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2261

Christmas Training Programme Day 8b*
Friday 16/11/18: Cardio; 45mins.

It’s hard to believe but checking back in my notes I find that my last cardio workout was six weeks ago on 16th November. There was a shortened version following an upper body session three weeks ago but that can only count as an add-on; I cannot surpass any goals doing bits and pieces of a workout.

So today it was back with the name of the game with my standard 45-minute routine of rowing machine/treadmill/bike. As usual I’ll annotate my figures with my previous best and whether or not that was reached - well, ‘Two out of three ain’t bad’ said the great Mr. Loaf…

Rower:
Time: 10mins / Distance: 2.373km
(Previous distance: 2.400km)
*Despite going flat out on pulling with the arms, swapping as I went from overarm to underarm every other minute, I didn’t quite manage my best this time. I can only put that down to my upper body not having had enough time for recovery following those two mammoth workouts earlier in the week. No real worries though, it just means I will be more determined next time.:evil:

Treadmill:
Time: 25mins / Distance: 2.740km
(Previous distance: 2.640km)
This was better. Not a massive improvement but a better time nonetheless on the flat, walking as fast as I can without breaking into a run. Today I ended up striding out at a very lengthy and crystal set-splitting 7.5km/h at a couple of times for a good minute or so, using up the rest of the time going full 15% incline and pushing those rear quads up that steep hill or alternatively at a mid-range speed with incline to match. Springsteen’s ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ album on the headphones and I was a-trampin’!:035:

Bike:
Time: 10mins / Distance: 5.56km
(Previous distance: 5.240km)
This was even better still. A huge gain. Obviously it racks up the miles (or kilometres) to go incredibly fast so that my legs are just a blur because that is what it’s all about: the fitness aspect, so setting the range of wattage power between Levels 1-4 most of the time ensures a greater distance is travelled. However, I also wanted to see if I could pedal at the highest possible resistance setting – which scarily, was on Level 25! So with my legs gradually slowing to a virtual snail’s pace, it was interesting (but wildly unnerving) to sweat buckets whilst powering those thighs as hard as possible for one full minute and feeling every sinew of those front quadriceps muscles do their work to fight the strain. Some heavier pressing on my next legs workout should gain even greater strength for my next appointment with the bike.:027:

That almost brings me to the end of this Christmas training programme I embarked on almost two weeks ago now. I’ve had to rearrange and juggle my sessions about somewhat, but I haven’t missed anything out, making up for time lost by adding routines to make bigger workouts or otherwise change the days planned for a particular session. There is one more upper body routine left which will be done tomorrow- and it’s a final intense one at that. Then hopefully on Sunday another cardio session but with legs to proceed it, making the cardio a shorter version once more that won’t go towards my main goals as we saw today – the next time I do a full-length cardio workout will be back again at the regular slot the end of next week.

Now I’m going to dig out ‘From Dusk To Dawn’ with a nice Smokin’ Hot Tex Mex chicken & rice meal and a couple of Hobgoblin ales.:-p

Thanks for reading :cool:

2262

Thanks Floydy, that’s some cardio workout, and also showing that you have lost none of your previous fitness. You certainly have earned those hobgoblin’s…
Just like you have done in your earlier post, I also like to look back over the year. I sometimes find it quite sobering the things that have been achieved, and sometimes the things I should have approached differently, and not just exercise based either…

2263

A true and at times a painfully amusing look at the year, Floydy. You would think were a bunch of 50s+ people - for every declaration of a workout comes the inevitable report of a twinge, ache, or downright injury! You can’t keep good people down though!

If this thread isn’t motivating, I don’t know what is. Every day, we limp our way out the door and come back ready for the Olympics. Well, sort of…:lol:

I can hardly believe how fast you walk, Floydy! At 4.2 mph, I’m jogging. Humbling workout you had there.

Roxy, sew your mouth shut? I’ll duct tape yours if you will duct tape mine :043::043::043:. I’d burn the house down to get rid of all the foods that are conspiring to kill me, but I’m not a big fan of the aroma of burned sugar :-D.

OGF, you always seem to close the year strong, and after putting on my fav jeans today, and curling up in the fetal position to have a good cry (ok, that’s little exaggerated), I’ve been in the war room all day drawing up my new year’s battle plans against the enemy - fat. :071::071::071:

Today was a recovery day (from running and too many treats). It’s been raining so hard I may spend tomorrow building an ark in the garage. C’est la vie.:smiley: Tomorrow I am back at it.

2264

A true and at times a painfully amusing look at the year, Floydy. You would think were a bunch of 50s+ people - for every declaration of a workout comes the inevitable report of a twinge, ache, or downright injury! You can’t keep good people down though!

If this thread isn’t motivating, I don’t know what is. Every day, we limp our way out the door and come back ready for the Olympics. Well, sort of…:lol:

I can hardly believe how fast you walk, Floydy! At 4.2 mph, I’m jogging. Humbling workout you had there.

Roxy, sew your mouth shut? I’ll duct tape yours if you will duct tape mine :043::043::043:. I’d burn the house down to get rid of all the foods that are conspiring to kill me, but I’m not a big fan of the aroma of burned sugar :-D.

OGF, you always seem to close the year strong, and after putting on my fav jeans today, and curling up in the fetal position to have a good cry (ok, that’s little exaggerated), I’ve been in the war room all day drawing up my new year’s battle plans against the enemy - fat. :071::071::071:

Today was a recovery day (from running and too many treats). It’s been raining so hard I may spend tomorrow building an ark in the garage. C’est la vie.:smiley: I already have my running outfit picked out for tomorrow in the joy of anticipation (not really, but it sounds enthusiastic :023:.)

2265

Christmas Training Programme Day 9
Saturday 29/12/18: Final Upper body - intensive.
2hr. 35mins.
(All weights in kilogrammes)

‘Intensive’ as in lengthy and all-inclusive, not so much in weight as I kept things moderately heavy but not over the top. However, the sheer volume of it all was the gut-bustin’, ball-breakin’ event here today. Over two and a half hours of torturous muscle-straining bombast encompassing twenty-six exercises, three sets apiece using the tried and tested old school method of decreasing the reps with increasing weight. I even had to rack my brain to find extra exercises as I ran out of my usual ones.
A momentous session if ever there was one and a great finale to my upper body programme this Christmas.
This write-up will take some time, hope you like the illustrations.

Dumbbell press:
12x24’s (48kg), 8x28’s (56), 6x32’s (64)
*The number in the brackets is for the total lift for each set, one dumbbell in each hand.

Triceps bar curl, standing:
12x26, 10x28, 6x32
*An exercise I haven’t done for donkeys years. Really works the triceps and outer biceps. See illustration below.

E-Z curl, standing:
10x30.5, 8x33, 6x38
*Nice to do a stand-up version of this exercise I normally do on a preacher bench, seated. The only difference is that you need to remember to keep the back straight so it doesn’t ‘pull’ on the lower back and cause injury (on the seated version you can push back your bum for spine support, like in deadlift or squat exercises). I didn’t go too heavy as it’s too much of a risk jarring the back out of place. Here’s Arnold in a classic picture:
http://www.eurostargym.com/exer/innovaeditor/assets/admin/images/generated/arnold-schwarzenegger-pic21.jpg

Shoulder press:
12x40, 8x60, 6x80

Seated row:
15x41, 10x53, 8x65

Bicep DB pinwheel curls, alt.:
10x12.5, 8x15, 4x17.5
*Using the less bulky dumbbells for this as they can be brought up closer to the shoulder than the rather unwieldly standard ones.

Lat pulldown, underarm, close grip:
12x40, 8x55, 6x70

Barbell forearm reverse curl:
12x15, 8x20, 5x25
*The opposite grip to a standard curl which makes one lift ‘overarm’ using the forearm muscles as the isolated limbs rather than the biceps.

Bench press:
10x50, 6x70, 4x80

Triceps pulldown, w/backrest:
12x30, 8x40, 5x45
*Standing against a back rest, the bar is pulled from head height down to the waist. This really gives some force to the backs of the arms.

Arm curl, both arms together (machine version):
12x30, 8x40, 5x50

Dumbbell bicep flys:
10x12’s (24kg), 8x14’s (28), 6x16’s (32)
*Another exercise I haven’t done for a very long time. Lying on a bench at a 15° incline with arms outstretched (but not locked fully straight), raising from the sides and touching them above the head. I was tentative on the weight with this but what I used was about right as these three sets really made the shoulder deltoids whine a bit!

Fly delt dec:
15x80, 12x95, 10x110
*Those weights may look huge to a non-bodybuilder, but on this seated machine they are just about right. Obviously on Wednesday I was hitting a max of 142.5kg on this which did pull the upper pecs somewhat.

Rope pulldowns, standing:
12x41, 10x47, 8x53
*An alternative to using the curved tricep bar for push downs, the rope enables you to get a closer grip which hits the tricep heads better, though it isn’t as sturdy as using a bar.

E-Z preacher curl, seated:
12x38, 8x43, 6x50.5
*My usual version of the standing E-Z bar exercise I performed in exercise #3 above. Sitting down allows the user to lift more weight as there is better support for the back.

DB preacher curl, seated:
10x14, 8x16, 6x18
*On the same apparatus as the E-Z bar, a single lift with a dumbbell keeping the biceps flexed as I lift and holding a couple of seconds at the top.

High-pull standing biceps cable curls:
10x20, 8x25, 6x35
*As in a bodybuilders ‘double bicep’ pose, you use both sides of a dual pulley apparatus and simply pull the cables together to create fully flexed biceps. I secretly love it when you get some glances doing this one and hold the pose a little longer lol!:mrgreen:

Barbell curl, seated:
15x20, 12x25, 6x35
Perched on the edge of a bench with the backrest at 60% height, a standard lift from the bar resting on the thighs and curling to the shoulders. Pic below is without the backrest, and you can also use a gym ball for sitting on instead of a bench.
http://www.borntoworkout.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Seated-Barbell-Curl-300x223.jpg

Tricep extensions:
15x30, 12x40, 10x50

Pec dec:
15x40, 12x50, 10x60

Incline chest press:
10x50, 8x60, 7x60
*Like a standard ‘forward pushing’ chest press but at a slightly elevated angle making the user push up at about 45 degrees. Essentially, a cross between the chest press and a shoulder press.

Seated single-arm low row, alt.:
12x70, 8x85, 6x100
*I haven’t done these for a while as I try to stick to exercises which cause the lift to be symmetrical without having to pull on one side of the body. It’s fine though if you balance yourself out properly by leaning towards the opposite side as you pull the weight. Very pleased with the single arm pulling of 100kgs by the way.

Lying bicep curls:
15x20, 12x25, 8x30
*Another blast from the past for me (I was getting stuck for exercises to do by this stage). Lay down fully on the floor with the head resting on a foam roller, or in my case today, a small ‘core’ bag. Pull the bar as on a stack machine but instead of standing up, your pulling the weight towards you on the floor. This enables the user to get more of a ‘pump’ out of the biceps as you can actually lift the weight further above the shoulders.

DB concentration curl, alt.:
10x14, 6x16, 5x18
*Doing my best ‘Arnie’ pose with these.

Arm curl machine, single arm, alt.:
15x20, 12x25, 10x30
*As with the exercise in #11 but lifting the weight with alternate arms, not both together.

Ab crunch:
15x35, 12x40, 10x50

That was it. I was actually feeling really good today and hardly broke into a sweat despite the amount of time taken with all of this.

There is one more exercise to do now in this Christmas 9-part plan and that is a legs workout and brief cardio session. That will take place sometime tomorrow. Following that, details of my plans for the new year.

Thanks for reading.:cool:

2266

Got really hacked off at the pool today, don’t usually go at the W/E but because it was shut 3 days I decided to go. I phoned to see if the Lane Swimming was on and I was told yes. I gets there and stops dead at the pool edge as my lane was full of kids being taught. :shock: The guy wouldn’t let me in told me to go into the fast lanes, I told him no way I can’t cope with them. He said they would be in there till 12.30. I was fizzing as it was only 11am. Sooo I had an hour n a half to kill :frowning: , I stomped back into the Health Suite and spent the time going between the Sauna, Steam Room and Jucuzzi. It passed quicker than I expected and I had a few people to talk to. Finally I got into the pool to do my lengths, only me and one other guy, so I got them done in record time. :smiley: I moaned like mad at reception on the way out about what had happened, I hope to hell it’s not a repeat performance tomorrow. Or you guys will see the smoke clouds all the way from the top of the country to down over the boarder. Roll on the end of the silly season when it all reverts to normal and I can stay away at the W/Es. :confused:
Mumble Mumble, Gurn, Grouse. :frowning:

2267

Floydy, what a helpful report. I was thinking about those tricep pulldowns. Whenever I do them as shown, I am shaky and think I am on the verge of injuring my elbows. How do you suggest I do them without being so wobbly? I know form is everything. :017:

Roxy, for all your suffering, that was a very entertaining report. :-p You are wise to stand your ground, or lane as the case may be :lol: If anger/frustration does that to your time, you could always pick a fight with your SO before you leave the house, :071: and kiss and make up later :wink:

When my kids were on the local swim team, I once witnessed a younger coach try to chase off a swimmer, probably seventy or so, who was doing laps. I could tell by watching that the coach was basically ordering her out of the lane.

No one seemed to notice what was going on, so I slipped over and asked him what he had planned with the kids (including mine) that was more important than that this athlete was doing. In that moment I could see the light going on, and he aplogized to me and to the older swimmer.

You give 'em h*&*, Roxy ;-):075::071::021::twisted::041::mrgreen:

Oooh, I almost forgot to report: I ran five on the (yawn) dreadmill watching a Crowded House concert online, and then did step while during my favorite American football college bowl game. My mom’s university is losing. When I was younger, their loss would mean we would sneak off and clean our rooms because she didn’t take the losses very well :lol:. If this game gets any worse, I may have to clean the whole house…

2268

Hi Suzie :slight_smile:
Firstly, thanks for the kind comments about my write-up, it does help me keep motivated when all that hard work is appreciated. I know I’m virtually all alone with my particular style of exercising on this forum, but it’s good to know my boring posts are at least tolerated by some :cool:

To do correct triceps pushdowns (or pulldowns, the same thing - depending on how you phrase it) you need to remember to keep your body fully straight, i.e. the spine must not be twisted. Tilt your head forward slightly of course to enable you top see what you are doing but the main thing is to keep the upper arms close to the body, not splayed at the elbows. This will execute a perfect pushdown without being injured at the joints.

Pull the bar (a slightly curved one or “V-bar” is easier on the wrists than a straight one) from head height towards you and fully down (but do not lock the elbows, I’d say 95%) so that you feel the ‘pump’ in the triceps at back of the arms and hold for a couple of seconds.
Don’t overload the weight and refrain from jumping up the kilogrammes too quickly on your sets - a 5kg gradual increase over 4-6 sets sets is perfectly okay and you will leave the apparatus feeling like your triceps have been worked very well indeed. It’s a good tip to then do a few triceps extensions on the relevant machine to finish off with.

A (former?) bodybuilder like myself will try different methods of pulldowns and so on but they are usually advanced methods with heavier weights and you need to be very careful how you manage them, so keep to your own system. I see so many people, mostly youngsters, performing exercises the wrong way (back curved, twisted and arched, arms all over the place, too heavy a weight) and they inevitably suffer injuries. I do step in and advise where I can if they are prepared to listen.

Here’s a short video I found to look at re the above pushdown exercise:

NOTE: In the video, you may also see the girl is using a stack machine which has a pad attached to it. That is used for ‘reverse’ pushdowns as I sometimes do (yesterday in fact). Simply stand against the backrest and pull the bar down in front of you. This is more suitable for those with lower back issues
Let me know how you get on :slight_smile:
Oh, and Crowded House - a great choice :cool:

Roxy - Isn’t it just the most irritating thing when you arrange to fulfil some plans and you get there and obstacles cause you to shelve your goals?:mad2: Next time Roxy, don’t bother with the sauna, go into the weights room instead and do a few sets of arm curls. Go back into the swimming pool and flex your biceps at 'em…they’ll soon jump out of the pool and run away terrified!:shock::shock:

One of the very few attributes to working nights (the only other one I can think of is that the roads are quiet), is I can visit the gym in the afternoons when there are not too many people about. It’s bliss!:048:
I used to swim myself but they decided to clean the swimming pool between the hours of 1-3pm each day, precisely the time I was able to go for a swim and that annoyed me intensely. I had to stop my swimming, crap as it was anyway!:cry:

To today then, and I’ll be doing an extended legs session which will see me going heavier than I have done for a long time hopefully in order to test the muscle strength to make sure I’ve still got it!:confused:
There will be the usual range of leg exercises but with more sets and a short cardio ‘loosening up’ stint to end with.

Oh how I love having all the time in the world for a change!! :026:
Back soon :cool:

2269

I decided to not go to the pool until 12.30 today, just incase lol. The problem is they need another pool. They only seem to cater for Schools, Clubs and Kids. The Swimmers get an hour in the early morning and another around 3pm. We are all getting highly annoyed about it. I would go to a private pool if I could find one, but it would cost me twice as much…sigh.

2270

Do you have any wealthy neighbours round your way with an outside pool, Roxy? Maybe sneak through their hedge early morning when they’re still tucked up in bed for a quick dip? :lol:

2271

Final run of 2018 managed to fit an eight in before driving off to Scarborough. Total for 2018 = 849.8…

2272

Good man Bob:023:
Enjoy Scarborough mate. We’ve booked near the Spa for a week in June :cool:

2273

Cheers Floydy, arrived safely in some very mild weather, should be good for my New Years Day run if it stays like this…:smiley:
We’re staying at the ‘Palm Court’ just round the corner from the Grand.

2274

Enjoy your break Bob! :smiley:

2275

Took my new shoes out for walk - did about 4 miles all together - some of it carrying shopping - so that’s stamina and weight training taken care of for today !!

2276

Silver Tabby! So happy to see you checking in. Wow! That was some walk. :038::038::038: You’ve earned your dessert most definitely. How dod the shoes do?

Floydy. Thank you for the conscientious reply and the link. I know you are our resident expert on such things, so it’s most appreciated. Since triceps are important in surfing, I have to find ways to keep them strong during the colder months when I am not paddling out as often. Besides: bat wings :lol:.

OGF, that’s a mighty good total for the year :023:, especially with the challenges brought by 2018. I hope you dance this year right into 2019. Have a marvelous time!

After a quick four squeezed in between squalls off the gulf. I would have given it a go, but in the interest of not getting sand blasted and soaked to the bone, I decided to cut it to four.

I passed my goal by inches this year. A few setbacks caused me to stop watching my monthly totals closely, but what do you know, I did it - on Christmas day, no less. I’m just happy that I’ll be out there one more year.

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/funny/1/running-around-smiley-emoticon.gif

2277

Thanks Mags, and well done to Silver Tabby and Surfermom…If it aint done now, we’ll try again next year…(tomorrow)…Feeling a bit subdued this year for some reason, and my stomach hasn’t agreed with the Hollandaise Sauce that last nights Salmon was swimming in…

Not really looking forward to tonight. I’m either getting too old for drinking and staying up late, or done it all before and it’s getting a bit like ‘Groundhog Day’…Sorry for being boring…:frowning:

Happy New Year everyone, and I’ll see you next year…:mini:

2278

Nice to see your new boots holding out well for your walk, Tabby. Great to see you in here :cool:

Bob - I’m sure you’ll enjoy tonight mate once you get into the swing of things. No need to get blathered to have a good time :104:

Suzie - Great achievement on your final tally for the year, plus a quick 4-miler in the bag too :cool:

Everybody have a great night out, whatever you’re doing :023:

My final trip to the gym this year saw me finally catch-up in a round about way with my Christmas training programme. If you’ve been following this since I began my initial session two weeks ago on the 16th December, you will have spotted along the way that my original programme for all of this ended up being changed virtually each time I carried out a routine.
This was due to a number of reasons, mostly in part because things cropped up and I wasn’t able to perform the particular workout that respective day.

But it’s no matter, as you’ll see that between my proposed list below and the actual routines carried out on the re-numbered version that it was all completed, apart from perhaps the one planned extra cardio session. But I certainly made up for everything by putting in the time and the graft to end up with my final effort today.
Here’s the two lists to compare if you wish:

Christmas Training Programme - Planned
Sun 16: Day 1: Arms + Legs only, intensive
Tue 18: Day 2: Light session, to select from list
Wed 19: Day 3: Strength session
Fri 21: Day 4: Cardio only, a.m.
Sun 23: Day 5: Intensive long session (full body)
Mon 24: Day 6: High reps only (light, full body, a.m.
Thu 27: Day 7: Upper body, intensive
Fri 28: Day 8: Legs + cardio
Sun 30: Day 9: Full body intensive

Christmas Training Programme - Actual
Sun 16: Day 1: Arms only, intensive (7’s); 1hr. 20mins.
Tue 18: Day 2: Legs (7’s); upper body, light; 55mins.
Mon 24: Days 3&4 (double session): Strength session / Intensive fixed weight session; 2hr. 15mins.
Wed 26: Days 5&6 (double session): Legs; Quick-fire alternative session; 1hr. 20mins.
Fri 28: Day 7: Cardio; 45mins.
Sat 29: Day 8: Final Upper body – intensive; 2hr. 35mins.
Mon 31: Day 9: Legs – intensive; 55mins.

Onwards then, and to today’s final session which was a very intensive workout for the legs. As I mentioned earlier, I was to add a short cardio exertion afterwards but I was utterly bazooka’d from the hammering of the legs that I ditched that in favour of living until 2019.:confused: Here’s the gory details:

[B]Christmas Training Programme Day 9* /B
Monday 31/12/18: FINAL SESSION; Legs - intensive; 55mins.
(All weights in kilogrammes)

Incline press:
20x150, 20x150, 20x150
12x200, 12x200, 12x200
8x250, 8x250, 8x250
6x300
5x350
*Finishing this first exercise with a massive 350kgs for five reps showing my ego that I can still reach the heavy weights when required. Climbing off this with legs like jelly but looking massively developed was both a good and bad thing :107:

Sled leg press:
25x150
10x200, 10x200, 10x200, 10x200, 10x200
50x120
*In true sado-masochistic style I made this even more difficult by not dropping the weight but pausing it at the top of the movement between sets whilst I caught my breath. Wobbles were actively present.:048:

Seated ham curls:
25x40, 15x50, 10x60, 7x70
8x60, 12x50, 18x40, 30x30

Leg extensions:
20x50, 12x75, 10x90
8x100, 7x100, 6x100
15x100 (‘bounce flexes’)
12x60, 30x30
*Like the sled press, I paused the weight on the maximum stack weight lifts of 100kgs and carried on. The term ‘bounce flexes’ used above was for an additional set of the full weight but not doing full repetitions, but lifting the weight so that the thighs were fully flexed ‘bouncing’ the stack for 15 reps.

Adductor:
25x60

Abductor:
25x60

That was an extremely sweat-inducing, leg-testing workout which was even enjoyable in a strangely perverse way.:confused: Time for a good few days rest now before I start my new programmes…more about those tomorrow.

Tonight I have a fancy dress party to attend:088:, so it should be a New Year’s Eve to remember. I reckon I’ll be back in here sometime tomorrow afternoon!:104:

Thanks for reading. Have a great night tonight everybody and a very happy and niggle-free 2019 :039:

2279

Nice job, on the legs, Floydy. I don’t think a run, surf session, or workout has ever gone as planned - some better, some worse - but those plans are what motivate you to get out the door. I think you’ve done spectacularly well during your time off, and congratulate you for the leg work - the part of the body that I understand that some guys miss all too often. Enjoy your evening out!

I am sitting here waiting for this stationary front to budge just a little so I can take my daughter out for the last run of the year. I never skip the 31st because I think it sets the tone for the next year. I’ll report in later if my anti-rain dance (no you don’t want to see it :lol:) is effective.

Have a enjoyable time with your lovely wives tonight, gentlemen. You are good sports for going all out to make the evening a nice one for them!

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/new-year/party-couple-smiley-emoticon.gif

Cheers to all the good people who check in here!

2280

What a great start to 2019, eight miles in the bag already and it was only going to be a five…

After partying until the lights went out on the dance floor, I dragged this sorry ass into bed around 1:30am. Hung up my suit until next year, laid out my running kit so as not to wake sleeping beauty, and set the alarm for 6:30am…

It was actually 6:15am when I peered through baggy bloodshot eyes and out of the window of the third floor bedroom of this Scarborough hotel. It revealed a mild dry morning with just a hint of a breeze but no apparent evidence that the first day of 2019 was going to get light any time soon.

After doing what runners do before an early morning excursion, I stumbled out of the hotel and onto the pavement outside. I sheepishly descended the short hill and padded over what we refer to as the ‘suicide bridge’ a short walkway linking one side of the valley to the other and has attracted rather more than its fair share of desperate people who eventually found a solution to their problems.

A short flight of steps (about fifty) took me up to the top of the hill on the far side of the valley and a wide footpath running alongside a row of posh hotels on my right. On my left a wooded hill dropped steeply to a lower path and the white crashing foam of the North Sea. The odd shards of light stabbing the horizon from a distant lighthouse, and a rapidly waning moon now in its last quarter.

I turned inland down a street named ‘Avenue Victoria’ an unusual way of pronouncing a street name in a North Yorkshire seaside town, it made me feel more like running through the suburbs of Paris…A steady climb up this Parisian sounding street leads me onto the lower flanks of ‘Oliver’s Mount’ although testing, this steady climb is not too taxing, and well within the capability of an ageing runner.

The taxing bit comes as I leave the houses and the glare of streetlights and enter into the ‘Magic Forest’ I can’t see where I’m putting my feet now but assume the road will provide a good sound foundation, and it does. With trees dropping away to the right, and a steep bank filled with more trees rising to my left and containing the road I will eventually ascend to, I can hear nothing but the gentle padding of my shoes on the tarmac, my lungs with their increasing quest to provide oxygen to legs that are deteriorating fast, and mysterious sounds coming from the pitch black undergrowth either side as unidentified critters scurry for shelter at my arrival, hence ‘Magic Forest’…

I eventually reach the top and as a smile replaces a grimace with the realisation that once again I am victor of this annual test of resilience. As daybreak splits the Eastern sky I scamper down the other side of this great mound and join the seafront. Here I make a decision, feeling good, I decide to run the entire length of Scarborough marine drive, and instead of cutting off to return to the hotel I continue until I reach the end of the North Bay and return through the town turning this moderately satisfying start to 2019 into a proper celebration of things to expect in this new year…