At the start of the year I posted a few goals for 2013, so as it's New Year's Eve it seems a good time to have a bit of a think back over the running year.
I've had some successes, and other things came in which changed the nature of my running a bit.
- Get down consistently below 13 stone. I have done this comfortably, although I haven't obsessed about it. It's just kind of happened, with a couple of tweaks to my eating/drinking and increasing of exercise.
- Be wary of my alcohol intake and go for "streaks" of being teetotal (probably between holiday times). I'm afraid I failed on this except for the first few months of the year, although my intake generally has vastly reduced compared to previous years. This has helped with the above weight goal.
- Crack a 1:45 for a half marathon. This was my main time challenge for 2013, and I managed this twice, so I have to be pleased with that. There were however two other races where I had aimed to go under 1:45 and I failed, so this 1:45 time still isn't a given for me. On the other hand, I think I've got more in me so this is kind of a mixed bag really.
- My blog says "Get around a full marathon and actually enjoy it (unlike London 2010)!! A time of sub-4:30 would be great...", so I did actually do this with a 4:08, however off of a 1:42 half this is a weak time. So, I'm pleased I got close to that 4hr mark, but I didn't break it. I can't even really say I'll definitely do it in 2014, as I so far haven't entered any.
- Get under 45mins for a 10K. I did this with a 43:40, so no complaints there, although I thought this was going to be toughest time target. According to Macmillan, this is my "best" time, which is a bit strange and points to a lack of endurance at longer distances. On a "fair" course, I did Sunday's 10K and also went under 45mins.
- Keep it going with the Trotters (running club). I did this, and this is a big part of the reason for any running improvement I've had, along with the weight loss. I also marshalled at 4 events, which I really enjoyed.
- Rack up 1200-1500 miles in the year. This was more of a measure of consistency and to see if I could stay injury free (i.e., 30 miles a week on average for a year) and I managed this. I've just checked Garmin Connect and I've done 1624 this year. Now I know this isn't massive mileage by any stretch, but it's the most consistent I've ever been so I've got to be happy with this (which I am!).
- Keep my back healthy!!! This was the last goal, but I noted it was also the most important and (touch wood!) I seem to have done that after big problems in 2011.
Two things that kind of crept up on me that weren't on the radar at the start of the year were a) parkrun and b) off road running.
Parkrun is just brilliant and I'll try and keep them going. I've done 19 this year, with my first being in June. For next year, I'm not going to put a target number on this as with the amount of races I'm hoping to do I don't expect I'll get that many done, but I do enjoy them and I will get along when I can.
Offroad has been a relatively late introduction to me. My regular parkrun is off road terrain, but it's fine in the summer/dry. However, in the rain it's a mud bath. Due to this I bought some trail shoes and have since done 2 "proper" off road races. I always shied away from off road, but due to me getting into it a bit means I can have a go at the club championship next year, which is one of my main goals.
As well as the club championship my other main goal is to see if I can get under 1:40 for a half, so we'll see how that goes.
So in summary, I think I've had a good year where I've enjoyed my running although I'm disappointed with my marathon time. Although not quick, my lower distances are better than my higher distances (according to Macmillan), which can only be that I lack endurance, so that's something to look at. I've had PBs at all my distances too, which is a good sign:
5K - 21:29
10K - 43:40
Half: 1:42:02
Marathon: 4:08:12
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Post-Xmas post
A quick update since my last post is that I unfortunately didn't manage to get one of my club's London Marathon places, but I am first reserve in the unlikely event that someone pulls out.
Over the Xmas period, I managed to keep the running going so I'm quite pleased. I also got a 10K race in yesterday! It was called the Stoke Stampede in Taunton and it was a great little race and the conditions were perfect - it may have been a tad cold for some people, but it was perfect for me. I managed to get around in 44:02 (this is my Garmin's time, so unofficial at the moment). It's not quite a PB, but my PB is on a course where the first mile is down hill so I don't really count that. This is a PB on a course that I would consider to be a fair one so I'm really pleased as I feel I've finished the year on a bit of a high!
Mile splits were 7:17, 7:14, 7:07, 7:01, 6:55, 6:45 with the last bit at 1:42 so you can see I got progressively quicker, although I definitely lost a few seconds in the first mile or so due to congestion. This is an average of 7:03, and I had nothing left at the end.
I'm already looking forward to my next 10K which is next weekend on a very flat course although if it's windy the course can be tough as it's fairly exposed. The next race is the first one that is part of my club's championship and it will be a good way to ease myself into that. There are a large number of my club doing it so that should be good.
Over the Xmas period, I managed to keep the running going so I'm quite pleased. I also got a 10K race in yesterday! It was called the Stoke Stampede in Taunton and it was a great little race and the conditions were perfect - it may have been a tad cold for some people, but it was perfect for me. I managed to get around in 44:02 (this is my Garmin's time, so unofficial at the moment). It's not quite a PB, but my PB is on a course where the first mile is down hill so I don't really count that. This is a PB on a course that I would consider to be a fair one so I'm really pleased as I feel I've finished the year on a bit of a high!
Mile splits were 7:17, 7:14, 7:07, 7:01, 6:55, 6:45 with the last bit at 1:42 so you can see I got progressively quicker, although I definitely lost a few seconds in the first mile or so due to congestion. This is an average of 7:03, and I had nothing left at the end.
I'm already looking forward to my next 10K which is next weekend on a very flat course although if it's windy the course can be tough as it's fairly exposed. The next race is the first one that is part of my club's championship and it will be a good way to ease myself into that. There are a large number of my club doing it so that should be good.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Dogs, hills, long runs and the London Marathon options (plus 100th post)
Dogs
I got a 10-miler in on Tuesday at a steady 10 min/miles. One part of it is a long stretch of flat gravel path section that is used by runners, walkers, cyclists, dog walkers and runs along the back of a local racecourse. Anyway, I use it quite regularly and there is one chap who has a small dog who I've seen a few times. This dog isn't dangerous (in fact, it looks a lovely little thing), but it runs very quickly up and down this long path whilst the owner saunters along. It was turning dark, and a cyclist was coming along at what I would have considered a sensible pace and had all the winter gear on. The dog was legging it up towards him and unfortunately the cyclist ran over the dog. There was a lot of yelping but the dog was fine.
I'm getting to the point, but the dog owner absolutely lost it with the cyclist ("If I see you here again I'll throw you over the f'in fence" type of thing). The cyclist had stopped and I jogged up next to the cyclist and didn't say anything, but then the dog owner started having a go at me as well! Something like "And you - you need to slow the f down as well!".
I initially felt a warm burst of pride that he thought I was running too quickly, but I quickly realised the chap was delusional! I just calmly pointed out that it was a shared path and that I saw the whole thing with the cyclist and felt the cyclist was going at a safe pace. The dog owner wasn't happy though!
In all seriousness, over the last 12-15 months since I've been running more regularly, I quite often see altercations between different groups of people. On this occasion though, I thought the cyclist hadn't done anything wrong and the dog owner was very over the top in his reaction.
Hills!!
Wednesday night is the club night that I usually do and there is a choice of sessions to attend. This week was one of my favourite sessions, known as Pitt Hill. It's a hill-repeat session where you run hard up the hill (and also along a flat stretch) and then a long jog recovery. We jogged from the club house and then did one loop as a warm up, and then 5 intervals.
I know these things are as only as tough as you make them, but I always feel like I've had a good work out on these sessions. The instructions are to run hard up the hill and went it levels out keep pushing until a certain point. When it levels out, you're absolutely knackered, your lungs are bursting, your legs feel like jelly and you really just want a little lie down, but it's only another 50m so you dig in. There's always some friendly competition as well which helps, and then there is a long jog recovery (about 3.5mins), before the next effort. The jog recovery for me is very slow, but that means I can attack the next effort which is the point of the session.
The times don't mean very much, but I pressed the lap button and the efforts were quite consistent which I was pleased with, and each effort being about a 1/4 of a mile.
1 1:51.9 0.24
2 1:48.2 0.23
3 1:51.5 0.23
4 1:50.8 0.23
5 1:54.2 0.24
Long runs
I did a 12-miler yesterday, going out at 10min/miles. I often do something like this and the pace is always a close approximation but yesterday's session, according to my Garmin, was precisely 10min/mile over the 12 miles. Little things!
London Marathon
This weekend is the first extra chance I have to get in to next year's London Marathon, following the failure to get in via the public ballot. I am in the club's ballot for a London place, and the ballot takes place at this weekend's Xmas party, so I'm looking forward to that.
Also on Saturday is the last of the "run 8 parkruns in a row for a chance of a London place" promotion. The odds of getting a place via that route are very slim though as they have 2 marathon places, but currently over 4000 people still in with a shout.
I have entered various other competitions (Lucozade, Holiday Inn etc) and this week Timex had a promotion, which I had to give a reason with no more than 100 words as why I wanted the prize, which included Timex's new GPS watch. I wrote:
100th post on this blog
This happens to be the 100th post on this blog. Looking back, I've waffled a lot, but I'm pleased with keeping the blog going.
I got a 10-miler in on Tuesday at a steady 10 min/miles. One part of it is a long stretch of flat gravel path section that is used by runners, walkers, cyclists, dog walkers and runs along the back of a local racecourse. Anyway, I use it quite regularly and there is one chap who has a small dog who I've seen a few times. This dog isn't dangerous (in fact, it looks a lovely little thing), but it runs very quickly up and down this long path whilst the owner saunters along. It was turning dark, and a cyclist was coming along at what I would have considered a sensible pace and had all the winter gear on. The dog was legging it up towards him and unfortunately the cyclist ran over the dog. There was a lot of yelping but the dog was fine.
I'm getting to the point, but the dog owner absolutely lost it with the cyclist ("If I see you here again I'll throw you over the f'in fence" type of thing). The cyclist had stopped and I jogged up next to the cyclist and didn't say anything, but then the dog owner started having a go at me as well! Something like "And you - you need to slow the f down as well!".
I initially felt a warm burst of pride that he thought I was running too quickly, but I quickly realised the chap was delusional! I just calmly pointed out that it was a shared path and that I saw the whole thing with the cyclist and felt the cyclist was going at a safe pace. The dog owner wasn't happy though!
In all seriousness, over the last 12-15 months since I've been running more regularly, I quite often see altercations between different groups of people. On this occasion though, I thought the cyclist hadn't done anything wrong and the dog owner was very over the top in his reaction.
Hills!!
Wednesday night is the club night that I usually do and there is a choice of sessions to attend. This week was one of my favourite sessions, known as Pitt Hill. It's a hill-repeat session where you run hard up the hill (and also along a flat stretch) and then a long jog recovery. We jogged from the club house and then did one loop as a warm up, and then 5 intervals.
I know these things are as only as tough as you make them, but I always feel like I've had a good work out on these sessions. The instructions are to run hard up the hill and went it levels out keep pushing until a certain point. When it levels out, you're absolutely knackered, your lungs are bursting, your legs feel like jelly and you really just want a little lie down, but it's only another 50m so you dig in. There's always some friendly competition as well which helps, and then there is a long jog recovery (about 3.5mins), before the next effort. The jog recovery for me is very slow, but that means I can attack the next effort which is the point of the session.
The times don't mean very much, but I pressed the lap button and the efforts were quite consistent which I was pleased with, and each effort being about a 1/4 of a mile.
1 1:51.9 0.24
2 1:48.2 0.23
3 1:51.5 0.23
4 1:50.8 0.23
5 1:54.2 0.24
Long runs
I did a 12-miler yesterday, going out at 10min/miles. I often do something like this and the pace is always a close approximation but yesterday's session, according to my Garmin, was precisely 10min/mile over the 12 miles. Little things!
London Marathon
This weekend is the first extra chance I have to get in to next year's London Marathon, following the failure to get in via the public ballot. I am in the club's ballot for a London place, and the ballot takes place at this weekend's Xmas party, so I'm looking forward to that.
Also on Saturday is the last of the "run 8 parkruns in a row for a chance of a London place" promotion. The odds of getting a place via that route are very slim though as they have 2 marathon places, but currently over 4000 people still in with a shout.
I have entered various other competitions (Lucozade, Holiday Inn etc) and this week Timex had a promotion, which I had to give a reason with no more than 100 words as why I wanted the prize, which included Timex's new GPS watch. I wrote:
I am a regular poster to the Runner's World forums and a subscriber to the magazine. The London Marathon and I also have unfinished business as the last time I did it (2010) I crawled around in 5:15, when the course well and truly beat me. Some decent training, together with the Timex Ironman Run Trainer for extra motivation, will hopefully see me do much better. When all my clubmates see my shiny new device and see me knock minutes off of my PB, I’m hopeful that they will all go out and buy the new Timex device too.
100th post on this blog
This happens to be the 100th post on this blog. Looking back, I've waffled a lot, but I'm pleased with keeping the blog going.
Monday, December 09, 2013
Exeter Santa Run 5K
My wife and I took part on the Exeter Santa Run 5K yesterday, and it was great fun.
It ended up being my 6th day of running in a row, which isn't something I usually do, but it was all fine. Proceeds went to a local charity, and for the entry fee runners got a Santa suit, a timed event and a decent medal to finish. I'd definitely do this event again.
Me limbering up at the start:
At the start line, and it was a cracking day for running. These suits were very hot though, which made me think again about what those people who do a marathon in a gorilla suit must go through!
There was some bling at the end. My wife pointed out that the medals were in the shape of a Christmas tree bauble, so when we got him we tool the ribbons off the medal and stuck ours on our tree, which we had put up the day before.
It ended up being my 6th day of running in a row, which isn't something I usually do, but it was all fine. Proceeds went to a local charity, and for the entry fee runners got a Santa suit, a timed event and a decent medal to finish. I'd definitely do this event again.
Me limbering up at the start:
At the start line, and it was a cracking day for running. These suits were very hot though, which made me think again about what those people who do a marathon in a gorilla suit must go through!
There was some bling at the end. My wife pointed out that the medals were in the shape of a Christmas tree bauble, so when we got him we tool the ribbons off the medal and stuck ours on our tree, which we had put up the day before.
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