An unexpected PB - Richmond Training Week 1/12

The first week of Richmond Half training has ended. In terms of easing myself into a plan it fit the bill. One tempo run, an easy & a parkrun. No major distances, not even 17km completed for the week, but a good start. My reintroduction to hill sprints on Tuesday went well as I headed out to Lime Kiln Lane in Stansted & found a usual stretch to take on five times. Of course whilst attempting to sprint up a hill you feel horrendous, especially by the end, but the intention isn't to make you sprint hills in a race, but to provide more power generally. To give some perspective, each 48 second hill sprint (nothing if not consistent) included a 9 metre climb, where as the Great Notley parkrun hill is 29m!

The easy run on Thursday gave an opportunity to complete a full loop out of the back of Stansted & through the town. I was aware that my glutes were still playing up on downhill stretches, I need to get that issue resolved before it proves more of an issue as my training plan progresses. Despite running easy I did move through the gears as I returned home, eager to not miss my train into London for work!

This brought us to parkrunday. Yesterday was also Paula's birthday & I'd tabled the idea of going to Southend to enjoy the amusements, but also so that I could visit the parkrun. After some persuasion (finding an Ace Comics store in the town helped seal the deal) Paula agreed to an early start & we were on the road down to Shoeburyness (the parkrun isn't in Southend itself).

Conditions were changeable, they'd been plenty of rain and drizzle on our way down. By the time we arrived at the park it appeared the rain had cleared up, leaving a dull grey sky, hardly the scene for a delightful run next to the sea!

The Run

After a short but quiet race briefing we were led to the start & I tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to line myself up with similar runners. The lack of a megaphone appeared to leave many unaware that the run had started and we were off to a walking start. The slightly slower start gave me a chance to get into a nice rhythm, though it returned my slowest kilometre, 5:00.

The course was a simple three lapper that included a challenging turn towards the sea & into a wall of wind. The fresh sea air was beneficial & the longest stretch of the lap hugged the coastal wall. My second, third and fourth kilometres averaged 4:50/km, leaving me looking at a low 24 minute run if I could maintain the pace.

Lap 2 - Presuming I'm on for a 24:30

Instead what happened was that I was able to push the pace a bit more, dropping down to 4:30/km pace. I didn't feel especially quicker, but realised I was approaching the line, a quick glance at my watch showed I was still to enter the 24th minute. With this in mind I carried on pushing, not easy as there was a slight rise at the lap end & the finish was about the only part of the lap not on perfect tarmac. My face in the background of some of the finishing photos is one of pure determination as I clenched my teeth to get over the line. I tried to give the double thumbs up as I crossed the line and shut down the GPS. The last minute looks to have been one of the fastest I've ran & I was surprised to see 23:31 starring back at me from the display of my Garmin.

Finishing in 23:31. Nothing left to give other than the thumbs up

The Conclusion

Although the course was quick, I certainly wasn't expecting that result. A PB by 21 seconds is the biggest improvement I've returned at 5k since 2011. To PB at the start of a new training plan is a very pleasant surprise. I suspect near perfect conditions contributed, well rested, cool weather, bouncy tarmac surface, flat & in a good place mentally all could have been beneficial to the result. That said, being well rested should mean that my best pace would be out of my grasp.

When runbritain finally published all of the parkrun stats since March there was an interesting result included within my handicap. The 25:02 last week at Great Notley was one of my top five results based on course toughness. So although it was my slowest result in some time, according to the handicap system it was better than a 24:24 at Oak Hill. Perhaps I was in form then & I just didn't know it.

Either way I'll bank the PB & aim to get even closed to 23:00.

If anyone is PB hunting then I'd recommend a trip to the Southend event. The park isn't overly picturesque, but if the coastal wind isn't too bad then the course is seriously quick. If you fail to clock a decent time here I'd be surprised.

The Eat

A trip to the seaside doesn't quite equate with healthy eating. By the time we'd left Southend I'd consumed a Wimpy Shake, Gregg's Sausage Roll, Rossi Ice Cream, Slush & some of the worse chips I've ever tasted (avoid The Pavilion, part of Adventure Land & find a decent chippy)!!!

Seaside goodies

We followed this path of dietary destruction with a BBQ in the evening. Paula's folks, Alec & my folks came over as we lit the BBQ as I piloted some home made burger recipes. Unfortunately the burgers lost structural integrity leading to variety of shapes being served up. Thankfully both the combinations tasted good, just need to work on forming them better. The Mexican burgers proved too wet & fell apart, the Stilton & Apple too dry so also fell apart!!!! The slow cooked in beer ribs finished well on the BBQ, though I think belly slices would be much better.

BBQ Time!

Apart from some pitta I managed to avoid bread throughout, enjoying my homemade slaw (included apple & pear), chargrilled Aubergine & Asparagus. If that wasn't enough desert was both birthday cake & a home made pavlova brought across by my Mum.

Salads for the rest of the week then.....