Tag Archives: Parkrun

Ridgeway Run 2012

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This was my 3rd time at the Ridgeway Run and once the mist cleared it was obvious we were in for a treat of a run on a beautiful sunny day without even the wind that made itself felt during last years edition. I met Peter and Simon at the start, about a kilometre walk from the HQ where we were to finish. I’d promised myself I’d take it nice and easy, targeting 1:35, so as to spare my sore foot and there’s not many starts as easy as this – I didn’t hear any countdown or bang – we just started shuffling, then walking, then eventually jogging along narrow Marshcroft Lane.

Peter left us behind soon enough and somewhere during the second mile I realised I was running much too fast and let Simon go ahead. Much of the first 3 miles are uphill and what with kissing gates and some huge puddles to get round we suffered minor congestion leading to a brief walk several times on the ascent. I passed Simon then he must have passed me as I snuck behind a tree for a leak. I caught him again at the water station near the Bridgewater Monument at the top of the main climb.

A couple of miles along a wide track through the woods then a sharp descent down a bit on gnarly single-track. Soon enough we were on the Ridgeway which takes the form of a partly sunken track through chalk grassland at this point. Then up and over the two lumps on Pitstone Hill and into the long final descent through woodland avoiding walkers and trying not to trip over roots and steps.

The last mile and a bit was mostly tarmac which I know peeves some runners but for me was a chance to expend a bit of the energy I’d been hanging onto and get myself to a comfortable 1:30:45 finish 378th of 559 and only 30 seconds slower than last year.

I decided to give the long queue for the technical shirt a miss as I have too many running shirts as it is. I grabbed a bottle of water though and went to see Simon finish. Peter appeared from somewhere having finished 5 minutes before me and we posed for a photo. Peter and I then went into Tring proper to visit the vegetarian, mostly organic, Anusia Cafe where we refuelled on vegan soup and cake.

Two days later, the ibuprofen having long worn off, my plantar faciitis appears to have got a bit worse. Maybe running up that hill wasn’t so good an idea after all but it was fun. I’d run the Oxford parkrun the day before, not fast at 26:22 but not exactly a rest day either. I’m hoping that a few days of nothing but the easiest of taper running will allow it to recover enough to survive the Abingdon Marathon on Sunday – after that I think it’ll be time for a bit of a rest, nothing more than 10ks for the rest of the year, and I’ve already dusted the bike off to get a few miles in the saddle instead.

Burnham Beeches Half 2012

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Well to start my report from the other end suffice to say I was crap!

The plan was to do my utmost to get under 1:50, I thought my course best was 1:47ish so this seemed realistic if challenging. No beer the night before. Lots of water to pre-hydrate. Feeling reasonably strong running Thursday and Friday. A couple of ibuprofen so the nagging but not (yet) painful plantar fasciitis which has been lurking in my left foot for a couple of weeks didn’t get the chance to worry me. Restful Saturday taking photos at the Oxford parkrun rather than running. Feeling good when I prepared on Sunday morning. A pleasant drive out to Farnham Common with Black Sabbath belting out. Good omens all-round! (Though my hand was all itchy and swollen where some monster insect had had a go while I lurked in the long grass at the parkrun.)

It was already hot as we walked over from the parking to the start at Caldicott School. I picked up my number and chip, had a gel and found some water to wash it down. I said hello to George from Headington Road Runners and told him some wrong information about the course, getting the descents muddled with the Marlow Half I think. I found Alex from VRUK and we chatted then just time for a warm-up jog to the start. I found a sign saying ‘1:55 or under line-up in front of this sign’ or some such and stood next to it.

A minute to go and I looked around to realise there were lots more people behind me than in front and the sign was not really in the right place. Only maybe a quarter of the field in front of me – oh well, take it easy and accept a few hundred are going to pass. Then we’re off – pleased to see the timing seems to be chip to chip rather than gun to chip as I thought I remembered from previous editions.

Up the steep bank then out the gate and soon enough we are running down pleasantly shady lanes. I’m comfortably on 8:15 minute mile pace the first 3 miles where I see Peter at the side of the road with his camera and give a thumbs up. I down some water at the first of 4 stations as it’s feeling hot even in the shade. Bit odd that the mile markers are all placed well before where my Garmin thinks they should be. Still going fine at mile 5 but then the road goes up and I start to struggle, more up and my pace drops to 9:30. Ok this is point I was expecting where I must call on my increasingly well hidden will power and just run faster. Nothing hurts, I’m not gasping for air – just get on with it. More uphill and I’m feeling a bit faint and my stomach is threatening to puke. Alright so I’ll just have to ease off and try for average sub 9 minute miles – after all it is by now really hot and also a lot hillier than I remember.

From that point on I’ve lost it, I called on my will power and it ran off and hid again. I’m well pissed-off. Walking the hills. Only just managing to to talk myself into not giving up as we pass the start on this 2 lap course. Others are struggling as well but my too far forward start means hundreds pass me. I walk a good way, maybe 5 minutes, and feel my body cool a bit and strength return but it’s too late. It doesn’t help that now the mile markers are now coming a fair distance after my Garmin clocks the mile. Around mile 10 a chap with a hose gives us a soaking and a check of my watch suggests a sub 2 hour is still possible. I tell this to a walker as I jog past and we run together urging each other on but mile 12 is another hill and another walk. I skip the mile 12 water station just to grab every second but I’ve not even entered the finish field when the 2 hour passes.

Down the grassy slope, round the endless field, over a false finish timing mat (I think it’s just the start mat still in place) a bit further then I’m there. 2:02:04 429/710. Like I say pretty crap and the worse time I’ve done on this course despite it being hot previous years as well.

I see George heading for the finish as I swig down my second bottle of water, he doesn’t look at his best. I spot Peter and Alex who had been waiting for me but somehow missed me. Peter takes a photo and I’m pleased to be running in VRUK kit as there doesn’t seem to be any other VC&ACs. I look a sorry sight!

So the post mortem (aka excuses). Checking back my course pb is actually 1:49 not 1:47 so 1:50 was a bit ambitious. Alex is noticeably faster than me but she took 1:52 so no way was I going to finish 2 minutes in front of her. I’d set my target when the weather was cooler, it hit 30 degrees that morning – way too hot and I should have altered my plans before I even started, I’m sure I’d have managed a sub-2 hour if I’d gone off at 9 minute miles instead of nearer 8. I should have ignored the wrongly placed sign and started halfway down the field as I usually do, it really doesn’t help to know you’re going to be passed by hundreds before the race has really even started. Position wise I notice there were only 710 finishers of over 900 pre-entered plus entries on the line – I wonder how many dropped out?

Maybe most importantly I need to realise that overcoming the ‘central governor’ is not just about will power, I need to keep training to specific target times and speeds so my mind and body have the confidence to do what’s asked – I can’t just expect to bully myself to run faster. I suppose a plus point is that 36 hours later and there is no sign that my PF is any worse, if anything it’s improving.

Slow Running

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I’ve been wondering, with a touch of dismay, where my running speed has got to these last couple of months. It’s not as if I had much in the first place but recently paces I achieved earlier in the year and hoped to build on seem way out of reach.

Back in February I scraped a half marathon PB of 1:44:03 at Wokingham. Not long after PBs at the Banbury Run and the Compton 20. I ran just a few seconds short of my best parkrun time during April without even trying for a PB. But since then nothing has been fast.

So, as a vegan, the first thing I wonder is whether there’s a problem with my diet. I eat a fair amount of vegan junk food along with my fruit and veg. Then there’s the beer which probably doesn’t help. But no – I eat the same now as I was eating earlier in the year and for several years now, I did give up beer for a month last April but Wokingham was in February so hardly relevant. I’ve been weighing myself regularly for the last couple of months and remain a stable 61 kilo. I’ve also been looking at what I eat and trying to spot possible deficiencies – not a thing I usually do – most of the time I just eat what I fancy – and I can’t see any cause for concern. Nope, I don’t think it’s anything to do with my diet!

Oxford parkrun #41

So why are my parkrun times 90 seconds slower? Why am I struggling, and often failing, to keep my shorter runs under 9 minute miles? Why am I thinking it’s going to be tough to get in under 1:50 at Burnham Beeches Half this coming Sunday, I’m not even considering a PB attempt. Why have my recent attempts at speedwork felt more like a short dash before I give into my moaning body rather than the satisfying, tough but even effort they should be? Maybe most important why does the idea of getting under 4 hours at the Abingdon Marathon begin to feel more like a dream than a target!

Looking back I think doing the Northants Ultra shortly after that horrid MK Marathon in the endless rain was the start of my troubles. I trained myself to slow right down to 12 minute miles and maybe got too comfortable with them. Perhaps I should have had a weeks break after for a proper recovery, I felt I was coming back ok though. Then that stomach bug left me weak for a bit and despite missing the Jericho Run because of it I maybe ran the NSPCC Half, shortly followed by my 10 mile Real Relay leg in the rain, before I’d got my strength back.

I’m not convinced by any of these physical reasons though. I reckon my body is up to going a bit faster but my mind is holding me back. Instead of slowing me with phantom aches and pains my central governor is taking more direct action and having a go at my motivation, smothering my ability to suffer with a comfortable ‘why bother’ blanket just when I need to push a bit harder. A haze of mild depression partly fuelled by the very inability to progress it helps create.

Anyway I’ve written this drivel down as it helps to clarify and I might want to look back at it. I started it this morning and have since run a rather pleasing interval session where I hit my target pace and time. I shall do my darnedest to get under 1:50 at Burnham Beeches. This is the turning point!

 

Chalgrove 10k 2012

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I deluded myself into thinking I’d recovered quickly from the previous weekend’s Milton Keynes Deluge Marathon but the first few hundred metres of Abingdon parkrun’s first birthday informed me otherwise. Fortunately I quickly realised I wasn’t back up to speed yet so eased back enough to thoroughly enjoy the event while maintaining an acceptable pace. I even managed negative splits for once and managed to finish in the first half of the field though I think 25:29 is my second slowest to date.

With Bank Holiday Monday came the rain and the whole business of cycling out to Chalgrove and running 10k in the wet was starting to loose it’s appeal. I’d already deleted my 49:59 target time from my portfolio on Fetch as it didn’t seem realistic and I didn’t want to mess my legs up what with a 22 miler planned for Sunday. Still, no good moping about at home on a Bank Hol, so I put on my waterproof coat and boots and off I went.

The race was a centrepiece for the Chalgrove Festival and most of those already present at the rainy festival venue were runners. I locked my bike, queued and got my timing chip, changed my shoes, removed my cycling layers and went to have a pee and a look round as I’d 15 minutes to spare.

The fairground rides and stuff were quiet but there was a fine collection of old stationary engines, mostly 1930’s diesels and similar, and their enthusiastic owners had got most of them running, some operating water pumps and the like. They were all behind a tape barrier and closely attended so hopefully any kids would be deterred from sticking their fingers in 20 kilo of unguarded flywheel though I was tempted to ask the guy whose engine was powering a generator lighting 2 mains lamps resting in the wet grass if he’d had them PAT tested. They smelt comfortably of hot oil and emanated heat while gently ticking over their hypnotic long strokes.

Dragging myself away to dump my sweatshirt I tried to join in the coordinated warm-up but soon retreated when I realised I didn’t have the coordination to wave my arms about safely in a crowd. I settled for a run round the tennis courts. We gathered for the start where at first I wasn’t clear which direction we were going to run. I placed myself roughly mid-field and realised the finish timing mat was also to be the starting one. Noon and we were off.

We ran across the grass through the middle of the festival site then onto the road and through Chalgrove. Little groups of supporters cheered and the rain was gentle. I was comfy in just vest and shorts. I’d traced the route through on electronic OS mapping and it looked pretty flat to me despite them describing it as undulating, it did appear to dip in the first half and rise in the second though so I was prepared for this. We joined some quiet country lanes, the odd car but nothing to spoil the race.

A few runners passed me as I held my pace at just under 8 minute miles but I resisted the urge to chase them. We passed a fine old steam traction engine roller stopped at the side of one tree lined lane, he was doing a grand job of making the few cars and tractors behind him wait for us though I think he may actually have been having a mechanical.

I was feeling rather good and on target for 50 minutes at the halfway point though I did miss out on the water stop as all three water bearers were relieved of their wares by runners immediately ahead and it didn’t seem to matter enough to actually stop, even for the few seconds it would take for them to grab a fresh cup from the table. No matter!

The hill wasn’t so little when we reached it, nothing vaguely monstrous but enough to cost me a few seconds. I did seem to be passing more than passed though so pushed on the best I could to the top. Over the crest and we went down then up again – ok maybe undulating was a fair description after all.

A mile to go and I would still be able to get in under 50 if I kept trying. The 6th mile actually turned out to be my fastest but we did have a bit of a tailwind at that point so I can’t claim all the credit. Back through Chalgrove then back onto the festival site by a shorter route. I finished chip time 49:24, 142nd of 357 runners, and was rewarded with an orange running shirt which I put on straight away as I’d remembered it was still raining.

Riding home without refuelling was a bit of a mistake so I was knackered when I got home and spent the rest of the day failing to do much. A great little village run though and I hope to do it again.

 

Fell Off Me Bike

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An interesting start to the ramp-up in my training plan saw me coming off my bike on the way to work ten days ago resulting in a bashed knee and elbow. At first the main problem was preventing the bloody knee sticking to my trousers, it’s a mild January but hardly shorts weather. After a few days the slight swelling and bruising around the kneecap started bugging me.

I tried to run the day after but turned round after 10 strides realising it was not a good idea, my kneecap felt like it was afloat and seemed to wobble alarmingly and painfully every bounce. The following day I managed a very, very slow 3 miles rather than the 5 I had planned then Saturday I decided not to run the parkrun in the hope I would be ok for my scheduled 10 mile trail run on the Sunday.

Oxford parkrun often needs a photographer so I turned up with my camera and as it happened they were short of volunteers so I ended up doing registration as well as taking some photos for the Oxford parkrun Fickr group page, it’s nice to be part of it even when not running. Sunday I managed my 10 miler, over Shotover to Wheatley, up by the Windmill, and back via Horsepath and Shotover. I was relieved I managed it as I really don’t want set backs in the plan this early.

My race diary for early 2012 goes something like: Wokingham Half in February; MK Half and Banbury Run 15 in March then Compton 20 and MK Marathon in April. I’d really like to go sub 4 hour at Milton Keynes but I’ll make the target decision nearer the time.

The couple of days after my Shotover 10 miles the knee felt rather achy. The skin had scabbed over OK at last but it was uncomfy to bend and seemed to ache particularly at night costing me sleep. Tuesdays run was slow and no fun, Thursday though I ran fine and was back up to speed and felt great – Friday I was slow and achy again paying for Thursdays exuberance.

At least it's stopped leaking.

I had a 12 mile flat run planned for Sunday (today) so sacrificed the parkrun again though went and took some more photos. 12 miles seemed daunting, it’d be the furthest for a couple of months. The knee kept up a gentle moan most of Saturday in an attempt to dent my confidence. I told my self that if I could run 10 hilly miles the week before then I could run 12 faster but flatter miles today.

Breakfast of big bowl of muesli with banana and kiwi fruit 2 hours before I set off. A good 2 hour mix on the iPod, a couple of ibuprofen to prevent swelling. I wrapped up well for the 2 degrees C outside and off I went. Round the cycle-track to Marston, seeing sparrowhawk zip out of the hedgerow and dart over the bypass narrowly missing a lorry. Along the Marston Road towards town where I had a fit of ‘only 4 miles and I’m struggling already’.

Over Magdalen Bridge and through town dodging the students and tourists, not too crowded on this chilly morning. Along the Abingdon Road where I was feeling good, passing the 8 mile mark I felt much happier than at 4 miles. I planned to average 9 minute miling overall but was managing to keep each individual mile sub-9 so tried to keep this up. Round the ring-road, gently climbing up to Rose Hill. Enough left in the legs to make the last mile the fastest. All in all a good run though no doubt my knee will moan again tomorrow.

A runner crossing the Millenium Bridge, just in time for the parkrun.