Tag: youtube

Braved the storm….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

The onset of the biggest storm in the history of the world was not going to stop us making the trip to Leicester. I had taken all precautions. The car was loaded: chainsaw, mop and bucket, various changes of clothes and first aid kit. I had heeded the advice from the media: I would indeed be driving at an appropriate speed with the expectation that around every bend I would find a fallen tree blocking the road.

Suffice to say, we made it one piece. Mainly due to the fact that there wasn't a storm. Shock horror.

Q: Why risk life and limb?

A: The fantastic Beans on Toast playing at the equally fantastic Cookie Jar.

'Beans' was on top form, as usual. What you get when you attend a Beans on Toast gig is entertainment. Whether it be the tunes, the storytelling, the banter, or the fact that you never quite know what you are going to get. It never fails to entertain. Tonight 'Beans' was sandwiched between the fabulous Will Varley (well worth googling) and the rather loud Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun.

In other Beans on Toast news…..

  • He'll be supporting Frank Turner on the up and coming UK tour.
  • New album 'Giving Everything' out on 1st December.

 

Running and stuff….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

Just an 8-miler this morning, according to my training plan it should have been 13! Doh!

Although I ran 13 miles last Sunday and 12 miles a couple of weeks before so I thought with just two weeks until the Peterborough Half I'd take it easy a bit. It was a lovely morning and didn't really want to spoil it by going hell for leather* chasing a particular pace. I'm confident of completing the race, just need to decide whether or not I'm going to try to beat my PB. I'm going to crack on with the training schedule, throw in a couple of fast 6-milers and see where we're at.

This morning's run did throw up some interesting observations:

  • The amazingly fast walking man – he was walking his dog and going at such a pace I had trouble overtaking him.
  • I nearly killed off an elderly couple – it would seem that didn't hear me approaching and my cheery 'morning' nearly brought on a heart attack.
  • Caused a bit of commotion at the ponds – some fishermen didn't appreciate the dog jumping in the pond and scaring off the fish.

In other news…..

Currently reading 'The Cry' by Helen Fitzgerald, great book about a baby that goes missing in Australia. A dark psychological thriller with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart. Well worth a read!

And finally….

Off to see the fantastic Frank Hamilton in Cambridge tonight….lovely jubbly….

* This is not a phrase I use very often and just wanted to point out that I do actually run in running shoes not some great pair of leather clad boots.

 

Running, indulging the doolally and univocalism….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

This morning my 'lovely' half-marathon training plan exclaimed that I should do a long 'steady' run of 12 miles, yes you read that right, 12 miles! Not quite sure why it wants me to run so far considering I still have five weeks until race day. But not wanting to upset the fecking thing, that is exactly what I did.

12.65 miles in a time of 1:38.38. Average pace 7.48 per mile.

Still slightly slower than target pace (although I had to go through various gates, cross roads and climb hills), but it felt good!

I had planned a slightly different route that enabled me to pop into a shop and get a drink at about halfway so that I didn't have to bother carrying a bottle throughout. Also, I had even created a new playlist to accompany me on the run. Get me!

Yesterday included a trip to Peterborough for a bit of a wander about. Once there we stumbled upon The Peterborough Arts Fest – a celebration of Peterborough and its people. With the rather catchy tagline of 'Indulge the Doolally'. According to the programme, we were promised, “jaw dropping spectaculars”, “internationally acclaimed acts” and an “extraordinary finale”. What we actually experienced was an event that nobody seemed to know about, there were very few people about, and actually very few acts performing. So, as you can imagine, we didn't hang around for the “extraordinary finale”. Although I did manage a picture sitting on a massive deckchair (small things and all that)…..

But also, more excitingly, performing in the Talkative Tent (sponsored by John Clare Cottage) were Dead Poets….

Dead Poets are made up of Mark Grist, him of poetry slam fame….

….and DJ Mixy, the pair formed the collaboration to challenge the preconceptions of poetry and hip-hop. If you get a chance to seem them you should, it's a very entertaining performance. Today was no different, Mark performed a piece of univocal poetry entitled 'The Fens' which was very clever. Univocalism is a poem that uses only one vowel, here is a rather poor attempt….

Jog to Morton

Born to jog,

Sort of hobby,

Good to go.

North from town,

Off to woods,

Lots to look.

Dogs too jolly,

Poop on boot,

Not good look.

Cows in fog,

Not to worry,

Jog on strong.

Boozy horror show,

Bosoms and knobs,

Long story.

Grotty old dog,

Soggy from ponds,

Looks odd.

Horror show,

Jog too slow,

School tomorrow.

In other news, Frank Hamilton has released his first, what he calls, 'serious' video….

 

I move slow and steady…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

Four weeks ago I decided to enter the Peterborough Half Marathon and attempt to beat my PB, currently standing at….

Since then I have been following a training plan, tweaking it in places, running a few races in between, but pretty much sticking to exactly what I am supposed to be doing. It seems to be going ok, except that my target pace of 7.22 min/mile seems REALLY fast. Now I will say at this point that I knew this would be the case; I set my PB a few years ago when I was younger, running more and entering more races. I knew it would be difficult: it is a 'proper' challenge. But recently I'm beginning to think that it might be a bit of a struggle to actually beat the time.

Last weekend I ran the Grimsthorpe 10K, it was a warm morning, it's a tough course, multi terrain: concrete, grass, gravel, track, in fact at one stage, as we approached the lake, I was half expecting to have to run on water. I completed it in 46.12…

But the important stat is the average pace: 7.26 min/mile. Actually slower than the pace I need to run for the half-marathon, and this was only 6ish miles, and I was absolutely knackered at the finish. I have to run double that distance! Now, as I said earlier, it is a tough course, but all the same it's got me thinking. Is this challenge achievable?

So we eventaully get to the part why I called this post 'I move slow and steady'…..

It seems that whenever I go for a run I always seem to be chasing a target time or target pace. Club training sessions are really hard work, even 'steady' paced runs are done with the idea that I should be running pretty close to my target race pace. I haven't really had much chance to 'enjoy' the running. So you can imagine my delight when I looked at the training plan and had a couple of days running at an 'easy' pace. Now I'm not entirely sure what my 'easy' pace should be, I think I read somewhere that I can run them at a minute slower? So what I did was run them at a lovely 9 min/mile pace (probably far too slow) and really enjoyed them. It was great to just run. If I wanted to run fast downhill, I did! If I wanted to drop the pace for an uphill section, I did! If I wanted to jog slowly, I did! If I wanted to pick up the pace for a bit, I did! I just really enjoyed it. So from here on in I'll be running a few more 'easy' runs. I'm not giving up on achieving a PB in the half-marathon, just going to try to do it with a few more 'enjoyable' runs thrown in.

 

Tedious links….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

In my last blog post I decided that my mantra for my Half-marathon PB Challenge would simply be 'Get Better' and then posted the video from Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip of the track 'Get Better' (see what I'd done there?). Now I'm not normally a fan of electro hip-hop rap, but Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip have written some fabulous stuff, and lyrically they are very good.

It was listening to the lyrics of 'Get Better' that got me thinking and ultimately the reason why I am blogging today. The lyrics include these lines:

“Like Billy says, whether you have or you not have wealth, the system might fail you so don't fail yourself”

This is a reference to the mighty Billy Bragg and the track 'To Have And To Have Not' from the album Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy. In the past this would have caused me to dig out the CD and whack it on the stereo, although nowadays a quick search on YouTube is all you need to do to. So here you have it, a classic track from the Bard of Barking circa 1985…..

As if that link wasn't tedious enough, I recalled another recent artist who mention the mighty Bragg: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. The track is 'Hand Me Downs' from the album Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and includes the lines:

“I'd learnt more from transit vans and Bragg, than I'd ever learnt in class, a lifelong education, from punk rock 101”

So, may I present the fabulous Sam Duckworth in the guise of GCWCF, although no video of 'Hand Me Downs' (sometimes it is possible that youtube can let you down), instead 'Find The Time'…..

To complete a trio of videos today, and a link so tedious it barely actually exists, we have Mumford & Sons. I came across this fantastic video today whilst reading some blogs, that is the link, I saw it on a blog! First time I've seen this video, not sure how I've missed it up to this point. 'Hopeless Wanderer'….absolutely brilliant…..

Cushty!

 

This is a ‘proper’ challenge….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 3 Comments

Forget your project365, your monthly projects*, your Juneathon, your Janathon**, your 1SE***, and any other pathetic ‘little’ challenges.

This is the mother of all challenges. Run a half-marathon. Run a half-marathon I hear you say?!? Sounds rubbish I know, but let me fill you in with the details. No it’s not dressed as a donkey, a gorilla, a fairy, or any other ridiculous outfit. Nor is it running backwards, or juggling, or any other ridiculous combination of activities. It is simply to beat my PB. Simple.

My current PB stands at 1 hour 36 minutes 30 seconds. Which, even if I say so myself, is pretty quick. I ran this time four years ago when I was running and entering a lot more races than I have been lately. So this challenge is a proper challenge. It will require some actual training, something I have not done since 2006 when I completed the London Marathon. I have a training plan: a tweaked Runner’s World half-marathon training plan. The chosen event, Peterborough Great Eastern Run, the same race I ran current PB on. This is a good flat, and they say, fast course. Race takes place on Sunday 13th October, so I have plenty of time to build some speed into my legs.

I do have a couple of concerns:

  • Time. The next four weeks are ok, I’m on holiday, but finding the time at the start of a new school year maybe slightly more tricky.
  • Pace. To complete the 13.1 miles in a PB my target pace is 7.22 min/mile. It is very rare that I’m ever running at that pace, except maybe club training nights, but anyway never at such a long distance. Hence why I plan on actually doing some ‘proper’ training.

I was planning on running this half-marathon a while back, but since then the school where I work is now entering a team and raising money for Cancer Research UK, I think under the rather fetching name of ‘The CBEC Stars’. I’m sure there is an online site somewhere to donate, but I have absolutely no idea where. But don’t be despondent, I know you are all eager to sponsor such a worthwhile charity, so will post a link in the coming weeks.

So let me just clarify, the time to beat is:

1.36:30

So what about some sort of fantastic mantra for the challenge? An inspirational phrase that will see me through to completion? I thought long and hard about this….

“Fortune favours the brave.” Publius Terence

…..it’s hardly brave running a half-marathon….

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” Vince Lombardi

….too long, I’ll never remember that whilst running…

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt

….sounds a bit negative…..so discounted them all in favour of…..

“Get Better” Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

* Failed – the unicycle is REALLY hard to ride

** Failed – cba

*** Failed – updated app and it deleted all previous video clips!! Grrrr!