Sport and Fitness » Glenn Ward

Sherwood Pines CaniX – Running with you Dog in Sherwood Forest

The first weekend of December was the 2 day Sherwood Pines CaniX event for the first time the family decided to take the Inner Wolf brand to the event and a van load of sports dog products. The stand did alright, covered costs and got a lot of brochures out to very interested dog owners.

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Particularly popular products were
The Tazlab Aqua-Fur Foldable Dog Bowl
DOOG Walkie Belt for poo bags and wipes
The Ezy Dog Range is always a good seller
This time of year the coats are popular to.
And of course the CaniX products.

Right that’s my Gadget Show bit out of the way.

The Run
I ran both days, Ady (older brother didn’t due to back trouble) on day one I forgot all my gadgets, no iPhone and no Garmin Forerunner so was a bit worried that I couldn’t pave myself but fortunately it was a short and straight course so it was possible to pace yourself based on the other runners. I set off at quite a pace (for me) which set me up to feel like crap most of the way round. The results came in and I did the 3 mile course in 20 minutes, that’s just over 6.5 minute miles which amazed me as I run at 8 minute miles round the park. It is however a different running style, when the dog is pulling the you are continually breaking with your legs using muscles rarely used on a normal run. On day 2 I ran with the Garmin Forerunner and found that while the dog is pulling you can easily run at 6 minute miles but when he’s trotting by your side the speed drops to around 8 minute miles. Anyway excuses aside my tired legs knocked a minute and a half of my time on the second day but what an awesome way to spend the weekend, sherwood forest, the family, the dogs and a bit of fitness to.

If you’re interested the Sherwood Pines route is mapped out on my Mapmyrun account.
Also I have mapped the 13 mile, Neothic half marathon at stonge henge, this is a really good one so get training and get involved.

The Kitewing – On land, on sand and on the water

Last year my brothers and I bought a couple of quivers of kitewings, Mountain Boards, Dirtsurfers and the surf board they brought out to use with the 7.5m Kitewing. Our first tests were up on a disused airfield in Tangmere, a large expanse of disused concrete with very little obstacles. If the wind were blowing in the right direction you could do runs of over a few hundred metres at a time, it wasn’t however which meant we had the quickly learn to tack and gybe the things across the width of the airfield. It didn’t take much, we were soon tacking, gybing, sailing upwind and downwind with no hastle. Luke even began to pop in a few cheeky jumps.

The next test was the dirtsurfer, we had seen most the videos online using the dirtsurfers on the hard sand when the tide had gone out so we went down to West Wittering to try this out. Having already mastered the Kitewing skills we could concentrate on the Dirtsurfer skills. Once you got going it was definitely the way to achieve straight line speed but turning around was an issue. We later took the dirtsurfer up to the top of Goodwood hill to throw ourselves in the deep end. Luke went first with a small push from myself and began dodging cow pats at quite a speed, fortunately the dirtsurfer is fitted with a disc brake so you can remain in control even on a stupidly steep hill.

On the water
I was down the beach one day and decided to get the Water wing and board out with Neal Gent, competitive UK kitesurfer. Even for the experts we we struggling, we were underpowered I think and fighting a ripping tide but we found it very difficult to make any progress. I have seen the online videos so know it’s easy in the right conditions so I’m guessing 7.5m weather on a Kitewing will be 5m or even less on a Windsurf.

Obviously this kit is widely used on the snow but we didn’t have a local piste to test it, check out YouTube and judge for yourself. I think they will be in their element here turning speed into height, despite the safety warning that comes with the kit.

Construction
Starting with the adapted surf board, I have to say Otis almost laughable that they have not learnt from the recent evolution off kitesurfing. Whacking some straps on a surfboard doesn’t constitute a custom designed board for the sport and in my opinion after trying it needs a lot more thought.
The 7.5 is designed to be light which it is but with that it has weak spots and at crucial positions on the sail, when learning it is inevitable that your board will connect with the sail and we managed to put a few holes in the weaker areas. The smaller sails 4.5 and Rage 55 are built more durable as the are for land use. On the concrete though we found that you often catch the tips of the wing and the concrete quickly wears the material, possibly a tougher construction over these areas would make the sale last longer.

Overall Kitewing are a very enjoyable and versatile toy to have in the van offering a light wind alternative that can be use on a multitude of terrains. It’s easy to learn especially if you have a windsports background. Have a look at the different packages and learn more at www.pickledshrimp.co.uk

The Portsmouth Bupa Great South Run 25th October 09

This Sunday the 25th of October was the Bupa Great South Run. I went and ran it with my brother. I fully recommend it for anyone who wants to try a middle distance run. The course is flat nearly the whole way around, there is a constant crowd and often music to keep you running at a steady pace.

At 6 miles you loop past the start so all your fans who saw you off get to watch you run past mid point. The final loop brings you out onto the sea front for the final two miles. All in all a really well organised event and a good run. Thanks to all the Twittering well wishers.

<a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/po/portsmouth/792125647650682496');" href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/po/portsmouth/792125647650682496">NB TotalFit: 25 Oct 2009 13:14</a><br/><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-kingdom/po/portsmouth');" href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-kingdom/po/portsmouth">Find more Runs in Portsmouth, </a>

Also see my post on the Neolithic Canni Cross event and an Overview of Canni Cross, I’m hoping to run a few more in the weekends to come. View my MapMyRun Profile to see my training progress (not all of it) and also my reviews on the iMapMyRun workarounds and the New Balance Totalfit iPhone App.

Check out the new NB Total Fit iPhone App powered by MapMyRun

I was a keen user of the iMapmyrun iPhone app when I was training for my last canni cross half marathon. The app however was buggy and required workarounds. It spiked on the GPS, it struggled to save over 3G Internet and lost signal and forgot the current trip. When I got the email about the New Balance Total Fit (still powered by mapmyrun) I thought I’d test it out. I went on a 5 mile / 3 laps of the park run, a route iMapMyRun used to struggle with as I guess the route was all close together. I got a message at the beginning about a weak GPS signal but continued anyway. At the end of the run the data seemed accurate and so I hi save, the app saved first time with no issues.

Hopefully I’m not speaking too soon but the App seems stable and with a few extra functions to iMapMyRun including View Route, Tweet Workout, Share / Challenge and a data or map view during your workout.

Four Dimensions Movie Trailer – Will it be as good as The Windsurfing Movie?

Since the launch of The Windsurfing Movie in 2007 by Poorboyz Productions, not many production companies caught on to the fact that the best way to make a windsurf film was to actually intend to make it in the first place, develop some camera techniques and put a budget behind it rather than ring around your mates asking them if they’ve got any footage for their video. Andre Paskowski seems like he might have done it properly judging by the trailer with Four Dimensions.
Watch the trailer below.

Also The Windsurfing Movie 2 is currently being made and is set to be better than the first.

Windsurfing Coaching Notes from my Moon Beach season

Moon_Beach_360_sequence

In around 2002, I did a season coaching windsurfing at the high wind resort “Moon Beach” in Egypt for the company Gybemasters. During that time we were encouraged to develop our own teaching style. I ended up writing an extensive pad of notes, half of which will only make sense to me but I thought rather than leave them sitting on my laptop I would make the available to anyone who thinks they might be able use them in their teaching. I have made them available in a PDF Download rather than publish it all to my blog. Download them and use them how you wish!

Windsurfing Coaching Notes (120)

Extreme Filming and Action Sports videography, on and in the water

Having sound knowledge and experience as a cameraman, a background in teaching / participating in watersports, places me in a unique position in the UK to shoot water based videography that far exceeds that of the a regular watersports enthusiast jumping in the water with a camera, or the most experienced cameraman placing themselves literally out of their depth.

I have filmed events at a national competitive level and intend to do a lot more in the near future with the boom in the demand for online video / video marketing. I have also built a small website for those interested in this type of video and sourced some great action sports films. efusiontv

In the past I have survived with home made waterproof housings and rain covers, pining for an improvement in technology that would allow me to achieve the highest standard of footage at ease on or in the water. A large hard drive would be essential, with the backup of a laptop and external hard drive would mean getting plenty of footage without any annoying tape changes. Pro HD footage would be ideal and allow a combination of great quality footage and cropping to pin point the action. A compact camera that didn’t rely on the use of a view finder would allow me to achieve a perfectly framed shot and keep hold of the camera while filming in surf.

jvc_everio_hd40

Based on the above requirements I opted for the JVC GZ-HD40 with a JVC Everio Marine Case, WR-MG200. Visit back and I shall post some real life reviews using the equipment in extreme and marine sports situations, along with examples of footage I shoot.

JVC_Everio_Marine_Case

Contact me here at my blog with any questions regarding filming, watersports and editing.

Bank holiday weekend at the Princes Club Wakeboard Cable Park

This bank holiday weekend the boys decided to drive upto me in London and meet me at the Princes Club wakeboarding cable park. We got there about half 2 and paid for a two hour sesh on! You hire all the kit each bit being a couple of quid a time. Then watch a short safety briefing and que up to get towed off the pontoon. You get all types there from beginners to some really good boarders and obviously the guys who are looking for something else to do because it’s not windy (us). My day was dominated by the need to get round the right angle that is bend 4, but once I’d cracked it I made sure I did the full 3 laps limit before I finished up.

In summary, absolutley awsome 2 hours (don’t know whether I could do much more than 2) good value for money and I will definatly be going again, scouring eBay for kit as we speak and checking the trains out of central London to see whether I can make an evening sesh.

Work Arounds – Getting imapmyrun to work on your iPhone

Although imapmyrun is buggy, I still like to use it for the social network benefits as it seamlessly notifies my map my run account, Twitter and Facebook when I hit save.

The only error I have not found a fix for is the spiking of the GPS, sometimes I get to the end of my run and the Reading will show something ridiculous like 72 miles. I think this may be down to other applications running simultaneously.

The main issues are the weak GPS signal, which if you start the app a few minutes before setting out it often fixes, although I start it off with a weak signal and it is fine.

Make sure you have your data push turned off. I think we are asking to much if you expect your poor iPhone to handle iPod, iMapmyrun and receiving your emails at the same time.

The other major bug is the saving of the run via 3G. My first run ends at the gym where I wish to save. Every time I receive an error when I try. The only way I have managed to get around this is to come out of the app and reload it, when it restarts you will see the message “you have unsaved runs” hit save and more often than not you will be successful.

An annoyance that should also be addressed if the developers read this post, is the fact that after you hit stop the pace and time continues to count. Alongside the save error issue this produces an inaccurate recording nearly every run.

2009 Neolithic CaniX, 13 mile half marathon finish at Stone Henge

If you don’t want to read the boring bit where I bang on about the weekend here is the run on Mapmyrun.com!!
<a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/salisbury/289124152778749206');" href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/salisbury/289124152778749206">03/05/2009 Neolithic CaniX Route</a><br/><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-kingdom/salisbury');" href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-kingdom/salisbury">Find more Runs in Salisbury, United Kingdom</a>
Considering I used to smoke and struggled to make it around the inner ringroad of Chichester I was quite proud this weekend. Sunday the 3rd of May was the neolithic canix, 13 point something miles finishing at Stonehenge. I packed up on Friday night and met my brother at Salisbury camping on Saturday afternoon. Training had been going extremely well until I had my first full days windsurfing of the season the Saturday previous and came down with a cold on the Sunday. I managed to shake it before the event, it just meant that the final weeks training didn’t go according to plan. I had been doing 4 miles to the gym, relaxing with a 30 length swim then 4 miles back home and managed to get my bodyweight close to 12 stone. So we got to Salisbury on saturday, pitched the tent and began boiling up the pasta. The plan was to be at Stonehenge by 8:30 where the coach would take us to the start at Charlton Clumps. Kick off was 10:30 so there was a lot of waiting around but although there was quite a cold breeze it was quite exciting as all the competitors and all the dogs prepared for the event.

Glenn Ward Neolithic Canix Stonehenge 2009

For anyone who says running is boring, you should try this. The countryside around Stonehenge is an amazing place to run and if you get the weather right it just adds to the experience but the best thing is achieving it with the dog. I forgot how much I missed being out with the dogs even if they were borrowed! when I was younger I wasn’t allowed a dog, so to prove a point I walked my nanna and grandads dog everyday after school for about five years (it didn’t work, I still wasn’t allowed a dog) but it did remind me of those times when you could just get away just you and the dog and really clear your head.

The Event was brilliant overall! really well organised! every mile or so there was a water stop with water for the dog and a dunk pool to keep the dogs wetted down and cool. There were other races going on, a marathon, a half marathon and a walk which obviously meant there was plenty of first aid cover etc, and also kept the course active with plenty of runners to try and catch. Pictures are up on Chillpics Photobox Galleries.

Race run down – We set off at a steady pace of 8.5 minute miles and kept this up for quite a time even with the water stops. I got passed any aches and pains early on and surprisingly at 8 miles (my training distance) I was still not overly tied. I asked Ady if he minded if I ran ahead and I picked up the pace for the final 5 miles. I managed to overtake quite a few runners but towards the end Milo (the dog) started to slow up which caused me to run a bit twisted. We later found back at the campsite that his pads were quite worn and causing him some issues. As you round the last bend you can hear the crowd but the biggest motivation comes from the sight of Stonhenge on the brow of the hill, it really gives you that extra push you need to pick up the pace and finish in style.

Tech – I’m afraid iMapmyrun on the iPhone let me down, for the first 3 miles it logged the run and gave me verbal updates at the intervals I had set up but something crashed and about 6 miles in the software was still reading 3.7 miles and I had lost all other information, it was however, very important for me to have my music while I was running. Ady had bought a Garmin Forerunner 405CX watch which provided us with an accurate enough report, mainly distance pace and time throughout the first 8 miles. It pains me to say it as a big iphone and app conbination fan but even the Nokia N95 managed to map the entire course without any error, shhhh!