National Road Relay Champs

It was a perfect day. The sun was out, and I was feeling strong. I’d been pretty poorly lately – more so than I can remember being in a long time. I’d fallen off my bike (my ribs still hurt from that incident), a nasty cold kept me out of action before the Midlands, and since then I’d picked up a nasty stomach bug in Belgium that had me down for nearly a week and forced me to take a long period for recovery.

The first time I’d exercised my cardio system since the illnesses was Friday when I gave my commute a bit of stick. I was fast too – averaging 32.9km/h through traffic on the way to the station. I knew I was strong, but I could also feel that my legs weren’t used to the strain and seemed to have less capacity for lactate than before. Saturday would be interesting.

Saturday morning I got on my bike to get the groceries. It was good to have the opportunity to spin the legs a bit to loosen them for the run in the afternoon. At first I was a little worried because my legs did seem to be lacking sparkle; keeping up the cadence seemed to help – almost like a nice massage. I was feeling good.

The drive up to Sutton Park was lovely, sunroof open, good music and knowing where I was going to all helped. I still managed to get a bit lost, but it was no problem at all. I still had plenty time to ready myself for my leg.

The start was “busier” this time, so with runners in front of me I really needed to make a point of not letting the need to get ahead compromise my own race. I paced myself easy up the first hill; it was difficult and demoralising to let the light blue vest of the runner in front slowly creep away, but I was close to the red line and knew any harder would be too hard and I’d blow. Worse was when a fast spindly dude flew past me – I felt like I was just going to be going backwards the whole way. A bit of doubt crept in; did I go off too fast trying to catch the runner in front? Did that virus whack my form more than I’d thought? Would it have been better if I’d not cycled to Waitrose this morning?

“Concentrate!” I told myself, it was a bit like a moment from the film 'Wimbledon'. Quickly I focussed and concentrated on my footsteps and breathing. Soon I’d found I’d found a nice rhythm; I was feeling happier in my skin and confident in how I was setting my pace.

One thing though, I was definitely going harder than I had in the Midlands, everything was burning and I wanted one thing only: for it to stop. For that I needed to reach the finish line, so I pushed on hard.

The 5km went by very quickly – I think having run the course before helped, as did knowing the course and having much better weather. It was such an awesome feeling, knowing that I was going so hard, and that it was just about all I could do.

Reaching the final straight up the hill was great. The rest of the team was cheering me on, and it felt sensational pushing myself to my absolute limit. The line couldn’t come quickly enough, I felt near collapse and had to hold the railings to keep upright! (this pic is approaching the line)

I timed myself at 18’24”, but the timekeepers officially had me at 18’23”. At the Midland round I’d done 18’22”, so pretty metronomic then! Altogether, given my heavy and repeated illnesses, I’m pretty happy with the result.

As a team we managed 47th of 52 teams, and finished under 5 hours at an average of 3'47"/km - which is pretty decent I think - especially for a small club.

I’m much prouder of my 18’23” than the previous 18'22" – I was in bad form and it really was totally on the limit – there wasn’t anything left in the tank at all. What a run! Most of all it was an honour to be able to compete in the National Champs, and a very special experience.

Midland Road Relay Champs - Sutton Park

I woke up knackered on Saturday morning. Having been a bit anxious about the race, I had a very restless sleep. The week before I had a nasty fall off my bike on the way to work and bruised a few ribs on my left side which had made hard breathing quite painful. To make matters worse, I had also just got over an annoying head-cold so I really was having some serious performance anxiety.

Anyhow, while munching my muesli and screwing the spikes back into my XC shoes (for therapeutic purposes, I didn’t need them) I decided that what had gone had gone and all that mattered was doing my best out on the course. With that I hopped into my newly-acquired car, opened the sunroof and headed off to get some gas.

I pottered for a while and but soon it was time to pack everything up and pick up Bryan from the station. And so started the adventure, we blasted up the B-road through countless little villages (and 30mph zones) and then onto the M40 headed up to Birmingham.

The directions to Sutton Park were pretty confusing but, with the help of some joggers, we managed to find the right gate and the race area. We were pretty early for my leg, but it was nice to have time to work out how things worked and calm myself. Bryan was thankfully very patient as I know I can be quite pedantic about making sure I know how things work.

The weather was something quite perplexing. One minute it was windy and raining, fifteen minutes later calm and sunny, and then a few moments later sleet. When waiting for my leg there was a bit of hail, but it quickly cleared and I had some lovely sun for most of it.

Apart from lapping another runner early on, I ran the whole leg alone which made it tricky to pace myself. At about halfway some spectators shouted to a runner behind me. I was going fairly hard, but not sure if I was being caught, it gave me impetus to turn the wick up a bit more.

By now the ribs were aching a bit, but I was feeling really strong. I had that spring in my stride and my lungs were gulping and exhaling with mechanical precision. It felt brilliant. As I sensed the finish getting closer I notched the pace up and up until eventually I was on the final climb up to the line.

The hill was awesome. It was a pretty steep climb, not too long. Until this stage I’d just been nudging the red, but now was the time to bury the needle firmly in the red. The hill felt stupendous; although right on the limit, I still felt incredibly strong.

The run had felt great, but I’d started my watch late so I wasn’t sure of how fast it had been. Given the pain of my ribs, I started to doubt my time and was disappointed – convinced I’d run a mid-19. The times for my leg weren’t posted immediately, so I had nothing to disprove my suspicion.

It wasn’t until this morning (Monday) that I found an email from the Club Captain; we’d finished 18^th overall and I had run 18’22” – 23s faster than my target time. Even better, as a team we had qualified for the Road Relay Nationals in two weeks time!

So in the end, a performance to be proud of for the team “with all the boxes ticked”. As far as I know, the Nationals will be at the same venue and hopefully the same course.

The weekend promises to be quite busy and exciting – the following day (the 27^th) will be my first race on the Ribble – the Reading CC Spring Road Race. 80km around the Chilterns should be a great challenge and will hopefully play to my natural climbing ability.

As usual, I can’t wait!

Running around town

Last weekend I had the enviable luxury of running a race around my own neighbourhood. Zoe at work had organised a team to run in the Osbourne Clarke Corporate Challenge – a 5.5km x 4 relay within the Reading Half Marathon. I’d chosen to run the third leg – the start was in town next to Forbury Gardens and the finish of the leg just outside my house. Plus I’d be able to grab a quick coffee before the start. No brainer really.

So with some time to spare for a quick cuppa, Tasha and I wandered down into town to Picnic where I settled down to a fresh Americano and a flapjack (fuel, of course!). I’d worked it so we’d theoretically have tons of time to spare, but moments after sitting down Tasha exclaimed that the first runners were going past. I ran outside to see a skinny dude sprinting ahead of the lead car. 27min had elapsed and this dude was just short of half distance! In other words just shy of 2:45/km! Incredible.

I was expecting our first two runners to do about 4:30/km, so I knew I still had at least 20 minutes, but seeing the main feature race leaders got the competitive adrenaline pumping and I was anxious to get out.

It worked out well, I had time to warm-up, settle myself and find a good waiting spot in the relay change-over area in good time for our runner coming through. I was a bit confused as I’d expected Edward, not Zoe, but that was all immaterial – it was time to get on with it as we were about 8 places down!

I bolted off and soon found myself tripping over the gaggle of half marathoners filling up the road. It was a bit frustrating as I battled to find my stride, but forced me to settle and concentrate on the job at hand. As soon as we got out of the confines of the inner city (Reading, being small, meant this happened quite quickly) I found I was able to find more space to open the taps. A nice short, sharp climb early in the leg also helped me make up some ground and also had the effect of stringing out the field.

Now I found myself on the undulating road to Prospect Park, concentrating on my stride and taking in as much air as I could. I felt a bit fraudulent was blasting past many of the runners on the road, most of them no doubt running the full distance, but I was intent on making up some places in the relay race. Unfortunately the race numbers were on the front so it wasn’t possible to distinguish the relay runners from the half-marathoners, so I couldn’t “pick out my marks” – so all I could do was push.

The climb up past Prospect hurt a bit and it was also quite narrow which meant it was quite congested. Then again, the stretch down Bath Road/ onto Castle Hill and the end of the leg was wide and open – and it hurt even more as I opened up the taps all the way.

I found Edward looking fairly calm at the relay point. A glance at my watch read 19’41” which was a bit off my target of 19 minutes flat, but still decent I thought.

It was quite luxurious to be able to simply wander down the road into my front door and a warm shower – a great reward! Overall our team did 1:29’40” which secured us 4^th place out of 50 teams, 9 minutes off the lead and a minute off the podium – not a bad showing at all.

So now I look forward to the Midland Road Relays Championships on the 5th April which will have me either doing a 5 or 8km leg (from what I can work out it is 8x3mi or 4x5mi). Either way, it should be a blast. I just hope I can find a bit more speed before then.

Not a shabby warm-up

I felt a bit poorly yesterday, slept really badly night before last and felt like I was coming down with something. Tasha pumped me full of fizzy Vitamin C and I just took it as easy as I could. On Sunday I'll be running in the Reading Half Marathon Corporate Relay (a last minute change as I had intended to run in the last XC meet of the season at Horspath), so that has been my focus. This week has been about preparing for Sunday.

I contemplated not running the Gallieo - I was feeling slow and treacly and I really didn't expect to be fast today; but I figured it would be a good opportunity to loosen up and get the body ready for Sunday.

So when we took off, I was surprised to feel quite light and to quickly leave behind the field on the first climb; I even had to slow-up as I was worried I was going too fast too. Apart from that I quickly found a smooth, easy rhythm and began to really enjoy just being out on my feet. As I got further into the run, I felt even better and the pace came – I just let it flow. By the end I was flying – taking in huge amounts of air and pushing hard on each step. All too soon I cross the line. 23’45”, 30” faster than my previous personal best.

It was an easy win. I was fortunate that Ian Mc wasn’t running – but that wasn’t what today was all about. It felt really great to bash my PB so soundly. It also gives me quite a target to beat next month!

Mc'd again!

Today was the first Galileo race of the year at work - and with my form improving at the moment I knew I'd be in for a win.

When I saw Ian McDougal I knew my win would be quite a bit difficult. If you remember, it was Ian who broke my winning streak by giving me a drubbing in the last GATA, so I had a bone to pick.

It was a perfect day for running, cool and not raining. Sure, the 29mph wind was a little arduous, but that aside it was spot on. From the start the course climbs gently up a long hill. Up the hill I found a nice pace that was quick but would let me warm through properly. I surprised myself (and, I later discovered, Ian) when I found I was easily shadowing him up the hill, hardly straining my breathing.

About 3/4the way up the hill Ian was now warmed through and also getting annoyed with the upstart on his tail, so he upped the pace. It was cruel but effective; I just didn't have anything to answer his acceleration with. But that was fine, mindful of Cirencester on Sunday I was running my own race at a pace as fast as I could muster without compromising the weekend.

Soon we turned into the wind, and I found myself enjoying the strange torture of running into the wind. I made a point of not looking back but did have a niggling feeling that if I lost concentration I might get caught and lose 2nd. And keeping concentration was difficult; after my hard London riding yesterday my legs felt like lead and my joints like treacle.

As I drew into the finish I gradually ratcheted up the pace - not quite to "grunting like a hunted boar" levels, but definitely in the zone of “gulping air like a maniac”. It felt great!

Ssoon after I came in a young graduate came in – apparently he was trying to catch me but got lost in the last few hundred metres through the houses. I look forward to the rematch.

But my concerns right now are far simpler - I'm as hungry as a horse and dinner awaits.

Goodnight!

:-)

On the bike

It's been a while since I've had a chance to get some good saddle time; what with all the running and being otherwise lazy. So today I had to head off to the DVLA in Wimbledon to apply to swap my SA drivers license for a UK one.

I opted to ride from Paddington to Wimbledon rather than use public transport because a) I love riding, especially in mad London and b) it would probably be quicker anyway.

Getting out of the inner city was just mad as usual, rows of stationary cars and the odd blind, wafting pedestrian. Approaching Putney it cleared out a lot and I was able to get into a nice rhythm - good given that the hill out of Putney is quite significant. With only one wrong turn (am I glad I popped back home on the way to fetch my A-to-Z!) to soon found myself flying down into Wimbledon.

The ride back was fun too, but the lack of miles in my legs was telling. The drag out of Wimbledon was easy, but I found it a bit of a struggle keeping pace into town; so much so that I managed to get a bit lost - once again, thank goodness for the A-to-Z!

All in all it was fun to be back in the saddle again other than just the monotonous commute. I'm quick but need some work - which is just fine. I'm still glad for the break from cycling I've had with some running, but as the days get longer a few more countryside loops beckon.

But back to today, or at least tomorrow - looking forward to the first Galileo of 2008 tomorrow - it should be a nice warm up for Ciren' this weekend!

:-)

Out of the frying pan ...

Newbold Comyn, Leamington Spa, 26/1/2008

Until now, I hadn’t really taken my XC training very seriously. In fact, until now I could probably tally up the number of training miles on my fingers! So the lead up to this race was something different for me. I found myself out at lunchtime in driving rain, hail, more rain and a few moments of sleet. So to say that this raised my expectations of the possibilities of my own performance would be a fair statement.

The field was huge, but I was lucky to get a nice spot just a few rows back from the line. The starter shouted a whole bunch of instructions that no-one bar the front row could hear above the thick din of anticipation, but it didn’t matter.

The gun went off and we were all scurrying and jostling for position. The field started very quickly, probably encouraged by the very good surface underfoot as we rounded a sports field. Quickly I realised that I was being sucked into the crazy pace and so, given that this was 12k as opposed to the usual 8k of the Oxford league races, I decided that it was better to rather tap off and conserve than kill myself too early.

There is nothing worse than being passed; feeling that you’re dropping down the order faster than a lump of lead. In retrospect I’ve come to realise that it was largely a function of the sheer size of the field, and the high standard of the competition that a small drop of pace meant being passed by so many runners, but at the time it just felt awful. I just had to keep telling myself to race my own race and to keep it steady until the finish was “in sight” at which time I could notch up the pace and take some places back.

The course was very fast and mostly flat bar a steep climb up “Beacon Hill” and, thankfully after Culham, the conditions were generally quite good. There were some nice tricky bits around trees and hedges which rewarded the agility and preserving momentum, and there was a nice mud splash; I quickly realised that I could gain an easy 10m through there by simply not tapping off. Everyone I followed in there would slow down and ease into it, I just went in full taps, made a big splash and exited a nearly full pace. It wasn’t very graceful, I got covered in muck and once nearly saw me face first in the mud, but it did feel good to have this weapon in my arsenal.

The first two laps seemed to take forever, but the last lap went by in a flash. Towards the end of the 2nd, I could almost smell the finish and I turned up the pace. Soon I started catching some of those lost places which felt great. But I was still feeling oddly disappointed with my speed as I out-sprinted two runners squabbling amongst themselves on my way to the line with a metre to spare.

Spotted the results today and now I’m feeling pretty chuffed with it after all. 181 of 379, 51’59” (4’20”/km). A minute faster than my projected time based on my previous performances (The Lore of Running, Tim Noakes – what a book). Our front runners, who usually easily win races in the Oxford league came in at 37th and 55th. Our team, top on the Oxford league, came it 10th out of over 30. So with the benefitof hindsight, I realise that the competition in this race was pretty strong, and that I did well to get the result I did, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.

Next race is our club home event; it will be at Cirencester Park. Looking forward to it, the shorter distance should suit me well – I’m looking forward to a good result :-).