Archives for Distance category
Posted on Jun 10, 2011 under 5-10k, 5k, Regular Runs, Tempo Runs |
Was a run that was late in the week and late in the day – managed to hit the school run after trying to run home from the libary – quickly realised running with a gym bag with a heavy book inside was not going to work very well 
Set off pretty quickly with a 5:16 first km and then slowed to about 5:30 pace, eventually slowing to 6+ pace as I got tired in the latter stages. Not close to the 26 I did in the 5k race the other week but then it wasn’t a race and I didn’t have a warmup or someone to tuck in behind, but felt good to be out running again and get a bit of pace up.
Posted on Jun 03, 2011 under 5k, Regular Runs |
Was hot out today but I didn’t quite realise how hot until I was halfway up a very long incline which was getting steeper and steeper (route I have never taken before but died walking up many years ago) – turned back but was just gone after 3k so decided to head back to area near my house and abort planned 5 mile run. Ran out of water, thought about refilling and carrying on, but I knew I was beat on this occasion – might have to review the midday running – then again it’s forecast to be cold again on Sunday… lol.
Posted on Jun 01, 2011 under 5k, Hill Work, Regular Runs |
This was supposed to be a gentle easy run to ease back into it, but ended up feeling good after 2.5k despite sluggish start and decided to tackle the massive Mill Lane Hill – UPWARDS. This is almost suicidal and is hard enough to walk up. Managed to jog all the way and crested the top, but legs and lungs were protesting all the way after that!
Hurt by the end but was good to be out running again. 
Time was 31:17 but a bit irrelevant.
Posted on May 22, 2011 under 5-10k, 5k, Races, Season's Best, Trail Running |
Races are like buses, none for a year then suddenly two come at once!
The Legacy Events East Manchester 5k at Debdale Park was a different affair altogether from the Great Manchester Run last week – 5k, so shorter, and about 38,000 less people, but these kinds of races are just as important, if less well known, and see runners of all abilities.
It had been an exhausting week for me, with some bouts of insomnia, things have been very hectic, so an early start on Sunday morning was one of the last things I needed, and as usual on race mornings I woke up groggy, disoriented, and wondering “why on earth am I doing this?” (or words to that effect). I has some toast wth bean pate on it, then went to get the bus (really should get better sorted these buses, the online timetable never seems to match the one at the stand, which can be very confusing). Anyway, got to Debdale Park in plenty of time and saw the Marshals dotted around. Was pretty cold and very windy. Found the grotty debdale park toilets which were thankfully empty, though am glad I only needed to pee as there was no toilet paper in sight! Lol. Could probably have held on for a 5k anyway…
Did a little jogging around for a warm up, then went to join the organised warmup, had to improvise when they started doing side steps, as that is the surest way to buggering up my dodgy knee! Massaged my legs, right hamstring felt really tight and muscles felt brittle, like cold plasticine, which wasn’t good. A bloke in a red top chatted to me on the way to the start line and said he used to do marathons in 3 hours in his army days, but wasn’t sure what he would do today.
Felt excited as the horn went off, and off we went. I usually struggle pacing 5ks and this was no different, and haven’t done one for quite a long time! And this was actually my first real 5k race, with a number – as opposed to a park run. Felt like I was going a bit fast, went down the first little hill, went round a corner, and my right lower leg almost collapsed underneath me and developed weird spasming shooting pains all of a sudden. Had visions of pulling out, but just slowed down and it went away, but was a bit scary to say the least
Overtook a few people early on and was overtaken by one or two, but the field seemed to spread out very quickly and I started to find my own pace. On the little incline past the reservoirs just before the water station, a young lady came past me, and I responded by sticking with her; she went through onto the long straight path which was very windy, and I tucked in behind her to shield me from the wind. We were destined to to share the work for the rest of the race, she would pull in front of me, then I pulled in front of her, and it was really handy to have someone to work with like that and kept me motivated. I was really hurting by 4k, but then again, only 1k to go, and somehow I found something extra and pulled away from my companion, then sped past a woman who had overtaken me early on, but who I had kept in my sights. I was wincing and hurting as I entered the finishing straight, had no idea what the time would be, but sprinted with whatever I had left for the line, and cross, according to Garmin, in 26:03, which is 2 minutes off my 5k best this season so far, so all in all the race day adrenaline and my temporary running companion really helped pull me on to an improved time.
I stayed behind for a bit to clap more runners in, including a parrot, some nuns, and a fairy. The bloke in the red top finished in about 31 mins and came and found me for a chat. I was getting a bit cold by then so wandered off to get the bus home, buzzing and a little more lively, although by the time I got home I was looking forward to a very lazy day!
Posted on May 15, 2011 under 10k, Races, Season's Best |
My first race report in a long time!
The day before had been derailed by some pesky hackers deleting various websites of mine or defacing them, so ended up trying to sort that out till late, rather than relaxing, and as a result got to bed late and probably got 4-5 hours at most.
Woke up, got up, and felt very groggy. Looked cold, and grey, and miserable outside. Got some toast and marmite and half an oaty flapjack down me then set off for the bus, which seemed to be late, so jogged round the corner to the next stop and eventually the bus came. For some reason there were no other runners getting on the bus, or on the bus, this year, normally there are quite a few, maybe they got on later.
Decided to hang out at Piccadilly Rail Station, and had great fun and games with the toilets with no paper in the paper holders… But got sorted eventually, then for some reason got caught short when I got to the start line so used a portaloo after the warmup and the queues weren’t too bad…
The field was quite dense and there was no way I was going to be able to push through to the front of the wave as planned, so I decided to just go with the flow, the Green Wave went off, and I switched on the Garmin, I was standing next to some guys dressed as Austin Powers, and oddly enough on the other side of me were two people wearing daffodil heads identical to the one I wore last year!
Then we were off, I crossed the mats and started the Garmin, and started to enjoy the atmosphere and the feeling of racing for the first time in a long time. I did a lot of overtaking, Garmin said I was going really slowly, but wasn’t sure, and didn’t really care, just wanted to enjoy it all, and felt good as the first K marker came up, and good as we went out on to Chester Road. I was overtaking many, many people, and saw a few 75 minute pacers around, I knew I would probably be under an hour so was just running my own race. Got to 4k and the drinks station past Old Trafford, took a bottle of water and drank it, then prepared for the long run back into central Manchester. Gave some kids high fives and gave Superman bloke a thumbs up, then started to pick up the pace, said “WoW!” to some blue Indian chaps, who seemed to appreciate it, then concentrated on the final straight, still feeling good with 3k to go.
I wanted to pick the pace up more, but did start to hurt a bit by that point, I’d caught up with the Green Wave by that point (who started some half an hour before me), there were people flying past me, I just tried to keep up the pace. With 800m to go I put on a burst of speed that had me going at 4:08 per k, but I couldn’t sustain it. My Garmin ticked over 10k in about 57 mins (which I had predicted based on my current training) and the finish arch was still a distant mirage. I was petering out a little but gave one last push, grimacing hard to get every last drop out of myself. I made it over the line in an official time of 57:50 and it took me a while to recover.
I nipped home and had a shower, before returning to town to catch the second half of the Great Manchester City Games 2011, and got a nice vantage point near the end, where I got some close up glimpses of Jessica Ennis, Tyson Gay, and the other runners, including Haile Gebrselassie who was doing a final interview, when asked if he would come back, he said “Sure!”.
The weather was crap, but it didn’t put a damper on the day, the atmosphere, the people, or my spirits one bit 
Posted on May 11, 2011 under 5k, Season's Best, Tempo Runs |
Went out for what was a planned easy run, but I got carried away. Set off quite quickly and decided I could keep up that pace, so went round a few random streets and paths round the local estate and ended up coming out half way up the Stockport Road Hill, legged it up that without losing pace and then I realised I might be on for a sub 28. Did the first k in 6:07 then the next ones were under 6 minutes, as I got to the last few hundred metres it was touch and go and really had to sprint (for want of a better word, it was was determination to make my legs keep going somehow!) for the sub 28 – I was at 4.98k with seconds to go, didn’t manage to stop the Garmin as I nearly went flying over a speed bump instead, but was prettty sure I’d done the 5k just before the minute ticked over… Was a tough run, and I would need to run that fast twice to do 56 minutes in the Great Manchester Run. If I set off at that pace I will be dead though, and end up getting the tram back from Pomona at Salford Quays… So I need to start off slowly and then see how I get on in the second half, but it’s looking like 57 minutes could be a challenging target…
Posted on May 08, 2011 under 10-15k, Long Runs, Milestones, Trail Running |
Decided to run a bit later in the day again to avoid the hot sun, though the weather looked a bit unpredictable anyway. Slathered the sun cream on as a precaution and set off slowly, hoping to do 5 miles at least and hopefully 7.
Ran out towards Dane Bank as the skies darkened and spots of rain began to fall. Took on water at a few points. Was at about 5k when I got to Debdale park so thought I’d run up to the reservoirs then turn back, which should leave 3-4k to complete my target distance, but I ended up carrying on and found a nice bit of trail running, so took a risk and followed this, I knew vaguely where I’d end up but not how far it would be. Was lost for a small amount of time, then found familiar territory and ran along a bus route in case I totally ran out of energy.
As it happened I crossed the 7 mile mark as I was nearing home, and jogged a little extra to make it 11.5k to get nearer my house. Was tired, but could have gone on a little further. No sign of last week’s knee pain, though I did have a little hamstring niggle which I rubbed in the park for a bit, but it didn’t feel too much of a problem.
Somehow I have managed to run 12.74 miles for 2 weeks in a row! Plan to take this week as easy as possible before the Great Manchester Run next Sunday.
Posted on Apr 29, 2011 under 10-15k, Injuries, Long Runs, Milestones, Slow Runs |
Lovely late afternoon sunshine was the setting for a planned 7 mile long run to get some distance in my legs, though I was a bit concerned as I had been experiencing shooting pains at rest in my left knee, which was odd as there was no pain running. As my mum always used to say, probably a bit of arthritis or something…
In any case I set off at a sedate pace and straight away started to wonder if I would be able to last for 7 miles, but kept the pace slow and steady. At about 2k I got the pain in my knee again and slowed, almost calling the run off, but just decided to keep going slowly. Ran all the way out to Debdale Park, then through the park and up past the reservoirs, before turning back and going back through the park again. I was feeling strong in a cardiovascualar sense, but as I left the park and started to think I might reach 7 miles after all, the knee started to complain and I still had a way to get home. It was either carry on or abort and get the bus. I slowed considerably, and started to flag in every way, but set myself a target of 5 miles, and when I crossed that set 10k, and finally, as I was really flagging and my knee was really protesting, I just did another half a k for good measure, and ended up at home feeling very tired and depleted, and needed to eat half a packet of biscuits to replenish energy…
Update: thankfully over the weekend there was no comeback knee-wise from the run, so it may just be the joint working to strengthen itself as i increase the mileage, but am not going to go too hard on it with the first race in a year only 2 weeks away…
Posted on Apr 27, 2011 under 5k, Easy Runs, Trail Running |
Had an appointment in the morning, so was running later than usual, but quite enjoyed the idea of running late afternoon – maybe long runs would be better early evening to avoid glare of the sun overhead!
Set off at a very easy pace, downhill into the woods for a little bit of scenic trail running, and walked up the steep hills for a breather. Got hot in the second half of the run with the sun and inclines, but took it very slowly as I wound back up the hill of Stockport Road to reach home, sprinted past a girl jogger at the end as I was feeling good and could have maintained a much quicker pace, but enjoyed the easiness of the easy run in the afternoon sun!
Posted on Apr 25, 2011 under 5-10k, 5k, Tempo Runs, Time Trials |
With more running in my legs I was hoping to be able to run around 28 for a 5k time trial, but it was not to be, although was my fastest run in a month. Admittedly a couple of big hills on this route stopped me going sub 29 for the first time, and so the run is not to be grumbled at – was nice to run consistently at sub 30 pace and just get the legs used to going a a bit of speed. Hopefully the longer runs, and some shorter quicker ones, will all come together and get me close to 55 minutes on race day…
I have entered a 5k race (East Manchester Legacy 5k) the weekend after the Great Manchester Run so hopefully can aim for a time at that!
