Following Berlin I somewhat pushed it to the back of my mind, my running has been sparse to say the least, baring the two races I have blogged about I have barely put my trainers on…

Roll on Sunday morning, race day, over 100 miles from home. I had already established I didnt have my SIS energy drink, nor my gel belt and add to the list no safety pins. I thought the last odd, as they are normally in the race envelope although there is a part of me that recollects possibly using them for the Royal Parks Half 3 weeks ago! So far the list of things I had forgotten was just about passable, I knew id get pins at the start and I could live without the SIS. However, what was about to happen next was a major cockup. As I went to put my chip on my trainers I opened my shoe bag to be presented with my trail shoes, Fudge, I couldn’t run a road race in these. At this moment I had 2 options, 1 pull out or 2 run in my day to day trainers. Had I been in mid-training for a longer run I’d have probably opted for option 1. However, as this was my last planned race of 2011 I figured what was the worst that could happen so went for option 2. I should point out my day to day trainers are kswiss and designed to be run in (but they are neutral and and don’t have the right support). Pulling the laces tight the chip was added, I cant deny, I was definitely apprehensive about running.

Time for breaky, Laura laughed about how my food choice seemed more extreme than most other runners in the hotel who opted for bananas. I figured it was a late start and I could eat what I wanted really. I had a nice suprise when Chris my best man turned up un announced to support me. I was shocked and very grateful!

Wow, forth paragraph and I haven’t even started the race, readers I apologise. At this point I should just fast forward to the start, where due to Martin Lewis (my boss) running the race, I had the fortune of starting with the celebs and media at the front. Standard banter between Iwan Thomas and I ensued, it seems we constantly race the same events. Whilst he has the upper edge on shorter distances of 10km and under its about this distance where I could possibly beat him.

The claxon went off, we were 3 rows from the front and the elite men went off like whippets. Iwan wasnt much different and wanting to keep up I clocked a sub 7 min first mile, way too quick for me and he was far ahead of me (so much for a slow first half mate!) I pulled back my pace and got into a rhythm that I should find ok to hangon to and take in the sights.

At one of the switchbacks at about 6 miles I clocked Iwan probably about 800meters ahead of me, tortoise and hair came to mind. Onwards I pushed, 7 miles no sign of him, 8 miles nothing, until about 8.7miles when way up in the distance I spotted him. Could I make back 200 meters in just over a mile…?

I pushed on at the hardest part of the course along the sea front with a head wind. Judging from my watch I was maintaining a consistent pace and Iwan got closer and closer. Somehow at about 9.2 miles I caught him. I pushed on, hoping to get enough distance to help with the final 400m (his optimum race distance). As I entered the final 200m over the tannoy I heard his name announced and I gave all I had. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him as I crossed the line, a part of me thought he had slowed to let me win (if you did Iwan, thanks )

Laura and Lara (Martin’s wife) met met right on the finish line and we waited to cheer Martin over. He did amazingly well completing the run in 1:28:10. For someone who hadn’t run that far ever he should be mighty pleased with his time.

Anyway 10m completed in 01:14:34, am pretty damn happy about that as going into the race I had no idea what form I was in and all things considered I can’t grumble at 7:30 min miles over the distance.

Its a bit odd as I write this I have no more events in my diary for 2011, the season appears to be over. Time to look back and reflect and ultimately decide what happens in 2012…

N

As with most of my running if you were to roll back 10 years and ask me to do a XC race out of choice I’d have probably laughed at you and found a good excuse as to why I couldn’t. I hated it at school. However, there I was Sunday morning all kitted out in my Serps running top stood in a field ready to run 5 miles, and out of choice!

Given the weather has been dry here I knew the ground should still be quite hard so I opted for standard trainers. It turns out this was the correct call as the ground was solid. At 10:30 the claxon sounded and off we all went, 3 laps of a few fields. The course was far from flat and on the signup info it was branded as ‘undulating’ which after the first lap seemed fair.

I’m never going to be at the front of these races, but as a new xc’er I was desperate not to come last, turns out I needn’t have worried as I comfortably came mid pack, where I expected really. I pushed as hard as I could, I’ve never done this short a race and took the attitude of whats the worst that can happen…

Good fun, I hope to make the next one!

N

At 6:10am my alarm went off, I woke up feeling ROUGH, I went for a shower and felt lousy so got back into bed. I had decided I was too ill to race. At this point Laura gave me a kick up the backside and at about 645 I had a change of heart and got up and ready. We had to be out at 7, speed eating time

Jumping out at Marble Arch I wheeled Laura with me to the start (see here to see how Laura broke her foot) and found the VIP tent. Today I was a VIP apparently! I found the bag drop and spotted a couple of celebs Nell McAndrew, Duncan Bannatyne and Sophie Raworth to name drop before prepping myself for the race. Fortunately, Jackie had kindly come along to be chauffeur for Laura so they headed off to about the 6 mile marker.

I headed to the starting pens, completely unsure what pace I would manage. I suspected, unless I deliberately took the first half slow I wouldn’t hang on to a permanent pace but was probably best just to go for it with the expectation of a second half blow up! In the pen by pure coincidence I bumped into Keith Luxon a fellow Havens Hospice runner, and also an ultra runner of the most extreme – I know of only one other who has run longer than Keith but I dont think its anywhere near as frequent.

My pace from the start was pretty hard, pushed along by being in the same pen as the faster runners aiming for sub 1hr30. I clocked 7-7:30min/mi, it wasnt until about mile 5 I thought I may have gone off a bit fast! At 6 miles I spotted Laura and Jackie a gave them a quick message telling them I had overcooked it and would be slowing for the second half. About half a mile on my gel must haven kicked in and all of a sudden I felt ok. I barely slowed at all, every mile was sub 8min/mi and most were nearer the 7:30s. After 10 miles I knew I could hang on regardless now, 24 minutes I told myself whilst taking another gel. 16 minutes…8minutes, 7:59,7:58,7:57 the countdown had begun in my head.

Spotting the gantry in the distance whilst my watch showed 1:39 (no seconds displayed) I decided to try for a sub 1hr40 with no idea how far or long to go I put my head down and went for it, no longer looking at my watch. As I crossed the line I stopped the garmin, my watch read 1:40 (no seconds displayed), nevermind. It wasnt until I got a text with my chip time that I established I actually did 1:39:59 sub 1:40 and my watch read 1:40:00! Jackpot. I can’t really grumble about that as it was faster than Maidenhead which I had done a few weeks previously.

All in all a good run and I’m glad I pulled myself out of bed (even if it just delayed my cold for 24 hours)! I do like the Royal Parks Half Marathon, both times I have run it I have thought it a well organised race. The medal is different and the freebies you can get at the end is the best I have seen at ANY race. The first half of the race gives you all of the best bits of the London Marathon whilst the second half is in Hyde Park weaving through its paths.

Loved it!

N

This weekend was a busy one in terms of running. On Saturday I headed along to a workshop organised by the Royal Parks, a morning session held at one of Matt Roberts gyms in London. Having been to a couple of full marathon days I was familiar with a large percentage of information provided however that doesn’t mean it was by any means a waste of time.

During the morning two sections really stood out for me. One from Chris at Lucozade talking about nutrition and carb loading. I missed this speech at Dorney as I was running and also because I thought it may just be Lucozade, Lucozade, Lucozade. It turns out whilst there was branding it was a well rounded presentation and quite often Chris clearly insinuated ‘natural’ maybe better. I think the presentation was also aimed for marathoners and not so much for halves (kinda perfect for me) I don’t believe any half marathon runner needs to consider carb loading a week before!

The other highly informative talk was prepared by Matt Roberts gym and gave insights into how to successfuly use a foam roller. Occasionally I pull out my own roller but have only had limited guidance. Today we were demonstrated about 5 routines each ‘massaging’ different parts of the body. A very useful session and one that I believe would help any runner.

The day ended with a session by British Military Fitness. They tailored one of their workouts to runners, warming us up with an interesting routine, doing 3 ish miles at tempo before successfully warming us down. The warmup was a chuckle to say the least, introducing a whole new set of dynamic stretches most of which had all involved chuckling, high 5, low 5, backwards low 5 below leg etc etc, all very amusing. I left the morning with a smile on my face and I hoped it would act as a good warmup for the half on Sunday.

Bright and early Sunday morning with Laura as chauffeur we made our way to Maidenhead for its inaugural Half Marathon. I’d like to say I had always planed to do this race but to be honest I only really heard about it a week ago. Falling perfectly on my buildup for Berlin I took the event as my last hard distance run. I knew before even arriving that my PB from Dorney was not at risk, I have been struggling to even do one 7min/mi at the mo let alone 13.1 (I put that down to the little bit more I weigh now)! If I could do averages of 7:40 throughout I would be happy. The race was branded as flat and I guess in a way it was, there were no big hills to climb. However, perhaps it was just me, but it constantly felt like we were climbing and descending, not flat.

From my point of view the only real negative was water in cups, i’m not a fan, but this wasnt the first and im sure it won’t be the last race like it. I was struggling a bit so took the conservative route and stopped to drink rather than trying (and failing) whilst running! I should also add, next year maidenhead need to sort out the route so it doesn’t need to loop around the block at the very start, I’m sure you can find .2miles somewhere else on the course. From a spectator point of view Laura noted that those at the front got round the little loop before some of the runners had even crossed the start line causing a bit of a commotion at the start!

It was a shame about the weather, after 8m the heavens opened and it RAINED. I returned drenched but so was Laura who was waiting near the finish…I haven’t raced in such poor weather since the Paris half a few years ago. Dismal.

I finished in 1hr40, and managed to hang on to the 740 I had hoped for. I am in the middle of the final tough week before Berlin, the taper starts pretty soon!

For those that wonder, yes the Royal Parks Half is a week after Berlin. I figure this will be a very ‘interesting’ run for me, must remember to warm down properly after the big one regardless (thanks Matt Roberts Gym for some pointers regarding that!)

Till next time…

N

At the break of dawn on Sunday morning I headed to Bluewater chauffeured by spectator extraordinaire Laura arriving quite early we popped over to see Chris D of the Sports Clinic my leg magician! He was chatting about his session with Iwan Thomas the night before which I was aware about because of twitter and also setting up for a busy mornings of rubs.

We then wandered around the start area and bumped into Iwan ourselves, he was there on behalf of Gatorade, one of his sponsors and also the race sponsor. We have met a few times in the past, most recently at the London Marathon. Laura also knew him through her Tv job with ItPaysToWatch. He’s a good chuckle and is always very welcoming to everyone – good to see. He had done the Blenheim Tri the day before and was going to go easy, concerned his legs wouldn’t work for him. I knew however that Chris would have sorted them out the night before…!

At 8:30 the race started, it’s an early one to allow all the roads to be re-opened in time for the shopping centre to open for 11. The weather was pretty good for running, especially considering the heat over the previous few days. With full cloud coverage and the fact it was early all was good on that front! As I said, I have run this before a couple of times, the route hasn’t changed so fortunately (or not) I know exactly what is going to happen, this should be a help for me but it doesn’t seem to be…!

Undulating is the best description of the race profile. There doesn’t seem to be much flat at all from start to finish. The start is on a down which leads you into a false security and for people with no concept of pace, read me, it can go tits up from the start…

My splits were all over the place, I suspect I went out too quick only to suffer during the middle hilly section. I hung on for dear life in sections of the run close to throwing in the towel on some of the ups but fortunately shorty after what seemed like an eternal up section was a down to recover on

I’d be interested to see, based on that run how I’d do on a flat course now. In Manchester I was always going to be slow. I’d barely run for weeks prior and before that I had obviously done more endurance work but following a couple of weeks of faster sessions I picked the pace up. However, perhaps the hills work for me, boosting my speed enough during the downs to really make a difference…who knows and as I don’t have another 10k lined up for a while I won’t find out any time soon!

Following the run I took the opportunity to have a £10 for 15 minutes sports massage organised by Chris. Nice way to finish the morning off!

Till next time

N

It rained and it rained a lot

I would say on the build up to this race my training, if you can call it that, had been pretty minimal. I haven’t covered too many miles since the London Mara and the miles I did run were SLOW. In fact I think I only did one fast(ish) run pre race. Therefore my expectations weren’t too great and I’m not going to lie I was verbal about this. I knew for a fact that no PBs were going to be hit on race day, it just wasn’t realistic.

Having collected my number on the Saturday (see  post) I was ready to run. I have never run this event before but I can honestly say it’s massive! 38000 people doing a 10km race, that’s more people than what turn up for the London Marathon. They had several waves to start people off and I assume in my wisdom when I signed up I said I would target my PB. Therefore I was put in the first pen with sub 50min runners.

The starting pace was brisk, I had hoped to keep up with Sam and maybe out pace her like at Stockport but it wasn’t going to happen and less than 1k in she was gone – to quick for me today. Now it was about hanging on, a challenge in itself as I had barely covered the distance in weeks. Head down, dig in.

Somehow I managed to hold on and finish the race in 44:40, quite how im not entirely sure. I’m not going to lie I didn’t think much of the scenery on what is commonly regarded as one of the “best 10km” races, most of it seemed to be a dual carriage way!

It was heaving, I’d like to use the busyness as an excuse but baring a couple of points I dont think it had much impact. Maybe could have squeezed 5-10seconds back without congestion but on the flip side the slowing may have helped!

This is the third “great run” event I have done, I do wonder whether by being so big they create problems for themselves which is a shame. That said, the logistics of getting 38k round a 10k course must be pretty tricky. I always think back to the marathon and know that it takes to about 14+ miles before the roads clear out and aren’t quite so congested!

Would I do this run again? Probably not, it wasn’t cheap and had very few really amazing points. It gave the excuse to go visit friends which maybe the biggest reason to do it again!

Next race is the Bluewater 10k. Completely different course which is very hilly. 3rd time back, should be interesting

Apparently race packs were sent out on 20th April, although I believe from cobbling together data sources they have still been going out as of yesterday. If they went out on the 20th April, even given the bank holiday I would have expected something by now so something seems a bit fishy.

For a race that isn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination I would have expected better, I would also have expected an email by now informing me that there is an issue which there clearly is.  It shouldn’t be up to us to chase, social media like Facebook is good for this purpose if people know that mechanism exists.

To inform you of what is being said on Facebook. If your number hasn’t arrived you can collect it here on Saturday and they will be around on Sunday before the race. Speaking personally if collecting Sunday expect a queue!

“All race packs are now in the process of being posted out. If you do not receive your race pack for any reason you can pick up a replacement pack from the Customer Services Desk at Manchester Central (formerly the G-Mex) either on Saturday 14th May between 12noon and 5pm, or from 7.30am on Sunday 15th May. For the Customer Services Team call 0844 846 2111“

It’s interesting seeing comments on forums as to what people have been told about missing numbers and late sending – the best one was ‘runners lose them if sent too early’. Well I’d rather know I’d lost it than not receive it in the first place!

I haven’t run a ‘Great’ event for some years and having been unsuccessful in the ballot for this years Great North I won’t be doing that however I will be watching out to see if the same issues happen there too!

Let’s hope it’s on my door mat when I get home tonight!

N

My target was 330-340. My halves in the run up had seen me hit 1:32 in the middle of big mile weeks so the target wasn’t a pipe dream – in theory it was a realistic goal. I had smashed out 4 20mile+ sessions and to be perfectly honest had actually enjoyed the last 4months of training and breaking new barriers. I was fitter, faster and stronger. 

I wonder whether my tone is obvious already but once again the London Marathon nearly beat me but let’s get to that in a bit…

After a very enjoyable expo, bumping into Tom & Martin of Marathon Talk, Adam Phillips a fellow runner who I met at the 2010 Motivation Station in Nottingham and Noel Thatcher Paralympic Gold Medalist as well as others who I have crossed paths with in the past I was ready to roll. I even collected my number right next to Sophie Raworth although I couldn’t for the life of me remember her name so didn’t introduce myself, it transpires we would have a similar story to tell of the event.

I arrived with ample time and loitered around the green start. I bumped into Ed Coats before the start – I was pretty excited by this. I have utmost respect for what him Cracknell and Fogle did crossing the South Pole and I have followed his future adventures in Running Fitness magazine. Amazing – it was photo time  

After this it was time to chill and get into ‘the zone’. I had a loaned phone from Vodafone, again playing with the Motorola Defy. I really like this phone and was chuffed to have it with me today – although would it see me round the course?!

At 9:45 the claxon sounded and once again I was crossing the start line. It felt warm, warmer than I have run in for a while. That said I was running in my comfort zone and at pace. It was tough – but this is a marathon right, it’s meant to be tough! At the mid point I was still going fine. Checking off mile by mile – I would have a few more miles to get through before I started counting down from 100!

14 check, 15, 16,17,18 the eventful mile from last year check, 19, 20, 21 saw Adam P on side of road cheering, 21.3 collapse and 21.5 I somehow wake up in a St Johns tent.

First thought on waking up ‘bugger (possibly harsher language went through my head) not again, not this time’. I knew what to do I had to call Laura and tell her where I was as i knew from last year St Johns wouldn’t- trusty defy still working! I rung but they wanted me off the phonel, partially fair as I was close to throwing up and probably not looking too great. The next min I was vomiting so they got me on the floor. This was the last time I saw this phone, I’m hoping someone from St Johns has it as the evidence I have against them is pretty damning (as my running app was still running) but it’s early days and that’s another blog post (maybe!). As I was on the floor laid out I started cramping up – I knew this would happen. Bugger. 

How long I was in St Johns for I don’t know, I will dissect my Garmin when I have time but my reckoning is 40-50 mins, with analysis probably nearer the later. As I sat on the chair throwing up I had to decide what to do. I had 5 miles still to complete, but my legs were recked having sat in a chair and on the floor – 8min miles were not going to happen but could I run walk. I did the maths how long would it take if I tried to go again? 1 hour or so?

This time quitting was not an option for me, I would make it to the end (or at least try). I found out that the next St Johns tent was about a mile away so if worst came to worst I had somewhere I could end up! I had called Laura who had lined the pavement at 22.5miles and she tried to get down to me but it was too busy, I would head to a landmark and meet her. My legs were getting worse, badly cramping. It was time to move. 

At the 13/22miles balloons I met Laura. She said she’d walk with me but the pavements are not somewhere you can walk and it didn’t take long to realise that unfortunately wasn’t going to be possible. I was on my own. I had a stop and chat to my friends and family as I went round – I even got fed a jelly baby by little Tomas who had come to see me. It was an opportunity to thank them for coming out to support me and they deserved it!

Shortly after I bumped into Iwan Thomas, I have been in touch with him via twitter and through previous expos as well as Laura knowing him from her It Pays to Watch days. I think it would be fair to say at this point it may have been a competition for who looked worse. He’d blown at 14miles but was going to make it. I hoped I could stick with him but the state of my legs said otherwise. 

My pace was slow I would call it a run walk as I ran for as long as I could before my cramps started then walked at short a distance possible before they went. It was slow progress though. I took on water when I could and felt in pretty good shape. Had it not been the pain in my legs (my body felt fine) i would have tried to run it. I learnt a lesson with this – keep pain killers to hand! 

Anyway to cut 5 long and slow miles short I made it to the Mall and this time collected my medal. I crossed the line in 4:40 although that time doesn’t really mean too much to me. That said without the ‘power nap’ as it has been ironically called and doing a 21.5mile run/5mile walk I would have come in about the 4 hour marker…

Thanks to getting my place through Virgin I had entry to a party organised at Planet Hollywood. This was a great opportunity to unwind, Iwan was there and we chatted some more as well as having an opportunity to be meters from Richard Branson, an idol of mine. A very rewarding finish to a difficult day!

As I sit and reflect, my legs are totally recked, to an extent I have never felt before. I went out to conquer and win and once again I had another bad day in the office. That won’t stop me. I have been quite protective about who has helped me over the last few months but at this moment I would like to thank Liz Yelling for being a great mentor. Her schedule has seen me get fitter, faster and stronger and without a shadow of a doubt I would have hit the 3:30-3:40 target if my body had let me. The question that now needs to be answered is why this happens to me. Why when everyone else can dig in and ‘zip up the man-suit’ does my body shutdown and stop me. I’m sure over the coming months I will get to grips with this through Liz and the running community at large!

Thanks again for all who have supported me upto this Marathon especially Laura who is no doubt sick of roasted veg and chicken tomato pasta! I don’t think I could have worked, eaten and got the miles in without her support. Another personalised shout out to Chris D at the Sports Clinic for massages and an ear to bash when necessary. 

Much love, remember run hard, run fast, run strong – or something like that! See you at the next race

N

Ps I have lots more photos to upload but trying to do it on an iPhone is too time consuming!

I start the story at the point of being absolutely shattered the night before the race in a hotel in Ascot. The week before I had been trying to balance work, Run For Japan (see next post) and a mini taper. Unfortunately the last item failed following late nights and early starts…

On Saturday morning, chauffeured by Laura I headed to Dorney Lake in Eton for the second race in spring. The weather was spectacular. Perfect running conditions, not a cloud in the sky and still a little bit chilly. The course looked idilic and whilst I was a bit apprehensive following the poor taper I was going to certainly give it a go.

My previous PB set just a month earlier at the Roding Valley Half was 1:35:33. Given that this was a hilly course I figured this target was certainly achievable so I set my Garmin ‘Virtual Partner’ at this time and aimed to beat it/him/her.

The start was a bit of a pain, it was a good km walk from the registration tent meaning that it took longer than it probably should have done to get going. I also hadn’t really bothered to read the race route – I was just about to find out it was a 4 lap course…dull!

Anyway, after 3months of routine training I would like to say I had a perfect race. I did beat my PB coming in at 1:32:30. However, this did not follow a perfectly paced run. Typically I zoomed off, first mile way to quick (I think it was sub 7min/mi possibly about 6:40) at the end of that mile and to a much greater extent by the end of mile 5 I realised I was going to have to hang on for 8 more miles. My splits are frankly embarrassing, up and down like a yo-yo. Fortunately to my credit I managed to recover a bit for the final couple of miles otherwise I think I may have missed out on the PB…

The race itself was ok, the organisation baring the trek to the start was generally good. I found the water stations very helpful as they were quite frequent. However, I believe they ran out of bottles in my last lap (which means more worrying, some out there still had two to go). I don’t think it was necessary to give it out after the first KM but understand this was just because of the position of the station and laps. Also it was good to see chaps handing out gels, I ignored them as I train with other types but it was a nice touch. That said, if you want to lure people into your gels perhaps it’s better stuffing a couple of different flavours in the goody bag. That way people will try them when it is good for their training…?

I have to say I do like Dorney, the route is pretty much flat as a pancake and on a day like that it is perfect material for a PB. However, there is a part of me on distances of half mara and less that actually enjoys the hills a bit. Sure the ups are slower but the downs give some recovery time!

Needless to say, a great start to the weekend a great run on the back of a 20miler the weekend before and slap bang in the middle of the heavy month! Happy days.

N

Last week was half term for Laura and we headed up to Ilkley to stay with Justin and his girlfriend. I met Justin at the 2010 Thunder Run and since then we have kept in touch and also did the Stockport 10m together (I say together he is much quicker than me…!). We arrived at their house where he and his girlfriend Ashleigh had offered to put us up and before long Justin and I were donning head torches and trail shoes and about to go for a run in the moors.

Having only run in pitch black once before (the thunder run) and struggled a bit I was a little apprehensive but I was in good company. As well as my inexperience when it comes to night running, this was the first time I had run in mud since cross country at school – an event I tried desperately to get out of each year! This run was going to be tough!

It was muddy, it was hilly, it was dark. How muddy and hilly i couldn’t tell because of the darkness but my heart rate was high and my speed was slow. Since running this I have been advised by a number of runners to leave the Garmin at home for these types of runs as they are slow and looking at the stats on the dial it’s all a little demoralising! I seem to remember after the thunder run thinking I hated it, then loved it again on the way home I thought this again! A week and a half later I want to go back for more…

Thank you to Justin and Ash for their hospitality, it was lovely to see you both and Josie. Looking forward to more Moor runs in the future…

The following Sunday was my first race of 2011, the Roding Valley Half Marathon which also coincides with my birthday. I have done this race before in 2010 however this time the weather was much kinder and hence the run was much more enjoyable. Starting about 5mins from the front door it is in a perfect location for me and its pretty cheap. Why would I not do it?! The race went well, and given that its in the title of the blog I once again smashed my PB time of last year. On entering the race I had a 1/2mara time of 1:42 recorded at Silverstone last March, I knew from the off this time was due to be broken if my current training was anything to go by. I ran the course in 1:35:32, 11 minutes faster than the 2010 run! On the back of the run, just for good measure (ha!), I tacked on another 3 to 4miles to stimulate the feeling of running on tired legs – all in preparation for the Marathon.

All in all another successful week of running!