These blogs will again not hopefully turn into a quarterly event, and now I have time to write blogs amongst other things I should be able to update them on a more regular basis. On reflection I can say that this Spring has been my most successful yet. Breaking two pbs and winning several races have brought me back to where I was back at uni and given me answers to many questions. I must admit that over the past couple of years I have had my doubts if I could ever succeed to that level again, dreading that my best years were already behind me.
Having struggled through the past couple of years of bad luck, inconsistant training, and lack focus. I seem to be on the up, and long may it continue. Perhaps the biggest lesson learnt is there are no secrets tp training. its just hardwork and a lot of consistent weeks of mileage. Trying to balance hard training and rest whilst ensuring that i enjoyed training and racing as much as possible has been the aim. Thats why i've run in races that ive not done before, and tried to do a full season of xc. As well as relaxed more after runs, races and hard training sessions. To pin the success of the spring campaign on one race was perhaps and bit dangerous and i was glad that i pulled out a 2 second pb at Wilmslow. Coming into London knowing that anything i pulled out was a bonus was both a relief and comforting.
With a positive feeling from London I cannot wait to hit the summer training hard and run some more Pb's.
I dont want to enter the whole strength of uk distance running debate but heres a quick fact from London. I finished 47th, and the youngest UK runner above me was Andrew Lemoncello at 28.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Friday, 12 November 2010
These blogs are becoming less frequent for several reasons however I hopefully can start to write these more often throughout the winter months. I have no excuse not to write it at the moment as i'm sat on a new virgin train from Carlisle to Preston on the way between work appointments. The train is predictably heading towards London (which train doesn't these days? ) however quite why you would want to stop either in Carlisle or Preston is beyond me! The view of the snow on the fells in the lakes is nice though!
Back to the training then, well last night (thursday) summed up week nicely - hard and full of enjoyment. Thursday night runs are ones I really look forward to during the week, especially as your normally dragging your heels as your nearly but not quite at the weekend. Thursday is Salford Club night which starts with leaving the office in running kit which is in itself an experience. Funny looks are given and the question why is frequently asked - i'm not sure if its the choice to wear lycra of the fact that my colleagues are off to try decide which colour manchester should be!
I run down to the station, stand around for the train - more funny looks, before running from a station down the line through Moston, which on some accounts is an up and coming area -political speak really it only had two shootings their instead of the four the year before. Having made it safely to the club house (also conviently located behind a pub) i'm greeted with the general welcomes. In manchester this normally is an "alreeet" followed by a reply of "yer i'm alreet, you alreet?". Having followed this its normally weren't they crap last night in reference to which every side of the city played the previous evening.
After general banter and welcomes for several minutes, we normally walk out the road before we decide which route to run. Recommendations are made, and then quickly dismissed as somebody pipes up "no my brothers aunts sister ran that way yesterday, she couldn't see owt". Once somebody makes a decision we go..slowly at first as a group, before long the attacks start to come and the pace goes up, the silence decends and you drop one by one as you can't take the pace or get hit by a missile thrown from the local hoodies (normally apples, however they now seem to throw conkers at the moment). You just follow the guy in front knowing if you drop the pace your likely to get lost and not get back to the club house for a few hours!
The run finishes, you shake everybodies hands as they finish, which by the end of this you feel like Prince Phillip, it seems you wouldnt be out of place to
Back to the training then, well last night (thursday) summed up week nicely - hard and full of enjoyment. Thursday night runs are ones I really look forward to during the week, especially as your normally dragging your heels as your nearly but not quite at the weekend. Thursday is Salford Club night which starts with leaving the office in running kit which is in itself an experience. Funny looks are given and the question why is frequently asked - i'm not sure if its the choice to wear lycra of the fact that my colleagues are off to try decide which colour manchester should be!
I run down to the station, stand around for the train - more funny looks, before running from a station down the line through Moston, which on some accounts is an up and coming area -political speak really it only had two shootings their instead of the four the year before. Having made it safely to the club house (also conviently located behind a pub) i'm greeted with the general welcomes. In manchester this normally is an "alreeet" followed by a reply of "yer i'm alreet, you alreet?". Having followed this its normally weren't they crap last night in reference to which every side of the city played the previous evening.
After general banter and welcomes for several minutes, we normally walk out the road before we decide which route to run. Recommendations are made, and then quickly dismissed as somebody pipes up "no my brothers aunts sister ran that way yesterday, she couldn't see owt". Once somebody makes a decision we go..slowly at first as a group, before long the attacks start to come and the pace goes up, the silence decends and you drop one by one as you can't take the pace or get hit by a missile thrown from the local hoodies (normally apples, however they now seem to throw conkers at the moment). You just follow the guy in front knowing if you drop the pace your likely to get lost and not get back to the club house for a few hours!
The run finishes, you shake everybodies hands as they finish, which by the end of this you feel like Prince Phillip, it seems you wouldnt be out of place to
Sunday, 12 September 2010
into a routine
The routine throughout the year has gone as follows;
1. run, abstain from beer, chocolate and chips and then get injured.
2.Eat chips and drink beer; then get back to some form of fitness leave of the chips and beer and then move up north.
3. Get injured, drink beer, start running again, get ill, eat the chips, chocolate, ice cream and a lot of pastry in the space of five days.
4. realise my kenyan/ scottish diet of porridge is perhaps not the most nutrious and decide to add a few pieces of fruit and veg to this!
5. Hopefully from now until the end of the year i can train consistently, not get ill and come into 2011 in some form of decent shape!
Prior to being knocked out with a cold for a few days of which i'm just getting over the training was begining to click. The mileage wasnt there but the pace and quality was. Easy runs had been clicking in at a minimum of 6.30 if not rising to 6 min miles on a few days. It was no surprise that I made the decision having arrived in cheltenham late on a friday night that i should do a few more miles to make the week tally. Hence i walked into my girlfriends flat, dropped my stuff and announced I was off out for a half an hour. She obviously has got used to the running antics and didnt batt an eye lid, asking me to be quiet when i got back! The next plan must be to persuade her to become a physio!
1. run, abstain from beer, chocolate and chips and then get injured.
2.Eat chips and drink beer; then get back to some form of fitness leave of the chips and beer and then move up north.
3. Get injured, drink beer, start running again, get ill, eat the chips, chocolate, ice cream and a lot of pastry in the space of five days.
4. realise my kenyan/ scottish diet of porridge is perhaps not the most nutrious and decide to add a few pieces of fruit and veg to this!
5. Hopefully from now until the end of the year i can train consistently, not get ill and come into 2011 in some form of decent shape!
Prior to being knocked out with a cold for a few days of which i'm just getting over the training was begining to click. The mileage wasnt there but the pace and quality was. Easy runs had been clicking in at a minimum of 6.30 if not rising to 6 min miles on a few days. It was no surprise that I made the decision having arrived in cheltenham late on a friday night that i should do a few more miles to make the week tally. Hence i walked into my girlfriends flat, dropped my stuff and announced I was off out for a half an hour. She obviously has got used to the running antics and didnt batt an eye lid, asking me to be quiet when i got back! The next plan must be to persuade her to become a physio!
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Injured Again
Well i have managed to become injured again. I think its some sort of sore tendon in my ankle however i'm not so sure at the moment. It has left me searching for a physio in manchester (there are plenty) earlier than I wanted to at this time of the year. It's a shame as things were actually begining to click! I had come back from a week off and was dragging myself out of bed in the mornings to do my early runs.
These were mainly alongside the Rochdale canal, with the main excited of the run being if I got attacked by canadian geese who think I'm running onto their patch. When you have a flock of them chasing you and hissing the whole run starts turning into a fartlek session. I have come up with the solution for this of running along with my arms raised, trying to make myself look as big as possible and shouting onscenities at them! Anybody who happens to be on a boat moored to the bank when this happens is given a wake up call free of charge!
The evenings had also been taking care of themselves, long runs into the dusk on the moorland behind my house, and then intervals at Sports City with Salford. There club races however are often midweek therefore attendence has been a bit low for the past couple of sessions. I still havent met Mr Jones, and am therefore begining to think he is just a figment of everybodies imagination! Hopefully I can be back on track shortly!
These were mainly alongside the Rochdale canal, with the main excited of the run being if I got attacked by canadian geese who think I'm running onto their patch. When you have a flock of them chasing you and hissing the whole run starts turning into a fartlek session. I have come up with the solution for this of running along with my arms raised, trying to make myself look as big as possible and shouting onscenities at them! Anybody who happens to be on a boat moored to the bank when this happens is given a wake up call free of charge!
The evenings had also been taking care of themselves, long runs into the dusk on the moorland behind my house, and then intervals at Sports City with Salford. There club races however are often midweek therefore attendence has been a bit low for the past couple of sessions. I still havent met Mr Jones, and am therefore begining to think he is just a figment of everybodies imagination! Hopefully I can be back on track shortly!
Sunday, 11 July 2010
sorry its been so long!
I got reminded last week that i hadn't blogged that much for the lat two months. I apologise however i have been busy. Hopefully my blog can take on an added dimension as am now living in yorkshire. So during the past couple of months i have moved to a job in Manchester, moved house, lived in a tent for two weeks and already have travelled into yorkshire once too many! I'm now blogging from a one bedroom terraced house in Oxenhope, Keighley which is situated neatly between a fish and chip shop, pub and cricket pitch. All three i'm yet to really experience, however being Sunday I have been expecting to hear a thud as a cricket ball cracks my window (my house forms part of the boundary). Although on todays performance i dont think they are either that good or that lucky! I am however eyeing up the pitch as its the only flat piece of well kept grass around for miles. I am very tempted to run a trundle wheel around the outside and use it when the cricket season ends.
The only differences i have found training up here is there tends to be more hello's and general chatter on the trails as the hundreds of mountain bikers pass you. They all have nice machines which makes me think either they are highly experienced or they are the bankers who put us in this recession out for a weekend jolly! The number of climbs is certainly different. I managed to climb 2500ft in 16 miles without really trying. Some days at the end of the week you only have to step out of the door and your climbing.
Last week i was training in central park (Haworth not NY, although if you ran around it enough it wuld just be as hilly and tagged a few hill reps on the end up the main street in Haworth. The famous Hovis bread advert used this cobbled street which should give you some idea of how steep it is. Hopefully i will try and find said advert and post it later.
Training is slowly getting back to the level it should be and i have an eye on getting fit for the end of the year so i can storm next year. I ran out to train with Salford on tuesday in the shadow of the city of manchester stadium. The majority of them were racing however i was thrown in with a few middle distance runners who quite quickly dropped me on their k efforts (they hit the last one in 2.49). By all accounts i'm going to get fit very quickly with sessions like that!
The only differences i have found training up here is there tends to be more hello's and general chatter on the trails as the hundreds of mountain bikers pass you. They all have nice machines which makes me think either they are highly experienced or they are the bankers who put us in this recession out for a weekend jolly! The number of climbs is certainly different. I managed to climb 2500ft in 16 miles without really trying. Some days at the end of the week you only have to step out of the door and your climbing.
Last week i was training in central park (Haworth not NY, although if you ran around it enough it wuld just be as hilly and tagged a few hill reps on the end up the main street in Haworth. The famous Hovis bread advert used this cobbled street which should give you some idea of how steep it is. Hopefully i will try and find said advert and post it later.
Training is slowly getting back to the level it should be and i have an eye on getting fit for the end of the year so i can storm next year. I ran out to train with Salford on tuesday in the shadow of the city of manchester stadium. The majority of them were racing however i was thrown in with a few middle distance runners who quite quickly dropped me on their k efforts (they hit the last one in 2.49). By all accounts i'm going to get fit very quickly with sessions like that!
Friday, 7 May 2010
First past the post
So the election hasnt really been decided yet. Well the winners the winner but apparently they don't technically win (try implementing that in a race). My ride home today was taken up avoiding the pot holes (sorry craters), dodging the cars and fighting a head wind. It also got me thinking of my three nominations for PM from perhaps the best era of GB running: Seb Coe, Steve Cram and Steve Ovett.
In these three you would have Coe, the smooth talking, spin loving, big event organisor. The glamour and well spoken manner of this man would certainly be able to make sure we celebrated all those other countrys patron saints days! Steve Cram the straight talking geordie, would tell us how it was and without the crap. Certainly the "bash out a session whilst the kettle boils approach" would mean that we all could focus on the important things, and then enjoy a nice cup of tea! Finally i think Steve Ovett would be the only one who would tell the Yanks exactly where to go, especially when Bush was about. His straight talking would reduce the self esteem of most politician to nothing and the interviews would tell us exactly how deep our country is in the shite.
In fact maybe a hung parliment would be the best approach with these three! We'd have one big party on St Patricks day, solve world issues over a brew, and deal with those who were full of themselves and needed to be taken down a peg! Perhaps alternatively the general election should be decided in a winner takes all London Marathon!
In these three you would have Coe, the smooth talking, spin loving, big event organisor. The glamour and well spoken manner of this man would certainly be able to make sure we celebrated all those other countrys patron saints days! Steve Cram the straight talking geordie, would tell us how it was and without the crap. Certainly the "bash out a session whilst the kettle boils approach" would mean that we all could focus on the important things, and then enjoy a nice cup of tea! Finally i think Steve Ovett would be the only one who would tell the Yanks exactly where to go, especially when Bush was about. His straight talking would reduce the self esteem of most politician to nothing and the interviews would tell us exactly how deep our country is in the shite.
In fact maybe a hung parliment would be the best approach with these three! We'd have one big party on St Patricks day, solve world issues over a brew, and deal with those who were full of themselves and needed to be taken down a peg! Perhaps alternatively the general election should be decided in a winner takes all London Marathon!
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Guided Tours
So the biggest guided tour of London by several Africans has just taken place, with again a few dissapointing results by British Athletes. I watched the majority of the race on mute, so i could enjoy the race and not get any unwanted feedback! The conditions seemed perfect to running and it was perhaps unfortunate that the last week of volcanic activity seems to have had an influence on Yara Y. Iceland can be blamed for even more problems it seems! Again although described as great runs by the commentry team for the British trio which finished within a couple of minutes of each other, finishing in the top ten and not even breaking 2.10 seems a bit of a shock. Sure they are good club runs however for the elite it has to be a worry! The opportunities to end non runners question of have you run the marathon? with the response of yes i had a crap race and finished tenth are perhaps presenting themseleves too much for British runners and therefore the next couple of years could be key. With the biggest marathon in the world on our doorstop it seems we can afford to shell out £150k on transport yet we cannot spend this on talent!
Being back from injury for a couple of weeks and just about to enter my first deserved easy week in a while i'm keen to get back and focus on this year. The magnetic timing board supplied by Timex in my marathon pack already has the time i wish to run on it next year! It will shortly be making it way to the front of the fridge and only has two 2 in and a lot of zero's. Lets hope we can have a few more runners training their guts off over the next 12 months and give us a really good race next year!
Being back from injury for a couple of weeks and just about to enter my first deserved easy week in a while i'm keen to get back and focus on this year. The magnetic timing board supplied by Timex in my marathon pack already has the time i wish to run on it next year! It will shortly be making it way to the front of the fridge and only has two 2 in and a lot of zero's. Lets hope we can have a few more runners training their guts off over the next 12 months and give us a really good race next year!
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