parkrun PB and an overbaked 10k

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!!

Stansted 10k and some disastrous volunteering. Richmond Half 2/12

We're a sixth of the way to the Richmond Half. This meant it was time for a four run week. Working an early shift meant lunchtime runs as I wasn't prepared to wake at half four and evening running has never agreed with me. The week started well, fartlekking around Battersea Park probably drew some confused expressions. My pace was pleasing though, the sprint sections held strong throughout. I dropped Wednesday's run as I had a cricket game in the evening and didn't know how involved I'd be. After scoring two with the bat and not being required with the ball I probably could have snuck out at lunchtime.

On Friday I again had cricket in the evening but with an eye on the forecast and the rain overnight I suspected that would be a non starter. So a colleague and I retraced my Battersea steps, just at an easy pace though in order to preserve the legs ahead of Sunday.

parkrun Volunteering

My new schedule allows be alternate Saturdays off, with Paula at Comic Con I headed across to Great Notley parkrun for my volunteering debut. As numbers allowed all of the regular places to be covered I was able to head to the top of the hill of doom to offer encouragement and high fives to everyone as they got to the peak.

pre parkrun briefing, awkward moment when we realised all our outfits matched

Unfortunately things didn't completely turn out that way. As the leaders approached the front runner asked which way round, I presumed he meant round the bird, the large plinth on the top of the hill, so I said either way is fine. I didn't realise they'd headed down the back of the hill until a non parkrunner doing hill work pointed out they're going the wrong way. Luckily everyone else headed on the usual course and the two guys that had an inadvertent detour were back on track with a 5.2km parkrun.
I was absolutely mortified, forgetting that this is a new event and that not everyone will know the course, researched beforehand or might not have heard the brief. There isn't usually a marshal at the top of the hill so I'm not sure what would have happened either way.
Once I'd repositioned myself to avoid confusion and reminded myself mistakes happen I got on with my task of cheering folks on. The top of the hill is where you're at your most knackered and I hope a smile and some kind words to encourage everyone downhill at least brought some cheer to people. Not everyone touched the bird, but I managed some good photos and encouraged anyone that wanted it.
At the end of my duties I told Race Director Len about my directing debacle. For another week I made the race report, for all the wrong reasons though! I managed to catch up with some of the guys thrown off course and though they could be rightfully pissed they accepted my apologies.
My first volunteering experience certainly was an eye opener though. I guess the number of volunteers you need depends on the course and event size but there appeared to be a dozen of us to cover the event. The amount of organisation and dedication from the core team needed to make every single parkrun go smoothly is immense and I'd recommend everyone tries to give up at least one Saturday morning to be the other half of the parkrun story.

Stansted 10k

Having an event literally on your doorstep makes it rude not to compete. The Stansted 10k takes place every 2 years and starts and finishes all of 5 minutes from our house. I'd cajoled Joel, Paul & Emily with the offer of BBQ, warning them in advance that the course was a tough one. Joel had seen a map my run of a previous event and declared in advance that it didn't appear to be too bad.

Pre Race Team Um Bongo photo - Joel, me, Paul & Emily

Heavy overnight rain and a majority trail route left me opting for some old Adidas Supernova Sequence trainers rather than write off some of my newer pairs. We were all expecting even more heavy rain during the event, to the point of nearly running in jackets. My mind was cast back to you the 2012 edition that featured nearly every season. By the start the sun had well and truly put it's hat on, Paul, Emily and myself lining up together with the intention of Paul pacing us to a 54:00. Regular readers will find this pacing strategy bizarre, after all just a month ago we were tearing up the HBO within 52:00. This was a testament to just how tough the course was. In 2012 I clocked a 56:23, just weeks after a 51:38 HBO so I felt a 54 was a fair target to aim for.

Less than 1k in, we were almost enjoying it at this stage!

We started well, taking in the first couple of kilometres to bank some time & then having a really good third which was essentially downhill all the way. This led us to the first climb of the day, Watermill Lane alongside Farnham cricket club. I've always found this to be a tough ascend, but attacked it climbing up 21m in 300m travelled. I was able to recover my pace straight away & still return a 5:18 kilometre, adding more into the bank. Unfortunately my caviller approach to the first hill meant we left Emily behind, but Paul was happy to continue pacing me. The Grade Adjusted Pace was 4:48/km, in hindsight perhaps this was too fast!

The course then travelled towards Farnham, including a nice decline before heading off the road just as the ford approached. At 25:45 through 5km I was feeling good, but knowing every second banked would be needed as the course would only be getting tougher from this point on. The next climb appeared to finish after 400m but after consulting my post run stats I can see it continued way past Farnham church, a full 1.1km over which we ascended 18m. I joked at the time that Paul was lying when he said the hill had ended!!!

At 6km we passed another water station, thanked the volunteers for their support and enjoyed some downhill respite. The descend was gentle but brought us to a climb I'd forgotten about from my 2012 attempt. Another 17m up over the course of 400m. Probably means nothing to most ardent hill runners but by the peak I was beginning to labour & was thankful that the course flatten out as we approached the road between Stortford & Manuden. The next kilometre was nearly all downhill, but my pace didn't recover as well as expected & the need to cross a footbridge at walking pace in single file also killed my momentum.

Not an ideal time to lose momentum as a morale killing hill was to follow. You could see it from the point at which you emerged from the footbridge. Run along the field, turn ninety degrees and start climbing. In 2012 this climb & the downhill were crazy as the heavens had opened leaving the course a mud bath. The climb itself on paper doesn't look too bad, 10 metres over the course of 200, barely a scratch surely? But everyone around us was succumbing to walking pace. I was determined & as we reached the peak Paul encouraged me to recharge & carry on. My words of "I'm struggling" and a quick scan of my face persuaded Paul that was indeed the truth and at that point the aim of the race became to finish. My head had become very light with the effort of the climb, something I've not experienced in race conditions for a while. The fourth climb of the run nearly finished me off, but in my mind it was a case of one more, then a medal.

It is only when you look back that you can see the truth. From the footbridge, the start of the 4th climb to the end of what I thought was the 5th at Bentfield there was actually another climb. Each has a mere 200 metres of light descend before you're called upon to climb again. So in truth, from 8.0km to 9.4km you ascend a total of 30m. Ok that's only one Great Notley hill of doom, but it's at the end of the 10km!!!

My 9th kilometre at 6:03 at the fact the course appeared to be measuring slightly long meant the target of a 54:00 wasn't on, but that wasn't going to stop me pushing. At the final water station I took a bottle of water & threw it over myself. It wasn't pretty though it provided me with the slap in the face needed. The support as we finished the last hill and entered Bentfield Green was a great. It gave me a chance to kick & I attempted to drive home to the finish line. Of course there had to be a cruel minor uphill to finish the event & a high curb to negotiate, but I dragged myself over the line in 54:28, nearly two minutes faster than my 2012 exploits.

Medal. Knackered.

Paul was thankful that I hadn't collapsed on him & I was equally thankful that he'd given me the extra push needed to a very tough course. I was also thankful for a picket fence someone had installed on their front garden as it propped me up whilst I sat post race. Emily came through moments later & soon we were joined by Joel, the first person to finish a race claiming they hated me!

The Eat

Of course the only way to adequately reward people for hard work is to fire up the bbq. Numbers were lower than expected, though this allowed me the luxury of having ample food already in stock and not needing to make homemade burgers. I'd put together some nacho bean patties for Emily & Paul though we reserved these for last as their consistency suggested they might not grill well!

We laid on a spread of standard sausages and burgers and supplemented it with a number of creations including zesty chicken, coconut prawns, stuffed mushrooms, cajun and chilli asparagus and courgette completing our efforts. These were added to by Emily with some stellar guacamole and some always popular halloumi kebabs. It's fair to say no one went hungry!!!

Post run milkshakes. Still knackered.

Post run we all enjoyed a milkshake, though if I was the perfect host this would have been some specially purchased Cacio or Mr Shericks!

The Conclusion 

Without doubt the Stansted 10k is the toughest event of that distance I've competed in. I'd forgotten just how brutal the course was, 100m of climbing across the whole distance. In total there were six climbs and all but one were in the second half of the run. This was definitely an event for going out hard in an attempt to bank time. In hindsight perhaps an energy gel taken after 3km would have helped. Or even more hill sprints. To put the result into context, I was 4:10 slower than my best of a month ago, the fact that the gap is a minute closer than 2012 tells me I'm a much stronger than two years ago. 

The best reaction was Joel's. Back in November he hated the Greenwich Mo Run due to its severity. This was tougher and took longer, yet he was able to savour the experience and vowed to come back faster and stronger for the 2016 edition. The sense of achievement in conquering a tough course is something you can't explain. Sure I was slower than usual, but for the course I did the best I could. My aim with this event is to run it every time it occurs and chip away at that time. I think this has set me up perfectly for a sub 50 at the Pride 10k in four weeks time. 

A double PB weekend

As I take a slight break from running I can reflect on what was an awesome weekend of running. The bank holiday weekend provided the culmination of a six month training plan that has taken me to the form of my life. This might turn into an even longer post if I also look back on the training plan & how best to improve on it for future races. Perhaps that should be saved for another day.

The weekend brought my most ambitious weekend of activity to date, two 10k events starting 25 hours apart. One a huge event in London, the other one of highlights of my running calendar. My aim was to PB at least one of the events & remove the two and a half year PB that has been like a monkey on my back for the 10k distance. The problem I faced was what event to attempt the PB at. Would the London 10000 be sufficiently managed to allow for space on the route? If I failed in London would I have the energy to attempt it all again a mere day later? Would I even make it to the start line in Hatfield Broad Oak?

Bupa London 10000

A major race weekend, so it figures that I contract some kind of ailment. In similar circumstances to Copenhagen I found myself with a major head cold & heavily reliant on Lemsip, Berocca & vapour rub. I pulled on my orange Xempo shirt as a reminder to myself that I could be fast & we headed to Redbridge & into central London. Once we were underground I found myself feeling worse, experiencing a build up of gunk & pressure, with only a menthol inhaler to relieve the situation. Thankfully when we left Green Park station I was able to take on some fresh air, but a no stage did I feel that I'd cleared everything out of my system.

Attire for the weekend

We'd arrived in plenty of time so I was able to wander round the runner's village to try & clear my head. As a regular big event runner I was pleased to see the effort made by the organisers with respect to the toilets. Plentiful & arranged in horseshoes so that they could take up a relatively small area & yet allow queues to flow quickly. It was only as the start time approached that things felt slightly pressured, but even then the wait time was under 10 minutes. Quite why so many felt they didn't need to queue & just relieve themselves against the back of the portaloos is beyond me.
 

With the near mandatory three toilet stops completed (no risks after Helsinki) I made my way to the start area where I experienced another excellent example of organisation. The event had plenty of starting pens, decided by the times provided by runners ahead of time. These starting blocks were divided into four colours & then four letters within each colour. To ensure no one ended up in the wrong pen (unless going backwards to run with a friend), each area was marshalled to allow in only those with the corresponding bib. This made the starting experiencing very easy. There was no need to shuffle forward as you knew everyone in your pen was in theory aiming for the same time.

The Run

With my menthol inhaler being used & safely stored in my shorts pocket I decided to aim for a PB & just run as hard as I could for as long as I could until my illness got the better of me. After all my emergency info was on the back of my race number & Paula wouldn't be far away.
 

Rather than aim to just scrape a new PB of just under 51:12, my aim was to get as close to 50 minutes as was physically possible. If I could maintain a pace close to 5:00/km then I'd have plenty in the bank should my condition worsen towards the end of the race.
 

The start was another example of how events should be organised, every 2 minutes a wave of 1000 relatively pace matched runners were released onto the streets of London! I made a perfect start, first two kilometres both clocked at 5:00 on the Garmin, though I was aware straight away that the course was measuring on the long side so I'd need to take that into account to ensure a PB.
 

The route started on the north side of St James' Park, travelled down towards Trafalgar Square, back up Millbank & then east along Embankment. My fears of an overly busy course ala the British 10k were quickly overcome as space was plentiful & the need to weave was minimal. After passing Blackfriars we headed north into the square mile.

Sprint finish to end the London 10000

Fast kilometres for the third & fifth had me cross the 5km in 25:15, putting me on track for a sub 51:00 time if I could maintain the pace. As our journey around the city ended I enjoyed the mist facility outside of Cannon Street station as the day turned out to be far hotter than expected. Despite my fastest km being the sixth in 4:39 I was noticing the distance on my watch was now quite a bit shorter than the kilometre markers alongside the course. With this in mind I continued to push, surprising myself at how the head cold wasn't overly restricting me. The next two km were both under 5:00 & after checking my watch when I officially passed the 8km marker I knew that a PB was in my hands if I could just get home.
 

I had time for a high five with long time twitter running pal Karen who was on cheering duty for Mind & despite a slight slowdown of 5:02 for the 9th km the finish & a great time were still in sight. The final kilometre saw us leave Embankment, pass Parliament & head back along the south side of St James' Park along Birdcage Walk, the iconic finish for the London Marathon course. With 300m to go, the Garmin let me know I'd already completed 10km in just shy of 49 minutes. Sadly I knew the truth was another minute of running & I pushed home at a pace of 4:41/km to finish in an unofficial 50:22.

The Conclusion

The result was even better when the official results came through, 50:18. Rather than be disappointed at missing out on a sub 50, I was ecstatic at achieving a new PB. To take 54 seconds off of my 10k PB that had stood for so long was a great achievement. To do so when not feeling in perfect health made me even more satisfied with the time. On the tube across to the event I was given serious consideration to not running. A few days later, with a heavy cold still consuming me I do wonder whether it was the wisest choice, yet the medal & PB make it all worth it.

Slightly washed out at the end of the race

When I analysed the official results I was also heartened by another first for me. With a first 5k of 25:15 & a second of 25:03 I'd managed my first negative split in a race. This made the achievement even more special. At longer distances such as half marathon I'm still struggling to perform in the 2nd hour, yet to manage a negative split in a 10k really makes the experience even more special.

Medal & some rather horrific chocolate coconut milk

There is no right or wrong way to run a race, but to achieve a PB with a negative makes me feel that bit more like a runner. The event was also the first time I'd raced in the Saucony Kinvara 5's. They're certainly a lot lighter than the Adidas Supernova Sequence 5's I've just retired, a nice bounce to them.
 

The result also vindicated the training plan for the past half a year. Though I've not been strict with it, the tempo training & increased parkrun attendance have definitely had a positive affect on my running. I was able to approach the event knowing that at no point would I be running faster than I would on a Saturday morning, the confidence my recent parkrun form has given me just made the experience that much easier.
 

I could be slightly disappointed, after all wasn't a sub 50:00 a possibility? Perhaps it was, perhaps the course measuring long took that away from me? By being under the weather & still producing an excellent result I know I can improve on this performance even further. My ultimate goal is to drop under 48:00 & get myself a Xempo green shirt. That is probably something that is some distance away from me at present, but why not have something to aspire to?

The Eat

Normally after a big event we'd head somewhere & just load up on some big comfort food. With a health kick & a carb reduction currently my flavour of the month I'd decided that I wanted sushi. The only problem with a health kick is that good food costs more & the amount I've spent on raw fish recently seems to be rising!
 

As I'd finished the race around 11:00 we decided to hop on the Jubilee line & get to Westfield in Stratford for lunchtime before we escaped London & headed home. We were tempted to head to Wahaca, though felt that might be starting a pattern of always eating Mexican after 10k events in town!
 

When we approached the food court we could see Yo Sushi was well stocked so grabbed a table & started tucking in. A plethora of sashimi, nigiri and pumpkin korroke filled a hole, a fitting reward for the PB.

Post London 10000 sushi, Mrs H photo bombing!

Hatfield Broad Oak 10k

Quite how my legs & body in general would react to a 2nd 10k would make for an interesting start to the day. I was unable to reap the benefits of a recuperating bath on Sunday evening as although our bath is in situ, it is still not connected to anything!

Mr & Mrs Um Bongo

My cold & general bunged up nature wasn't any better, so this time I ensured the vapour rub was packed into my race bag. I was pleased to note that although I ached a bit, there were no major issues following on from the London 10000 efforts.
 

We made our way across to HBO resplendent in our new Um Bungo race tops. Joel was disappointed that he'd have to wait another race to debut his, so it was just me & Paula, Mr & Mrs Um Bungo donning the silliness. I even got a hello from a fellow instagrammer who had seen me tagging the HBO event.

Team BBQ before the race

This was the fourth time I'd be running the HBO 10k & for the fourth year in a row our team grew. In 2011 I ran on my own, 2012 saw four of us partake, 2013 there was 6 of us & this year there would be seven as myself, Paula, Alec, Joel, Emily, Paul & Fran all joined to run under the Team BBQ banner. This will be our last race as Team BBQ, we're adopting the Team Um Bungo moniker moving forwards.
 

I had no plan for how I wanted to run the race, no aspirations for a second PB attempt as I felt that would be foolish. I spoke briefly with Joel to gauge what his aims were & offered to pace 60 minutes for him, but he felt that would be too ambitious. I didn't want to run completely without an aim so when Emily mentioned she'd like to run a 52 something having PB's in training recently I offered to pace. 52:00 wasn't exactly a massive slow down from 50:18 the day previously, but I figured that if I could pace at 5:12 for a while then I'd be able to let Emily go & slow once I'd got her to a decent rhythm, allowing me to coast the final kilometres.

The Race

With everyone expecting different times we wished each other luck, picked a tree to meet by at the end & started filing into the starting positions. This year Paul made sure he was correctly placed having previously lined up around the 55:00 mark in 2013 only to run a 45:00 in the race!
 

The start was pretty much to time & we were soon crossing the line ourselves & heading up hill for the first three kilometres. Having raced the course several times now I was well aware of it's profile. Up hill for three kilometres, slowly downhill for two, steady downhill for the sixth, gradual uphill between six & eight then a downhill final kilometre that is rudely interrupted at 400m for a slight climb before a downhill sprint finish.
 

Our pace to start with wasn't great. Once of the things lacking at HBO is more definitive starting pens. The race field might only be 1500 participants but you get a lot of people that are over ambitious & get too close to the front at the start. This leaves the first kilometre or two quite crowded & slow. A 5:34 didn't send us into panic though, neither did a faster but still off target 5:16 in the second.
 

The pace was starting to increase and we'd found a nice rhythm which was more important and we started weaving our way through the field, despite never running together we had a good understanding of when to make a move past someone and never got too far apart.
 

The third uphill kilometre got us on track, 5:09 being under the target pace and shaving back our deficit to 23 seconds. The course then started to flow downhill and gave us the opportunity to pick up the pace. We went through 4km with a 4:57 and the deficit reduced to 8 seconds. This was followed by an even faster 4:52 as we entered the village and streets lined with support. We'd completed the first half of the race in 25:48, on track for a 52:00 and with seconds in the bank.
 

A slight slow down for water just past 5km and then through Hatfield Broad Oak and down the hill to race HQ to complete the 6th kilometre in 5:03. It was nice this year to not see the winners finishing as we headed out of the village.
 

It was at this point that I encouraged Emily to go on without me. My achilles we sore from the near 3km of downhill and I felt I was getting slower. I didn't want my slow down to stop Emily from achieving her goal so she continued whilst in my head I slowed.
 

Despite this theoretical slow down my 7th kilometre was 5:13 and with plenty of seconds in surplus I would still be able to achieve a decent time. To my surprise, Emily was still within sight, slightly ahead but by no means out of reach.

In past HBO events I've struggled with the 6-8km stretch as you head uphill out of the village and into the wilderness away from all of the support. In contrast, this time I appeared to be getting stronger with the 8th completed in 5:06. From the 8km marker the course is generally flat, then downhill for the first half of the final km, a brief but cruel climb before a final 200m sprint finish downhill. A surprising 4:59 for the penultimate kilometre kept we well under the original 52:00 target. During the final kilometre it was unnerving to pass paramedics going the opposite way, something I've now seen twice at the end of HBO events. I couldn't speed up at all downhill and with the bite of an uphill stretch my final km was a 5:03, beaten by a couple of awesome sprint finishes.

The Conclusion

I crossed the line in 51:26 and caught up with Emily who'd finished in an incredible 51:12. That meant we'd both run excellent negative splits. I was astounded by what I'd achieved, there is no way I should have been capable of this result given the exertion of the day before combined with my condition.
This was a course PB for me, beating my 2012 effort of 51:36. If I'd have not run in London the day before then this would have been another PB opportunity. 

Team BBQ post run

The event remains one of the highlights in my racing calendar. They've improved their organisation of the finish area to make everything flow much better. Finish line, water bottle, slice of orange, chip off, t-shirt and out you go, away from the post race area. The start could still do with more pacing pens, but overall the event is excellent. This year's t-shirt was a delightful canary yellow effort (or Australian Gold for any Billy Birmingham fans). I now have four HBO finisher shirts and see no reason not to carry on collecting one every year.

Team BBQ 2013 results

Team BBQ 2014 results

Everyone in Team BBQ had a decent race. Alec returned a great time on his 10k debut, whilst Joel got revenge for our last Oakhill parkrun visit by mugging Paula with a sprint finish to beat her by one second!
 

The Eat
 

Our annual bank holiday post HBO bbq was a more understated effort than previous years. Having no kitchen makes hosting rather difficult!! We had decent weather for the first two rounds of food so no one went hungry. Nothing special for the bbq though, once I have a kitchen again I'll be able to put some time into homemade burgers, pulled pork and salads.

An extra bonus for the weekend, two races not ideal to break in new shoes

I did at least manage to complete my other HBO 10k tradition, a visit to the ice cream van for a post race 99! Sadly Paula was less than lucky on the tombola, no alcohol to add to the bbq stash!

Mandatory post race 99's. Sprinkles for Mrs H

Conquering Helsinki

It is time for a download. Time to digest the Helsinki City Run & the fortnight of weirdness & accidental tapering that preceded it.

I should start by explaining the basics of the Helsinki result. A massive PB of 1:54:54, two minutes & twenty one seconds chiseled off of my previous best. And yet I find myself being both happy & disappointed with the result. Hopefully over the next few paragraphs I can explain why.

Pre Race

The week before Helsinki I completed by 48th parkrun. Returning to Chelmsford, now my home parkrun event to introduce Paula to the event & my brother in law Alec to parkrun in general. To pick up where my last blog left, I'd been taking it easy the week before, managing my aches & pains with time counting down to Helsinki. It was pacer day though & as I felt in decent form I chose to line up with Mark, the 24:00 man & see how long I could hang for.

It turns out I could hold on for the entire distance & with a group sprint finish crossed the line in 23:55. 31 seconds off of the Chelmsford PB, you'd think I'd be happy right? Yes & no would be the appropriate answer. It completed my run of 7 successive parkrun weeks & I was faster at Chelmsford than I've ever been before. Yet I couldn't help but think why I couldn't find another 4 seconds. A 23:51 would be a new lifetime PB, surely a great way to sign off the Helsinki training. The pacing was excellent, so maybe I should have been bolder, making more of a move with 500m to go for example. Next time I run at Chelmsford I'll be collecting my 50 shirt, perhaps I can mark that occasion with a PB.

Alec appeared to enjoy his first parkrun outing. A great effort of 25:58 suggests there is plenty of pace to come from him. Paula kept the 30 minute pacers in check & got home in 29:27.

Post run I fell off my low carb wagon as we visited Dunkin Donuts. I tried the intriguing Pastrami Croistini. A one time only experience unfortunately, luckily the donut that followed was far better.

Sunday brought my first appearance on a cricket field since August & due to circumstances I was on wicket keeping duties. I would say this is a skill I picked up a few years back, but skill would be overselling my ability! Essentially I was behind the stumps due to no one else being available. Normally I'd be elsewhere in the field, perhaps even bowling some dross. The problem with keeping is that it kills your quads. Though our team won & I played relatively well behind the stumps (including what was possibly my first stumping), I was aware of the consequences.

Monday morning was meant to be a visit to Ashdon & the 10k event. Instead I was hobbling down the stairs, stretching & generally walking like the big alien from the first Men in Black film. Two DNS in 8 days! In truth, my quads didn't fully recover until the Saturday of the run. In order to rest I kept myself off the pavements, no morning runs for me & away from swimming class. Even as we landed in Helsinki on Thursday I was being troubled by by right quad in particular.

Pre Race in Finland

This brings us to the reason we were in Helsinki. Our third Nordic event, Helsinki City Run 2014. Paula & I landed on Thursday & were joined on Friday by Sean & Emily. As with our previous trips, one of us sat out the running festivities. This time Paula was taking on the photographer / support role where as Emily was to be making her half marathon debut.

We'd cashed in some hotels.com loyalty nights & opted for the Crowne Plaza hotel. Though it was a km from the city centre, it was a mere five minutes from the expo & the race hub. We had no idea what weather to expect for the race. The rainfall was ominous as we picked up our race kit, soaking the city in a deluge. The race expo was well though out, a sports hall that had been configured in a horse shoe manner so that you picked up your number, bag & shirt first & then followed a route around the hall to look at products & pick up freebies.

And what a bag of free stuff it was! At this point in proceedings Paula was miffed that she'd missed out on the best bag of free crap we'd seen so far at a race. The selection included the electric salmon race shirt, lens cleaner, coffee, porridge, magnesium tablets, cereal, butter, bananas, pre race blocker & post race laxative!!!!! I'd never considered a pre race imodium before!



Once the expo was done & dusted we jumped on a tram into the city centre & found a nice Italian in the top floor of the Forum shopping centre to get some pre race pasta. Though I'm trying to avoid heavy carbs, I felt it would be wise to still indulge in some lobster spaghetti to fuel me for the race. We went our separate ways & I indulged in a bath to try & ease my quads a little bit before the big day.

Saturday morning presented its own problems, namely trying to find an adequate runner's breakfast to last until the 3pm race start. We'd opted to stay away from our hotel's generic 23 euro breakfast buffet, but soon learnt that Helsinki is a city of late risers & late brunches. We thought we'd found a place, only to be told they had no tables until 1pm (it was 10am)! I realised we were round the corner from Cafe Ekberg, a renowned bakery with a brunch offering. 

They had one table left & a quick scan of the breakfast bar confirmed they had the two things most of us wanted; scrambled eggs & toast. If only we weren't running! I could have stayed there all morning filling up on the smoked salmon, various breads (yes, carbs I know) & the scrambled eggs. I found it rather bizarre that the brunch scene was quite developed, but a-la carte breakfast menus were not available. it was brunch buffet or nothing!

Soon it was time to make our way to the race area. An early morning visit up the Olympic tower had given me an opportunity to do one important thing, scout for toilet locations!



Bag drop was very well organised & well spread out. The start was a ten minute walk from the bag drop. My usual pre race routine of toilet stops was kicking in, more on that later though.

The Race

The organisers were excellent with the start. The field of 10,000+ runners was split into time based groups that were due to start at ten minute intervals. Normally with these races you have folks trying to get into the group in front, the marshals were diligent & made sure that the coloured groups were adhered to.



I realised as I lined up that I'd forgotten to research what pace I would need to run at to get a 1:55. I spent nearly ten minutes in the starting pen faffing about on my phone trying to load various running websites. In the end some rudimentary maths on my calculator got me a 5:28/km pace to aim for. With that in mind I rounded down to 5:20/km with an attempt to go through 10km at 53:20 & 11km well under an hour.

The first big flaw in my plan was apparent the moment I crossed the start line & started running, needing a wee! I'd probably left my last pre race toilet break a bit too far away from the start & nervous energy had got the better of me. I decided to keep on running for the first few kilometres to see if it was just nerves or a genuine need to find a toilet.

What the need for pee wasn't doing was helping me focused. I managed to settle into a decent on target pace but kept finding my body complaining & my mind wandering as a result. Namely should I grit my teeth & bear it, soak my shorts or stop at an available portaloo. This mental battle carried on round the city centre lake (just what I needed) & up and down some hills. Instead of lessening I was becoming more uncomfortable & realised that holding it in would mean I'd not take on water & affect my performance later.



I bit the bullet just after 5km when a couple of portaloos appeared. I think I lost up to a minute in the toilet, wasn't in the habit of checking my watch beforehand!


With the crisis averted I tried to get back to a decent pace & if possible recoup some of the lost time. It was shortly after this stop that I was surprised to see Paula on the side of the course to offer a brief moment of encouragement. I got my head down & just tried to maintain pace.



The route undulated more than I expected but I managed to keep every kilometre between 5:13 - 5:33 for the majority of this portion of the run. I went through 10km in 54:19, 5:26/km pace overall & with that toilet stop included. This bode well for the rest of the race. I took on two energy gels & tried to get the monotony of endless parks & trails out of my mind, this would be a big PB & should be an easy sub 1:55 if I could hold my form. For a couple of kilometres I paced nicely alongside a local lady who was also aiming for the same kind of time.



A decision that I regretted in hindsight was not taking on a third energy gel at the 16km mark. My 17th km was a 5:38 & this was followed by the 19th at 5:45 & 20th at 5:52 as the undulations started to take their toll. It was around the 16th km that I lost contact with the lady I appeared to be pacing with & felt myself slipping back. In reality I should have downed another energy gel to assist the final steps but fatigue & hills were starting to bite.



Despite the slow penultimate kilometres I appeared to be making progress back through the field. It was a surprise at the end of the km that I'd been slow as I'd been overtaking plenty of people through the narrow trails. There was no doubt that the climb back to stadium was starting to bite. I even overtook the lady that was until that point pacing nicely for a 1:55. The 2nd 10 kilometres were completed in 55:10, despite the toilet stop I was on for a positive split. Luckily I saw how slow the penultimate kilometre had been & combined with the prospect of finishing I was able to kick to the finish with a 5:16 last km.







Throughout the last 5km I was reminding myself it was just a parkrun to go. Inside the last km it was down to just minutes. One last hill nearly killed me off but I managed to gain back some pace downhill as we were lead into the Olympic Stadium. This would be my third race finish within an Olympic Stadium & I attempted to speed up towards the line as the 1:55 mark was approaching fast.






I crossed the line, stopped my watch & was satisfied to see 1:54:54. I then looked up & could see Paula was right there for the finish & gave her the thumbs up.



After negotiating the vast finish area & goody bag area (even more swag!) I got to pose for some photos & made my way to the stands to join Paula & see Emily finish. Sean soon located us, a PB had eluded him by 3 seconds as GPS watch & clothing issues had cost him time on the way to a 1:45:02. Emily crossed the line in 2:16:18, a great start to a half marathon career.







The Eat

Paula wanted to head to the amusement park before dinner so we went our separate ways, Sean & Emily to indulge in room service, Paula & I back to the hotel for a quick shower before heading straight out. The walk up hill & up many steps to the amusement park was probably a good idea but it certainly didn't feel it at the time! The rides cost a steep 8 Euro each so we limited ourselves to the Ferris Wheel for a view of the city & a 60 year old wooden rollercoaster.

It was then definitely time for steak. My legs were becoming less compliant so we headed into the city via the trams to source some much needed post run refuelling. Our indecisiveness nearly got the better for us, I would have been happy with either bundles of sushi or a slab of cow. We settled on a French restaurant, Fransmanni. I ordered from the special Asparagus seasonal menu, a beautiful chunk of tenderloin, cooked perfectly medium to rare. The steak sat on a raft of Asparagus spears & was accompanied by a truffle & mushroom sauce.



The reward was definitely worth the exertion. I don't think I've had a more satisfactory post run eat since my first 10k in 2010 where I indulged in a belly of pork. Paula's steak was also perfect & we washed it down with some local Cider (Mrs H very much a fan of the Finnish cider industry).

After a stroll & a tram we were back at the Crowne Plaza. This allowed me to run another bath to soothe everything before sleep. It also gave me a chance to enjoy another Finnish Long Drink, a combination of gin & grapefruit juice first introduced for the 1952 Olympic Games to provide refreshment for the athletes! I combined the gin with an excellent slice of Carrot Cake purchased earlier from Cafe Ekberg.



On the Sunday morning we were hoping to enjoy a post run swim in the hotel pool. Unfortunately the pool wasn't open until 10:00, far too late for us. Instead we stuck to our previous plans, meeting Sean & Emily for a low impact but bitterly cold canal boat cruise around the various islands & waterways that surround Helsinki.



To warm up I led us to Kaartin Hodari Ja Hummeri where a guidebook had suggested a Sunday Brunch consisting of hotdogs & lobster. We managed to grab the last tables in the tiny restaurant & found out that the brunch menu had stopped. They did however have some Mother's Day specials which we all opted for. My choice, a Mommi dog replaced the hot dog itself with an Aspargus spear (they do embrace this special month), covered with prawns, spring onions, other greens & smothered in marie rose cocktail sauce. Alongside sides of fresh slaw & parmesan topped homemade fries, it made for an excellent meal. 



We had an hour and a half to kill until heading to the airport so we walked off the hot dog towards the flagship Fazer cafe for ice cream. We passed the world's worst Darth Vader impersonator & took our choices into the sunshine to watch his increasingly forlorn interactions with bemused tourists. I went for a safe option of Rum & Raisin, combining it with a scoop of Licorice. If there is one thing you can guarantee in Scandinavia it is that they love licorice, it's the perfect place for me to visit!

The Conclusion - The Run

Taking over two minutes off of my PB should leave me very satisfied with the result. The toilet stop cost me nearly a minute & had I taken on another energy gel I'd like to think I'd have not faded so much towards the end of the race. Three slow kilometres in my last five also added around 45 seconds to the run, so better management of my energy is needed. I need to remember that just because at 15km I feel ok, doesn't mean I don't need another gel for the final half hour.

Back in October I set goals to be down to 13st, run at 1:50, run a stronger second hour. All three of these aims were missed, yet none were beyond me with a bit more work. Having dropped some carbs out of my diet I've started to feel more energetic & the weight has started to come down again after plateauing all year. The stronger second hour comes from more long runs & more meaningful long runs, I missed too many of these in the run up to Helsinki. Partly this was down to circumstance & timing, an over ambitious training schedule didn't help. I was also more sensible approaching Helsinki, taking time off to allow recovery & not banking meaningless runs if I didn't feel physically up to it.

That said, there are also plenty of positives to look back on. Running wise I'm in the form of my life. Since the end of March I completed seven successive parkrun events, all under 25:00 & shading another 0:07 off of my PB to 23:52. Mentally I have the most confidence in my running, knowing that I'm capable of both pace & distance. Towards the back end of the HCR I was struggling, really wanting to just walk. The confidence that I could coast & still PB was great & drove me on to carry on driving to the line.

I know there is even more pace available to me, plenty more potential to unlock. My 10k PB has stood since December 2011, that is something that will come under serious scrutiny at the end of May. I also know that with every pound I shed, the quicker I can become. This result was achieved with me still hauling a considerable bulk around with me. My pace training since Brentwood has been solely parkrun events, bringing tempos, fartleks & hills back to my regime will just help both my pace & my weight.

So positives & negatives. Great to smash a PB, great to know that I could have done even better.

The Conclusion - The event & city

Firstly the positives. Helsinki is a really nice city, perfect for a three or four day visit, plenty of sights to visit, good airport, good public transport. The food in the city is also good, lots of choice & varying price points. I didn't get a chance to take in some local sushi, but everything else we tried was good. If you're considering future HCR events then the Crowne Plaza is an ideal hotel, just minute from the start / finish area.
The HCR event itself ran really smoothly. Number pickup was very easy, the expo carefully thought out. The amount of freebies both pre & post race was impressive. The price was reasonable & also included a free t-shirt. In Stockholm you had to buy one on top of a high race fee where as nothing was offered at all Copenhagen. 

Finishing in an Olympic Stadium was very cool & allowed for a stress free post race, plenty of space for everyone. The start was well managed, they appeared to have used the Stockholm model, lots of phased, well spaced starting pens.

Now sadly some negatives. The start time of the race was too late in the day. A morning run would make so much more sense. As a tourist you find yourself trying to take in the city without doing too much, lots of treading water time.

The name of the event was the Helsinki City Run, yet this wasn't a city event. You could have been in the centre & not known this major event with 15,000 entrants was taking place. This was a tour of three parks that surround the city & some of the roads & paths that connect them. At no point did it feel like you were running in a major city. The event felt low key. Hardly any spectators along the route & those that were there didn't seem overly enthused. In one of the parks (no idea which one) there was a group that were trying to cheer & high five people, but they were in the minority.

It was like the event was designed to inconvenience the city as little as possible. As a result we took on park after uninspiring park along routes that were narrower than you'd expect at a major event, the probable reason for the staggered starts.

My only disappointment with the city was the lack of breakfast to be found on a Saturday morning. It's brunch or nothing in Helsinki at weekends. We gave up trying to find anything ala carte, just scrambled eggs on toast would have been great, instead we had to opt for buffets.

My last disappointment is one that will ring true with many runners that love the souvenirs they pick up throughout their running careers. The medal felt incomplete. At the finish we were given a medal, but it wasn't attached to anything. No lanyard, no ribbon. No chance to wear it around your neck. I've ordered a Finland lanyard from ebay so that I can retrofit it to my medal. A real shame to miss that finishing touch.



Overall, what I'll take from the HCR is a PB. If you want a city run then I'd recommend Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona or London's Royal Parks over this event.

Next stop for me, London 10000 & Hatfield Broad Oak 10k, two 10k in two days at the end of May