Mountain Biking

Yesterday we went for a run on Aonach Mor, by chance the downhill mountain biking championships were on . We were blown away by the skill and courage of the riders as they negotiated jumps, tight bends and large boulders .I tried to sketch riders in mid air at one of the water jumps but found it very difficult to get the details down as each rider sailed through the air .Eventually I did the above  quick sketch of the start of the course. The riders start down a ramp from a small pod near the top of the cable car.It takes the top riders about five minutes to descend the 3kms and about 2000 feet to the valley bottom.
Watching  the biking was exciting but it was good to get higher up beyond the noise and bustle to the quiet solitude of the plateau with the mountain hares and ptarmigan.The snow has shifted fast over the last week but there is still a lot in the corries and the eastern cliffs of Aonach Mor were very dramatic.

Below are some recent paintings

Spring

I started the sketch below last week whilst waiting  for the Corran ferry . I had just enough time to get some paint down before I had to drive onto the ferry. On Friday I was again waiting for the ferry so added some finishing touches to the sketch.. I realised that I had missed out a patch of green ;or rather the green hadn't been there last week. In the last few days the leaves have appeared on the birch trees. I wonder how it is that all the birch trees in Lochaber can be so well synchronised as to come in to leaf within a few days of each other; is it the daylength or the temperature?
This evening running home from work, the late evening  sun was shining on the woods near Torlundy The newly emerged leaves were glinting and  shimmering in the golden light. It was  glorious!  In the other direction  Ben Nevis looked majestic and formidable with its cap of snow and  deep shadows creeping  up the corries. As I ran roe deer crossed the track in front of me. Primroses and  wood anemones peppered the woodland floor. Finally crossing the Spean Bridge I saw a cloud of bats wheeling and darting above the river. Truly Sprng is here!

Ben Keil from Corran.

Boring Cardio ?

I read a few blogs on fitness health and  weightloss .Many of them offer really good advice; up to date information on how to get fit and stay healthy . The current trend seems to be away from continuous"cardio" ie excercise that raises ones heart rate and therefore improves cardiovascular health. and towards strength training and H.I.I.T. ( high intensity interval training) . The feeling is that prolonged moderate exercise e.g running long distances, causes inflammation , overuse injuries and doesn't in the long term promote weight loss or good general health . There seems to be sweet spot where exercise increases  cardiovascular health but doing more and more aerobic excercise actually decreases the benefits to one's heart . H.I.I.T. involves very short bursts of about 30 seconds of maximum effort with a short interval between.and this appears to be the most effective way to get fit and to burn fat .Strength training increases muscle and counteracts the age related drop in muscle strength .
I take this on board ,  The science  suggests that ultra running may not be good for you.
However I draw the line when some well respected health gurus talk about 'boring cardio' as in  "You don't need to do all that boring cardio just follow my training regime for 15 minutes a day." This really annoys me; I want  to do all that "boring" cardio.
 To me cardio is no more boring than breathing . 'cardio ' or at least running all day in the hills has given me most of what I love in life .
It is through hill running  that I met my wife and from that first day our relationship has flourished through our shared passion of running. It has helped me though some  difficult and  lonely times in my life. Years ago when I was working very long hours including every other weekend  on call, I would never have coped if I didn't spend all of my time off running in the mountains. I think that running has given me more pleasure and  periods of intense joy than any other activity I have ever engaged in. It has made me who I am, it has shaped and  coloured my life.
Boring  cardio ? If you're bored with cardio you are bored with life!

Sketch of Ben Nevis  from  Banavie