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.
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
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.
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.
Monday, 21 June 2010
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.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, 12 June 2010
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.
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.
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