Review of 2010

I'm not really sure about writing a review of my running in 2010. On the one hand there are a fair number of positives to write about. On the other hand, I'm much more focused now on looking forward to 2011. I guess that the best approach is to use the results from 2010 to set higher standards for next year.

So here goes the review bit:

This time last year I set my targets for 2010 as getting under 18 minutes for 5k (achieved 4 times, with a best of 17:29), achieving Power of 10 UK ranking times for M55 (done at 5k, 5 miles, 10k, half marathon, 5000m & 10000m) & beating some of the Ilkley Harriers club records for my age group (achieved at 5k, 5 miles, 10k & half marathon). So far so good....... sounds like my goals weren't ambitious enough.

Before the start of 2010 I'd never won any age category prizes in road races, but I managed to be 1st M55 at the Brass Monkey half marathon, Dewsbury 10k, Wakefield 10k, Long Eaton 5 mile & Abbey Dash 10k (on chip time). In addition I got series wins for my age group at the Peco cross country, John Carr 5k & Harrogate & District race league. Having never previously raced on the track, I was pleased to win a British Masters silver medal (5000m) & Northern vets medals: gold (5000m & 10000m) & silver (1500m). Amazingly I was also selected as 1st reserve for the England team for the International cross country in Dublin (even though I'm not much of a cross country runner).

Comparing road race times between 2009 & 2010, I improved at 5k (by 47 seconds), 10k (by 26 seconds) & half marathon (by 7 minutes & 3 seconds). My best UK ranking for the year was 5th in the m55 age group (at 5000m) compared to a best of 163rd in 2009 (10k at m50).

On the downsides, the viral illness that I got in July was quite a big setback, with almost 4 weeks of no running at all, then a very slow process of rebuilding fitness over the following weeks/months. I was also disappointed to miss the chance of running a 10 mile time, as a results of the cancellation of the Thirsk & Garstang races due to ice.

I'm not too concerned about overall distances run, but I did run more than 10% further in 2010 than 2009, with a similar number of rest days. I averaged just over 10k per day throughout the year (despite the time lost through illness).

On to the more important bit, looking ahead to 2011. The European Masters 3000m indoor championships is a race that I'm looking forward to.....not sure what to expect having never raced that distance before, nor raced on an indoor track. I'd like to improve my 5k time again.....if I can continue to get faster at short distances, it should benefit my running at all distances. Overall however, the main objective has to be to run regularly & to enjoy it.

kilometre reps on Rupert Road

I don't like doing interval sessions on my own, I seem to have difficulty pushing myself to run on my own as fast as I can in a group & the session always seems much longer. However, having done no fast running for a couple of weeks & with no track session this week and no race at the weekend, I decided that today I needed to do some kilometre reps.

I ran around Rupert Road/Denton Road, with a Garmin measured kilometre distance going slightly downhill. I figured that the downhill compensates for running the efforts on my own - it's my session so I can make up my own rules. I did eight reps with jog recoveries of 3-4 minutes.

My average was 3:43 per km, which is about 2.5 seconds slower than I did for the same session in mid November. Apart from lack of recent speedwork, my excuses are: it was colder, there was still some ice on the corners, I was wearing 3 layers of clothing, hat, gloves & heavy trainers. Overall it was an OK kind of session, but I do need to get back to the track to get running a bit more quickly.

Back to running in road shoes

After more than a week of running in off road shoes battling against the snow & ice, I was today able to put my road shoes on. I have been doing plenty of distance in my recent running, but hardly any speedwork. Today I ran out and back along the Nesfield Road to the A59, with a couple of laps around Rupert Road to finish, just managing a fairly steady pace. On the way back I met up with Terry L and we had a good chat about running things.

My next target race is the Brass Monkey half marathon on 24 January. I'm intending to do a Peco cross country the week before, but that really will be a warm up race. Hopefully there will be a couple of Wednesday track sessions in early January to get a bit of speed back into my legs. I'll need to try and fit in some more faster running sessions as well.

Looking back at last year, the weather was quite bad at the end of December & much of January, but I was still able to do a reasonable race at the Brass Monkey, so it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem, especially if I can keep averaging around 100k per week.

Snow running pictures from Belgium

Now back in England. Here are some photos from my snowy runs in Belgium. The lake is Lac de Genval.

Christmas Day run

I don't think that I've ever run on Christmas Day before, but I went out today with son in law P for a steady 10k run in the deep snow & ice. We headed out over the fields on what is supposed to be a path, but with snow drifts in places several feet deep it was difficult to keep track on where we were going. When we returned to the roads, compacted snow & ice was equally challenging.

The priority wasn't running quickly, rather building up an appetite for Christmas Dinner & blowing off a few cobwebs.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Deep snow in Belgium

It's been an unusual week of running. After Monday's jaunt around Fewston & Swinsty reservoirs, Tuesday was a brisk 16.5k along the Nesfield Road in a temperature of about minus 8 degrees. Wednesday I was in Ashford, Kent & went for a 14k run in the slush, mostly on back roads. Thursday in Belgium after a difficult overnight drive, endless delays & a 4:30 am Eurotunnel crossing I just about managed a very slow one hour run on compacted snowy trails.

Overnight we had a good 10 inches of fresh white snow, so today's Christmas Eve run was certainly a bit different. Not knowing the area around Lasne too well, I headed off on the trails to Rixensart, then around the lake between Genval & Overijse. So far so good, I then decided to follow a path through some woods, before getting a bit disorientated in a snow bound suburb of Rixensart. Eventually I found a main road that I recognised between La Hulpe & Waterloo, so was able to find my way back to Lasne, dodging the 4X4s, cars with snow chains & other cars struggling to make much progress. By the time I finished I'd run almost 20k, in nearly 2 hours, which wasn't too bad considering the conditions, it isn't easy running in nearly knee deep powder snow, but it certainly was quite entertaining.

Not too much fast running recently, but at least I've been running consistently & hopefully building up some endurance for the Brass Monkey in 4 weeks time.

Fantastic running in the snow

I am fortunate to be able to run in daylight hours at this time of year when we have snow & ice on the ground. Today was bright & sunny, about minus 4 degrees at noon & I headed off for my run around Fewston & Swinsty reservoirs. Conditions couldn't have been more perfect...... a light covering of snow, compacted on the gravel paths, but not much ice (except on the reservoirs which were frozen solid). There was no wind & few people around.

My run was at a fairly steady pace after yesterday's race, no need to do any efforts, just run around & enjoy the scenery. I ran it as a figure of 8 circuit, so it was just short of 12k.

Recently since mid November I've been averaging around 100k per week, running for 6/7 days each week, with typically one long run (over 20k) and one interval session (ideally on the track) and a race or another fast run. My other runs are typically like today....10-14k, often off road & easy pace. I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to do this quantity & quality of running if I was still working full time & trying to run after dark midweek, with dangerous icy roads & pavements.

My training is currently geared towards two contradictory target races......coming up on 23 January is the Brass Monkey half marathon, then in March is the European Masters Indoor 3000m championships. In effect I need to be working on both improving my endurance & getting used to running short distances at a very fast pace. At least it makes running interesting.

Update on recent races

No excuses for not blogging for a couple of months apart from laziness. Here is a summary of racing activity in the past couple of months:

Yorkshire Vets road relays. My main job at this event was organiser of the men's teams for Ilkley Harriers. With 28 runners in 8 teams, there certainly was a lot of organising to be done, especially with the usual late withdrawals & search for replacements. I put myself in the M50 A team, which on reflection was probably not the sensible option. I would have been better placed in the B team, due to lack of form & distractions before the start sorting out numbers & making sure that everyone was present & correct. Nevertheless we managed a team second place finish, mainly due to a storming run from Eddie I, we narrowly beat our M50 B team.

Ilkley 5 (Ben's race). This low key race on a very hilly course was mainly a fund raising effort to raise money towards sending a young lad from Ilkley to America for hospital treatment. Following a family party, curry & late night, I wasn't in the best shape to race, but it was more the taking part that was important, rather than the result. For the record, I finished in 12th place in 31:49.

International Open Masters cross country - Dublin. I travelled to Dublin as 1st reserve for the England M55 team. I wasn't required for the team, as all of the selected runners showed up, so I ran in the Open race for reserves & other local vets. I finished as 2nd M55 in the Open race in about 20th position overall. It was a really enjoyable weekend in Ireland. The standard of racing in the main races was of a very high standard.....not sure that I'll ever be a 'real' cross country runner. I was probably fortunate to get selected as a reserve for England based on my track & road results.

Abbey Dash 10k. I wasn't intending to run this race, only entering it a few days before (my intention had been to prepare for the Thirsk 10 the following week - which got cancelled due to the ice). In near perfect conditions I managed to knock a minute off my time from last year's Abbey Dash in 36:53. However, I was disappointed to get beaten on the line by Shaun Jordan of Bingley, who just got the better of me by 1 second in the M55 race - although I did beat him by one second on chip timing. We've been very evenly matched each time we've raced each other this year. It was the fastest 10k that I've run since 1983, so I probably should be satisfied.

Bradford Parkrun 5k. This isn't the fastest 5k course, with a challenging hill up the side of Emm Lane to be climbed 3 times, then an extra uphill section at the finish. I was reasonably happy with a 3rd place finish in 18:54. I was just 7 seconds slower than I'd done on this course in April.

Peco cross country - Rothwell. There was a light covering of snow & below freezing temperatures for this tour around Middleton Park woods in Leeds. I seem to be relatively much slower at cross country than I am on the road or track, but I try to convince myself that it must do me some good to run the occasional off road race. Not got the official results yet, but I finished in 33rd place, which is similar to my typical result last winter in this series.


Assuming that I can get motivated to blog regularly again, I'll do an update on training activities. Over the last two or three weeks, I've increased the volume & intensity of my training in preparation for upcoming races. Despite the recent snow & ice, I've been managing to run at least 100k per week with one or two fast sessions in addition to races.

Northern Vets 10000m track championships

I seem to be coming something of a track specialist recently with all of my last 4 races being on the track. Today was the Northern Vets 10000m championships held at the Leigh Sports Village. There were about 30 people taking part in the race, with just 4 or 5 in my age group. Conditions were perfect for running, ideal temperature, sunny, no wind & no hills.

My intention was to try to run at 90 seconds per lap & see how it went from there. For the first 7 or 8 laps I was following Mervyn Ward from Warrington AC (who I'd raced against recently in the NVAC 5000m), we were the two main contenders for the M55 medals. For the first 5k I ran 18:53, which was fairly close to the 90 second per lap target, but I slowed quite a bit in the 2nd half to record 38:44. This is quite a bit slower than I've done for 10k on the road this year, but was quick enough to get me a gold medal, by about 10 seconds from Mervyn.

My relatively modest time was also enough to get me a 4th place UK ranking for 10000m for M55, which is more of an indication of the lack of long distance vets track races than any great speed from me. My recent spurt of track events has resulted in 2 gold & 2 silver medals (1st NVAC 5000m & 10000m & 2nd BMAF 5000m & NVAC 1500m).

Next up is the Yorkshire Vets road relay championships in Ilkley. We have a strong M50 'A' team of which I should be our slowest runner, so hopefully we have chance of doing well. Not sure that I'm looking forward to the 1 mile climb Of Carters Lane (nor the fast descent of Curly Hill).

800m reps on the track

After a week with a tummy bug, then a sore throat, I was a bit apprehensive about yesterday's track session. We did 10x800m, in sets of 5, with 1 minute recovery between each rep & 4 minutes between the sets. There is a good group of us running at Carnegie now, with 7 of us attending yesterday.

My first 800 was a bit too enthusiastic in 2:45. The remaining reps in the 1st set varied between 2:50 & 2:54, indicating that I'd certainly set off too quickly. The 2nd set were hard work. I was tiring significantly, but managed to run all of the 5 800s at 2:54, apart from one in 2:56. The overall average for the session was just under 2:53 for each 800m, which is not too bad considering that I wasn't feeling 100% & I'd set off too fast at the start of the session.

Looking back at previous sessions, whilst it's difficult to compare precisely, I seem to be running about 1-2 seconds per lap slower on average than I was in the early part of 2010, but a similar amount faster than a month ago. Overall I think that I'm making steady progress from my illness in the summer, although it's frustrating to be running slower than I know I'm capable of running (especially as some of my training partners have continued to improve.

It will be interesting to see how things go when I start racing regularly again. Having only done one track meeting since early July, I'm certainly rusty. This Sunday is the NVAC 10000m championships. My plan at this stage is to not push it too hard, certainly for the first 7 or 8k, as 25 laps of the track is a long way when I'm not fully fit.

Running on the moors

Today was a really pleasant day for running, quite warm for the time of year, sunny & not much wind. I decide to head up on to the moors for a longish run. It was good to just go out & run with no concerns about pace or distance.

I cheated a bit by taking the car up to near the Cow & Calf, rather than running up from home. My route then went up to the Trig point & across to the radio masts before heading over to Windgate Nick. It was quite boggy in places on the top, but that's fairly normal for most of the year. Once I got to the edge of the moors, I descended on the tarmac towards Low Mill at Addingham, before returning to Ilkley along the Dalesway path.

In total I ran for almost two hours & according to my Garmin covered a bit more than 18k, although pace and distance are not really relevant on that kind of surface.

It's good to run on different surfaces, over the next few weeks I've got races coming up on the track, road & cross country, so I need to be ready for each of these. Next Sunday it's 10000m on the track at the Northern Vets championships. I haven't really been training for that kind of distance, so it will be interesting to see how it goes, probably best to plan to not set off too quickly.

Track session at Carnegie

This evening was a fast session with short recoveries: 12x600m in 4 sets of 3, with 40 seconds recovery between each rep & 2 minutes between the sets. There was a good group of seven of us taking part, with Rachael B & Huw I from Otley leading the way with Mark I not far behind. I spent most of the session trying to not drop too far back from Mark. Alan W, Dave J & Adrian B (doing his first track session) were all running strongly.

I did the first set of 600s a bit too quickly, averaging 2:02. For the next 3 sets, I gradually slowed with an overall average for the whole session of 2:06. The previous two weeks at the track I've actually got quicker throughout the session, so this evening certainly showed the effects of going too fast too soon. Nevertheless, the overall average of about 84 seconds per lap wasn't too bad for a longish track session (7.2k in total) with mostly short recoveries.

Whilst this kind of session feels very tough and I'm sure that I'll be suffering tomorrow, hopefully it's the kind of effort that will bring benefits in the future. It's good to experience running at a faster pace than I would normally run at in races.

Blogging again

I was a bit in two minds about starting blogging again after a break of 3 months. The viral illness that I had stopped me running for 4 weeks & according to the doctors at Airedale Hospital, it would take me several weeks or months to fully recover......on the positive side at least it was nothing more serious.

I started running again (slowly) in mid August & during September I was running regularly, albeit at a reduced pace and shorter distances than normal. The weekly track sessions restarted & I had lost about 7-8 seconds per lap from my pre illness pace at the beginning of September. Now I'm closer to where I was, but still about 2-3 seconds per lap slower. I've done a couple of the Saturday morning Ilkley Harriers 'Hard run' interval sessions & it's been a bit frustrating to be struggling to keep up with people that I would have previously been able to match.

I was holding off from racing again, but decided to enter the Northern Vets track championships, just to get back into the swing of things with the intention to treat it more as a fast training session. I ran the 1500m, an event which I've never raced before and was pleasantly surprised to win a silver medal in 5:04, including a last lap of about 77 seconds overtaking several runners in the home straight. I followed that a couple of hours later with the 5000m. My strategy was to take it easy due to my lack of fitness and tiredness after the 1500m. A time of 18:46 was quite slow, but I did manage to win the gold medal for the M55s, by out sprinting the second placed runner in the last 50m.

Yesterday brought news that I've been selected as 1st reserve for the England team for the International Masters cross country race in Dublin in November. This was a bit of a surprise as I've run very few cross country races. Apparently selection was based on performances in championship races on road & track as well as cross country. I'll need to sharpen up my fitness now in the next 5 weeks.

No running for a while

Still struggling with the virus that I've had for a couple of weeks. After a series of tests yesterday, medical opinion is that I shouldn't run until it clears up. It's a bit frustrating to say the least, but hopefully taking a summer break will do me some good.

Wednesday track session

I've been suffering with a bit of a virus since Sunday's race, so I was a bit wary about pushing things too hard on the track this evening. It was quite a demanding session: 4X200, 4X400, 4X600, 4X400, 4X200, 1X800, with only short recoveries...... 8k of efforts in total. There were 4 of us doing the session: Mark I, Rachael B, Nick P & myself.

Rachael & Mark were both running quite a bit faster than me this evening. I was happy to just concentrate on completing the session at a moderate pace, rather than go too quickly & need to cut it short. My pace was around 80 seconds per lap for the 200s & 400s, 84 seconds per lap for the 600s and slightly slower again for the 800. I was happy with the session overall, despite not being the quickest. No real effects of the 'bug' & no after effects from racing on Thursday & Sunday.

I now have a good break from racing (apart from the Harrogate League handicap next week). My next race will be the BMAF half marathon towards the end of August, so I have about 6 weeks to recover, then prepare for that.

First ever track race - BMAF 5000m

Not quite sure why I chose a national championship event in Cardiff for my first ever track race. I was well out of my comfort zone before the start of the race - there were 3 pages of rules & regulations: you needed to register before you signed the declaration sheet (whatever that is), these had to be done at least 2 hours before the race otherwise you were disqualified, you needed to be in a 'call room' at least 20 minutes before the race, 2 race numbers had to be worn & 2 lane numbers (all in the correct position). Asking the very efficient officials basic questions brought looks of incredulity (especially when I told them that I'd never done a track race before).

The weather was wet & very windy, quite a change from the recent dry, still, sunny conditions. I was at the track 3 hours before my race to give me sufficient time to ensure that I didn't fall foul of the various cut off times. Warming up was a bit difficult to ensure that I would be in the 'call room' at the required hour.

My race was the 5000m for M50 & M55s, so it was actually two races in one, with separate results for each. 14 runners had entered the M55 race & 9 the M50 one, but I think that there were only about 15 or so actually started in total. Four of the M50 runners set off at a very fast pace, so I decided to let them go, settling into a group of 3 M55s and a couple of M50s.

My plan before the race had been to try to run at an even pace around 84 seconds per lap, but this plan soon went out of the window mainly because of the conditions. It was clear that there wasn't much difference between the 3 of us leading the M55 race & which ever of us was setting the pace was making it much easier for the other 2, as they could just follow on the tough 'home straight' into the wind. In effect it became a very tactical race with each of us trying to break away, getting pulled back, then trying to avoid leading......... not a good recipe for running a fast even pace.

I made a tactical mistake of trying a final attack with just over 2 laps to go, which resulted in my opponents being able to follow me for the closing stages of the race. I did all the hard work until I was overtaken on the home straight & beaten into second place by 1 second.

I suppose that I should be pleased about winning a silver medal in a national championship in my first ever track race, but I know that I could have done better if I'd timed the finish differently. Having said that the guy who beat me, David Oxland of Notts AC, is a very experienced track runner & he may well have beaten me whatever tactics I'd adopted (he'd won this event the previous year by 17 seconds & was silver medalist in the European Masters Indoor track championships - only missing gold by 0.17 seconds).

Having had my first attempt at racing on the track, I'm tempted to give it another go - I'll certainly have a better idea what to expect next time around.

Harrogate League race 5 - Hudswell

After a week of very easy slow running, with no session faster than 5 minutes/km, to try to overcome the recent lethargy, it was back to racing yesterday evening at the final race in the Harrogate League series. I'd had strong warnings from Coach Pete to take it very easy in this race, considering that I'm racing in the British Masters 5000m on Sunday.......he said that it would be better to give this race a miss altogether. However, I only needed to score a few points to secure the M55 prize for the series and we needed some team points as well.

I had run this same course 2 years ago, it's all on the roads, which is an improvement from most of the HL races this year. The first half of the race was uphill, then a turnaround with descent to the finish. I set off at a very steady pace comfortably behind a few runners who I normally run with.

For the first half of the race I felt as though I wanted to accelerate, but had Pete's warnings in my mind, so I continued at what seemed like a very easy pace for a race (averaging just over 4 minutes per km on the uphill half). At halfway I'd just managed to catch up to my regular track partner Mark I so we ran together for the start of the return leg. After a kilometre or so Mark decided that he'd try to catch another clubmate Mark M-W who was about 25 metres ahead of us, so he suddenly speeded up. I decided to not go with Mark's injection of pace, but to carry on at about the same speed.

As we got nearer to the finish I was still feeling very fresh & relaxed, quite unusual for me at this stage of a race, so I picked up the pace (with only about 1km to go I figured that I wouldn't do too much damage for Sunday). I managed to overtake both Marks as well as 3 or 4 other runners. My finishing time was 31:01 for just over 8k, which was 2 1/2 minutes quicker than I did on this course 2 years ago. I finished in 24th place with hopefully sufficient points for the individual age group series win & team wins in the vets team & super vets.

Looking at my Garmin stats after the race I averaged 3:52 minutes per km, which is nothing special, although I ran the last km in 3:05....probably the fastest km that I've ever run! I now have a couple of days to recover before my debut track race on Sunday.

York Race for Life - spectating

My daughter Katie who until a few weeks ago had never been interested in running at all decided to run the Race for Life 10k in York. It's a women only event, which isn't really a race, it's very much a charity fundraiser. I was designated to be chauffeur & supporter, but also took on the role of water carrier, as it was the hottest day of the year and there weren't many water stations.

The course was a zigzag couple of laps around the Knavesmire in York, all on grass. Between the 10k and later 5k, there were over 5000 women running. Most of the women taking part weren't regular runners & it was a great achievement for most of them to run 10k, especially in the heat. I don't know who the girl was who finished first, but she looked to be flying around the course - most however were happy just to get around.

Katie set off at a steady pace, which was very wise, and she was was able to run the whole way, finishing tired but well satisfied. She also raised a lot of money for charity, so great credit to her & all of the other participants.

Somehow I managed to run 14.5k going backwards & forwards, offering support & sourcing as many bottles of water as possible. I don't think that I would like to have been racing in the hot weather today.

Not so sharp on the track

There were only Mark I & myself running on the track this evening. The session was 15X400m, in blocks of five: 30 seconds recovery after each of the 1st 4 reps, then a 2 minute break, before repeating the 30 seconds for the next 4 sets etc.

I was still feeling a bit jaded after all of the recent racing, whereas Mark was clearly very sharp, so it was going to be a difficult session. After a first couple of laps getting into the swing of things, we settled into a consistent 80/81 seconds per lap, gradually getting a little bit quicker. I was following Mark around the track as he was more capable of setting the pace today. In the last set of 5 reps, we managed to get under 80 seconds for some of the 400s, but by the last one I'd clearly had enough, slowing to 82 seconds.

The good news is that I completed the session at a pace which was a few seconds per lap quicker than my 5k race pace. The bad news is that it was a bit of a struggle & I probably need to take it easy for a few days before next week's track race.

A change is as good as a rest

After yesterday's 5k race around the town centre of Horwich, I decided to do something completely different today. Not the most obvious choice for a recovery run was a 21k route including Simons Seat, the Strid Wood and a section of the Dalesway on a hot sunny day.

My pace today was on the very slow side of slow, which was just about all I could manage, but it was really enjoyable just to go out & run. The route is very diverse with moorland, woods, fields, paths & short road sections. Underfoot conditions were very firm as we've had a very dry year so far.

No races for me this week. It's good to have a bit of a break from racing as I think I've become a bit stale over the last couple of weeks. Next week I've got a Harrogate League race midweek, then the British Masters 5000m on the track in Cardiff. That will be a new experience for me as I've never raced on the track before.

BMAF 5k

Today was the British Masters 5k road race in Horwich. The course is 3 1/2 laps around the town centre, with an uphill finish. The standard of runners is very high considering that it's an all vets field. There were 155 people taking part with more than 30 managing to run faster than 17 minutes.

I was a bit disappointed with my time of 18:20, for 5th place in my age group. That's nearly a minute slower than I did at Esholt. I think that the combined effects of: 1) a slower course, 2) too many recent races & 3) lack of track sessions in the last few weeks accounted for this result. Having said that I don't think that I would have been able to finish in the first 3 M55s even on top form.

We were also disappointed to miss out on a medal in the M50 team event. It was a very competitive age category & less than a minute separated us from the silver medal position, although the winners Bristol & West were well clear. At least Ilkley did manage medals in the F35 category (Sally M) & M65 category (Geoff H).

Thanks for the vocal support around the course from Sarah J, Richard B & Pat L amongst others.

St. Ives trail race

(photo: Dave Woodhead)

I didn't really need a second race in three days, but having done this race for the last couple of years, I thought that I'd give it another go, but just take it easy. It's a hilly course around the St. Ives Estate near Bingley, mainly on paths through the woods, but with a short section of moorland. We had a good representation of Ilkley Harriers at the race for the annual 'mob match' with Bingley Harriers.

Tempting fate at the start, the organiser said that the course was well marked & had plenty of marshalls & no one had ever got lost. So sure enough there were quite a few runners who took a wrong turning & missed out part of the course. I became aware of this with about 3k to go when I saw a couple of Ilkley vests ahead of me when I wasn't expecting to see any; Tom A was off in the lead (not wearing a club vest anyway), Mark M-W was ahead but he's much quicker than me on that kind of course, Dave C was ahead of me, but only by a couple of seconds. So who were the mysterious Ilkley runners appearing in front? Paul S, Neil S & Alison B had all gone the wrong way, along with several other runners.

The organisers seemed to be quite relaxed about the course issue at the finish & decided that the results would stand as they were, with runners being allocated their actual finishing position & time, regardless of which route they ran! Some of those who'd inadvertently gone the wrong way even picked up prizes - good job it wasn't a very serious race - no one seemed to be too upset about it.

I managed to finish in 20th position out of 92 runners. I was also 1st M50 (there wasn't a M55 category), narrowly beating Nick P. I hadn't seen Nick all of the way around the course, but he was only 4 seconds behind me at the finish. He'd done a 23 mile fell race at the weekend, so had even more excuse than I did for running with less zip than usual. My prize for the age category win was a bottle of wine. Last year in this race I also was 1st M50 - that was the first time I'd ever won a prize in a running race. This year I was just over a minute quicker than last year.

In the 'mob match', Ilkley beat Bingley again for the 3rd consecutive year.

I certainly need a rest from hard running for a few days now before the BMAF 5k on Sunday, so tomorrow's Harrogate League race is certainly off the agenda. Hopefully we'll still have sufficient Ilkley runners in the race to do well in the team competitions.

Long Eaton 5 miles

It was ideal conditions for the Long Eaton 5 today: flat course, no wind, dry, just a bit warm (about 19 degrees). The winner, Bruce Raeside from Notts AC ran 23:55 which is one of the 10 fastest 5 mile times in the UK this year (most of the other top 10 times were run at Alsager). It was unusual to run in a race where I didn't know anyone at all.... most of the runners were from local clubs in Derby, Notts & Leicester.

There was a mad dash at the start as we left the playing fields at to join narrow paths in the park. I set off at quite a brisk pace, but soon found myself having to overtake people who had started as if it was a 200m sprint race. My first mile was 5:48, which felt quite comfortable, especially once we got out of the park on to the roads. The next 2 miles were 5:53 & 5:51. However, after the three mile point I started to slow down, recording 6:13 for the 4th mile & it was starting to feel like hard work (maybe I've been doing too many 5k races). I recovered a bit to do 5:57 for the last mile, chasing after someone who I thought might be another M55 (it turned out that he was only 45). So my finish time was 29:42.

Mixed feelings about this result. On the one hand I was pleased to beat my target of 30 minutes, finishing 1st M55 & set new club records for M50 & M55 for 5 miles. On the other hand I was disappointed to slow down so much after 3 miles, I think that I should have been able to run closer to 29 minutes (I guess we're never satisfied). Considering that I'd been feeling well below par for the last few days, it's probably not a bad result all things considered.

Next Sunday is the BMAF 5k at Horwich. I'll need to be running quite a bit faster than I was today if I want to post a respectable time for that race.....certainly I won't be doing a hard track session on Wednesday this week.

Not much zip in the legs

After Wednesday's fast track session I had a rest day on Thursday, I felt that it would be the most sensible option. Friday & today I ran my regular 'two bridges' route to Addingham & back. Yesterday I was feeling particularly sluggish, it was hard work to run at all. Today was marginally better, but not much. I think that the combined effects of a lot of racing recently then a very tough track session have taken their toll.

Tomorrow I've got an early start to drive to Long Eaton for a 5 mile race. Hopefully I'll find a bit of sharpness for the race from somewhere. My target has been to get under 30 minutes for 5 miles. It's supposed to be a very fast course & the weather looks good for tomorrow, so we'll see how much energy I've got in the tank.

Much faster on the track

This evening we did a session of fast short reps. The session was 5X300m with 100m jog recoveries, 8X400m with 45 second recoveries & 3X500m with 100m jog recoveries. The idea was to run the 300s & 500s at a much faster pace than normal. In total that's 6.2k of efforts which is a bit less than we normally do....to facilitate the faster running.

We had a good evenly matched group: Richard R, Mark I, David B & myself, with Dave W doing the session on his own a bit quicker than the rest of us. We averaged 57 seconds for the 300s (equivalent to 76 second laps), 81 seconds for the 400s & 100 seconds for the 500s. So the overall average for the session was 80 seconds per lap. This contrast with 84/85 seconds average per lap for the very different mile rep session a couple of weeks ago.

The view of all of us was that this was a really good session. We were running quite a bit faster than normal, but it felt comfortable throughout....mainly because of the short reps & shortish session. It will be interesting to see the benefits of this faster paced running when it comes to racing again (although I think that Sunday's 5 miler come too soon for any positive effects).

Old MacDonald had a farm

Yesterday evening's Ilkley Harriers club run was a tour around the fields above Denton & Middleton. I didn't go out with the fast group as I wanted to save a bit of energy for today's track session.

We had quite a few encounters with the local farm animals. First of all we got to a field with about 50 cows & a rather large bull. They were looking quite threatening & a number of our group were not happy about running through them. Eventually we managed to persuade the cows to go to the far end of the field so we could get past. We then came across a couple of riders on horses. The horses were a bit unsettled by us, but fortunately there were no mishaps & runners & riders all parted amicably. In other fields we came across: goats, sheep, geese & chickens. In addition to the farm animals, there was plenty of wildlife: rabbits, herons etc.

In total we ran just over 12k at a very easy pace, even allowing for the delays caused by the farm animals, gates & stiles, regrouping etc. This evening's track session will be very different indeed. I've just heard that we will be doing short fast reps....should be fun!

One hot one, one wet one

Saturday's run was very hot, out along the Dales Way path from Ilkley to Bolton Bridge. I returned along the Nesfield Road until I got to the Addingham footbridge, crossing over it to then return to Ilkley on the Dalesway. Temperature was in the mid 20s & there were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine (although it was disturbing to hear that an 8 year old boy died in the River Wharfe at Bolton Bridge shortly after I'd gone past there).

Today's run was also out to Bolton Bridge & back, but this time sticking to the Nesfield Road. The temperature was at least 10 degrees less than the day before & it rained continuously.

Today's run was a bit faster pace than yesterday, which is not unexpected considering that it was all on the roads, but I was probably putting a bit more effort in as well. Both runs were around 17k & relatively flat. It made a pleasant change to not have any hills like I've had in recent races.

I've got a week without a race now before the Long Eaton 5 miles next Sunday. The plan is to do generally easy paced running with just the track session on Wednesday to hopefully put a bit of speed in the legs.

Harrogate League race 3 - Yeadon/Esholt

Opinions were divided on this course. Some people that I spoke to afterwards thought that it was a brilliant route: paths through the woods, hills, twists & turns. Others said that it was a really difficult tough course. I was more of the latter opinion. The first couple of kilometres were OK, slightly downhill on a tarmac path along an old railway line. Then we disappeared off into Esholt Woods descending until we eventually reached the road at the start of the John Carr 5k course.

From the halfway point it got really hard: initially steep uphill on a narrow rutted path through the woods, then an even steeper short descent followed by a steady climb back up to the old railway path & back to the finish, near the start.

We had a great turnout of Ilkley Harriers & were the 1st team in the main team competition, the vets competition & the supervets (over 55) competition. I was beaten in the M55 category by Nick P again (after he beat me at the Ilkley Trail race on Saturday), he was really flying up the hills. I did enough, however, to retain my lead in the series.

My next race is a week on Sunday at the Long Eaton 5. Hopefully it will be flat & have a smooth, firm surface, unlike recent races that I've been doing.

Trying to prioritise races

There are so many races at the moment it's difficult to know which ones to do & which ones to miss. To achieve optimum performance, I'm sure that it makes sense to race sparingly & concentrate on particular key events. The problem is that I enjoy racing regularly & am not keen on having a structured training plan building up to specific races.

In a couple of weeks it's a real dilemma: on Sunday 13th I've entered a 5 mile race at Long Eaton (I've set myself a target of beating 30 minutes for 5 miles & there are very few 5 mile races on the calendar), on Tuesday 15th is the St. Ives Trail race (I've done this race the last 2 years & it's a great race also it's a counter in the Ilkley Harriers league), on Thursday 17th it's a Harrogate League race (currently I'm leading in the series for M55 & we are trying to win 3 of the team competitions), on Sunday 20th it's the BMAF 5k at Horwich (I would like to do well in the individual race & we should have a good team in this national championship).

Clearly I can't do all of those races & even doing 3 out of the 4 is a bit much if I want to run well in the 5k. Not sure how to prioritise things. It also means that it's difficult to fit in speed training. On the positive side at least I'm not injured (although I may be if I race too often).

Today was another warm day and I opted for an easy two bridges run to Addingham and back. I would have much preferred to go to the track this evening, but again with a Harrogate League race tomorrow I can't fit everything in.

Busy Bank Holiday

A bright & sunny Bank Holiday brought lots of people to Ilkley. After spending most of the day gardening, I headed off for a run late afternoon. I just set off running today without any plan of where I was going to go. Even though I'm not one for following schedules, this is unusual, even for me. I normally decide where I'm going before leaving the house.

I started off running through the park, but it was a bit busy with the holiday crowds, so I cut through to Leeds Road before crossing the bridge near Denton. I didn't really fancy a hilly run after yesterday's trail race, but somehow I found myself running up Carters Lane. From the top I went along to Middleton Grange & joined the bridlepath that joins the top of Owler Park Road. From here I new that there were several footpaths that go towards Nesfield, but I managed to find one that I'd never been on before.

After crossing a field I got to a very steep wooded valley, not really sure what had happened to the path. After a bit of scrambling through the undergrowth I eventually found a proper path which led to the road near the top of the hill in Nesfield. I returned to Ilkley along the road & finished with a lap around the park. By now a lot of the day trippers had already left.

In total I ran about 13.5k at a very sedate pace. It was quite an enjoyable run, but next time I think that I'll choose a different route from Middleton to Nesfield.

Ilkley Trail race

(Thanks to Terry Lonergan for the photo)

The route of the Ilkley Trail race is great for just going out for a run, but it's a tough course for a race. Having run this race the previous 2 years, I knew that it wasn't really my kind of race: long uphill to start with, tough moorland section in the middle & a fast descent to finish, almost 11.5k. Fortunately this year it was quite dry underfoot, despite yeaterday's rain.

I felt fine going up the hill, but was overtaken by several people on the moorland section, which was hard going into the strong wind. Once we got on to the short road section before the downhill, I seemed to get my energy back, maybe it was just the effects of having tarmac under my feet. I managed to get back passed a few people on the descent, having struggled on that section last year.

My finishing time was 50.14, which was about 3 1/2 minutes faster than I did last year & 36th position compared to 79th. I was second in the M55 category, beaten by Nick P who is much more at home on this kind of terrain than I am. Overall it was a reasonable run, although it is a bit frustrating to be relatively much slower than I am on the roads.

A few days easy running

On Thursday & Friday I ran the two bridges run from Ilkley to Addingham & back both days. This tends to be my 'default' run that I do when I don't feel particularly inspired to run anywhere else & I want to do an easy/steady run. So 11.5k each day at an easy pace.

Today I thought that I should run somewhere different, but with the Ilkley Trail race tomorrow I didn't want to do anything too demanding. I opted for a hilly run around Ilkley & Middleton, just over 11.5k. Again my pace was quite slow, but it didn't make sense to try to run quickly.

The Ilkley Trail race is a very enjoyable route which I often use in training, but I'm not particularly suited to racing over the hilly off road terrain. I'm even worse at running quickly down steep hills than I am at running up steep hills. So my intention is really to use it as a fast training run, rather than with any expectations of doing well in the race. Normally I'd reduce the distance that I run in the week before a race, but I've done the opposite this week, clocking close to 100km, so I'm getting plenty of excuses in. There are more important races to come in the next few weeks.

Carnegie track session

This evening's 'official' track session was cancelled, but as we didn't hear about the cancellation until we arrived at the track we decided to go ahead with one anyway. We had a good evenly matched group of 4 of us taking part: Richard R, Josie H & Mark I, with Terry L acting as timekeeper.

The session was 4X1 mile with 4 minute jog recoveries. Given that we were all running at the same speed, we alternated the pace making which certainly helped with motivation. The time for each of the reps was: 5:41, 5:41, 5:44 & 5:42 so very consistent, marginally slower than my 5k race pace, so probably just what was required.

It was really good to be back running on the track after several missed weeks due to clashes with midweek races. I think that I really benefit from running regular track sessions & that much of my improvement this year is a result of the work done on the track.

Club run on the moors

This evening I ran with the Ilkley Harriers club run. We had a really good mixed ability group & headed up on the moors. I haven't done a Tuesday club run for a few weeks, so it was really good to have a pleasant run & a great chat.

Initially heading along the Dalesway path, we then headed up towards Addingham Moorside & near to Windgate Nick, before heading along the ridge to the trig point. This route would normally be quite muddy, but given that we've had very little rain for several weeks it was easily runnable today.We returned to Ilkley via Keighley Road, with an off road detour where the true fell runners were able to show off their descending skills....I was steadily bringing up the rear of the group at this point.

We ran just over 13k, plus a bit more for me running to & from home. It was a very enjoyable run, with plenty of opportunity for running chat. Tomorrow's track session will be different!

Some like it hot

It's been quite warm the last few days, up to about 28 degrees. Yesterday I went for another longish run, following Saturday's long run on the hills. I went out along the Nesfield Road to Bolton Bridge & back, with a bit of a loop around the park. In all I ran 17k at a very slow pace: combined effects of two races during the week, after effects of a cold & previous days run.

Today's run wasn't much quicker, about 5:25 minutes per km pace.....very slow for a flattish road run. I ran my regular two bridges route, about 11.5k. Not too worried about the slow pace, it's more an opportunity to take it easy without taking too much of a break from running.

Wednesday should be back on the track at Carnegie for the first time in about a month having had a layoff for the John Carr series & Harrogate league races.

Back to running slowly

Two races in two days & the remains of a bad cold mean I need some active recovery. Today I headed for the hills on the hottest day of the year so far. My route took me up through Middleton Woods, then on to concrete square, before heading up to Round Hill.

There were great views all around from Round Hill, with perfect visibility. Normally it's pretty boggy up there, but today it was bone dry as we've had very little rain for a couple of months now. I then went along to Beamsley Beacon, before descending down to the Langbar Road & back to concrete square.

Once back down in Ilkley, there were hordes of people in & around the river & the park, quite a contrast from the solitude up the hill. In all I ran 19.5k. My pace was well over 7 minutes per km, which doesn't mean a lot given the terrain, but it was quite a contrast to the 3:32 pace that I was running on Wednesday.

My next race will be the Ilkley Trail race a week tomorrow, which covers part of the route that I did today. I can't run quickly in that kind of race, so I'll be using it mainly as training for races to come.

Harrogate League race 2 - Temple Newsam

(photo: Paul Wood)

Temple Newsam is a terrific venue for a race with acres of scenic parkland & we had warm sunny weather. There are downsides: it's very hilly & most of the running is off road. My plan for the race was to take it fairly steady as it was only 24 hours since my last race & I was still feeling the effects of a cold & chest infection.

The race set off fairly quickly down a steep tarmac section, but after about 500m was on to the dry dusty tracks & the first long hill wasn't far away. I settled into a steady rhythm as well as I could, a few metres behind Richard R & Steve C. We did a couple of laps of a loop through the woods, before heading back to the uphill tarmac section to the finish.

The guy from Wetherby (in the picture) overtook me just before the start of the final climb. I managed to follow him most of the way uphill before finding a sprint from somewhere to just beat him to the line.

I finished in 30th position, covering the hilly 8.6k in 34:31, just under4 minutes per km pace, which was OK, all things considered. The result meant that I was able to maintain my lead in the M55 category for the series, finishing a few places ahead of clubmate Malcolm P who's in 2nd place. In the team results Ilkley Harriers finished first in both the vets & supervets (over 55) categories.

It was a successful evening as far as the results were concerned, but I'm not sure that racing on consecutive days is really a good idea. I need to take it easy for a few days now.

John Carr 3 - 5k

Running has been taking a low priority for the last week or so. My youngest daughter's wedding at the weekend was a major event, we had a great day, although it meant drinking too much alcohol, almost not sleeping for 2 days & having a house full of visitors for several days. On top of that I developed a bad cold & chest infection. To say that I wasn't well prepared for the final John Carr race would be quite an understatement.

In the series I had a lead in the M55 age group of 21 seconds over Shaun J from Bingley Harriers, so my real target for the race was to try to make sure that he didn't distance me. I really wasn't sure that I'd be able to run properly being dosed up with Lemsips, paracetamols & Benylin.

Somehow I managed to run at a reasonable pace, although I was struggling on the fast downhill finish & Shaun managed to sneak a couple of seconds or so in front of me.....but not enough to put much of a dent in my overall lead. Another Bingley M55 runner also finished a few seconds in front of us this week, so on the night I was only 3rd M55. It's only the 2nd time this year that I've been beaten in my age category, but I can't complain too much in the circumstances & I still got the prize for winning the series.

My time was 17:39, which up until a couple of weeks ago I would have been over the moon about. Now I regard it as being OK considering that I wasn't feeling very well. Some people are never satisfied! Looking at the Power of Ten UK rankings, 4 of the fastest 7 5ks in the UK this year have been set at the John Carr series for the M55 age group. Either it's a very fast course or we have some very competitive old runners in this area (or both).

I feel as though I need a good long rest now, however, this evening is the second race in the Harrogate League series. Given that I'm leading in the senior vets category & we need points in the club team race, I'll have a go at running again. I'm sure that this is a bad idea!

John Carr 2 - 5k

This evening was the 2nd John Carr 5k. I didn't quite have the pace that I did last week & recorded 17:37. If I hadn't run 8 seconds faster last week I would have been delighted with that time. I set off more slowly than a week ago, 5 seconds more for the first km. For the next 3km, I ran at a similar pace to last week, then slowed again in the last km.

I should really be quite pleased with this run, but inevitably it's a bit disappointing to run a bit slower. The official results aren't out yet, but hopefully I will have maintained my lead in the series for the M55 category.

I've not been blogging much about my training runs recently as there has been little to write about. I have been running every day (apart from Thursday last week), but only slowly & on my regular training routes. My plan is to take it relatively easy again for the next few days before the 3rd race in the John Carr series next week.

Running up Simon's Seat

My run today could not have been more different to the 5k race around Esholt on Wednesday. I ventured out on one of my favourite runs, although it's the first time this year that I've done it. The route includes the climb of Simon's Seat. I was running at a very gentle pace, taking it easy all the way round & stopping to take photos along the way.

I started from near a cafe called the Buffers where it's possible to park without needing to pay the £7 (or whatever it is now) to park

in one of the Bolton Abbey Estate car parks. The disadvantage of this starting point is that it's at the top of a very big hill, which would need to be climbed at the end of my run. My route took me past the Cavendish Pavilion, then up through the Valley of Desolation (top photo).

It's a long steady climb up to the summit of Simon's Seat, but the view from the top on a clear sunny day like today makes it worthwhile. The wind was quite brisk at the top, so I didn't hand around for too long. For the descent I took the path down to the

River Wharfe at Howgill. This then gave me a run back of about 8k along the side of the river, including my regular running route through the Strid Wood.

Pace really doesn't matter on an off road run like this, especially taking it very easy, but it was interesting that my Garmin recorded more than more than 7 minutes per km, compared to faster than 3:30 per km on Wednesday.

My plan is to take it relatively easy again for the next few days before the next John Carr 5k on Wednesday.

John Carr 1 5k - Yorkshire vets championships

Today was the main race that I've been preparing for this year. I had a target of trying to get under 18 minutes & hoping to get a medal in the Yorkshire Veterans championships. I was quite nervous all day in advance of the race, which is unusual for me.

The race set off at a frantic pace as usual for this brisk 5k course. The 1st km is downhill, but even taking that into account I was surprised to run 3:17, which is 9 seconds faster than I ran last year for that split. In the 2nd km I was aware of a Bingley runner just in front of me who was probably in the same age group as me, so I put in an effort to catch up to him, then overtake him in the 3rd km.

My next 'target' was Richard R who had run a fast 10k on Monday at Rothwell, he seemed to be slowing on the uphill section in the 4th km. The last km is downhill & very quick, so I put in a real effort to get in front of Richard just before the finishing line. I was amazed to look at my watch & see my unofficial finishing time of 17:28, with a split for the 5th km of 3:10!

I was successful in winning the M55 category of the Yorkshire vets championships, the first time that I've had a medal of any sort in a championship race. I believe that my time is also the 2nd fastest 5k time for my age group in the UK this year & a Ilkley Harriers record for M50 & M55. Needless to say I'm very pleased with the evening's race.

There were also some very good performances from other Ilkley runners, Sally M was 1st lady & won the Yorks vets F35 championships. Jane B was 2nd F40 & Alison B 2nd F45.

Still taking it easy

I seemed to be taking a while to get over the effort of Thursday's hilly race & with half a mind on the John Carr 5k on Wednesday my two runs this weekend were not at all strenuous. Yesterday I did a hilly route which was similar to the Harrogate League race route, but in the opposite direction. I was certainly going quite slowly up Carters Lane, & not much quicker on the descent of Owler Park Road.

This morning was back to the two bridges route, a bit quicker than yesterday's run, but still on the easy side of steady. So that's two shortish runs in two days. I've become a great believer in the merit of easy paced recovery runs as an alternative to rest days. Running 10-12 kms at a pace slower than 5 mins per km seemed to give me the benefit of taking it easy whilst not being totally lazy.

I'm looking forward to the John Carr series. It's 3 5k races on consecutive Wednesday evenings on a very fast course & usually a high standard of competition. It's not everyone's cup of tea, being run mainly around the local sewage works.

Easy recovery run

Yesterday's race in the Harrogate League was a bit harder than I'd expected, so today I was feeling quite sore in the legs. A very slow easy recovery run was called for. I ran my regular two bridges run to Addingham & back. My pace was more than two minutes per km slower than yesterday's race (on a much easier route), but it was as much as I could sensibly manage.

The official results for the race show that I finished in 31:42 (8.1km very hilly) in 26th place out of 284 runners. We managed to finish in first place in both the vets & senior vets team races. I was happy enough to be first M55 (the first 3 were all from Ilkley Harriers), but surprised that I'm now also leading the series on the age graded handicap. I was intending to use these races as fast training runs, but I may have to take them a bit more seriously now.

Harrogate League race 1 - Ilkley

This evening was the first race in the 2010 Harrogate & Distraict Summer Race League, organised by Ilkley Harriers. The course was 8.1k including a 2k climb up Owler Park Road & a 2k descent down Carters Lane, with a bit of flat at the beginning & end. After several weeks of warm sunny weather, it was raining & the temperature dropped a few degrees.

I decided on a cautious start heading towards the climb. Once we started going up I felt OK & started overtaking people, usually I'm not quick on the hills. There were plenty of Ilkley runners around me, Ben S a few places in front, I managed to overtake Andy W & Steve C near the top of the hill. There were quite a few Otley runners around as well, including Josie H with whom I'd been warming up earlier. At about halfway I was told that I was in 29th place (not sure how many were running - probably about 250).

I managed to overtake a few people on the descent, but was overtaken by a few others, including Mark I in the last 100m who was absolutely flying - the track sessions had clearly helped his finishing sprint. My finishing time was 31:44, which wasn't too bad for 8.1 k with those hills. Checking my Garmin stats I ran one of the kms in 3:12 - which is almost certainly the fastest kilometre that I've ever run (although it was down a steep hill).

Not seen the official results yet, but I'm hopeful of having done well in my age category & we should have done quite well in the vets & super vets (over 55) team competitions. Quite a satisfying evening's race, but really it was a fast training run in preparation for the John Carr 5k series which starts on Wednesday.

Running without a watch

Normally I always wear my Garmin when I'm running, even if I'm not concerned about how far or how fast I'm going. Today, I was just about to set off on my run when I realised that all of the charge had gone from my watch, so I had the option of waiting half an hour or so for it to have sufficient charge or going without it. I chose to run without it.

I'd taken another day off from running yesterday & my plan for this week is to take it easy before racing on Thursday evening. I now have 4 races in 4 weeks, so I don't want to be worn out before I even start. So just going out for a slow steady run was what was required today. I ran my regular two bridges route, so I knew how far it would be & I really wasn't interested in the pace, so not having my watch wasn't a problem. Even so it felt a bit like setting off running naked.

Thursday's race is a fairly low key one in the local Harrogate & District Summer League, a hilly 4.9 miles course. I've been preparing more, however, for the John Carr 5k series which starts next week. I'm not intending to do any more speed sessions in the next few weeks apart from the races.

Three peaks race (spectating)

Up early this morning to run the Ilkley Harriers 'Hard run' interval session, before heading off the Ingleborough to watch the Three Peaks race. With it being the weekend of the London marathon as well as the Three Peaks, I wasn't expecting too many of us to be running this morning. As it turned out there were 6 of us, including Richard R & Jeff P to push the pace along.


As usual we ran efforts of 2X3 minutes, 2X4 minutes, 2X5 minutes & 3X6 minutes, with about 3 minutes of recoveries between the efforts. The course is out & back along the Nesfield Road to the A59, which is quite undulating, with a couple of significant hills up to Nesfield (which always are part of effort sections). Overall I averaged a bit less than 3:50 minutes per km during the efforts, which I was quite happy with considering that I was still feeling the effects of Wednesday's track session. In total I ran 16k, including regrouping & running from & to home.



Not much time to get showered, changed & something to eat, before driving up to Clapham. Arriving at Clapham at 10:45, I reckoned that I had about 1 hour 45 minutes to get to the top of Ingleborough before the first runner. It was therefore quite a brisk walk, especially after running an interval session. I managed to get to the top with about 10 minutes to spare.



The weather was perfect for the many spectators: warm, little wind, sunny, very dry. Not sure that the runners would be so enthusiastic about the temperature (the car showed 23 degrees when I got back to Clapham).






I've never watched the Three Peaks race before. I was surprised how slowly the leading runners were walking up the final climb to the summit of Ingleborough.....by this stage they had run about 30k, climbing Penyghent & Whernside along the way, so I guess that it's not really surprising that they looked worn out. There were some seriously quick runners, including Ilkley's Tom A & Dave W, who were looking well tired going up. The really impressive thing though, especially for the leading runners was the speed that they went down the steep rocky descent from the top. I have no idea how they can run so quickly downhill on boulders.

After about an hour of watching runners reach the summit, I headed off down the path towards Horton, which was the same route that the runners were taking, so I was mindful about keeping out of their way. There were some very weary runners making their way on the long descent to the finish....it must be about 10k into Horton. One runner in particular took a really bad fall just in front of me, he just lost concentration.


I turned off back to Clapham from Sulber Nick, making a walk of about 18k in total. Quite a lot of exercise & fresh air today covering more than 34k, so I'm going to have a couple of beers now.

Effects of Wednesday's session

Yesterday I didn't run, but this morning I could still feel quite a bit of stiffness in my legs following the fast track session on Wednesday...... I guess that I'm just not used to running at that kind of speed. Today I decided to run my regular two bridges route & just see how I felt when I got running.

Surprisingly I was running faster than I normally run this route when I'm just out for a steady run. I added on an extra loop around Addingham, to make the total distance just short of 14k, at an average of a bit less than 5 minutes per km. I was quite happy with that, even though my legs were still sore at the end of the run. Good job that I'm not racing until next Thursday.

It's a busy weekend for long races with the Three Peaks on Saturday & the London Marathon on Sunday. Good luck to everyone taking part in both. I'm thinking of maybe going to watch the race on Ingleborough tomorrow.

Fast track session

This evening's track session at Carnegie was very different to previous sessions. We did short fast reps with relatively long recoveries. The sessions was: 6X150m, 12X200m, 8X300m with walk/jog recoveries of similar time to the efforts.

I was running in a group with Mark I, David B & Nick P. We averaged 27 seconds per 150m, 37 seconds for the 200s & 56 seconds for the 300s, which is considerably faster than we would normally run in a track session. The idea, according to coach Pete was to get used to running at a much faster speed, out of our normal comfort zone and to sharpen us up for the forthcoming 5k races.

The average pace for the efforts was equivalent to running a 15 minute 5k, albeit with about 15 minutes of recoveries along the way.

I didn't write a blog about Monday or Tuesday's runs. On Monday I ran up on the moors past the Swastika Stone & Windgate Nick covering about 13k very slowly. Yesterday was a similar distance covering the course of next week's Harrogate League race in Ilkley with laps around the park at the start & finish.

Same again - only different

Today I ran the same distance as yesterday, about 18.5k at a very similar overall pace, but the two days of running were really very different. Yesterday was the 5k Parkrun in Bradford plus warm up, then a hilly warm down run having a good chat along the way. This afternoon I set off intending to run a steady two bridges run to Addingham & back, but once I got underway I decided on a change of plan.

Instead of turning left over the suspension bridge after Nesfield, I carried straight on to Bolton Bridge. Rather than running the same route on the way back, I reverted to plan A & went over the bridge to Addingham for the return via Low Mill to Ilkley. So I did complete the run that I was intending to do at the start, I just added on an extra 7k or so in the middle.

My pace today was 5:10 minutes per km which is fine for a longish steady run & probably a bit quicker than I would have expected after racing yesterday. Having said that, the race yesterday was more like a fast training run, as I hadn't really prepared for it, with some hard training runs over the previous two weeks.

Bradford Parkrun

Today was the first ever Parkrun at Lister Park in Bradford. Conditions were perfect: dry, pleasantly warm & sunny. The park which is better known to most of us from Bradford as Manningham Park was looking at its best: flower beds in bloom, well maintained paths & Cartwright Hall as impressive as ever. There were quite a lot of non runners around, but this wasn't a problem at all as the paths are 4 or 5 metres wide throughout the park.

I did a couple of laps of the course as a warm up (the race is 3 & a bit laps), then at the start saw plenty of familiar faces, including Andy W & his young daughter, Justin P, Josie H from Otley AC & Richard B from Bingley Harriers. There was a good attendance of maybe a hundred or so runners, which is good for a first event.

The pace was brisk as ever at the start of a 5k, after a few hundred metres I was in about 10th place with Justin not far ahead & Josie alongside. The problem with the course is the hill which comes after about 1k on the first lap, it starts of quite steep, then levels out a bit, but is continuously uphill for about 500m. This certainly makes the route much slower than it otherwise would be.

I worked my way past a few runners, including Justin, who is recovering from illness. The finish of the race is just after the 3rd time up the hill, with an extra incline added on for good measure.
I finished in 18:45 (unofficial timing, not seen the results yet) in 5th place. The time was nothing special, but considering it includes three climbs up the hill I was quite happy with my run.

After the race I joined Justin, Josie & Richard on a 9.5k warm down run, including plenty more hills & a good chat. There was a pleasant section through Northcliffe Park, which covered part of my old school cross country course. All in all it was a very enjoyable morning's running, covering about 18.5k in total including the race.

Just an easy run

Yesterday was a rest day, but I've still run more than 100km in the last 7 days, so today another easy run was called for. I ran a variation of the two bridges route, with an extra loop around Addingham, just over 13.5k. Pace was steady at about 5:10 minutes per km.

Tomorrow if I can persuade myself to get out of bed early, I'll go over to Bradford to do the new Parkrun course at Lister Park. I've not run around there for at least 40 years, so it should be interesting. The course looks to be better than the Leeds Hyde Park course, so it should be a bit quicker....we'll have to see. There is a short sharp hill up the side of Emm Lane, although I'm not sure whether we go up or down that.

Miles on the track

This evening's track session was 2X1600m (approx 1 mile) with 2 minute recoveries, 2X800m with 1 minute recoveries then 3X400m with 30 second recoveries, followed by optional 200m sprints.

I was running in a group with Mark I, Nick P & a guy from Otley. We ran the 1600m reps in 5:45, then the 800s in 2:49 & the 400s between 1:21 & 1:23. I was quite happy with this session as I felt very strong during the 1600s & whilst it seemed like hard work for the 800s & 400s, we were running at a faster pace. Following yesterday's 23k run & 10k walk, I was pleased to be able to run quickly this evening with no ill effects.

The average pace for the 6k of efforts was 3:32 minutes per km - comfortably quicker than my target of 18 minutes for 5k, so that's good news.

During the 400m reps, even though I'd speeded up from the longer reps, I was slowing compared to my running partners, so I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about finishing with some 200m sprints. I only did one of them, most of the rest of the group ran two. I managed to run 34 seconds which made me the slowest in the group (having been at the front for the mile reps). Coach Pete asked me to write in my blog that he was faster than me over 200m....well done Pete!