The Hills are alive, with the sound of screaming

Aaaaaarrrghh!

Where ever you, there's a great big hill
The hills are alive with the sound of screaming
but we've still got 2 days till the start!

OK, so not quite the rhyming finesse of the original but I blame babelfish for the poor translation.

So, Ruhpolding at last.

The sun is out the sky is blue there's not a cloud to spoil the view.....

Flight OK, car hire OK, drive down from Munich, good except 2 near-misses with some great continental driving (also known as swerving at the last minute onto the slip road without using the wing mirrors)

After drving around Ruhpolding for a few minutes trying to find our hotle, we eventually parked and, ignoring the German gent leaning out of his window yelling at us, proceeded to ring the hotel door bell..... no response! Ring again..... no response. Return to parked car and try side door.... locked. German gent hollers again... which hotel are you in? this one we reply. How many nights? 2 we say, waving reservation form. What's the name of hotel?..... Parkhotel we say..... Boy, you are so wrong he replies! Ooooops. eventually find hotel (after following ace directions from helpful german gent in window) and check into correct hotel; which happens to be much nicer than the one we originally tried as it is open :)

Chilling on the balcony, thinking about registration, or maybe a beer.....

Until next time people

This tray is wet, and this tray is wet, and this one......

Atomic Hamster

I think we can win this...

Of course, I think every race is winnable; this feeling generally lasts about 20 yards, until the good people are out of sight and the chance to even sneak in as third in age group disappears as that bloke that you've marked down as beatable (you know, the one with the appalling limp, the scars from his knee replacement and the rattly breathing that that inhaler clutched in his hand will never fix)speeds away as if launched from an aircraft carrier.

I think we're alone now, there doesn't seem to be anyone around...

So what on Earth is the point? Well there's beer at the end of every stage, but there may be more to it than that. Yes, it's a challenge, it's for charity (did we ever mention that?)it's been terrific fun in training, we've spent many happy hours debating exactly what that sharp stuff is that scratches your legs (it looks like a member of the pea family, but its fruit is actually razor blades)we've become intimately acquainted (stop making up your own jokes)with OS Maps, Mr A has carried his walking poles for hundreds of miles without actually using them more than once, but for me...

...it's all about not knowing. In 21st century Britain, it's really easy to spend your whole life never taking a risk. I need to put myself out there in situations which may or may not end well. I need the excitement, I need the adrenaline. It's me and my mate against the toughest terrain the Alps can throw at us.

It's been a bit of a serious post, but this is a serious time, so, as we fly out tomorrow, I will finish with a quote from one of the finest philosophers of the 20th century.

'Let's get out there and twat it' Lister, Red Dwarf.

The Other A-H

Did we mention we do a lot of work for Charity?

It's been.....

One week since the last blog

So, TOAH has made a flying visiting to Woth in Germany to support the Pirate massive whilst I stayed at home doing some other stuff; some of which involved running and some didn't.

This weekend sees Team Atomic Hamster reunited for another couple of training runs; this time through the gorgeous Chiltern countryside (if I can find a couple of routes). I hope the weather remains as unpredictable as it has been, it's quite annoying to carry a daypack full of wet weather and thermal clothing and not needing to dip into it. On a run last week it started raining but by the time I'd unpacked the rucksack and put on the jacket it had stopped, talk about unfair! Anyhow, thought I'd run in the jacket for a bit just in case it started again but no, the sun comes out and I'm running in my own mobile sauna! Apparently the sun not only shines on tv but also on AH when running in a rain jacket. In other news, and following on from last weeks revelation, I will be carrying no gels this weekend. See, learning has taken place.

And there are 44 days to go til the start of the 2010 Transalpine Run, in case you'd forgotten what this Blog is all about. The race is now full up; that's 250 pairs or 500 runners representing the following countries: Germany, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, South Africa, USA, France, Belgium, England, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Luxembourg, Italy, Estonia, New Zealand, Portugal, Israel, Sweden, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Hungary and Canada. Actually, just looking at the entrants list there appears to be around 285 pairs, not 250. Damn, there goes our top 250 finish! Anyhow, back to the countries taking part...., we will, over the coming weeks, be identifying popular pieces of music associated with each country (Liechtenstein, why oh why! I just hope they are so far ahead of us....!) and will be learning some lyrics to provide moral support and home comforts to our fellow competitors. Any song suggestions will be welcome, but we reserve the right to discount any obscure tracks although bonus points will be awarded for Liechtenstein. Maybe we'll revise our mobile jukebox option... it'll give us something to discuss during this weekends training runs.

Until the next time......

What exactly is an Evil Giraffe?

Atomic Hamster

I think never is enough...

Blogs are like buses, except if you get run over by one, in which case there is several tons of difference...

It's getting serious now; time to take my skirt off, cancel my manicure, grow a mustache...

Lots of training with Mr A in Frankfurt, including a little jog round the run course at IMDE; good job Mouse happened by to sort out our pacing.

We were noisy enough...

A week later found us on the Worcestershire Way, in singing, joking and puking mood; it was as if the Anzacs were alive. The miles went by and I'm up to 90 in the first fortnight of July. Who says this ship is lost? No point asking when it is; no point asking who's to go. There's the easy way or the Worcestershire Way.

A trip to Roth for some swimming and shouting is next on the agenda; I'm a little out of practice at both the above. I shall, however, be taking Dave's cowbell, which must count as some sort of training. Ding dong!

Two fish in a reservoir...

I never worked my way through forests, inch by inch, doubled over on my hands and knees...

The other A-H

Stub It Out.....

Well, things have certainly moved on a pace since my last Blog.

Having overcome the hand injury, I decided I needed a fresh injury to keep me on my toes... and as luck would have it a little Middle Distance Triathlon at Bala, North Wales provided the vehicle.

Met up with TOAH and loads of other Pirates (Yaaargh!) on Saturday and headed out with TOAH for a bijou jogette along the run course. Ate, drank and engaged in merriment during the evening, then settled in for an interrupted nights sleep. Eventually woke on race day feeling totally (un)rested. Got marked, entered transition, and awaited the call to swim. Entered the water and wondered where the 15.3 degrees temp had been measured from! Feet and hands numb, pseudo ice-cream head, line up was called by the starter then hold the line, then go..........

Swam, got out, staggered a bit, transitioned, biked, returned to transition, noted calf very tight; elected not to run for fear of further injury. Showered, changed, drank coffee, went home, wondered why the toe on my left foot felt sore. Went to sleep.

On waking, I was rather surprised to note that my toe still hurt and was a glorious deep purple; smoke on the water? well it certainly wasn't a heat haze. Visited the Doc and was informed it was highly likely I'd fractured my toe. That's ok I thought, could be worse, I could be training for a running race... doh!

Still not sure how I fractured the toe; most likely during the swim either kicking a stone, or stubbing it on the way out. Anyhow, bruising and swelling has started to go, and I've planned my 'alternative to running' training plan. But, no point dwelling on the past, it's time to stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard favoured rage..... and to quote the famous Monty Python feel good song

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam.......

and so, as I look outside I note the sun is out, the sky is blue, it's time to go for a bike ride, unless the toe hurts; ok perhaps it doesn't scan correctly (or rhyme) but I'll work on it... I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere.

All right, lads, Leonardo da Vinci's painting the picture

Laters

Atomic Hamster

Whatever happened to all the heroes?

After a Saturday night of Falstaffian debauchery (or a glass of wine and an industrial-sized portion of spag. bol.) Team Overall were set for a 13.1 mile perambulation of the Warwickshire countryside at the Shakespeare Half Marathon.

Our plan was simple; we'd set off hard and see how far we got before it turned ugly.

It wasn't so bad for the first few miles; 'Argrrrrrrrgh!'ing at the crowd, startling other runners who had their names on their backs, enjoying the sunshine; it was our sunshine, our only sunshine.

Then at eight miles it turned ugly. Uglier than Betty. Uglier than Kid Joe. Whatever happened to Mr Hamster? He got a side stitch that made his ears burn.

Mr ATOM was faring little better, having lingered too long at the junction of Postviral and Undertraining...

We considered a pause to watch our Rome burn...

...but you can blag a half marathon, so we did, jogging in in 1:53:shrapnel. Not as we like it, but all's well that ends well.

Before Stonehenge there was Woodhenge and Strawhenge. 200 miles in this day and age? I don't even know where I live now...

The other A-H

Except that since the race...

You are the king of the divan...

I've got a new lease of life! I'm going out and running cross-country, just me and my breathing and my heartbeat (Top tip: keep these with you at all times)...I feel like a runner again. The sun is shining, the birds are twittering (even without opposable thumbs) and all is right with the world.

Of course, due to the cosmic seesaw effect, or good karma bad karma or a Hawkingesque distortion of the space-time continuum, when I am up it seems Mr A is down. He's post-viral and laid up as effectively as Heathrow Airport. Ca plane pour moi? Non, c'est grounded. I am on top of the world, looking down on creation and the only explanation I can find is...that Dave is poorly. Is this to do with the fact that Kaprun, Austria is an anagram of "a kraut spa ruin"? En quatre couleurs? I think we should be told...

You can't claim us, we live here!

The Other Atomic Hamster

I was only, 19 days from the last post....

Thanks to TOAH for a most excellent account of the 48 miles training weekend. Had a great time; lovely scenery, comfortable running pace, and 2 days of loo inspection. What more could one ask for? Well, maybe a colostomy bag. I really enjoyed the weekend, it was reassuring to know the body could cope with back to back long runs, and, with no fatigue in the legs, I was keen to run again on Monday but logic dictated rest, so I did. (Rest that is, not run.)

And then it was off to Austria for a long weekend. The town of Kaprun was our holiday destination, nestled in the shadow of the Kitzsteinhorn glazier, a popular ski-ing location. The plan was to try out some ski-ing, since neither Dis or I had ever skied before and with any time remaining do some walking and running in the countryside. Skied Friday, handed kit back Saturday, ran and walked for the next 3 days.

And so back to blighty for a well deserved rest over Easter and time to get ill! Spent the last week recovering; so now it's just an annoying cough and plenty of FLM to get rid of. Training has been a bit limited it has to be said; but I like to consider the positives and class the past 8 days as 'rest'; I like rest, almost as much as I like training. It's the most underrated aspect of training but ultimately the most important. I'd recommend it to everyone, but in particular to the other 249 teams in this year's Transalpine Run.... if you could put 7 days rest per week in your training schedule it'll really help me and TOAH during race week :)

All being well, the training will start in earnest again tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll be training tomorrow, it's always a day away.....

In other news, which I should really have included in the paragraph about ski-ing, I tried out my new second-hand cheating sticks during a 3 hr walk in the Austrian Alps, and I'm happy to report that they worked. So they will probably get the nod for the forthcoming Transalpine run, which starts in 144 days time.

Right, so that's the blog mojo returned..... just waiting for the training green light..... I want to RUN........ aaarrrgh!

Cat rang bell, I ate food

Atomic Hamster

Race Report and other stuff......

The race report, for any that haven't seen it and were wondering what TOAH was on about......

Race Report Day 1: 29.3 miles along the flat Grantham canal. Plan was to run at 10 min/mile pace, eat & drink well, keep Mr H company and finish. Mr H was ill with a virus, so I was down to 3 targets. By checkpoint 3, at 15mile, I had foolishly forgotten to eat & drink well, but was happy to arrive in 2hrs 25m. 2 down 2 to go......, additionally, having surpassed my longest training run of the year by the halfway stage, my legs decided they didn't want to function. So, miles 15-21 took a little under 2hrs wich put paid to another of my targets, which left me with 'to finish'. After another hour and some, I crossed the finish line in Grantham and thought, hey Meatloaf... 1 out of 4 ain't bad. The remainder of the day was spent walking around (much like the last 10 miles of the Ultra), eating & drinking (totally unlike any of the Ultra) and watching Alice in Wonderland in 3D.

Race Report Day 2: Woke up at 0630, stretched walked about a bit, felt soreness in right achilles, decided that whilst I'd be able to start the 2nd 29.3 miles, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish it, so decided to withdraw. 1 Ultra is blaggable, a 2nd in 2 days probably is as well, but I've bigger races to prepare for, the risk was too great. Went back to bed.

So there we have it.

So... yes, nutrition, very important. Had a quick look at my Garmin which recorded the 1st day of the race (but not the 2nd, obviously! (see above for reason)), and apparently, I used over 3000 calories during the run. Now, the generally agreed calorific intake for a male is 2500 calories per day, and that's before taking into account the exercise. Using the frequently used, and highly accurate guess-o-meter: pasta meal Friday night 600cal, porridge 400cal, 1lt SiS PSP22, 2 energy gels, 4 mini mars bars and a bottle of coke probably doesn't equate to the 3000cal deficit. In fact it might be hard pressed to get close to the 2500cals needed to sit on a couch!

Lesson learnt (again) or maybe not.. it's been suggested that, since I'm rubbish at remembering to fuel correctly, and since I get distracted easi-oh look a rabbit; bring forth the holy hand grenade of Antioch. And the Lord did grin and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats and large chu - I shall be adopting a Pavlov's dog style of nutrition training; my ever faithful stopwatch will now beep every 20 minutes which should be the cue for me to take on some nutrition. As some Bare Naked Ladies once sang so eloquently, ring a bell and I'll salivate. Woof!

So, Rhyader beckons, and TOAH will be available to keep me on the straight and narrow (unless it's a corner), just like an arrow....

Till next time, pop pickers

Do you have a Flag?

Atomic Hamster

Antibiotics or Death?

I'll take the Antibiotics please.....

As the 1st training weekend for Atomic Hamster beckons, it is with regret to inform our fellow followers that one of us may not be fit to compete. It's always tough to take the decision to withdraw from a race; there's the time and energy committed to the training, the fear of 'letting your team-mate down' and that nagging doubt that perhaps you're not really that ill and that maybe you should HTFU. But when all things are considered (sleepness nights, blocked sinus, fatigue etc) then the obvious choice is not to compete. There will be more races, more training weekends and the ultimate goal of an 8 day A-race in September.

So, one of the 2-man tag team will be wandering aimlessly along the canal in Lincolnshire, admiring the rolling landscape and the speed of the other competitors, and wondering if there's a better way to spend the 1st weekend in March. The other team member will be taking pills and aiming for a full recovery in time for the Rhyader 20 in a couple of weeks.

Race report to follow.........

They gave me a name, I was called Grrrrrr

Atomic Hamster

Run for your Lives

It's amazing how much training is underestimated; I speak from experience. Yesterday I ran a 6 mile cross-country race, 4th time in 4 years, and it was the 1st time that I've actually done any serious training before the event. Strangely enough I managed a PB (that's a Personal Best time for the race for any lurkers who don't follow 'running speak'). I wasn't overly surprised that I PB'd, but it's reassuring to know that all the training isn't going to waste. And the downhill training proved a real bonus during yesterday's race as I 'flew' past loads of runners in the final mile; now that was satisfying :)

Today I heard the hills calling, and they were saying 'nutter, hills don't speak', but I ignored their taunts and enjoyed a post-race 45 min hill-session.

In other news, apparently Immauel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable.

Barry Mann, another great, but understated philosopher; I've often mulled over his questions of life, the universe and everything; such as Who put the bomp in the bomp,bah, bomp, bah, bomp? or Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong? and if I ever found that person, would I too wish to shake his hand?

We were Wolves, we were young, we were crazy,

Atomic Hamster

Run to the Hills

We haven't had any exciting snow here for a while, which would have made things easier; getting out and running every day in the cold and the dark has been tough. I've never run 12 days in a row before. I'm now getting hungry and tired...it's a bit like doing Ironman training but without the swimming and cycling. I should definitely do the easy two weeks of the k a day challenge, but the last two weeks will be interesting. Interesting is a euphemism for difficult, obviously.

The first big training event for Atomic Hamster is looming; Rory Coleman's Jogacanalothon weekend is the first weekend in March. That should be interesting too...

...ain't no use in complaining when you've got a job to do. We'll be playing lyrics games all the way round our runs. It's the second sign of madness, after Suggs walking up your garden path.

The philosophers? we know a song about that, don't we, Bruce?

Ere, are you Jeff Vader?

The other Atomic Hamster

Running Free

I love running in the snow

There, I've said it. I get a buzz from running in heavy rain. If I'm returning from a running lay-off, then I'm more motivated to go out if it's a proper downpour, non of this wimpy light drizzle stuff. I have no idea why, there's probably some deep and meaningful reason about connecting with nature and stuff, but I'll leave those arguments to the philosophers.

But, thanks to yesterday's run, I've found that running in a snow shower beats running in heavy rain. I think it's safe to say that I wasn't looking forward to yesterday's run.... it was cold, and snowing; but once wrapped up and on the canal path, it was fab. The swirling flakes of snow, brushing against my face, the tree branches covered in white... it was strange, I could almost here Shaking Stevens in the background.

Today the snow has gone, and it's not raining, but I'll be on the road again, maybe I'll find something good about running in normal weather conditions, or maybe I won't.

This tray is wet

Atomic Hamster

Team PSOF......

as Team Leader, I recieve all the communication from the Transalping Run organisers, and yesterday the official confirmation e-mail arrived.

So, Team PSOF are confirmed as starters for the 2010 Transalpine Run, start number 63. Not sure how useful the start number will be, can't imagine chip timing for the event, and the associated ease of online tracking but you never know. maybe a gps chip, that would at least help if we got lost; though I'd prefer a potato chip.

As well as the welcome e-mail, they included useful stuff such as a press release, accommodation forms and stuff to pack in your emergency kit. guess I'll be off to look for an altimeter device to go with my Leki/Pacer poles (no, I still haven't decided which to go for!).

And they've updated their website to include the elevation profiles for the 8 stages, which was quite sobering on 1st look, and panic inducing on the 2nd look.

I'm covered in Bees

Atomic Hamster

Leki or not Leki, that is one of many questions

So, gadgets; or should that be essential items to aid in the completion of the event. Cheating sticks.... I'm not too proud to admit that any aid that will help me get through this event should be investigated, and there seems to be a huge choice out there. Leki appear to dominate the market, and look quite 'comfortable', plus they provide sponsorship of the Run. But if I'm only going to be sold on a product because they are also the race sponsor, then I'll be restocking all my race kit, which seems a bit pointless. However, there's also Pacer Poles which look suitably hi-tech and gadgety to fit in my rucksack. Decisions, decisions.....

Or Death? That's not much of a choice.

Atomic Hamster

We race you here...

Of course, we're not going to go into this completely undertrained; partially undertrained is the Pirate way, so that's the way it's going to be.

We will be running to and from Grantham on the weekend of 6-7th March; we've entered the Rhayader 20 on 20th March (because it's flat) and the Lightning 12 hour the next day; the Stratford 1/2M is on 25th of April and we'll be in it. In time, we may enter more; alternatively, we don't want to overdo it. Don't expect to come round and burgle us while we're out; the rottweiler wouldn't like it...

I see we have an option to 'Monetise' our blog. I suppose a few sunflowers wouldn't go amiss.

Well we're out of cake...

The other Atomic Hamster

We're In.....

You know how it is. Fill in paperwork, send off entry fee, start telling people your plans for the coming year, but it all seems so distant. Then you pop over to the website, as you've done religiously over the past few months, and find there's a new link... one that points to confirmed entries. You scroll through the list until your eyes rest on your names, and suddenly you get that knot in your stomach, that's it, in black and white, you're in and there's nothing you can do about it now; except keep training.

I'll take Cake please,

Atomic Hamster

Snow point moaning about it

Apparently there's snow in the Alps, even in September. Why didn't Crashie tell me this before I entered the run. Still it will only be on the tops of the hills so that will be OK; the slopes leading up will be lush green, flower covered meadows. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a singing nun or two.

Today will be spent running in the melting snow, and trying to avoid hypothermia.

On a side issue, music and running. I don't use an mp3 player whilst running, but I do have an internal music track playing as I run. Some songs are welcome earworms, and some are distinctly unhelpful. My least favourite during a long slow run is "I don't like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats; closely followed by "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks. Which is why running with the Hamster is so entertaining. Over the coming months we'll be developing a playlist to take to Germany to entertain our fellow competitors with; bet they can't wait for that.

Cake or Death anyone?

Atomic Hamster

Transalpine Run 2010, the start.......

Blog, day 1.

My co-runner, Mr Crash Hamster, and I have entered the 2010 Goretex Transalpine Run. We're still trying to come up with a valid reason as to why we've entered it; suffice it to say the best so far is 'because we can'. Our sporting (sic) background is as follows:

ATOM: 3x Ironman, 7x Marathon, 1x Ultra, and some smaller races as well.

Crash Hamster: 4x Ironman, 9x Marathon, 3x Ultra, and some smaller races as well.

We are members of the Pirate Ship of Fools and, when not out 'training', can be found in the forums of Runnersworld.

No doubt between now and race day, we'll pop by and update the Blog with stuff; however that's not guaranteed, and this initial post is in no way a contractual agreement that we'll provide useful, insightful or relevant posts in future.

Thanks for looking

Atomic Hamster