The Good Mood Cookbook

Pmaldini

Oryx wrote: »

Instead of a spin down I had a ten minute run off the bike, out onto a pitch dark country road following the tiny pool of light from my head torch. It was surreal and fun, all you can see is a little patch of tarmac coming towards you like a strange treadmill. I could probably do with a better head torch!

i have 1 of these in link below, great light and also have a red light on back, very light, hardly notice its on your head, there about 20 euro

http://www.carlkammerling.com/products/ck_tools/torches_and_lamps/led_head_torch_120_lumens/

Oryx

Pmaldini wrote: »

i have 1 of these in link below, great light and also have a red light on back, very light, hardly notice its on your head, there about 20 euro

http://www.carlkammerling.com/products/ck_tools/torches_and_lamps/led_head_torch_120_lumens/

Looks very similar to the Aldi one I have, which has a very distinct 'pool' of light that covers a small area. Is yours similar? I would prefer one with a bigger wash of light. I tend to trip up, dontchaknow. :P

Pmaldini

there is a great spread of light with it, you can set it to narrow or wide beam and also tilt the head of it up or down depending on how far or close you want the beam, and as for your trips, i think i rival you there!!! currently still nursing anterior ligament damage and fractured bone in foot after boardsie spin in ballyhoura last month:(

Ryath

Bit pricier but based on my experience with the old model I'd recommend this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silva-30-0000037401-Trail-Runner-II/dp/B00FPL60V2

The older model that had 100 lumens the new one has 140.
http://silva.se/node/8657

They have a flood and a spot beam at the same time so give you have a pool of light at your feet and a spot to see up the road. Nicely balanced with the separate battery back so very comfortable to wear, band has silicone on it so it doesn't slip. In saying that I have mine 4 years there probably are cheaper options that are nearly as good now haven't done any research on them recently.

mossym

given the shop local day is coming up soon, it's be cool to support one of the local irish stores so jsut pointing out that silva, which is a great light, is also available here

http://gottarun.ie/index.php?rt=product/product&keyword=silva&category_id=0&product_id=368

tunney

I am tempted by a silva too but for the last few years used my bike light (use exposure joystick) on a headband. 240 lumen with a decent spread.
Not sure silva or a new model joysticl 750 lumen.

Oryx

It would be ideal to have one that goes on the bike too. Prep for March will mean a lot of night rides.

sconhome

I've a CrossTrail and it comes with helmet & bike mounts as well as the head strap. Battery pack goes on a waist belt though I usually throw it into a backpack. Expensive but you'd never be stuck for a ton of light.

Oryx

1 hour run tonight. 10.5k in absolute pouring rain. Soaked to the skin but it was grand. Had to do silly run drills again but didn't care how daft I looked. Out in that weather I looked crazy anyway.

Oryx

Twelve hours later, another run. Decided to give the trails another shot, but this time I was prepared. New Shoes! Kanadias. Bright pink and unmissable. Harder than I'm used to, but very comfy.

15 mins on the road was a kind of warm up before hitting the technical and extremely steep trail with lots of running water. The shoes were well christened! My descending is truly crap but even over the course of the run it seemed to improve. Both ankles tend to twist in very easily, really lack stability. Had a few close calls that even my running mates noticed. But that too improved over the course of the run. The climbs were hard but tbh I'm happy that I was able to stay relaxed and trot up them. (I remember having to walk sections of this two years ago!). I was afraid that strength was gone. The inclines made it very obvious that I'm running a bit flat footed and heel striking at the moment, it was tough to adjust to going more on the forefoot when taking shorter strides uphill. So a really educational morning.

An easy tarmac run back home brought me up to 90 minutes, 13k.

pointer28

Hi Oryx,

I don't know what part of Wexford you're in but any chance those trails are anywhere near the town or South Wexford / Rosslare direction?

I'm down there regularly and sick of running along the hard shoulder of the N11.

The Raven is great but by the time you drive out there and home again it turns a 60 min. run into half the morning.

Oryx

pointer28 wrote: »

Hi Oryx,

I don't know what part of Wexford you're in but any chance those trails are anywhere near the town or South Wexford / Rosslare direction?

I'm down there regularly and sick of running along the hard shoulder of the N11.

The Raven is great but by the time you drive out there and home again it turns a 60 min. run into half the morning.

Its just outside the town. Much trickier than the raven. Can show you next time maybe.

pointer28

The Raven is flat and easy alright it's just a nice change from the roads.

That would be great (if I can keep up) or even just a garmin link, I often thought there might be something around Forth Mountain but wasn't sure.

Dory Dory

Oryx wrote: »

New Shoes! Kanadias. Bright pink and unmissable. Harder than I'm used to, but very comfy.

You wearing these in Donadea?? Or what kind of shoe do you recommend for that course? What kind of surface are we going to be running on? I'm thinking about wearing my new adizero Boost shoes.

Oryx

Dory Dory wrote: »

You wearing these in Donadea?? Or what kind of shoe do you recommend for that course? What kind of surface are we going to be running on? I'm thinking about wearing my new adizero Boost shoes.

Ill be wearing my normal road shoes. Brooks Aduro. You wont need trail shoes. Unless you just want to show off!

Dory Dory

Oryx wrote: »

Ill be wearing my normal road shoes. Brooks Aduro. You wont need trail shoes. Unless you just want to show off!

No showing off here. I'll be sticking to my road shoes too then!

Oryx

I am just in off my bike, and the unfortunate mantra for todays ride was 'I'm tired'. Definitely lacked oomph today! The coffee stop wasn't optional, it was mandatory for me! I know I held my companion back, cos a lot of the time he was cruising with his hands off the bars! But I got it done. Same distance as last week, 68.5 but about 2 minutes slower overall. Lovely fresh morning for it though. It was bright even if I wasnt. No run off the bike today. I was glad.

Hopefully next week will be better. But least I got this one done, thats where company helps, you cant bail out early!

Oryx

Starting an easy week today, with 45 min run with 6x strides. Very enjoyable, sharply cold out, which is my preferred running weather. The hill I've struggled up for the last few weeks didn't feel so bad at all. Isn't it funny how a 'short' run fools your brain into finding things easy? Yesterday's tiredness was dealt with by multiple catnaps yesterday afternoon and a lie in till 7.30am this morning.

Oryx

Club swim tonight. Back to our original coach, and while hes a nice guy, I will miss our temporary coach. I made more progress with her than anyone else I've had as coach. I don't want to regress now. 2k set where I did my best but was left completely to my own devices, no stroke correction or advice.

Got my ICE wristband today. Its kinda cool. I will wear it in hopes it will never be used, but tis necessary I think when you do a lot of long lonely training.

Dory Dory

Funny....I recently received my Road ID....and for the first time today, I have it on.

Oryx

What colour is yours? Mines a very fetching teal

Dory Dory

Oryx wrote: »

What colour is yours? Mines a very fetching teal

It's my favorite color - purple.

RacoonQueen

Dory Dory wrote: »

It's my favorite color - purple.

Colour of sexual frustration...just saying...

Dory Dory

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Colour of sexual frustration...just saying...

"Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. The color purple is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. Purple also represents meanings of wealth, extravagance, creativity, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic."

How's that IM training going, RQ??

Oryx

Purple is also the colour of imagination, deep thoughts, and spiritual connection.

MY training is going just fine, thanks

Dory Dory

Good god, I always know Christmas is near when the Tutt boys on "the hill" have their menagerie of lawn and house ornaments burning brightly....including the crowd favorite "Happy Birthday Jesus" written in little white lights on their fence. To quote you from a few years ago, "Merry fecking Christmas."

Oryx

Rest day Wednesday, as usual. Turbo last night. Meant to be a step back from previous weeks, but did not feel like that. I had developed a sudden and severe sore throat in the afternoon, and was less than epic for this, a bit woozy and off form. And it was a set that murdered the legs.

Early to bed afterwards, with fingers crossed that I could swim today. Sore throat was a bug, and I am running a slight temperature, but got up at 6, took some aspirin, and got the swim done. Less than stellar, but done. It was shorter than usual, 2k, but it was tough on the arms, all strength work using pb, paddles and the dreaded band.

I'm supposed to do a run race tomorrow, but I'll wait and see how I feel.

Oryx

Still struggling with lurgy today, and dosed up on aspirin, but I hitched a lift to wicklow anyway and ran the short course of Run the Line in the Dublin mountains. Its funny how your body can sideline illness temporarily to let you get on with stuff like this. Mind you, I feel dreadful now.

Even though it was the short course, it was tough right from the word go. Lots of technical climbing, very varied, mud, rocks, trees, trail, and steep all the way. I struggled with the steeper parts, ended up walking more than I would have on a better day, but felt fine, no niggles. My descending sucks (and lost me plenty of places) but did improve noticeably over the course of the race. I saw a few wounded people who had taken tumbles, it wasn't just me finding it tricky. I loved the course tho, with all that variety and some fast downhills too. The weather played ball too with warm sunshine all the way.

My times were slow, reflecting how hard I found it, I finished in 1.22....(12.75k by my garmin) I think I came 4th woman but haven't seen the results yet. If that's the case, my poor descending lost me 3rd; I was passed on the very last rocky section by a girl with far more courage than me!

I hope I recover ok from this, running when sick was a risk. But I had a great day with a great crowd of friends so it was worth it!

Dory Dory

We all need fun, rewarding days like this, so well done you!!! You've come a long way since your fracture. I think good things are coming to you in 2015.

Oryx

Ended up as 5th place in RTL the other day, but hey ho it was a marker of how I'm fairing these days. Was shattered yesterday, spending most of the day horizontal. Still trying to kick this dose.

Today I had to rattle my bones into action for a little recce of my locality with pointer28. Up and down a few varied hills in the sunshine. A grand run with easy company. Handy enough. I hope I wasn't too slow... not a bother on himself, but ya never can tell if you're holding someone back! 13k in 76 mins. Wrecked again this evening but I think that's more to do with 2.5 hours of Christmas shopping with kids in tow, rather than the run.