ark loyal

Runners world have a UK one now thats not bad. The old US one was good as was the human race one they used to do.

I took a spill on the way in to work this morning. I had put gatorskins on hopefully reduce the number of punctures on the commuter and discover they've f**k all grip in the wet. Espeically when you bombing it round mini roundabouts.

I picked up a cracking deal on a ex-display Bianchi Oltre XR3 ultegra this week had it out for it's first spin tonight, definitely a big upgrade on the old Triban. Also got myself up Bealach na Ba last week which was fun. Anybody got any experience with shimano quick links? I've been using KMC chains and quick links on the old bike for a while without any bother but decided to stick with the shimano chain on the new bike. Was a battle to try and get the quick link on, bent my pliers and eventually gave up and just shoved a 9 speed one on it so I could get the bike out the door. Are other branded links ok to put on a shimano chain?

I've no idea to be honest, but you won't be far away from the great run local that i'm pretty sure takes place every Wednesday. It goes along the Clyde walkway which would probably be the next best choice for a run if the Green is still closed.

I used that podcast when I started. Worked well for me. Not sure I'd call it addictive, but you definitely do get a wee high after a run and you'll be surprised by how quickly you improve and that definitely motivates you to keep pushing yourself to see what you're capable of. Have a look at apps for your phone that your GPS. They'll help you track you progress. Strava is probably the most popular but there are others out there.

Linwood and Strathclyde at a stretch too.

I'm planning on doing Beinn Ghlas, Lawers, Meall Greigh, Garbh and An Stuc in one go once the days are a little longer and warmer. I was planning starting from the forestry car park as it's a higher point to start from and finishing at the Hotel but my old man reckons it would be better heading in the other direction so as to give an easier decent from An Stuc. Anyone done either of those routes?

It's been nice in the past few weeks to get the bike off the turbo and head out for a good few rides on real roads. Was somewhat forced into it due to some motor problems and got the bike out for the commute a couple of times. It was still a little cold for my liking to be out on the bike at that point. Then I had a week in Lanzarote and managed to get out a few times and got about 150 miles in and up most of the islands popular climbs. Nice to ride on some roads that weren't littered with potholes. As much as I wouldn't want to complain about the weather over there... the wind certainly made some of the descents interesting. In the week since I've been back I've got out for a couple of wee group rides. The winters training on the turbo seems to have paid off a bit, took 30 seconds off my previous best on my go to hill rep climb.

I know a few folk who done that last year. Looked absolutely brutal, 1000m+ elevation and shite weather. A couple of them have only just got back into proper running training in the past couple of months after nearly breaking themselves. That said, I don't think they had really done the training required to be properly prepared for it.

Is that a deliberate nod to Shooders in the middle of that video too?

I use Zwift for training over the winter. It's a total game changer for providing motivation to get on and stay on the turbo. Workout mode is great for getting some structure planned and the group rides and races are ideal to add something to focus on other than just pedalling away. If you don't normally train with a power meter then the fact that smart trainers add this element is really helpful too.

I was never keen running with my phone either. It pretty much comes down to what feature you want these days. If you're just looking for a running watch that will record your workout the forerunner 25 will probably do the job. Worth checking out the polar m200 or m400 and I know a few folk with the tomtom watches that are happy with how they work for running, I had the old tomtom nike watch and didn't think much of it though. You might be able to pick up a decent watch second hand too given how often folk upgrade. Check out DC Rainmakers blog for in depth reviews and comparisons. ETA. Black Friday just around the corner means potential for decent deals too.

I've cycled the section from Schiehallion and to the south of Loch Tummel. I'm pretty sure the rest forms part of the route for the Caledonian etape so I'd imagine it's all good too.

Was he driving a Kia Cee'd?

At least they toned it down a bit before they released their official statement.

Surely if you're going to the bother of photoshopping that you'd make the hands smaller too?!

A few of my friends are also suffering a mid-life crisis and have invested in campervans.

I've been listening to The Blether for the past few weeks. It's a chatty/candid long form interview show in the mould of WTF, Joe Rogan, RHLSTP etc. But interviewing lesser known people from the world of Scottish sport. Worth a listen, and he had Alan Martin, QotS goalie on this weeks show which may be of interest to some.

I'll admit to being a bit sceptical about what Rose brought to the team in the first few games of the campaign. I think the contrast in performance in the two Aberdeen games gives a better indication of what he does than his goal yesterday though.

They've normally got a keg of it on the go in Drygate.

I ran 1:37:10 today. A PB by about 30 seconds. I'm pretty happy with that, running hasn't been my main focus this year and I was thinking I'd do well to go under 1:40. I was a little concerned about the conditions but thankfully the wind wasn't as much of a factor as the forecast lead to believe. A bit of a head wind once we got on to the Broomielaw but adrenaline had took over by that stage.

The Glencoe marathons are on the Sunday. It follows the WHW from the devils staircase to just south of Fort William and the half goes from Kinlochleven. Might be quite busy in places.

It does say at the bottom of the image... http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/atlas/en/ Not the average age of the whole squad but the average weighted by minutes played in the domestic league.

I've followed it as far as Aberfoyle (about 20 miles from Balloch). It mostly follows back roads other than a couple of traffic free sections between Croftamie and Drymen and the last mile or so into Aberfoyle. That said you don't see much in the way of traffic on those roads anyway and it allows you to put the foot down a bit more than you would on a cycle path. Fairly undulating route with one long steady testing climb out of Drymen.

I've got a tacx vortex smart. Does everything I need and solid enough. Works with zwift or trainerroad. Think it has some limitations if your pushing 900+ watts but I'm not likely to be doing that very often.