A great week's running so far.
On Tuesday I did 5 * 600m as part of an 8 mile run. I did the intervals in about 2:15 which felt hard but good.
Wednesday was club night and we did speed work which was fun especially when you come first in your group.
Thursday was a slow 12 miler and then today was a parkrun.
According to the training schedule I was supposed to do 11 miles incorporating a 10K race. As I couldn't find a suitable race I ran 4 miles to a local parkrun, did the 5K race and then ran the 4 miles back.
Woodbank parkrun starts on a track which is a nice bonus but does have a 100 foot hill that you have to do twice. Considering the hill I wasn't expecting to make a PB but was happy with 20:45.
Never one to say no to free food I started scoffing down flapjacks after the race before remembering that I had to run home! Ooops.
Doing the first mile after the race in 10 minutes seemed to appease my stomach and the run home was actually fine.
Saturday 24 August 2013
Sunday 18 August 2013
Belper 30K
After Tuesday's tempo run I did a club session on Wednesday night. This involved 800 metres run followed by 6 hill repeats and then another 800 metres. Then we did the whole thing again. Tearing up that hill was great fun!
After a 12 miler on Thursday morning and 5 miles recovery yesterday I was partly tapered for today's 30K.
This was my first trail race and boy was it different to road running! Most of the course was either climbing or descending, the terrain varied from road to muddy, rocky paths by a stream and I lost count of the number of stiles we had to cross.
The first mile was pretty flat and after going around an industrial estate to break the field up a bit we headed out into the countryside. After crossing the river we got to the first queue where the path narrows as it cuts down to the river. Less than a mile later there was a really long queue at the first stile. It was pretty weird queuing for a couple of minutes in a race. If you wanted to do this course in a good time you would have to start fast enough to be in front of the pack for the first queue.
There was a really steep climb in the second mile and combining that with the queue for the stile I took almost 13 minutes on that stretch! My slowest mile ever by a large margin.
After another hill on mile 4 the route is then downhill for a couple of miles. At this point I got my second wind and running on a wide path through the forest with a big group of runners was an awesome experience.
At the start of mile 7 the hill of death starts - 3 miles of incline with a very steep start. After a slow 7th mile the gradient eased and I managed to keep up a reasonable pace and overtake quite a few people.
The big hill ended at the 9 mile point and from there it is mainly downhill for 5 miles. This would be great except often the gradient was too steep and the path too uneven to take advantage of gravity.
There is another nasty hill on the 14th mile which really seemed to break a lot of people. I managed to keep going and then ran the last, flattish section at about 7.45 min/mile pace.
My finishing time of 2:39:22 was nothing special but good enough for about 85th place out of about 350 runners. Not a particularly high placing percentage wise but then this run is mainly undertaken by serious runners - no charity runners here!
Overall I enjoyed it and was happy to finish strongly. I will probably do it again next year although it is a bit of a drive for me.
After a 12 miler on Thursday morning and 5 miles recovery yesterday I was partly tapered for today's 30K.
This was my first trail race and boy was it different to road running! Most of the course was either climbing or descending, the terrain varied from road to muddy, rocky paths by a stream and I lost count of the number of stiles we had to cross.
The first mile was pretty flat and after going around an industrial estate to break the field up a bit we headed out into the countryside. After crossing the river we got to the first queue where the path narrows as it cuts down to the river. Less than a mile later there was a really long queue at the first stile. It was pretty weird queuing for a couple of minutes in a race. If you wanted to do this course in a good time you would have to start fast enough to be in front of the pack for the first queue.
There was a really steep climb in the second mile and combining that with the queue for the stile I took almost 13 minutes on that stretch! My slowest mile ever by a large margin.
After another hill on mile 4 the route is then downhill for a couple of miles. At this point I got my second wind and running on a wide path through the forest with a big group of runners was an awesome experience.
At the start of mile 7 the hill of death starts - 3 miles of incline with a very steep start. After a slow 7th mile the gradient eased and I managed to keep up a reasonable pace and overtake quite a few people.
The big hill ended at the 9 mile point and from there it is mainly downhill for 5 miles. This would be great except often the gradient was too steep and the path too uneven to take advantage of gravity.
There is another nasty hill on the 14th mile which really seemed to break a lot of people. I managed to keep going and then ran the last, flattish section at about 7.45 min/mile pace.
My finishing time of 2:39:22 was nothing special but good enough for about 85th place out of about 350 runners. Not a particularly high placing percentage wise but then this run is mainly undertaken by serious runners - no charity runners here!
Overall I enjoyed it and was happy to finish strongly. I will probably do it again next year although it is a bit of a drive for me.
Tuesday 13 August 2013
The speed is back
I had a great holiday from a running perspective with some amazing 8 mile runs on New Forest tracks. The roads were flat, deserted and obviously surrounded by beautiful forest.
When I started the P&D plan I seemed to lose my speed a bit with my default pace dropping to 8.30 min / mile. For whatever reason my default speed has now returned to 8 min / mile and the training is feeling easier.
On Sunday's 14 miler I did every mile in under 8 minutes even though this was supposed to be a slow run.
This morning I did a 11 miler with 7 miles @ tempo pace (7 min / mile for me.) This is normally a really hard workout but it felt fine! This is the last tempo run of the training plan but if I do it again I guess I will have to make my tempo pace a bit faster. Progress!
I am now going to ease up for the rest of the week in preparation for the Belper Rugby Rover 30K. This is my first trail race and it has a 3 mile hill in the middle. I have always said that fell runners are crazy so we will see if this race changes my mind at all!
When I started the P&D plan I seemed to lose my speed a bit with my default pace dropping to 8.30 min / mile. For whatever reason my default speed has now returned to 8 min / mile and the training is feeling easier.
On Sunday's 14 miler I did every mile in under 8 minutes even though this was supposed to be a slow run.
This morning I did a 11 miler with 7 miles @ tempo pace (7 min / mile for me.) This is normally a really hard workout but it felt fine! This is the last tempo run of the training plan but if I do it again I guess I will have to make my tempo pace a bit faster. Progress!
I am now going to ease up for the rest of the week in preparation for the Belper Rugby Rover 30K. This is my first trail race and it has a 3 mile hill in the middle. I have always said that fell runners are crazy so we will see if this race changes my mind at all!
Friday 2 August 2013
16 miles with 12 at pace
On Wednesday I did another club session with the Bramhall Runners. This was great fun this week. We did three reps of 1200 metres with 6 mins recovery. Inevitably some of us guys ended up racing and I managed to come second in the second rep. which I was very pleased about!
On Thursday I did six miles recovery. This was supposed to be slow but my legs wanted to run at 8 min / mile pace so I let them.
This morning was a dreaded marathon pace run, this one being 16 miles with 12 at MP.
I decided do most of the fast miles on a flat park loop to avoid hills, traffic and sharp corners. This seemed to help as I managed to do the last 12 miles at the required pace on average despite slowing down on miles 9 to 11 (of the last 12.)
After 2 bottles of Lucozade, a cup of tea and some muesli it was time for the 6 mile cycle to work which actually serves as a very useful warm down.
This was one of the hardest training runs I have ever done and you do ask yourself at the end why you are putting yourself through this. However the rewards come later and in lots of ways, some more tangible than others.
Keep running.
On Thursday I did six miles recovery. This was supposed to be slow but my legs wanted to run at 8 min / mile pace so I let them.
This morning was a dreaded marathon pace run, this one being 16 miles with 12 at MP.
I decided do most of the fast miles on a flat park loop to avoid hills, traffic and sharp corners. This seemed to help as I managed to do the last 12 miles at the required pace on average despite slowing down on miles 9 to 11 (of the last 12.)
After 2 bottles of Lucozade, a cup of tea and some muesli it was time for the 6 mile cycle to work which actually serves as a very useful warm down.
This was one of the hardest training runs I have ever done and you do ask yourself at the end why you are putting yourself through this. However the rewards come later and in lots of ways, some more tangible than others.
Keep running.
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