Winter training part 2

Check these out, they're called Figfours. Designed by Pete Dollman, they're in prototype stage at the moment but Alpkit are doing a series of demos at UK climbing walls see here http://www.alpkit.com/dryice/ I've been lucky enough to have a couple of sessions with them at The Edge in Sheffield and I think they are going to transform my winter training. They manage to hit the parts (particularly your hands and forearms) that standard climbing misses. It's also surprising what relatively marginal holds you can use them on. Ive sticking with top roping with them as you need lanyards for public safety reasons and any falls are likely to leave you dangling by these tools and risk damaging the rubber band. Nevertheless Ive made it up all of the steepest walls at the Edge, so it might be time to get a weight belt out.

Winter Training and UKC Gallery

A few posts back a friend of mine, lets call him the Aberdonian Adonis, posted about a winter training session he'd tried influenced by the winter training beast Stevie Haston. Adonis had managed 267 ice axe pull ups in an hour chasing a rumoured 2000 by Stevie. Inspired I tried a little session last night which I think is perfect for those like myself at the moment with very little spare time and adaptable for many levels of fitness.

Rather than an hour I went for 30mins (I didn't want to write off my season before its even started yet). Every minute, "on the hour", do a set amount of pull ups (between 2 and 6). This first session I did 3. Now doing 3 ice axe pull ups seems pathetic on its own right but by the end of the 30 minutes I'd done 90 pull ups, and if you can build up to doing 6 pull ups on the minute that's going to be 180 in 30 mins - a respectable tally for even grade IX monsters. If you find yourself doing more than 6 then you'd probably want to add a weight belt/vest. I think this session works well in that it replicates what you might expect in Scotland where you'll often get a tough physical section for maybe 10ft, followed by a decent rest. Having to do each set on the minute gets surprisingly tough with the last 10 minutes seemingly like a battle against a racing clock.

Also added yesterday is a gallery of winter shots on UKC http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=2235

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity

I was hoping to call this post something like the "Power and the Glory" but that obviously wouldn't work, or "Beauty and the Beast" which would be half true. Even though this pic of me finishing my half marathon is a pretty poor vanity post, in that I look like a fat fun runner having a particularly torrid time on the loo, I do look as though I'm actually running. This is a first as every other "running" pic of me makes me look like I'm either power walking or letting out a sly one. Apologies for the obsession with bodily functions here but I've spent most of this week fairly unwell no doubt as a result of over-doing it a bit.On a vaguely related note it's always amazed me that Haile Gebrselassie always seems to be able to keep up a continuous smile even after over 2 hours of sub 3 minute km's. Interestingly so does Triathlon uber-athelete Chrissie Wellington. It may have something to do with them reputably being amongst the most like-able grounded athletes in all sport. If so what does my gurning say about me?

London Lecture

Here's the poster for my lecture for the charity Porters' Progress at the RGS in LondonIt's on at 7pm on 24th November and you can get details and tickets at http://www.worldexpeditions.co.uk/index.php?section=adventure_travel_presentations&location or by phoning 02085459030

Leave nothing in the tank

"Leave nothing in the tank" was a phrase or something similar used by Bradley Wiggins about his efforts each big day in this years Tour de France. It really captured my imagination. I guess its like the Spanish climbing phrase "A Meurte" which sort of translates as "to the death" and means to give absolute maximum effort.

A week or so ago I was musing on how you gauge success, and for me on all the achievements I'm most proud of it's where "I've emptied the tank". It's that feeling that you just couldn't have done anymore.

Well I had one of those days today when I ran my first half marathon over at Worksop. It was a beautiful sunny day, but quite a challenging course, with some tricky hills (hills as in a road race not a fell race or mountaineering stylee). The Good run guide claimed it was equivalent to running a 13.7 mile race on the flat (so maybe 3 or 4 minutes slower than a super flat course at my pace). Luckily you run down the biggest hill in the last mile and I think this is what pushed me right to my limit. It was a bizarre feeling falling/running as fast as I could but desperate for it to be over. I almost completely blew a gasket and the involuntary noises I made provided plenty of entertainment for onlookers. The result 1.29.44 (chip time) and 112 out of 1509 runners. Well Chuffed!

More winter inspiration

What do we want? ... we want cold

...we want wilderness
...we want gnarl...we want satisfaction
When do we want it? ....Now!

Special Sheffield Gig

I'm doing a few lectures in November and December, the first of which is something a little different. A double Header with Andy Kirkpatrick. Andy and I know each other far too well having shared many adventures, so it will be interesting to see how this one goes. Andy is getting more "unstable" in his latter years so I've no idea what exactly he has in store - I doubt he has much idea either, but you can bank on it being side splittingly funny. I'll probably dish the dirt first on our epic attempt to repeat the Lafaille route on the Dru, and then talk a bit about our climb on El Cap with paraplegic Phil Packer which helped him raise a Million quid for Help for Heroes.

The title of the show is Freezing Nuts, its on Thursday 26 Nov at The Foundry (not the climbing wall) at Sheffield University Union. Doors open 7:30pm and tickets are £9 (£6 NUS) and can be got from the Union Box Office 0114 222 8777 as well as the Sheffield City Hall, the Sheffield Arena and most Sheffield Theatres.