Pages

Monday 10 October 2011

CurlyWurly Heaven

Ampleforth 7 was the second race in as many weeks after what seems like yonks off from proper racing. The combination of a gammy leg and new-job-syndrome have taken their toll this summer. [That and being trapped in a Chewy Soft Chocolate Heaven; I've now developed a CurlyWurly dependency having rediscovered the childhood treat at a garage en route to work]. But, the cross country last week brought home the realisation that there's no more time for excuses and some serious training and racing is needed. This tidy and low key race was another chance to toughen up this ageing boot and get some hard tempo miles in the legs.



The drive over took us past the beautiful Byland Abbey. There was much quaintness to be seen roadside as we ambled our way north for a very civilised lunchtime start. The trail race starts in the grounds of the great Ampleforth college; a famously posh school with expansive grounds and sports fields to die for. The course undulates around the forest overlooking Yearsley and offered little respite as we scrambled doggedly up the trails and stumbled the muddy descents. The course took us up and down, right and left, mostly on foot but sometimes on butt - the aptly name 'chute' descent spat many of the more tentative footed out in a soggy heap at the bottom. 

Byland Abbey
I ran hard if not very fast, enough to call it a tempo effort and sufficient to win the ladies race and place 5th overall in a smallish field. M finished a place in front, leading the field for parts of the race but feeling a bit too tired and heavy legged to keep up the pace of the earlier miles. The race was a welcome break from the usual Sunday long run. The drop in mileage provided a timely ease down before a return to some hard miles again this week. I've now entered a few more events; encouraged that the racing pain will dull as the weeks go by. I'm starting to enjoy the mud, the rain and the wind again. Hello autumn! 

This week in trainers...

DAYAMPM
MONDAYREST7M @ EASY
TUESDAYRESTINTERVALS:
12X400M
WEDNESDAYREST
7M @ STEADY
THURSDAYREST5M @ STEADY
FRIDAYREST5M @ RECOVERY
SATURDAYREST5M WITH STRIDES
SUNDAYRACE: 7M TRAILREST

WEEKLY TOTAL50 MILES

Sunday 2 October 2011

The Adventures of Runningsnail


What a scorcher of a week! It's been all shorts and sunnies on school nights; running each evening in brilliant October sunshine. Another healthy training week has been had leading to yesterday's tentative return to racing. It was a painful day out for this Runningbear. 

I've been putting it off for weeks but slowly ran out of excuses and just had to face up to the racing facts; I'm a slow and slobby Runningsnail. Yesterday was when the truth hit home at the Northern Athletics XC relays. The event was a confusing mixture of County Vets and Northern open teams - a fact only announced this week which led to a last minute kerfuffle and Bingley ladies scraping just one team in the V35 category. The boys (including M) had a fine V40 team also competing in the Yorkshire Vets Champs.


The event at Graves Park, Sheffield was my first effort at jumping back on the racing horse after a rubbish summer of injury and eating too much pie. It was also a rather long drive for the sake of a 2 mile race. Yes you read that right; a 2 mile race! I've never run such a short race as a grown up. The one lap route seemed to involve one very very long hill with a bit of downhill at the start and finish. This course really should be reserved for youngsters only... I'm still coming to terms with how slow I was. We finished second V35 ladies and won a small silver & plastic thingy. M's team mirrored our success as second V40 team, stealing Steve's prize (had he been running for a Yorkshire club!). Results here.

It's a funny thing coming back from injury. Though in my head I know I'm off my best and the racing is about getting fitness back, I still walk away from these things torturing myself about my crap time/position/pace. It's daft I know but hard to change the internal hand wringing. I'm now trying to deftly convert this said mental torture energy into Runningbear rocket fuel. I've some way to go before race fitness returns and remain a flabby, untrained Runningsnail with a soft underbelly. I've yet to build back the roughty-toughty shell that grows with the grit of some hard racing. So the adventures of Runningsnail continue for now... it's race #2 at the Ampleforth 7M next week. Wish me luck!

This week in trainers...

DAYAMPM
MONDAYREST8M @ EASY
TUESDAYRESTINTERVALS:
12X400M
WEDNESDAYRESTMID LONG RUN:
12M @ STEADY
THURSDAYREST8M @ STEADY
FRIDAYREST4M @ RECOVERY
SATURDAYRACE:
2M YVXC RELAY
5M @ EASY
SUNDAYLONG RUN:
18M @ STEADY
REST

WEEKLY TOTAL70 MILES