Race Organisers and Visualisation

After a full English at the local YH I ambled down to the start line for the Coniston 14+. I knew I was in no shape for this kind of nonense - 14miles was pushing a little. Now here's a problem - normally speaking I will have nothing ill said of race organisers - they work tirelessly to put these events on, corale volunteers to marshall, liase with police, schools- this case, the local community and armies of bakers and tea ladies, champion chip people, goody bag fillers........... getting my point, so they are the good guys. However they seem to have one unspoken characteristic which makes me wonder - why run flat section when you can be sent up a hill, or in the case of the Conniston 14 (which is traditionally sl longer than 14miles anyway) call it the 14+ and make us run nearly 17miles with over 1500ft of ascent.

So 17miles - I've run nowhere near that distance for ages and ages and knew that I'd be in trouble - going to the start line I was regretting it. So I found a bit of space, gave myself a good talking too, gave myself a plan - 8:30 pace (so aiming for 2:30), go off slow, stay slow and finish slow. I'd listened to a running podcast yesterday where some running motivational guru talked about visualisation so I might give that a try.

So went out slow, then picked up in the middle third, then got to 13miles then my legs ceased to be a source of locomotion and became a troublesome source of pain which would have been alright if it was a 14mile mile race as advertised.

So the guru said, visualise yourself running like a gazelle, smoothly and pain free - ok here we go - that worked for 400yards. So think of all the miles you've run preparing for this race - having not done all those miles that just made the pain worse. Imagine the person in front of you pulling you along on a bungee - I tried, but he stopped for a wee. Things were getting bad, so time to improvise - I held an image of the first coffee and cake at Chesters after the race, - now we were getting somewhere, I even started salivating (not nice in company) - that held my pace up for 600 yards, and finally when all else failed - the first pint - that worked for nearly a km. What do those last 2 sentence say about me?

Thank goodness that with a km to go I was greeted by cheering L and the boys who joined me and encouraged me to the line just under 2:29. So pleased with that.

So lessons learned -

1. I'm fatter and slower than I used to be(although I've been fatter and slower)

2. Going out slow is a good move these days

3. Anything less than a marathon demands training beyond race distance

4. I have the mental powers of a gnat

5. When pain overwelms all my senses, my mind turns to cake and beer.

Coniston was a goal to get me back on the road, and dispite that last half hour of pain, I loved it, had some good banter, enjoyed running in the lakes and I'm back to it.

I will need to sit down, plan and be a bit more intentional and focussed over the summer if I'm to recover anything like my fitness levels of 3-4 years ago.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28173334

Black Hole somewhere near Kildwick

First run of spring and decidedly spring day too.

A cluster of Dodgers set off mid afternoon for the customary pack run from the White Lion. Somewhat less customary was the sharp run up hill to get us going. What followed left me somewhat bemused - as Gary and I decided to make this into some form of fartlek where we ran hard up any hill we saw, threw ourselves down the other side, and were given to quick sustained (for us) bits on the flat. Having blazed a trail and not noticing anyone passing us - we found ourselves some distance behind the back of the pack!. We ran through peoples gardens, over and under roads and canals, round and round in big circles and surely given the positional shift through a little known black hole in the neighbourhood. More evidence of this was the serious malfunction of GPS watch device after the run which decided to try and take me to Skipton. Also one runner started with a BMW key in her pocket and at the end of the race it was in the pocket of another runner who wasn't running with her - now don't tell me that doesn't clinch the black hole somewhere near Kildwick theory.

So Gary and I ran 10km and are officially 3mins younger than when we started.

Keighley K

Nice early race, Linda and I set off picked up Jules and were all parked by the start with 40mins til 9am kick off.

The announcer/commentator started up and quiet soon we were transported by 30 years before the term polictal correctness had been uttered.

Met up with a few Dodgers and Harriers and others I knew through work - so felt like I was with family - but some edge too - couldn't let them all beat me!

Race was well marshalled - though an odd staggered start - letting us off in groups every 2minutes gave it more a sense of a time trial(apparently as lots of ginnels is was to help manage runner flow - and as such worked ok). As ever set off as did all my running colleagues like this was a 1km race, but pulled back on the pace at 1km.

Found it hard - 10km always a hard unforgiving distance as far as I'm concerned. We wandered around back streets, ginnels, allotments, railway embankments, ruby pitches and parks - and I really liked it - much more than the souless lanscape of the Abbey Dash.

I knew I was well below my best after a lazy 9months but this was a marker for the rest of the year. It was hillier than any 10km I'd done before so a PW at 46min but I'll take that.

Good runs from others, the competition will be hotting up from now on Dodgers!.

I need to pack now, off to Vilnius for the week teaching - it's -11c and snowing there so I'm leaving the running shoes at home. Long run next weekend and then Coniston 14+ the week after, then a serious sit down and plan the summer running with a view to an autumn marathon - to ground the winter work for 3 Peaks next year.

Well done Linda and Jules you were great today! - Happy Mothers Day.... and all you Dodgers too see you next Sunday.

Shortened Burley Lollipop

Big group tonight from harriers, legs covered up tonight and too warm.

The plan was a shortened Burley Lollipop which I would describe as a lollipop stick but Nige was running too fast for me argue. So steady out to the meaured mile then a mile effort, and easy mile then back along measured mile. I was thinking about my up coming 10K in Keighley on Sunday and wondering how to take it so the effort at pace - to be honest faster than i've run in ages at 6:30 per mile for the efforts - so I think I'll go for 4:20 for first 5K and see if I can pick a few off after that, or if not just hang on in there.

Tonight then 8miles in 67 minutes with efforts, pauses and passive loitering style regrouping.

I'll be interested to see what happens on Sunday - I've put in a fairly decent month since restarting and am feeling loads better on my feet - but in reality I have to accept that at best this is a marker.

still not shorts weather

After being lulled by the warmth of the sun this afternoon, went down to the club in shorts and t to find the ice on the ground and the air decidedly nippy, but then I remembered that where I come from they don't have central heating and blankets and things, so set the watch and headed off with the pack to run anticlockwise round the southern streets of ilkley.

A big group and fairly steady pace with one effort to keep us honest - so a steady 10.5k in just over an hour with regrouping and lurking on street corners and generally being a nuisance to the car driving residents of the town. So quite fun really.

Back to it

After months of half hearted running, and back breaking work things are easing up on the work so back to running.

I've slowly built up to a 40km total this week so things are improving. After a long run yesterday with a couple of dodgers - thanks guys, the rehab continued this am pre breakfast. I set off for a short recovery run but was "caught up" by AliB - also out for a recovery run, predictably having agreed to do a slow recovery we ended up picking up the pace and cantered round to Addingham and back at tempo pace, pushing or pulling each other around(or perhaps that was her recovery pace and my tempo...) - so in the end much better value than slow, and felt good, if not as fast as last Spring.

Feet on the clouds

The early bird catches the worm they say. After a week of joy and sadness, anguish and peace, comfort and pain, I need to go into work today - which should have been my day off. So an early start and as I needed a bit of space, I set off to run down into Ilkley but my legs knew better and before I knew it I was heading up on t'moor.

An amazing cloud inversion left me above the clouds that filled the valley around. Where i ran it was clear, cold, radiant and damp.

I could get all metaphysical describing it all - something of the sky, the infinite, but also the heart pounding, leg screaming and not least the dirt that I ran in -(from dirt we come from, from dirt we return - but also i think to and from the stars....)

Meanwhile back on planet earth - for those who strangely seem bothered, last 2 weeks 60km, and 4 hours of dirty, nasty, big grin mtb, Oh and entered me a race of 2 - Conniston 14 in March and i'll return to racing at the Stoop before Christmas