Charge of the Resolutionists.

I thought this year was going to be different, there were no signs of the masses of people that usually follow the over excesses of Christmas and the New Year. How wrong was I? The weather just held them back for a short time. You now need to be faster at getting to the treadmill than on it! If your a man who wants to work your bum, tum or thighs you have to wait in the queue behind several ladies(complete with copies of Womans Own). Also the men just seem to be interested in training their arms, chest or shoulders with little regard for anything else. I don't suppose we can complain because these people must keep the gyms going; usually paying upfront and hardly any wear and tear on the equipment.

I am lucky that I am a member of a very large gym with about 30 treadmills, loads of rowers, steppers and cross trainers. I managed to do a threshold session on the treadmill on Tuesday; 5k in 17-50 plus 6 x 500 meters at 20kph pace.

Ribble 10k - Last chance to climb the rankings in 2009

After last weeks hilly 6 miler at Denby Dale I was up for trying to better the rankings for M45, 10k (2009). It seems like everybody had the same idea to go to Clitheroe. The bad weather and long journey seemed to put no one off. It's about 1 hour 20 minutes drive from Wakefield to Clitheroe and I set off in good time - mainly in the hope of getting a good parking spot. I would say the course is certainly a PB course - with only some slight inclines.

During the last few weeks I have not been doing much running wise, relying on one race per week to try keep the strength and speed there. Using the treadmill at the gym has been an option to avoid the slippery pavements. I have managed a few 5k workouts on them, trying to do them at around 18 minutes. Other runners seem to swear by using the treadmill and I've read about some killer sessions on them. I hold the view that it's a bit like a boxer punching a punchbag and expecting to win a boxing match; better than doing nothing and OK for training when mixed with other sessions and part of a structured plan. But surely if the road moved instead of the runner in a race it would make for easier running and better times.

My running plan this year will be much the same as last year; which is to try to improve and seek out the most useful sessions. Also to try and climb up the rankings and do the best that I can and most importantly not to overcook it and avoid injury.

Best performances of 2009: Rothwell 10k - 34-29, Esholt 5K - 16-32, Liversedge Half Marathon(Hilly) 79-41, South Leeds 5 mile - 29-13, Norton 9 Mile -52-28.

2009 V45 10k ranking 130th(from September)

A very Happy New Year and all the best for 2010 to all runners, bloggers, followers etc.

Regular Speedwork?

This is now the second Thursday on the trot and tonights session was; 7 x 800 meters with 90 seconds recovery. With the absence of Andy Pearson, there was no need to blast off like a rocket, and all the reps were done at a fast but even pace; 2:34 to 2:37. I tried to match the pace of Kevin(Ogden) and Keith(Magee) on all of the reps. There was a gap between me and Kevin, but not much, and this will gauge my fitness in the coming weeks.

I will be doing the Denby Dale pie eaters six mile race on the 20th December. This will be a low key race and mainly for the nosh up afterwards than the run. Then it is the Ribble Valley 10k, where I will be gunning for a sub 35 minute 10k.

Speedwork Shocker.

There was quite a turn out for last nights session on the track. A group of us mainly veteran runners(again) opted for a 5 x 300 meters + 4 x 600 meters + 5 x 300 meters session. With Longwoods Andy Pearson in attendence coach Dransfield decided on short recoveries. After a long absence from the track the watch was ignored and the rule of a fast even pace to the end was also ignored. After trying for years to disprove the theory of natural talent, I am begining to accept that the hard training route loses. To make sure Andy had a useful session, a plan of a suicidal pace to 200 meters and then agony for 100 meters hopefully helped him. I was surprised how I could outpace him for 200 meters, although I wasn't sure how hard he was trying. Keith Magee saved all the effort for the last 300 meter rep and beat Andy to the line. Kevin Ogden showed some good control of speed and endurance and gave me some idea of what will be needed to get a 34 minute 10k again.

Thanks to all who took part.

A Dash To The Abbey 2009

After 3 months off racing and training I couldn't even begin to predict a time for today. The Abbey Dash has developed into a monster race(8000 entries) and well done to the organisers who really did a good job of making sure this event went smoothly. Also the advances in technology means you can get your results sent by text message or virtually live from the internet. Remember those days waiting for the post to arrive so you could check your paper results!

The race itself was a bit crowded at the start, but as soon as the race started and with the roads closed there was plenty of room for the race to thin out. My race plan was set off at a steady pace and increase it if I felt comfortable. The legs felt good, though the absence of any speed work meant that steady 5-30 miling was unachievable. I tried to get close to Kevin Ogden but he seems to have got that bit extra after doing some usefull track training. I do like races where you get to look at the front runners comeing the other way. The leader looked to have at least a 30 second gap at the turnround point. I finished the race in 35-55 and seventh V45, but only 46 seconds off second V45.

Injury Woe And Race Pull-Out

This Knee injury still hasn't settled down, as a precautionary measure I have decided to give this Sundays Guy Fawkes race a miss. I think it's the first pre-entered race that I have ever missed and it hurts not to take part. I was looking forward to jogging along side Andy Pearson this year.

On instructions from the physio I am still doing loads of gym work, cross trainer and stretching I think I will be OK for the Abbey Dash.

If anybody want's a number for Sunday's race there is a form that they allow you to transfer over. I am not sure if it's too late to do it. Please e-mail if anybodys interested.

Battle Plan Re-starts

Having not raced since the Horsforth 10k I am ever eager to do battle again. A trip to the physio two weeks ago finally convinced me to lay off the running totally for a few weeks and to work on core strength and balance. I'd not heard of this before and I truthfully thought improving your running was just about progressively running harder and harder each session, with adequate rest inbetween. Long runs for stamina, hills for strength and track for speed. A soft tissue knee injury was really telling me something was wrong and I needed to sort it. The orthotics I had fitted seemed to work a bit but didn't cure the problem altogether, and a mix of core strength, balance and flexiblitity excercises needed to be done aswell. I have joined the local Total Fitness Gym and I am trying to build strength all round

I have pre-entered the Guy fawkes 10 mile and may run this as a tempo run. I have also entered the Abbey Dash, which will give me a few weeks prep time.