coming along nicely thank you ...

After Saturday's good 4.9 mile race I had a recovery day on Sunday before embarking on my 50k training run.  The route from Otley was up the valley to Burley then over the hill into the next valley (Airedale).  I then ran up that valley to Saltaire where I joined the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Ran eastwards along the towpath for a eleven miles or so (17.3 km) to Kirkstall before climbing the hill to Headingley.  From there I ran over the hill and back into Wharfedale and Otley.  A few hills to climb but a nice downhill finish.

Overall I didn't push the pace at all, I treated it as just another long run but with ample opportunity to test new foods.  Very pleased to arrive back home in 4h 25 feeling as if I could have continued all day !!!

Later I looked at last years training and came across an entry in my diary for 9 May 2011.  On that day I ran the same route in 4h 33 but had a bad patch about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from home.  A definite improvement this year I think.

A few congratulations to end this post:

1)  Sharon Gayter recently broke the north south end to end record in Ireland ...
2)  Elizabeth Grayson [another ultra runner from Otley] ran in the Glasgow Edinburgh Double Marathon recently and bettered her time from last year by 43 minutes
3)  Otley AC have qualified to run in the National 12 Stage Road Relay which will be held on 14 April in Birmingham.  The A team earned that by finishing in the top 25 last Saturday.

Well done to all involved.

very short race

A good day yesterday at Sefton Park in Liverpool.  As mentioned previously I was running for Otley AC in the North of England 12 stage road relay - I was running stage 7 for the B team [we've never managed two teams before so that was excellent news for the club].

My relay leg was 4.9 miles (7.9 km) and, based on current training, I expected a time of about 32:30.  I know that isn't very quick I've only resumed proper training in the last couple of months and I didn't really expect to have regained my old speed as yet.  When the team captain, Mick Jeffrey, reported that he had run 31:41 on a very good course [no big hills, no wind, etc] I started to think that maybe I should aim for a quicker time.

With no mile (or km) markers on the course it's always a case of running to feel in these type of events and so I set off at a pace I felt comfortable with but at the same time knowing that I could respond if pushed at the end of my run.  By coincidence Huw Illingworth was beginning his run about 20 seconds or so after me - he was in the A team though - so I expected him to pass me after not too long.  Sure enough he stormed past after about a mile and by the time he got to the flock of pigeons on the course he was about 30 - 40m ahead of me.  As he ran through them they all scattered but to my surprise they all landed again in the same place before I arrived.  This unexpected obstacle wasn't so easy to deal with and at times I almost trod on a couple of birds and had to deal with panicking pigeons flying into me and another runner just behind.  Luckily that wasn't a problem on the second lap.

At the end I did manage a sprint finish with another guy from a different club and to my surprise my time was 29:09.  Very happy with that.  In terms of speed I was the fastest runner in the B team and quicker than two from the A team.

In fact, on checking my previous races, I haven't run so quickly since late August 2010 when I completed a 5k parkrun in 18:17.  So, the speed seems to have returned.

Otley A finished a good 28th and Otley B finished 46th.  Overall there 46 complete teams finished along with 11 incomplete ones.  Full results are here and there are lots of photos here.

Thanks to Mick Jeffrey for organising teams and Huw Illingworth for driving.

And tomorrow there's a 50k training run.

Good weather ... good training

Lovely sunny weather this week ... a bit cool in the early mornings (when I do most of my running) but very warm in the afternoon.

Today, for example, 4.9 C when I left home and 13.0 C when I returned.  That's an amazing temperature difference for a single training run.  Sunny the whole time which made the 19 miles (30 km) along the Leeds Liverpool Canal all the more enjoyable despite having to wear gloves for the first half.

After next Saturday's North of England 12 stage road relay I begin my next 'easy week'.  Two thirds of my planned mileage and with one one long run instead of two - that long run is 50% longer than usual though.  So ... on Monday I've got a 50k training run planned which will be very useful for experimenting with nutrition.

If you want to join me you're quite welcome ...

recent training ... and this year's first race.

Well, after a couple of long runs this week followed by this morning's hill reps I can feel my fitness improving almost daily - or so it seems.

The long runs were especially enjoyable in the sunshine (still not too warm though) and I'm beginning to take more seriously the need to experiment with types and quantities of food/drink whilst running.

I'm sure the recent sunny weather has a lot to do with it as it makes everything seem so much ... easier, more fun, worth doing.

Still, I know my speed and endurance is returning but the first real test will be on Saturday 31 March in Liverpool when I'll be running for the club's B team in the annual North of England 12 stage road relays.  It's only 4.9 miles (7.9 km) but at least I'll have a good idea about my level of fitness.  After that it's time to enter an ultra race and get serious with the training.

first race of 2011

Yesterday 12 men from Otley AC travelled north to Catterick Garrison for the annual North of England 12 stage road relay.  As a team we usually finish about 30th with the top 25 qualifying for the National 12 stage road relay a fortnight later.  Although we did finish in the top 25 a few years ago but then couldn't get a team together for the National!!!

The format follows a similar pattern every year although the venue and courses change continually.  This year we had 6 stages of 8k alternating with 6 stages of 4k.  I was on down to run the 8th stage ... a short one.

Long before I started we had come to the conclusion that the course must be shorter that the advertised distance as the times were far too quick ... 13 men ran the 8k (5 miles) stages in 22:30 or quicker.

I found the course to my liking but there was a bit of a headwind during one long straight section - it was cold too.  I ran the 4k in 14:15 and later worked out that that equates to 5:44 per mile ... I know I didn't run that quickly so I immediately knew it had to be short.

Back at home I used the internet to measure the course and found it to be about 3.7k (2.3 miles) and thus my time equates to about 6:10 per mile.  Yes, that's more like it ... I'm quite pleased with that actually as most of the time I was running by myself.

Good speedwork - even for me.

The Otley AC team results were:

(1) ... Liam Dunne ... 8k in 26:03 ... finished in 31st position
(2) ... Ben Cousen ... 4k in 13:26 ... finished in 31st position
(3) ... Edward Davies ... 8k in 26:08 ... finished in 30th position
(4) ... Howard Jeffrey ... 4k in 16:44 ... finished in 35th position
(5) ... Ian Fisher ... 8k in 23:16 ... finished in 27th position
(6) ... John Armitstead ... 4k in 14:39 ... finished in 28th position
(7) ... Huw Illingworth ... 8k in 27:49 ... finished in 30th position
(8) ... me ... 4k in 14:15 ... finished in 30th position
(9) ... Andrew Robertshaw ... 8k in 25:18 ... finished in 30th position
(10) ... Mick Jeffrey ... 4k in 14:44 ... finished in 29th position
(11) ... Julian Mawson ... 8k in 26:29 ... finished in 28th position
(12) ... Matt Broughton ... 4k in 14:54 ... finished in 29th position

Overall it was a very enjoyable day out ... it's just a shame the club couldn't get a team in the women's 6 stage relay held at the same time.

Thanks to Mick Jeffrey for organising everything and to Jack & Kath Robertshaw for coming to support.

the long and the short ...

Starting to seriously think about my first ultra of 2011 - a 100 miler in June.  Plans need to be made:  travel, nutrition, pacing, etc.

I know that race will only be a warm up for the Commonwealth Championships in September so I'm using it to try out one or two new ideas -

(1) pacing ... I still feel that on the whole I need to slow down less during my 24 hour races.  Maybe start a bit slower and finish a bit quicker than usual,

(2) food and drink ... this will be a good opportunity to try new foods, different protein drinks, etc.  I have been using some protein bars as well as protein drinks but the bars become difficult to chew in the latter half of a long race.  A combination of my tired jaw muscles and the bars becoming harder during the cold night.

Of course, I'm still looking to win the race with a decent time, but I think a personal best is out of the question on such a hilly course.

Before all that though there's a (much) shorter race on Sunday.  It's the North of England 12 stage relay and I'll be running a measly 4k.  I've no idea what time to expect as I can't say I've done a lot of speedwork so far this year.  I do know that, in training, I can comfortably run 4k in 16:10.  But that was a flattish route and I don't know anything about the course in Catterick.  Hilly or not ?

For me though it's all about turning out for my club, having a bit of fun and doing some speedwork at the same time.

See you there perhaps ...

long run

This morning I went for a long run.  Only about 19.3 miles but the main significance was that it was by far the longest run since my injury.  In fact it was my longest training run since 6 December last year.

Anyway the run, quite hilly, went without a hitch at all.  Easy in fact.  I also tried out a couple of ideas picked up from the discussion about nutrition earlier this year on blogs by John Kynaston and one or two others.  Basically I took on board no carbs until about 2h 20 into the run ... again, no problems at all.

Next Sunday will be my first race this year.  It's the North of England 12 stage relay and I'll be running stage 8 for Otley AC.  The event is being held in Catterick this year and I'm really looking forward to it - even though I'll only be running 4k.  Good speedwork.

Thanks to Thomas for his comment on my last post ... his suggested worked a treat and everything seems much clearer.

Stage Three

This morning I began stage three of my rehabilitation ... actually a 35 minute run. Ran slowly and covered 4 miles with no ill effects at all but I did ice my achilles for half an hour before and after.

Lost approx 600g in weight during the run [21 ounces]. At this rate I'll soon have my weight down to a more respectable level - 61.6 kg is far too high for me [9 st 9.8 lb].

Yesterday I passed the North of England 12 stage relay entry form to Zack (Otley AC team captain). Will I be able to run. Probably but don't expect me to gain much speed before April 6.

At the moment I'm reading two books I received as a birthday present (earlier this week) - very good they are too:

(1) Run Strong by Kevin Beck
(2) Performance Nutrition For Runners by Matt Fitzgerald

Nutrition during ultra races is essential to get right for optimal performance.

Also received a pack of chocolate coated coffee beans to try during a long run - as recommended by Dean Karnazes in his book 'Ultramarathon Man'.