Diary Of A Road Runner

Woodbank Park Run Saturday April 17th – 24:43

Felt strange not needing to walk the dog when I got up. Was a nice sunny day, albeit a bit cold so set off early, and this time managed to get to the park in plenty of time

Did some warm up laps of the track, few strides but nothing major, then lined up. Saw Mark the triathlete again, and we chatted, then we were off and I said I’d see him at the finish line. I was near the front and went off fast – I am used to seeing the leaders snake off around the track before heading into the park – but this time, I was with them, in the first 7 or 8 runners As we headed out into the park a few more overtook me as the faster runners zoomed off (either they quickened up or I went back to my normal pace!) – then it was the usual duel with the hills, trying to survive up them without them sapping the hell out of my legs too much, then the recovery, then the bloody hill again before the last k home.

A la the Salford 10k, I didn’t look at the Garmin, just ran how I felt, and I was starting to feel the pinch by the end. On the second lap Mark caught up with me and we took the hill together – he took a breather and I tried to launch myself off the top. The hills and the fast start were making me hurt. A gorgeous looking lady went past me and I must admit I tried to keep up with her as there is nothing like chasing after a lady to get one motivated, but she zoomed off and I didn’t have too much left. I got to the path leading into the stadium and Mark came past me yelling encouragement at me, I tried to put on a burst of speed for a duel all the way to the finish line but I was running on dead legs and my gasp rate was going off the scale – so he got revenge on my previous “victories” I think we both really helped each other along though so it was good teamwork in a way – and we both PB’d I got a sub 25 in 24:43 which is good going and who knows on the flat…

My splits were:

4:11
5:06
4:47
5:17
5:20

Easy to see where the hills took their toll – and no wonder I was up with the leaders with that first split! – if I’d kept up that pace I’d have been in the top 10 I think Still, it gives me confidence that I have that pace, I know I can run that fast – I just have to work on maintaining it, and also coming to terms with those hills – and they are getting “easier”

In all a good run and nice to have a chat with Mark afterwards. Well done Mark – good luck with your Triathlon training, and I look forward to a rematch in a few weeks

No pics as the Park Run site has been down since Saturday – evidently calculating my and Mark’s speed has broken it

Salford 10k Race Report – A Tale of Pain, Sweat, and Tears of Joy!

My preparations for the Salford 10k, at least in the run up to the race, had a bit of a setback with the onset of my back problem. At first it seemed to be a minor thing, but after my easy run in the week, another sleep seemed to do more damage and I was in real trouble, eating painkillers like candy, and barely able to move without wincing. There were times when I considered pulling out of the race, because the pain was THAT bad, and I didn’t want to make it worse. But then I thought, I wrecked it somehow sleeping in bed – maybe movement would actually do it some good, or at least do me some good, so I decided to turn up, and even if I just trotted round, I would finish the race.

Didn’t get much sleep the night before, every time I got comfortable for a few minutes in one position, the pain would flare up again. I got up, had some toast for breakfast, then walked the dog, and then the taxi came. I chatted with the driver but felt very uneasy about the whole race deal – wondering if I would have to pull out half way through, if I would be screaming in pain with the jolting – or what? I got dropped off and found the changing rooms, it was a struggle to even pull off my jogging pants. I pinned my number on my top, then stowed my stuff in a locker and decided to go outside for a little jog to see how I fared. It was freezing out there! I managed to do a bit of jogging then came back inside. The back had hurt, but I figured I might be able to sustain a decent run if I could run through the pain.

Eventually, we were all at the start line, dodging buses and cars. It seemed a little further back down the road then when I did it last year. Anyway, I set the Garmin to only display the distance and time of day, and resolved not to look at it, but just run to how I felt. I felt quite good setting off, and settled into a pace that seemed to not bother my back too much – the only problem was, with it being a pinched nerve, my left arm was twingeing a bit and my thumb was getting progressively number… I enjoyed the first lap, and felt pretty good, then had to deal with the psychology of doing it all over again and seeing the same scenery. I was breathing very hard at 5k, but felt if I could just stay at the pace I was and save a little for the last few k. As the 2nd half of the race got more intense, I started to find myself drawing level with people in front of me, then overtaking them, I put on extra little bursts of speed to overtake a few packs. By the last 2k, I was really gasping for air and hurting, but just kept my legs turning over, turning over. As the 9th K turned over I did risk a quick look at my Garmin and saw I’d done that one in 4:51. I got a bit frustrated as the 9K marker showed up when the Garmin was showing 9.3K and indeed the last k seemed short from where the marker was. In any case, I thought, only 800 to go, it’s just like an interval session now, just one burst and I can do this in less than 4 minutes. I couldn’t quite see where the finish line was, there were a few of us neck and neck, a bloke with a stopwatch shouted “48:06″ as we went past him. Then it registered – if I could reach the finish line in another 1 minute 53 seconds, I would have a sub 50. I pelted it, thinking I could do it, then thinking the finish was going to play tricks on me and be much further than I thought, I was gasping almost screaming by this point, totally at my limit, then suddenly I was over the line and stopping the Garmin. As I walked down the funnel, I flipped it over to display my time:

49:24

I gasped, and almost sobbed. I’d finally done it. I wandered round in a daze, tears brimming at my eyes, and had to find a quiet spot for minute. 2 years of trying and I’d finally run a sub 50 10k. It had been a challenge worthy of the name! It took a while to sink in as I went to get changed, and had a bit of a chat with a nice chap who said he was running a 5k later in the month and had done this one as a training run. I went off to get the bus, still feeling elated, as the rain started to come down…

My splits were interesting:

4:58
4:56
5:00
4:54
5:00
5:15
5:06
5:02
4:51
4:16

It shows that I can afford a bit of a lull in the mid stages to regroup for the end – if I had been pacing myself off the Garmin, I could easily have though “5:15 for that K, I am stuffed now…” So that’s 2 PB’s where I have just run to how I felt, it seems to work – won’t always of course, but it saves on the psychological games!!

Well, as it coincides with the anniversary of my mum’s death, I guess I will always run this one in her memory – and today have a PB/Sub 50 to dedicate to her

Woodbank Park Run – 25:14 – Park Run PB From the Twilight Zone!

This was a weird, weird run…

I set off earlier than last week, but got there later, I didn’t get to bed too early and didn’t sleep and was feeling frankly rough when I got up, and felt a bit sick on the bus. Seemed to take longer than last time, and in fact when the bus dropped me off at the bottom of the hill near Vernon Park, I checked the time and it was 8:45 – and the start line was a 15 mins walk away, so I figured I could have a nice warmup to get there, although I still had to get out of my joggers and use the loo. And I felt bloody awful and breathless jogging up the hill and had to stop – then jogged through a veritable swamp as I took the shortcut over the field to get to the track. So had soaking wet feet. I managed to get out of my sweats and put my trainers on, and really needed to use the loo, but all the cubicles were occupied, then a kid went in one cubicle and came out screaming his head off. I went in, and saw why – let’s just say, how does a person manage to miss like that? It was just there, perched, staring at me… Still, needs must… and I improvised. By this point had about 2 mins left, and Garmin couldn’t find the satellite as I stood there kicking my own arse with my heels and trying to convince myself I was ready to run a tough 5k I did meet Mark, the triathlete, who ran into my blog the other week, and we had a brief chat.

On your marks, get set go, they said, and I thought I started the Garmin, but half way round the track I glanced at it – 0:00:00. Ooops. So I started it and after about 2 more minutes I was feeling half dead, but I kept going. Whatever official distance I’d done, the Garmin ticked over one k in 5:30 and the next one in 6 mins, I started swearing, I have not run that slowly apart from a warmup or cool down jog recently. So I just kept going, feeling half dead and wondering what the hell was wrong with me today. There was a blonde lady in front of me and she was very supportive and told me to take it easy as there would be plenty more runs – true of course, but I couldn’t understand why I was going so slow…. 6 mins for one k? On the second lap went past Mark who had started walking and tried to encourage him, then just kept going through the pain.

Sort of came alive after the last hill (attacked the hill twice this time) and had a bit of a burst of speed in the last K, and sprinted for the finish, leaving the supportive lady behind, and almost reeling in another lady, who put on a burst of speed to avoid my overtaking her, well done that lady .

Garmin time was going to be useless so awaited results – and somehow ended up with an improvement on last week so a course PB by 13 seconds in 25:14. God knows how I did that, and God knows what was going on with the Garmin telling me I was running 6 minutes per k for a large chunk of the run, I certainly didn’t run a sub 4 one to make up the deficit…

Well, am sure when feeling better and without Twilight Zone things happening, should be able to get that time down on future runs and need to work on those hills!

5 Mile Tempo Run – 40:36 – Season’s Best!

Today’s effort was a 5 mile tempo run. Ran the first kilometre in 5:27 as a warmup, and then increased the pace, intending to run around 5 mins/k or better pace, remembering that in my intervals the other day, I had “slowed” to 4:30/k and felt it was reasonably sustainable. Powered up the hill near Sainsbury’s and the 2nd k clocked in 4:59 – so I just decided to see how long I could hold that pace, and apart from a couple of k’s where I slowed a little, I managed to hold it all the way, over 5 miles.

Kilometre Splits:

5:27
4:59
4:55
4:53
5:05
4:56
5:13
4:50

Was interesting that the last k was the fastest, I did push, but felt I was barely moving as by that point I was keeping going by sheer will power and really hurting! But the split shows I managed to keep up the pace until the bitter end! The slower penultimate k had a big uphill over the motorway bridge which slowed me a bit – if not for that and the warm up k, I may have gone sub 40.

Still, a season’s best by over 2 minutes – and gives me confidence I can hold that kind of pace in a 10k race, despite not having done any big long runs as of yet. In fact it’s made me rethink my strategy, as my injuries have always seemed to coincide with long runs – and so far, I seem to be doing fine without them, though need a few 8 milers to improve 10k stamina. Will see how Salford 10k goes, just over a week to go, eek

Woodbank Park Run March 20th – 25:27 – Park Run PB!

I decided to rise at the crack of dawn and do the Woodbank Park Run again today – after a mile PB and a season’s best 5 mile time in the week, I’ve been feeling I’ve really got my running legs back of late

The logistics worked much better this time – buses went like clockwork and I got to the venue with 25 mins to spare, so I had time to use the loo and do a few laps of the track in the pouring rain, and get suitably warmed up without exhausting myself with a mad dash all the way from Denton to Stockport .

I set off at what felt and was a suicidal pace in the initial rush (sub 6 minute mile pace according to Garmin). I’m not used to starting so near the front of a field and chased the leaders before settling into my own rhythm, and didn’t try to go too fast, just went at my own pace. On the big downhill in Vernon Park, I conserved energy for the uphill, rather than trying to sprint down it and make up for the time I knew I’d lose going back up – then took the uphill slowly and steadily, and it sapped me a bit, and took a while to get back into my stride. Then another lap around Woodbank Park before the downhill and uphill for a second time.

I was kind of neck and neck with the older bloke who’d blown me away last week in the final k, this time, on the second uphill, I left him behind and although I slowed on the hill, I didn’t stop. I went past two blokes who were walking up the hill, they said well done to me – then in the last k I could hear them behind me, and one overtook me, and I thought, as I sometimes do, “Should I have walked up the bloody hill?” – then I overtook him, and in the last 200 we drew level and he encouraged me, so I then felt a bit bad for going into overdrive and finding a sprint finish and leaving him behind as I dashed over the line really gasping and gulping for air.

Official time was 25:27 which is a 52 second improvement on my Park Run of last week. I felt I held it together much better in the latter stages, so all the other running I have done has helped, and I’m just going to see how quick I can get on this course, and maybe try a 5k on the flat too at some point.

5 Mile Tempo Run – 43:00 – Season’s Best

Been doing some hard runs lately with the Park Run Adventure on Saturday and the mile PB yesterday. Wanted to do something longer today so opted for a 5 mile tempo.

Set off at a sedate, just under 6 mins/k jog pace and gradually got quicker. Felt flying in the early and mid stages but started to hurt in the later stages. However, managed to somehow maintain pace and averaged 5:20/k, but very definitely hurt.

43:00 is a season’s best but nowhere near the PB of 40:01 I set last year – probably need fresher legs to go that fast for that length of time, but felt this tempo run really did me good as I kept running on some very tired legs and screaming lungs!

Finally Joined the Sub 7 minute mile club – 6:52

Was wondering what kind of run to do today after yesterday’s recovery, didn’t want to do too much, but wanted to feel I’d had a run out, so figured I’d have a go at a one mile time trial again to see if I’ve made any speed progress.

Warmed up with a gentle 2k, with some faster strides in the second k. Felt pretty good. So walked a little bit, did some stretches, and got to my starting point. Felt a bit nervous – how would I do? Then off I went…

As seems to be usual for me, set off at a blistering pace, almost sprinting, then settled into something that felt reasonably sustainable. Pacing for running one mile is something that will come with experience, but for this run, I knew I could run an 800m split in 3:12, or at least sub 3:30 – so wondered if I could put two of those together. Started breathing really hard, my body responding to what was demanded of it, and it was hurting already – but I only had to keep this up for another kilometre now, I told myself, then it would be over. Glanced at the Garmin at 800m – wahey, 3:24, I was on schedule for sub 7. Then I hit a headwind and the uphill bit of the course which kind of flattened me a little and had me gasping for air, then I was almost staggering, just trying to keep going, thinking if I can just hold on for another 400m at this pace, I’m going to break my PB and go sub 7!

It was pure willpower that kept me going for the last 100m. I was gasping, hurting, my heart was hammer, and I got over 1.61k, or one mile, and stopped the Garmin on 6:52.

Started to sink in as I recovered, and did a very gentle 1k jog back to the house, feeling very pleased to have finally gone under 7 minutes, and now be only 52 seconds off my sub 6 minute mile target. I can see pain and anguish as those 52 seconds are whittled away – but also a lot of fun

Maybe in a few months of hard intervals and races and other running, I will be signing in to say I have joined the sub 6 minute mile club. But the interim target is 6:30

10 Mile Long Run – 01:31:49 – PB!

Nice long 10 mile run on a hot and sunny day. Wanted to run it at a decent pace instead of just jogging along easily as I have been lately, and managed a 10 mile PB by 2 minutes – and did it 10 minutes faster than my last effort and faster than recent long runs in general, and only stopped once to eat a gel. Felt like a drink in the later stages but resisted the temptation to have a shop stop but kept going, and tried to gradually speed up the harder things got, rather than petering out like I normally do. Still felt fresh at 12k though the last couple of k’s were hard and was overheating in the sun at times. Not a bad run at all though, ended up in central Manchester, went past the gay carnival thing, and got the bus home.

Splits for my k’s were:

5:39
5:48
6:05
5:56
5:52
5:54
5:40
5:41
5:39
6:09 (gel stop/slow)
5:38
5:24
5:24
5:25
5:43 (struggling with pedestrians!)
5:11 (clear road and a sprint!)

The Moonraker 10k 2009 Race Report – 50:21 – PB!

Ok, I finally found out why it’s called the Moonraker 10k – apparently locals in that area call themselves moonrakers, and it goes back to a tradition when poachers, about to be apprehended, would throw their spoils into a pond and then pretend to be raking the moon’s reflection, for the cheese…

Hmm, anyway, this was a rematch with what was my third ever race last year, but to date my slowest 10k time unless you counted my first 10k. Last year I found the course really tough, with a big hill and heat, but after this race my times started to improve dramatically. So this time round, I was really looking at it as preparation for my next 2 flatter 10k’s, and was just hoping to get a course PB, and see what racing with the Garmin switched to ignore mode was like.

What a change from last year in so many respects! I had a different cabbie from my usual one, and the motorway was all shut down and diverted. Instead of sunshine and the hottest day of the year, it was threatening rain, and this duly started to come down before the race. I did a bit of a more sedate warmup than usual, trotting around for 15 minutes but resisting the temptation to start bombing around like a mad thing.

The time came, and we were off. I set off at what I hoped was a manageable pace, and kind of let the flow of people around me dictate my speed for the first k. I resisted a look at the Garmin, which I had set to silent so I could ignore the lap alerts. I felt OK as we came up to the hill at 2k, and was determined to take this easy come what may, rather than attacking it with gung ho bravado and paying for it later. A few people came bombing past me, full of confidence, but they started dying like flies as the hill took its toll and I started to overhaul them. I kept my pace steady enough but once I got to the top of the hill I was filled with adrenaline and went flying down the other side, determined to make up, and I enjoyed the downhills before it became a bit flatter. I had no idea what time I was headed for, but just got into a pace I felt I could keep up, and ramped it up a bit when I felt I could, focusing on runners ahead and taking them one by one. By the last 3k it got really cat and mouse, I overtook a group, but for a while I could hear them on my heels and I was starting to hurt. Someone overtook me but I just tried to stay with them. I just had to keep going somehow! A few from an earlier group overtook me in the last 200, and I had a sprint finish in which I pulled away from another chap. It was all good fun. Those little mini races helped me keep going! I crossed the line feeling tired yet really good. I looked at the Garmin, flipped it to show my time, and I had done 50:21 – not just a course PB but a lifetime PB, and with that bugger of a hill as well!

Looking at the splits, the hill added a couple of minutes on to my time, really slowing me for a couple of k’s, but the good news was I had handled the hills well and left myself enough in the tank to run a negative split – did the first 5k in 26, the second in 24:21 – which equates to my 2nd or 3rd fastest 5k best. The reason I could do that, was I didn’t know I was doing it. Normally I would look at my 5k on the Garmin, feel I was behind, and maybe give up on some level, or feel there was no way I could run fast enough to make up the time. Without the Garmin to refer to, I didn’t know, and I just seemed to run faster in the second half quite naturally, without all the mental guessing games. From now on this is how I am going to race, if this performance is anything to go by, it really helped!

Considering what happened last year, this race was a springboard to real improvements – if the same happens again, in the 3 remained 10k’s of the year I hope not to just to beat the 50 minute barrier, but to smash it once and for all

5 Mile Tempo Run – 40:01 – PB!

Well the PB’s seem to keep coming in training – this 5 mile tempo run I wanted, after an initial warm up spell, to run at or around 5 mins per kilometer, as I am hoping to run one of my upcoming 10k races slightly faster than that in order to get under 50 minutes.

I set off with a 5:17 k and then sped up slightly, finding it tough to make the pace early on and wondering if I could keep it up for 5 miles. At some points I felt I needed to be going quicker as I felt I was slowing down, but those k’s ticked over in under 5 minutes, so although it was feeling harder, I was actually maintaining the tempo pace as the lactic acid in my legs built up to its threshold. By the last kilometre I thought I may well go sub 40 but that last k seemed quite long and I was feeling maxed out, but maintained the pace and still threw in a 4:48 last kilometre. All in all I had 5 of the 8 kilometres under 5 minutes, and under race conditions I should be able to maintain that pace for another 1.2 miles, which should result in a nice sub 50 either at Offerton (hilly, but who knows!) or the City of Manchester 10k. Did 40:01 for the 5 miles which is 1.5 minutes off my PB a couple of weeks ago