It has been far too long since my last post, almost a year. There is a lot to catch up on.
At the start of 2012 I set myself a few targets for the year, my post in March was a review of progress towards those goals. Now I can say without doubt that my goals were way too optimistic. I had goals for almost every distance from 100m to half marathon, the only one I managed to reach was 100m. Relative to my objectives I have to say the year was a failure, but there were some successes mixed in there and it made setting my 2013 much easier.
I started 2013 well, by the end of February I had knocked almost three minutes off my half marathon best time and I was confident I could continue to progress. Unfortunately that progress, at least at half marathon, didn't materialize. However, I did reach a major landmark, my first overall podium (i'd previously got to podiums for my age group only). I went to England for Easter last year and signed up for a cross-country 10k, I finished with a 10k PB and a second place finish. Admittedly, it wasn't the most competitive of fields, a sign of the relative popularity of running in the UK and Spain, but I don't decide who else turns up. I ran another 10k PB in my next race in Spain, 38:44, at the beginning of May, but from there things dried up. Dried up is an appropriate phrase given the summer heat we get here in Alicante, it makes summer training and races difficult so it is to be expected that progress on times stops mid-year.
I did my best to keep things ticking over ready for when the temperature started cooling again in September and I did a pretty good job. I ran a half marathon in Alicante for the first time at the end of September and finished in 1:25:08, similar to the times I ran in Murcia and Almansa in the spring, and on a tough course. The last 3 or 4 kilometres are all uphill. I felt good, and took the plunge and decided to go in for the marathon in Valencia. I'd previously given myself a rule, that I wouldn't enter a marathon until I'd run sub 1:20 for a half, but I was feeling so confident that I decided to go ahead anyway.
As it turned out, I should have stuck with the rule. My training seemed to go as well, if not better, than the year before when I set a PB of 3:11. However, since I'd decided comparatively late to compete I didn't have the same opportunity to do the long runs in preparation. I was running faster than on the same distance runs a year earlier so on raceday I was feeling confident and aiming for another big PB, under 3 hours. It was too much too soon. I got to halfway more or less on my target time, I was still in with a good shout at 30km but then I started to struggle, I fought the urge for a long time but eventually I slowed to a walk. I spent about the last 10km switching between running and walking. It was more running than walking and I managed to end up with a reasonable time, a chip time of 3:15:10, but I couldn't help but be disappointed.
I had another half marathon before the end of the year, but I was largely just going through the motions, I'd lost some motivation after Valencia. I ran reasonably well, it was in Alcoy, its a hard but very picturesque course, but once I'd finished that my training was minimal.
Things have picked up in 2013 though, I'll be back soon to continue the update.
Until then, happy running!
Maratonero.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Thursday, March 22, 2012
An update
First of all I have to apologise for the long gap between blog posts, I have been running a lot and working a lot and between the two I have not been able to keep blogging as much as I would like.
There is a lot to get through, a lot of progress has been made, and hopefully there is more to come.
I started the year with a PB for half marathon of 1:26:00, with a target for the year of 1:20:00. I've raced in four half marathons since then and I set a new PB in each of the first three. First up was Santa Pola on the third weekend in January. Santa Pola is one of the biggest races in Spain and the course would be one of, if not the quickest if it weren't for the immense number of people, there were around 7500 runners. Thankfully this year they introduced starting pens based on predicted finish times, this made things a lot better than in previous years. I knocked 43 seconds off my PB with a time of 1:25:17.
Three weeks later it was on to Orihuela. The start of the race didn't quite go to plan, I wanted to use the toilet immediately prior to the race, but the queue was unduly long and the trees around the start that would number serve as a substitute seemed to be surrounded by families with young children. I had no other choice but to start the race and hope the need would pace. I got through about 5 kilometres and then had no option but to stop. Thankfully it didn't slow me down too much, I still came away with a PB, 45 seconds chopped off this time to get to 1:24:38.
In Orihuela my average pace was 4:01 min/km, it's a fairly meaningless target but for the following race in Torrevieja I gave myself the objective of running sub 4:00 min/km pace. I managed to do that with a good deal to spare, there was a big leap this time with 1 minute 23 seconds coming off my PB to make it 1:23:15. With only two months of the year gone I was only fifteen seconds away from the half way point to my half marathon objective.
Since Torrevieja things haven't really gone to plan. Prior to Torrevieja I had suffered with tightness in my calf after cramping up in the swimming pool, thankfully the physio worked her magic and it eased down enough that I was able to run. Then a few days afterwards while sitting on the sofa eating dinner I felt a slight pain in my back as I reached for something at the other end of the coffee table. It wasn't anything major but it stopped me training at full tilt for a few days. Then when I did start picking up again I had the same problem in the pool, I cramped up and had a tight calf for a few days, it wasn't so severe so I just let time heal it rather than go to the physio. It settled down in time for my race last weekend but meant in the three weeks I had between races I only did two series sessions when I would normally do two a week.
Unsurprising my run of PB's ended last weekend in Murcia, but I still ran a good time, 1:24:56. On a hot day without a great preparation I have to be happy with it. Unfortunately I'm still not back to proper training. I woke up on Monday morning with a cold that I'm still fighting off, so I haven't really trained since. Hopefully by the weekend it will be gone and I can get going again. I won't have any half marathon races in April, just a 10k over Easter while I am back in the UK so I'm planning to take the opportunity to do some good speed sessions so that I can have a good go and taking another chunk off my PB come May.
That's all for now, I should be back soon with an update on my 3:00 min/km goal.
Happy Running
El maratonero
There is a lot to get through, a lot of progress has been made, and hopefully there is more to come.
I started the year with a PB for half marathon of 1:26:00, with a target for the year of 1:20:00. I've raced in four half marathons since then and I set a new PB in each of the first three. First up was Santa Pola on the third weekend in January. Santa Pola is one of the biggest races in Spain and the course would be one of, if not the quickest if it weren't for the immense number of people, there were around 7500 runners. Thankfully this year they introduced starting pens based on predicted finish times, this made things a lot better than in previous years. I knocked 43 seconds off my PB with a time of 1:25:17.
Three weeks later it was on to Orihuela. The start of the race didn't quite go to plan, I wanted to use the toilet immediately prior to the race, but the queue was unduly long and the trees around the start that would number serve as a substitute seemed to be surrounded by families with young children. I had no other choice but to start the race and hope the need would pace. I got through about 5 kilometres and then had no option but to stop. Thankfully it didn't slow me down too much, I still came away with a PB, 45 seconds chopped off this time to get to 1:24:38.
In Orihuela my average pace was 4:01 min/km, it's a fairly meaningless target but for the following race in Torrevieja I gave myself the objective of running sub 4:00 min/km pace. I managed to do that with a good deal to spare, there was a big leap this time with 1 minute 23 seconds coming off my PB to make it 1:23:15. With only two months of the year gone I was only fifteen seconds away from the half way point to my half marathon objective.
Since Torrevieja things haven't really gone to plan. Prior to Torrevieja I had suffered with tightness in my calf after cramping up in the swimming pool, thankfully the physio worked her magic and it eased down enough that I was able to run. Then a few days afterwards while sitting on the sofa eating dinner I felt a slight pain in my back as I reached for something at the other end of the coffee table. It wasn't anything major but it stopped me training at full tilt for a few days. Then when I did start picking up again I had the same problem in the pool, I cramped up and had a tight calf for a few days, it wasn't so severe so I just let time heal it rather than go to the physio. It settled down in time for my race last weekend but meant in the three weeks I had between races I only did two series sessions when I would normally do two a week.
Unsurprising my run of PB's ended last weekend in Murcia, but I still ran a good time, 1:24:56. On a hot day without a great preparation I have to be happy with it. Unfortunately I'm still not back to proper training. I woke up on Monday morning with a cold that I'm still fighting off, so I haven't really trained since. Hopefully by the weekend it will be gone and I can get going again. I won't have any half marathon races in April, just a 10k over Easter while I am back in the UK so I'm planning to take the opportunity to do some good speed sessions so that I can have a good go and taking another chunk off my PB come May.
That's all for now, I should be back soon with an update on my 3:00 min/km goal.
Happy Running
El maratonero
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Review of the Year and New Year's Running Resolutions!
As the year comes to a close it's a good moment to look back at my successes and disappointments over the last twelve months and set new goals for the next twelve.
REVIEW OF 2011
My running in 2011 can be split into two fairly distinct periods, pre and post the Madrid marathon. Before Madrid I was just treading water, after Madrid there was almost constant improvement, barring a few weeks of injury and recovery in the summer.
I started the year with a flat 10k in Valencia, when I first got into running I ran lots of 10k races but this was only the second I had competed in since I left England over 2 years before. I would have expected to be able to blow my previous best times out of the water, but no, I was about two minutes away from my previous best. I'd put my lack of form down to two things, firstly that I started my season's training late, I had been in Africa in the first two weeks of October and didn't start back into proper training until almost into November and secondly I spent the Christmas period in Germany stuck indoors unable to train.
Progress was expected over the next races, but they were largely disappointing, in my first half marathon of the year in Santa Pola I was five minutes slower than in 2010. There was an improvement in Orihuela in February but I was still four-and-a-half minutes from my PB set on the same course in 2010. At the beginning of April I ran a Madrid marathon warm-up, doing the half marathon in Elche. I ran my quickest time of the season, but still a long way from my best, 1:32:34 was only marginally inside the PB I had when I arrived in Spain.
Then came the Madrid marathon, when I look back on this race, as with my first marathon in London, I feel some pride at completing the distance but the overriding feeling is of disappointment. The low point in my running year would have to be kilometre 32 of the marathon, at the point that I felt unable to run any more. I finished the race through alternating running and walking, 4:05 was an improvement on my first marathon but it wasn't what I wanted from the race.
The disappointment led me to think about what I wanted from running. I certainly didn't want to have another marathon experience like I did in Madrid but I always wasn't happy to give up on the marathon yet. It's the blue riband event of distance running, I was still determined to get round one with a smile on my face, so I decided to continue running but that I was going to do things differently and from there I haven't looked back.
My thinking was that I had been training to complete a distance, but I hadn't paid enough attention to the speed, for a marathon things get really tough after 3 hours so the important thing is to minimize the time beyond 3 hours, you can only do that by running faster. Since Madrid I've done more and more speed sessions and it has contributed to PBs in every distance I've competed at since then. The other change that has helped alot has been to change the way I train. I used to just do hard sessions, say 3 or 4 times per week, now I will do easy sessions in between, just twenty minutes jogging in the park, I guess you call it active recovery.
I ran throughout the summer, competing in beach races, even managing to pick up my first trophy, a 5th place in my category. I came out of it running strong, when I went back to my home town in October to run a 10k I was expecting a PB and so it came, 39:11, a minute better than my previous best. I had been considering my options for a marathon up to that point, but that race gave me the confidence to contemplate an autumn marathon so I signed up for Valencia. From there my training mileage went up but I kept the focus on speed and active recovery. Two weeks before the marathon I ran a half marathon in Alcoy (a great race by the way), it was a tough course with the first eleven kilometres all uphill but I made easy work of it, finishing only 30 seconds outside my PB.
With such a good performance behind me I had high expectations for myself in the marathon and thankfully this time I was able to live up to my expectations. I ran 3:11:10, it really marks out that I was right to be disappointed with my first two runs. I was running from starting gun to finish line with only a slight slow down in the last five kilometres. It was not just the highlight of the year but of all my running, it had taken some sacrifices but I achieved a respectable result in the hardest running event going.
However, the year didn't finish there, in my last race I had the chance to take advantage of the marathon training and set a new half marathon PB, Aspe didn't disappoint, 1:26:00 was 87 seconds inside my previous best, and the great thing is I think there is still plenty more to come!
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
I'm not going to make resolutions of the traditional sense, but set myself targets to achieve. I'm going to be bold. When I first started running I told a friend who was a little quicker than me at that point that with training we could be competitive in the small (200-300 people) local races we were competing. While I've got alot closer to the front since then I'm not challenging for podiums, I hope to make the leap to competitiveness in 2012. The table below shows my current best times and related paces and my target time and pace.
Essentially, I'm sticking with the 3-minute kilometre target I set myself after Madrid, all the targets for shorter distances are set with that in mind. A related target is for a 5-minute mile (3:06 min/km pace). I'm still some way from that target, I lowered my PB for 1k by 5 seconds this week, but I need to make up another 15. Knocking four minutes from my best for 10k is also a big ask, but given that I ran under 40 minutes for the first 10k of a half marathon in Aspe I think my PB isn't a great measure of where I am at the moment, in a good flat race I think 37:30 would be possible and from there 35:00 wouldn't be such a huge leap.
For half marathon again it's a tough ask but I feel sub 1:25 isn't far away and its a target for the year, I don't expect to be running sub 1:20 in March but staying injury free through the summer again by next autumn it should be achievable.
I've left the marathon target blank, I'm very happy with the marathon I've done and I don't want to commit myself to another until I'm confident that I can expect another big leap in performance. If I reach my half marathon goal well before the end of the year I might aim for an autumn marathon but at the moment its not in my thoughts.
I look forward to letting you know how I get on with hitting my targets throughout the year.
Happy running and see you in 2012!
El maratonero
REVIEW OF 2011
My running in 2011 can be split into two fairly distinct periods, pre and post the Madrid marathon. Before Madrid I was just treading water, after Madrid there was almost constant improvement, barring a few weeks of injury and recovery in the summer.
I started the year with a flat 10k in Valencia, when I first got into running I ran lots of 10k races but this was only the second I had competed in since I left England over 2 years before. I would have expected to be able to blow my previous best times out of the water, but no, I was about two minutes away from my previous best. I'd put my lack of form down to two things, firstly that I started my season's training late, I had been in Africa in the first two weeks of October and didn't start back into proper training until almost into November and secondly I spent the Christmas period in Germany stuck indoors unable to train.
Progress was expected over the next races, but they were largely disappointing, in my first half marathon of the year in Santa Pola I was five minutes slower than in 2010. There was an improvement in Orihuela in February but I was still four-and-a-half minutes from my PB set on the same course in 2010. At the beginning of April I ran a Madrid marathon warm-up, doing the half marathon in Elche. I ran my quickest time of the season, but still a long way from my best, 1:32:34 was only marginally inside the PB I had when I arrived in Spain.
Then came the Madrid marathon, when I look back on this race, as with my first marathon in London, I feel some pride at completing the distance but the overriding feeling is of disappointment. The low point in my running year would have to be kilometre 32 of the marathon, at the point that I felt unable to run any more. I finished the race through alternating running and walking, 4:05 was an improvement on my first marathon but it wasn't what I wanted from the race.
The disappointment led me to think about what I wanted from running. I certainly didn't want to have another marathon experience like I did in Madrid but I always wasn't happy to give up on the marathon yet. It's the blue riband event of distance running, I was still determined to get round one with a smile on my face, so I decided to continue running but that I was going to do things differently and from there I haven't looked back.
My thinking was that I had been training to complete a distance, but I hadn't paid enough attention to the speed, for a marathon things get really tough after 3 hours so the important thing is to minimize the time beyond 3 hours, you can only do that by running faster. Since Madrid I've done more and more speed sessions and it has contributed to PBs in every distance I've competed at since then. The other change that has helped alot has been to change the way I train. I used to just do hard sessions, say 3 or 4 times per week, now I will do easy sessions in between, just twenty minutes jogging in the park, I guess you call it active recovery.
I ran throughout the summer, competing in beach races, even managing to pick up my first trophy, a 5th place in my category. I came out of it running strong, when I went back to my home town in October to run a 10k I was expecting a PB and so it came, 39:11, a minute better than my previous best. I had been considering my options for a marathon up to that point, but that race gave me the confidence to contemplate an autumn marathon so I signed up for Valencia. From there my training mileage went up but I kept the focus on speed and active recovery. Two weeks before the marathon I ran a half marathon in Alcoy (a great race by the way), it was a tough course with the first eleven kilometres all uphill but I made easy work of it, finishing only 30 seconds outside my PB.
With such a good performance behind me I had high expectations for myself in the marathon and thankfully this time I was able to live up to my expectations. I ran 3:11:10, it really marks out that I was right to be disappointed with my first two runs. I was running from starting gun to finish line with only a slight slow down in the last five kilometres. It was not just the highlight of the year but of all my running, it had taken some sacrifices but I achieved a respectable result in the hardest running event going.
However, the year didn't finish there, in my last race I had the chance to take advantage of the marathon training and set a new half marathon PB, Aspe didn't disappoint, 1:26:00 was 87 seconds inside my previous best, and the great thing is I think there is still plenty more to come!
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
I'm not going to make resolutions of the traditional sense, but set myself targets to achieve. I'm going to be bold. When I first started running I told a friend who was a little quicker than me at that point that with training we could be competitive in the small (200-300 people) local races we were competing. While I've got alot closer to the front since then I'm not challenging for podiums, I hope to make the leap to competitiveness in 2012. The table below shows my current best times and related paces and my target time and pace.
| Best times | Pace (min/km) | Target time | Target pace | |
| 100m | 00:15 | 02:30 | 00:14 | 02:20 |
| 200m | 00:32 | 02:40 | 00:30 | 02:30 |
| 400m | 01:11 | 02:58 | 01:06 | 02:45 |
| 500m | 01:32 | 03:04 | 01:24 | 02:48 |
| 800m | 02:35 | 03:14 | 02:21 | 02:56 |
| 1km | 03:15 | 03:15 | 03:00 | 03:00 |
| 10km | 39:11 | 03:55 | 35:00 | 03:30 |
| Half Marathon | 01:26:00 | 04:05 | 01:20:00 | 03:48 |
| Marathon | 03:11:10 | 04:32 | - | - |
Essentially, I'm sticking with the 3-minute kilometre target I set myself after Madrid, all the targets for shorter distances are set with that in mind. A related target is for a 5-minute mile (3:06 min/km pace). I'm still some way from that target, I lowered my PB for 1k by 5 seconds this week, but I need to make up another 15. Knocking four minutes from my best for 10k is also a big ask, but given that I ran under 40 minutes for the first 10k of a half marathon in Aspe I think my PB isn't a great measure of where I am at the moment, in a good flat race I think 37:30 would be possible and from there 35:00 wouldn't be such a huge leap.
For half marathon again it's a tough ask but I feel sub 1:25 isn't far away and its a target for the year, I don't expect to be running sub 1:20 in March but staying injury free through the summer again by next autumn it should be achievable.
I've left the marathon target blank, I'm very happy with the marathon I've done and I don't want to commit myself to another until I'm confident that I can expect another big leap in performance. If I reach my half marathon goal well before the end of the year I might aim for an autumn marathon but at the moment its not in my thoughts.
I look forward to letting you know how I get on with hitting my targets throughout the year.
Happy running and see you in 2012!
El maratonero
Friday, December 30, 2011
Media Maratón de Aspe 18/12/2011
My last race of the calendar year was an opportunity to take advantage of all my marathon training and have a go at getting a decent PB, and that was exactly how it turned out. I finished the race with a chip time of 1:26:00, knocking 87 seconds off my previous best, finishing in 40th place of 583 finishers.
I raced in Aspe two years ago, I ran a PB then too, and followed that up with PB's in my following three races, I have my fingers crossed that I can repeat the feat now.
In Aspe, I was aiming to run at 4:00min/km pace, after a slow first kilometre I got into my rhythm and I ended the first 5k inside my target pace (19:51), the next two 5k splits were almost exactly on target (20:01 and 20:09 respectively) but from there I started to struggle to keep the pace up, I wasn't helped by a strong, cold wind, the fourth 5k was done in 21:23. I found my form again for the last kilometre, getting back on 4min/km pace. Looking at the splits it seems that running under 1:25 is within my grasp and that will be my aim in the next race.
Seeing as the year is about to come to a close I'll be back soon with my New Year running resolutions, until then...
Happy Running
I raced in Aspe two years ago, I ran a PB then too, and followed that up with PB's in my following three races, I have my fingers crossed that I can repeat the feat now.
In Aspe, I was aiming to run at 4:00min/km pace, after a slow first kilometre I got into my rhythm and I ended the first 5k inside my target pace (19:51), the next two 5k splits were almost exactly on target (20:01 and 20:09 respectively) but from there I started to struggle to keep the pace up, I wasn't helped by a strong, cold wind, the fourth 5k was done in 21:23. I found my form again for the last kilometre, getting back on 4min/km pace. Looking at the splits it seems that running under 1:25 is within my grasp and that will be my aim in the next race.
Seeing as the year is about to come to a close I'll be back soon with my New Year running resolutions, until then...
Happy Running
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Mission Accomplished!!!
Some three weeks ago now (27th November) I took part in my third marathon, in Valencia, and after two disappointing efforts over the distance I finally got it right! After the previous two efforts I felt a mixture of relief at finishing, a little joy, but the overriding feeling was of disappointment at not being able to complete the races running all the way round and feeling that I hadn't done myself justice. This time it was pretty much just joy!
I finished the race in 3:12:49 with a chip time of 3:11:04 (although with my watch I had 3:11:10 and given that the leaders had this same difference of six seconds between chip and real I'm going with my watch) which is an improvement of about 55 minutes from my previous best. As with any other race I've ever done, I still feel I could have done better, hindsight is both a blessing and a curse, but I am content that I was close to reaching the limits of my performance as they stand. I ran all the way round, with a steady pace most of the way. I slowed a bit from kilometre 35 to 40, but even in that split I was still about 20 seconds per kilometre quicker than in my fastest 5k split when I ran in Madrid.
Thank you Valencia! I have to say the course was perfect, the weather was perfect, there were plenty of people on the street cheering us on, live music around the course, it was set up perfectly for me to have a great run, and thankfully I could take advantage of the opportunity. You can see my run here Maraton de Valencia de elmaratonero en Garmin Connect: Detalles.
Like many people, occasionally I suffer from moments of self-doubt, what I gain from running is the self-belief that comes from seeing that if I put my mind to achieving a goal with persistence and hard work I can achieve it. November 27th 2011 will be a day I will be able to look back on in those moments of self doubt and say 'yes I can', there aren't many harder challenges than running a marathon, if I can do that well I can do anything.
Thanks for reading and accompanying me on this journey.
I'll be back soon with more stories from the roads.
Hasta pronto
El maratonero
I finished the race in 3:12:49 with a chip time of 3:11:04 (although with my watch I had 3:11:10 and given that the leaders had this same difference of six seconds between chip and real I'm going with my watch) which is an improvement of about 55 minutes from my previous best. As with any other race I've ever done, I still feel I could have done better, hindsight is both a blessing and a curse, but I am content that I was close to reaching the limits of my performance as they stand. I ran all the way round, with a steady pace most of the way. I slowed a bit from kilometre 35 to 40, but even in that split I was still about 20 seconds per kilometre quicker than in my fastest 5k split when I ran in Madrid.
Thank you Valencia! I have to say the course was perfect, the weather was perfect, there were plenty of people on the street cheering us on, live music around the course, it was set up perfectly for me to have a great run, and thankfully I could take advantage of the opportunity. You can see my run here Maraton de Valencia de elmaratonero en Garmin Connect: Detalles.
Like many people, occasionally I suffer from moments of self-doubt, what I gain from running is the self-belief that comes from seeing that if I put my mind to achieving a goal with persistence and hard work I can achieve it. November 27th 2011 will be a day I will be able to look back on in those moments of self doubt and say 'yes I can', there aren't many harder challenges than running a marathon, if I can do that well I can do anything.
Thanks for reading and accompanying me on this journey.
I'll be back soon with more stories from the roads.
Hasta pronto
El maratonero
Saturday, November 19, 2011
8 days to the marathon!!!!
It has been a long time since my last entry and there is alot to catch up on. First the big news, some weeks ago now I decided to enter the marathon in Valencia. I had been thinking about it throughout the summer but I didn't want to enter until I was confident I could do myself justice and, unlike Madrid and London, I could leave getting signed up until close to the day of the race, even now I think you can enter, you can see here http://maratondivinapastoravalencia.com/.
With one week to go I am in a much better state than in the lead up to my previous marathon attempts which were both hampered by injuries. Right now I have some pain in my calves but within a couple of days I'm confident it will have resolved itself, I stupidly tried to make a big change to my running form too quickly, essentially switching from heel-striking to forefoot-striking. Long term it is a change I want to make, its just not the right time now.
I have had two races since my last entry, both were good events for me and both are deserving of having an entry dedicated to them. So after a drought of entries look forward to a glut over the next couple of days.
In the meantime, happy running!
With one week to go I am in a much better state than in the lead up to my previous marathon attempts which were both hampered by injuries. Right now I have some pain in my calves but within a couple of days I'm confident it will have resolved itself, I stupidly tried to make a big change to my running form too quickly, essentially switching from heel-striking to forefoot-striking. Long term it is a change I want to make, its just not the right time now.
I have had two races since my last entry, both were good events for me and both are deserving of having an entry dedicated to them. So after a drought of entries look forward to a glut over the next couple of days.
In the meantime, happy running!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Return to racing
I have competed in two races in the last two weeks and notable success has been achieved in both, it seems progress is being made!
First was a 6k cross on the beach in Playa de San Juan, well half was on the beach, the other half was on the promenade. The big success for this race was that for the first time I won a trophy, I was fifth in my category and there were trophies for the first five in each category. You can see the trophy in all its glory below:
I have to admit, my probability of success in the race was greatly improved by the fact that there was a very popular duathlon race taking place about 10 kilometres along the coast so while the earlier races had averaged about 200 participants this one only had 72. I finished 10th overall and in my category there were just 15 runners. Nevertheless, I was very glad to win the trophy and I ran a good time, it was 5.8km and I got round in 22:12, averaging 3:50min/km.
Yesterday I was in my hometown, Northampton, conveniently enough the same day as the town's only popular running event. Up until 3 years ago there was no such event at all so I was glad to support the race, although it was clear that the organization could be improved, and as I've found in other races in England the goodie bag was a poor effort, it made the entry fee look very expensive. I hope the event keeps going and that they can make the required improvements (key points: more toilets at start line, make residents better informed of road closures, get more sponsors on board = better goodie bag, set a cutoff for finishing i.e. 90 minutes for 10k) because the town has alot to offer.
Anyway, with the choice of a 5k and 10k race I opted for the 10k. After my 10k training PB I really wanted a race to see what I could do, and perhaps unsurprising, I got a PB! My previous 10k pb in a race was 40:14 some 3 years ago, this time I got round in 39:22 but with a chipped time of 39:11 while I finished in 43rd place of 1,540 runners. I'm glad to have achieved the PB, it's only my second of the year, the other was in the marathon, and I was certainly due in. However, I think there is definitely more to come, I'd been nursing a cold earlier in the week and had an unsettled stomach before the race, less than perfect preparation, but I still managed a solid time. I went out reasonably hard once I'd negotiated the crowds at the start (apparently some people had difficulty reading the signs splitting runners by targeted finish times) and managed to hold things together all the way round, although I was struggling on an uphill section at about 6km and the last uphill bit in the last kilometre. I could hear some footsteps creeping up on me in the last couple of hundred metres but I managed to find something of a sprint finish to hold them off.
I'll be back with another post soon to talk through my plans for running in the next few months, hopefully yesterday's PB will set me up well for more in the next few months.
Until then, happy running!
First was a 6k cross on the beach in Playa de San Juan, well half was on the beach, the other half was on the promenade. The big success for this race was that for the first time I won a trophy, I was fifth in my category and there were trophies for the first five in each category. You can see the trophy in all its glory below:
I have to admit, my probability of success in the race was greatly improved by the fact that there was a very popular duathlon race taking place about 10 kilometres along the coast so while the earlier races had averaged about 200 participants this one only had 72. I finished 10th overall and in my category there were just 15 runners. Nevertheless, I was very glad to win the trophy and I ran a good time, it was 5.8km and I got round in 22:12, averaging 3:50min/km.
Yesterday I was in my hometown, Northampton, conveniently enough the same day as the town's only popular running event. Up until 3 years ago there was no such event at all so I was glad to support the race, although it was clear that the organization could be improved, and as I've found in other races in England the goodie bag was a poor effort, it made the entry fee look very expensive. I hope the event keeps going and that they can make the required improvements (key points: more toilets at start line, make residents better informed of road closures, get more sponsors on board = better goodie bag, set a cutoff for finishing i.e. 90 minutes for 10k) because the town has alot to offer.
Anyway, with the choice of a 5k and 10k race I opted for the 10k. After my 10k training PB I really wanted a race to see what I could do, and perhaps unsurprising, I got a PB! My previous 10k pb in a race was 40:14 some 3 years ago, this time I got round in 39:22 but with a chipped time of 39:11 while I finished in 43rd place of 1,540 runners. I'm glad to have achieved the PB, it's only my second of the year, the other was in the marathon, and I was certainly due in. However, I think there is definitely more to come, I'd been nursing a cold earlier in the week and had an unsettled stomach before the race, less than perfect preparation, but I still managed a solid time. I went out reasonably hard once I'd negotiated the crowds at the start (apparently some people had difficulty reading the signs splitting runners by targeted finish times) and managed to hold things together all the way round, although I was struggling on an uphill section at about 6km and the last uphill bit in the last kilometre. I could hear some footsteps creeping up on me in the last couple of hundred metres but I managed to find something of a sprint finish to hold them off.
I'll be back with another post soon to talk through my plans for running in the next few months, hopefully yesterday's PB will set me up well for more in the next few months.
Until then, happy running!
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