The canter returns

At one of our customer's offices there is a monthly canter, a handicap race that takes on the tourists of central London.
For years I'd always said "no lunchtime running for me, lunchtime is for eating", yet when I decided in March to become a bit more serious it made sense to add the canter as an extra bit of speed work.
My participation hasn't been regular, work commitments often get in the way. But when I have a week of early shifts my evening running often doesn't happen. This is one such week, so into my work bag went my running kit.

The Run

It was a surprisingly warm and still day given the past few days of horrific weather. I was second to start, 2:06 behind the lead out runner and one of five competing. The canter is a near 4k loop, yet I've never managed to run it like a parkrun. I tend to throw myself into the run in the belief that it's a 4k so I can get myself through.
After some tourist dodging I managed to get into a rhythm before the next obstacle, downward steps. From that point on the course is relatively flat.
My pace felt decent and I passed the front runner before halfway, telling my colleague I'd started too fast! I carried on pushing, although the body did start tightening up.
The problem with a handicap is that once you pass the lead out runner, you're the guy being chased. I was leading the race until the last 400m, when the guy who started 20 seconds after me soared past. I tried to kick but realised I was beaten, conserved my energy and kicked again with 200m to go.
My finish time was 18:53, 2nd place of 5 & my second overall (my 1st place on my first canter doesn't really count as I was creating a handicap).

The Conclusion

I'm really happy with the result. In summary, my canter results are:
March 13 - 20:01
July 13 - 19:16 (-00:45)
October 13 - 18:53 (-00:23)
These results are great. Like the parkrun PB earlier in the month, they are validation of the progress I'm making. Whether I can break the 10k best at Movember or not, I'm in the best running form of my life.

Taking on Stormaggedon

It's been a bizarre 24 hours. This time last night I was making an emergency last minute hotel booking in London so that alongside another colleague we could guarantee coverage in town on Monday. We met at the hotel bar and discussed how stupid / dedicated we were for giving up a Sunday night at home.
Yet what does this have to do with running you ask? I had to pack an overnight bag, once I'd grabbed some work clothes, chucked a tie I was finding some running kit.
I'd be failing myself if I packed enough clothes for two nights and didn't sneak the trainers and GPS in! My original plan was to run before work. Yet as I glanced out my window I could see carnage. Trees being thrown around, building sites being flattened by the biggest storm to hit the UK for perhaps a month or two?
I instead opted to head into the office earlier and go out at lunchtime, when the BBC promised me sunshine.

The Run

I'm not sure how useful the kilometres will be in the long run, central London was clearly not off limits for tourists!! I then turned west & into the wind! I might have hot the road after the worst had passed, but it was sheer gruel for a couple of km!
It was good to get out of the office mainly. I'm due to take on the tourists again on Wednesday for the work canter, will be intriguing to see if I can improve on July's time.

In Conclusion 

One thing I did learn today was be careful what you eat. Just because you can expense a full breakfast, doesn't mean it's a good idea if you're consider a run later in the day!!!

When yoga replaces running

Something strange has occurred the past two Sundays. Instead of heading out on planned 80 minute runs I've stayed inside. Sure the weather has played a part in this, last week we saw crazy rain, today enough wind for me to become a kite.
The other reason has been to practice yoga instead. I've always struggled with back and neck issues, not to mention my flexibility is appalling. A friend on Twitter suggested perhaps yoga could work for me.
So now we're a week into a 3 month yoga plan. Like with the running, I've put a schedule together and in theory my running and yoga days shouldn't clash. Paula is also joining in, we'll see if it has an effect in the long term. One thing it's certainly giving me is a lot more clicks and crunches, always a good sign!

The hill of Finsbury Park

The parkrun community is good at creating a narrative for various events. You hear of the quiet, under appreciated races (Pymmes), the run you have to do at least once (Bushy park, parkrun Mecca), the fast (Oakhill, Gunpowder) & those with different features (St Albans, Highbury & Islington). The events that take on their own mythical qualities seem to be those that centre around a hill (Grovelands, Wimpole).

My destination today was another course famed for its hill, Finsbury Park. As I was spending the day working it was a perfect selection for the commute. My fear of public transport failing got me onto an early train & I holed up in a Costa Coffee I'd scouted on Google Streetview the evening before. 

I ambled to the park and found what appeared to be the start area. 20 minutes before the start and I started wondering if there was a different Finsbury Park, no one was around!! People started appearing from the woodwork about ten minutes before the start and I retreated into my nervous, phone fiddling loner mode, still not mastered the art of parkrun chat!!!

I did manage to speak to a regular about the legendary hill, he told me it's feared but conquerable. With that in mind I made my way to the start line. This was Finsbury's 200th event and there was a decent field to take on two laps. 

The Run

The start was downhill, a decent 400m drag & turn before a long steady climb. At this point I was wondering where this infamous hill was as we were at a point nearly level to the start. After a brief flat section we soon dipped down again & then the reality meets you. On my first climb I fared reasonably well, hill sprints definitely benefiting as I could drive myself up. If anything I was guilty of putting too much in and slowing at the top. A brief lap of the lake and the first lap was complete in under 13 minutes, good progress as the course is just shy of two complete laps. 

I relaxed down hill and started to again make,progress on the more gentle time. I was targeting 25:00, this wasn't based on any thought other than my current form. On the second passing of the hill I again powered up as best I could, a walker ahead providing some motivation!

This was a reckless strategy, I got to the perceived top of the hill running on fumes, wondering if a tactical chunder was required!! The last couple of minutes were pure struggle, I've not felt quite so useless at the end of a run for a while. 

Thankfully the finish funnel appeared and I managed to haul myself over the line at 25:15. A mere second faster than Wimpole a month ago, this felt like it's urban brother!!

The Eat

I didn't socialize afterwards, needing to get into central London for some desk based gruel! I did spot the Happening Bagel Company across the road from the park and loaded up on goodies for later in the day. 

The Conclusion

If you want a tough parkrun, head to Finsbury. Having to conquer a 14m climb twice really does make this one of the most challenging parkruns I've completed. In truth the climb doesn't stop, it just appears to. The course undulates throughout, two slow climbs, two sharp and four descends. I'm happy with the time, I think that was par for the course today. 

A perfect ten

Thursday's are speed days. The effort sessions that make the difference in races. This morning was no different, my plan happily told me the special of the day was hill sprints, a mere ten of them.
The first thing I noticed this morning was a drop in temperature, a clear autumnal morning, shame I couldn't look up all the time as the sky was full of stars.
I made my way to the identified hill, yet on my approach realised there were no street lights alongside! Time to find an alternative. Brewery Lane in Stansted always feels like a crushing, energy sapping climb towards the end of my runs. So I eased down the hill, realised a start & finish were naturally situated, streetlight & speed bumps.
My first uphill sprint was about 43 seconds, similar to my other sprint locations so a good marker. Every climb was between the 41-46 second range, only the downhill segments differed. With every incline I needed a bit more recovery!!
Even the last sprint was 42 seconds, so I'm happy with my stamina, it bodes well for future parkrun and 10k events.
As much as I hate them, it's much like eating your greens, you know they're good for you.
Next run will be on Saturday. I'll be heading to a parkrun, probably the infamous Finsbury Park (hilly, how convenient) before heading into work. It's all speed at the moment!!

A dull easy

Winters are never easy. October isn't even over and I'm talking about winter! In running terms it's here, dark mornings reduce the amount of routes I can take on. My winter running map has a shroud over it, much like the Command & Conquer games!
A quiet countryside loop or a jaunt to Elsenham are both off the menu on winter mornings. Or they're a weekend treat.
The challenge is always finding a route that's interesting, or at least varied. Bizarrely its the summer when I tend to overkill a route, mainly because the loop out to the west of Stansted beats mostly everything urban & is the perfect distance.
This morning I managed to fill 40 minutes without too much repetition. I then started thinking I could use the repetition forced on me with the dark hours to create laps. Surely speed work would benefit from identical laps? Certainly something to consider.
There wasn't much to write home about today. My easy pace was slightly on the slow side, yet my previous run was a PB so sometimes slow and steady wins the race. These are the easily banked miles, building stamina.
So focus turns to Thursday, hill sprints. I have to find an urban hill. There are a couple of candidates that are busy with railway commuters so off limits. I suspect I'll be slogging it up a hill alongside the main road, at least my breathing won't be the loudest noise I can hear!
If you don't hear from me on Thursday, presume that a perfect ten of hill sprints was an over exertion!!

5k PB!!!!!

Today was a good day. Today I reached two significant landmarks. Two reasons to validate the progress made so far this year & motivate me to keep going.

The morning started well, I hopped on the scales to see if a week of packed lunches and salads had paid off. The scales told me that I've now dropped a stone so far this year. The loss hasn't been rapid by any means & if I'd made significant change to my diet I could probably drop quicker. Yet regular readers will know I'm a fan of food.....
We headed off to the Gunpowder parkrun. We thought it was their two year anniversary & Paula was the first ever women's record holder for the course. Turns out we were a week early! I'd not run Gunpowder since April, but the course has always been one of my favourites. Fast, reasonably flat & not too busy.

The Run

Conditions were near perfect. Mid teens temperature, cloudy, even a little rain for all of a minute. I arrived with no set plan to chase a PB, merely to get as close as possible & definitely sub 25. I've hardly run since returning from holiday so didn't think I could be that fast.

So fast it's hard to focus....

However with 5 minutes gone my Nike GPS told me I'd travelled at 4:22/km!!! The second 5 minutes were at 4:44/km. This meant just maintaining pace would have me close to a PB. I felt that I was maintaining pace in the second half of the run, my timing suggested I could drop below 24:00. Although I was slowing slightly, I was surprised to see the upper reaches of 23:00 on my watch as I turned the penultimate corner, was my timing all wrong?

Feeling good, 2nd lap

I crossed the line & the timekeeper read out 24:09, a PB by twelve seconds!!!! On stopping my GPS I could see the run measured at 5:11km & Nike was happily telling me I had a 23:40 5k new record!!! Of course this wasn't the case, you expect a bit of GPS flex on runs & this time it wasn't in my favour. It also explains why I was just over, rather than under 24:00. 

Not the most even paced race

The Eat

One of the issues with weighing yourself at the start of the weekend is that it might put you off falling from the wagon. With a PB in hand that wasn't the case! A family curry has ended the day. A day that also included cakes, sweets, frazzles & the ever reliable Greggs sausage roll!!! I'll even it out with some falafel tomorrow!

The ConclusionTo repeat the opening line, today was a good day. The weight loss is great & I'm pleased with the ongoing improvement. The PB though is a complete surprise. My recent parkruns at Oakhill, Chelmsford & Wimpole have proved that my pace is returning. Yet having had a quiet three weeks I wasn't expecting any world beating pace today. I felt that maintaining pace might be the hardest thing, thinking a 5:15 4th km would be completely predictable.
What instead occurred was the breaking of a record that had stood since January 2012. At the start of the year I suggested my aims were PBs in 2013. I felt this was wishful thinking as my form was appalling, but what's the point of aiming low? My first km turned out to be a 4:21, this beats the opening km at Wimpole and if it weren't for a GPS cock up in Stockholm last year I think it would be my quickest kilometre. I've come to realise that I'll never be a negative split runner. So why not just push until you can't push anymore? Even when I felt slow, my pace was superb.
There's 7 weeks until the Movember 10k & it's time to chase another PB. If I'm capable of a 24 minute 5k then I should be able to slay that 51:12 10k record. And with four parkruns planned beforehand I have plenty of speed training to assist me.
Here's to another good day.

A great text message to receive

A nice bit of Nike+ cheer

 

Easy, steady, tempo, steady, gassed.....

To say I've been putting off a run this week would be almost false advertising. After the cold, wet & walking 10k on Sunday I found myself with a tight hamstring (not the usual one) and equally tight calves (the usual two). I originally deferred my Tuesday run to Wednesday. Wednesday morning came & I was still suffering from dodgy calves. With a regular swimming lesson on a Wed evening I decided further rest would be beneficial, binning the week's first run.
Which brings us to today. Thursday and Saturday are my speed work days, they key to my improvement in the past six months. Today called for 10 mins of easy, steady, tempo, steady & easy. I'd already decided to drop the easy stints to 5 minutes, I struggle to fit in 50 minutes and make my train.

The Run

I eased into the run and once my watch bleeped at 5 minutes I kicked to a steady pace. To my dismay the next 5 min beep suggested the pace was identical, those damn hills! It seemed to happen during the steady to tempo crossover as well! My 2nd 5 min block of tempo was a 4:57/km, probably too fast!
My second spell of steady coincided with the steepest climb of the morning. I pushed myself up at a regrettably fast pace and unsurprisingly found myself devoid of pace once I got to the top. My route naturally took me home without much of the final easy stint being completed. I was satisfied with the result though. It's the first time I'd pushed myself since September and although I was hanging by the end of it, the value of the work was high.

Saturday brings another visit to a parkrun. We're heading to Gunpowder, which I thought was celebrating it's birthday. Turns out that's next weekend!!!

Edmonton 10k - When pacing goes wrong

Having ducked a Saturday parkrun I felt a runner's duty to honour my offer to pace a pal at the Edmonton 10k. Yet at 0835 I was still at home, asking the wife for reasons not to run, principally all reasons were weather related.
Make no mistake, the weather was beyond abysmal on Sunday. I'll happily admit to being a fair weather runner, in 3 years of running this was my first wet race. And to call it wet would be economical with the truth, apocalyptic might me more accurate.
I drove down to the impressive Lee Valley Athetics Centre (once touted as a World Championship venue) & despite the questioning of sanity by the organisers, got myself an on the day entry.
Fergie arrived in due course and we discussed how we'd pace the run. This was going to be a different kind of challenge for me. I've become reasonably proficient since March at pacing myself, running easy and targeting Times. Could I pace another person to a target 10k time?

The Run

A small field lined up at the start line, this wasn't a run for casuals, mainly club runners and those of questionable sanity like Fergie & myself. The course was a simple out and back, about 5k along a soaked, puddled and narrow canalside path.
Fergie's target time was to break the hour. This makes the mathematics of pacing easy, 6:00 per kilometre. My aim was to maintain a 5:50-5:55 pace to ensure we had time should it be needed later in the race. Steve had run a 1:00:22 the week before so there was definite potential in breaking the hour.
Our early pace was good, my Nike+ suggests the first km was completed in 5:13, though the km marker on the course suggested around 5:40. By 5km we'd built about a 45 second buffer and Steve was happy and talkative.
By 7km we were close to a minute under, the 59:00 was in danger of being smashed. Steve then mentioned he needed to slow a bit, no problem we had time banked, three 6:20 kilometres would still bring the target time.
Then things got scary. I was thankful that I'd taken a canalside position as Steve's legs went and he buckled in the centre of the tow path. At first I thought it was a trip, then Steve advised his legs had gone. We were joined by another runner, Alan and between us we stayed with Steve as he tried to get to recover. The camaraderie of runners was in evidence here as everyone who passed us wanted to know if they could help. After a few minutes Steve was able to get to his feet & with arms around him Alan & I started to walk back to the finish.
Throughout this my mind was racing. Had my pacing been too aggressive? Had I pushed slightly too hard and caused this? It sounds selfish but these were secondary thoughts, we needed to get our man back and checked out by the medical team.
We ensured that Steve was supported all the way back, the organisers even sent a car, but he wasn't to be denied a finish time and a medal. There was never going to be a DNF against our names. We crossed the line together at 1:12, last but one! Now it was imperative to get warm and medical attention.

Fergie able to give the thumbs up post race.

Once Fergie was armed with a cup of tea, banana and a team of Edmonton Running Club's first raiders attending to him the world was a happier place. No major damage to his knees, just impact scrapes. It then dawned on Fergie what the probable cause was. The collapse had been a diabetic incident, likely due to a lack of breakfast / pre race fueling.
Despite this my feelings were a mix or concern and relief. Relief that my pacing wasn't the catalyst, yet concern at seeing a friend collapse like this in a race. 

Trainers are not so bright now....

We were both equally concerned at the bollockings that would be coming from our wives!! This race taught us both a lot. I learnt that I can pace without extending myself too much and get something different out of a race. I also learnt that maybe I need to take a basic first aid course. Steve learnt the hard way how important fueling is. One of the things I get told by my wife is that my expression in running photos is always a grimace, despite my attempts at smiling. Yet on Sunday, for the first half at least I was affording a smile, doing something for someone else, when running can often be a selfish activity.
We both learnt how great the running community is. Fergie has a great team of friends, both at the race and in the outside world that were concerned for him. His friends finished ahead of us, cheered Steve over the line & ensured we had cups of tea. Alan, our stranger that became an instant friend also deserves a lot of credit for helping us get to the line. He's new to parkrun, I suspect he'll get an invite to Oakhill in the near future.
The organisation & marshalling of the event was superb. The offers of assistance before the finish line & afterwards was exceptional. If you're local to the area, then Edmonton Running Club came across like an excellent bunch of people. I always leave these races wondering, maybe I should join a club....

Fergie is more than capable of crossing the invisible line between runner & jogger that is perceived to exist at the one hour mark. I hope I'll be there the day he does it.

One last lesson I learnt, wet races = a need for vaseline or plasters. Runner's nipple, I'll say no more.....

A nice demonstration of Runner's nipple.

The Eat

We got to Sunday evening, realising that nothing was out of the freezer, time to be creative with dinner. I thought this was the perfect time to fry up that 3 month out of date chorizo in the fridge for a Spanish omelette. Unfortunately it had somehow migrated to the bin, so I had to swap in some bacon. Half an hour or so later, I'd cooked up a nice reward for the day's efforts.

Tempos return

Yesterday we decided to stay in bed rather than drive to a parkrun event. The 12 hour flight home had caught up with us, can't say it was a bad decision! Once we'd staggered out of bed I hopped into my runners and set out on my usual Stansted loop. According to my plan, this was to include three tempo five mins, two mins rest between each, book ended by ten easy.
Forcing myself into some tempo running definitely helped shake the cobwebs, also made me acknowledge a parkrun wouldn't have been a good idea.
With the miles banked I contacted race control for the Edmonton 10k to see if they had places left as I'd promised our friend Fergie that I'd attempt to pace him.

Mauritius run in the bag

Though Mrs H had banned running activity whilst on holiday, I'd been sneaky enough to ensure I had kit to hand. The Nike watch made it, reasoning being its the cheapest watch I own, therefore most expendable. My regular trainers are a pair of NB runners, not ideal for me to run in as they lack fat man stability, but adequate. I'd also snuck some running shirts amongst my clothes, event t shirts are nice and breathable after all. Once I'd also added some Team GB shorts that doubled as swimmers, subtlety placed within our luggage was enough kit to allow for a run.
One run was all I wanted. No great distance, just enough to tick Africa as another continent conquered. So I slipped out of the room at 7am yesterday, the weather was cooler as we'd had overnight rain. I ran a 2.5k loop, first half on pavement, second on the beach. I stuck to the firmer parts of the sand, I had no intention of punishing myself!!
So there we have it, almost two weeks of rest. If jetlag is kind to us I might be parkrunning on Saturday, if not I have the option to enter a local 10k on Sunday.

All inclusive & lose weight?

Three days into the running blackout here in Mauritius. Our hotel is nice, the bargain price turned out to not be too good to be true. The weather is good, although to the locals it is still winter!
All we've done so far is laze by the pool or beach. We're both through a book already, can't recommend Seven Deadly Sins by David Walsh of the Sunday Times enough. The intention is to hire a car early next week, though at least two more days of laziness lie between that becoming a reality.
One of the aims of the holiday was to recover from my recent half marathon exploits & gain confidence when swimming. On our trip to Jamaica last year I suffered a panic attack whilst snorkeling. It was a wake up call, time to learn to swim. I was a reasonable swimmer in my youth, even getting a 50m badge at school, yet putting on weight as a teenager took away my confidence and I stopped swimming altogether.
In many ways the panic attack was a good thing. It made me realise I needed to confront the problem & once I was Home I registered for lessons. I've been taking weekly lessons since and although I'm in the bottom group still, my confidence is there. This holiday is the ideal platform for me to swim daily, get even more comfortable and return to my lessons with a significant improvement.
The other goal of the holiday was to continue dropping weight. Sounds perverse on an all inclusive holiday without running but I think it's possible. I've been exercising good portion control and having salad for lunch everyday. More importantly, not snacking in the morning or afternoon (though as I write this the waiter has just placed some Bombay mix in front of us!). My weight loss has been consistent recently, I'm under 14st for the first time in 18 months & with the next ten weeks being speed related I might get down to 13 & half by Xmas.

One last easy, then ten days off

Sometimes common sense isn't high on my agenda when writing training plans. The sadist in me scheduled 70 minutes of easy running for Monday, less than 24 hours after the SW 10k. Instead of subscribing to this nonsense I drew a line under September, deciding a shorter run on Tuesday would be a better idea.

The Run

Before heading to Gatwick I headed out to take on the loop, my most consistently used circuit during the summer. This time I ran it north to south, meaning a slow kilometre and a half descend started the run. This could be the last midweek running of the loop until March, it's not a route I can take on without natural light. A weekend special involving hill sprints might be the only way I see it until March. My pace was purposefully easy, though if my momentum allowed I wasn't slowing myself down.

So October starts with an easy 7km, a total that won't be built on for nearly two weeks. As I write this I'm at a poolside bar in Mauritius, there won't be much running to be found here!!!