A good weekend

The difficulty with being told to rest up a bit whilst on a course of medication is that things are already in the diary & committed to. I am genuinely trying to rest & have dropped the number of kilometres significantly since the Richmond Half to at least allow for some rest. The trouble is, when it comes to a parkrun or a race event I am my own worst enemy!

The Non Run

During the week I found myself over in Belfast for work & staying just across the road from the beautiful Stormont Estate. It is a nice venue to run around, offering a nice mix of trails and scenary. With that in mind I packed my running gear & decided I'd treat myself to a gentle morning run.
Unfortunately my research was poor. Sunrise is late in Northern Ireland and it took me until 0720 to get out of the hotel and across to Stormont for a run. Yet there was an issue, all the gates were locked! Without any signage to advise of the opening times & meetings lined up through the day, I abandoned the run plan & headed back to the hotel rather disappointed. I was even more annoyed (mainly with myself) when I checked & found the gates would have been opened at 0730. If only I'd checked this beforehand, I could have taken in an easy kilometre along the main road & then ventured in & still had sufficient time before check out.
I learnt a valuable lesson, research beforehand to avoid disappointment! I clocked 200m back to the hotel, out of frustration more than anything!

The Run #1 -  Panshanger Inaugural parkrun

I'd committed to Panshanger's first parkrun before hearing of the desire to tone down inaugural events & lessen the strain on new event teams. The plans were with good intentions, meeting a friend to make is first introduction to parkrun. Sadly for him he'd got registered but then waylayed with other plans, probably gives me an excuse to visit MK or Bedford parkrun events in the future then!
I managed to tailgate Alec all the way to the A10 & then got parked up close to the start. The event team had provided signage off of the A414 to Hertfordbury Road, where you'd find a decent amount of parking for regular weeks. Joel & Fergie were also in attendance & technically this was now Joel's home run based on distance.

Run Briefing

The team behind the Panshanger event had put together a great video to introduce the course (an idea I'll look to steal for the Forest parkrun). This meant we had a good idea of what to expect. Trail shoes were a must!
The downside to an inaugural is the huge numbers brought to an event. Not only can this put strain on an inexperienced team, but also unexpected demands on the course. This was the case on Saturday as 250+ people converged on a narrow uphill start to the course. On a normal week they'd probably be half that number and you'd have more space, a luxury not possible for the inaugural. This meant a slow start, not something I was overly concerned about having been low on training recently.
The Panshanger course really is worth a visit, beautiful scenery. After about half a kilometre uphill, the entirety of the course was essentially downhill until the end. Once out of the woods we were lapping the perimeter of a couple of fields, underfoot was the usual tractor path. From about 2km my left achilles started to scream, the uneven footing was causing me issues. Being a one lap course there really weren't many options other than to try and carry on. A downhill third kilometre eased the strain slightly, it was time to grit my teeth and just get through. 

Fergie rocking the Orange

After 3km we passed a lake on the left and then the underfoot conditions got even more interesting. Perhaps due to the recent rain, some areas of the course appeared to have been filled in to make them passable. I nearly lost my feet completely though as we went from grass to very fine shingle to bark over a couple of metres! The final kilometre was soon upon us and I was coaching myself through, including chucking water over my unhappy achilles. There were a couple of wooden bridges to negotiate and then the finish was in sight.
Oh boy. The finish. Having been on a downhill course for the majority of the run, logic told me that we'd have to climb at some point. With half a kilometre left the finish came into view. A short sharp ascend, probably all of 200m maximum, but it was a biter! You then turn ninety degrees and get a nice short downhill to ease to the finish. 

Panshanger Hill of Doom

The course really has a bit of everything (except tarmac) and will be one of the tougher courses in the local area, especially over the winter. I crossed the line in 26:02, my worst time since early spring. I wasn't overly concerned with the time though, I didn't feel like I was pushing overly and the dodgy achilles definitely hampered me. I'm going to add Panshanger to the Hill of Doom series, by virtue of position, that nice little bite in the tail at the end of the course that could scupper many PB attempts!

The Eat #1

Burger Saturday returned with some mini slider burgers in brioche buns. Despite a plethora of bread products offered at our local Tesco I had to settle for some mini buns, no decent sized brioche buns for burgers. Think I'll have to research if any other supermarkets stock them.

Mini Brioche Slider Burgers

The Run #2

Another commitment to honour, I'd signed up for the Cambridge Town & Gown 10k as the route was moving to closed roads in the city centre and looked interesting. The day was autumnal, too cold to risk the Um Bongo singlet. The weather had definitely turned cooler, perfect conditions if you could keep warm beforehand. My intention was to just see how it went, get into a pace and see how I felt as the race progressed. I knew I wasn't in PB form and a quick stretch reminded me that I really ought to have iced my achilles on Saturday. Perhaps I'd be better off with a DNS? All of my usual injury anxieties started to come into play, my outlook appears to be get through the remaining events of the year rather than approach any with enthusiasm. Was it really worth competing and returning a result way below my expectations? After a slow parkrun and the Manuden 10k my confidence wasn't where it should be. All of this is nonsensical, I'd PB'd a half marathon only three weeks prior and stormed a parkrun PB a week later. If I'm going to manage a marathon then the one thing I need to improve is my mentality. There are times when I'm not even a glass half empty, more glass smashed on the floor and shards slicing up your feet!

Onto the race itself. The event had attracted around a thousand runners, a good turn out and base from which it can grow into a bigger attraction. I made my intentions clear and said goodbye to Alec at the start line, I wouldn't be trying to keep up! I'd see how my pace was and just try to remain consistent. 

Autumn racing season = cold

I started well, pace just over the 5:00/km mark and a tour of the closed streets of Cambridge was interesting. Mainly flat, it was easy to settle into a five minute rhythm. The course was clever, covering a lot of the city without needing to close all of it to traffic. The first five kilometre loop headed west and then back through to the cobbled streets near the colleges. I know I have one dodgy achilles, wasn't overly aware that I actually have two. At the 4km mark my right achilles started to beg for mercy. I started to wonder whether dropping down to an easier pace might help, would 6:00/km take away the pain or just prolong it?

In the end I opted for stupidity and carried on regardless. The flat nature of the course and beautiful tarmac underfoot wouldn't trouble me too much. I chose to grit my teeth and get to the finish line. I went through halfway at 25:07, rhythm good and other than a nagging achilles everything else was working just fine. I'd found myself in a group all at a similar pace and we seemed to be running nicely, pushing each other along. The second half of the course took us west through a park initially and then back east alongside the river. There was decent support along the route, including a family all whooping at every runner as you entered the park at 5k. Since the town section I'd been running with a guy in a blue green shirt, as we entered the riverside part of the course we were overtaken by a lady in a peach top (the organisers wanted everyone in orange) and she became our defacto pacer. The course stayed riverside for an out and back around the 8km mark, I exchanged a high five with Alec, he was around two minutes ahead of me and looked to be enjoying himself. 

Through the streets of Cambridge City centre we go

My achilles had started to behave and we left the river with a short and gentle uphill back to the main roads. The climb was over at around 8.5km and our Lady in peach was still providing a decent pace. Throughout the second half I'd maintained pace, still wavering around five minutes per kilometre, if anything I found myself getting quicker. 

The section from 8.5km to 9km rolled downhill, providing the perfect impetus for the end of the race. I upped my pace, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel meant I was free to go through the gears. Just before 9km the finish came into view, unfortunately a lap of the park was required before we'd get there. The guy in the blue green top was now alongside me and we worked to the finish together. I told him he'd beat me easily, long legs giving him a natural advantage. He returned the compliment, said I'd dragged him round and then we mutually agreed to both being absolutely funked (or words to that effect). 

The final straight was now upon us, my running buddy then announced "Let's beat the purple lady ahead!" and opened his legs out into a sprint. This was something I couldn't muster, but we shook hands afterwards and it reminded me of the camaraderie of runners, complete strangers using each others as pacers and company through the race. The lady in peach wasn't too far behind, we'd all had an excellent race. 

The question is, just how excellent? My finishing time was a very welcome surprise. A negative split had returned me home in 49:32, meaning a second half of 24:25. This was only my second sub 50 and means the first one wasn't a complete fluke. It also tells me that my base is good, even if I'm just keeping it ticking over at the moment. Alec recorded a crazy 46:15, serious pace there and on his current rate of progression a sub 45 HBO 10k would be a decent bet. 

Post race ice cream - every race should have a van on hand!

I was pleased with being able to maintain and then improve pace. My achilles haven't been thankful in the aftermath, but they'd have still be screaming if I'd decided to drop down to an easier pace. The run bling was decent, a custom medal, though they missed a trick with a blue rather than orange ribbon. A cotton t-shirt was nothing special. Perhaps in future years it should be a tech shirt and dispatched beforehand to encourage everyone to wear it on race day. 

The Eat #2

An easy script to write here. Run a 10k, find sushi. I was tempted by a small independent place up near the Grafton. Instead we got our halves of Cambridge in the wrong order and ended up on the other side of town at lunchtime and sought a table at Yo Sushi. 

Yo Sushi - More style than substance

I'm usually a big fan of Yo, they're a great intro to sushi for a lot of people, but this experience was pretty average. A full conveyor belt is always a good sign, though it seemed a bit top heavy, plenty of expensive yellow plates. We ordered a few hot dishes off the menu as well. Two pumpkin korroke were required as we're both a fan & the pumpkins we'd tried to grow in the garden never did materialise. The popcorn shrimp was poor, mainly batter, minimal amount of sauce. Paula had some Chicken Yakitori, we think there were spring onions on the skewer, they appeared to have been burnt to a crisp though. As for the duck katsu? No idea, it never arrived. Our order got lost in the post perhaps. The raw stuff was decent, though no tuna sashimi appeared to be available, it was salmon or nothing. Overall a disappointing experience, next time we're in town we'll head to the independent sushi place and see how it compares. Perhaps Yo has become just another middling chain. 

Thankfully Cambridge still has a fudge kitchen so the culinary experience was redeemable. The temptation to get a box of four or six was there, but we settled on a single slice of toffee original. A thick slab of sugary goodness that propped me up whilst my eyes wanted to shut watching the grand prix!

The Conclusion 

A really good weekend. The parkrun result is my worst since the start of the year on paper, but given the circumstances and the course, I'm happy with it. In my experience the Panshanger course is genuinely tough and even in the height of summer will provide a challenge. It already looks like perfect training for Endure, more on that later....

As for the Cambridge Town & Gown 10k, very happy with the result. The course was more to my liking, only the Pride 10k has presented better conditions. Despite feeling injured, everything worked. I think a sub 48 at some point in 2015 is not out of the realms of possibility. 

And the last conclusion is that I need a rest. 2015 is already looking busy so I think once I've got these two remaining halves out of the way I'll be toning it down until Christmas. Sure the weight will probably increase, but I'm carrying achilles, calf, knee, quad, glute and groin aches. All kind of expected given the training I've done in 2014, but now I need to repay my body for its hard work with some rest and recuperation. I can keep running down to just parkrun and perhaps not even slog all the time (I'm pacing the 30 minute group at Chelmsford Central in December for example). It also gives me time to volunteer more as my parkrun journey starts to take a different route. Once I'm through the St Neots Half on November 16th it'll be time to untie the laces for a while. 

As for 2015, the year is already looking interesting. I managed to grab a Cambridge Half entry before they went and my early spring training will focus on chasing down a 1:50. Just a week after is the Larmer Tree half down in Dorset. A whole new challenge of hills and trails. I'll happily admit the funky medal had my attention first and the difficulty of the course wasn't really researched until after sign up!! I'm then back in Forest for another White Star event over the August bank holiday weekend. Two races in fact, a Saturday evening 10k followed by a Sunday morning half. 

Trail continues to be a theme for 2015 as we have a team entry for Endure 24. We'd been hoping initially to secure a Thunder place and I'd picked up Endure as an insurance option. As 10,000 people descended on a farcical midnight event launch we unsurprisingly missed out. Doubling up would have been interesting, but thankfully all of our original Thunder team were still available for Endure. So between 8 of us we'll run for 24 hours, a completely new challenge. 

Speaking of new challenges I'll also be entering the Berlin Marathon ballot. They'll be another post on my VLM thoughts, but the time has come to test myself over 26 miles. Fingers crossed I'll have more success with this ballot.