see…..
ok so i realise that won’t mean alot to you…. but its a plot of my average pace in each section (each 5miles and the 1.2 at the end).. so you can see my nice steady pace last weekend compared to the disasters at the rather warm stratford and halstead.
having seen the forecast for this weekend, overcast, cool, maybe rainy.. i.e. perfect running weather.. i decided to go and do a local-ish marathon.
stoke on trent city marathon as it’s know this year, or the potteries marathon as of previous years as it’s home to royal doulton & wedgewood etc. i’d been warned it was a hilly course but with halstead and the yomp behind me that didnt hold a great deal of fear.
having ridiculed the concept of entering a marathon on the day i drove up on sunday morning to do just that (second time this year!) so clearly it’s not really such a bad idea.
starting from trentham gardens the route was one big loop. to be honest i’ve no idea where it went but it wasn’t that scenic to be honest!
having met up with some of the runnersworld peeps we all set off for the start. i’m having a major memory lapse on this race at the moment.
i was soon caught by flying ant and we nattered away keeping somewhere just inside 9min/mile pace, which i was happy with and seeing as it was his 3rd marathon weekend on the trot i hope he was too!
there were some hills which were just a matter of controlling your pace up so as not to knacker yourself too much.
the main highlighht of the first few miles was a running battle with a tweenie! really at this stage the last thing i wanted to be doing was trying to keep a childrens tv character behind me! and it did get ahead a few times before mercifully fading somewhere before 10miles.
the support along the route was excellent lots of impromptu water & feed stations and cheering ’stokies’ as they seem to be known.
at one point i guess around 10miles we turned a sharp left and started heading toward some very dark clouds! and eventually we reached them to get a thorough soaking, which must have lasted up to just before 20miles.
still running in my sunglasses with rain spots on the front of the lense and the back of the lense steaming up i really couldn’t see a great deal and almost totally missed a water station! but to an extent i wasn’t bothered just watching the road ahead for puddles and bumps we kept running on.
at 20miles i was pleased to be feeling cool, collected and fairly fresh. quite likely the weather had helped, maybe i’ve grown wise to how much fluid i need to take on, or maybe my fuelling just worked this time (half an energy bar at halfway/2hours and a gel just before 20miles).
looking at my watch my personal best time of 3:50 was up for grabs although it was going to take some work over the last 6miles, but for the first time at this stage in a marathon that was a challenge i was game for!
i split from ant and pushed ahead for a couple of miles, only for him to pass me and stretch ahead again. for the first 20miles i felt like i’d been in an almost meditative state with the legs just going one after the other but for this last section i knew i was running and struggled to muster the mental effort to keep going… not that i was going to stop for anything!
only at 25miles did i know the game really was afoot for a personal best, albeit a marginal one as my watch was reading just short of 3:40.
i pushed on on the downhill stretch, surprising myself by closing in on ant.
i just managed to pass him before we turned back into the gardens and up the short grassy climb to the finish in 3:48.
much grinning, and very pleased with my new bit of crockery! i trested myself to a massage as a good excuse to lay down for a bit.
well done to all who finished a hilly, damp race!
been slack at updating again so consequently will have to run through quickly.
gym run on thursday.. legs felt a darn sight better than they did when warming up & racing last weekend’s 10k.
so 4 miles in a fairly leisurely 38minutes but still distinctly heavy feeling legs.
i’d noticed a pattern of tightening & heavy legs since the yomp so i thought i’d take action. so on friday afternoon i was laid up for a thorough massage.
i’d like to say it was pleasant but in places that certainly wasn’t true! a quick bit of assessing my flexibility (decreasing over the past 2 weeks!) was followed by lengthy and almost enjoyable manipulation of thighs & calves. and then came the excruciating stretches, trying to relax when various bits of you are screaming out pain is kind of tricky… and just when you think you can’t go any further he stretches you even further…. ouch. i did my best not to squeal like a girly though.
afterwards i have to say i was amazed how loose i felt, and the muscles certainly are all the better for it.
yesterday evening we had a great TV watching session:
paddington bear
followed by
portland bill where cromarty made a cake using cement by mistake… (wow that last website is quite a goldmine of old tv!)
followed by
the wombles
and finally
the clangers!.. truly bizarre
oh and there’s the small matter of another marathon tomorrow… when will i learn?
not ice cream sundaes.. or banana splits…
2km – 8:00 – 8:00
4km – 16:17 – 8:17
6km – 25:55 – 9:37
8km – 34:26 – 8:31
10km – 42:49 – 8:22
yesterday was a superbly sunny day, a little warm for running i’ll admit, but even though still tired from last weekends race i thought i’d give it a go, especially since i’ve only done one 10k race before.
it was a fantastically organised race with proper road closures and a decent sized field. the course ran out of allesley in coventry into the countryside and toward corley, before turning back to finish a few hundred metres from where it started. the first half was fairly undulating with a quicker final 4k.
race HQ was at the jaguar social club tucked in one corner of the browns lane plant, i turned up in plenty of time to get my entry on the day.
gettin changed i debated between my running vest and my short sleeved tri club kit. since my shoulders dont often get an airing i went for the running vest.
at 10:30 the race started and everyone thundered off down the road, my initial pace felt a bit quick, and i could feel my thighs were heavy so i moderated my pace a bit.
the first km went by in 4minutes which was in line for 40minutes (my personal best being 41 and a bit) and my plan was to aim for 4minutes for the first half before pushing a bit faster after the turn.
the second km went by around 4minutes too and then the hills started and with the heat i started to struggle, dropping to 5minutes. it was all i could do to cling on to a pace somewhere under 5min/km and even the faster second half didn’t bring much respite!
i finished in 42:50 which was a little dissappointing, i know i could do sub40 given my recent 5mile times but maybe i’d need to train and taper for it!
in addition i managed to get most spectacularly sunburnt on my rarely exposed shoulders (except for a couple of stripes where the vest was). that’ll teach me.
results here, 78th out of 238.
last night i had the dubious pleasure of watching the third harry potter film with my fanatical wife. i’d concur with the reviews that it’s the darkest feeling one so far, but then i’m told that this is the case with the books too.
as usual with films they seem to lack character development and just cram all the action in, which is fair enough i guess (although i did prefer the extended versions of the lord of the rings films). hermione has turned from over-sensitive super geek into sultry action heroine rather quickly.. and the scenery was rather nice too.
the other bonus was since we rarely go to the cinema, and i’m allergic to children, lisa had booked gold class tickets. this means you get a comfy seat about twice as wide you normally have, electrically adjustable back & footrest, a nice little table between for your sweeties and the free popcorn. it all feels very exclusive, we were in seats F9 & F10…. which was the very back row in one corner!
this morning’s open water swim was quite warm in the water, but a bit blustery and choppy. i set off with the intention of doing two laps, since there’s no reason why i can’t manage that really.
they’d sneakily moved one of the buouys which we reached far too quickly and then felt a bit lost! as we looped round the furthest island the waves started coming from one side which meant occasionally when i went to breath i got slapped in the face by a wave!
i’m not really comfortable or confident in open water, and i was never really feeling very comfortable all the way round. so whilst physically i could have gone round a couple more times i’d lost the psychological battle by the time i got back to where we started.
i got out and sat in the sun for a while pondering my future with triathlons, although i really enjoy it when i’m out of the water, and i wouldn’t have it any other way, i do wonder if i should just stick to running. also i guess i’m a bit of a loner at heart (which is why i love distance running) and feel a bit out of touch with the tri club which doesn’t enthuse me to put much effort in either.
i’ll get over it no doubt!
and just to make things even worse when i tried to pay for some stuff at B&Q today my card was refused, so i popped into the bank to find out why…. and the car finance company have taken (or i should say tried to take the lump sum directly from my account making it appear spectacularly overdrawn!
fairly easily sorted with a trip to the bank and a few phonecalls, and the lady in the bank did give me the oppurtunity to sit down before showing me my statement!
maybe i’ll go become a gardener…. or preferably a hermit.
much as i’d have loved to run to and from the gym for tonights run, i knew it would well and truly finish me off.
so i drove to the gym and stretched my legs with a sunny 4miles in somewhere under 40mins. it was great to get things moving but i could still feel it in my thighs which were never particularly comfortable.
just watched the latest episode of 24 (series3 6-7am) which was a little more serious than usual. i won’t spoilt it for anyone but it left me with several moral issues to deal with! leaving me in a slightly pensive mood.
nothing a bit of ice cream won’t fix mind.
so last sunday was my main even for this month, the mallerstang horseshoe and nine-standards yomp in kirkby stephen.
basically a 23mile fell race (although you can walk or run it, and their’s a half distance version and an even shorter version. in theory 23 miles isn’t a big issue for me, but this of course is off road with 3000ft of ascent and 1500ft between the highest and lowest point and carrying a pack, another totally new challenge to me.
i was nervous to say the least as i came downstairs for breakfast, but looking forward to it. i managed a little cereal and sipped on my usual energy drink. as we prepared to leave the B&B a flurry of walkers started passing after the 8am start.
we set off ourselves for the start to register, get our numbers & timing cards. i should point out that lisa and her parents who used to live round here, and who’s silly idea this whole thing was, were walking the 11.5miles of the half yomp.
at about 8:45 there was no excuse but to check out & start! so i said my farewells and jogged off through town and back past the B&B. i was cautious of going off too fast but also aware i should probably make progress while the going was easy.
my later start meant that initially at least i had a string of walkers to follow, although the course was well marked. leaving kirkby on farm trails and tiptoeing over cattle grids there was no doubt as to where i was heading. the land sloped upwards but i’d been warned that the crest i could see was the ironically named ‘little fell’ and not wild boar fell another 149m above.
at least after cresting little fell i could see the main climb and enjoy a fast burst down and across the saddle before the main climb. no chance of running up that gradient (well no chance for me!) but at least i was still passing the walkers.
the weather yesterday had been changeable but it had dawned with sun and high cloud. a reasonable breeze was keeping me cool despite the sun, but as i moved onto the climb of wild boar a cloud rolled up from my right and engulfed the top, so no nice views for now. at this stage i was pleased to have the markers every 100m or so and walkers more frequently, as visibility had dropped.
little fell & the climb to wild boar
across the unsually flat top to checkpoint2 still following the markers. this is where the theory i knew about contour lines became reality, what i interpreted on the map as a quick drop down to the lower summit of swarth fell pike was in fact a drop to a saddle with another 80m climbing to checkpoint3.
by now i’d passed most of the walkers and things became alot quieter, the marshalls at the checkpoint pointed me toward a steep descent that i approached slowly until i could see where it went! the first part i would have thought twice about walking down, but with my toes pushed against the front of my shoes and zigzagging to reduce the gradient and keep control of my speed i got to the bottom in one piece and was able to enjoy the rest of the descent to the road and checkpoint4.
the next few miles climbed gradually to run back along the valley opposite wild boar fell, with spectacular clear views of the route i’d just run. fortunately the gradient was much more gentle but my thighs were beginning to struggle and the gradient at which i had to change from running to walking was getting less and less.
hangingstone scar / mallerstang edge
somewhere around checkpoint6 on high seat, the highest point at 709m, i passed a couple of ladies (having not seen anyone else for about 20minutes) running. one expressed envy at my youth and after a brief exchange it turns out she was 31years my elder! so maybe they started at the earliest possible time of 8am but they were making reasonable progress and to be even attempting it is certainly something i’d hope to aspire to in 30years time.
after high pike hill it was a fast toe bruising downhill down to the road and checkpoint8. at this point the full and half routes join, and the short route begins. so having had a solitary ridge run suddenly i was surrounded by families and walkers again.
nine standards was the final summit of the run and i caughth and chatted to lisa’s dad before chasing the girls down. i had convinced myself this climb would be much worse so i was almost disappointed when checkpoint10 came into view on the summit.
far from being home and dry with only a few miles to go, i found the descent tough. with tired legs i had the option of flying down at full pelt, putting the brakes on and maintaining a sensible speed, or walking. full pelt lifted my heart rate and took my breath away which wasn’t sustainable but trying to slow down the whole time was worse. i found myself flying down the steep bits and jogging/walking the flatter sections to recover.
this was made even less comfortable as the popular route is rocky and hard, a big difference from the soft boggy fells i’d become used to. eventually of course came the road home which wasn’t any better!
finally back into town however, over the fairly idyllic stone footbridge i was taken aback to be presented with steps! only a handful but not something i was going to attempt to take in my stride at this point!
back into the school to check back in, in 4hrs 43minutes. i really didn’t know what to expect of myself on this race but i’m pleased with that and thoroughly enjoyed myself to boot.
water, juice, tea/coffee and rolls were provided at the finish which i really appreciated once i’d recovered a little.
i sat on the grass and awaited the arrival of lisa and co. about an hour afterwards, they did really well!
certainly an event i would love to do again, whether it makes it into the schedule for next year remains to be seen as i just have so many things i want to do!
oh and as the website says the course record is a barely credible 2:51 !!
or so cragside is dubbed, the national trust property we decided to visit last saturday.
as if we hadn’t done enough driving having taken the day off on friday and driven up to cumbria with the inlaws, we drove across the penines to see this impressive place.
the links above will give you the gist, but really i’m not much into who lord armstrong was or the planting & landscaping of the grounds. although he seems to have been a typically over-wealthy arms dealer of his time with some cash to splash.
and splash he did on building up this mansion perched on the edge of a hill on a huge estate, surreounded by lakes, woodland, formal gardens etc. the drive round the grounds was 6miles, and apparently there’s 31miles of walks round the estate.
what really does it for me though (sad i know) is it’s packed with gadgets & innovations:
in the kitchen there’s a spit turned by a series of gears and shafts from a very simple hydro turbine.
the first electrically lit house, conveniently he was good friends with Joseph Swan who invented the incandescent lamp. not only that but it was all hydro powered by water from a lake in the grounds and a generator house down below.
upstairs is a dinner gong…. electrically operated to call his guests to dinner.
so you can see why i like this guy with all his toys & gadgets, very cool. needless to say i dragged everyone on the walk down to see the generators. although i will admit the rhodendendrons which are all over the grounds were very impressive and pretty.
apologies for my tardiness in writing of late!
last weekend (ok no.. the one before that) there were some family-in-law things going on that rather monopolise things (and rightly so).
managed to sneak in a nice open water swim on saturday morning though before all that kicked off.
didn’t do alot last week except for another gym run, new route, fairly fast on account of very fresh legs.
and then it was the weekend! which i have lots to write about… when i get a chance…
so stand by
