Rothwell 10k - Sub 35 Again.

The idea of just 'trotting' round the Rothwell course and using it as a training run for the Leeds Half soon disappeared. The first part of the race was furiously fast and the only thing that was aching was my neck - staring at the Garmin bewilded by the pace. I even tapped it 3 times to see if it was working properly. I did the first mile in 5.08, second mile in 5.11. This was faster than I had raced before and it wasn't long before my legs were telling me that.

Despite the bad weather there was a large turnout for the race. Andrew Pearson(Longwood) and Stephen Hepples(Newham) were this years main challengers. Andrew Wasn't about to run along side Stephen for any of the race and built up a sizable gap right from the start. I lost sight of the leaders when the race route veered right towards Methley. I would say the gap between them was about 30 seconds by then. I had my sights on a group of runners from Bingley Harriers -containing John Convery and Tim Midgley. They are always reliably close to or breaking 33 minutes for 10k. I knew if I kept them in view a possible sub 34 minutes was on the cards.

When the race route turned left onto the main Methley road, that was when the early pace began to tell on me, and my pace began to slow down fairly rapidly. I was aware of Kevin Ogden from Spen and that he would take full advantage of this weakness(rightly so). Every available resource was put into a strong finish and I managed to run through the pain and was rewarded with a 34-29 time.

If there is one lesson I have learned from this race - it is;- never set off too fast even if the race is down hill.

Training Is Back On Track.

Thursday nights track session involved a paramid of 200, 300, 400, 600, and 800 meters, and then back down to 200 again. A group of mainly 'veteran' runners from Spenborough do these track workouts every Thursday night. In recent times I have only done solitary track work on the athletics field at the back of my house, so this was quite a shocker for me and it developed into some short battles between me and John Gallagher. Some of the other lads had done the Three Peaks Race a few days before and I was lucky that my legs were fresh. I didn't want a really hard session because I had entered the Rothwell 10k -which is on tommorow. I have also got the first John Carr 5k race which is on the Wednesday(6th), then the Leeds Half Marathon on the Sunday(10th). I will not be pushing too hard at Rothwell tommorow because of all the races I have entered and will need most of my energy for the Leeds Half.

Long Sunday Run

No marathon to run...... so the question is why do long runs? the answer to this is; on a personal point of view, long runs enable me to train, do speed work, and recover faster.

This weeks long run inco-operated the Rothwell 10k -which I will be running in a few weeks time. The total milage was 16.76 miles in 1:57:31 mins - all done at an average pace of 7-01 minutes per mile. Sounds easy? not for a 35 minute 10k man like me and my legs hurt a lot even today(wednesday).

Because I felt so good after the few days resting up when I hit the road again it felt like I was gliding along. I suppose this is the equivalent of a tapering effect, and is probably how I should feel when I am actually racing.

The Rothwell 10k race is scheduled for bank holiday Monday the 4th of May. I was looking at the entries and once again there are some good runners listed to run. Ian Fisher, Andy Pearson, Carl Thackery, John Convery and Tim Midgeley were some names that stood out. I will not be worried about them, as I will be running my own race trying to beat the 35 minute mark again. This is just to prove the Wakefield 10k was not a one off sub 35.

The Rothwell Harriers really do a good job of organising and increasing the popularity of this event. It is usually a 'book early' race because the numbers have been restricted in previous years. This year they have increased the amount of entries to 1000 and this has helped those who like to leave it to the last minute(like me).

It's Legoland -You're Not Running

This time I was caught red handed, the running trainers were found in the suitcase rapped up in a jumper. The question of why I needed a rather large watch to tell the time(Garmin 305) was also not easy to explain. The thoughts of a full English on the menu were also largely ignored, the search for the hotel gym - and more importantly a treadmill to train on took precedence over all the hotel luxuries.

The seasoned runner needs his(or her) daily 'fix' of running to be able to function. They become impossible to reason with, often miserable and unwilling to help(thats me anyway). I decided the battle with the wife wasn't worth starting and no running was the easier of the two options. Once I had got over the 'cold turkey effect' of not running I began to rather enjoy the break.

The Legoland Adventure was a kids paradise with seventy acres of rides and fun things to do. Power walking between the rides and using the pushchair as an added resistence effect created a kind of active rest for me. The only drawback was the drive down -220 of mostly motorway miles. The use of my brothers Tom Tom Navigation System helped somewhat, and directed us straight to the hotel carpark. Total miles 220, with 4.5 hours travel, 2 stops - average pace 1 minute 20ish per mile.

Thanks for reading.

Wakefield 10k - Out and Back - New V40 P.B.

It's early April and that time again for the annual Wakefield Hospice 10k Road Race, organised by Wakefield Harriers. There was a large turnout for this years race, with a healthy mix of runners running for fun and club runners. Each year they seem to change the course and this year it has been changed to an out and back one. I think they have got it right this year and they have probably copied the format from the Leeds Abbey Dash and Dewsbury 10k, which have proved massively popular, thus raising large amounts of money for good causes.
The conditions were perfect for running, sunny and cool with very little breeze. Amongst the line up at the front(of those I recognised), were: Andrew Pearson(longwood), Carl Thackery(Hallamshire, now V45). There was also Kevin Ogden(Spen), Ricky South(Holmfirth), Andy Whitworth(Meltham), Paul Hallas(Wakefield), and long time no see Duncan Clark(Abbey Runners). The race started on a slight downhill which doesn't suit me as I prefer to start steady whilst not loosing too much sight of the front runners. The race started at the Lawefield Road end of Thornes Park and turned left up Horbury Road to the 5k mark and back down again. As expected Andrew Pearson from Longwood took the lead early on. On the returning 5k he had at least a minute on second place and showing no signs of fading. My battle was between Kevin Ogden from Spen and Ricky South from Holmfirth. I was also aware of Paul Hallas and Andy Whitworth not been too far behind. Me and Kevin Ogden were stride for stride up until about the 8k point. He looked easy and the high mileage weeks, in training for the London Marathon, paid off for him in the final stages of the race. Having caught Ricky South up from having a 20 second lead I thought I would beat him to the line. He seemed to pip me at the finish, and although the results show that I beat him I think they are wrong(Sorry Ricky). I finished in 34-56 and first V40, the first time I have broken 35 mins for 10k(as a V40). There's also no way I can ease back on the training or take an extra day off. With plenty of runners of V45 still regularly breaking 33mins it's no end to the training !

South Leeds 5 Mile Road Race

Rather than thrash out some mile reps on the grass track at the back of my house, I decided to do the 5 mile run at south Leeds. It was a spur of the moment thing, as I thought I could treat it as speed training - and I always find one rep easier to count than five! I wasn't preparing for this run so there was no tappering or easing off. With this weeks milage of approximately 50 miles, including some fast tempo runs, there wasn't a feeling of rareing to go at the start.

There was quite a turnout for the run, and I had checked out the results from last years race, with the winner coming in at around 29 minutes - there was a possibility of a top five place.

To those who know the area, the run made it's way from the John Charles stadium to the Town Street entrance to Middleton park, and then back through Middleton woods, and then back round again - making 2 laps altogether, finishing in the stadium(on the track). The conditions can be described as cool and windy, with a severe wind at the top of the hill.

Among the recognised runners was Tim Midgeley from Bingley, Craig Keedy from St Theresas, Keith Magee from our club(Spen).

I set of at a conservative pace today and hoped to catch runners up who were fading on the second lap. This plan seemed to work and I managed to catch and overtake some runners who set off too fast or run out of steam.

I achieved a 9th place overall and 2nd vet 40 - not a bad reward and a reasonable workout.

Finishing time approximately 29-18.

This was the first race I had done wearing the new orthotics and everthing seemed to be fine i.e no knee pain or blisters.

Norton 9 Mile - 3 Minutes Faster!

After having a few easy days of running, after the Liversedge Half, It was a trip to Norton this Sunday to do the annual nine mile road race. It's an unusual distance, but certainly can't be classed as a short easy 10 miler. The weather and temp were perfect for running and the rural setting provided excellent scenic running conditions. There were a reasonable mix of quality runners up front, with ex international Andrew Pearson from Longwood Harriers providing this years challenge. Andrew has come back on the running scene after a few years off and gaining a couple of stone in weight. Although probably not yet at his best his historic 10k time of sub 29 minutes shows it would be expected that he is up there with the front runners today. There was also Carl Ryde from Doncaster,Kev Lilley(sheffield),Chris Birchill(Leeds) and Paul Marchant(Rothwell) all ensuring Andrew Pearson couldn't treat this as a steady Sunday run.

I set off very steady today and gradually overtook runners who found the early pace too fast. I feel strong as an ox, and the weight training is helping with my strength on the hills. I now need to convert this strength in to forward motion and speed.

I finished the race in 52-28, which is 3 minutes faster than last year. Once again I was 3rd over 40(discounting Kev Lilley, who is over 45), So I can't complain about todays result, which also provided another training workout in prep for the Leeds Half in May.

The race was won by Andrew Pearson in 46-26