What a lovely week this it! It is taking us neatly to the O2O race next Sunday, if it stays the way it looks like it's gonna stay it will be a fun fun fun run.
My training went well so far, one more push and I might hit my goal, an under 1h 10k race it will be mighty impressive. If it doesnt happen, well, next time!
Last Friday I went long, about 11k and it was a bit more than 1h, not too much.
I wasnt trying to run a fast long, it was a chilled pace, some big uphills, had to stop to cross roads, pick mcdonnalds coffee cup stickers and look out for UARS debris. Still, 6 minutes is hard to shave.
If you take a close look, it's only 9 seconds on my avg pace per Km!
I hope adrenaline, fresh legs, the morning dew, the rush of the race and a determination will give me those 6 minutes back!
I hope...
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
New Shoes!
The time has come to replace my shoes, my poor old pair took me quite far, more than 350km and through 2 half marathons can't blame them they need to retire!
So time to say adios amigos to the old and hello there to the new. And this is the new!
Yellow makes it a faster shoe, the rest is technology that I dont understand but my feet do because I tried them for a 5k run and they likes them!
So the counter starts on 0 with the next run being the weekly 4.5k run next Tuesday, trainning for a 10k run on the 2nd of October. Looking forward to break them in!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Race 10k advice from Runner's World
Problem:
How should I pace my race?Solution:
If it’s your first 10K, the key is to run evenly – an over-fast start will mean a painful finish. If you have a target of 60 minutes, for example, that means you’ll aim to pass the kilometre markers at six-minute intervals. Then, if you feel great near the end, you can pick up the pace a little, finish strongly and look forward to doing even better next time round.
If you’re more experienced, you just have to play to your strengths. If you have more speed than endurance you should hold back very slightly until the second half, then start to speed up – but if endurance is your strength, the opposite approach is better. To avoid underperforming, the maximum negative split a 40-minute runner should plan for is one minute (ie 20:30 then 19:30). A 60-minute runner can plan for a much wider split: 32 then 28 minutes would not be unreasonable.
If you’re fit and your ability is well-balanced, simply build yourself a 10-second safety margin within the first 3K, then take the rest of the race at an even pace to hit your target.
The Next Race
What a happy feeling booking my next 2 races! Am I addicted, certainly to the whole race experience.
Only a few weeks away is the O2O race in Reading. It's a 10k race on Sunday the 2nd of October. I set my goal under 1h, if I manage to maintain an average pace of under 6:00 min/Km then we are cool. On a 5k I can cruise at 5:30min/Km but that would be a wishfull thinking for twice the distance. I can only dream of a 50-55 minute 10K!
The route itself is beautiful, starting from TVP flat out by the river Thames and Kennet Cannal, it reaches Reading and returns back to Thames Valley Park. I have run parts of it on longer runs but never in a race. If October comes mild we are in for a treat!
The other race is the Reading Half Marathon, the 1st of April 2012. No need to write more about it right now.
Speed trainning (pyramids, fartleks, speedy runs) and new yellow shoes should do the trick.
Only a few weeks away is the O2O race in Reading. It's a 10k race on Sunday the 2nd of October. I set my goal under 1h, if I manage to maintain an average pace of under 6:00 min/Km then we are cool. On a 5k I can cruise at 5:30min/Km but that would be a wishfull thinking for twice the distance. I can only dream of a 50-55 minute 10K!
The route itself is beautiful, starting from TVP flat out by the river Thames and Kennet Cannal, it reaches Reading and returns back to Thames Valley Park. I have run parts of it on longer runs but never in a race. If October comes mild we are in for a treat!
The other race is the Reading Half Marathon, the 1st of April 2012. No need to write more about it right now.
Speed trainning (pyramids, fartleks, speedy runs) and new yellow shoes should do the trick.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Recovery Run
Contrary to advice I decided to go for a recovery run with the Sweatshop running Community.
Well it turned out to be a good easy run. Not much of a pain of pull, just taking it easy and not pushing for overtakes or sprint runs.
This is the session data:
Monday, September 5, 2011
Maidenhead Half Marathon
This is quite a leap entry, lots of things have come to pass since my last blog entry.
Summer's gonne, Maidenhead Half Marathon's gonne and with it the trainning for it! obviously!
The race was well organised, starting from the race village, the civit centre car park.
We got there around 8:30 and the first thing we noticed was the huge cue to the toilets. It's true, runners spend a good penny before the event!
Then it's time to drop of the bags tagged with our race numbers. Big piece of advice, make sure they are at least water proof! they didn't take a very good care of our bags as we found out later! they were soaked with rain.
We were called to the start line, all 2000+ one of us, and when the canon went it suddenly dawns on you that the race is on! My main thought was, take it easy, keep to the plan. That was followed by the realisation that people tend to run like loonies when they hear a canon firing.
The race went well, this is what my GPS recorded:
This is what I was thinking while running:
- good choice of soundtrack, 666 by the Aphrodite's Child was the perfect mix of mellow and power tracks
- good start down the A308, no pains no breathing problems, very smooth indeed. Good crowd too, look at them go...
- Nice change of scenery around Monkey Island, bit annoyed with dirt road but it wasnt for long...
- Water station 1, that was a bit of a battle field, people stopped to pick a cup of water. I won't stop I will pick one up while running and make the effort to drink from a plastic cup in the process. 89% of liquid wasted!
- Interesting view above the M4, lovely reception in Bray, best part of the race, fresh legs, the scenery was tranquil, "the system" on my headphones. Clean english country side! Best way to experience it!. Pubs there looks interesting too!
- Now i didn't like this, we had to stop and climb down some steps to the river side.
- Deceptively, we are still In Maidenhead! the race is now by the river, the leg started to talk to me and the rain started to fall...
- All the way to Cookham trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the left knee, tried back kicks with my legs to stretch while running, its a technique passed to me by an indian chief.
- Cows were on the side of the road, in a close packed herd trying to stay warm in the cold rain thinking how stupid humans must be to herd around in that sort of weather.Everything is wet!
- Apart from the knee the rest is awesome, scenery pace heart rate soundtrack still wet tho.
- The mile sign reads 10 and this means that there are only 3 to go, Maidenhead is now ahead and I wonder how they will twist and turn the route to cover that distance.
- Almost there, half a mile to go, the pain now can not be ignored, especialy in the small up hills, pace still within limits. If my legs were better conditioned i would hit some awesome times.
- Finish line, my number is announced and I look at the official clock, 2:20:34 which is now my personal Best. I feel like I could run more but with a new pair of legs...
That's when you pick up the Medal and drink all that water you can, pick your wet bag from the dump place they stored it for you and change to something drier from what you wear.
I enjoyed this race but i really need more trainning, get lighter and stronger in the legs.
The goal for 2012 is run without injuries or pain. in faster times and more miles under my shoes.
Summer's gonne, Maidenhead Half Marathon's gonne and with it the trainning for it! obviously!
The race was well organised, starting from the race village, the civit centre car park.
We got there around 8:30 and the first thing we noticed was the huge cue to the toilets. It's true, runners spend a good penny before the event!
Then it's time to drop of the bags tagged with our race numbers. Big piece of advice, make sure they are at least water proof! they didn't take a very good care of our bags as we found out later! they were soaked with rain.
We were called to the start line, all 2000+ one of us, and when the canon went it suddenly dawns on you that the race is on! My main thought was, take it easy, keep to the plan. That was followed by the realisation that people tend to run like loonies when they hear a canon firing.
The race went well, this is what my GPS recorded:
This is what I was thinking while running:
- good choice of soundtrack, 666 by the Aphrodite's Child was the perfect mix of mellow and power tracks
- good start down the A308, no pains no breathing problems, very smooth indeed. Good crowd too, look at them go...
- Nice change of scenery around Monkey Island, bit annoyed with dirt road but it wasnt for long...
- Water station 1, that was a bit of a battle field, people stopped to pick a cup of water. I won't stop I will pick one up while running and make the effort to drink from a plastic cup in the process. 89% of liquid wasted!
- Interesting view above the M4, lovely reception in Bray, best part of the race, fresh legs, the scenery was tranquil, "the system" on my headphones. Clean english country side! Best way to experience it!. Pubs there looks interesting too!
- Now i didn't like this, we had to stop and climb down some steps to the river side.
- Deceptively, we are still In Maidenhead! the race is now by the river, the leg started to talk to me and the rain started to fall...
- All the way to Cookham trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the left knee, tried back kicks with my legs to stretch while running, its a technique passed to me by an indian chief.
- Cows were on the side of the road, in a close packed herd trying to stay warm in the cold rain thinking how stupid humans must be to herd around in that sort of weather.Everything is wet!
- Apart from the knee the rest is awesome, scenery pace heart rate soundtrack still wet tho.
- The mile sign reads 10 and this means that there are only 3 to go, Maidenhead is now ahead and I wonder how they will twist and turn the route to cover that distance.
- Almost there, half a mile to go, the pain now can not be ignored, especialy in the small up hills, pace still within limits. If my legs were better conditioned i would hit some awesome times.
- Finish line, my number is announced and I look at the official clock, 2:20:34 which is now my personal Best. I feel like I could run more but with a new pair of legs...
That's when you pick up the Medal and drink all that water you can, pick your wet bag from the dump place they stored it for you and change to something drier from what you wear.
I enjoyed this race but i really need more trainning, get lighter and stronger in the legs.
The goal for 2012 is run without injuries or pain. in faster times and more miles under my shoes.
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