howies®

When councils listen, you get a skatepark like this one in Cardiff Bay.
A football-pitch-sized nirvana of glass smooth concrete and interesting lines.
You know, stuff that skaters actually want to skate.
(not some waste of money playground company garbage that will rarely get used).
So well done to Cardiff City Council. .
Well done for listening to the end-user.
Well done for building it with such care and finesse.
Well done for giving up such prime real estate.
and well done for thinking different, you’ve built something great.

And the skateboarders salute you for it.

this Tuesday, 7th September we have the creators of  ‘the ride journal’ joining us at Carnaby Street to do a Wee Do Lecture.

they will be here to tell us all about the inspiration behind the books, how they put their ideas into reality, the huge success they have now become and what’s going to be happening from here. 

if you missed your chance to get hold of the first 3 they are available to download from the website and are well worth it, issue 4 is still currently available to buy but be quick because i doubt they will hang around for long.

the lecture will begin at 7:30pm, if you would like to come down or know anyone else who may like to come then just drop us an email at carnabyst@howies.co.uk or ring us on 0207 287 2345 and reserve your free tickets.

the usual beers and juices will be available to quench your thirsts.

we hope to hear from you all soon!

Here’s me, having just finished the 2010 Bristol Half Marathon.

It was my first running race, and it was tough.

I made a few outlandish statements about running it sub 1h 30, and for a few miles it felt like that actually might be do-able. Even at the half way point where the clock read 48 minutes I was hopeful of making it in the 30s. But as the minutes passed and my mile times started to drop off, I began realise that running that fast for that long was harder than I’d thought it would be. Even though it was flatter then any of my training routes and the weather was perfect. Cool, a little drizzly and calm.

There were a few moments in the closing stages where I thought I might not be able to finish, or I might have to start walking. But I stubbornly kept myself going and crossed the line running. It was a mass start with chip timing, so I had to work out my time from my watch, and I thought I’d done enough to hit 1.40 but the official chip time online reads 1.44.02.

I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get under 1.40, as I was pretty sure I’d manage that, but after having finished my first race without stopping, or walking I’m still pretty happy about everything.

And I know I can go faster next time!

Been wanting to run the “barefoot” way for a while. So I got a pair of the Terra Plana Evo M to test.

First easy run this lunchtime to free the legs after Cader Idris was tough.

They run beautifully but no padding on the heel takes some getting used to. By the end of the 6 miles I was tired in places in my legs where I don’t tire.

These are going to take some training into.

But one thing I loved is when you get on the rocks and roots you trip lightly and the flow feels great and you feel the trail just slightly distanced by the sole.

More later.

Surfs up, I can’t wait to get in.

I’m off then, see you next week

This Weeks T-Shirt of the Week is ‘No Gears’ by No Gears Bristol

No Gears is a group of like-minded cyclists who live and ride in Bristol.

From premiering some of the best cycle films in the world, to curating bike-based
art shows, they have a love for anything with two wheels.

No Gears designed this t-shirt to commemorate the 2010 Bristol Bike Week.

Click Here for the Men’s
Click Here for the Women’s

Yesterday I tripped upto Manchester to see Oi Poloi to show them the new Spring/Summer range for 2011.

I had 3 huge bags to show them so it was a driving mission, but this means passing up through North Wales and mountains.

Which also means Cader Idris on the way home. The run is from 300ft to 2854ft and back in 7 miles.

4pm I parked up, hid all my stuff round the car. Put on shorts, shoes and merino, stretched and plodded off to the steps.

The first few hundred feet are steps and stones that need a slow constant warming pace.

By the top of these I am drenched in sweat, breathing to the bottom of my lungs and my legs are burning.

The steps stop, the mountain still climbs on rocks, gravel and grass. The sun is in my eyes, my shades are off as the lenses are already sweat stained. I tap out a constant pace. I pass all the walkers coming off the hill to go home.

I try to thank them for moving aside but my breathing is too hard and I am beginning to descend into that level of concentration you need when pushing beyond.

I reach the lake and decide that today is the day to go right to the top, round and down. But I have bought no water or food.

The climb from the lake really kick. I can run short sections and then others it’s marching pushing on my legs. I pass another set of walkers who look at me with questioning faces.

The trail flattens for a short spell and I calm my breathing and concentrate hard on a smooth pace.

I run, march, run, march up and up feeling the onset of dehydration. When I look back this was the toughest bit. I run a sentence through my head over and over asking the next walkers if I can have some of their water. Will I ask, won’t I ask?  The last people thought I was mad. Who wants to speak to a sweating runner in the wilds.

No one comes along. I see bilberry bushes along the trail that all seem bare. I search harder and find that bushes in the shade of rocks have fruit. I eat every one I find no matter how ripe.  50 berries kick in. Pace rises.

I see the top with a ladder over a fence where I stop and look at the view. 44 minutes.  I look down to the lake and rejoice.

I then look along the ridge and see I still have a decent and another climb. A big climb. To higher than where I am.

I am not at the top.

I am super hot, vision is blurred and my hands feel tight and cramp like. And I am not at the top. I am a long way off and this knocks me.

I have a very long steep decent followed by a sharp climb. People are coming down and I can only just see them. Should I continue. Will going on be harder than going back. I can’t get this far and not do this. Now or never.

Top off, volume up, wipe face and down the slope. It is really steep and loose and I have trouble slowing down. I am worrying about injury and my ability to get round and I am making mistakes.

I meet the walkers at the bottom of the climb. They all smile and say hi and I cannot bring myself to ask for water. Am I embarrassed about being so far out and so unprepared?

I start the last climb. I can’t run, but I maintain my fast march. I look for bilberries but up this high there is nothing but rock. I look for pools of water, but the only ones are peaty.

Then there is the last gully to the trig point. It’s looks like a greek mountain. And then I am up.

I spend 10 minutes at the top. Absolute silence. Birds are on the floor resting. No wind. The Irish sea to the fore and North Wales behind. There is a rock shelter.

It all come back. My legs. My breath. My confidence. I have done it and now I just have to get back.

I hear voices and decide to descend.

The fist section is over grass. Steep and fast. Rocks appear. Picking a line has to be fast and acurate.

I then enter back into rocks and gravel and the perfect hip hip mix enters the head phones. I pick up the pace across the rocks despite the gradient feeling like vertical and relax into the tune. I dance down the boulders. The more I relax the faster I can be.

There is nothing right now but the rhythm and my rhythm.  I am now flying along and I have shoved the fear of falling away.

I join the path I climbed up on and know it’s steps all the way to the car. I pass all the walkers I passed on the climb. I replay the last track and dance the last decent to the car.

On the very last step I stop and whoop.

I am soaked, boiling hot, my knees and ankles are painful, my shoulders and back are stiff but I feel like I won.Further, higher, longer and faster.

And I beat my head.

Click here for some insanely great photos including shots by Ricky Adam,
who has worked with howies before.

Personally, I vote for Stéphane Candé.

September has only just began and…

the car parks are empty

the beaches are quiet

there are no queues in the supermarket or coffee shop

the mornings are clear & crisp

the berries are bursting out of the hedgerows

the evenings are drawing in

there’s a nip in the air before the sun goes down

jumpers are coming out of storage for snuggling into

there’s some surf on its way

hurray hurray hurray I love september

I’ve been running since last year.

Well, I  say ‘running’ … I mean going out with a specific route in mind, and aiming for a speed at least a couple of times a month, usually a couple of times a week.

This weekend I will be running in my first organised race, the Bristol Half Marathon.

With 4 days to go, it’s playing on my mind, I can’t stop thinking about it.

Have I done enough training? (probably not.)
Can I pace myself for the first half? (maybe…)
Will I be able to finish? (yeeeah.)
Will I be fast? (Don’t be stupid.)

I’m aiming to finish in under 1 hour 40. With my own absurd target being 1 hour 30.

I figure there are three key points that will help me in the race as opposed to training on my own.

1 – Bristol is flat. A lot flatter than Pembrokeshire.
2 – There will be well organised and regular drink stops. I often dehydrate half way through my run and finish with a headache.
3 – I will be running in a pack and will be able to tune out easier once I find someone to pace myself with.

The nervous energy is building in my legs.

It can’t start soon enough.