks.

Tomorrow was supposed to be an easy eight mile run, but since I'm working all tomorrow I decided to do it today. two mistakes- not eating this morning before going out, and then picking a hilly nine mile route. Oops. The head winds didn't help much either.

By seven miles I was getting my usual popliteal discomfort in the left leg, this only ever happens when I try to push faster and I suspect is due to my crap running style. Despite this I made the eight miles in one hour twenty minutes and the 8.8 miles in just under an hour and a half. Tired now though, I still don't think I'm 100% over the lurgy.

Bastards

Dry days- 34
Days of rain- 29

Yesterday, the Doc and I went to a school quiz night. Our team won, incredible as it may seem. There was then an impromptu rope climbing contest, which I was pleased to win too. And after not drinking!

Today it has alternated between sun and showers. I was still feeIng a bit viral, so I didn't bother with running. I decided on a Wet Poo visit. "bouldering please". "six pounds love". In I went to find the bouldering walls closed off for a comp. Brilliant. Oh well, caveat emptor. There is argument that I should have looked online etc before going, so it's my own fault. No refunds, fair enough but it may have been polite to let me know before taking my money. Well, Wet Poo you can keep my six pounds and shove it up your arse. The sooner I build my own board the better.

I went to Longridge after this, which was mostly wet. I had half an hour doing circuits aroun the Bomb Squad area, then went home. Grumpy.

Still Man Flu

Dry days- 33
Days of rain- 28

Right, I'm thoroughly fed up of this now! Cough cough cough, and every time I bend over gunk pours out of my sinuses. And I feel rotten and very tired.

I also hate being couped up. The Doc and I went to see Doc Snr on Saturday, up Silverdale way. Not being up to bouldering I went along for a walk with them from Milnthorpe, around the coast and back through Dallam Park. We had a pub lunch at the Cross Keys which was decent pub grub.

Yesterday was another day off for me and another not wanting to be couped up. The Doc was off with vomiting, so she and I went for a walk round Anglezarke reservoir, which got me quite breathless at times. We has a small pub snack after this. The Doc went for a hot chilli with baked potato- kill or cure if there ever was one! Then last night I made some lovely French Onion soup. Lovely.

I hope this lurgy buggers off soon, there's bouldering and marathon training to be done. I'm trying to pursuade Ginnster that he want to do the Ribble Way Challenge in June, 100km in 30 hours......

Murky Rib SDS

http://vimeo.com/37439709

Finally, the Brimham video!!!

Recent pics

Entwisle overflowing



Ginnster Culvert



Entwisle in the rain



Trowbarrow sign

Man Flu

Dry days- 28
Days of rain- 27

Rather a mixed week weather wise, it has tended to rain all morning and then brighten up in the afternoons- not the best combo for getting out, although this luckily coincided with a rather hectic week. It has also meant that there have been some really interesting cloud formations going on this week. Yesterday, Nemo texted me to say there were excellent iridescent formations where he was in Durham. Clouds and atmospheric optics still amaze me.

This week I have been mostly feeling a bit full of the Lurgy, generally grotty and knackered. This in combination with the rain made me sack off the marathon regime until I'm feeling better, I learned the hard way last time that pushing it can make you feel more shite.

Wednesday was my day off, and it was pissing down. I really couldn't face sitting around the house, so I went for a walk around Entwisle reservoir. it was pretty grotty weather but it was good to get some fresh air. The Red Wall at Cadshaw was piss wet, and now the trees have been trimmed the rain falls directly onto the face. What this will do to the fickle conditions here I have no idea. I'm keen to get back on my projects here once there's a decent dry spell.

I also had a wander further up the stream that runs back to the A666, and found an interesting culvert. i may upload some pics once I get around to it, I just realised I haven't even edited the Murky Rib SDS film! Getting slack.

Brownstones

Dry days- 26
Days of rain- 24

On Thursday I did a 6.5 mile run again, 1 hour 8 minutes and fairly comfortable. I was supposed to do a brisk 3 miles yesterday but the Doc and I were at kids' parties so I ended up not doing it. I was chatting to a Dad at the party- he is doing various runs and cycles and he put me into the fact that being a Preston Guild year, there's a race series: a 5k, 10k, a 10 miler and a marathon/ half. If you do all four you get a t shirt and a medal! Tempted.

Today, I had an hour at Brownstones. I met Baz who was already there and had a chat. I did the usual easy circuit, managed Lancashire PotHot sans flake and did some traversing. I still feel unfit, but hopefully we'll have a new house soon and I can get a board built. We shall see.

Brimham Again

Dry days- 24
Days of rain- 22

The Doc, myself and the Junior Docs went to Brimham. We re-joined the National Trust since our membership had lapsed. First up I had a look at the 7a+ rock over problem at the Red Tape buttress, but was quickly reminded that it's nails. BeardyBeast and I tried it years back. Aft a warm up on the two easy problems here, I had a look at the Green Roof. I managed most of the moves on this, apart from the last couple, although the foot lock ate through my right shoe and then my foot. I opted to leave this for another time.

Next up was Black Chipper Arête. Rather annoyingly I did the first two moves that I couldn't do ever before, but then failed on the next two moves that I could always do. Weird.

After soup at the cafe I had a look at Pair In A Cubicle, which I really struggled with today despite being really close last visit. As a last ditch attempt I had a look at Murky Rib SDS, which I couldn't get off the ground on last time. After a while I managed all the moves, using a tenuous right heel on a pebble to slap through into the stand up. Second try I managed to link it. Then with sore skin and feeling rather weak, it was time for home.

More running

Dry days- 23
Days of rain- 22

This morning I went running again. 3x10 minutes of fast running, with 3 minutes of swift walking between. It felt hard, but I noticed my recovery time is getting better.

We cooked the Hairy Biker's gyoza tonight, fabulous! I think it's a Yarkshar day tomorrow. May get back on the Keel.

Running!

Dry days- 21
Days of rain- 22

This morning we went to watch Doc Jnrs do the Crazy Pups one mile race at Southport. It was cold, but they performed admirably. Doc Jnr 1 managed a decent 9:30 whilst Doc Jnr 2 streaked away with an eight minute mile. Good effort to both.

This afternoon I felt guilty so went for a run. I managed 12.3 miles in 2 hours and 8 minutes, although some of the hills felt more tricky. Still, 9 weeks to go until the Manchester race. Fab.

Lazy Day

Dry days- 21
Days of rain- 21

The Doc and I went for a wander up Rivington Pike and Winter Hill today, followed by pub lunch. Lovely frozen conditions with exciting ice formations, frozen grass etc. Tonight we went to see The Woman In Black, which I enjoyed- suspenseful and well made.

BirthdayBeast

Dry days- 20
Days of rain- 19

This morning was cold. The Doc was out earlyish so I took the opportunity to head out too. It was minus two when I set off to Brimham for a look at the outlying areas. BeardyBirthdayBeast and I had previously looked for crimpy roof but failed to find it. Today I parked up in the layby along the road and had a wander. I managed to stumble across Harvey after wandering around in the snow. This gave me a bearing and I then manged to find crimpy roof. This looked neat but, erm, crimpy. After this was Dolphin Nose. This had a couple of easier things to do and was the obvious warm up spot.

After going back to the car to get the mats, I headed to Dolphin Nose. I did Dolphin Nose after a couple of goes, then did the low start fairly easily. This is labelled as the Big Green in the Total Climbing guide, and given 7a. It felt more like 6c today, and after looking at YG.com The Big Green seems to be a direct line right of Dolphin Nose. This involved one big move to the pocket which I found very hard to catch. I only held this twice. The first time was from a high start where I got three fingers in. The next time was for a low start (I am a little confused as to exactly what's in and out on this problem) I latched the pocket with two fingers to the first pad. Determined not to fuck up, I managed to "style" to victory.

After this I flashed the low traverse- I have to agree with Moose about ths being a Dwarf's revenge. Ouch.

Video to follow............

Positivity

Dry days- 18
Days of rain- 19

Last night I went to Wet Pooh, and had quite a good session. I finally managed a V6, one I've not tried before. I did the moves quickly, then managed it first link, quite pleasing. I did a couple of hours getting sore skin, then headed home.

Tonight I went for a run. It's been a funny day of mist and fog, mixed in with glorious blue skies and sun. I went around the local 2 mile loop, going at rest pace. I held a steady ten minute mile pace, feeling good. I would have carried on but after 6 1/2 miles it was dark and foggy and I skept falling in potholes, so I came home. Reassuring though, since I've just realised its not long until the marathon.

Siberian Cold Snap

Dry days- 16
Days of rain- 18

Apparently the cold air from Siberia is why it is so damned cold here this week. Cold, but dry. On Wednesday I had a couple of hours in Silverdale. I went to WoR initially, which was a mistake as most of it was seeping and it was in the shade. ie cold. I was desperately trying to get warmed up on Deal In Pain, when Weak Sam pottered along having seen my car parked up. We had a chat and I failed to do much more, then opted to move over to Trowbarrow.

The Shelterstone was in the sun but everything felt very hard in my current state of weakness. I had a look at Mojo, getting close but losing skin, then went to Red Wall. This was also in the shade and very cold. I did most of the easier stuff, then wandered home. R-man texted me asking if I was out in the quarries, sounds like he managed to tick a few more projects.

Parhelion

Dry days- 11
Days of rain- 18

Yesterday I had a spare hour so went to Duxon Hill Quarry for a look at R-Man's new thing, Shed Seven. It was late on and the Sun was low and I was treated to a good clear Sun Dog, shimmering rainbow colours at the level of the Sun but no real ring. Stunning nonetheless. As I wandered to the rocks I managed to startle a deer, so a day of seeing things that should be appreciated.

I managed all the moves bar one on Shed Seven, despite it being quite wet. Damn, the holds are sharp and my skin was battered. I may head back when there's been a dry spell, good problem.


R-Man on the FA:

PPPPPP

Dry days- 9
Days of rain- 17

Ah yes, Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. As ably demonsatrated yesterday, by the lack thereof.

The forecast wasn't great, so I had a look at MWIS which also said gales in the Lakes with wet weather and "significant" windchill. So obviously I opted to go there to walk up some hills. I settled on Kirkstone Pass, plotting to walk over Red Screes, Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag and High Hartsopp Dodd- a good way forward to the 10 Wainwrights in 2012 aim.


Lovely day for it:




I arrived at Kirkstone Pass in the pissing rain. Cloud base was at around 500m (ie not much above the pass) and the cloud was whizzing by at a rate of knotts. Now, being Summer (?!) I had brought my light waterproofs and forgotten my gloves. Luckily I had some old motorbike gloves in the car boot. I stomped up Red Screes pretty quickly, although the path is nicely rocky and had water pouring down it. This made going interesting as the path was steep and slippery and the wind didn't help. You'd be unlucky to die from a slip, but you'd certainly be likely to injure yourself enough to be a bit Joe Simpsoned.

The summit of Red Screes appears out of nowhere, or at least it did yesterday since visibility was consistently below 10 metres. I then headed off towards Middle Dodd. After five minutes I absent mindedly added my location as a waypoint on the GPS- which later turned out to be fortuitous.

From Middle Dodd, I contoured around to try to get to Scandale Pass. This proved to be interesting as I couldn't see a thing. I finally arrived at a wall and a path which I presumed was the path down to the Pass. I headed down, scrubbing off height, for ten minutes. Before getting to the col I realised I was cold, and rather wet as the waterproofs and boots were leaking. I made the executive decision to turn for home, something unusual for a stubborn bugger like me. So, I turned around and headed up the hill towards red Screes, now needing to walk a kilometer and gain 300m of height.

Where the hill levelled off near the summit, one path went straight on, and another left. Not wanting to go back to Middle Dodd I went straight on. I didn't bother looking at the map as the wind and rain was so bad I couldn't be arsed stopping to get it out. After another 10 minutes of going downhill I realised the wind was in my face and I hadn't come to the craggy path yet. So I bit the bullet and checked my position. Needless to say I was half way down Snarker Pike on my way to Ambleside. Fuck it.

So another about turn and another kilometer and 300m ascent. I was annoyed now, which diffused the beginnings of a feeling that I couldn't be arsed walking. Heading towards my waypoint I kept passing small tarns, which all looked the same in a Scooby Doo running scene where the background keeps repeating. I think the cloud and mist banks were messing with my brain. I found the correct path and stumbled my way back to the car. 2:30 round trip in some pretty challenging conditions.

Last night we made a Jamie Oliver home made Haggis and drank a dram to Rabbie. I was so tired I could hardly wait for sleep!!

Brief Update

Dry days- 8
Days of rain- 16

We seem to have shifted back to wet weather after a few lovely crisp days. I'm off tomorrow but the forecast is gash, so I think I'll start on my Aims for 2012 by walking in the Lakes.

I went to the wall tonight. My skin was very sore, even after five minutes. I did most of the things I've done before, but nothing any harder. I saw Serpico which is always nice. Maybe it's me but i think wet poo is getting busier in the evenings, which doesn't help.

Two Down

Today is the one day off that I have this week, and it's pissing down again. Someone is having a laugh.

On the up side I managed to finish Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in my quest to complete the BBC Big Read top 100. I'd already read a number of these, but a year ago I thought I'd try to expand my mind by reading them all. In that 12 months I've managed to get through War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, Catch 22 and three Harry Potter books. Lots more to go at, and one of my aims this yea was to read ten of these. He's the current position books in bold are ones that I have read:

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie


Right, back to Harry Potter and the Gobshite of Fire then off for a run.

Less crap than last time

Dry days- 6
Days of rain- 10

I finished work a little late today so didn't have time to make much of another cold and crisp day, so I went back for another Wet Poo session. I was only there an hour as my skin was sore and the place filled up with children and beginners back clipping their way up the lead walls. Today I manged to flash three of the V5s I hadn't tried last time, feeling a little better than last time. After the hour I was on my way out when I bumped into Weak Sam, so ended up chatting for half an hour. Interesting projects and links!

Minty Weather

Dry days- 6
Days of rain- 9

The Doc and I went to chez Beast yesterday to drop presents off. It's been cold (frosty) and dry the last few days, grit season has finally arrived. Today dawned the same, cold and icy. I did the local run 2 minutes quicker than last time. Need to start upping the distance now.

First wall visit of the year

Dry days- 3
Days of rain- 9

After work I decided to go to Wet Poo for an attempt at a session. I arrived just after four to find the Milky Bar Kid had reset everything today. There was no list of grades so I warmed up on the easiest looking problems. After a while I had a look at the steeper stuff on the left walls, but after a while some graded lists arrived. I found I'd flashed quite a few V4s which was nice.

I managed a few of the V5s and a V5/6, which was one of the weird Vickers problems with only five holds and lots of drop knees and bridging. After a couple of hours it was super busy and getting hot, so I opted to leave.

It's been a while of rubbish weather and a while since I've managed to get to any dry rock. I'm getting keen to get out and get doing stuff, and maybe get some aims ticked. Hopefully 2012 will be better weather.

2012- The Ideal Start

Dry days- 0
Days of rain- 5
Alcohol free days- 12

What a start. Five consecutive days of shite weather. Yesterday I did the local short run in the freezing rain and wind, 27 minutes of misery despite the thermals.

I've been buying a few things from Amazon recently (other on line stores are available). Today I got Die Hard DVD and the Bible in the same package, ironic or what? I'm awaiting Kill List, a film that sounds interesting to say the least.

The forecast looks crap for a few more days, so little hope of any dry rock. Here's to 2012!!!!