Posts Tagged ‘lichfield 10k’
September 14, 2009
Tuesday: I’d taken Monday off as I was surprisingly sore after the Lichfield 10k. Today I went to the track with Ally for a not-so-intense interval session. My ankles were still sore and a small tear in my left thigh was being a bit niggly, so I just did a couple of warm up laps, 30 minutes of 200m on 200m off (12kmph and 9kmph respectively), and then a couple of 100m sprints and a 200m sprint to finish up.
Wednesday: Just a quick one round the block in an attempt to work out pace for Sunday’s 5k (and break in my new trainers – will post about them soon). Did 4.3km in 24:53 (5:47/km). Really want to get that down to 5:30/km for Sunday.
Friday: After Wednesday’s short run I was finding I still had a few aches left over from Sunday’s race, so I decided to take Thursday off and persuaded Ally to give my legs a massage. By Friday morning they were feeling pretty good so I headed out for a long and slow run. Ran 14km in 1:28:39 (6:30/km pace).
Saturday: Day off running to give my legs a chance to recover from yesterday’s 14km before the Great Capital Run on Sunday. Spent the morning at archery tuning the pressure button on my bow. No aches, even though I haven’t been for a few weeks. Weighed it once I’d finished and found it was only 31.5lbs (draw weight – how much it takes to pull the string back), might have to wind that up a little bit.
Sunday: Great Capital Run in Regent’s Park today. Little bit cold for my liking but it was a good event and I am happy that I ran it at a decent (for me) pace. Official chip time for the 5k was 27:17. Race report on Wednesday.
Total Run: 29.9km
Commisserations to WBA who lost to the Wolverhampton Rhinos 40-33, I heard you played well though!
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, great capital run, intervals, kit, lichfield 10k, race, track, training | Leave a Comment »
September 11, 2009
I haven’t really talked about this event much on the blog as it’s been largely overshadowed by last week’s Lichfield 10k.
The original plan for this was to get as many people involved as I could. Ally and I signed up quite early, and I managed to convince my running convert friend Matt to join us. I asked Scribs on a whim, knowing that he could run the 5k reasonably easily but wasn’t a big fan of running (and I quote “Like walking…but shit”), and he surprised me by signing up as well. I attempted to convince Baines too but that didn’t last long, and last I heard she couldn’t make it.
We then found out that Ally couldn’t do the race, even though the entry form asks whether you’re a wheelchair entrant. This annoyed me a little bit, particularly as he’d already paid and it wasn’t until Ally contacted the race organisers to confirm he was OK to take part that they told him he couldn’t. /rant
The gimmick of the event is that it’s based on The Ashes, whereby you either run for England, Australia or ‘the rest of the world’. My complete and utter lack of knowledge or interest in cricket didn’t really matter as I chose to run for England. Everyone that crosses the finish line in under 40 minutes gets included and (as I understand it) the fastest average chip time of all these people denotes the winning team. This will be my first event that uses chips for all competitors, and also a first for staggered starts. I put my estimated finish time as 25:01-28:00. I think Scribs is in the pen behind me, and Matt is behind him. I quite like the idea of a staggered start as people dodging was one of the things that annoyed me about the asics British 10k.
As I’ve been running in excess of 5k for some time, finishing is pretty much guaranteed, short of getting lost on the way or horrific mid-race accident. The only problems here are logistical ones. I recently found out that there are no trains to London on Sunday morning, which means that I’ll have to drive and find somewhere to park. Bleh.
I’m not sure about my time. When I entered the race I hadn’t predicted that I would have to take time off because of injury. On Wednesday I ran 4.3km at something close to race pace. It turned out to be 5:47/km, which would give me a finish time of 28:55. Not quite what I was hoping for, but much quicker and my asthma gets in the way. As such I think I’ll be happy with breaking 28 minutes but not too upset if it’s between 28 and 29 minutes.
Anyway, Scribs is coming round tomorrow for pasta, and then an early start to drive into London to meet Matt. I’m very much looking forward to it, and I just hope the weather is good!
Posted in Discussion | Tagged EIA, great capital run, injury, lichfield 10k, outdoors, race, training | 4 Comments »
September 9, 2009
I woke up cold on Sunday, which was slightly worrying. It was dark and overcast outside, though the weather forecast assured me there’d be no rain until the evening. I then spent most of the time I had left before leaving obsessively checking the temperature (8.15am – 13C, 8.25am – 13C, 8.35am – 14C, 8.45am – 14C, 8.55am – 14C).
Crossing the start line. 10 points if you can find me.
It was only 2km to the leisure centre/start line, so I walked it and got there 50 minutes before the gun (or man shouting ‘go’ as it actually was). I pottered around, picked up my t-shirt, found the lockers and stashed my sweats. I got chatting to a couple of other people so didn’t get back outside until T-10 minutes, by which time I had managed to place myself 2 thirds of the way back. Consequently I started quite slowly but I picked it up and managed to finish the first km in 5:52. Thought that was pretty good, and was adamant I would keep up that pace for the rest of the race. I then did a 5:43 and two 5:45s. Slowed down a little bit but finished the 5k in 29:09, though the hills were still to come.
And were they hills! I wondered why the info pack they sent with the race number had an altitude chart! I struggled with my asthma on one in particular but otherwise I coped pretty well. After a slightly slower 7th and 8th km I picked it back up for the 9th (mostly because it was downhill) but then struggled with the last km. I got a stitch and it was back uphill. Charlie told me I had 400m to go, and then I passed a bright yellow sign saying the same (the Garmin and the signs were about 50m off). Normally I can really push the last 400m but I was tired and the hill was getting the better of me. The marshalls were fantastic and very encouraging but it didn’t really do much to push me up the hill to the tunnel any quicker.
I had a momentary pause about 300m from the finish as I pushed forwards of the woman I had been running with for most of the race. I was desperate to finish strong but was suddenly worried about etiquette (because that was obviously the time for such things) and started wondering if it was rude of me to surge ahead. That thought was quickly quashed as I saw her pushing forwards as well out of the corner of my eye and suddenly it was every woman for herself as we scrabbled up the hill to the finish.
I made it to the finish line wheezing but happy. I stopped my watch at 59:26, though I have an official gun time of 1:00:03 which put me 590th overall (out of 777) but more importantly the 158th woman (out of 281). After I’d stopped to get my breath back, congratulated the woman I ran past and downed half the bottle of water in my finishers bag I headed back inside to retrieve my gear, though not before stopping off at the massage tables.
I didn’t stay for the presentation as it wouldn’t have meant much to me. Though I was very impressed with the organisation of the day and it’s definitely one I’d go back to next year. Little things like having plenty of marshalls and enough water tables (and people that handed out the water) so that I didn’t have to slow down made it that much better. While there wasn’t a medal per se, a special mention has to go to the t-shirt (which will appear on the ‘Races’ page soon enough) as the names of all pre-booked runners are printed on the back. All in all, a good race and a great way to spend a Sunday morning!
Posted in Discussion, Progress | Tagged EIA, garmin, lichfield 10k, outdoors, race | 1 Comment »
September 7, 2009
Tuesday: I’d been planning to run all day and it just wasn’t happening. By 5.30pm the facts that I had a race in 5 days and that I hadn’t run the day before could no longer be ignored and I set out for a short run, concentrating on maintaining some sort of decent pace. I ran 4.3km in 25:06 (a 5:50/km pace).
Wednesday: Rain for most of the day put me off running. I know I should have gone out anyway with this race coming up, but chickened out. In the evening I did alternating 5 x 10 hammer curls, shoulder presses and bent over rows, then alternating 5 x 15 bicep curls and 5 x 10 shoulder presses with Ally’s 5kg dumbbells.
Thursday: I knew I needed to do a longer run before the weekend so went out for something I hoped would be close to 10k (yeah, I was too lazy to check the distance on the map first). As it turned out it was 9.85km but it took me 1:03:00 to finish it.
Friday: Decided to run to Wall – a run I’d only done once before – for a bit of change of scenery. And a change I certainly got :-) Far too much roadkill for my liking, freshly manured farmland (not really the smell you need when running), a few close encounters with speeding cars and an overly enthusiastic passenger in a car passing me. All good fun, and it kept me entertained as I was trying to keep to my 6 minute/km splits. In the end I managed it – 11.5km in 1:09:07 – and was very happy. This was the first run since my knee injury that I’ve felt went particularly well. Definitely the boost I needed for Sunday.
Sunday: The Lichfield 10k today. Well organised and good fun. Managed to finish in 59:26 despite the walls that someone left on the course the hills. Race report on Wednesday. I had about 90 minutes at home in which to shower, change, eat and get my stuff for basketball. We then spent a good 2 and a half hours there, as Ally and I stuck around to shoot and play a little one on one.
Total Run: 35.65km
Not much time to bask in post-race satisfaction as we have the Great Capital Run on Sunday. I need to do a quick recalculation of pace for this one, so I’ll be doing some intervals either on the streets or on the track.
Posted in Progress | Tagged basketball, great capital run, injury, intervals, lichfield 10k, race, track, training, weights | 2 Comments »
September 4, 2009
Sunday is the Lichfield 10k. I’ve been looking forward to this one, though not wth the same enthusiasm as the asics British 10k – being a big event, staying in London, and trying to raise money for charity etc. This race is considerably smaller, with a limit of 1,000 competitors, and is only a short distance from where I’m living now so it won’t take long to get to.
I was slightly aprehensive about entering a small race – ie one organised by a local running club as opposed to a big events company. I think it was just because I’m not part of a running or athletics club and somehow felt that I didn’t really belong there…a bit like when I first went to the track. So back in July I went looking for some reassurance and, being a fan of stats and figures, found it in last year’s results.
While it appears that the 2008 event had 860 entrants, I assume a fair few DNFd as there were results for only 753 on the UKResults website. Removing all the male runners leaves only 238 female finishers. Slightly daunting as this means there’s a smaller crowd for me to get lost in, but almost 2 thirds of them were listed as unattached (not part of a club), which made me feel better. Looking at the times, they ranged from 38:26 to 1:39:42, with a median of 59:09, which means I should finish pretty much in the middle of the pack.
I was feeling better about the whole thing, particularly as we were having a bit of sun, and running in my new city was sounding pretty good. Though what with my knee injury taking longer to heal than I thought I was getting slightly worried. I let my fitness slip quite a bit and began feeling less confident. It’s one thing to run a bad 10k around the block but another to actually go to an event and get a bad time. I found out Ally has other plans as well, so I’ll be going on my own. Not a massive issue but it would have been nice to have someone else there with me. I’ve also been keeping an eye on the weather forecast and it’s not looking great, which might mean my asthma slows me down, especially up the hills. Of course, I’m still going to go and give it my all. I’m determined to enjoy it, even if I don’t break the hour mark.
Unfortunately Sunday is also the day of the team photo for basketball, which I’m pretty gutted about missing, but I intend to get to practice in the afternoon.
Posted in Discussion | Tagged basketball, EIA, injury, lichfield 10k, outdoors, race | 4 Comments »
August 31, 2009
Sorry for the late post today. I just got back from a weekend camping and food and shower came higher on the list of priorities than the blog :-)
Monday: I had booked in for a spinning class at the gym, but arrived just as it started (a combination of Ally’s rather dodgy “it only takes 20 minutes to get there” and being stuck behind some very slow drivers) so went into the main gym instead. Did a 10 minute warm up on the bike and then alternating sets of two-handed tricep extensions with a 6kg dumbell and some tricep dips off the bench.
Tuesday: Finally made it to a spinning class and promptly lost half my body weight in sweat, as per last Wednesday’s post.
Thursday: Went to another spinning class. We had a different instructor this time and she did things very differently – concentrating on keeping the resistance high and going slower. I didn’t enjoy this way quite as much but it was still a good workout. I took the CX and measured my heart rate. If you can’t quite see the picture, I started off (after the warm up) at about 100bpm, got it over 160bpm about 13 minutes in and peak at 178bpm a couple of times.
HR for Spinning on Thursday 27th
After the class finished I did 3 sets of 10 two-handed tricep extensions (8kg), bicep curls (8kg), and tricep dips off the bench.
Friday: I was planning to run in the afternoon, but spent most of it putting it off. A few quick downpours and ominous clouds didn’t help matters. In the end I bullied myself into going out and managed a rather nice 7.5k in 46:42. I tried to keep the pace up in preparation for the 10k next week.
Sunday: Ally and I went camping on Saturday so today’s run was along the Thames to Hampton Court Palace. It was a 10k out-and-back which took and embarrassing 1:12:26 – which I can only attribute to a bad night’s sleep (or lack thereof) and having not eaten anything before I set off.
I started on the left hand side, went to Hampton Court on the right (north of the river) and then back again.
Total Run: 17.5km
Outdoor thermometer stuck to the window
My latest investment into running gear is a thermometer. This might seem a little odd, but one of the biggest factors influencing my asthma is the temperature. I’ve been trying to work out the lowest temperature I can train at but don’t have an actual figure. This way I can find out the cut-off point for running outside and allow me to work at lowering that ever so slightly. It was only cheap so I’m not sure how accurate it is yet, and I’m not sure how long it’ll last – but hopefully it’ll still help.
Less than a week until the Lichfield 10k. I think any hopes of a decent time are off so I’ll just go along and enjoy it. I’ll still do a few longer runs during the week to try and get my stamina back up to something decent.
Posted in Progress | Tagged EIA, garmin, gym, lichfield 10k, spinning, training, weights | Leave a Comment »
August 24, 2009
Last week was all about getting my fitness levels back up to scratch without overdoing the running and risking hurting my knee again.
Monday: Went to Ally‘s gym with him and signed up for a 2 week membership. Stuck around for a bit and did a short workout – 20 mins on the bike at around 80% max HR, 10 mins on the treadmill (just over a mile) to test my knee, and then a very brief stint in the freeweight section.
Tuesday: Back to the gym, just for cardio this time. I did an hour on the bike at 70% max HR and 3k on the treadmill at 6 min/km pace. Feeling the effects of too long doing nothing. Felt great when I was done though!
Wednesday: Third day at the gym. I ran a 33 minute 5k (6 minutes on, 1 minute off), stretched, did a couple of the resistance machines then onto the bike, where I did 30 minutes at 65% max HR and then 10 minutes at around 82% max.
Thursday: In my attempt to get the most out of my 2 week gym membership I decided to try out the pool. It’s quite small, especially as aqua class was on but there were only a few swimmers so plenty of room. Not knowing how long the pool was I kept going til I ran out of time (Ally was in the gym upstairs). I found out later that the pool was 20m long so had covered 1km.
Saturday: Had intended to go to archery today but a bad night’s sleep and a niggling shoulder problem persuaded me to stay at home. In the end I decided that a run might make me feel better so I headed out with the intention of doing a bit further than Wednesday’s 5k, but not by much. In the end I did a 6.5k route in 43:28. I really opened up my stride in the last 400m, pushing around 14-15kmph and it felt really good. Starting to feel more confident about the race.
Sunday: Basketball today. Not quite as good as last week, I couldn’t quite seem to get the picks, but a good time nonetheless. Annoying blister on my thumb from the push rim :-(
Total Run: 16.2km
As you can see, I tend to do my HR zone training on the bike in the gym rather than running…purely so I can concentrate on running instead of looking at my watch. Throughout the week I’ve done a bit more research on heart rate zones and talked to Ally about it. At some point I plan to go back to the track and try to work out my max HR more accurately.
Posted in Progress | Tagged gym, lichfield 10k, resistance, swimming, training, weights | Leave a Comment »
August 21, 2009
As I said in Monday’s post, I joined Ally‘s gym for a 2 weeks as part of some promotion they’re doing. I’ve been there for the past 4 days (today is a day off) and liking it so far. My fitness levels obviously suffered when I stopped running and I’ve tried to ease myself back into it at the gym with short treadmill sessions, time on the exercise bike and swimming. My knee seems to be a lot better and hasn’t hurt – even during the 5k I did on the treadmill a few days ago.
The gym itself (a Bannatyne’s) is really nice. Having only ever been part of a leisure centre gym and the uni gym, I don’t have a whole lot to compare it to, but it’s clean and well maintained, the staff are friendly, and it seems to have everything you could want from a gym. I’ve yet to try out any of the classes, but there’s plenty on, and I hope to get a spinning class in next week.
So things are looking good. I’m still dubious about how well I’ll do at the Lichfield 10k, which is in just 16 days, but I’m still determined to finish it. Sunday morning I hope to go for a 7-8km run on the roads around home and hope that will kick start thing back to the way they were.
Posted in Discussion, Progress | Tagged gym, injury, lichfield 10k, swimming | 5 Comments »
August 17, 2009
I went back home to visit my parents for a few days this week and so didn’t have a whole lot of time to cross train even if I wanted to (except for my press ups, obviously!). While my knee is feeling a lot better, it’s still not completely healed and I’m wary of starting to run too soon (again).
Sunday: Archery in the morning. I attempted to shoot 70m outdoors but the wind was so bad I was lucky to hit the target. Moved inside for the last half an hour just to hit some golds! Basketball in the afternoon was a really good session. We did layups, picks, some shooting practice and then a game. I got some good shooting tips from Luke, and the game was much faster than usual because of Luke and Jamie played and none of the kids were there.
Total Run: 0km
17 days of no running now, and less than 3 weeks until the Lichfield 10k. I’ve had my number through the post and the page of information for runners. I’d heard the hills were hard but there was a chart of elevation for the course, which freaked me out slightly. I’ll be going to Ally‘s gym for the next 10 days to try and get my fitness level back up so I’m at least half way prepared for the run.
Posted in Progress | Tagged 100 push ups, archery, basketball, injury, lichfield 10k | Leave a Comment »
August 3, 2009
I’ve discovered that cross training when you have no money and no bike is harder than it seems. Now that I’m no longer near the university gym I can’t do a pay-as-you-go gym session, my bike is 200 miles away in my parent’s garage, and I didn’t do any body weight exercises at home for the first half of the week because between my 100 press up challenge and last Sunday’s basketball training, my upper body is still sore. This means that, yet again, the first few days were a complete write off, though I finally decided it was time for a run on…
Thursday: No pain in my knee since Tuesday so I decided today was a good day to test it out. Unfortunately, it started to pour as soon as I stepped outside so I got a tad wet, but never mind. My asthma was playing up slightly, but I put it down to the drop in temperature due to the rain. A few twinges in my knee at 3.5k so I decided to make it a short run and headed home. 4.6km in 28:11.
Ally disaproved of my plan to climb in the boot of the car and have a nap.
: Went to Sutton Park today and I was looking forward to a nice long run. My knee didn’t agree. I set off OK but it started to hurt less than a km from the car. If I had been smart I would have turned around and gone back, but I wasn’t, so I carried on. I knew I wasn’t going to get as far as I wanted so I did a little off-road exploring in the woods to keep me entertained. Turned out to be muddier than I thought, which slowed me right down. Asthma kicked in big time just before the 4th km, to the point where I actually had to stop. Got back to the car, did an extra km and then called it a day. 7km in 47:45. Looks like I’m back to square one on the knee injury front though.
Saturday: Archery this morning, and I was doing a lot better than last week. Bow shoulder was a bit sore, but I think that was from the press ups I did yesterday – I took regular breaks anyway, I really don’t need another injury. In the evening I did 9 sets of 30 bicep curls (15 each arm) with a 5k dumbell whilst watching TV.
Sunday: Basketball today – we did some layups, dribbling and picking drills followed by a game of 3 on 4. Hard work, and my arms are feeling it, but really good fun. Did my press ups exhaustion test when I got home. Only managed 21 so I’m going to repeat the last 2 weeks, but on the middle collumn instead of the easiest one. How’s everyone else getting on with the challenge?
Total Run: 11.6km
Only 34 days until the Lichfield 10k. According to Geraldine at Lichfield Health and Fitness Club ‘the hill’ that I’ve heard about is a real killer so I might have to find it and attempt it before the day, though the way this knee is at the moment I think any training will be good! I’m still trying to rope people into doing the Great Capital Run the week after the Lich 10k. If you fancy a 5k in London then sign up and let me know so we can meet up!
If you haven’t seen it already then check out the ‘Gear’ page in the menu on the right. It’s still a work in progress but should give you an idea of what I have…and no, that wasn’t an invitation to rob me next time I’m out running.
I’ve also added post rating, so you can now give each post stars out of 5. Just open up the post by either clicking on the post title or view the comments and the stars will be at the bottom. Thanks.
Posted in Progress | Tagged 100 push ups, great capital run, injury, lichfield 10k, sutton park, training, weights | 1 Comment »
