The Wednesday League Cross Country returned to UEA on the 21st November. It was the usual course round Earlham Park with a few undulations, bit of grass, bit of woodland and a stretch along the very muddy river bank. I had a solid race, worked hard and couldn't have run any faster finishing first lady. For some reason I wasn't entirely happy with the run, I'm not sure why but think it may have been due to enjoying the essex league race a few days before so much that it almost felt like an anti-climax.
I checked my garmin data when I got home and was a few seconds quicker than the year before so certainly not a slump performance wise. Maybe I'm just being a bit of a whinge!
A couple of swim sessions and an easy gym session set me up for the Norwich Half Marathon on Sunday 24th Novemeber. I hadn't run a half marathon for years but fancied a crack at Norwich. I have to say it was the toughest conditions I have ever raced in. I decided to swap my favourite saucony racing shoes for my heavy training shoes just before the start as I didn't feel the conditions would enable me to run on my midfoot and needed a bit more stability in the heavy wind. The conditions were so blustery that in the head wind I could only manage 9 minute miling. I tucked myself in with group of men in the first few miles but soon realised that the pace was too slow and that I would have to go ahead alone if I was going to dip under 90 minutes.
I got thrown about a lot and tried to make up some time in the sheltered sections so was very pleased to finish in 1:27:51. Being the type of person who likes to dot all the i's and cross all the t's I am not happy with this so plan on another half marathon in the spring to chase a PB, club record and satisfactory time!
We hd a lovely meal out with my Mum and Gran afterwards, paid for with the prize money for finishing 5th lady so all in all a productive day. We got back in time to knock a few vodka's back whilst watching the Brazilian Grand Prix; great to see Jenson finish the season with a win :-)
I didn't run again until Wednesday and completed 5x 4 minutes at the track at 88 pace. Another swim session on Thursday and a gym session in the morning and half an hour on the treadmill in the evening on Friday rounded off the week nicely. I managed to fit in a hill session in Ickworth on Saturday afternoon after work before it got dark, just! Sundays long run at 17.5 miles was a little on the cold side but dry and bright.
I completed a recovery gym session on Monday and Tuesday morning before work. The track was a little too slippery for my liking on Monday night so I completed a steady 16 laps. One of my training aims for the winter is to improve my swimming ready for pentathlon training in the spring so I've now added a swim session on a Tuesday night. I'm aiming for 3-4 swimming sessions a week with a mix of distance training and interval sessions.
The Wednesday League at Whittlingham Country Park in Norwich was my final race of the 2012 season. Having taken it easy on the track on Monday in the icy conditions I decided to work as hard as I could and hurt myself. I got a good start but struggled on the steep steps and got overtaken by 5 men, including Chris who was flying. I managed to re-take 4 but couldn't hang on to Chris who disappeared into the distance. I had a good battle with a chap from the RAF who I usually hang onto for the first lap and then lose contact with in the second lap. We traded places for a lap and a half until I moved up a gear and drew away. I'm really pleased as I've never finished in front of him before. (NB The blokes ran 3 laps and the ladies two laps).
I'm really pleased with the season so far but there is plenty of work to do. I'm off on holiday now for some sun, kingfisher and curry and perhaps a little bit of warm weather training! The real racing starts on January 1st...................................................................................................................
Friday, 7 December 2012
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Closing the Gap........
Weds 31st was the first race of the Wednesday League at Barnham. I love this league, short sharp 5-6k cross country races that, in combination with speedwork at the track, can really help to sharpen fitness. Barnham is a great course with forest trails and tank traps. I got a poor start and got stuck behind some slower men for the first 200m. Once the field opened up I was able to move back up to my usual slot. I felt good, my legs were strong and I was able to work hard enough to be a little out of breath. I kept a consistent pace throughout and finished first lady.
A recovery gym session on Thursday morning and a 30 minute run on the treadmill on Friday set me up for a hill session in Ickworth Park followed by a kilometre swim on Saturday. On Sunday the weather was horrendous. I couldn't face trudging through the mud again so ran on the treadmill for 90 minutes. I have to say I found the long run on the treadmill harder than running outside!
I scheduled gym sessions on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for the Wednesday League cross country race at Gt Yarmouth. However, on wednesday morning things didn't go quite to plan! I woke up with a cold and during the morning felt progressively worse. By 11am I realised that there was no way I was going to be able to run. I was really disappointed as it was a beautiful day and I had been looking forward to the second race of the league.
Belfast British and Irish Masters International was on the Saturday and I had to do all I could to be well enough to at least try and run! Even though I was only running in the reserves and open race I wanted to capitalise on the opportunity to get myself noticed and run well. We had already paid for flights, parking and a hire car so I decided that we would travel out there and see how I felt on the warm up. The flight wasn't the most comfortable experience with blocked sinuses and I felt pretty lousy when we got to the airport although a hot coffee and toasted cheese sandwich did improve things a little!
The team race was great to watch with a sprint finish between the leaders with a mistaken location of the finish line the deciding factor in the winner. The course was three laps and starting to get very churned up in places. I felt pretty grim warming up, sneezing and coughing up muck and my teeth chattering so much I though they were going to break. Once I had got warm I felt a little bit better and decided to give it a go.
I got a good start and was on the back of the group of leading men. Unfortunately I lost my footing in the first 200m and fell flat on my face! I got back on my feet fairly quickly but had been overtaken by two women and lost contact with the lead men. I took the two places back fairly quickly and got myself back as lead lady but was way off the lead men now.
I felt ok and was able to hold a good pace. I overtook a chap who had fallen off the back of the lead men early on but other than that was on my own for most of the race. I finished comfortably as first lady which I was really pleased with but also a little disappointed that it wasn't much of a race and more of a tempo run.
I managed a steady 13 mile long run the following day. I still felt pretty rough the following week so only did gym and treadmill sessions. My second Essex League race was on Saturday and I wanted to give myself as much of a chance as possible to recover in time. I enjoy the Essex League as it is a very high standard of competition with great racing.
The race was at Hylands Park in Chelmsford. The course was two laps with a mixture of woodland and grassland and very boggy in places. I had a great race and felt strong throughout moving up three places on the second lap. I finished fourth lady, 30 seconds behind the winner. I don't think I could have done anything any different to get myself further up the field, its a case of working on my fitness in the second phase of winter training to close the gap.
On Sunday I ran a very easy 11.5 miles, I was still coughing up muck and sneezing a lot so I'm still aware that I need to keep my toe off the pedal in training at the moment until I get rid of the cold completely. I've got three races left in this first phase of winter training; 2 Wednesday League cross country races and a half marathon.
All in all a great weekend; Antonio Felix DeCosta winning in Macau, Norwich beating Man Utd and Lewis Hamilton winning the American Grand Prix, woo hoo!
The second phase of training starts in January. There are less races scheduled so I plan to return to the track and work on increasing my race speed to close the gap...........................
A recovery gym session on Thursday morning and a 30 minute run on the treadmill on Friday set me up for a hill session in Ickworth Park followed by a kilometre swim on Saturday. On Sunday the weather was horrendous. I couldn't face trudging through the mud again so ran on the treadmill for 90 minutes. I have to say I found the long run on the treadmill harder than running outside!
I scheduled gym sessions on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for the Wednesday League cross country race at Gt Yarmouth. However, on wednesday morning things didn't go quite to plan! I woke up with a cold and during the morning felt progressively worse. By 11am I realised that there was no way I was going to be able to run. I was really disappointed as it was a beautiful day and I had been looking forward to the second race of the league.
Belfast British and Irish Masters International was on the Saturday and I had to do all I could to be well enough to at least try and run! Even though I was only running in the reserves and open race I wanted to capitalise on the opportunity to get myself noticed and run well. We had already paid for flights, parking and a hire car so I decided that we would travel out there and see how I felt on the warm up. The flight wasn't the most comfortable experience with blocked sinuses and I felt pretty lousy when we got to the airport although a hot coffee and toasted cheese sandwich did improve things a little!
The team race was great to watch with a sprint finish between the leaders with a mistaken location of the finish line the deciding factor in the winner. The course was three laps and starting to get very churned up in places. I felt pretty grim warming up, sneezing and coughing up muck and my teeth chattering so much I though they were going to break. Once I had got warm I felt a little bit better and decided to give it a go.
I got a good start and was on the back of the group of leading men. Unfortunately I lost my footing in the first 200m and fell flat on my face! I got back on my feet fairly quickly but had been overtaken by two women and lost contact with the lead men. I took the two places back fairly quickly and got myself back as lead lady but was way off the lead men now.
I felt ok and was able to hold a good pace. I overtook a chap who had fallen off the back of the lead men early on but other than that was on my own for most of the race. I finished comfortably as first lady which I was really pleased with but also a little disappointed that it wasn't much of a race and more of a tempo run.
I managed a steady 13 mile long run the following day. I still felt pretty rough the following week so only did gym and treadmill sessions. My second Essex League race was on Saturday and I wanted to give myself as much of a chance as possible to recover in time. I enjoy the Essex League as it is a very high standard of competition with great racing.
The race was at Hylands Park in Chelmsford. The course was two laps with a mixture of woodland and grassland and very boggy in places. I had a great race and felt strong throughout moving up three places on the second lap. I finished fourth lady, 30 seconds behind the winner. I don't think I could have done anything any different to get myself further up the field, its a case of working on my fitness in the second phase of winter training to close the gap.
On Sunday I ran a very easy 11.5 miles, I was still coughing up muck and sneezing a lot so I'm still aware that I need to keep my toe off the pedal in training at the moment until I get rid of the cold completely. I've got three races left in this first phase of winter training; 2 Wednesday League cross country races and a half marathon.
All in all a great weekend; Antonio Felix DeCosta winning in Macau, Norwich beating Man Utd and Lewis Hamilton winning the American Grand Prix, woo hoo!
The second phase of training starts in January. There are less races scheduled so I plan to return to the track and work on increasing my race speed to close the gap...........................
Saturday, 3 November 2012
First Road Race of the Year
On the Monday after race at Braintree I did a recovery gym session in the morning and stopped off at the track on the way home for a leg stretch. I could feel Saturday's race and Sunday's long run in my legs so only did a warm up, one set of 5x400m and a cool down. Tuesday and Wednesday morning were recovery gym sessions and on Wednesday night I did 4x5 minute reps. I felt strong and confident running at 6 minute mile pace and was happy that the session set me up nicely for the 5 mile road race at Wix on Sunday.
I took the day off on Thursday, and did another recovery gym session on Friday morning and 4 miles on the treadmill on Friday night.
I'm keen to keep my swimming up at the moment, I'm still pretty rubbish at swimming but would like to improve so I try and get to the pool at least once a week. I just managed to get to the pool in time to fit in 40 lengths on Saturday afternoon.
I'd never run at Wix before but had heard that it is a fast course. It was raining pretty hard with puddles everywhere but thankfully wasn't particularly windy. Chris and I warmed up on the last mile of the course to familiarise ourselves with the finish; always helps to know exactly where you are when you're tiring in the last mile!
I wasn't really sure what time I should be aiming for so planned to run at a comfortable pace just below my threshold and see if that got me round in under 31 minutes. My 5 mile PB is 31:17 so a sub 31 would have been a good effort.
I felt good in the first two miles and comfortable at the pace I was running at. After the second mile I started to overtake a few people but still felt comfortable maintaining the pace. I couldn't see my Garmin very clearly due to the rain so had no idea what pace I was running at. I had to work a bit harder to maintain the pace in the latter half of the last mile and after turning in to the finishing straight was shocked to see the clock hadn't reached 30 minutes. I crossed the line in 29:58, knocking 1 minute 18 seconds off my PB and breaking the Pacers FV35 club record. I was over the moon, its taken me 12 years to break 30 minutes for 5 miles!
It wasn't a particularly flat course but the short inclines and long gradual declines contributed to some very fast times. I would highly recommend this race!
Chris ran well under 29 minutes, I couldn't see him after the first mile and Andrew Smith broke his 5 mile PB by over a minute so a good day out for Pacers!
My splits were pretty even, 6 minute mile pace all the way. I think that the multiple sets of longer reps at this pace at the track have been the key factor in this.
After completing another recovery gym session on Monday morning and an easy 4 miles with strides at the track on Monday night it was time to start thinking about the tri-match cross-country race this weekend. After another recovery gym session on Tuesday morning Mick (our coach) advised that I only complete two thirds of the track session on Wednesday night at a comfortable pace. the session was 3 sets of 3x4 minutes. I felt that 6 minute mile pace was comfortable, any slower than that and I wasn't running on my mid-foot and braking whilst I was running which may lead to hamstring tightness .
After a gym session on Thursday morning and 40 lengths of the pool squeezed in before work on Friday morning I felt ready to race on Saturday.
The tri match consists of a ladies and mens cross country race run separately with 3 teams, Eastern region, RAF and Cambridge University. This year it was held at RAF Halton, near Aylesbury so a bit of a trek! Although it was a horrendous day in Suffolk it was at least dry at Halton, although very cold and windy. The two lap course had a couple of hills in it and a section through the woods.
The race went well, I finished 5th lady and felt strong. I overtook another runner in the last kilometre and managed to put my foot down a bit so an improvement on my race at Braintree.
I managed to fit in 40 lengths of the pool on the way home (saves using our shower!). I'm hoping to run a half marathon at the end of November so ran 16 miles steadily on Sunday morning.
Another productive fortnight, I'm happy with the way my running is going at the moment. Still lots of room for improvement but its a long season with a lot of races over the next few weeks so plenty of time to get my act together.............................
I took the day off on Thursday, and did another recovery gym session on Friday morning and 4 miles on the treadmill on Friday night.
I'm keen to keep my swimming up at the moment, I'm still pretty rubbish at swimming but would like to improve so I try and get to the pool at least once a week. I just managed to get to the pool in time to fit in 40 lengths on Saturday afternoon.
I'd never run at Wix before but had heard that it is a fast course. It was raining pretty hard with puddles everywhere but thankfully wasn't particularly windy. Chris and I warmed up on the last mile of the course to familiarise ourselves with the finish; always helps to know exactly where you are when you're tiring in the last mile!
I wasn't really sure what time I should be aiming for so planned to run at a comfortable pace just below my threshold and see if that got me round in under 31 minutes. My 5 mile PB is 31:17 so a sub 31 would have been a good effort.
I felt good in the first two miles and comfortable at the pace I was running at. After the second mile I started to overtake a few people but still felt comfortable maintaining the pace. I couldn't see my Garmin very clearly due to the rain so had no idea what pace I was running at. I had to work a bit harder to maintain the pace in the latter half of the last mile and after turning in to the finishing straight was shocked to see the clock hadn't reached 30 minutes. I crossed the line in 29:58, knocking 1 minute 18 seconds off my PB and breaking the Pacers FV35 club record. I was over the moon, its taken me 12 years to break 30 minutes for 5 miles!
It wasn't a particularly flat course but the short inclines and long gradual declines contributed to some very fast times. I would highly recommend this race!
Chris ran well under 29 minutes, I couldn't see him after the first mile and Andrew Smith broke his 5 mile PB by over a minute so a good day out for Pacers!
My splits were pretty even, 6 minute mile pace all the way. I think that the multiple sets of longer reps at this pace at the track have been the key factor in this.
After completing another recovery gym session on Monday morning and an easy 4 miles with strides at the track on Monday night it was time to start thinking about the tri-match cross-country race this weekend. After another recovery gym session on Tuesday morning Mick (our coach) advised that I only complete two thirds of the track session on Wednesday night at a comfortable pace. the session was 3 sets of 3x4 minutes. I felt that 6 minute mile pace was comfortable, any slower than that and I wasn't running on my mid-foot and braking whilst I was running which may lead to hamstring tightness .
After a gym session on Thursday morning and 40 lengths of the pool squeezed in before work on Friday morning I felt ready to race on Saturday.
The tri match consists of a ladies and mens cross country race run separately with 3 teams, Eastern region, RAF and Cambridge University. This year it was held at RAF Halton, near Aylesbury so a bit of a trek! Although it was a horrendous day in Suffolk it was at least dry at Halton, although very cold and windy. The two lap course had a couple of hills in it and a section through the woods.
The race went well, I finished 5th lady and felt strong. I overtook another runner in the last kilometre and managed to put my foot down a bit so an improvement on my race at Braintree.
I managed to fit in 40 lengths of the pool on the way home (saves using our shower!). I'm hoping to run a half marathon at the end of November so ran 16 miles steadily on Sunday morning.
Another productive fortnight, I'm happy with the way my running is going at the moment. Still lots of room for improvement but its a long season with a lot of races over the next few weeks so plenty of time to get my act together.............................
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Birthday weekend!
What a week! Got a letter to say I'd been selected as third reserve for the British and Irish International Masters XC Championships at Belfast in November. I'm surprised I have been selected as I have never competed in the British Masters National XC Champs and didn't take part in the national, southern or inter-counties xc champs last season; however, I'm not going to question the decision! Although its highly unlikely that I will run for the team I will be able to compete in the open race as a reserve giving me the opportunity to show that I can compete at this level. Flights to Belfast are booked!
After the track session on Monday night and a recovery gym session on Tuesday and Wednesday morning I didn't feel that the longer reps at the track on a Wednesday would be beneficial with a race looming on Saturday so headed over to Nowton Park for a couple of easy laps before it got dark. I took the day off on Thursday and after another gym session on Friday morning was set for the race on Saturday.
Saturday morning was my birthday. Fortunately the Korean Grand Prix qualifying was televised early in the morning so I watched this before heading off for a couple of hours of work at the Suffolk Sports Injury Clinic. After work we headed off to Braintree for the first race in the Essex Cross Country League. I haven't competed in this league before although I had heard that the competition is of a very high standard and excellent preparation for the southerns, nationals and inter counties cross country championships. There are six races in total, five of which are before Christmas with the remaining race in January leaving competitors free to concentrate on the championship races from the middle of January onwards.
I have decided to compete in this league rather than the Suffolk league as the majority of the Suffolk league races are after Christmas, continuing into February and March. As the Suffolk league races tend to be 5.5 miles plus I find them too much of a drain on energy levels at the latter end of the season when its important to feel sharp and fresh for the championship races. I also think it would be beneficial to compete with a different group of athletes at some different venues.
The course at the opening race of the Essex League was fairly undulating. The senior women raced with the U23 women and U17 men so I expected a fast and furious start, and warmed up accordingly! As predicted the start was pretty frantic. I got myself into a good position early on and worked hard to maintain it. The race distance was 6k, so needed to be run like a 5k, going out hard and maintaining the pace for an extra kilometre. I picked up a couple of places in the first half of the race and maintained the position until the finish. I felt good, strong on hills both ascending and descending and had enough speed but wasn't able to accelerate during the last kilometre. This doesn't seem to be an issue when I'm interval training at the track at a much quicker pace over a longer total distance so I think this is just due to a lack of race fitness. Hopefully I'll see an improvement over the season.
I finished 6th lady which I was more than happy with. Aside from being a bit rusty on the first lap and not sticking to my lines very well and the aforementioned lack of acceleration over the last kilometre I am very pleased with the first race of the season :-)
Straight after the race I chucked a track suit on and headed to London with Herbi to start the weekends celebrations. We were staying at the Hilton and had booked afternoon tea. We cut it a bit fine and only just managed to check in, wash the mud off and stick some civvies on in time for our reservation.
We took a leisurely walk from the hotel to Shaftesbury avenue for the evening performance of Les Miserables. The show was brilliant, and to top the evening off when we returned to the hotel there was bottle of champagne, two slices of cake and a birthday card waiting for us.
Thankfully the BBC were televising the Korean Grand Prix live on Sunday morning so we were able to watch it in our room. Really gutted for Jenson and looks like it will be a third title for Vettel :-(
Being a bit of a gym bunny I just had to spend an hour in the gym before checking out. Nice cross trainer! We headed back at lunchtime, in time for me to fit a 12 mile steady run in round Ickworth.
This weekend was the start of a few busy weeks of racing. Next weekend is the Wix 5 mile race............
After the track session on Monday night and a recovery gym session on Tuesday and Wednesday morning I didn't feel that the longer reps at the track on a Wednesday would be beneficial with a race looming on Saturday so headed over to Nowton Park for a couple of easy laps before it got dark. I took the day off on Thursday and after another gym session on Friday morning was set for the race on Saturday.
Saturday morning was my birthday. Fortunately the Korean Grand Prix qualifying was televised early in the morning so I watched this before heading off for a couple of hours of work at the Suffolk Sports Injury Clinic. After work we headed off to Braintree for the first race in the Essex Cross Country League. I haven't competed in this league before although I had heard that the competition is of a very high standard and excellent preparation for the southerns, nationals and inter counties cross country championships. There are six races in total, five of which are before Christmas with the remaining race in January leaving competitors free to concentrate on the championship races from the middle of January onwards.
I have decided to compete in this league rather than the Suffolk league as the majority of the Suffolk league races are after Christmas, continuing into February and March. As the Suffolk league races tend to be 5.5 miles plus I find them too much of a drain on energy levels at the latter end of the season when its important to feel sharp and fresh for the championship races. I also think it would be beneficial to compete with a different group of athletes at some different venues.
The course at the opening race of the Essex League was fairly undulating. The senior women raced with the U23 women and U17 men so I expected a fast and furious start, and warmed up accordingly! As predicted the start was pretty frantic. I got myself into a good position early on and worked hard to maintain it. The race distance was 6k, so needed to be run like a 5k, going out hard and maintaining the pace for an extra kilometre. I picked up a couple of places in the first half of the race and maintained the position until the finish. I felt good, strong on hills both ascending and descending and had enough speed but wasn't able to accelerate during the last kilometre. This doesn't seem to be an issue when I'm interval training at the track at a much quicker pace over a longer total distance so I think this is just due to a lack of race fitness. Hopefully I'll see an improvement over the season.
I finished 6th lady which I was more than happy with. Aside from being a bit rusty on the first lap and not sticking to my lines very well and the aforementioned lack of acceleration over the last kilometre I am very pleased with the first race of the season :-)
Straight after the race I chucked a track suit on and headed to London with Herbi to start the weekends celebrations. We were staying at the Hilton and had booked afternoon tea. We cut it a bit fine and only just managed to check in, wash the mud off and stick some civvies on in time for our reservation.
We took a leisurely walk from the hotel to Shaftesbury avenue for the evening performance of Les Miserables. The show was brilliant, and to top the evening off when we returned to the hotel there was bottle of champagne, two slices of cake and a birthday card waiting for us.
Thankfully the BBC were televising the Korean Grand Prix live on Sunday morning so we were able to watch it in our room. Really gutted for Jenson and looks like it will be a third title for Vettel :-(
Being a bit of a gym bunny I just had to spend an hour in the gym before checking out. Nice cross trainer! We headed back at lunchtime, in time for me to fit a 12 mile steady run in round Ickworth.
This weekend was the start of a few busy weeks of racing. Next weekend is the Wix 5 mile race............
Monday, 8 October 2012
Back shufflin'
Sorry for the silence for the last six months, I've been snowed under trying to finish the last little bits of my thesis ready for submission. Almost there!
After my enforced two month rest at the end of the cross country season in March it took me a little while to get back into the swing of things. I finally managed to get myself fit enough to race at the end of June. Although I was running well on the track and on long training runs I couldn't produce a reasonable race performance. After an abysmal BMAF 5k track race where I clocked a very disappointing 19.08 I decided it was time to question my training programme.
After much deliberation and boring my fellow runners to tears we came to the conclusion that although my speed at the track was reasonable and my stamina during long runs was sufficient my speed endurance wasn't up to scratch.
I decided to add a 3 mile pace run to my training schedule once a week. We are very lucky and have an excellent undulating 3 mile route round the village, so no need to drive anywhere. After 3 weeks I was able to complete the run at the same pace as the BMAF 5k track race.
I have been lucky enough to run the 3k at the Southern Athletic League matches for Cambridge and Colridge this season. The last match of the season at the beginning of September was my chance to see if the pace runs in addition to my track sessions and long runs would be effective in improving my speed endurance. I managed a PB, knocking 18 seconds off my 3k time from the month before so was over the moon and pleased that the extra session a week was so beneficial.
A couple of weeks later the Jaffa vs Stowmarket 5k track challenge was the perfect opportunity to test whether I could carry the improved speed endurance over a longer distance. I started at the back and ran conservatively for the first 4 laps before winding the pace up, overtaking 8 athletes and knocking 47 seconds off my PB with a time of 18.21. I couldn't believe it, a club record, race win and PB :-) Very happy Little Bloke!
The cross country season is around the corner; my first race is this Saturday. I'm hoping to up the game a little this year and improve my cross country performances. I feel I'm in a good place fitness-wise; the last couple of Wednesday sessions at the track, although longer have felt very comfortable as did tonights track session of 24x300m in 57-58 seconds.
Fingers crossed.......................................
After my enforced two month rest at the end of the cross country season in March it took me a little while to get back into the swing of things. I finally managed to get myself fit enough to race at the end of June. Although I was running well on the track and on long training runs I couldn't produce a reasonable race performance. After an abysmal BMAF 5k track race where I clocked a very disappointing 19.08 I decided it was time to question my training programme.
After much deliberation and boring my fellow runners to tears we came to the conclusion that although my speed at the track was reasonable and my stamina during long runs was sufficient my speed endurance wasn't up to scratch.
I decided to add a 3 mile pace run to my training schedule once a week. We are very lucky and have an excellent undulating 3 mile route round the village, so no need to drive anywhere. After 3 weeks I was able to complete the run at the same pace as the BMAF 5k track race.
I have been lucky enough to run the 3k at the Southern Athletic League matches for Cambridge and Colridge this season. The last match of the season at the beginning of September was my chance to see if the pace runs in addition to my track sessions and long runs would be effective in improving my speed endurance. I managed a PB, knocking 18 seconds off my 3k time from the month before so was over the moon and pleased that the extra session a week was so beneficial.
A couple of weeks later the Jaffa vs Stowmarket 5k track challenge was the perfect opportunity to test whether I could carry the improved speed endurance over a longer distance. I started at the back and ran conservatively for the first 4 laps before winding the pace up, overtaking 8 athletes and knocking 47 seconds off my PB with a time of 18.21. I couldn't believe it, a club record, race win and PB :-) Very happy Little Bloke!
The cross country season is around the corner; my first race is this Saturday. I'm hoping to up the game a little this year and improve my cross country performances. I feel I'm in a good place fitness-wise; the last couple of Wednesday sessions at the track, although longer have felt very comfortable as did tonights track session of 24x300m in 57-58 seconds.
Fingers crossed.......................................
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