Full of ups and downs would be an accurate and literal way to describe my weekend. Unexpected highs, a disappointing performance, an undulating couple of days. With Richmond Half firmly in the past, I have a short 6 week stint until the US Half, just 8 to the St Neots Half. I don't think I'm aiming for a PB at either event, I suspect I'll be pacing at the 2nd half, with San Francisco a tourist run.
In effect everything is up in the air whilst I and a hundred thousand others await the long drawn out process that is the London Marathon ballot. A mere 4 months is all it takes to be told your unlikely 1 in 10 (at best) shot was indeed unlikely. In the exceedingly likely event that I don't get a place, the Berlin Marathon ballot opens in a couple of weeks and that'll become the target.
Back to the week that was. Normally after a race I find myself lacing up and wanting to get back out on the road. Post Richmond this wasn't the case. I felt disinterested. A bad half marathon experience (despite the PB) and those nagging injuries had left me a bit deflated. The week started to pass me by, I could have easily taken the entire week off had I not signed up and committed to a full weekend of running.
In effect everything is up in the air whilst I and a hundred thousand others await the long drawn out process that is the London Marathon ballot. A mere 4 months is all it takes to be told your unlikely 1 in 10 (at best) shot was indeed unlikely. In the exceedingly likely event that I don't get a place, the Berlin Marathon ballot opens in a couple of weeks and that'll become the target.
Back to the week that was. Normally after a race I find myself lacing up and wanting to get back out on the road. Post Richmond this wasn't the case. I felt disinterested. A bad half marathon experience (despite the PB) and those nagging injuries had left me a bit deflated. The week started to pass me by, I could have easily taken the entire week off had I not signed up and committed to a full weekend of running.
Run 1 - The Recce
Sometimes a run will just put a smile on your face. Friday evening was upon us and I'd made plans to meet with my fellow run directors to give them a guided tour of our prospective parkrun route. Jim kindly picked me up and we were met at the Forest by Sam and Great Notley RD Richard. The evening got off to a good start, we were now a team of four as Paul from BSRC would be joining the RD team. With two sides of the triangle completed, the only hurdle remaining is funding.
Buoyed by the good news we made our way to the start line, I had printed notes of the course to hand as this would be the first time Simon from the NT wouldn't be here to guide us. I'd donned the luminous orange Helsinki half shirt just in case we got lost in the woods, but thankfully my memory and notes served me well.
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| Taking on the forest before the light failed |
The overwhelming feedback was that the course was a winner. A true cross country test for parkrun speed merchants that could well become a destination for many to enjoy their Saturday mornings. With the run complete we were able to snack on a fresh batch of awesome tiffin supplied by Rich's wife, Holly. For fans of cake and running, head to Great Notley when Rich is on RD duty and you'll be duly rewarded!
Run 2 - Chelmsford Central parkrun
With all of the parkrun planning, it was time to make a visit to Chelmsford and check in with our ambassador, Gerry. Alec and I were joined at the start line by Andy, Alec's cousin's husband who was pushing himself to get back into parkrun having seen Alec's efforts! Paula abandoned us to go shopping, meaning the longer I lingered post run the more beneficial to the local economy it would be!
I lined up a couple of rows back and stayed wide, trying to ensure I didn't get cramped on the first couple of corners. I had no plan whatsoever in mind, I'd just set out at what felt like a usual 5k pace and see where it takes me. Despite my placing I still got pushed wide, unfortunately with the course as it is and the numbers what they are it will happen I guess, something that I myself need to think about for our event. Alec was long gone, I wasn't going to concentrate on his pace after my own unravelling at Great Notley and just got on with it. I was soon through the first kilometre well under 5 minutes and found myself feeling pretty good as I made progress. A second kilometre on similar pace had me aiming at a sub 24, with a course PB of 23:59 I'd be happy with that.
As the course crossed over onto grass I was still able to maintain pace, recognising others that are usually around the 24 mark and happy to be maintaining with them. The Chelmsford hill of doom is not quite on par with Wimpole or Notley and I eased up it and enjoyed the slight downhill that followed. Of course I shouldn't mock a hill, as I found out a mere 24 hours later.
The fourth kilometre is normally where I start tightening up, but everything seemed good on Saturday. My pace maintained and though I'd lost sight of Alec, Andy was starting to come back into view. As we passed the 4km marker my watch showed 18:30, all I needed was a five minute final click to secure a PB. My job now was just to bring it home, keep an even pace.
I kept pushing to the end, able to ease out some more pace, not enough to rein in Andy, but sufficient to smash my PB. I couldn't quite compute, 23:08. How did I manage to take 23 seconds off of my PB? This was nearly 50 seconds less than my previous best in Chelmsford and a good mark of the progress made over the summer since my last visit. There was no intention to attack a personal record, sometimes the best performances are the unexpected ones.
It was a good day all round with Andy returning a 22:52 and Alec took nearly a minute further off his PB with an incredible 21:56! If I'm going to get anywhere close to Alec now it'll be whilst dressed and acting like Dick Dastardly!
After chatting all things parkrun with Gerry I was off to the town centre to find how much progress Paula had made on her one woman spending spree. We at least managed to add visits to Dunkin Donuts and the Essex Cider Shop to complete the trip.
I lined up a couple of rows back and stayed wide, trying to ensure I didn't get cramped on the first couple of corners. I had no plan whatsoever in mind, I'd just set out at what felt like a usual 5k pace and see where it takes me. Despite my placing I still got pushed wide, unfortunately with the course as it is and the numbers what they are it will happen I guess, something that I myself need to think about for our event. Alec was long gone, I wasn't going to concentrate on his pace after my own unravelling at Great Notley and just got on with it. I was soon through the first kilometre well under 5 minutes and found myself feeling pretty good as I made progress. A second kilometre on similar pace had me aiming at a sub 24, with a course PB of 23:59 I'd be happy with that.
As the course crossed over onto grass I was still able to maintain pace, recognising others that are usually around the 24 mark and happy to be maintaining with them. The Chelmsford hill of doom is not quite on par with Wimpole or Notley and I eased up it and enjoyed the slight downhill that followed. Of course I shouldn't mock a hill, as I found out a mere 24 hours later.
The fourth kilometre is normally where I start tightening up, but everything seemed good on Saturday. My pace maintained and though I'd lost sight of Alec, Andy was starting to come back into view. As we passed the 4km marker my watch showed 18:30, all I needed was a five minute final click to secure a PB. My job now was just to bring it home, keep an even pace.
I kept pushing to the end, able to ease out some more pace, not enough to rein in Andy, but sufficient to smash my PB. I couldn't quite compute, 23:08. How did I manage to take 23 seconds off of my PB? This was nearly 50 seconds less than my previous best in Chelmsford and a good mark of the progress made over the summer since my last visit. There was no intention to attack a personal record, sometimes the best performances are the unexpected ones.
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| parkrun finish |
It was a good day all round with Andy returning a 22:52 and Alec took nearly a minute further off his PB with an incredible 21:56! If I'm going to get anywhere close to Alec now it'll be whilst dressed and acting like Dick Dastardly!
After chatting all things parkrun with Gerry I was off to the town centre to find how much progress Paula had made on her one woman spending spree. We at least managed to add visits to Dunkin Donuts and the Essex Cider Shop to complete the trip.
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| Post parkrun reward. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm burger! |
Run 3 - Manuden 10k
Despite being one of my local events, this would only be the second time I'd be competing in the Manuden 10k. Our 2011 was tough. A day of freak thirty degree weather on the first Sunday of October on an exposed and undulating course made for a hard race. After her experience three years ago Paula left us to it, so it was just Alec and myself donning the Um Bongo vests to represent the team. We took the short distance to provide a nice warm up jog, three easy kilometres. What I hadn't realised was just how warm the day was getting, we were sweating before even starting the main run! Taking a run to the start eliminated a lot of pre run faffing at least and we had only ten minutes to waste before the event got going.
We were walked to the start line, there was a good camaraderie between the runners in a small field for the event, I wonder if it suffered for clashing with the Saffron Walden / Newport 10k mere miles down the road that was taking place. It appears that Manuden came forward a week this year.
This time around I made no attempt to hang with Alec, said I'd catch him at the end! I knew the course better than any other, the Manuden to Rickling route forms a key part of my training runs so I knew exactly what was waiting for me. A fairly narrow country lane that made it hard to make progress. It took a couple of minutes to get into a rhythm and then bam! One kilometre in its the big old hill of Manuden. A thirty metre climb that lasts for 300 metres. I got myself up, dragged myself through the field. For a moment I was in touching distance of Alec, but I wasn't going to put myself onto a suicidal pace to keep with him! The course is misleading though, you have another dip and a climb but you'd be a fool to think the climbing was over. You actually keep ascending for another two kilometres.
The exposed nature of a country lane on top of a hill made it one hot run. Thankfully at 3km there was some much needed shade! The heat was already getting to me as we made our way into Rickling. A small off road out and back to us to the 5km mark. This allowed me to exchange a high five with Alec, he was making decent progress. I was only halfway through and hating it. Only the marshals loving the Um Bongo shirts were bringing a smile. At 6km we were back to the lane and I knew I just needed to get through the remaining uphill section as the final 3km were largely all down.
The heat was horrendous, I was thankful that the organisers laid on a great number of water stands and was able to fill up for the final couple of clicks. On top of being hot, my legs had nothing, they were barely interested in complying. The sparse field made it hard to gauge where I was in terms of position. I had a Rickling Runner just ahead of me, probably another minute between us and the next ahead. There didn't appear to be anyone close behind either.
I hauled my arse up the final climb and got alongside Stevie from Rickling Runners. We were able to use the long hill from the start of the race to our advantage and ease down into the final kilometre. I had just enough in me to push that final click and urge Stevie to join me if she could. In the end I found myself pulling away and started counting down the remaining minutes to the finish. Just three to go, 500, that's just over two, 200m, that's all of a minute. It's the same strategy on every race, just count myself in, reminding myself just how little effort is needed.
I crossed the line in 53:41. The time was nothing to write home about. Around ninety seconds quicker than my 2011 effort and I know that means it wasn't a good performance. There was nothing redeeming about the way I ran, maybe being strong up the hill at the start was a plus. Alec stormed home in 49:30, an excellent effort in testing conditions.
There was nothing for it, we deserved a beer. The half our wander back to Stansted brought us to the Rose & Crown. It was time for some Brooklyn Lager, a Ploughman's lunch and some chips. Much deserved after the hills of Manuden! Once we rolled home there was still time for cake, some unfortunate timing meant the ice cream van man missed out on our custom!
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| Alec attempted to find shorts to match his Um Bongo shirt! |
We were walked to the start line, there was a good camaraderie between the runners in a small field for the event, I wonder if it suffered for clashing with the Saffron Walden / Newport 10k mere miles down the road that was taking place. It appears that Manuden came forward a week this year.
This time around I made no attempt to hang with Alec, said I'd catch him at the end! I knew the course better than any other, the Manuden to Rickling route forms a key part of my training runs so I knew exactly what was waiting for me. A fairly narrow country lane that made it hard to make progress. It took a couple of minutes to get into a rhythm and then bam! One kilometre in its the big old hill of Manuden. A thirty metre climb that lasts for 300 metres. I got myself up, dragged myself through the field. For a moment I was in touching distance of Alec, but I wasn't going to put myself onto a suicidal pace to keep with him! The course is misleading though, you have another dip and a climb but you'd be a fool to think the climbing was over. You actually keep ascending for another two kilometres.
The exposed nature of a country lane on top of a hill made it one hot run. Thankfully at 3km there was some much needed shade! The heat was already getting to me as we made our way into Rickling. A small off road out and back to us to the 5km mark. This allowed me to exchange a high five with Alec, he was making decent progress. I was only halfway through and hating it. Only the marshals loving the Um Bongo shirts were bringing a smile. At 6km we were back to the lane and I knew I just needed to get through the remaining uphill section as the final 3km were largely all down.
The heat was horrendous, I was thankful that the organisers laid on a great number of water stands and was able to fill up for the final couple of clicks. On top of being hot, my legs had nothing, they were barely interested in complying. The sparse field made it hard to gauge where I was in terms of position. I had a Rickling Runner just ahead of me, probably another minute between us and the next ahead. There didn't appear to be anyone close behind either.
I hauled my arse up the final climb and got alongside Stevie from Rickling Runners. We were able to use the long hill from the start of the race to our advantage and ease down into the final kilometre. I had just enough in me to push that final click and urge Stevie to join me if she could. In the end I found myself pulling away and started counting down the remaining minutes to the finish. Just three to go, 500, that's just over two, 200m, that's all of a minute. It's the same strategy on every race, just count myself in, reminding myself just how little effort is needed.
I crossed the line in 53:41. The time was nothing to write home about. Around ninety seconds quicker than my 2011 effort and I know that means it wasn't a good performance. There was nothing redeeming about the way I ran, maybe being strong up the hill at the start was a plus. Alec stormed home in 49:30, an excellent effort in testing conditions.
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| Much needed post Manuden beer |
There was nothing for it, we deserved a beer. The half our wander back to Stansted brought us to the Rose & Crown. It was time for some Brooklyn Lager, a Ploughman's lunch and some chips. Much deserved after the hills of Manuden! Once we rolled home there was still time for cake, some unfortunate timing meant the ice cream van man missed out on our custom!
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| Blackforest cupcake! |
The Conclusion
One awesome PB, one rubbish 10k in terms of performance. Just an average week of peaks and troughs, better than consistent mediocrity I guess!!
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