Triumph and Disaster

61 Days to Go

The end of a pleasant week off, and I'm currently sat in my front room trying to drag out the last few hours before my return to the house of fun. All in all, it's been a good week with doing as little as possible being just what was required. Some good news on Friday with the release of the first year Uni grades where I just scrapped a first! Maybe the latest University tables, where Birmingham has dropped a few places are onto something.

Of course, you don't want to know about that - you want the latest instalment of the running adventures... 

Two solid training runs, and thanks to some spectacularly bad planning, two races (on consecutive days) were on the agenda. Friday evening brought my favourite race of the year - the Blakedown Bolt, 10k of multiterrain around the Clent Hills. It's a small race, but there was a good turnout from the club and thanks to the recent good weather conditions were almost bone dry underfoot so it was on for a good time. 

In the end I was about 90 seconds quicker than last year, probably buoyed by a combination of the enhanced training and being chased down by a particularly quick ginger chap (if nothing else, I am determined that I should be the fastest ginger runner in any race!) who is one of those annoying people who seems naturally fast without any training. As usual, I enjoyed it - even the ridiculous hill and stile combination at mile five.

With less than 24 hours rest, I then had to tackle the final Fourmidables Event, which necessitated another drive into the wilds of Shropshire - again the heavy rain. With the results of previous races meaning that, barring a catastrophe, I was guaranteed to finish second senior male - I could ease off a bit. We started in driving rain and annoyingly my Garmin decided not pick up a signal for the first half mile so I couldn't really pace myself properly.

Over the first two miles, I passed a steady stream of runners before the course went defiantly off road for the next section. The heavy rain meant that it was extremely slippy underfoot but I managed to stay ahead of the chasing pack - even lucking out when I crossed a field just in advance of a herd of cows, forcing those behind me to stop and wait. 

After a short climb, the rest of the course was pretty much steady or downhill but nevertheless I felt it in the legs after the day before and was glad to cross the finish line at the Gnosall Carnival to a smattering of applause. I have to say that I was impressed with the old-school nature of it - there was even a coconut shy and a tug of war competition. 

Impressively, I managed to get slightly lost on the quarter mile walk back to the car park which meant that went I finally got home, a well-earned rest was on the cards.

Today should have been a long run, but erring on the side of caution after two straight days of hard running, decided that it would almost certainly be an invitation to an injury so took to DIY instead. Despite my recent triumphs, I was brought back to earth with a bump after arriving back on Saturday to discover that my washing machine had decided to break. My rudimentary skills couldn't do anything so it looks like a repair bill is coming my way...

Sadly, although I may have improved the running in recent months, it's not by enough that a professional career beckons. Looks like I still need the day job to bring the money in. Speaking of which, sleep beckons before my triumphant return to the workplace. It could be a long day.

Unexpected Benefits

Week Eight- 68 Days to Go

So another week down, and I feel surprisingly positive - and not just because I'm now off work for a whole week! My initial worries over foolishly having two races in a week have subsided, mainly because sensible scheduling meant I could put in two great performances. It was especially good considering that the first run of the week that was meant to be a recovery run turned out to be about thirty seconds a mile quicker than it should have been...

Wednesday was the second Worcestershire Midweek event - the 12k at Arrow Valley in darkest Redditch. With the weather having been very dry, the warnings that I'd been given about the muddy parts of the course didn't come into play. Instead the biggest issue was how pitted the off-road sections were - as the two people ahead of me who turned their ankles could attest. Luckily I missed the worst parts and managed to build a bit of a head of steam - so much so that I not only caught up with Andy Hall at the end of the first lap but managed to overtake him and keep ahead until the end of the race. Unexpected but really pleasing considering that generally he's a lot quicker than me.

On Thursday I was going to just go for a gentle run, but was persuaded to do my bit and take part in a  new rep session at the club that paired up quicker and slower runners for a joint run. It was really enjoyable - although foolishly I forgot to start the old Garmin so not exactly sure how far I ran. All I know is that it wasn't particularly quick after the previous days effort!

After a rest on Friday, I braved the torrential rain of Saturday morning for the Newport Carnival 10k, the penultimate Fourmidables event. It was the best race - probably due to the weather. The race coincided with the annual Carnival and the plan was for all the runners to head down Newport High Street to be cheered on by the assembled crowd. However, the rain seemed to understandably drive many away, so there was only a ripple of applause as we all passed. I didn't seem to check the time for the rest of the race, so it came as a bit of a shock when I stumbled over the line, feeling absolutely dreadful and having been comprehensively beaten on a sprint finish, to find that I'd run a PB. It was probably helped by the fact that the offroad element was minimal and the last mile was basically downhill - but nevertheless I'll take it.

Following that little fillip, Sunday's long run down the canal into town and back was no bother - if you discount the stiffness in the legs and the exhaustion after mile 15. Despite that, I managed a consistent pace and slightly longer than last week. I'm looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and a proscribed recovery run on Tuesday (bizarrely schedule in two parts).

At least not having to go to work as well should make it slightly easier!

The Sheriffhales Shuffle

110 Days to Go

As promised, a reasonably quiet weekend - except for the frantic dash to complete all my outstanding chores. There was at least the cathartic release of returning an enormous selections of books to the library having finished my last outstanding essay (although it was slightly dampened by having to then take out another selection to assist with revision for next month's exam!)

Whilst Saturday was quiet, Sunday meant another reasonably early dash out to darkest Shropshire to run the Sheriffhales Shuffle, which was the second race of the Fourmidables Series which I signed up for almost on a whim due to the faint promise of personal glory.

The weather was terrible when I woke up and as I drove up the M6 I thought of those club mates who had paid the extortionate sum of £25 to run the Birmingham 10k in the pouring rain and no chance of a decent time. Thankfully for me, the rain stopped as I entered more rural climes and by the time I'd parked up, the first hint of blue sky could be seen.

The race itself was 7 mile of multi-terrain and like all multi-terrain races, the Shuffle started with a nice easy part to lull you into a false sense of security - in this case a half mile section along a road before heading straight into fields and a steady uneven climb that really spread the the competition out. Soon we were thankfully back on firmer ground and heading through the middle of the Lilleshall complex (worryingly with an archery competition in full effect) followed by a long descent along the road which helped to get the breath back.

After about four miles I realised that one runner was making a concerted effort to catch me and by about four and a half was very inconsiderately trying to slipstream me as we started the second big climb. I moved to one side to force him past, so as we forded the hill and turned back onto the road we were effectively level. It was then I realised to my delight that he had effectively used all his energy reaching me, allowing me to push back past him as we reached the six mile marker.

The final mile was either downhill or flat and I knew the chap wasn't going to get back at me. Looking back later, the final mile was 6:15 which bodes well for future weeks. In the end I finished tenth in 48:58, averaging just under seven minute miles. Sadly, my plans for Senior Male glory in the series looked to have been scuppered by an inconsiderately quick sod who appears to have decided to enter the whole series. Oh well, at least I'll never be short of towels at this rate..

Although 'The Plan' wasn't exactly followed today - I was supposed to do 14 miles with seven at marathon pace, seeing as the Shuffle was just about 7 miles I can probably ignore the warm-up and just count the race as sufficient effort. That said, nagging doubts mean that I may take advantage of tomorrow's Bank Holiday to do a long run....