A tale of two races...

For me, racing is the best part of running; it's the culmination of all your training and hard miles you've put in and for the chance to push yourself against like-minded individuals. On occasion they can be the worst part of running, as I discovered this weekend.

 

In the last two weeks I 'completed' two races; a local club organised 10k road race, and an independent company organised 10k tough mudder type race.

 

One cost £12.50, was extremely well organised with excellent marshalling, water on route as well as being chip timed and having a great technical t-shirt on completion.

 

The other cost £30, had no sort of organisation about it, with close to no marshalling and no form of signage to show the route you should take (pretty important given the course took you through wooded areas with multiple tracks) and the tackiest, cheapest medal at the finishing line.

 

Probably not surprisingly, the cheaper, well organised race was the Penny Lane Striders 10k, for which I couldn’t commend, or recommend enough. It follows a route along the Otterspool promenade before looping back and diverting on to a paved, wooded section. It was a tough race with a strong head wind on the return leg of the promenade, but one I thoroughly enjoyed. I completed it in 42:19,  and despite wanting to go under 42 minutes I was happy given that head wind.

 

The independent company organised race, titled ‘Total Grit Xtreme’, was clearly just set up to be a money maker. For £30 it was a cheap version of tough mudder (other obstacle races also available), and whilst my expectations weren’t high, I do expect a race to start on time, and to ensure I get round safely. Not the case; I and over 20 others got lost due to there being little marshalling and no signs, and spent a good 15 minutes running around a wooded area just trying to get back to the start. We eventually did, but only by running alongside, and eventually crossing, a main ‘A’ road.

 

So, in the last two weeks I’ve seen the best and the worst of running; a running club organising a fantastic race for the love of running, and an independent company organising a ‘race’ only to fleece and make money out of people who just want to do an activity they love.

 

Final Race Stats

 

Penny Lane 10k:

Garmin Here

Strava Here

 

Cool technical tee:

 

 

Excellent photography skills here showing I am, in fact, winning the race (!)

 

Source: David Pinnington

 

 

Total Grit Xtreme:

Garmin Here

Strava Here

 

The 'medal'

 

Before getting lost; a tunnel, and bales of hay obstacle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Active Knowsley 5km 2015 Race Report

This was my second race within a couple of weeks, and another race which I'd completed before, so knew what to expect. Set in the luxurious grounds of Knowsley Hall (the ancestral home of the Earls of Derby) this 5km race was the first time I'd competed as part of a team.

Having cooked up some interest in work we had two 4-person teams entered, with my team including one of my best friends who I’d completed the MerseyTunnel 10k with a few weeks earlier. He’d never ran a 5k race before and so had no idea how to pace it, consequently he wanted to do his own thing. That suited me fine as I wanted to go for an ‘official’ sub 20min 5k.

The race started at 7.15pm on a very warm and sunny un-British summer’s evening. I wanted to head out fast to try and maintain a steady pace throughout.

The first half of the run I managed to complete fairly comfortably, and whilst a team mate had stayed with me for the first kilometre I was subsequently running alone – none of my ‘rivals’ had passed me at any stage.

Rather than helping me to relax, it did the opposite; I no longer had someone pushing me on to maintain my pace, which suffered slightly in the 4^th kilometre as my time dipped to 4:08. The last time I completed this course the same 4^th km dip occurred and meant I missed out on my sub 20min 5k. Would this time be the same?

I pushed on using the runners ahead of me to keep going and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the finish line approaching. A little dash to the end and I hit ‘stop’ on the Garmin…

..19:45, yippee! Officially back in the sub 20min club for me!

It was then just a case of cheering on the other 7 runners as they all came in. It turns out I get way too excited doing this and was soon bellowing each runner’s name to help them across the finish line (or scare them into thinking they were being chased by an axe murderer…)

My mate came in second out of the group with a great time of 20:53, very quickly (i.e. 2 seconds later) followed by our opponents’ first runner. The rest of the runners came in and it was fairly clear that my team was the winning one, but so made up was I with my mate’s time it really didn’t matter. “I’m so proud of you” I may have muttered more than a few times!

Final Race Stats

19:45, a time I am elated with, and a time that makes me feel like my fitness is returning, albeit slowly!

Garmin here
Strava here

Final Notes

The race was great, well marshalled and a nice medal for a very cheap £7.50. My only (slight) gripe is that the race wasn’t timed with a chip, all by hand, and so subsequently I haven’t got the final team times, but I can live with that.

Whilst we’d light heartedly gone ‘into battle’ with personal pride being the prize, it was fun and camaraderie which were the real winners (major cheese fest I know!).

Mersey Tunnel 10k 2015

3^rd times a charm… Or not

Sunday 7^th June 2015 was the third time I took on the Mersey Tunnel 10k, which is usually the race I look forward to most in the year, and the course of my 10k PB. I knew I wasn’t in PB condition, but wanted to get round in a progressive time compared to my previous 10k races.

I didn’t really pay much attention to the race instructions as I ‘knew’ where it started. After I parked up I watched a few runners walking the wrong way to the start line; ‘look at them’ I thought, 'going the wrong way, obviously newbies to the course'…

…Soon what can only be described as huge swathes of runners were going the wrong way to the start line; it was at this point when I started to doubt myself about knowing where the race started. Turns out you should always read the race instructions in case the start line is moved compared to previous years.

After consulting the race instructions and following everyone making my way to the start line I warmed up and got ready. I was running this race with a mate whose first race this would be.

If you haven’t read my previous report on this race (I wouldn’t either) then you’ll know that the route takes you from Liverpool, through the Wallasey tunnel and into… Wallasey...

It’s the tunnel-y bit which is essentially the pull & appeal of the race.

Unfortunately, the moving of the start line, which was to a very narrow side street, meant once the 2,800 runners were sent on their marching orders, caused a very congested opening several hundred metres. Added to this was that the tunnel was right after these opening several hundred metres.

The tunnel starts off as a downhill before levelling out and then turning into an incline. Congested start and downhill = lots of runners racing ahead, but slowing down when they hit the incline, which = a lot of dodging if you don’t slow down with them.

After getting out the tunnel the route opened up on to the streets before tracking the prom for the final half of the race. It’s always a nice view looking back across the Mersey to The Liver Birds and all the other great architecture in Liverpool.

I'd lost my mate in the tunnel, but we'd agreed if this happened to just meet up at the finish line.

Having conquered the toughest part of the route and being on the prom allowed me to focus on maintaining the quickest pace I could through to the finish, which wasn't that fast at this point.

I was however given somewhat of an adrenaline rush at around 7km when my name was screamed in a somewhat satisfied tone* by a race marshal. The marshal in question was a young lady, and as I'm not used to young ladies screaming my name in a satisfied tone (or any kind of tone if I'm honest), I was flooded with a surge of adrenaline which allowed me to (try to) raise my thumb in thanks, smile, and up my pace for about 20 seconds.

Following this encounter I plodded on and having turned a dog leg corner to face some headwinds the finish line was in sight; I upped my pace and crossed the finish line, absolutely knackered.

Final Race Stats

44:25 - slower than my previous two 10ks this year, but a very much tougher course given the congestion at the start and profile of it.

The medal was, as usual, excellent. A decent technical tee and one I would wear in the winter months to be seen due to its fluorescent-ness (if I were to not horde my race t-shirts away), and a nice little goody bag:

Garmin here
Strava here

Final Notes

I'll continue to run this race every year because of the opportunity to run through the Wallasey tunnel, but unfortunately I don't feel its the same as it used to be given the moving of the start line.

* this is total embellishment on my part in an attempt to be funny (I know, I should leave that to the hilarious Jay at Born to Plod)

Enoying the good aches...

...and hating the bad ones.

When you're flying with your running, you forget how long it took to get to that level of fitness and focus; the long runs in the sweeping rain, the tempo runs in the boiling heat, the aching joints afterwards. They were nothing, something that came with the territory, and only added to the feeling of invincibility having completed your run despite those conditions.

When you're returning from a break, whether enforced or not, that's when you realise how difficult running actually is - routes that would serve as a mere 'whip round the block' you suddenly have to psyche yourself up for. That hill which you could bosh out at the end of your run you haven't quite got the spring in your step to conquer.

Having had plenty of 'bad' aches over the last 18 months, I've learned to love the good ones over the last few weeks. Sure, I'm not as fit as I was, and I'm needing to stretch a little bit more post run, and the morning after, but I relish all of it. It means I'm getting fitter and stronger, and I definitely appreciate being able to run more, and looking forward to upping the distance.

I'm focusing on the 10k distance at the moment and improving my time, towards the end of the year I'd like to get back to half marathon distance and see where that takes me...

I don't like the bad 'aches' though* - like when someone logs a cycle as a run on Strava...

Running along the Liverpool - Leeds canal there are plenty of segments and so opportunities to work up the leader board, or just generally track how you're getting on speedwise run to run.

There's one segment which I'll complete pretty much every time I lace up my trainers. Earlier in the week I decided I'd put my foot down during the segment and see how quickly I could complete it (without killing myself).

Back from the run, I uploaded my route, and like a kid opening his presents on Christmas morning I was almost unable to contain my excitement looking forward to seeing how I'd got on... 4th, a highly respectable 4th place. However, when I inspected my fellow segmenteers (proper word), one of them had logged a cycle as a run, usurping my effort.

The proof is below, however I've blanked out the name of the offender to protect his/her identity as I wouldn't want the guilt of the repercussions that they could face from the Strava community who I can only imagine are equally as affronted as I:

Proof!!

So essentially, I'm 3rd on the leaderboard, and who knows, possibly even higher if other Strava users are so lax in their lack of regard for the running-cycle logging split. In all seriousness, I'm not that bothered, but it does grate against the OCD part of me :)

Next up for me is the Mersey Tunnel 10k a week tomorrow (Sunday 7th June). I race which starts in Liverpool, goes through the Wallasey Tunnel, and ends up on the Wirral. Previous race report for it here.
 
*Ok so it's not really an ache, but I've wanted to have a rant about this for a couple of weeks and never been able to fit it into 140 characters on twitter, or crowbar it into a blog.

I've got all these tees...

It's becoming more and more common for your race 'goody bag' to contain not just a medal, sweets, leaflets for other races, and water, but also, a t-shirt, and it's generally a swanky technical t-shirt too. However, what happens to all of these tees??

 

The "McDonalds Happy Meal toy"
You get your happy meal and marvel at the little plastic toy* inside, playing with it in the car on the way home and then leaving it to gather dust in that bottom drawer of that spare room with all the other toys. It never sees the light of day until you're either having a clear out, moving house, or your parents decide that you don't need it anymore as you haven't played with it for months so it can go in the trash.

 

The "badge of honour / iGrunters"
This is mainly the tough mudder type races, and is generally, but not limited to, those blokes in the gym who strut around 'cause they lift and have completed an obstacle course. You'll often hear a low groan emitted from said t-shirt wearer when completing the last few reps of their set. You'll also often find yourself wishing that on this occasion they loaded the bench press with a bit too much weight causing them to 'follow through' on all that pushing. Heads up though guys, try completing a marathon and all the training that goes with and tell me which tee deserves more respect...

 

The "painter's tee"

It's that bank holiday weekend when you promised yourself/the other half/that family relative who keeps pestering you/the parents you'd decorate the spare room which has been locked for the last six months to stop people going in and seeing the mess. You know, no matter how careful you are, you're gonna splash some paint on yourself. Well you can't wear your going out t-shirt or shirt can you?

 

The "I earned it so I'm wearing it"

I'm surprised I don't fall into this category; when I buy/own/earn something, I feel it a waste to not get the most use out of it as possible - for race t-shirts, this would be wearing it until it's nearly falling apart, and even then I may just keep it.

 

The "my precious"

This. Is. Me. Ohhh, I've got another pretty race t-shirt, look how beautiful it is with its wicking features and colour scheme, I could frame it that's how lovely it is. I will keep my precious race t-shirt by ironing it, folding it precisely, and keeping it safely snuggled away with all of it's other brother and sister race t-shirts in its own dedicated drawer.

 

The "creative"

For those people who manage to find an obscure or slightly different (but amazing use) for just about anything; applications for race t-shirt can range from, bit are not restricted to, making a blanket to a funky outfit for their dog. Each a brilliant and novel way of using their goody bag gift.

 

The "normal"

The above are probably all figments of my imagination (with the exception of "my precious") to make myself feel better for what I do with my own race t-shirts and tell myself 'at least I'm not an "iGrunter" '.

 

Some of my collection (well I'm not going to get them all out and risk damaging them am I?!):

 

 

*Clearly showing my age here as they're not little plastic toys anymore,  they're more like human teleporters nowadays...

Race Report: Liverpool Spring 10km 2015

It's always nice to get a bit of déjà vu when writing a race report; it generally means you've run the race before, and, chances are, if you've run it before and are willing to run it again, it was a good 'un.

Rewind two years and I was participating in the inaugural Liverpool Spring 10k in Sefton Park - a brilliant local race which had a great turnout and atmosphere, as well as a not-so-nice steep set of steps mid-course. Lucky for me it took all the best bits from the last time I completed it, and left out the energy sapping set of steps.

The weather on the morning was abysmal; heavy driving rain, the kind which makes you want to put the fire on and snuggle up on the sofa with a massive cup of tea and your favourite any DVD boxset...

As I pulled up around the edge of Sefton Park the rain abated, bingo! I don't mind running in the rain, I actually enjoy it, but there's something a bit demoralising starting a race in the rain.

I warmed up and headed to the starting pens. I always love seeing all the runners in their club colours - I renewed my membership for my running club last week so will be donning blue and white hoops soon :)

The starter got us underway and off we set. I wasn't too worried about a time, but wanted to complete in a similar time as I finished the Mad Dog 10k in; due to recent personal health issues I've not had a chance to do any speedwork.

After several kilometres a running club buddy saddled up beside me and we had a chat about what time we were aiming for and what running we'd been doing lately - he'd completed the Manchester marathon a couple of weeks a go (awesome!). We were both using this race to get back in to the swing of things, though for obviously different reasons!

The course took us through the park and out and around the perimeter of it, and it was only at the 6km mark did I realise there wasn't going to be any set of steps to climb. The route was undulating though so definitely tested the legs.

Turning into the final straight I was feeling like I'd really worked over the last few kilometres and didn't think I could muster up a sprint finish, but it's funny what a guy dressed as a tyre (for 'dressed as a tyre', read compression skin tight clothing from head to toe - save it for later dude) can do for you.

Finish line, hey there human tyre behind me!

Final Race Stats

43:12 - Quicker than my Mad Dog 10k race, but I felt like I worked harder for it! I was happy with the time, but really want to get some speed work in to my legs to improve my time and fitness.

The medal, t-shirt and goody bag were excellent, especially for a race which cost under £20:

...And yes, that is a can of salmon with the t-shirt and medal!

Garmin Here
Strava Here

Final Notes

The Spring 10k is a brilliant, friendly and well supported race - there is always a crowd and entertainment around the course to help you along the way. If anyone local is considering it, I would urge you to take part!

Words, Hands, Hearts

This is a bit of a prelude to my race report for the Liverpool Spring 10k I 'competed*' in today...

I've steered clear of all things social media lately as I've had some health issues - not due to running for a change.  I'm not going fo go into it in detail but suffice to say that I've had ECGs, chest x-rays and blood tests to rule conditions out, and that I can, thank goodness, still run, pending more tests and results. If nothing else I got to be a 'secret shopper' in the NHS, and it is a bloody brilliant institution!

Anyway, on a slighlty lighter note, and to sign off this post, im sure you'll agree I look dashing in a hospital gown...

Competed is such a loose term, only used loosely when participant is gravely unfit and has forgotten how to pace their exertion levels.

HRM - you and me need to talk

My watch of choice when running is the Garmin 305; despite it looking like you may be able to land a helicopter on it I absolutely love it...

Sure, I probably don't use the full functionality of it the way I should or could, but it has never let me down for my needs. The Garmin 305, as well as tracking my runs (and the occasional cycle) has a Heart Rate Monitor. I generally always wear the HRM, as, despite not doing any specific heart rate training, it's always interesting to see how my heart rate is after certain sections of runs. -Plus, I love having ALL THE DATA!

However, HRM and I haven't been getting on so well lately; we've been drifitng, or, more precisley, its been drifting, down my body whilst I'm running to be precise, ending up around my midriff. I've tried tightening it pre-run, pulling it up like some dodgy bra during run,  and today, tried something totally new...

...Today I went for the 'wear it high' approach. If you don't know what my 'wear it high' approach insinuates, well, basically, I wore it AN (above nipples).

Now, for all I know that could be the way to wear it anyway, but it had disastrous results; it still slipped down to my midriff, but clearly had to get past two, um, 'obstacles' on the way. I can only describe the sensation as being cheese grated, it wasn't pretty, and whilst there was no blood, there was a stinging sensation afterwards in the shower - before you ask, no it was not a pleasant stinging sensation.

So, HRM and I will have a chat, and if it doesn't behave, it's going back in the box.

Being scared… And looking like Edward Cullen*

*but not looking like Edward Cullen because of being tall / handsome / mysterious / pale… Well, maybe pale…

My running has been going pretty well lately, I wouldn’t say my legs are completely back to normal; I’m still susceptible to a tight IT band in my right leg. For anyone who has ever had IT band problems, then you’ll know how mind numbingly infuriating the pain that goes along with it is…

This has meant that whilst I’m increasing the number of times I’m running each week, I’ve been stuck on 4 miles… I’d set myself a target that by the end of January I would be running 10km again. I’m in danger of making the completion of this distance more of a mental thing than a physical thing. However, having struggled for so long to return to running pain free I’m bound to be a bit scared of breaking down again.

Anyway, it’s been pretty cold these last few weeks when I’ve been heading out, so, earlier in the week I dug out my running tights from the bottom of my draws and ‘suited’ up… Problem is, anything tight around my right knee causes IT band unhappiness, bummer dude!

However, I had a cunning plan; Vaseline! If it can protect my lips in these cold temperatures then it should help protect my legs from the chilly winds.

So on I smothered it, feeling very pleased with myself (not because it felt good to rub on, but because I was just a few wax on, wax off motions away from potentially being freeze proof).

Feeling satisfied that I could just as easily slide along the pavements as run, out the door I headed… I have a look down at my legs mid-flow and as the lamp posts emanate their luminous yellow-ness I’m glowing like a vampire from a teen movie! Granted, this could be a combination of the sweat and Vaseline, which we won’t dwell on for too long, but glow I did.

The good news is that Vaseline can officially be used to stop your thighs being turned into a white wind chilled set of ice blocks, and with that success under my belt, fingers crossed I’ll soon be glowing from having completed a 10km run before the month is out.

The NHS and what us runners cost

I work, for the NHS, I've never hidden away from that and I'm proud to say I'm employed by what I think is a fantastic establishment. I'm not clinical, so I wouldn't be able to tell you symptoms, tests, or treatments to diagnose any weird or unheard of diseases (except for feed a cold, starve a fever maybe !). However, being a finance and performance employee I can tell you things that not many people know, as well as knowing things which everyone should know, but probably don't...

You'll all be aware of the A & E 4 hour wait time, and that hospitals must deliver this for 95% of their patients? That's a pretty standard one which is currently getting a lot of media coverage. Read headlines such as patients rocking up at A&E who don’t need to be there/should be going to their GP or Walk in Centre instead…

How about the 18 weeks referral to treatment rule? This one doesn't get the coverage I think it deserves... Every patient across the country has a statutory right under NHS guidelines to receive the start of their treatment within 18 weeks of their initial referral to be treated.

But what does that even mean?! Well, it means that if you go to your GP and they send you on to hospital, you must receive the treatment to whatever your ailment is within 18 weeks. Note the word TREATMENT here, tests & diagnostics do not constitute treatment.

So, if you end up being referred to hospital and require an operation, if your operation is not within 18 weeks from your initial referral to hospital, then the hospital has an obligation to move your operation date forward at their expense (this includes having your operation at another hospital if needs be in order to meet the 18 weeks target).

I find this extremely interesting and probably take waaaaay too much pride out of telling everyone I know about it. I get the same reaction every time though, glossed over eyes because they’re so busy concentrating on listening to what I've got to say J

The way the cost of your stay at hospital is calculated is equally as interesting; it’s unsurprisingly, based on your diagnoses and any procedures you have, as well as whether you attended A & E, you were admitted (be that in an emergency, or if it was planned), or if you 'simply' turned up for an appointment for a diagnostic test / examination from a doctor or consultant.

The combination of this ‘care setting’ you are treated under, and what your diagnoses / procedures are get mashed together into a magical algorithm to determine what your hospital stay costs.

So, what do runners cost? I’m just providing some generic, run of the mill costs which will likely be the pathway a runner would follow.

David goes to his GP with a hurty knee and is referred to hospital, where he is seen by a consultant. This will cost £119. If the consultant decides that David needs a scan, (likely a MRI scan), this will cost between £138 and £188 dependent on the number of areas scanned.

Following a scan, David goes to get his results, this will cost £70, as will every subsequent attendance with the consultant whether a scan has occurred or not.

If David is then sent for physiotherapy, this is where it gets a bit complicated; it doesn't cost the same at every hospital. Hospitals are generally paid a ‘block contract’ for physiotherapy, that is, they will employ a certain number of physiotherapists and be expected to treat all patients sent to them. These physiotherapists will often be expected to complete a patient's course of treatment within 4 – 6 visits. This will cost in the range of £25 - £65, but is different at each hospital, and should be used as a guideline only.

If, as I’m often reminded, that running ‘ruins your knees’ and a knee replacement is required, you’re looking at £9,000.

 

Now you have an idea of what runners cost, it realistically, is not huge sums of money, and will be little in comparison to other ‘self induced’ medical conditions…

One final note, none of the information I've posted, particularly around the costs above are a secret or confidential; they are free to view by anyone and everyone. Yu could just Google (other search engines available) PbR (Payment by Results) National Tariff and find the information.

Running in to the new year - Part 2

Happy New Year! We've finally entered 2015 and with it will mark my 30th year on this planet... Every time I think of turning 30 I'm always reminded of this:

Source Joey: Why God?!! Why?!! We had a deal!! Let the others grow old! Not me!!

Mr Joey Tribbiani had it right!!

Anyway, moving away from the inevitable day of when I get old... I did manage to 'run' in to 2015. I set out 11:55pm 31 December 2014 and finished 12:09am 2 January 2015. It wasn't fast, it wasn't long, and it was over quickly (*insert your innuendo-laden joke here*):

 

I'm really glad I laced up and saw out the New Year this way, as it can come off my bucket list, but it wasn't quite what I thought it would be, or built it up to be - I would definitely recommend the getting drunk with family and loved ones. Unless of course your family and loved ones joined you on the run!

So, on to 2015, I don't really make resolutions, but I find that the start of a new year helps to focus my mind and think about what direction I want my life to go in. For me, it's simple, have an injury free year and get back to the level of running I was at a couple of years ago...

...And if possible, not turn 30.

All the best for 2015!

Running in to the new year

For the last couple of years I've really wanted to run in to the new year; that is start a run on 31st December,  and finish it 1st January.

It just sounds so... cool...

Unfortunately, due to some form of injury or another I've never quite managed it, and the romantic notion of it has never slipped my mind or left me (or how back to the future-esque it MUST feel)

Another thing I've been keen on is to run on Christmas day - get up, watch my family open their presents, and then go bounding out the door; rosy red cheeks glowing and white mist drifting upwards with every exhale, and a huge smile planted on my face...

Well, I managed the Christmas day run, and finally, finally, it looks like I'm going to run in to the new year - if I can stay awake!

It probably sounds like such a little thing, but in a year when I've not been able to don my running club's vest to race even once, I've learned to appreciate the little things.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all got exactly what you wished for :)

That was the week that was...

Every Monday morning when I was in primary school my classmates and I had to write a short summary of what we did over the last week, it was dubbed that was the week that was (or TW3 as the teacher liked to scrawl on the blackboard). So, for nostalgia's sake I thought I'd give a round up of my last 7 days of  exercise - definitely my most demanding and varied on comeback from injury:

Monday - Suspension rope workout at gym followed by 20 min swim
Tuesday - General gym workout followed by 6km run
Wednesday - 30 min swim
Thursday - General gym workout followed by 4km run,  rock climbing in the evening
Friday - General gym workout followed by 30 min swim
Saturday - Suspension rope workout at gym followed by 6km run
Sunday - Light gym workout, plus 2 hours of gardening (I'm counting this as a workout as I filled my recycling wheelie bin!)

So, quite a packed week, and whilst not running heavy, I'm definitly happy with the miles I covered and the general toil I put my body through. I plan on upping the miles over the next 4-6 weeks as I've got an early 2015 target in mind that I'm aiming for.

End note, I feel I should clarify that when I mention 'when I was in primary school' this wasn't just like last week or anything, it was when my age was in the single figures and I should have been there...

Sometimes finishing last is ok...

I'm panting. 'This is is hard work, I want to stop, I want it to be over... Oh well, at least I'm not last...'

I look over my shoulder; 'oh god, I'm last... But... I wasn't earlier; there were at least 3 behind me before...'

They'd dropped out, quit; why? Because they couldn't carry on, or didn't like where they were in the field?

I wouldn't quit, no, I couldn't quit; my dad was in the crowd, how could I live with myself if I quit in front of him?

I was 15, running for the school in the cross country team - the 'weakest link'. It wasn't always like that, but it seemed in the last 6 months to a year the other boys had all had a growth spurt - I hadn't.

On I plodded, and approached the finish line, a cold, clear last in the pack. My dad decided to run next to me for the last 50 metres or so. 'A sprint finish isn't going to save me this humiliation, or running with my dad next to me' I thought.

I crossed the finish line, I didn't run for the school ever again after that experience... I didn't draw from it the lessons I perhaps should have.

That day will forever be etched in my memory - I should have used it as a confidence boost to will myself to keep with it because I didn't quit; I had the guts to see it through even though I knew I was the 'slowest' and 'worst' runner that day. Instead I walked away from running, and exercise in general until my university days in my twenties, which I'll forever regret.

My school actually finished second that year in the cross country; despite my last place finish, or because I managed to finish and provide a full compliment for team numbers? -I'll never know, but sometimes, finishing last doesn't always make you the worst, sometimes finishing last is ok...

<insert deep and meaningful title here>

Well, hello! Its been a little while, such a little while that I'm not quite sure how to go about this first-post-back, so I'll keep it simple...

I've been running again for around 6 weeks now, easing back in to it to build up my stamina and getting my body used to running (I have never felt so unfit in my entire life!). So far, so good, but about damn time if you ask me! I have plenty of targets in my mind but for now, it is amazing to feel like a runner!

I'll give a more detailed update over the next few weeks, right now my fingers are getting tired from not having blogged for so long ;) in the mean time, I hope anyone who previously read my blog is happy and healthy, and anyone who may not have, welcome!

Btw, I have a new job, which I've had for around 6 months now and it is fantabulistic!!

What makes a good blog?

I feel like all I've done for the last month is write race reports, and lets face it, there's only so many ways you can say 'I ran this bit quickly', 'this bit slowly', and 'I finished the race in this time'.

-My posts feel a little monotonous of late, but then, it's a running blog, so race reports are bound to feature heavily, right?

Anyway, this got me thinking; what makes a good blog? Well, I probably like blogs which are similar to mine - or what I try to deliver with mine:

Those that don't always take themselves too seriously, focus on running but throw in other subjects, as well as having a bit of witty humour to boot (ok, so maybe mine doesn't have all that much of the latter category !)

I sometimes think I post too much, but then, I really like IronLucy's blog by Lucy Nickells, and she blogs everyday... (Of course Lucy does wear superhero underwear, something my under garment collection sadly lacks)

Blogging about running and chucking other bits of life in mixes things up nicely, and Goldilocks Running's blog by Sarah Marsden does this excellently; check out her thigh gap post here. (Somehow I don't think I'd have thought to write about this subject)

Finally, getting quite technical about their running as well as humour-filled is something the Dreaming of Footpaths blog by Sarah Fry has got down to a T, shes also a little bit famous due to her escapades as part of Asics Target 26.2 (not jealous, honest)

So, with those 3 blogs in mind what makes a good/interesting blog for you, and whose do you enjoy?

Race Review: Mersey Tunnel 10k 2013

This was my third time running the Mersey Tunnel 10k, a race that starts in Liverpool city centre, and finishes in New Brighton on 'the Wirral' by going through the Kingsway Tunnel.

The Kingsway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey and runs (see what I did there) between Liverpool and Wallasey. It is one and half miles long and is the' brother' tunnel of the Queensway Tunnel which runs between Liverpool and Birkenhead (which coincidentally,  and rather coolly, features in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1)

Due to this the race is a point to point course - a bit of a rarity these days.

The weather started out brilliantly - a nice warm summer morning with a hint of a breeze. My plan was to start out quickly as the course had a large downhill section in the tunnel before a a climb to get out and then a sharp rise upon leaving the tunnel. I figured I would 'get ahead' in the first half of the race where it was a faster section allowing for a bit of slower second half due to the course conditions.

The first part of my plan worked very well - I completed the first 4kms in a fairly quick 15:20. After this I pretty much lost my pacing as I was now in the tunnel and my garmin had lost its signal. Many people wonder what the air is like in the tunnel, and if its claustrophobic or scary to run in.

Truth is, the air is a little stale, nothing more, and I never feel claustrophobic or scared in the tunnel.... I don't normally get claustrophobic, and it really didn't cross my mind - I was too focused on my running. Having said that, there is a bloke from my running club who doesn't do this race as he hates the tunnel.

So, 4km in and I'm thinking, "sub 40?" but I quickly pushed those thoughts away, especially as the tunnel began to rise! It's not the ascent in the tunnel that gets me; it's on exiting the tunnel - there is a sharp left with a really steep climb that sucker punches the legs and breathing.

After this point the race is half done and runners make their way onto the nice flat promenade. I somehow missed the 6km marker so when I finally hit 7km I didn't worry about my time and tried to finish strongly. I knew sub 40, and sub 41, were out of the question as the steep climb out of the hill as well as the sun, which was now beating down, zapped energy.

The finish line was soon in sight and the crowds began to thicken, I raised my pace for a sprint finish and crossed the line, happy, drenched, and knackered! 

Final Race stats

Time: 41:26
Final position: 144/2852

Garmin here (although it's a bit all over the place due to losing signal in the tunnel)

Race bling:

A decent medal and really good quality technical t shirt (which isn't actually a half bad fit for a change)

 

Final notes

The Mersey Tunel 10km is a fantastically novel race. Add in it's brilliantly organised, as well as a quality medal and technical t-shirt make this probably, my favourite race there is. It's not really a PB course, but then sometimes, that's not what running is all about

The time was a season's best and I worked really hard for it, but it felt brilliant. Despite not training as much as I'd like I feel like my fitness is really coming along.

Book review: The Ghost Runner

Or, to give the book its full title "The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop". The book is a biography and is about the life of John Tarrant.

I read this book last year, however, there was a small feature about John Tarrant on The One Show by Iwan Thomas which prompted me to write this review as the book is so good.

So, back to the book, and John Tarrant. The story tells of a young boy who at the age of 18 starts boxing as a way to keep fit and earn some money. In total, he was paid £17 in expenses.

His boxing career was short lived; mainly because he wasn't very good at it (aside form his dogged determination, which would serve him well later in life), so he moved on to running. John Tarrant discovered that running was something he was actually pretty good at, and before too long decided to join the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA).

However, back in t'day Athletics was amateur; rules clearly stipulated you should take no payment and, as John Tarrant had taken payment from boxing (albeit as expenses) he was banned from joining the AAA, for life.

Undeterred by this Tarrant continued to run, and gatecrashed races that he wasn't allowed to run in, (hence gaining the nickname the ghost runner) in a bid to prove himself to the AAA that he was worthy of being a member, as well as trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of competing for his country in the Olympics.

The book goes on to describe the many races he entered, records he set (including the record for the marathon of my home city; Liverpool), his fight to become an AAA member, as well as his working and family life before his premature death due to cancer.

The book is an excellent read and provides a heartbreaking insight into the life of a world class athlete who just wanted to run, and in doing so, pushed everyone close to him away. It is a very sobering story and a must for runners who want to know about a very much one off character and athlete.

Please, please, please, if you get a chance, read this book!

First #BloodyCyclists, now #BloodyRunners?

I'm sure most of you will be aware of the recent fuss (and rightly so) about the motorist who used the hashtag BloodyCyclist and went on to boast about how they had knocked a cyclist off their bike...

Well, I had a somewhat similar experience on my run today, fortunately for me though it didn't end in me being flattened by a car. The story goes... A car had just turned onto the road I was running along and it was just about level with me. Now, I knew there was a turning up ahead that I would be going straight over, but the driver could be turning at. Due to this, and with the car at my shoulder I kept checking their indicator light to make sure they weren't turning. Nope, nothing, so I placed one foot on the road...

...Guess what happened next? Yep, the driver decided to turn. I slammed my breaks on as I didn't particularly want to be road kill and shouted at them (their window was open) "argh, indicate will you hey" (not in a pirate voice I should add) and scurried on homeward. I tweeted about this experience and it seems it's a total pet peeve and annoyance to other runners too:

Why is it such little care is given by motorists? -Or are some people just really bad drivers? As a driver myself I'm always conscious of runners and cyclists - why can't everyone else be?

Has anyone else ever had any near misses?

Walton Hall Park 5 miler 2013

My second race in 3 days gave me a bad-ass affliction of DOMS galore, which weren’t actually delayed in their onset… Two days after the Port Sunlight 10k I returned to Walton Hall Park, running club’s base during the winter months, for a 5 mile race.

This was my first ever 5 mile race so I was guaranteed a personal best, and I think I speak for most runners when I say, I love a good PB!

As expected this was an excellent turn out from fellow club runners, as well as other local running clubs. Due to this it felt like it was some kind of club championship (/in my mind’s eye an Olympic race as we were all in our racing colours).

I had two goals for this race: don’t go out too fast, and complete the 5 miles quicker than I completed the first 5 miles of the Liverpool Spring 10k race. This meant my time to beat was 33:29.

I didn’t start near the front which meant I wouldn’t get carried away too much. The temptation was there to join the faster members of the club but I knew I’d only regret it if I injured myself from over-doing it.

My starting point worked to my advantage as the faster runners in front of me seemed to run off into the sunset (leaving me behind, boo hoo!) while I maintained a steady pace over the first kilometre – 4:02; a little fast but no sub 4 minute kilometres were going to be happening today!

The course followed a one small loop, two large loops strategy which I quite liked, as it allowed me to see runners up ahead, as well as being able to gauge when to make a move on the final lap for a sprint(ish) finish.

Having not raced a 5 miler before I wasn’t sure how to pace myself but managed to settle down into a rhythm and ended up in a bit of a scrap with another runner (not a fight scrap, an I’m going to beat you scrap). This helped take my mind off constantly checking my Garmin for my pace.

It was quite fun having a mini race with another runner as I was trying to pull away from him whenever the opportunity arose, only for him to appear at my side like a shadow... But a really, really tall shadow in neon yellow and calf compression socks.

This bit of competition meant my pace varied; kilometre two was my slowest at 4:15, then kilometre three was my quickest at 4:01. Small lap done it was on to the final two...

The large laps of the race showed the same pattern in terms of pace - a slower middle kilometre due to a slight and prolonged incline (4:13 & 4:12) either side of quicker kilometre splits.

So, coming through the final lap I knew that I needed to try and push on at the peak of the incline to finish with a good time. My plan was to do this coming up to the peak of the incline as there was a sharp turn straight afterwards.

The latter stages of the incline approached, I stuck to the inside and pushed on. There was still half a kilometre left at this point so it was just an upping of pace, but it seemed to work - I pulled away from neon-compression-socks-man and gained, then passed, two other runners.

It came to the final bend and the home straight and I raised a sprint and passed one more runner as I watched the clock tick closer to 33 minutes... and...

...I finished in exactly 33 minutes.... Nearly 30 seconds ahead of my target

Final Race Stats

Time: 33:00
Position: 51/257
First 4km: 16:31
Second 4km: 16:29 (a good negative split! -Especially considering there was an extra 0.12km here too)

Garmin Here

A really enjoyable race, excellently organised, and a refreshing route - no roads, just park pathways. I will definitely be competing in this next year.

Race bling:

Final Note

I really, really, enjoyed this race, probably more so because my previous race left me feeling like I didn't enjoy myself. I was happy with my pacing, my time, and whilst it was hard going and I know I've still got a long way to go in terms of fitness to get back to where I was last year, I enjoyed the feeling of not being able to go any faster.