This morning was a shambles.
The original plan was to run for an hour but include a local 5k race. But with the slight recurrence of ankle pain a couple of days ago I decided to only run for 50 minutes but still include the 5k race.
But ... for reasons totally beyond my control [traffic problems and Fay being ill] I arrived late and missed the start by at least 20 minutes. Never mind, I thought, I can still run a quicker than usual 5k which will be good training if nothing else.
And then, after about 1.8k I took a wrong turn. Unbelievable. Today was just getting worse. I continued and eventually got back on the correct route. Back at home, looking at a map, I can see that I probably ran about 60m short.
And so to the times. I knew that my official time would be of no use whatsoever but I had set myself a tentative target of running the 5k in about 22:30. Using my stopwatch I ran the first kilometre in a quick 4:11 - slightly downhill and chasing people. I didn't time the next three kilometres (the wrong turn would have made the second and third km wrong anyway) but the final one was timed at 4:35.
I stopped my watch at 22:11 but have adjusted that to 22:27 which is my slowest ever timed 5k.
Officially my time was 45:17 which is my slowest ever time in a 10k race.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Anyway ... a fun exercise in fairly bad weather. The time was OK too. And the ankle held up better than expected so I've decided my next training runs should be:
Monday 11 March ... 50 minutes
Wednesday 13 March ...50 minutes
Friday 15 March ... 60 minutes
Sunday 17 March ... 60 minutes
and then, on 19 March, back to alternating running and walking (10 minutes at first) but on two consecutive days before a recovery day. This is six days later than planned but I don't want to rush things - a proper, long term, recovery is needed.
Showing posts with label 5k race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5k race. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Monday, 25 February 2013
thoughts for today
This morning, for the first time since last August, I went somewhere and ran home. Only 30 minutes mind but it's a start ... slowly getting back to normal.
Not that many people think I'm normal in any way. But that's OK with me.
Fay was going shopping this morning in Guiseley (about 6 km from here) so she suggested buying me a coffee before I left her to run home. Brilliant idea.
And talking about ideas ... I've decided to run the Leeds 5k parkrun on 9 March and Fay has already agreed to resume her role as 'bag person'. I'm due to run for 60 minutes on that day anyway so I can easily incorporate a 5k run at a slightly faster pace than normal !!!
And in early May Fay and I have decided to have short walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We were talking over a couple of cups of coffee (one each, of course ...) this morning and we decided that there's no real need for us to spend a fortune just because we've been married 25 years. Twenty five is no different really to 24 or 26 and there's no doubt we'll be together for a long time to come. Barring accidents and illnesses of course.
Not that many people think I'm normal in any way. But that's OK with me.
Fay was going shopping this morning in Guiseley (about 6 km from here) so she suggested buying me a coffee before I left her to run home. Brilliant idea.
And talking about ideas ... I've decided to run the Leeds 5k parkrun on 9 March and Fay has already agreed to resume her role as 'bag person'. I'm due to run for 60 minutes on that day anyway so I can easily incorporate a 5k run at a slightly faster pace than normal !!!
And in early May Fay and I have decided to have short walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We were talking over a couple of cups of coffee (one each, of course ...) this morning and we decided that there's no real need for us to spend a fortune just because we've been married 25 years. Twenty five is no different really to 24 or 26 and there's no doubt we'll be together for a long time to come. Barring accidents and illnesses of course.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
from 5k to 24 hours
Apologies for not posting for a while but I've been a bit busy recently ... and Fay was ill at the start of last week which didn't help (but she seems OK now though).
Yesterday I ran in my first open race of the year. It was only a local 5k but it was good for speedwork and after running to and from the venue provided another 20 miles or so (32 km) to my weekly total of over 90 (145 km). I was very pleased to complete the three lap 5k in 9th position with a time of 19:58, especially as the 373 other runners caused a bit of blockage on the second and third laps.
Also pleased with that run because on 28 May last year I did the same race (and also ran to the start) with a time of 20:59 ... so that's an improvement of over a minute in twelve months which bodes well for the ULTRArace 100 which is less than 6 weeks away now.
I've also been experimenting with flapjack. I've been using homemade flapjack to fuel my long runs for a few months now. Recently I had a thought that perhaps I could fortify it with added electrolytes and/or extra vitamins and minerals, especially for long ultra races where electrolytes are very important.
Well, I made a batch yesterday afternoon and to the 1000g flapjack mixture I added 16g salt and also some extra B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, zinc, selenium, calcium and magnesium. I added the quantities needed for my next ultra race after taking into account all the other stuff I plan to eat and drink. I've had a small piece of the finished product to see if it is palatable ... and it's not too bad (very slightly salty) but I'll have more of an idea about whether it may be suitable after Tuesday's long run when it gets it's first road test. More details later.
I'll have to get myself a digital camera.
On Friday Fay managed to find some coffee from Thailand. I've never actually come across any Thailand coffee for sale so that was a big surprise - it's quite good too if a little mild for my taste.
And it's Keir's 18th birthday at the end of this month so that's something he's looking forward too. Today we booked his accommodation in Belfast for when he starts university there in September. Yes, I know he hasn't even taken his A levels yet but apparently they want accommodation to be booked first - and a £300 bond paid too !!!
This weekend has also seen the annual Basel 24 hr race in Switzerland in which several UK athletes were attempting to get World Championship qualifying distances before the end of May. I'm not sure of any distances or results other than John Pares finished first. Congratulations to him ... it's practically a home town race for John though :)
Yesterday I ran in my first open race of the year. It was only a local 5k but it was good for speedwork and after running to and from the venue provided another 20 miles or so (32 km) to my weekly total of over 90 (145 km). I was very pleased to complete the three lap 5k in 9th position with a time of 19:58, especially as the 373 other runners caused a bit of blockage on the second and third laps.
Also pleased with that run because on 28 May last year I did the same race (and also ran to the start) with a time of 20:59 ... so that's an improvement of over a minute in twelve months which bodes well for the ULTRArace 100 which is less than 6 weeks away now.
I've also been experimenting with flapjack. I've been using homemade flapjack to fuel my long runs for a few months now. Recently I had a thought that perhaps I could fortify it with added electrolytes and/or extra vitamins and minerals, especially for long ultra races where electrolytes are very important.
Well, I made a batch yesterday afternoon and to the 1000g flapjack mixture I added 16g salt and also some extra B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, zinc, selenium, calcium and magnesium. I added the quantities needed for my next ultra race after taking into account all the other stuff I plan to eat and drink. I've had a small piece of the finished product to see if it is palatable ... and it's not too bad (very slightly salty) but I'll have more of an idea about whether it may be suitable after Tuesday's long run when it gets it's first road test. More details later.
I'll have to get myself a digital camera.
On Friday Fay managed to find some coffee from Thailand. I've never actually come across any Thailand coffee for sale so that was a big surprise - it's quite good too if a little mild for my taste.
And it's Keir's 18th birthday at the end of this month so that's something he's looking forward too. Today we booked his accommodation in Belfast for when he starts university there in September. Yes, I know he hasn't even taken his A levels yet but apparently they want accommodation to be booked first - and a £300 bond paid too !!!
This weekend has also seen the annual Basel 24 hr race in Switzerland in which several UK athletes were attempting to get World Championship qualifying distances before the end of May. I'm not sure of any distances or results other than John Pares finished first. Congratulations to him ... it's practically a home town race for John though :)
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Park Run
Took part in the Bradford Park Run this morning. It's a fairly new weekly 5k race around Lister Park in the Manningham area of the city.
I've not been to that park for a few years now and I'd forgotten just how wonderful a place it is. Well worthy of being Britains Best Park (2006).
Anyway ... back to the race. I decided to run to the start this morning as the weather was so lovely. It's about 8.5 miles and I left home shortly before 7.30am aiming to arrive in plenty of time before the 9.00am start. There were loads of other runners out and about and I must have seen a dozen or so within the first 30 minutes.
At Lister Park I was told that this week the route would be slightly different because of other events happening on parts of the course. We would be running a slightly slower route which incorporated a fairly long steep climb parallel to Emm Lane (two and a half times !!).
No problem ... I don't mind hills ... I'm quite strong on the hills ... as long as the surface is tarmac and not moorland.
Set off on the slow side, not having raced anything so short for twelve months, but after half a mile (or less) I settled into a pace I felt I could maintain for the next twenty minutes or so. After about a mile we came to the hill and, as expected, I pulled away from those running with me (Andrea Dennison and ... ) and caught some of those ahead of me. One person flew up the hill though only to be reeled in about 400m after the top.
A similar thing happened on the next lap, except there were less people to catch, and for the final half mile or so I tried to increase the pace a bit and almost caught the runner in front.
Overall I'm happy with my time of 19:29 on a hilly course. Age graded that's 17:33 which is only 5 seconds outside my age graded best. And that was set on a pancake flat course which hadn't included a nine mile warm up.
I've not been to that park for a few years now and I'd forgotten just how wonderful a place it is. Well worthy of being Britains Best Park (2006).
Anyway ... back to the race. I decided to run to the start this morning as the weather was so lovely. It's about 8.5 miles and I left home shortly before 7.30am aiming to arrive in plenty of time before the 9.00am start. There were loads of other runners out and about and I must have seen a dozen or so within the first 30 minutes.
At Lister Park I was told that this week the route would be slightly different because of other events happening on parts of the course. We would be running a slightly slower route which incorporated a fairly long steep climb parallel to Emm Lane (two and a half times !!).
No problem ... I don't mind hills ... I'm quite strong on the hills ... as long as the surface is tarmac and not moorland.
Set off on the slow side, not having raced anything so short for twelve months, but after half a mile (or less) I settled into a pace I felt I could maintain for the next twenty minutes or so. After about a mile we came to the hill and, as expected, I pulled away from those running with me (Andrea Dennison and ... ) and caught some of those ahead of me. One person flew up the hill though only to be reeled in about 400m after the top.
A similar thing happened on the next lap, except there were less people to catch, and for the final half mile or so I tried to increase the pace a bit and almost caught the runner in front.
Overall I'm happy with my time of 19:29 on a hilly course. Age graded that's 17:33 which is only 5 seconds outside my age graded best. And that was set on a pancake flat course which hadn't included a nine mile warm up.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
short race
Yesterday I travelled across the Peninnes to take part in a 5k race. The organiser, Andy O'Sullivan, donated £50 to Orchid when he heard about my Run To London and he has since been wanting to meet me at one of the many races he organises.
In the Rochdale and Littleborough area he has organised hundreds of races over the past 26 or 27 years. They mainly range from 5k to 10k but are often around local reservoirs or in other scenic places. They may not attract hundreds of runners - they are usually pretty basic (the race HQ is often a pub) - but the friendliness is always there.
Andy and I couldn't chat for long because, as race organiser, he was rather busy as you would expect. Before the race though ... at the start line in fact ... there was a rather nice surprise. He presented me with a boxed presentation salver. J ust like the picture but engraved with the words PRESENTED TO CHRIS CARVER FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO ATHLETICS.
Not sure what I've done to deserve that but I handed it back immediately [to look after until after the race].
The race in question was the Ken Taylor Cowm Reservoir Road & Trail Race. As the name suggests, Ken Taylor of Rossendale Harriers was also being honoured 'for his outstanding contribution and for being such an inspiration'. He is also having chemotherapy at the moment as he has cancer. Cowm Reservoir is about three miles north of Rochdale on the Bacup Road.
Anyway ... the race. Began with half a mile uphill then two laps of the reservoir then half a mile downhill. Simple really. The strong wind didn't help at all though and the narrow paths made overtaking difficult in places. Reached halfway in 10:10 feeling strong, out of breath and expecting to slow slightly. At the finish I couldn't believe the time - 19 minutes 15 seconds. That means I completed the second half in 9:05 (5:50 per mile). No idea about my position.
This time represents an Age Graded personal best of 17 minutes 28 seconds. Something I'm very pleased about as it came only two days after my previous race and not too long after the Run To London. Speedwork seems to be working OK then.
Updated the Personal Bests page too.
In the Rochdale and Littleborough area he has organised hundreds of races over the past 26 or 27 years. They mainly range from 5k to 10k but are often around local reservoirs or in other scenic places. They may not attract hundreds of runners - they are usually pretty basic (the race HQ is often a pub) - but the friendliness is always there.
Andy and I couldn't chat for long because, as race organiser, he was rather busy as you would expect. Before the race though ... at the start line in fact ... there was a rather nice surprise. He presented me with a boxed presentation salver. J ust like the picture but engraved with the words PRESENTED TO CHRIS CARVER FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO ATHLETICS.
Not sure what I've done to deserve that but I handed it back immediately [to look after until after the race].The race in question was the Ken Taylor Cowm Reservoir Road & Trail Race. As the name suggests, Ken Taylor of Rossendale Harriers was also being honoured 'for his outstanding contribution and for being such an inspiration'. He is also having chemotherapy at the moment as he has cancer. Cowm Reservoir is about three miles north of Rochdale on the Bacup Road.
Anyway ... the race. Began with half a mile uphill then two laps of the reservoir then half a mile downhill. Simple really. The strong wind didn't help at all though and the narrow paths made overtaking difficult in places. Reached halfway in 10:10 feeling strong, out of breath and expecting to slow slightly. At the finish I couldn't believe the time - 19 minutes 15 seconds. That means I completed the second half in 9:05 (5:50 per mile). No idea about my position.
This time represents an Age Graded personal best of 17 minutes 28 seconds. Something I'm very pleased about as it came only two days after my previous race and not too long after the Run To London. Speedwork seems to be working OK then.
Updated the Personal Bests page too.
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Keir
For the past nine months or so Keir has been progressing towards his Duke of Edinbugh bronze award. Among other things he has been studying Latin in evening classes and training for a 5k race.
The training has taken about three months during which time he's run three or four times a week and he seems to have enjoyed it. He's certainly been committed ... going out in all weathers, including running through snow drifts on Otley Chevin when it would have been more sensible to turn back and take an alternative route.
Well the 5k race was today in Leeds at Hyde Park and he finished in 77th position with 25:24. He enjoyed himself and no doubt gained a lot of self confidence from the fact that there were 63 finishers behind him.
I'm proud of him ...
For his silver award he may train for a 10k race at the start of next year.
The training has taken about three months during which time he's run three or four times a week and he seems to have enjoyed it. He's certainly been committed ... going out in all weathers, including running through snow drifts on Otley Chevin when it would have been more sensible to turn back and take an alternative route.
Well the 5k race was today in Leeds at Hyde Park and he finished in 77th position with 25:24. He enjoyed himself and no doubt gained a lot of self confidence from the fact that there were 63 finishers behind him.
I'm proud of him ...
For his silver award he may train for a 10k race at the start of next year.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
John Carr 5k (race 1) - Esholt
Last night's 5k race went very well. My kilometre splits were 3:50, 3:54, 4:04, 4:22 and 3:24. A downhill start and a downhill finish with an uphill fourth kilometre.
Pleased with my time of 19:36 in my first 5k race in almost 4 years. Ran home after the race too making a total of slightly over 9 miles including warm up.
Received an email today from the organiser of the Hull 24 hr race - basically a list of entries. It would appear that John Pares has entered. He won the London 24 hr race in 2006 and 2007 and has a best of 236k (147 miles) as opposed to my best of 205k (127 miles).
I think the best thing for me now would to just concentrate on my race and try not to be influenced by anything John does ... you never know, he may have a bad day. I'm confident of bettering my best too.
Pleased with my time of 19:36 in my first 5k race in almost 4 years. Ran home after the race too making a total of slightly over 9 miles including warm up.
Received an email today from the organiser of the Hull 24 hr race - basically a list of entries. It would appear that John Pares has entered. He won the London 24 hr race in 2006 and 2007 and has a best of 236k (147 miles) as opposed to my best of 205k (127 miles).
I think the best thing for me now would to just concentrate on my race and try not to be influenced by anything John does ... you never know, he may have a bad day. I'm confident of bettering my best too.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Feeling Good
Had a fantastic time walking in the Yorkshire Dales at the end of last week. Came back on Sunday, ran 18+ miles on Monday and the same today but about a minute a mile quicker ... shattered now but looking forward to tomorrow's 5k race
No ankle problems all the time I was away nor for my too long runs - well pleased.
No ankle problems all the time I was away nor for my too long runs - well pleased.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
A simple update
Apologies for not posting an entry for a while.
Recently I've been re-reading the articles by respected coach Frank Horwill on the Serpentine Runners website (http://www.serpentine.org.uk/) and found a very interesting article about vitamin B6 and blood-boosting, etc. I think most of Frank's articles are definitely worth reading.
Still icing my achilles before and after the longer runs but now I'm not applying ice before the shorter ones. This means that I'm still unable to run with my club and racing isn't easy ... although I'm looking forward to those two 5k races in May which I've entered.
The compression tights I purchased a few days ago seem very good. I've just returned from a hilly 15 miler with absolutely no leg soreness at all. Whilst running I realised that as the compression helps return blood to the heart the tights will also help with my Exercise Associated Collapse (caused by low blood pressure after ultra events [caused by pooling of blood in the feet after running has stopped]).
Yesterday I was looking at the website of the Madrid 24 hr race and it seems to be a very good event - worth noting for next year perhaps. The Grand Union Canal Race is also on my 'to do' list but will require more planning regarding crew, etc.
Recently I've been re-reading the articles by respected coach Frank Horwill on the Serpentine Runners website (http://www.serpentine.org.uk/) and found a very interesting article about vitamin B6 and blood-boosting, etc. I think most of Frank's articles are definitely worth reading.
Still icing my achilles before and after the longer runs but now I'm not applying ice before the shorter ones. This means that I'm still unable to run with my club and racing isn't easy ... although I'm looking forward to those two 5k races in May which I've entered.
The compression tights I purchased a few days ago seem very good. I've just returned from a hilly 15 miler with absolutely no leg soreness at all. Whilst running I realised that as the compression helps return blood to the heart the tights will also help with my Exercise Associated Collapse (caused by low blood pressure after ultra events [caused by pooling of blood in the feet after running has stopped]).
Yesterday I was looking at the website of the Madrid 24 hr race and it seems to be a very good event - worth noting for next year perhaps. The Grand Union Canal Race is also on my 'to do' list but will require more planning regarding crew, etc.
Monday, 14 April 2008
Two 5k races coming up
One small thing I missed off the last post which I enjoyed from reading the aforementioned race reports: apparently 'ultra' is an acronym for U Live To Run Again ... very good.
Over the weekend I decided to enter two local 5k races in May (speedwork of course). It's been a long time since I've raced such a short distance ... they are on Wednesday May 7 and Wednesday May 14 and this means that my training on the first three days of those weeks will look something like:
Mon 5 May: 18 miles at 8:15 - 8:45 per mile
Tue 6 May: 18 miles at 7:15 per mile
Wed 7 May: 9 miles including 5k race
Mon 12 May: 19 to 20 miles at 8:15 - 8:45 per mile
Tue 13 May: 19 to 20 miles at 7:15 per mile
Wed 14 May: 9.5 to 10 miles including 5k race
At the moment I appear to have slightly strained a muscle in my stomach area which is limiting the amount of sit ups I can do ... a bit of a pain but I can still do all my other training as normal.
Starting to think seriously about exactly what food and kit I need for the Hull 24 hr race. Of course I'm using previous races as a guide but trying, as always, to improve things by using the knowledge gained from making detailed notes at the time as regards what works and what doesn't.
Also, for this race I'm going to try abstaining from caffeine for three weeks before the race. Hopefully this will help when I have some immediately before and during the event itself.
One more thing ... what's all this cold weather about? I shouldn't be running in tracksters and gloves in mid April. It has been sunny today though (except when I was running ... we had hail showers at that time !!!). Hopefully, if the warmer weather starts later than usual it'll finish later than usual too.
Over the weekend I decided to enter two local 5k races in May (speedwork of course). It's been a long time since I've raced such a short distance ... they are on Wednesday May 7 and Wednesday May 14 and this means that my training on the first three days of those weeks will look something like:
Mon 5 May: 18 miles at 8:15 - 8:45 per mile
Tue 6 May: 18 miles at 7:15 per mile
Wed 7 May: 9 miles including 5k race
Mon 12 May: 19 to 20 miles at 8:15 - 8:45 per mile
Tue 13 May: 19 to 20 miles at 7:15 per mile
Wed 14 May: 9.5 to 10 miles including 5k race
At the moment I appear to have slightly strained a muscle in my stomach area which is limiting the amount of sit ups I can do ... a bit of a pain but I can still do all my other training as normal.
Starting to think seriously about exactly what food and kit I need for the Hull 24 hr race. Of course I'm using previous races as a guide but trying, as always, to improve things by using the knowledge gained from making detailed notes at the time as regards what works and what doesn't.
Also, for this race I'm going to try abstaining from caffeine for three weeks before the race. Hopefully this will help when I have some immediately before and during the event itself.
One more thing ... what's all this cold weather about? I shouldn't be running in tracksters and gloves in mid April. It has been sunny today though (except when I was running ... we had hail showers at that time !!!). Hopefully, if the warmer weather starts later than usual it'll finish later than usual too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)