This morning I took part in another 5k parkrun. Hyde Park, Leeds again ... mainly because, if I'm not running to and/or from, it's the easiest one for me to get to. The others in the locality are at Bradford Lister Park, Leeds Roundhay Park and Harrogate.
I was looking forward to this race as, unlike last week, I was racing without the effects of the previous day's hard training still in my legs. As last week I was aiming for 18:20 for the 5k (3:40 per km). After a few miles warm up jog I was ready to go and, although the first 400m or so are uphill, the first kilometre overall is downhill and so it is easy to get carried away and run too quickly. My 1k split was 3:30 and I was a bit worried that it was too fast.
The second kilometre is slightly uphill and my time at this point was 7:13 (3:43 for that kilometre). Pleased with that split as it showed I wasn't slowing too much after a quick start. The third kilometre took me 3:40 (10:53 at 3k) and I was happily still 7 seconds ahead of schedule. The third and fourth kilometres have a couple of very small hills to climb but overall are slightly downhill.
The fourth kilometre took me 3:44 but at this point I was more interested in my overall time which was 14:37 - 3 seconds ahead of schedule. I knew now that I would have a very good chance of achieving my target as I had enough in reserve to run a marginally quicker final kilometre (even if it was slightly uphill).
That final kilometre took 3:37 which meant that my final time was 18:14
THAT'S 18 MINUTES AND 14 SECONDS ...
My second fastest ever 5k. My pb is 17:53 on a hilly course in Bradford way back in 1998.
So that makes it an age category pb beating the 18:17 I ran just before the Perth 24 hr race in 2010.
The age graded time of 16:08 is also a pb.
At my age you're not supposed to be only 21 seconds adrift of your 5k pb ... especially when it was set 15 years ago.
You'll have to wait until next weekend for the conclusion to this story ... I feel sure it'll be a happy ending though.
Showing posts with label age graded. Show all posts
Showing posts with label age graded. Show all posts
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Sunday, 20 February 2011
a few things I've found
This post will just be a round up of a few things I've found recently on the web.
First of all ULTRAmarathonRunning.com has a link to a very interesting race (for me at least ...). It's called Hell On The Humber and basically it's a 12hr race with a difference. The difference is that each 4 mile road loop crosses the Humber Bridge twice ... and the race starts at 7.00pm.
Now, the Humber Bridge is a remarkable feat of engineering, with a centre span of 1,410 metres (4,626 ft) and a total length of 2,220 metres (7,283 ft), it was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world for 16 years from when it opened in 1981. The towers, although both vertical, are not parallel, being 36 millimetres (1.4 in) farther apart at the top than the bottom as a result of the curvature of the earth. It remains the longest bridge in the world that one can cross on foot or by bicycle. The bridge opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It was opened officially by The Queen on 17 July 1981.
I remember, in the dim and distant past, a ten mile race which was held on 27 September 1981. The race also crossed the bridge twice, starting and finishing in the car park at the northern end. The race was won by Roger Hackney with 49:51 (he's now a doctor in Leeds, I believe). Other top names running included Graham Ellis (50:22), Kim McDonald (51:05), Ray Smedley (51:19), David Topham (51:38 - I used to race against him in my school days, where is he now ?) ... and is E.M.Adams now known as Eleanor Robinson ? She was third woman with 63:07.
There was another 10 mile race the following year but I was unlucky because on both occasions I had been in hospital for a while over the summer and couldn't compete - so I ran in the fun runs instead: 4.3 miles in 1981 and 5 miles in 1982.
Full details of the 12 hour race can be found here. Unfortunately I won't be taking part as it's too close to the Commonwealth Championships.
Second find is a blog by Steve Magness which has some very good scientific stuff about running and training. There's nothing that I've seen that's specific to ultra distances but plenty that can be interpolated for our use. A very good site.
Finally - because I'm running out of time - the DUV website, in German, has started including age graded times/distances with their results. Full details here. They have also provided a link at the bottom of the page to the actual tables they've started to use. I'll also be using that table for all age graded stuff appearing on this site as it is the 2010 edition whereas the one I have been using is the 2006 version. Just don't ask me to change all my previous results tough.
First of all ULTRAmarathonRunning.com has a link to a very interesting race (for me at least ...). It's called Hell On The Humber and basically it's a 12hr race with a difference. The difference is that each 4 mile road loop crosses the Humber Bridge twice ... and the race starts at 7.00pm.
Now, the Humber Bridge is a remarkable feat of engineering, with a centre span of 1,410 metres (4,626 ft) and a total length of 2,220 metres (7,283 ft), it was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world for 16 years from when it opened in 1981. The towers, although both vertical, are not parallel, being 36 millimetres (1.4 in) farther apart at the top than the bottom as a result of the curvature of the earth. It remains the longest bridge in the world that one can cross on foot or by bicycle. The bridge opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It was opened officially by The Queen on 17 July 1981.
I remember, in the dim and distant past, a ten mile race which was held on 27 September 1981. The race also crossed the bridge twice, starting and finishing in the car park at the northern end. The race was won by Roger Hackney with 49:51 (he's now a doctor in Leeds, I believe). Other top names running included Graham Ellis (50:22), Kim McDonald (51:05), Ray Smedley (51:19), David Topham (51:38 - I used to race against him in my school days, where is he now ?) ... and is E.M.Adams now known as Eleanor Robinson ? She was third woman with 63:07.
There was another 10 mile race the following year but I was unlucky because on both occasions I had been in hospital for a while over the summer and couldn't compete - so I ran in the fun runs instead: 4.3 miles in 1981 and 5 miles in 1982.
Full details of the 12 hour race can be found here. Unfortunately I won't be taking part as it's too close to the Commonwealth Championships.
Second find is a blog by Steve Magness which has some very good scientific stuff about running and training. There's nothing that I've seen that's specific to ultra distances but plenty that can be interpolated for our use. A very good site.
Finally - because I'm running out of time - the DUV website, in German, has started including age graded times/distances with their results. Full details here. They have also provided a link at the bottom of the page to the actual tables they've started to use. I'll also be using that table for all age graded stuff appearing on this site as it is the 2010 edition whereas the one I have been using is the 2006 version. Just don't ask me to change all my previous results tough.
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.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Making Plans
Training (if I could call it that) is going very well at the moment. Yesterday's outing scored 98 and today's did likewise.
Time now to look at putting together a proper schedule starting from mid March ... things such as long runs, hill reps, tempo runs, intervals, etc. One question though: my races last year were 1 mile, 5.7 miles, 5.9 miles, 5 miles, 24 hours, 24 hours and 2 trail relays so how do I estimate what my 10k, 5k, 3k half marathon paces should be ? I also ran a 10k but that doesn't count because I ran 17 miles to the start before racing (ran home too after the race).
Using the World Masters Age Graded Tables and some clever stats I've decided that the above training paces should be (per mile): 6:26, 6:11, 5:52 and 6:38 respectively.
Also beginning to look at races - not entering anything yet (apart from the Hull 24 hr race). Those that interest me include:
Wakefield 10k, S. Leeds Stadium 5m, North of England 12 stage relay, Rothwell 10k, Bradford 10k, Harrogate League, John Carr 5k Series, Black Sheep Series, Meanwood Valley Trail Race, Wharfedale Off-Road Full & Half Marathons, Bradford Millennium Way Relay, Stainland 7, Mileta 10k, Wetherby 10k, Sutton 7.
The following ultras are also possible: Ridgeway 40, Fife 50k, Gordon Bentley 12 hr, Marlborough Downs Challenge, Dartmoor Discovery, Rochdale Canal Relay, White Cliffs 50, Self Transcendence 24 hr.
These things all depend on how my rehab continues to progress ... but things are looking good.
Just seen in Athletics Weekly that two ultra runners are standing for election to the Road Running Leadership Group: Hilary Walker and Pam Storey. As secretary of Otley AC and Race Director of the Otley 10 I believe I'm entitled to vote (twice). After reading the information on UK Athletics website I think I'll have to go with Hilary ... sorry Pam !!
PS can you tell I'm in a much better frame of mind that I was in early January.
Time now to look at putting together a proper schedule starting from mid March ... things such as long runs, hill reps, tempo runs, intervals, etc. One question though: my races last year were 1 mile, 5.7 miles, 5.9 miles, 5 miles, 24 hours, 24 hours and 2 trail relays so how do I estimate what my 10k, 5k, 3k half marathon paces should be ? I also ran a 10k but that doesn't count because I ran 17 miles to the start before racing (ran home too after the race).
Using the World Masters Age Graded Tables and some clever stats I've decided that the above training paces should be (per mile): 6:26, 6:11, 5:52 and 6:38 respectively.
Also beginning to look at races - not entering anything yet (apart from the Hull 24 hr race). Those that interest me include:
Wakefield 10k, S. Leeds Stadium 5m, North of England 12 stage relay, Rothwell 10k, Bradford 10k, Harrogate League, John Carr 5k Series, Black Sheep Series, Meanwood Valley Trail Race, Wharfedale Off-Road Full & Half Marathons, Bradford Millennium Way Relay, Stainland 7, Mileta 10k, Wetherby 10k, Sutton 7.
The following ultras are also possible: Ridgeway 40, Fife 50k, Gordon Bentley 12 hr, Marlborough Downs Challenge, Dartmoor Discovery, Rochdale Canal Relay, White Cliffs 50, Self Transcendence 24 hr.
These things all depend on how my rehab continues to progress ... but things are looking good.
Just seen in Athletics Weekly that two ultra runners are standing for election to the Road Running Leadership Group: Hilary Walker and Pam Storey. As secretary of Otley AC and Race Director of the Otley 10 I believe I'm entitled to vote (twice). After reading the information on UK Athletics website I think I'll have to go with Hilary ... sorry Pam !!
PS can you tell I'm in a much better frame of mind that I was in early January.
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