Manchester Marathon training update - 11th April 2012
Training has been pretty good for this years marathon attempt, which takes place in Manchester on 29th April. No injuries of note (just a bit of runners knee, even the shins have held up and my non clicking ankle has finally clicked and so no more grumbling tendon pain there either!), but the weekly plodding away has become a tad monotonous of late, especially as last years training partner Dan Burgess had decided not to partake in this years festivities.
He has taken on a whole new challenge this year, namely the Aberystwyth Triathlon despite not being a swimmer. He recently told me that he's forewarned the RSPCA not to call out their whale distress response unit on the 10th of June as his out of the water transition technique still needs a bit of work....
The lunchtime gatherings have been pretty frequent, with Steve King, a rapidly improving Ian Evans and an even faster Sion Meredith all helping me to pack the miles in, and Steve to be fair has even kept me company on some of the two hour affairs.
Weekly mileage has been between 25-45 miles depending on the week and I've even managed a 3 hour run with no gels or food, and that was a killer let me tell you, but hopefully all for a good cause.
Despite all this, I was missing out on racing. I was simply too knackered to race, and apart from the Tregaron half in early Feb, I hadn't raced in 2012.
Something had to give, and after an easy week due to a short break, I saw that the Newtown Chocoholics 5k and Teifi 10 mile were on the schedule for Easter weekend, and I had nothing else planned. I'd missed that weeks speed session and so I could not find an excuse not to go along to Newtown and give it a whirl.
With bail sorted, I set off from home and arrived in Newtown with around 30 minutes to spare, and instantly regretted my lack of notice to the others when Ian Evans informed me that he'd had to catch the train up to Newtown that morning. I immediately offered him a lift home, on the understanding that he was at no point allowed to overtake me in the race.
Other faces appeared, Helen & Jos, although Helen was present in a supporter / judging assistants role due to her stormtrooper leg unit still being attached, John Evans and Helen Stretch.
I had no plan for the race. I'm not in 5k pb form, all I had missing from the week was a speed session and so (with hindsight stupidly) took off at a frantic pace - 3.19 for the first 1k and even then i wasn't near the front. There were some seriously fast and young runners out there, and I was experimenting to see how quick I could go and for how long...
The answer came soon enough, after approximately 1.5k! The legs slowed, the lumbar muscles gave out and I started to get 'untidy'.
I quick look at the watch and I was still doing a great pace but it was hurting and wouldn't last. My Clwb Meirionydd ally ran ahead, and would later record a 17 minute time. I saw a hill coming, didn't know the course and crumbled slightly inside. The pace slowed further and I wished to collapse in the nearest hedge. This was harder than the three hour run, and I was only 8 minutes in!!!
Next up, a turn. This was good news as it meant we'd be running back down the longish hill. This didn't really help as I was on the ropes and Maldwyn Harrier after Maldwyn Harrier passed me by. Even their 12 year old youth runner got in on the act on his way to a mid 18!
I knew that Jos, on his way back from injury and an ever improving Ian would be hot on my heels. To be honest this was the only thing stopping me from keeling over, and as it was I managed to hold them off by around 5 seconds on the line. Moral of the story - do not have delusions of granduer in a 5k running race - it hurts.
Next up after one days rest was the Teifi 10 miler in Lampeter, a favourite race of mine and a definate chance at a pb for the distance.
The conditions were ideal for me, very cool but still, and the 5k was already out of my legs.
I set off at target pace and spent the first two miles trying not to turn around and give the two guys behind me a piece of my mind. They were talking as if out for a Sunday stroll at 6 minute miling pace. It later transpired (when they past me) that they were none other than Carwyn and Andrew Abbot of Sarn Helen, obviously not taking the race at their regular pace and so they continued to chew the fat whilst the rest of us struggled to maintain pace.
The first 5 miles saw me battle hard to keep on target as it seemed to be more uphill then down but at 5 miles the watch said 32 minutes dead, which was great but it had hurt. As the towel was about to be thrown in I was passed by a TROTS guy and found the strength to tag along with him. The pace was good and with the slight downhill, the chance of a sub 64 was back on.
Mile after mile through Cellan, we continued until another TROTS guy came past and my colleague jumped on his train, leaving me to battle on alone. Nevetheless, my pace was still good and I cleaned up a few stragglers on the run-in, including a flagging Mr Abbot to take a 63.30 odd time on the line and a PB by over a minute and a half. Mission accomplished.
Day 3 of the racing weekend was the club league 5 miler. Pretty much everyone had run alot over the weekend and so were all in for a toughie. The pace started steadily and Mark Smith took up the reins, albiet at a slower than usual pace as he himself had raced three times on the Saturday and Sunday.
Ian Evans didn't seem to be feeling it too badly and he soon took command of second place. My legs started giving me grief at two miles and despite this I battled on, as the clock was being kind.
Burgess came past at about 3.5 miles en-route to an attempted Evans hunt-down, but I couldn't respond and plugged on at around 6.50 (marathon pace). As we approached the Bandstand, a sub 32 was still achievable, and with a bit of a flourish, this was achieved just behind Mr B.
All in all, the 5 mile times were good, and everyone deserves a pat on the back for their efforts.
That's enough racing for now, I will now enjoy a two week taper before the big one on April 29th!
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Monday, 13 February 2012
Tregaron Half Marathon
After spending months deliberating as to whether to enter another marathon this spring to have another crack at the magic sub 3 hour time, I finally entered the reborn Manchester marathon (29th April) after missing out on a ballot place for London.
This meant that i would have to start doing some 'proper' training again this year, after having a pretty sedentary few weeks after the Aber 10k in mid December.
Despite Steve Kings best efforts to coax me out on the now famous Aber AC lunchtime bash, my excuses each day/week ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, although I did manage a couple of wheezy outings.
I had actually been doing some training, a few decent evening tempo runs and of course the Tuesday night speed sessions, but nowt much else and so mileage had suffered.
Knowing that the Tregaron half was looming in the distance, it came as quite a surprise last Tuesday when Bash asked 'are you doing Tregaron on Sunday?' to which I auto responded 'yes' despite subconsciously thinking it was weeks away!
On the day the conditions were nigh on perfect. A cold yet not too cold stillness made for a perfect body thermostat regulator and there was no wind of note either! After a very short warm up the race began and my initail idea of keeping to marathon pace for an approx 1.30 time soon went out the windowas the race blew to bits straight from the gun.
The usual gaggle of Sarn Helen elites and other fast men & women disappeared into the distance yet Steve King, Dave Powell and myself were not too far behind, but the pace was 6 minute miling and my thoughts went into panick mode. This was my 5k pace, not half marathon!!
I figured Dave knew what he was doing and so decided to try and keep up with him. Once we hit the hills after the turn off the main road we dispensed with our two companions but my horrible lactic burn in my lower legs (the result of not warming up enough - happens alot!) was becoming unbearable. If Dave would have known this I'm sure he'd have pressed on. As it was I decided to man up and carry on the dreadful pace...
As we lumped ourselves over each steep climb between miles 4 and 8, we saw Steve King yo-yo to and from us but we never actually made up the gap.
On one climb I managed to distance myself from Dave only for him to come stomping back minutes later. I decided that it would be best to ease off the gas on the climbs so that I stood a chance of keeping with him on the flat. My descending has come on leeps since last year and I now know how to relax and take the handbrake off, but it was on the flat roads that my slight weight gain and lack of recent mileage was starting to show.
Onto the flat final 5 miles and I hoped that we could up the pace to 6.20 ish to try and claw back some time on Steve. I was a pathetic passenger as Dave plodded on in the wind as I hid like Mark Cavendish in his slipstream. We were caught with 4 to go by Stafford Rees from Rhayader, in the same place that he caught me last year, how annoying!
Our pace was never quite 6.30 but we were still going well and a look at the watch told me that we were on for a 1.25 or 6, barring a catastrophe.
As we exited the old railway and onto the road the thighs started to complain and despite my best efforts I just couldn't hold Dave who stole 10 metres on me. One look back and I had another chaser about to make contact. In this kind of situation, the animal is unleashed and I upped my game, determined not to lose position at this stage in the race. I managed a kick and couldn't quite catch Dave, but held off the pursuiter and so it was an Aber 3 up finish with Steve coming in a minute up the road.
Steve's improvement has set a new benchmark for the season for the rest of us. Roll on the next race!!
This meant that i would have to start doing some 'proper' training again this year, after having a pretty sedentary few weeks after the Aber 10k in mid December.
Despite Steve Kings best efforts to coax me out on the now famous Aber AC lunchtime bash, my excuses each day/week ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, although I did manage a couple of wheezy outings.
I had actually been doing some training, a few decent evening tempo runs and of course the Tuesday night speed sessions, but nowt much else and so mileage had suffered.
Knowing that the Tregaron half was looming in the distance, it came as quite a surprise last Tuesday when Bash asked 'are you doing Tregaron on Sunday?' to which I auto responded 'yes' despite subconsciously thinking it was weeks away!
On the day the conditions were nigh on perfect. A cold yet not too cold stillness made for a perfect body thermostat regulator and there was no wind of note either! After a very short warm up the race began and my initail idea of keeping to marathon pace for an approx 1.30 time soon went out the windowas the race blew to bits straight from the gun.
The usual gaggle of Sarn Helen elites and other fast men & women disappeared into the distance yet Steve King, Dave Powell and myself were not too far behind, but the pace was 6 minute miling and my thoughts went into panick mode. This was my 5k pace, not half marathon!!
I figured Dave knew what he was doing and so decided to try and keep up with him. Once we hit the hills after the turn off the main road we dispensed with our two companions but my horrible lactic burn in my lower legs (the result of not warming up enough - happens alot!) was becoming unbearable. If Dave would have known this I'm sure he'd have pressed on. As it was I decided to man up and carry on the dreadful pace...
As we lumped ourselves over each steep climb between miles 4 and 8, we saw Steve King yo-yo to and from us but we never actually made up the gap.
On one climb I managed to distance myself from Dave only for him to come stomping back minutes later. I decided that it would be best to ease off the gas on the climbs so that I stood a chance of keeping with him on the flat. My descending has come on leeps since last year and I now know how to relax and take the handbrake off, but it was on the flat roads that my slight weight gain and lack of recent mileage was starting to show.
Onto the flat final 5 miles and I hoped that we could up the pace to 6.20 ish to try and claw back some time on Steve. I was a pathetic passenger as Dave plodded on in the wind as I hid like Mark Cavendish in his slipstream. We were caught with 4 to go by Stafford Rees from Rhayader, in the same place that he caught me last year, how annoying!
Our pace was never quite 6.30 but we were still going well and a look at the watch told me that we were on for a 1.25 or 6, barring a catastrophe.
As we exited the old railway and onto the road the thighs started to complain and despite my best efforts I just couldn't hold Dave who stole 10 metres on me. One look back and I had another chaser about to make contact. In this kind of situation, the animal is unleashed and I upped my game, determined not to lose position at this stage in the race. I managed a kick and couldn't quite catch Dave, but held off the pursuiter and so it was an Aber 3 up finish with Steve coming in a minute up the road.
Steve's improvement has set a new benchmark for the season for the rest of us. Roll on the next race!!
Monday, 21 November 2011
Rhayader 10 Mile - November 2011
Rhayader 10 Mile - Elan Village - 19/11/11
As part of an effort to do a few more races and to get in tip-top shape for the upcoming Aber 10k, I decided to follow the Ian Evans performance plan and race race race!
After meeting the aforementioned gentleman, we were collected from Llanbadarn petrol station by another fastman, James Thomas from the Uni team who offered to drive. Bridget also pulled up for a refuel and informed us of a few others heading over. In all there must have been well over 10 members of Aber AC, many of whom had done a few laps of Pudseys Marathon the previous evening.
The brights skies of Aberystwyth gave way to slightly duller coverage over Pumlymon, yet for November, we weren't complaining and in Elan Village, the weather was pretty much perfect for road running.
The visitor centre voyer filled up and we met up with Dave Powell, Cameron, Gron, Sian, at least two Helen's, Bridget and even the mighty Bash had come along for the race. Kevin and Geth Holland also showed up and with some members heading over to the Dyfi 8 which unfortunately clashed with the Elan 10, it seemed a very active weekend for Aber AC.
The dilemma of what to wear was fairly easy as the conditions were mild and so it was the summer kit that clung on yet another week deeper into the supposed winter. Shorts & vest it was then.
My plan was to race for position which is totally against every other race I've done this year, save the Twin Peaks I suppose. Even though the race was a standard distance, it was too hilly to record a top time on and so I was no longer a slave to the Garmin pace setting watch, i just raced instead of time trialling. This tactic usually sees me wheezing and going backwards at some catastrophic point, usually at around half way as I would have already spent my race tokens for the day way too early, but with nothing to lose i went for it.
The first mile was an easy downhill affair and I made the front pack and tried not to be alarmed at the sight of an early leader streaking away from us. Mile 1 was completed in 5mins 30 seconds and the alarm bells rang. This was 30 seconds quicker than PB 5km pace! Not to panic, I put it down to the downhiil section and besides, I felt comfortable in about 7th place. Mile 2 was a slightly more stable 6.10 and again, things felt good. We hit the climb and i found myself at the front of what was left of our group. James Thomas had been feigning his pace up until now and he hit 5th gear on the climb and streaked ahead. I also thought I felt good and decided to track him, big mistake!
By the top of the climb I hit the purple zone, the bit after the red zone which is the bit when you imagine that this is what it must feel like to be drowning. This feeling usually means game over, reduce pace to trotting standards and limp home red faced, but there were still just under 8 miles to go!
I decided to man up and deal with the pain, and posted a 7.33 mile for mile three. My pack caught me up but I managed to find something to tuck in with them. I guess the hill had hurt everyone.
By mile 4 I 'came good'. The drowning sensation had gone and I was back in the 6.10-6.30 pace bracket, although it was uncomfortable with all the undulations.... The next few miles were spent with two other guys. I was the demon descender (unusually!) whilst one of my new friends was handy on the sharp uphills and the other seemed great on the long gradual decents. We worked like a pack of three breakaway cyclists trying to hold off a marauding Tour de France peleton and so we were able to stay ahead of the other chasers. At around mile 7 I pulled away from the two yet was overtaken myself by a young guy dressed all in black who looked like he was out for a Sunday stroll. I decided it would be unwise to give chase and anyway, I had my own problems as my pursuiters Darth Vader style breathing made it feel like he was on my shoulder. He was actually about 50 metres behind me but it was very off-putting!
Coming into the last two miles and I could see the man in black and also the guy in pink who was in fourth place. I was actually reeling them back but only very gradually and not at a pace that would enable me to catch them. Darth Vader had also gone quiet. I still feared him as some uber tactician who had decided to go silent as he actually got up to me, to then crush me with an un-witting catch in the final metres. I hate looking around but I had to for peace of mind. Darth was thankfully well back and still breathing hard and so I was able to take 6th place and as a bonus, a new PB by around 25 seconds from last years Teifi 10. I'll take that and remember not to try the racing part too often as it so nearly ended in tears!
As part of an effort to do a few more races and to get in tip-top shape for the upcoming Aber 10k, I decided to follow the Ian Evans performance plan and race race race!
After meeting the aforementioned gentleman, we were collected from Llanbadarn petrol station by another fastman, James Thomas from the Uni team who offered to drive. Bridget also pulled up for a refuel and informed us of a few others heading over. In all there must have been well over 10 members of Aber AC, many of whom had done a few laps of Pudseys Marathon the previous evening.
The brights skies of Aberystwyth gave way to slightly duller coverage over Pumlymon, yet for November, we weren't complaining and in Elan Village, the weather was pretty much perfect for road running.
The visitor centre voyer filled up and we met up with Dave Powell, Cameron, Gron, Sian, at least two Helen's, Bridget and even the mighty Bash had come along for the race. Kevin and Geth Holland also showed up and with some members heading over to the Dyfi 8 which unfortunately clashed with the Elan 10, it seemed a very active weekend for Aber AC.
The dilemma of what to wear was fairly easy as the conditions were mild and so it was the summer kit that clung on yet another week deeper into the supposed winter. Shorts & vest it was then.
My plan was to race for position which is totally against every other race I've done this year, save the Twin Peaks I suppose. Even though the race was a standard distance, it was too hilly to record a top time on and so I was no longer a slave to the Garmin pace setting watch, i just raced instead of time trialling. This tactic usually sees me wheezing and going backwards at some catastrophic point, usually at around half way as I would have already spent my race tokens for the day way too early, but with nothing to lose i went for it.
The first mile was an easy downhill affair and I made the front pack and tried not to be alarmed at the sight of an early leader streaking away from us. Mile 1 was completed in 5mins 30 seconds and the alarm bells rang. This was 30 seconds quicker than PB 5km pace! Not to panic, I put it down to the downhiil section and besides, I felt comfortable in about 7th place. Mile 2 was a slightly more stable 6.10 and again, things felt good. We hit the climb and i found myself at the front of what was left of our group. James Thomas had been feigning his pace up until now and he hit 5th gear on the climb and streaked ahead. I also thought I felt good and decided to track him, big mistake!
By the top of the climb I hit the purple zone, the bit after the red zone which is the bit when you imagine that this is what it must feel like to be drowning. This feeling usually means game over, reduce pace to trotting standards and limp home red faced, but there were still just under 8 miles to go!
I decided to man up and deal with the pain, and posted a 7.33 mile for mile three. My pack caught me up but I managed to find something to tuck in with them. I guess the hill had hurt everyone.
By mile 4 I 'came good'. The drowning sensation had gone and I was back in the 6.10-6.30 pace bracket, although it was uncomfortable with all the undulations.... The next few miles were spent with two other guys. I was the demon descender (unusually!) whilst one of my new friends was handy on the sharp uphills and the other seemed great on the long gradual decents. We worked like a pack of three breakaway cyclists trying to hold off a marauding Tour de France peleton and so we were able to stay ahead of the other chasers. At around mile 7 I pulled away from the two yet was overtaken myself by a young guy dressed all in black who looked like he was out for a Sunday stroll. I decided it would be unwise to give chase and anyway, I had my own problems as my pursuiters Darth Vader style breathing made it feel like he was on my shoulder. He was actually about 50 metres behind me but it was very off-putting!
Coming into the last two miles and I could see the man in black and also the guy in pink who was in fourth place. I was actually reeling them back but only very gradually and not at a pace that would enable me to catch them. Darth Vader had also gone quiet. I still feared him as some uber tactician who had decided to go silent as he actually got up to me, to then crush me with an un-witting catch in the final metres. I hate looking around but I had to for peace of mind. Darth was thankfully well back and still breathing hard and so I was able to take 6th place and as a bonus, a new PB by around 25 seconds from last years Teifi 10. I'll take that and remember not to try the racing part too often as it so nearly ended in tears!
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Dim Llundain in 2012!
Ballot application unsuccessful, so time to choose another event around April 2012 and get training.
Burgess currently has Shingles.....wuss!
Burgess currently has Shingles.....wuss!
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Snowdon Marathon 2011
Yes, I've entered. Blame Ian Evans and Brian Ashton who have managed to pursuade half the Aber AC club to join them this October for Europe's hardest 26.2 marathon event.
Look out for some blogs as we prepare. I'm not going to have a plan like London. It is not a fast course and so I'm going to go and enjoy the day with no target. I'll throw in a few long mileage runs in the run up and see what happens !!!
Look out for some blogs as we prepare. I'm not going to have a plan like London. It is not a fast course and so I'm going to go and enjoy the day with no target. I'll throw in a few long mileage runs in the run up and see what happens !!!
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Job done
and finally....it's over.
Where to start? I suppose I'll start with the result - 3hrs 12minutes odd. Thats probably a bit faster than most thought I'd do. I secretly attempted a 2.59 on the day only to be shot down by the man with the hammer at 17 miles like so many others. I didn't blow completely, just a gradual painfull slowdown to 8min miles rather than the 6.51's until the last couple when i struggled not to walk.
My conservative estimation was 3.20 ish so overall .... I'm very very happy!
Dan also had a good one, our training definately paying off as he surprised himself too with a cool 3.18. We were together until 5 or 6 miles when he thought better of my suicidal pace and went into his own pace zone. Another two miles and he would have caught me. My last mile was a ten minuter!!
Lessons learnt - train longer! Our long runs were mostly 10-16 miles, which were great if you were running, 10 to 16 mile races i suppose!
The day started well. Well, almost. We caught the DLR to Woolwich and then the overground to Blackheath. The train was full and Dan spotted an empty seat. It soon became apparent as to why the seat was empty...it was next to the only non athlete on the train, a middle aged gent who was probably on his seventh can of Stella that morning (it was 8am after all).
The next 10 minutes was spent trying not to breathe in as he explained repeatedly that the ban on alcohol in snooker & darts was a farce as the players simply topped up whilst the cameras weren't pointed their way.
I nodded and smiled and Dan smirked probably due to the fact that he had the window seat. Thanks for that one Dan ;-)
The park in Greenwich was buzzing, and it was fairly cool with a slight morning haze - perfect conditions! We made our first beginners error by placing our finish bags in the lorry straight away whilst everyone else held onto theirs so that they could sit on the plastic so as to avoid a wet bum. Doh!
Time then stood still as it seemed like hours to wait until the start. Toilet visit after toilet visit and the nerves piled up. We entered the start zones, Dan in zone 3 and me in zone 2 due to the different estimations that we applied with. Not to worry, I headed to the back of zone 2 and Dan to the head of zone 3. The zones merged in any case as we walked towards the actual start area and we were united once again.
The race got underway and the expected slow down of pace due to the shear numbers didn't materialise too badly, probably as we started so far up the grip. The first mile was a 7.17 so not too bad at all.
The crowds continued to build, something I'll never forget. It seemed like a crowd from the mountains of the Tour de France, but it continued for 26.2 miles! In some places it even got emotional! The heat did unfortunately build aswell, culminating in a rather hot day and so it was a bottle of water every two miles without fail from 4 miles onwards!
The first 17 miles were perfect. No pain, feeling better than any run, ever. All the niggles gone, hydration - perfect, energy - perfect, pace - not a problem, breathing - fine. Every mile ticked off in precision at 6.40 - 7 min miling.
Only when I got back to Westferry did I start to realise the hamstrings were tightening. Not only them, but the thighs also. I ignored it at first but it became increasingly harder to maintain pace and so by 18 miles i was falling behind. I even saw Carwyn from Sarn Helen walking! Even the realisation that this may be my only ever chance to beat the mighty Sarn Helen runner could not prevent my slowdown!
This was not a pain I am used to. The only other time its happened has been Rhayader 20, so I suppose its an endurance muscular thing. In any case, 7 miles to run with this was impossible at the pace i needed. Maybe 2 or three would have been possible, but not 7 and so I surrendered and went into damage limitation mode. This worked a treat as I was still able to knock out some 8 (ish) min miles and although a horrendous last 10k where i didn't enjoy the crowds or the Mall one bit, i was still able to come home with a satisfactory time. A last minute look to check i was in a Burgess free zone set off a panic attack as the lad outsprinting me bore a resemblence to Dan, even down to the blue vest!
Like I said, his tactics almost paid off as he would have past me had there been another couple of km's in it.
The last few months have been fun. I can't confirm nor deny that Dan has burnt his trainers, but hopefully we'll see sense in a few days and plan to use this for more running adventures later in the year :-)
Where to start? I suppose I'll start with the result - 3hrs 12minutes odd. Thats probably a bit faster than most thought I'd do. I secretly attempted a 2.59 on the day only to be shot down by the man with the hammer at 17 miles like so many others. I didn't blow completely, just a gradual painfull slowdown to 8min miles rather than the 6.51's until the last couple when i struggled not to walk.
My conservative estimation was 3.20 ish so overall .... I'm very very happy!
Dan also had a good one, our training definately paying off as he surprised himself too with a cool 3.18. We were together until 5 or 6 miles when he thought better of my suicidal pace and went into his own pace zone. Another two miles and he would have caught me. My last mile was a ten minuter!!
Lessons learnt - train longer! Our long runs were mostly 10-16 miles, which were great if you were running, 10 to 16 mile races i suppose!
The day started well. Well, almost. We caught the DLR to Woolwich and then the overground to Blackheath. The train was full and Dan spotted an empty seat. It soon became apparent as to why the seat was empty...it was next to the only non athlete on the train, a middle aged gent who was probably on his seventh can of Stella that morning (it was 8am after all).
The next 10 minutes was spent trying not to breathe in as he explained repeatedly that the ban on alcohol in snooker & darts was a farce as the players simply topped up whilst the cameras weren't pointed their way.
I nodded and smiled and Dan smirked probably due to the fact that he had the window seat. Thanks for that one Dan ;-)
The park in Greenwich was buzzing, and it was fairly cool with a slight morning haze - perfect conditions! We made our first beginners error by placing our finish bags in the lorry straight away whilst everyone else held onto theirs so that they could sit on the plastic so as to avoid a wet bum. Doh!
Time then stood still as it seemed like hours to wait until the start. Toilet visit after toilet visit and the nerves piled up. We entered the start zones, Dan in zone 3 and me in zone 2 due to the different estimations that we applied with. Not to worry, I headed to the back of zone 2 and Dan to the head of zone 3. The zones merged in any case as we walked towards the actual start area and we were united once again.
The race got underway and the expected slow down of pace due to the shear numbers didn't materialise too badly, probably as we started so far up the grip. The first mile was a 7.17 so not too bad at all.
The crowds continued to build, something I'll never forget. It seemed like a crowd from the mountains of the Tour de France, but it continued for 26.2 miles! In some places it even got emotional! The heat did unfortunately build aswell, culminating in a rather hot day and so it was a bottle of water every two miles without fail from 4 miles onwards!
The first 17 miles were perfect. No pain, feeling better than any run, ever. All the niggles gone, hydration - perfect, energy - perfect, pace - not a problem, breathing - fine. Every mile ticked off in precision at 6.40 - 7 min miling.
Only when I got back to Westferry did I start to realise the hamstrings were tightening. Not only them, but the thighs also. I ignored it at first but it became increasingly harder to maintain pace and so by 18 miles i was falling behind. I even saw Carwyn from Sarn Helen walking! Even the realisation that this may be my only ever chance to beat the mighty Sarn Helen runner could not prevent my slowdown!
This was not a pain I am used to. The only other time its happened has been Rhayader 20, so I suppose its an endurance muscular thing. In any case, 7 miles to run with this was impossible at the pace i needed. Maybe 2 or three would have been possible, but not 7 and so I surrendered and went into damage limitation mode. This worked a treat as I was still able to knock out some 8 (ish) min miles and although a horrendous last 10k where i didn't enjoy the crowds or the Mall one bit, i was still able to come home with a satisfactory time. A last minute look to check i was in a Burgess free zone set off a panic attack as the lad outsprinting me bore a resemblence to Dan, even down to the blue vest!
Like I said, his tactics almost paid off as he would have past me had there been another couple of km's in it.
The last few months have been fun. I can't confirm nor deny that Dan has burnt his trainers, but hopefully we'll see sense in a few days and plan to use this for more running adventures later in the year :-)
Monday, 11 April 2011
A New Hope / Hop
Going into the final week and it's neck and neck between the two Aber AC lads for bragging rights. I had a fantastic 10 miler during the week when everything went well for once. It was a joy to be running and the zone was definately entered as I stomped round in 1.09 without feeling it too badly at all.
Fast forward to Saturday and Burgess turned on the reserve power he's been storing and left me for dead on the cycle path in true sub 7 min mile style.....
Now its all about getting the logistics right, making sure we actually remember all the nitty gritty things that you only need to remember for London. The usual local race attitude must be left behind. No turning up by doing doughnuts around the bends of Cwm Elan to make the 5k with 3 minutes to spare, sign on and pin your number as the starters gun goes off. We need military planning and the ability to catch trains and the like at silly o'clock in the morning. It's gonna be tough. The running will be the easier part!
Where will Olwen watch? Her sense of direction is worse than mine. Do we attempt to plan her some multi vantage points knowing full well that this will probably mean she'll miss the entire event due to being stuck somewhere near the Thames barrier? Shall I pack my phone in with my competitors finish bag?? All questions that we'll need to nail down over the next few days.
I had been worried about how i was reacting to all the traning, but that one run, which i admittedly did after a few easy days, did show that I'm more efficient and fitter than before. If I feel like that on the day, then I should have a good chance of turning in a good performance.
Next weeks report will be the final one in the saga. No matter how it goes, it will be a good one to read as I try to make sense of this crazy event and how we all got on.
Fast forward to Saturday and Burgess turned on the reserve power he's been storing and left me for dead on the cycle path in true sub 7 min mile style.....
Now its all about getting the logistics right, making sure we actually remember all the nitty gritty things that you only need to remember for London. The usual local race attitude must be left behind. No turning up by doing doughnuts around the bends of Cwm Elan to make the 5k with 3 minutes to spare, sign on and pin your number as the starters gun goes off. We need military planning and the ability to catch trains and the like at silly o'clock in the morning. It's gonna be tough. The running will be the easier part!
Where will Olwen watch? Her sense of direction is worse than mine. Do we attempt to plan her some multi vantage points knowing full well that this will probably mean she'll miss the entire event due to being stuck somewhere near the Thames barrier? Shall I pack my phone in with my competitors finish bag?? All questions that we'll need to nail down over the next few days.
I had been worried about how i was reacting to all the traning, but that one run, which i admittedly did after a few easy days, did show that I'm more efficient and fitter than before. If I feel like that on the day, then I should have a good chance of turning in a good performance.
Next weeks report will be the final one in the saga. No matter how it goes, it will be a good one to read as I try to make sense of this crazy event and how we all got on.
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