Autumn Season: 3 days in, 1 run missed already!

Just three days into my autumn ten week plan & I'm missing a run! Unfortunately a combination of still painful quads & needing to replace the car battery meant that I didn't get out on Wednesday. When I did venture onto the pavements yesterday it was with every intention of being the easiest run in history.
I think I averaged 6:30/km, a far cry from my half marathon pace of Sunday. I'm a bit concerned that the quads are still a bit painful, by Weds they've normally sorted themselves out. I suspect that two half marathons in two weekends can have a negative affect! So I've been trying to stretch out as much as possible, I see a hot bath in my immediate future for tonight, lots of Natural Hero to be applied!
Tomorrow is parkrun day. We're returning to Chelmsford & bringing some friends with us. I last ran there on an icy day in January, returning a 27:22. I should be able to run much faster than that tomorrow......

Copenhagen Half

1:57:15. A half marathon PB. Grasping the sublime from the ridiculous. From not racing the night before to a PB. It was quite the weekend!

Fourteen weeks of training. 340 kilometers in the legs. Three parkruns. Two very different 10k races. One Olympic (park) medal. One sceptical wife. Two dodgy calves. 30,000 avios airmiles. One farcical half marathon seven days before the event. All culminating to a pleasant Scandinavian morning, the Powerade Copenhagen Half Marathon.
I arrived at the start line knowing I'd trained better than before, results starting to come back to my best. The fact I even made it to the start line was an effort in itself, my weekend to that point had been reminiscent of Sideshow Bob & the rakes. First on Friday morning I woke up with a scratchy throat. Usually the precursor to something far worse, a sore throat is hardly helpful when you need to stay hydrated before, during & after the event. I then started feeling increasingly tired & useless at work, couldn't even put it down to holiday syndrome! I left early, soon having visions of being the douche that delays everyone else's commute by passing out. By the time I made it home my only intention was to get some sleep in to try & recover. Sleep & steak remedied the situation temporarily (especially as we thought the oven had given up), once we'd picked up our friends Sean & Emily I also tried some medicinal gin.
A horrid night of broken sleep left me knackered before even driving to Heathrow. Thankfully Mrs H took the keys, only for us to find the car completely non compliant! At 0315 you have few options, so the £105 taxi to the airport made for an expensive start to the weekend. British Airways then added to the fun by leaving our plane open all evening, necessitating a security sweep & a 45 minute delay to us departing.
Thankfully I used the flight as a sleeping opportunity so by the time we got to Copenhagen I was feeling almost human. 

Unfortunately by 9pm I was trying to sleep, temperature soaring in a sweatbox of a hotel room that was devoid of air conditioning. I'd made the decision at that point not to run. I didn't want to be the runner collapsing at the side of the road, ambulance riding in a foreign country. I knew that this half was meant to be the climax of a summer of training, but at that point I needed to make a sensible decision, I'd be observing the event from the sidelines.

The Run

Fortunately once I got some deep sleep I felt sufficiently ok to give the race a go. Dosed up on Lemsip, Benzocaine, Nurofen & able to take on some food, I donned my Mind vest & headed to the start line. We were due to go our separate ways at the start, Sean up to hunt a 1:45, me 1:55 & Paula 2:05 & a bit of a tourist run. Sean suggested / cajoled / dragged me past the 1:55 bunch & closer to 1:50, offering to pace me early in the race to get me ahead of the clock. I might be giving credit where it isn't due but it was a master stroke in reading the situation from Sean. He knew that I wasn't 100% & pushing me faster at the start knowing that I fade in races meant that I would be in a better position than starting with the 1:55 pacers & falling further back as the race continued.

A 1:55 half marathon requires a pace of 5:27/km (no idea what the mile splits are, always been a KM runner). This means splits of 27:15 / 5km, 54:30 / 10km, 1:21:45 / 15km, 1:49:00 / 20km. A crucial time is at the eleventh km, 59:57 or lower means a 1:55 is still on track.

The start area was well spaced, just enough space & in credit to the organisers, we started dead on 11:00, something many big event organisers in the UK should learn from. No waved starts, but lots of pacers so the field knew where to place themselves.

So with a short Danish countdown we were underway, we crossed the line a mere 4 minutes after the leaders, great organisation. Sean pushed me to a great early pace, my first km was more 5k pace than half marathon! I felt decent, after 10 minutes Sean's job was complete so he pushed on & I settled into a race pace. Throughout the first 10k I was under the target time, by 9k I was nearly 30 seconds under where I needed to be. The tenth kilometre proved difficult, cobbled streets were energy sapping, but at 54:28 I was still & managed to recover the 11th km to cross at exactly 59:57.
Into the second hour of the run & I knew that an achieveable 55 minute 10k would hand me a 1:55 finish. Unfortunately another encounter with some cobbled streets in the centre of town slowed my progress & stupidly trying to take on some Powerade (not recommended as a face wash) also hindered my progress. I think it was between 13 & 14km that I was caught by the 1:55 pacers. This spurred me on temporarily as I tried to stay ahead of them, but they soon overtook me & stayed tantalisingly out of reach for the rest of the run. I felt the 3rd quarter was my worst of the race, even though statistically I was still returning a 5:35/km pace, it is where I lost momentum & had to readjust my goals.
I'm not sure what happened in the final five kilometers. My pace dropped to 5:47/km, yet I didn't feel myself slowing significantly. I was in a bizarre no mans land of knowing that my desired 1:55 was out of the window, yet could run with no pressure & deliver a personal best. It isn't a situation I've ever faced before & it probably paid a part in my relaxing my pace. The course was an out & back loop of the city so I knew where the 20km marker was & I upped the music volume, attempting to up my pace to the line. The final corner was negotiated & I could see the finish line. Turns out the finish line was a long stretch down the road, no matter how hard I ran it seemed to be getting further away, not closer!!!!

I crossed the line at 1:57:15, grabbed some water, drank some Powerade rather than throw it over my face & pick up a medal. I found Sean & Emily in a slightly busy post race area, Sean just missed a PB (probably due to pacing some schmuck early on!!!) so I treated them both to a record six wringings of my race headband! Paula joined us a few minutes later, having run an enjoyable 2:08 as a tourist taking in all of the sights.

My splits

26:57 / 5km

54:28 / 10km

1:22:19 / 15km

1:51:12 / 20km

The Eat
It's safe to say that Copenhagen is a great city for a foodie. An even better one if you're a foodie with a half marathon sized appetite! We headed to Tivoli, Denmark's playground on Sunday evening to check out the theme park & see what food options there were on offer. I wanted to sample the recommended Hot Dog stand, but only once we'd entered the park did we realise the stand was actually outside the park! After a lap of the park, taking in every option, we settled on some burgers, an easy but comforting option! We made up for the dirty burgers by heading to one of Copenhagen's oldest & finest open sandwich restaurants on our final afternoon. The spread of salmon, cream cheese, onions, potatoes & chives on top of a piece of rye was excellent. We never did make it to that hot dog stand.....

The Conclusion
If at the start of the 14 weeks of training you'd offered me a 1:57, I'd have probably declined it, believing I could achieve much more. Over those 14 weeks though I've managed to get back to near my best & brought an enjoyment back to my running. 1:55 might have been an overly optimistic target, but if you make a challenge too easy what do you gain? I'm happy with the 1:57, especially given how ill I felt the night before. It's my first PB in any distance since October 2012 & has shown me what can be achieved. I'll get that 1:55, why not at my 10th half?

One last easy

Recovery from RTTB has been decent this week. Regular icing of my calf / achilles, rolling of quads and regular stretching have worked well. I was due to run twice this week but felt a run on Tuesday was unwise.
So we get to my last training run at the end of a 14 week plan. An easy run, joined by Mrs H around the stansted loop. It was good to get out again and shake off the rest of the RTTB pain, nearly 45 mins made it one of our slowest loops but that's not overly relevant.
It's been an enjoyable 14 weeks, training to a plan had made a real difference to me & I've got back to my best far quicker than imagined. I'm relaxed ahead of Sunday, 1:55 is the target & it's well within my grasp.

Run to the Beat - the anti-runner event

I don't normally win competitions. By normally, I mean never. So when Runners Need we're offering Run to the Beat places I fired and forgot my entry, noting that the date was earlier than previous years & just a week before the Copenhagen half. Nothing to worry about though, I don't win things, I'll just taper normally for CPH. 

To my surprise (or possibly due to being the only entrant) I was a winner, a winner that had an opportunity to compete in London's Dullest Running Event, at least I think that's their tag line. A quick revision of my training plan swapped a 60 minute taper run for my prize of nearly two hours of competition miles. 

Pre RTTB

I arrived in my provided Nike uniform, incorrect date and all (a mere 19,000 shirts were printed by the organiser before they realised the date might be slightly wrong!). A charity shirt might have been an option, but that meant bureaucracy, something that given the post race experience I'm glad I didn't deal with. This meant I missed out on one of my running highlights, having random strangers shout (mostly) encouraging things at you whilst you struggle around the course. Team Nike suggested this wouldn't be an issue as they'd be so much music around the course you'd not hear much else. 

The uphill walk to the race village was a chilling preview of mile 12 pain to come. The race village itself was nice and large, in a credit to the organisers I've only seen more portaloos at the Stockholm Half!

Even wearing a corporate headband

The Run

I made my way to the 1:40-2:00 holding pen ahead of time, like 98% of the runners, warmed up & took in the atmosphere. Nike decided to add some artificial atmosphere by playing music across everyone so that any runners that wanted to talk had no choice but to listen to low grade commercial radio. The start was delayed, hardly a surprise for a major event but six years into running an event you'd think that someone might have invested in a watch. The delay necessitated another nervous wee, a whole night of IBS and stomach cramps following an overload of pasta had left me feeling a bit wretched. 

Once I crossed the line all of the pre race anxieties soon went away and I settled into a nice rhythm. I knew the target pace was 5:27/km & after four miles I was nicely under a 1:55. For the first four miles the course had been wide, both sides of the road. The course then narrowed to a single carriageway, not a huge problem, but the field was yet to spread out. The organisers then played their hand, they don't like runners. As we approached the Royal Artillery Barracks a megaphone wielding man made us aware of a gate we'd have to pass through. At most it was 8 foot wide and with runners coming in and out the entire field ground to a halt. Some opted to go straight on & sacrifice the HM distance instead of rhythm. I waited it out, all for a lap of the parade ground that seemed to be a cynical advertising spot for some over hyped coconut drink. Another walking queue to exit the parade ground & I was free to try and resuscitate my run. I suspect the delays cost me at least 2 minutes, perhaps as many as 5, plus the effort to try and establish my pace once more. 

With the bottleneck out of my way I was ready to take on the rest that south London had to offer. Unfortunately the race director decided to showcase their love for the U turn as shortly after the barracks was the first of 5 included in the route! Five U turns? There is nothing more defeating that running for no reason? The social media from the event said "Run the first two thirds with your body, the last third with your mind" yet their approach seemed to be to crush the runner's mindset with U turns & monotony. 

Despite all of this the run was progressing reasonably well. I wanted to be through 11km / 7 miles in an hour as I know I'm a positive split runner still. 10 miles at 1:30 meant a 1:57 was possible. The obstacles kept mounting up though, chaotic water stations, more U turns and another significant narrowing of the course as we entered Greenwich Park all hit my rhythm.

Spot the bottleneck & U turns!

Soon the Mile 12 marker was in front of me, the hill of doom separating me from the finish. Had a 1:55 been on I think I'd have made it up. Instead, drained more mentally than physically by the brutal nature of the course I started walking. A spectator tried to keep me going but realised after a polite brush off to not bother. I walked, then fast walked up the hill, hoping that my legs could recover for a strong last km. As the crest approached I kicked into running again, but in another act of cruelty the organisers chucked in two more meandering U turns. When you think the U is coming and then turn a corner to see it's another few metres away you wonder what the point is. I was defeated as I took the final corner. Even with the finish line in sight a sprint was hard to muster. Crossing the line in 1:59:53 was a disappointment, I knew I had better pace but was happy to finish.

The cruelty wasn't over, for some reason cable ties were too expensive for the organisers so we had to de-shoe and un-lace to remove the timing chip and then be funnelled through a narrow exit area before we would be released from the ordeal. In an event designed to be anti runner I'm surprised there wasn't someone in the sponsor's gear giving everyone the finger as they finished. We left the village as soon as my legs could muster it, didn't want to suffer some shitty pop music to complete the pain.

Knackered, just needed to lie down post race

The Eat

I feel no shame in gorging on KFC post race. It, like the race has no discernible qualities! We did follow it with some amazing fish at a family meal for my father in law's 60th in the evening, so it wasn't all bad.

The Colonel ordered me to eat more fried chicken

The Conclusion

Two days on I can reflect on the positives I can take from the race:

Competitive Miles - Nothing can create a race atmosphere, even if the event was lacking, there are always other runners. 

Pace - My early pace and latter half prove I can muster a 1:55 time. It might not have been a PB but so what? If I can run a 1:59 and it be a disaster then I'm in a good place. Had I been faced with the same circumstances earlier this year I'd have been returning a 2:10 and be questioning the point of it all. 

Miles - The longest run I've had since MK Half in March. That's partly due to missing training runs, something to work on for next time. 

Injury free - Save for a delightful blister and some muscle ache, everything seems to be ok. I'm never going to be 100% and the turn around for CPH is short, but I'm happy. 

Nice cherry on the side of my foot

UPDATE:
The organisers have been in touch with everyone that emailed thoughts & seem to have sent a generic response & a promise to refund all runners £10. Even their apology needs more work!

One last run

I've never been a fan of tapering, perhaps because I always go into a race feeling undercooked. The shoehorning of Run to the Beat on Sunday into my Copenhagen training plan has slightly confused the issue. This time around I'm feeling good, feeling prepared. The training has gone well, pace has returned. Whether I needed one more long run to guarantee stamina remains to be seen, I think the energy is there though as I've been less reliant on energy gels when running 75+ mins.
Who knows what Sunday will bring, the target is to break 1:55 & then do it all over again a week later in Copenhagen.
The Run
The last run before RTTB, decided against anything silly, hill sprints & fartlek were off the menu! A beautiful misty morning greeted me yesterday & the loop out to the west of Stansted provided the scenery. It's a loop I probably overdo during the summer, compensating for it being off limits over the winter, country lanes and no daylight does not make for a great combination. The loop is an undulating 7km that can be run either north or southbound, I opted for south yesterday as the long hill back to the house will best mimic the mile 11 hill on the RTTB course.
7km in 42 mins, easy as you like, tapering done (save for a squash game today).
The Eat
A late finish to work, spinning head, lack of gin & contempt for cooking providing a dinner solution. A big dirty Domino's pizza! It's carb loading yes?

A new season, a new plan

September has started & that means the season is changing from summer to autumn. The 15th marks the end of my current training plan, the Copenhagen half being the pinnacle.

This left my autumn plans a bit empty. A lot revolves around a London Marathon place for 2014, something I won't know about until mid October. One intention was to have a month off, another to run streak for a month. These conflicting ideas led to a more sensible middle of the road approach - stick to the norm.
No further half marathons are booked in, I have a wishful eye on Bermuda in January & a more serious eye on the Helsinki half in May. Nothing for 2014 will be booked until I know whether I need to conquer 26.2 miles of London's tarmac.

So here's the next 10 week plan, something to work on until the end of November. No long distances, though a 10 miler might be on for November at some point. If the VLM 2014 ballot entry is successful then the latter half of the plan will probably be ripped up!

An easy hour

Sleep took precedence over running at the weekend. A trip to the south coast to see friends also interfered with plans for a long run. One idea was to run late on Sunday evening, but a roast dinner was far more appealing!
So to Monday, a mere seven days before Run to the Beat. The plan over the weekend was to clock 90 minutes, the middle third at HM pace. A Monday morning before work doesn't quite allow for this, so an hour / 10km at an easy pace was the target this morning. I felt decent throughout the run, resting up the past couple of weeks was paying dividends. My pace was also a pleasant surprise, meaning the hour target was nicely smashed!
Overall I'm happy, a longer run would have been preferable, but with only days to the first of two HMs in two Sundays I'm in a good place.