Training

Here you will find a list of all the training activities that we have been on and you will be able to track our progress through the Runkeeper Pro website. Simply click on the map of the training session to go to the Runkeeper website to find out more information on the session including split times, altitudes, time, calories and various other facts and figures.

21/02/2010  First Training Session  Southend on Sea

Our transmitter cut out 2/3 of the way through but as you can see from our photos we made it all the way to Southend taking a total time of around four hours. We found the route quite challenging due to the large hills that we came across. One hill resulted in a 13 minute kilometer though we are hoping to come across nothing like that in France.  


Click the link on the map for additional stats, figures and photos...

27/02/2010  Second training session  Country park loop   

Our second session was on a much nicer, warmer day which helped a lot. This was the first training session that both George and Tom H had come on. We came unstuck quite early on, as after out detor to the mountain bike track in the country park, Tom B got a puncture on his front wheel so we had to call in the replacement bike.  We cycled two loops of the park which is why some km are marked at similar points on our map. We then got drenched going through enormous muddy puddles in the country park but all in all it was a good session and we are much happier with the more consistent and faster pace that we had. 

Click the link on the map for additional stats, figures and photos...

07/03/2010 Third Training Session - Epping 

Our third session was easily the hardest yet, and it showed when Steve went home for an early bath soon into the route. The route took us up a painful amount of hills, though we were able to ride down these on the way back through. It should be said that Tom H has been training after school and it showed as he went from the back of the group to the front. We couldn't really find any significant landmarks in Epping so we settled for a station sign. For the second successive session our pace increased, particularly impressive when taking into account the hills we negotiated. Looking forward to next week when Dan should finally have a working bike that will let him go up hills as well as down.

Click the link on the map for additional stats, figures and photos...

13/03/2010 Fourth Training Session - Cold Norton Loop

Easily the toughest route we have taken on so far, though this was all down to the distance involved. We set off on the route, google maps having informed us we were embarking on an 80km epic. The route took us through Basildon, Billericy, Wickford, past Chelmsford and then back through Haningfield, Ingatestone, Shenfield and Brentwood. My phone ran out of battery, including the additional supply pack we had with us, at the 65km point. Joe, on his first training session made it half way through to Cold Norton, a good effort of 40km for his first run. We then hit 65km, deprived of lunch, warmth and the feeling in our bums, and the route split us up. Tom H and I went to Ingatestone station, and made our own ways home from there on the train and by car. Tom and George then carried on and finally made it back into Upminster. Another good adventure in which Tom had the best crash so far and in which we broke the 47kmph mark. Next week we plan on doing the Country Park Loop again so as we can improve on our speed, without the need to stop for directions. 

Click the link on the map for additional stats, figures and photos...

Other Sessions:


- On Saturday 27th March, the Toms took another go at the 'Epping' route. This was a great success, and they covered the 50-55km circuit in just under 2 hours 40, with just 3 water-stops. Whilst they didn't have the hi-tech stats of the RunKeeper app, they have worked out their average speed to be close to 20km/h, which tops all paces for routes up to this point.
- Tom B and George also did the Epping route on Friday 2nd April and, while they faced much greater environmental challenges due to the wind and rain, put in a respectable time of 3 hours 20, which also includes stoppages. As in the previous Epping run, the iPhone was not present, so only a rough average speed of around 17km/h can be given.

In other routes Jamie and Steve did two laps around the Counrty Park and a few more runs of the Epping route have been done