http://www.mountainstrong-coaching.com/

MagsMay, Ambleside (2026)

06/08/2023

Easedale Tarn……

Had an awesome walk yesterday with as we headed to Easedale Tarn

I haven’t seen this girl for a long time as we have both been injured and you know life takes over, so it was really good to catch up with her yesterday

We got lucky with a rain free few hours and we also got lucky with our bodies allowing us to explore together again

This was a good route to do as it wasn’t too steep nor is it too technical, just right to test ourselves coming back from injury

A good day out for us both and for Eddie who absolutely loved being back in the hills and we even got some views along the way!

10/07/2023

Still building…….

Since I came back from Andorra I’ve been base building with some recovery miles to gain consistency back with running

Getting to 10km whilst I was away was a huge milestone and one I’m still working on

I knew that this stage of coming back from injury wasn’t going to be the easiest and it’s not!

I am purposefully keeping my pace/effort/Hr super low which means my 10km runs are way slower than they were before the injury and although I have a goal for doing this ….. mentally it’s still hard to focus on

The downhills are still an issue which means I’m pulling back massively on anything steep as I want to really condition my knee to run well on the hills and not push my body to do something it’s not 100% ready to do, however to build the resilience up I need to utilise smaller declines….. I have been doing a ton of mobility/strength work for my knee but with anything the mechanics of running downhills are very different when you’re actually running down them

Although the mobility and strength work has allowed me to be much stronger in the knees with working on the joints, soft tissues and muscles ……. Being on a gradient is the area I need the knee to be stronger at!

BUT I have improved! Small improvements but it’s progress…… this weekend my rundown hill running wasn’t as bad as the week before so it’s still a game of patience and I know I have gained a lot of that through the injury which means it should be easier ….. but it’s not as I want to be running back in the mountains again and it feels like time is dragging before I get to do that

I do have to remember I am lucky to be back running after such a long time out, that I managed to build up a good base of aerobic fitness from all the cross training and strength work I have done throughout the injury and that I am able to apply this to my running

For me it’s still building and of course the building never stops….. always moving forward and appreciating the time I am able to be on trails!

04/07/2023

What does strength look like?

We think strength looks like the body builders with huge muscles and lifting extremely heavy weight BUT in reality strength looks a lot different

Strength doesn’t need to be shown through a 6 pack of abs and biceps bulging through your T-shirt, instead it strength looks like you!

Human beings are so different that it’s hard to put a tag on what something looks like, you could be the smallest in size and show no signs of muscle mass ….. but can be the strongest person in the room

When you strength train it is focused on how much strength you can build as an individual, what your goals are to achieve that level of strength and why it is specific to you

Don’t compare yourself to others in the gym and show off by trying to lift the heaviest…… if your goal isn’t to lift huge loads of weight then why do it?

Every exercise will help you to increase mass but its how you implement that exercise into your programming that will allow you to build specific levels of strength and mass for your sport

Everyone of my athletes have a variety of exercises through different ways of programming to allow for specific adaptations to happen and to their individual needs. This allows them to achieve the level of strength that’s specific to them

When you’re focusing on your strength always think about your current level of fitness, your overall experience in strength training and never feel intimidated by starting from the bottom and building up!

Progressive loading is key for everyone! Taking your time to increase your aerobic base, strength and conditioning is the key…… remember there are no short cuts in anything, if you want the results you have to be prepared to work hard and be patient

27/06/2023

She saved the best for last

Final leaving gift from Andorra as we left at 6am in the morning

First sunrise I saw whilst out there and I was very happy she saved this one for us as we left

18/06/2023

Living life…..

Eddie is totally living life in Andorra and to our surprise he has adapted amazingly well!

I wasn’t sure how he would do with two days of travelling to get here and then staying in a completely new place….. but he has been loving it since the day we arrived

He isn’t the most confident of dogs so this was a big test for him …… I can only say that he has been smiling the whole time

It must be all the news trails and mountains he is exploring because he is more keen to get out for walks and runs more than ever

16/06/2023

Milestone……

This morning Eddie and I broke a milestone in coming back to running and we hit the 10km distance!!!

I honestly thought it would take me longer than this to get back to running a 10km but the last two weeks I have been building from 5k all the way to 10km

And what better place to do this? In Andorra on the most beautiful trails, amazing views, finally some heat and running alongside

I am so happy to be able to get back here! The past 12months have been tough with 10 being injured and then the last two building confidence and believing that my knee can run on this terrain again

This wasn’t perfect, not at all….. the last km was tough, my knee is still adapting to the downhills and having the confidence that everything would hold up for the full distance was in the back of my mind

But I have to thank myself for all the hard-work and dedication to being consistent with my rehab! Nothing is linear and there were so many set backs but I’m finally here….. so, to continue with the flatter running and hiking to get more conditioned before I try running in the mountains

Also massive shout out to both my Physio’s who I have worked with from the start, without these two ladies I wouldn’t be here

13/06/2023

Andorra…..

I’ve managed to explore a few different parts of Andorra now but nothing crazy high, haven’t managed to summit any mountains but that will come I’m sure

For now these lower level balcony trails are hitting the spot! I love how every part of the trails varies in colours, terrain, smells and views

Half way through our adventure and still have lots more to explore……. Even the weather is starting to get brighter and hotter

09/06/2023

Feeling good…..

Yesterdays hike from El Tarter - Oridno - El Tarter was super nice and I got to explore more trails at higher level

The route had a mixture of all terrain, including some steep climbs but not very steep descents….. the downhills seemed pretty gradual

I felt really good on the climbs, it felt like all the months of strength work and stairmaster sessions really showed through and it made me feel strong again!

Even though I haven’t been able to run for a long time the focus on cross training has improved my aerobic fitness and has allowed me to move better on the climbs without struggling too much

It’s all about starting again and becoming stronger than before but I won’t lie and say my knee felt amazing too…… no, of course I still have a dull ache/niggle feeling when moving over the trails but that’s part of the process of building it back, it doesn’t physically hurt but it is reminding me that it is being worked when I’m putting it to the test

Views were on point and the weather was warm but not sunny….. best way to explore!

28/05/2023

Mountain biking…..

Went out to hit my longest time on the mountain bike today with just under 30km

I have to be honest it was tough but I also loved it! 8km to the fells and back on roads wasn’t the best but the rest of the time bouncing around tussocks, gravel, steep descents and quad burning ascents ……. Totally made up for it

Great day for it to with clouds in the sky and some headwind to cool me down on the way back…… also the hill out of Crosby Garrett is a bitch and really did test my mental strength in the way home

Good to challenge myself in a different way today and I got to move round the fells quicker than normal

And yes one of my lenses has lost it’s reflective coating 😂

15/05/2023

Adventure time……

Whilst everyone was running at the weekend, Eddie and I made more adventures with a trip to Moel Eillio

Getting to adventure more on these hills has been good for the mind and soul and being somewhere new has ignited a little fire in me

Over the past 10 months of injury it’s been easy to lose motivation and the fire to run, to hit the hills and explore new places……I have had to think cautiously about what I can actually do and what my limits are, which takes the fun out of it!

But seeing all the runners, walkers, new landscape, meeting new people has given me a bit of hope that I will be back there soon and more so….. that I actually want to be

It’s been a tough ride but I feel like I’m slowly becoming myself again. Having adventures with Eddie helps a lot and feeling like I’m part of something again is the biggest motivator by far

06/05/2023

Cycling……

I have never really been a fan of cycling or for long periods of time, even when I did triathlons and trained for a Half Iron Man…… I definitely didn’t train as much as I should have on the bike

The most I have cycled was my daily commute when I lived in London and even then it didn’t really make me passionate about sitting on the saddle for hours

Since my injury I’ve learnt to enjoy it more! The main way I have been able to get out and breathe fresh air with minimal impact on my knee. It’s definitely helped, I have seen my fitness levels increase, my strength on the hills has improved and my mental focus to sit for more than 1-2hrs has become easier to manage

It’s also been helped by riding with others like , without our weekly rides I wouldn’t be enjoying it as much as I am. Choosing various locations in the Lakes makes it fun as the views make every quad burn and lung burn totally worth it in the end

I’ve also hit some miles I haven’t done for a very long time which I’m pretty pleased with, the cycling has given me a new perspective on how I should train and that if you put your mind to it, you can gain so much fitness and mental focus from it!

MagsMay

06/08/2023

10/07/2023

04/07/2023

27/06/2023

18/06/2023

16/06/2023

13/06/2023

09/06/2023

28/05/2023

15/05/2023

06/05/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category