Hikes, Bikes and Books.

Its's been a couple of months since the last blog, so here is a bit of what has been happening.

Winter hiking

Over Christmas visit to the UK I managed to get out on the frozen ground up to Stafford castle and Cannock chase and a very wind swept coastal walk in Dorset.

Back in Murcia plans got under way for some hikes too.
English Active has had two sucessful hikes, one near Totana and the other in Ulea; Murcia. Both had a small group with two guides myself and Ben, leading and bringing up the rear. Oppotunities for all to chat and practice their English and of course followed by hearty lunch and more conversation.
Next English Active event will be a Moon-lit Hike, in Gebas in April. Keep an eye on Twitter for details. @yooglecas

part of the old irrigation system in Sierra Espuña

View of the Embalse de Ojós

Along with the hiking has been some navigation practice with map and compass, plus First Aid traning was completed this month too, just incase.

Biking, has been mixed with some wind and rain but mostly mid-day rides have been dry. Navigating new routes through Sierra Espuña often up to 900m, the hill of Bullas (600m) and Sierra de la Pila was a nice bit of base fitness with a steady climbs of 1200m.

Flat Peddles has been the big switch along

with more technical rides, do it make the move and get out of the cleats for a bit. for the long non-tec rides clip-in but for working your way down rocky steps riding flats feels like you're back on a bmx. your forearms get quite a work out too so you might want to introduce some wrist curls in the gym during the week to get some strength up.

Snow well for making Ice back in the day at over 1000m

Books, this brings me nicely to the top training read, Fast After 50, by legend in the triathlon world Joe Friel, who is now 70 has put together a very readable 300page book outlining the changes our bodies go through and how we can deal with them and adjust our training. (side note, Brian you will enjoy this)

next on the winter read and or reading list is How to Run Like the  Kenyans. a personal account of Runner's World UK journalist and his move to Kenya for three months to see if he trained seriously could he break his 3 hour marathon goal. he also outlines the many aspects that combine to make the Kenyas the best.

First Aid in the Wild and Ultimate Navigation are two texts that are my big focus in preparation for Mountain Bike Instructor Award, training that is coming up next month, with mountainbikingspain down in Almeria.

And Finally, don't forget to get your dairy/training plan up and running keeping a log of your workouts, rides in preparation for your A race this year. For me I'll be repeating Cofrentes Mountain Triathlon at the end of March. 

Don't forget if you want some coaching I have a word.doc I can email you which you can fill out with all your data, and for a small fee I'll give you recommendations to help you improve 2015.