Paddock Wood Half Marathon

Getting my kit ready the night before

My running has been seriously drifting for the past three and a half years, but I enjoyed The Big Half last year so decided that I should set a spring target for this year as well. I was going to do The Big Half again, but messed up my entry so decided to do the Paddock Wood Half instead.

I've never been a huge mileage junkie but when I was 'training seriously' I would be running six times a week. Knowing that I didn't have the time or energy levels to do that type of training any more I decided to follow a program based around the Furman Institute idea of running three quality sessions a week and no easy running. 

I quite enjoyed the training, getting back into going to the track and joining some of the marathoners on their early Sunday morning long runs. I was really struggling to hit the target paces from the plan (no surprise really as I was coming in on off such a low base) and having never done a program like this before I had no real idea what type of form I was in. Getting a virus three / four weeks before the race which hung around for ages also knocked my confidence and paces.

However, my last quality session ten days before the race was a really good tempo run with Len. Get rid of the doubts. Focus. Believe.

I usually remember races quite clearly, but this one is a bit of a haze. However, my notes are below:

Despite it going disastrously wrong the at Wokingham Half four years ago I wanted to find a group to run with in this race as I thought tagging onto a group, at the right pace, would really help me.

0 - 9km
I didn't have race pace dialled into my legs so was looking at my watch quite a bit in the first few kilometers to check I wasn't going to quickly or slowly. I was on the look out for a good group, and spoke to a few people on the road about their targets, but nothing (that I trusted) seemed to be forming.

After three or so kilometers I was aware of a group of around six people up ahead that looked pretty strong. Was it possible to get across to them? Did I even want to? Were they going too quick?

I was running on my own. I didn't look behind me once during the race but I had the feeling that I was probably pulling a few people along. Wasn't the free riding along with a group I was hoping for!

9 - 16km
Having floated around 20 meters off the back of a group, I was all of a sudden running with them. I didn't put in a conscious spurt so I'm not sure how it happened but I'd finally joined a group which was one of my pre-race objectives. Don't do any work, just hang out at the back.

They were running a nice even pace and I wasn't feeling too bad. Through this phase I was beginning to feel mentally quite tired, but my legs and lungs were ok so I told myself to suck it up.

In the group was the second women on the road, Emma Navesey, and she seemed to be getting a bit of coaching as we went along. There was definitely one, and possibly two, people in the group pacing her. It gave me confidence that the group would have legs.

16 - 21.2km
The group began to break up at the 10 mile mark with a couple of people pushing off the front. I found myself doing some work on the front of the group that remained for the first time and then getting into a little of no mans land. (I still wasn't looking behind me, but I got the feeling everyone had strung out a bit.)

With three miles to go I was beginning to slow, but I stayed positive, breaking it down into three six minute chunks and the mile markers came sooner than I expected which was a good thing. I don't remember more than one person coming past me in this phase which definitely helped me stay more positive.

With around 800m - 500m to go I did lose three (?) places as people came past. At this stage I'll admit I'd mentally given up and decided to let people go. Knowing that I had to get over a railway bridge on tired legs meant I couldn't be bothered to sprint. Weak I know!

When we were over the bridge, with around 200m to go, I decided I wasn't going to let anyone further come past, but I had a reasonable gap so didn't need to worry in the end.

I crossed the line in 1:22:21, at the quicker end of my expectations, and in 119th place.

It was quite nice to shake hands and have a quick word with some of the group. One of them even thanked me which took me aback as I'd spent the whole time free loading!

I was pleasantly surprised with how I'd performed and have found training three times a week pretty manageable so am going to try and keep that going for a bit longer and see if I can get a good 5 or 10km in over the summer.

I also feel really lucky that I'd recovered from my virus just in time for the race and it was before I caught the next bug from Hope. The race was on one of the few days in the last month where I was actually able to perform!

Hope sporting my medal

The Big Half: Build Up and Race Notes

Herbert and my Big Half Medal

Prior to competing in the Berlin marathon back in 2015, running had been a big part of my life for four / five years. I've been running reasonably regularly since then, but nowhere near the same level of intensity. At one time a 50 mile week would be easy and now it feels like something that is unachievable!

I was happy to reprioritise other things in my life (house building, work & family), but at the same time I used to get a bit upset and how far my times had tumbled. Last year when I saw the Big Half announced I decided that it was finally to set myself a goal and get a race in the diary.

Even with a goal in mind, I still let my training drift as the race was a long way off, until the start of this year when suddenly it wasn't any more! At the start of January I put together an eight week training plan together for myself and have actually enjoyed the structure. I could no longer skip a run because "I was feeling a bit tired" or "I didn't fancy running in the rain".

I knew I had to be realistic and that getting close to a PB wasn't going to be remotely possible as eight weeks wasn't long enough to build a base, some speed endurance and taper. Racing the Hagley Park Run while I was in NZ gave me a confidence booster that I should be able to achieve something in the 82 - 84 minute range.

I started race day nice and relaxed. Bumping into fellow club mate John on the start line we decided to run together as we were targeting for approximately the same time.

0 - 5km
We settled into a nice pace pretty quickly (which surprised me as I hadn't done any training at target pace), and despite quite a bit of weaving round slower runners settled into a rhythm. I could feel my breakfast sitting in my stomach. I'd eaten three hours before the race, but that obviously hadn't been enough time to digest it fully.

Around 4km I was beginning to feel that it was a bit quick and started thinking I was going to have to tell John I needed to back it off a bit as I didn't think I'd be able to make it to the end at the current pace. However, around the 5km mark I started to feel ok again.

6 - 10km
Somewhere around the 6km I started to pull away from John slightly and found myself with a group of runners I recognised from the Assembly League, including a very good female runner called Claire. I ran with them for a bit and then started to ease away from them. I knew I was probably going a bit quick, but I was feeling good at that stage so decided to stick with it.

During this phase of the race I also passed a couple of other Kent runners, Matt and Rowan, who would usually beat me. I probably should rain this in.

11 - 15km
I don't remember much about this phase of the race. Somewhere around the 13km marker Claire came onto my shoulder, but then dropped back again.

I was trying not to be too negative, but at this stage of the race I could tell my lack of speed endurance / general training was going to catch up with me and I'd struggle to maintain this pace to the end.

16km - Finish
As predicted I detonated in this phase of the race. I was trying to keep myself positive and tell myself that it was only a Parkrun distance to go (even though it was further) and also not to look at my watch. In the past, even though it has felt like I've slowed to a crawl, my watch has told me it isn't nearly that bad. If I didn't look I could tell myself I'd barely slowed!

I started to feel a blister on my right heel. Do I stop to adjust my sock? No.

At 18km I received a huge cheer from club mate Alison. It was brilliant, even if I didn't feel as good as I was told I looked. It was at this stage that I started going backwards in the race and I was definitely the one being overtaken. I could also hear lots of "go Claire!". I didn't look round, but I knew she must be close.

Keep going, it's not far.

In the final 200m John came onto my shoulder, he'd clearly run a lot more even race than I had and had now caught up with my. I put in a sprint finish and managed to beat John by around 5m.

I finished in 1:23:17. I was 396th out of 11,598.

The data from my watch is here.

The official results are here. With some fun visualisations of the data here.

Berlin Marathon Race Notes

I'd set my alarm for 6am as I wanted to eat breakfast three hours before the race, but woke up around 15 minutes before my alarm.

I'd laid all my race gear out and packed my bag the night before, so I was pretty efficient at getting dressed, having breakfast and applying sunscreen etc.. and had finished everything I wanted to do by around 6:30. At 6:45 I left the flat and headed for the start.

I was concerned that the underground trains could be pretty infrequent at that time on a Sunday morning or they'd be packed with runners and I'd struggle to get on, but I hardly had a wait. While nearly everyone else on the train was a runner, I was still able to get a seat on both trains.

I had a 10min walk up to the start and knew roughly where I was going from my last visit to Berlin, but I also knew I'd be able to follow all the other runners heading in the same direction. Because the journey had been much quicker than I expected I stopped, along with quite a few other people, to take a photo of myself in front of the Brandenburg gate.

It was colder than I expected and I considered putting on another layer, but didn't. That was probably a mistake as I spent the next hour feeling cold.

Once inside the starting area I decided to use the loo before the queues got to long. I also grabbed one of the disposable plastic tops they were handing out to put on as an extra layer. I then stood around near my baggage tent for a good 20mins trying to catch some sunshine that was rising up over the Reichstag to stay warm. Unfortunately the sun was a bit to weak to be much help that early in the morning.

Around 8:15 I decided that I'd done enough hanging around, so I handed in my bag before heading to the start area. It was much further than I expected to the start and the paths were more crowded, so I was pleased that I had left enough time. When we were close to the starting pens I did a short warm up jog around the paths in the Tiergarten. I realised I need the loo again, so the warm up was useful for one thing at least.

Thankfully I found a toilet which didn't have too long queues on the far side of the starting pen and didn't have any stress about not being able to make the start on time.

As I was heading back into the starting pens I saw Lawrence from Kent also going in so had a quick word with him. I was looking out for other Kent runners, but was quite surprised not to see anyone else. With ten minutes before the started I decided that I needed another (!) wee so nipped out of the starting pen to use the nearest bush and then I was back in for good.

The start had two lanes. I was on the left hand side, furthest from bag drop, and I did notice that it seemed a lot emptier than the other lane. I didn't have too many problems with the start, but speaking to other people later on who were in the right hand lane found that start quite congested.

With the minimum of fuss were were off at exactly 9am.

Kilometres 0 - 5
I was telling myself not to go out too quickly and was consciously trying to start off in as relaxed a way as I could. Too relaxed it turned out as my watch was showing 4:11 as I went past the first km marker, 11 seconds behind my target pace. I told myself not to panic and I'd bring the time back gradually over the next 10km. I didn't need to try and make the time all back in one kilometre.

Around the 1.5km Amy came past me and we exchanged a few good lucks. She must have started way too far back I thought.

As I went past the second km marker I realised I was obviously doing far too good a job of holding myself back as I'd run the second km behind target pace as well. It was time to consciously turn up the pace (just not too much).

Around the 2.5km point I was running on the blue line and I could see everyone in front of me peeling round to the right. It looked like the blue line (the official route) crossed the central reservation a bit further up, but spectators were now standing on it, so I had to make a slight veer to the right to make sure I got on the right side of the crowds before the turn.

At 3.5km I could feel something underneath my right heel. I'd tried to be really careful putting on my shoes and socks to make sure I didn't get any grit in them. Do I stop? I should stop. I don't want a huge blister under my heel crippling me later. I thought I'd give it a little longer before stopping and thankfully the annoyance went away after around 500m.

Then I started worrying about my left foot. Am I getting pins and needles? When I attached the timing chip to my shoe yesterday did I do my laces back up too tight? I've had a similar sensation on really cold mornings out training and my feet have come good again once they've warmed up. I hoped it would be the same again today.

The 5km marker came up and my watch was showing 20:20. I'd lost 20 seconds in the first two km and had then stabilised.

Kilometres 6 - 10
Just after the 5km we hit the first drinks station. There were going to being drinks stations every 2.5km along the route. I didn't want to take on too many fluids during the race and risk cramp and had only made a very last minute decision that I would pick up a cup at every water station on the way round. A small sip and then the rest over my head to keep cool.

Just before the 7km marker Peter, one of the coaches from Kent, gave me a cheer as I run under a road bridge. It was good to get some support.

I missed seeing the 8km marker and feared that they might have stopped being every km. I still didn't trust my ability to pace and was using them as a support to know I was on track.

My second 5km split was 19:57. That was exactly what I wanted. I'd pulled back three seconds of my 'deficit' in a very controlled way.

I took my first energy gel

Kilometres 11 - 15
The race had definitely begun to stabilise at this point. The runners had thinned slightly and all the people who had gone out too fast were beginning to pull back. I started to slowly over take and work my way through people as I bashed out the metronomic kilometres. Something that would continue for more of less the next 20km.

I was sticking to the blue line painted on the road. Something I'd keep doing until more or less the end of the race.

Just before the 15km marker I started to catch a gentlemen in red vest with 'Wales' written on the back. I don't know why, but I felt like I needed to speak with someone, so guessing he must be an English speaker, I asked him how it was going as I pulled level and we had a short conversation before I pressed on. He seemed to be running the marathon to a target heart rate rather than a specific pace.

19:47 A bit quick, but feels good.

Kilometres 16 - 20
Things were beginning to go well, very well. I was cruising, it felt comfortable and I wasn't too far off half way. Mentally breaking things down in to 5km blocks was working well. Take this feeling through to 30km I told myself and then see what I can do from there.

It was somewhere around this stage that I started to notice the bands along the side of the course. They were pretty regular. Maybe around every kilometre. Good musicians and good for the spirit.

The Kent AC vests can be a bit grating, so I'd put plasters on my nipples that morning. Unfortunately one of the plasters had started to fall off and with all the sweat it was never going to stick back on. With so much of the race left I know I could be in trouble by the end. I'd seen on the course map that there were supposed to be first aid tents and they usually have Vaseline. Slightly worrying I'd not seen one yet, but if I did I was going to grab some Vaseline.

While I'd be running a few people had come past on mountain bikes. They had signs attached to the front which I couldn't see, but I was pretty certain they were officials.

Somewhere around the 19km marker another cyclist came past and he was playing with his mobile phone and had a selfie stick. I didn't see it happen, but I heard a noise and looked up to see that he'd fallen off his bike around 30 / 40m in front of me. He hadn't taken out any runners thankfully and I didn't have to break my stride to get round him. I'm pretty sure he fell because he was playing on his phone. Totally unacceptable in my book and it could have caused a nasty accident.

19:54 - a more sensible split.

I took my second energy gel. As I hadn't seen a medical tent I decided to apply some of the gel to my chest working on the basis it was thick and gloopy like Vaseline. I'm pleased to report it worked.

Kilometres 21 - 25
I don't remember a lot about this segment. I was just knocking out my consistent rhythm.

I went past the half way point in 1:24:20, ten seconds inside my target time. I'd manage to pull back all of the time I'd lost in the first two kms and got a little bit of the time in the pocket. I started wondering if I was actually going tiny bit quick. Should I settle down and save it for a push at the end?

Approaching the 25km marker I could hear some rock music. I thought that the live bands along the side of the road had taken a turn for the worse and I wasn't particularly impressed. When I got a bit closer I could see a women had set up a sound system under a gazebo by the side of the course and was enthusiastically playing air guitar in front of it. It brought a huge smile to my face and gave me a little lift.

19:54 - exactly the same as the previous split.

Kilometres 26 - 30
I noticed that it started to feel like harder work at this point. Not in a bad way, in fact it was really positive that I'd got to this stage and only just started feeling like I had to 'work' to keep up the pace and I'd been able to cruise for so long.

However, it did make me feel that it would probably be unwise to ramp up the pace at the 30km marker.

I'd done what I wanted to do by getting to the 30km marker in a nice an controlled fashion and feeling relatively comfortable. My aim became to keep it going and consider a ramp up at 37km depending on how I felt.

19:51 - another excellent split.

Kilometres 31 - 35
It was a this point that it started to get hard.

At the end of the 31st km I realised I hadn't taken my energy gel so got that down me. It was time to focus and I managed to get back onto pace for the remainder of the split.

I was still steadily over taking people and very few were coming past me which was a positive sign, but the rate at which I was reeling people in had definitely slowed.

It was around this stage that two German runners came alongside me. It appeared that one of them was fitter than the other and pacing their friend. I know next to zero German but I think they were aiming for 4min per km the same as me. I had thoughts of joining them to form a little group, but the more fatigued runner couldn't hold a straight line and I feared he might take me out. I pushed on.

Somewhere around this phase of the race I caught up with three runners who I thought looked like they were working together. As I knew I was beginning to get into trouble I decided to get on the back of them and see if they could help pull me along. I seemed to still have the pace to run through them and pulled away when I got to the front of the group.

The watch of the strongest looking runner in the group was regularly beeping. You can set alarms on your watch to alert you if you drop below a certain pace and I suspect that is what he had done. If we were going to be occupying the same space of road for the rest of the race as beeping man it could get very irritating. I never saw the other two members of that group again, but I did see the beeping guy quite a bit towards the end of the race. Frustratingly he beat me.

19:59 - very respectable. Could I hold this pace? It would be a dream if I could.

Kilometres 36 - 40
The 36th km was a gentle incline and into a head wind. Two challenges I didn't need at that stage. It was a bit of a slog and I did a 4:11 split for the km. I hadn't run this slowly since the first km! This was bad news.

I resolved to lift the pace. I wanted to beat 2hrs 50mins and none of the gremlins from Wokingham were entering my head. I could still hit my target. I wouldn't say I wanted it above everything else, but I was managing to stay positive.

We ran past the end of the road where I'd rented an apartment, not long to go now. There was going to be no lifting the pace for the final 5km, but I needed to maintain and stay on it.

I touched my wedding ring.

Things were beginning to annoy me now like banners over the road that weren't actually km markers. Why are they there being distracting?

Beeping man came up onto my shoulder and then fell back again.

20:50 for the split. That was just about acceptable, but I couldn't afford to lose any more time.

Kilometres 40 - Finish
Having been over taking people for most of the race I was now definitely starting to go backwards. There were a couple of people struggling more than me and I managed to overtake them, but I was canon fodder for most!

I didn't feel resigned to my pace dropping like I have done in previous races and started to put in mini surges in an effort to lift my pace. The change actually felt quite good in my legs, although looking back at my splits I was still getting slower at this stage. However, I think psychologically it was important to do.

Beeping man overtook me and this time I knew it was final.

As we turned onto Unter Den Linden I could see the Brandenburg gate in front of me. I'd seen them put timing mats out underneath the gate earlier that morning. Was it the finish? Oh I hope it's the finish. There isn't enough paraphernalia on the gate for it to be the finish. Oh, no I'm going to have to run on.

I could hear a couple of shouts of my name. That was a help. I made a pathetic kick for home.

As I passed through the Brandenburg Gate I could see the official finish. It seemed a terribly long way away. I wasn't fully conscious of my time, but I had a feeling sub 2:50 was still on.

I was happy to stop my watch at 2:49:53. I'd done it!

I immediately realised how light headed I was feeling so sat down on the kerb about 5 meters from the finish line. There was a doctor standing next to me and he didn't look remotely concerned so I can't have been too bad, but I did take it as a sign that I'd probably given it my maximum if I felt like this.

I decided it wasn't good to be blocking the finish so stood up and moved on. I only made it around 10 meters before feeling the need to sit back down. After a couple of minutes I saw people handing out cups of water a little further along the finishing shoot and decided that is what I needed so stood up again and went to get some water.

I grabbed a goody bag containing some food and then walked further up the finish to see if I could find anyone else from Kent. Due to a security alert in the baggage area we were all being held at the finish. I found Phil and Amy and saw some more Kent runners in the distance. I was feeling pretty nauseous as we stood talking, a state I'd be in for quite a while.

After 20 - 30 mins we were allowed back to start making our way back towards the baggage area. On the way they were handing out alcohol free beer so we all grabbed on and I started to sip it.

I collected my bag. Initially they couldn't find it and I was standing there like an idiot gazing into space. Finally I told myself to stop being dozy and to look for it and point it out to them. I spotted it and with some pointing and a few mutterings managed to retrieve it.

I changed on the grass and began to feel a bit more human again. Once I'd composed myself (and posed for a photo), I went in search of the pre-agreed meeting point to catch up with everyone else. Non-alcoholic beer in hand slowly sipping it as I went.

The data from my watch is here.

The official results are here. I was the 729th finisher and 183rd in my M35 age category.

The road to Berlin: Warm up races

In just under a week I'll be running in the Berlin marathon. I haven't run a marathon in close to two years and I'm gunning to improve my time after struggling in the last six miles at Abingdon.

It has been a strange build up. Previously I've taken a break before going into a block of marathon training. While the wedding disrupted things a bit, I had a reasonably good base before starting serious training in June. I've completed more 'quality' sessions and run higher mileage weeks than ever before. However, I've also had weeks of complete exhaustion where I've barely run at all. In the last three weeks before the taper my training has been pretty disrupted which has left me a bit nervous. In my attempts to train hard could I have peaked a bit too early?

Three races in a week have given me hope that things aren't as bad as I feared! Although as I write I'm feeling pretty tired again.

Assembly League: Beckenham
The Assembly League is a summer series with a race on the first Thursday of each month between April and September. I don't usually target a serious time in the Assembly League, just turn up and see what happens on the night. No pressure.

I was a bit concerned going into the race at Beckenham as it was close to the end of my 'dodgy fortnight' of feeling tired and not getting in as many training sessions as I'd hoped. I was a bit unsure of how to approach the race but decided that I'd attack it and see what happened. I was really pleased with how I ran, equalling the time I ran in April, coming 26th overall and finishing in a points scoring position for the team. I also managed to out sprint a few people on the final hill up to the finish line.

It was the confidence booster that I needed and my first medal in the Assembly League

Wissey Haf Marathon
On the Sunday after the Assembly League we had a club outing to the Wissey Half Marathon up in Norfolk.

The aim is always to run a PB prior to the marathon as a nice confidence booster to take into the big day. Given the rough two weeks I'd had, I almost whimped out of running Wissey, or only using it as a training run.  A talking to from Rich and Pete at the club, as well as supportive words from Becks made me decide I would try and run the event as hard as I could.

The Wissey half was set in quite a rural area of Norfolk on quiet country roads. As we lined up to start a tractor with hay bales on the back came trundling through the field. Once we'd given the tractor time to clear, and waited for the wheelchair start, we were off.

I decided that I'd try and run the race much more evenly than I had at Wokingham and went out at even 6min miles. (I usually think in kms but didn't this time.) Everything was feeling very comfortable for the first three miles as we rolled along country lanes and I was beginning to feel confident that a good time was on.

I had to work a little harder between miles three and six, but I was still hitting the split time that I wanted to. It started to get harder from there as we hit the long uphill drag on the course. Mile seven was a gently uphill and my pace slowed slightly as I had to work harder and then I hit mile eight which was a long straight road that stretched upwards in front of me. There was around forty meters of elevation gain during the course of the mile. It was enough to drop me down to marathon pace and finish of my legs!

Even though the last two / three miles were pretty flat I struggled to get the legs going again and I struggled home not much quicker than marathon pace in the final few miles.

I finished in 1:20:36, over two minutes slower than my time at Wokingham, but it was a lot better than I'd thought it could have been just a few days earlier. Speaking to other Kent runners on the way home we'd all slowed down to marathon pace on the long hill (although they'd picked up the pace afterwards). I was initially fearful of putting my race time into one of the marathon predictors, but I did it when everyone else did and it suggests that I can still run my target time in Berlin.

The data from my watch is here.


The official results are here. The official results show my gun time of 1:20:38. I finished in 22nd position out of 258 runners to complete the course.

Kent AC 5000 Championship
Just four days after the half I ran in my first 5,000m club champs. My legs had felt pretty battered in the easy running I'd been doing since the half marathon so I really wasn't sure how I'd go.

John from the club had volunteered to run as a pace maker in the C and B races before he ran in the A race (which he went on to win - amazing!). I had a chat with him as we were warming up and he said that he would be running 81 second laps and taking the field to 3,000m. I said I thought the best I could do was 82/3 second laps and John said he drop the pace to help me out if I was in the lead.

I sprang off the line (above) and slotted into third behind John. I was managed to stick with the pace, and it actually felt quite comfortable, up to the 1,600 / 1,800m mark when I began to slip back from James and John in front of me. I didn't fall off a cliff, I just couldn't stick with 81 second laps any more and dropped back to around the 82/83sec laps that I thought I was capable of.

I didn't look at my watch, but kept pushing round as fast as my little legs would take me. It was fantastic to hear my name called out as I went round the bottom bend each lap and definitely helped to keep me on it.

With around 600m I started to think about lifting the pace for the finish, although I didn't think I had enough me to go that early. It was great to hear the bell as I started the final lap and I began to wind up what I had. As I passed 200m to go I heard Pete call out 16:37 which was the first time I'd really hear a split time. I knew sub-17min was gone at that stage, but I gave it everything I had in a 'sprint' finish over the last 200m.

I ran the final 200m in 37seconds and finished in 17:04. There was momentary panic as I approached the line and the bell was rung for a second time. Did I need to do another lap? I glanced at my watch and was pretty sure I had run far enough so gave up even if it meant I was short!

It was a new PB and I was really happy with the time considering the previous ten days.

The data from my watch is here.

Thanks to Ted for the photo.

Brighton Phoenix 10km Race Notes

Start line photo courtesy of Andy Leates

On Wednesday evening I headed down to Brighton for a 10km race organised by the Brighton Phoenix club. It is one of only two races I currently have scheduled as a warm up for the Berlin Marathon in September so I was keen to put in a good performance. I was also hopeful of setting a new 10km PB, improving on the time I ran at the Ashford and District 10km a couple of years ago.

There were quite a few Kent runners at the event and we arrived around an hour before the start, which was plenty of time to get changed, drop off our bags and have a warm up. The race field was around 550 people and it was very well organised meaning there was no queue for the baggage tent and only a relatively short queue for the loos.

I'd had a really good run at the Assembly League two weeks previously, which had given me a lot of confidence going into the race, but I also wasn't sure how to pace the distance (as it was only my fourth 10km race) and I was pretty tired coming off the back of a hard week or training and a couple of bad nights sleep. I decided I'd try and give it some welly and go for 34:59 if I could.

As we lined up at the start four of us from Kent decided that we were going to go for the same time and would try and work together. As the air horn went Amy shot off leaving the three of us behind! I felt that I was running as hard as I wanted to in the first kilometre, and was on target pace, so let her go rather than keep up.

As small pack of us had formed by around the 2km maker and I was happy to sit at the back of the group. It was feeling a harder effort than it had done at the Assembly League, but I was trying to stay relaxed and as comfortable as I could.

The course was an 'out and back' more of less along the sea front and we were running into a headwind as we ran west on the outward leg. I didn't look at my watch too much during the race, as I was trying to run it on feel, but I did see that our 3km split was 6 seconds off the pace and I knew that sub-35mins was off the agenda already so just decided to have the best race I could from that point on.

Just after the 4km marker, David from Kent moved to the front of the group we had been running with and I decided that I'd go with him. As I stepped out from behind the people around me I could feel the headwind and was pleased that I'd been sheltered from it up until now. As we rounded the 5km marker to start heading for home David and I were in the lead of our pack. I was focusing on what I was doing rather than looking backwards, but I think we'd started to break them up by this stage.

About half a kilometre later another runner ran through and neither David or I reacted. Around the 6km mark, Che from our club also came alongside and then past us and pulled out a 20 - 30 meter gap onto us. I was feeling pretty happy with the effort level that I was putting in so decided to let him go.

Around the 8km mark I started to find the race quite a lot tougher. While at Wokingham I let negative thoughts get on top of me I made a conscious effort to stay more in control this time. Rather than thinking about the finish I was breaking the race down into smaller segments, get to the next bench, litter bin or pavillion along the sea front. It must have done some good as I sped up for the last two km, with the final km being my fastest of the race!

Just before the 9km it felt I could push on past David, so I made an effort to get past him and to catch up with Che. I pulled level with Che around the 750m to go marker and got past him as well. As I went past the 400m to go marker I could sense someone coming up on my shoulder. I didn't look to see who it was, but assumed it must have been Che coming back at me. I was going to let them come past me and then decided that I wasn't going to do that! I knew at the speed I was going, and how tired I felt, I wouldn't have much of a sprint finish in me so needed to get rid of them before the final 50m. With 200m to go I put in a small kick and it was enough to open up a two second gap!

I was exhausted when I crossed the finish line, possibly the most tired I've been after a race and had to have a lie down on the grass for a few minutes to recover!

It hadn't occurred to me to go for a swim at the end of the race, but when one of the other Kent runners suggested it I thought it would be rude not to as we were right next to the beach on the promenade. There was quite a lot of seaweed, but otherwise it was lovely.

I came 24th overall in a time of 35:27.

The official results are here.

The data from my watch is here.

The photo at the top of the post is used with the kind permission of Andy Leates. You can see all of his photos from the run here. (Including a couple of good ones of the fastest Kent AC finishers Phil and Amy.)

Polar M400 review

I vowed a long time ago that I'd never by another Garmin running watch. I've had at least six and their build quality seems to be terrible (at least in the watches I've had). So when my last Garmin started to malfunction I ordered a Polar M400 which is the top rated midrange watch on the excellent DCRainmaker.

It was a bit of a wrench leaving the Ant+ ecosystem for a watch which uses the Bluetooth Smart protocol, but I managed to recycle all of my old Garmin parts on eBay for a good price and it only cost me £50 to 'upgrade'.

Being a relatively new model, the watch is quite a bit leap forward from the Garmin Forerunner 210 which I was using before (and has been superseded in the Garmin lineup). For an example it has an internal pedometer, (supposedly) allows you to sync the watch via your phone, has customisable display screens and a predictive finish time etc...

I've been using the watch for just over two months now and here are my first impressions.

The Good
Firstly, and most importantly to me, the build quality feels really good. Polar are obviously backing themselves as it has a 2y warranty and is fully waterproofed. Things you didn't get with the Garmin.

The battery life seems really good. I haven't done any exhaustive tests, but I've been wearing the watch daily for the last six weeks and I get almost a weeks battery life out of it while using it for running and a normal day watch.

There aren't any single features which bowl me over, but the watch has a high 'just works' factor. As noted above it is quite a leap forward from my old watch customisable screens, a pedometer etc...

The heart rate monitor strap feels more comfortable.

The Bad
The online service Polar Flow looks good, but is pretty feature poor to be brutally honest. You have only recently been able to add manual activities if you head out running without your watch. You cannot edit the feature of a work out, give them names or flag races to make them distinct from training sessions. I used to use a label in Garmin Connect to mark which shoes I used for a given session in order to track the total distance I'd run in each pair. You simply can't do that with Polar Flow. As a web service they should be able to upgrade it and add some more decent features. Hopefully.

One of the attractions of the watch was the ability for it to sync activities via your phone so you don't need to connect the watch to your computer. I've never been able to get it to work. Step counts sync, running sessions don't.

When you've paused the watch (e.g. waiting at some traffic lights) you can't see any workout details on the screen as you are on a holding page. I can see plus sides to this as it is really clear when you have the watched paused, but I'd prefer to see any activity summary while I'm waiting at those traffic lights.

When you are using the watch as a normal day to day watch there doesn't seem to be a feature where you can see seconds on the watch, only hours and minutes. I'd like to be able to see second when I'm holding stretches and doing strength exercises etc... Seems a very basic feature not to have.

There seems to be a feature designed to stop you double tapping buttons. (The watch ignores the second tap if it is too close to the first, assuming it must be a mistake.) However, sometimes I want to double tap by starting to record and then triggering a manual lap.

It's different
If you are moving from a Garmin to Polar the watch is quite different and you'll need to re-adjust as those instinctive button presses won't work any more and the screens show different information. I found myself using the customisation options to make the screens look more like the Garmin ones I was used to.

From a running standpoint the biggest difference is the average pace that is displayed to you. On the Garmin there was an auto lap feature and showed you the average pace for the current lap. On the Polar, unless you are triggering manual laps, it shows you the average pace for your entire run. I got a bit caught out by this when I was at the Maidenhead 10 mile race and my average pace for the current auto lap would have been more useful - as I needed a kick up the bum because my pace was really dropping, but averaging it over the whole race masked this.


It might sound like I've listed quite a few negatives and there indeed a few, particularly with Polar Flow. However, the build quality and the 'just works' factor mean I am overall pretty happy with the watch.

Maidenhead Easter 10: Race Notes

Photo with the kind permission of Peter Cook on Flikr

When you race, get out strong, commit (if you haven't heard the reference before, the link is worth a read) is some of the best advice around. On Friday at the Maidenhead Easter 10 Mile race I went out strong, but didn't commit. I try not to make excuses in my race reports, but I've had a virus and strange abdominal pain over the last ten days and I definitely think they caused me to be a couple of minutes off where I should have been. However, it was still a race where I learnt quite a bit which I think will be useful for the marathon later in the year.

Going into the race I was more nervous than I've been in a long time, perhaps the most nervous I've been at a running race. I'm not really sure why, but I think there were two main factors. As a club we had an outside chance of winning the team competition. I was the weakest link in the chain and for us to stand a chance of winning I needed to put in a big performance. Secondly, I wanted to put in a strong performance and get as close to Amy, a fellow club member who is currently flying, as I could. I knew it wasn't really likely, but it doesn't stop you wanting it all the same.

Start Line
As we stood on the start line Stuart spoke to a Serpentine runner we know and asked them if they had a strong team out. Nick simply replied "yes" and it helped reduce some of my nerves. If they had a strong team our slim chance of winning the team prize was out the window and the pressure was off me. I felt a little better already.

0 - 4km
As the starting klaxon sounded, I went with my pre-determined plan and stuck with Amy. We headed out at a little quicker than my 10km pace, which was probably a bit too fast to be sensible, but just like at Wokingham when I went out fast, it felt ok. When we reached the 2.5km marker we saw the leaders come back towards us on the other side of the road and Serpentine were first, second and third. All chances in the team competition had definitely gone!

4 - 5.5km
We were slowly working through runners in front of us, catching little groups and moving through them. I was beginning to hope that Amy would be satisfied with the group we'd just caught and tuck in for a while, but she kept on pushing.

5.5 - 8km
As we got to around the 5.5km marker our average pace for the race so far was 3min 33sec per km which was quicker than the most optimistic target I had for the race. As Amy pushed through yet another group, I decided that I'd stick on the back of the group we were currently with.

The next 2.5km were a bit of a day dream. The group I was with disintegrated. I felt I was level pegging with a few people in front that I recognised and not slipping back too far. I found myself thinking about my upcoming wedding, and deciding that it wasn't good that my mind was wondering, I tried counting which is a tip I'd discussed with a couple of people to help my mental gremlins.

8 - 10.5km
As we hit the half way point in the race started to go backwards as a number of people started over taking me. I didn't have any urge to try and stay with the people coming past and just kept on going. I had a glance at my watch and my average pace for the race so far was 3m 39sec per km which was my more realistic race goal. I wouldn't say I was feeling great, but I wasn't in pain like I was at Wokingham, despite still having a pretty good average pace.

10.5 - 14.5km
I was carrying an energy gel as an experiment to take during the race to see if it would give me a lift. I was planning to take it at the 7 mile marker, but I was beginning to fatigue a bit around the 6.5m marker so I decided to take it. It was a brand I hadn't used before and had a slightly sherbet / fizzy sensation and I only had half to three quarters of it. It didn't seem to have a noticeable effect.

I did a little more counting and plodding along. I could tell that we were getting nearish to the finish and we'd hit the section across the fields that Stuart had told me about before the race.

14.5 - 16.1km
We turned about onto the road into the business park and I know that it meant we had a mile to go, which was also on a slight downhill. I picked up the pace a little bit, but knew that it was still quite a long way to go.

With about 500m to go I decided that the runner I could hear closing behind me wasn't going to get past. The fist competitive streak I'd had all race. I picked up the pace a little bit more and on the final bend I kicked with about 300m to go. I pulled out a good lead, but I'd gone too early and he got me with about 20m before the line.

As I crossed the line I was a bit shocked to see the official clock was showing 1hr 21sec. I hadn't been focusing on times going round the course and had spent a lot of the time day dreaming, but I had thought I'd break the hour and was initially pretty disappointed not too have done.

Reflections
Despite initially being quite upset at not breaking the hour. There were still lots of positives in the race and my pace wasn't pretty consistent with that I did at Wokingham so it wasn't all bad.

Things I learnt:
- I experimented with having a bigger breakfast than usual three hours before the race. I didn't suffer any cramps and think this is something I'll continue doing

- While I was feeling unwell and generally sorry for myself I'd stopped doing my leg strength exercises and I paid during the race with a sore glue. I need to keep them up

- At Wokingham I went with a group that was too fast for me and really paid the price at the end when my legs were screaming and it was mentally hard. This time I didn't go with a group and pulled back the pace. Definitely not conclusive, especially as I spent a lot of the race day dreaming and not really pushing, but I think it was probably a smart move.

- Warm up & cool down. I never really do either, but ran a good couple of miles warm up and cool down. I think it did me some good.

- It didn't give me much of a boost, but I didn't suffer a stitch or any other side effects from taking an energy gel. I will try it again.

- Counting was a good distraction when I needed it. My only concern is that I might have counted at the same rhythm as my legs turning over and it might affect your pace?

- I ran the race in new socks and I enjoyed the springy feeling they gave me. I think I'll 'treat' myself to relatively new socks in the marathon.

Need to learn:
- It was the first race with my new Polar watch. While my old Garmin gave me an average pace per km on the screen, the Polar gives you an average pace for the entire distance so far (unless you take manual laps). While this has an advantage, it masked how slow I was getting because it was just slowly dropping my average pace for the race so far. If I'd realised how slow some of my individual km's were I would have given myself a kick even in my day dreaming state! I need to learn how to race with my watch.

- I went into the race without a real game plan and not really know what paces I need to achieve to get under an hour. Hence me thinking I was comfortably inside when I wasn't!


It should be said that the event was really well organised, with lots of friendly marshals. It was a good course too and definitely a race I'd like to do again.


I was 57th out of 915 people who completed the race in 1:00:21

The data from my watch is here.

The official results are here.

National Cross Country Champs

So much mud

A gun fired, signalling the start of the 2015 English National Cross-Country Championships. More than 2,000 male runners were unleashed, stampeding up one of the city's best known viewpoints.

“Oh my god, it’s like Ben Hur,” said one as the human cavalcade thundered towards them. “More like Braveheart,” said the other, when the forerunners of the brightly coloured pack crested the first hill, then disappeared sharply right into a quagmire-like descent.

Last Sunday I took part in the National Cross Country Championships for the first time. I've never thought it was worth travelling to the other end of the country for the event in previous years, but as it was being held in London this year I decided to give it a go.

The race was like no other cross country race I've ever taken part in. Just over two thousand of us lined up across the bottom of Parliament Hill in starting pens with the slope rising, dauntingly, in front of us.

It was obvious that to do well you'd need a god start off the line. I went out pretty hard, but within a couple of hundred meters I'd been quickly swamped as the course narrowed. Surprisingly there wasn't too much pushing and all of the runners were very respectful of each other. However, but the time we rounded the first bend I was probably already down to 600th place.

After two days of pretty solid rain and 7,000 runners trampling the course before us, the going was boggy to say the list. I'm not a very experienced cross country runner and it was difficult to know what lines to take. I generally tried to stick to the edges hoping to find some better ground even if it wasn't the shortest line.

Around 1km into the race it began to settle down. It was impossible to get into a rhythm with the terrain, but I started to get going and was slowly picking off a few people and working my way through the field a little bit. At the 3km mark I saw the leaders and was able to give a shout of encouragement to John from Kent who was sitting at the back of the leading pack.

I must have been running with a few other Richards as there were regular shouts of my name, but at the end of the first lap I got a special cheer from Becks, Barb and Bella who were standing on the side of the course watching.

While I might have been picking up places on the first lap the second lap was sadly a different story and the mud was sapping the energy out of my legs and the uphill sections were a particular struggle. Unfortunately I lost around 30 places on the second lap as people finishing more strongly than I was were able to pick their way past.

Thankfully the uphill sections of the course ended with about 2km to go. I got a bit of a second wind and I was able to pick up the pace. The Chewings women had moved up the course and it was good to get another a cheer as I went past.

The end of the course was a relatively steep downhill that was particularly boggy. I consciously eased back on the descent, deciding the upside would only be a few seconds, but the potential downside of a broken ankle wasn't worth the risk. A few people braver than I was over took me on the way down to the finish, but they were welcome to their places.

I've never been muddier on finishing a race. It took one shower and two baths to get clean.


I finished 570th out of 2,005 people who completed the course in 50min and 7secs

The data from my (new) watch is here.


One of the runners who finished 4mins ahead of me recorded their run:


The photo is courtesy of my aunt-in-law to be.

The quote is taken from The Daily Telegraph's review of the race.

Wokingham Half Marathon: Race Notes

Rich charging towards the finish

On Sunday I ran in the Wokingham Half Marathon after last years race was cancelled due to flooding on the course. It was my first build up race for what I hope will be a crack at the Berlin Marathon later in the year. I don't think I have enough 'race craft' so I'm keen to slot in a few more races before Berlin so that I have a bit more practise before the day.

Before the race I knew that I'd mentally psyched myself out of putting in a good performance. I'm hoping to run two half marathons this spring and I thought this first race would be a training run and the second was where I'd aim for a PB. In training recently people have been commenting on how well I've been running, but I just had no self confidence I could turn in a good performance. Becks gave me a bit of a talking to the night before, which is what I needed.

Conditions on Sunday morning were pretty much perfect being cool, sunny, still and dry. It was a little chilly on the start line, but apart from that it was ideal.

(My watch is set to record, and I generally think in, kilometres but the course had mile markers and I actually thought about the race quite a lot in miles, so the below is a bit mixed.)

Mile one
The start was possibly the most civilised race start I've ever experienced with no pushing or crowding. We lined up at the 1hr 20min marker, but there were barely any runners before us so we (a bit reluctantly) walked forward to the 1hr 15min mark as the start time approached.

Surprisingly considering the cold start and the fact I hadn't done a warm up, I felt really relaxed off the start and got into a flow quickly. I realised that I was going faster than I planned to go, but it was a slight downhill and it felt pretty easy so I went with the flow.

I completed the first km in 3min 37sec, when I was aiming for 3m 45sec even splits.

Miles two to six
At the end of the first mile Rich appeared on my shoulder and told me to get onto the group in front. It was a kick that I needed as one of the bits of race craft I wanted to practise was running with a group. Even if the group is running a bit more quickly than you want to go is it worth latching onto them?

The group was already starting to fracture slightly. I slowly made my way through three people who were being dropped and got onto the back of the 5 / 6 runners that were working together.

I free loaded at the back of the group and didn't help with any of the pace making. I wouldn't say I found it comfortable, but it was do-able to keep with them. Remembering the Marathon Talk interview with Kiwi Rod Dixon I straight lined all the corners and tried to run the minimum distance between bends. It was something the rest of the group weren't doing and it helped me to save a few meters. It was a good psychological boost and much needed respite from the pace.

A few times I dropped a couple of meters from the group, but put in a surge to stay with them. I was going to stay strong.

I had a mild stitch which I suspect came from taking an energy gel fifteen minutes before the start. I also had a low level desire for a wee.

Mile seven
As we started mile seven, a Newbury AC runner who had been hanging at the back of the group with me worked his way to the front of the group and raised the pace. He only raised the pace by 4sec / km, but it was too much for me.

As we hit the seven mile marker I cracked. Another one of the group pulled over at the side of the road. It looked like he needed to retie his shoe lace.

Miles eight to ten
As the group pulled away they ran through a couple of runners ahead of me who were beginning to fade.

I had a decision to make on whether to try and push through those runners as well or to try and join one of them and hope they weren't fading too much. I decided to latch onto a tall guy and hope for the best as I didn't have the legs to do much else.

I ran tucked up behind for a km and then he slowed slightly so I led for a km.

I then began to really struggle. It was a feeling I haven't had since the Abingdon Marathon. I started to slow and couldn't drive myself on. It was a lot worse mentally than it was physically. The thought of not running a good time after a positive start was, at that moment, crushingly depressing. I wanted to stop and walk. I was never going to run another race again.

I was still just about hanging onto the tall gentlemen that I was following. As we approached the ten mile marker the guy who had stopped to tie his shoe lace caught back up with me. As we crossed the mile marker he cheerily commented it was a 10mile PB for him. I was far from being in a similarly happy place.

Mile eleven
It was grim. I was dropped as soon as we passed the ten mile marker and I was trudging along on my own. There was no longer a prospect that I'd catch up with anyone in front who I might be able to draft.

I still hated running. I still wanted to stop and walk. The only rays of light were when I looked at my watch my pace wasn't too bad. In fact it was the pace I'd originally said I wanted to run if I was going to run an even pace for the whole race. It just felt awful.

Mile twelve
From somewhere I got a second wind. I managed to pump in a relatively quickly km, but more importantly the fog had lifted and it felt easier. I didn't gain any ground on the runners in front, but they didn't seem to be getting any further away from me either. It probably helped that the course was slightly downhill.

I wasn't able to calculate a predicted finish time, but I suspected I was still on for a reasonably good time.

Mile thirteen
It started to hurt again as I entered the final mile, but it mentally wasn't as hard as there was no point giving up this close to the finish. I slowed again and the gap to the runners in front began to widen. Four runners, who had judged the race better than I had, powered past me as they finished strongly.

I mustered a small sprint finish as I crossed the line. It was excellent to be only five seconds slower than my PB when I was expecting to run around two minutes slower. However, it's a frustrating to get so close, but not better my time!

I felt shattered and stumbled over to the kerb for a sit down to rest. It didn't take long to realise that my quads were complete shot.


Reflecting on the race there were a lot of positives to take from it. I wanted to run some more races to get a bit more race craft and try a few different things out. I certainly think I had the opportunity to do that. Things I'm going to take away:
- I'm not going to take another energy gel on the start line. I might however, have a bigger breakfast 3hrs before the race and maybe throw in some sugars

- Getting with a pace group was a good move. It was easier to run the pace when someone else was doing the hard work for you.

- However, this pace group was a bit too quick. I wouldn't join a group this far above my target pace in a marathon.

- I need to think of some strategies when the going gets mentally tough to drive myself on.

- Running the corners and thinking how to straight line the course was a good move.

- At a couple of the water stations I grabbed cups of water. I didn't drink, but just put a couple of sips in my mouth to freshen up. I was pleased that I could grab cups without spilling them even though I was running at quite a pace


I feel that I should also say that the event was really well run. Lots of friendly and helpful marshals, plenty of toilets and well organised bag drop etc.. The course was pretty good too.


The official results are here. I came 58th out of 1,673 finishers in a time of 1:18:12

The data from my watch is here.

The group that left me at the seven mile mark finished around a mile ahead. I'm not exactly sure, but I think the couple of runners who left me at the ten mile mark finished around 30 seconds ahead.

London Marathon 2014

The leading pack read by Haille

On Sunday Becks and I headed down to Deptford to watch the London marathon from the same spot that we stood in last year at the top of Deptford High St.

Playing with the live tracking on the London Marathon website, we were able to anticipate when the leaders might arrive and check to see if friends had yet crossed the starting line. We had around a fifteen minute wait until the leaders passed, led by the legend Haille Gebrselassie who was pace making.

They passed in such a blur I wasn't quite sure whether Mo Farah was with the lead group, but thirty seconds later we got our answer as Mo passed with the second pace maker. I was a bit surprised not to see him with the leaders, but it was the sensible choice to run his own race.

The Mobot!

In the third pace group was the the first Kent runner. It was good to see that unlike last year, they'd given the sharp end of the club runners a pace maker. Although unbelievably they didn't let anyone know what time the pace runner would be going for. Not particularly helpful.

We then had a short wait for me runners from my club and other friends to come past us. I did my to give all of them a big shout as I always get a boost when someone calls my name during a marathon.

The third pack featuring John from Kent AC

After the quicker club runners the huge crowds started to arrive. We didn't manage to spot any celebrities this year, after my Michel Roux spot last time. We saw quite a few people in fancy dress, include one man who was doing it incredibly tough carrying a fridge on his back for charity. I gave a loud cheer for someone from Didcot Runners who was probably left wondering who the heck I was.

The last runner we saw before heading off for a coffee was my uni friend Ed. He was looking relaxed and in good form when he passed us. I wasn't quite quick enough with the camera so the only shot I have of him is from the back. However, it does show off my Camelbak rather nicely that I lent to him!

Ed

My running club, Kent AC, had a good day. John Gilbert was selected to run for GB in the European Championships this summer based on his performance and we won the club championships for the second year in a row. However, quite a few people performed just a bit slower than the times they were hoping for. It was a pretty hot day which wouldn't have helped.

Loving to run: muddy cross country races and Parkrun PBs

Dulwich Park Run

After the Abingdon marathon I didn't have any upcoming races to focus on and I wasn't sure if I'd take a break or keep on running.

I took three weeks off and then gently got back into running and to my surprise enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. Without 'needing' to train I wanted to run. It was a lovely feeling and using the fitness I'd built up during my marathon training I found that I could bash out 80 - 90km a week with relative ease. Which probably sounds sickening to some.

At the end of 2013 I had two great outings at Dulwich Parkrun. On both occassions I was feeling off colour and had done a hard training session the day before. I didn't think I was up to much and managed to run 17:20 and 17:07. The second effort lowered my PB by 11s even though it involved stopping for a dog which ran in front of me and swerving to avoid a collision with another runner wearing headphones. All his fault of course.....

If everything comes together could I dip under 17min some day? They were definitely great runs for someone who didn't feel up to much.

Yesterday I ran in the Kent Cross Country Championships in Sandling. It was cold, wet and muddy, but strangely enjoyable. It was a four lap course and was getting seriously cut up and boggy by the end. One section was sloping just enough make it heart thumpingly difficult to run as I slipped and slided along. I wasn't brave enough / didn't have long enough spikes on and was overtaken each lap on that downhill section meaning I had to work twice as hard on the uphill to retake the place(s) I'd lost.

By the end of the first lap I had got into a good rhythm and was battling it out with four other runners from Kent AC as well as people from different clubs who were running around me. In the last four hundred meters I managed to win the midfield battle over taking two other Kent runners to finish first in our little battle. I only came 49th overall and was in no danger of troubling the winners who finished 9mins ahead of me. The only downside of the day is that I seem to have lost my running gloves!

I've entered the Wokingham Half Marathon on 9th February and with a race looming I'm finding that some of the enjoyment of running is slipping away. I can't decide whether I actually want to run it at the moment.

Surrey League Cross Country at Mitcham

Runners streaming away at the start

On Saturday I took part in the second Surrey League Cross Country fixture of the season at Mitcham.

It rained all morning and the weather wasn't looking to promising for an afternoon jog in the park, but thankfully the rain eased as I took my first trip on London's tram route out to Mitcham for the race.

The league is taken pretty seriously. Most of the team had got there close to an hour before the race and had been out on the course to do a recce and warm up.

However, I was taking a pretty relaxed approach. My legs are still feeling heavy from the marathon three weeks ago and I'm not doing much training at the moment. It is also only the ten fastest runners from each club who score points and I reasoned I'd be comfortably outside the quickest ten. With five minutes to do I decided I probably should do a quick warm up and then it was off to the start.

The course was pretty narrow which led to a funnelling of runners and I got a couple of shoves from a guy on my left. I don't enjoy the pushing and shoving and resisted the rude man to my left on principle but lost a few places to others as I got boxed in.

At the finish

I was trying to keep up with good running friend Rich who is a similar standard to me. He made a better fist of the start and was five to ten places ahead. My legs weren't feeling too bad, but I was wishing I'd taken my pre-race lunch a bit more seriously as I could feel it sitting heavily sitting in my stomach.

I was managing to keep Rich in sight and managed to close up a few places as we progressed through the first part of the lap. It was a pretty technical course and a recce would have been a good idea. There was an unsighted ditch, a few really large divots which made me stumble and some steep hills and descents.

Towards the end of the first lap I managed to catch Rich and was sitting on his shoulder. As we started the second lap Rich seemed to slow and I was feeling ok and decided to try and keep my pace and overtook him. Just up the road was another club member Luke, who I have never beaten in a race before. During the second lap I managed to draw level and then also pass Luke. Further up the course was Lawrence, another club member, who is never normally in sight but there he was.

Was I in a lot better nick than I thought? Or were they just having bad days? As we started the last lap I was beginning to feel tired, although my legs were still feeling ok. I resisted looking at my watch and tried to keep pushing. My form was dreadful up the hills, but I kept going at a decent pace and managed to overtake a couple of people.

As we entered the last kilometer I was overtaken by five people in quick succession, but they were all finishing a lot stronger than I was and there was no way that I could have kicked that far from home. With a couple of hundred meters to go I decided the time was right to kick and managed to pick up a couple of places on the run into the line. I almost got a third runner on the line, but he managed to stay ahead of me.

I was pretty pleased with my run. My legs felt a lot better than I expected and I managed to beat a couple of people from the club that usually have the edge on me.

John, who came second in the London Marathon this year, congratulated me on my run after the finish and shook my hand. Proud times.

I'm very grateful to Becks who came to support me on the day. I was the only club member with a fan club which I was very appreciative of.

I came 74th out of 193 finishers in 32mins and 50seconds. An average pace of 3min 46sec per km.

Abingdon Marathon: Reflections

The last 12 - 14km of the Abingdon Marathon didn't go to plan. I was targeting 2hrs 50mins and hoped there was a bit of upside if I had a good day. It was horrible to get slower with every stride in the final quarter of the race. I was in a dark place when I finshed.

As I made it over the line I wanted to collapse, but feared that doing so in front of St Johns Ambulance tent might have given me more than I bargained for. The ground was wet too which put me off.

I pack a pre-race bag so that I can change clothes, stretch and get some fuel back inside me when I finish. I didn't care about any of that and just wanted to get home. I was almost certainly quite grumpy to those around me, but after I'd got home and had a bath I was (almost) back to normal.

After every previous marathon I felt I could run faster and there was more to give. I had known that I wanted to run another one almost immediately. This time I feel like I left nothing on the road and achieved the maximum possible. Knowing I gave it everything makes me unsure if I want to run another marathon.

There could be lots of reasons why I didn't run the time I wanted to. Could my training have been better? Did I get my hydration and nutritional strategy wrong? Or was it because I ran the race with a (potential) stomach ulcer?

On reflection I'm fairly sure it was the ulcer. I've done enough running over the past few years to know how my body reacts in different circumstances and this time something different was going on.

Looking back I'm proud of my time and to have cracked three hours. It is a shame when four months of training doesn't come together on the day, but then it is very rare to have the 'perfect' day on race morning. You need to be content with the cards you were dealt.

Abingdon Marathon: Race Notes

On the finish line with my medal

On Sunday I ran the Abingdon Marathon, a race I hadn't heard of until just over a year ago despite growing up just down the road.

I'm normally pretty nervous before a marathon, but on the Saturday I was remarkably relaxed (for me). My warm up run didn't feel that great, but when do they? The weather forecast looked atrocious. Why worry about something you can't control? My back was feeling sore. I'll try a few stretches, but there isn't really a lot I can do about it. I didn't even re-pack my race bag three times over.

Sunday morning was another matter however. My stomach gurgled loudly all night long and I feared that gremlins that hit me at the Maidenhead Half were back. The butterflies were building in my stomach as dad drove me to the race start.

Dad dropped me a short walk from the start and as I walked to the venue I got chatting to a guy who had run thirty one marathons in 2013! He was a picture of calm and it helped me relax. When I arrived at the venue I picked up my race number, joined the inevitable queue for the loos, dropped off my bag, did a quick warm up, had an emergency wee and then it was off to the start line.

The starting gun was fired at exactly 9am and we were off. My legs felt like jelly for the first half kilometer. It was an odd sensation that I haven't experienced before. It was clearly taking a while for me to get the butterflies out of my system.

I found myself in a strange no mans land at the start of the race with the leaders pulling away and me on my own in front of the chasing field. At around 1 mile I was caught by a group of runners and we had a quick chat establishing we were all going for the same time. It was good to be running with a group and it felt easy to keep on my target pace. My usual obsessions with constantly checking my watch didn't seem necessary. I could just tell I was on target.

I get very concerned with hydration when I run and find it impossible to drink from the plastic cups many races hand out. I took advantage of it being my 'home' race and had asked my family to stand on the side of the course and give me bottles of water. Some might say I took it a bit far by creating a map of exactly where they should stand.

Dad was waiting for me at the first stop and I collected the bottle without fumbling or dropping it. Things were going well.

Entering the final kilometer

There are very few road closures for the race and as we headed through the centre of town I feared that we would be jumping on and off pavements, but it was remarkably easy to run on the roads. The race seemed to rely on not much traffic on a Sunday morning and drivers being considerate. It seemed to work pretty well.

As we approached the 10km mark most of the group I was running with had slipped backwards. I thought it was concerning for them to be dropping off the pace so early in the race, but I collected the second water bottle from my sister and glided on. Knocking out metronomic kilometer splits.

The next leg of the run was the one I feared the most as we'd be heading south into the strong headwinds. Before the race I was hoping to get into a group so I'd be able to do a bit of drafting and shelter from the wind. I ran shoulder to shoulder with another runner for a while and thought about suggesting we do some drafting, but British reserve held me back.

As I hit the one hour mark we turned out of the wind and I was beginning to feel a little bit tired, but nothing too bad. The run through the Milton Park trading estate was a little dull and it was a relief to turn north towards Sutton Courtney. More interesting scenery and a tail wind. Bliss.

Around the 19km mark I caught another runner and pulled in behind him for the next kilometer. I realised that one of my energy gels had fallen from my race belt. I was carrying one more gel than I really needed so didn't let it phase me and decided to stretch out the gels I still had with me by an extra five minutes to get me to the end.

As I picked up my fourth water bottle I was feeling strong and even managed to pull away from the guy I'd been drafting for a short while. Starting the second loop of the race it was a good psychological boost.

Meters from home it is pleasing to see my technique was still ok

As I passed the 25km mark I picked up another water bottle from my sister and the early warning signs that I was starting to get into trouble were already there. Despite feeling thirsty it was taking me a lot longer to take sips from the bottle. My pace was still strong though.

As I reached 27km the stomach pains that had debilitated me Maidenhead started to occur with a band of discomfort across the bottom of my stomach. There was a runner with the name 'Richard' emblazoned across his vest twenty meters ahead of me and the crowds were cheering his name. I knew the calls weren't for me, but it was a small boost to pretend they were. For the first few km's I was in trouble Richard wasn't pulling away from me and I was able to pretend that I wasn't slowing down. Sadly I was slowing, and it was just the brief spell of driving winds and lashing rain that was also slowing him down.

At the 30km mark I was handed another bottle by Becks.

I had already started to disappear inside myself. I gave some encouragement to the first three runners that went past me but after that I stopped. It felt like a long way to the finish and it was going to be a struggle to get there. The pain from my stomach was constant. If I drank it hurt, if I sped up it hurt. I was doing a few mental calculations. Could I still make 2hrs 52mins? No. 2hrs 55mins? Possibly. Over 3hrs? Oh please no.

At the 30km marker I did a Paula Radcliffe.

I realised I was still carrying the water bottle Becks had given me after 2/3kms, but had no intention of drinking any of it so I threw it away.

Not long after I turned north entering the final 10km to the finish, I saw mum and Becks driving in the opposite direction. It did occur to me to flag them down, but I battled on. As I approached the centre of Sutton Courtney I started to pass some of the stragglers who were still on their first lap. I'd run 34km and they'd managed just 20km in the same time. It should have been a huge boost, but it wasn't.

I passed dad at the 35km who gave me words of encouragement. I think I remember whimpering "I've cracked, it's gone" in reply.

As we approached the end of the second lap I realised I had no idea where the course went and there wasn't another runner in front of me on the same lap to follow. I wondered if I'd be looking so slow that they'd wave me round to start a third lap. However, I can't have been looking as bad as I feared as the marshalls waved me straight on towards home.

The last four kilometers passed with depressing glances down at my watch to see myself getting even slower. We had to go through an underpass at the 39km mark. I thought about walking up the ramp, but knew I'd never get going again if I did.

On the final trudge towards the finish I heard the anguished/frustrated scream of a runner who had presumably pulled something and had to stop painfully close to the finish. It's never nice to see someone else in discomfort, but it helped in a small way seeing someone in more trouble than I was.

Mum, Becks, Dad and Ruth were at three different points of Tilsley park as we looped round the grounds before entering the stadium. It helped to see them there.

There was no sprint finish as I staggered over the line. I wanted to collapse and lie down.

Results:
The official results are here.  I finsihed 36th overall in 02:56:10, out of 703 runners who completed the course.

The data from my watch is here.