Melt Down

Today was the first race in the Complete Runner West Yorkshire XC League at Nunroyd. It was a gorgeous sunny day and Runningbear was on the sidelines, not feeling quite so sorry for herself I hasten to add. It was great to see mates out racing, snaking around the grassy undulations of Nunroyd Park whilst I cheered them along complete with camera and sunnies under what turned out to be gorgeous blue skies. 

I felt particularly cheery having run 12 miles today. Woohoo! I'm so chuffed. My legs felt sorry, achy and grumbly but they were no worse by mile 12. I felt that satisfying long run tiredness that's been missing from my life for weeks. It's so good to feel the post run glow after all this time. Anyway, I'm clearly very unfit, my heart rate was sky high and god knows how I ever ran 20+ every Sunday in the spring but I've gotta start somewhere. Thankfully the post run buzz didn't dull even as my camera suffered a meltdown mid race; just a few snaps survived. I may have to consider an upgrade...shame.

2 Race or Not 2 Race...

Got up feeling a bit groggy this morning after a massage from Maggie the mauler last night. She's very good and found out those various bits of leg muscle that I didn't know were crying out for a bit of attention. I'm now at my peak volume for this training plan until Xmas and I'd quite fancy a weekend off competition. A tough weekend of racing and long runs last week with two tough sessions Tues and Thurs make we feel less chirpy about the slog around the XC course at Wakefield today. Last year we competed in most of the Complete Runner league races and loved it (with the exception of the mud bath at Nunroyd). Today though these legs are hiding in cosy pajamas, quivering at the thought of that gloomy, foggy dampness that awaits outside. Shall we/shan't we... could it be a nice little wake me up in time for the Thirsk 10m next weekend..?

Bedtime: Well I did it. Legs felt completely dead and lacking any zip which I suppose is to be expected. Thornes Park is a great XC course but tough when running with lots of miles in your legs. It was a great race and I felt just a tad regretful that I wasn't fresher to give the leaders a good race but happy with my run and that's another excellent speed session in the bank. The men's race was truly awesome, Jonny Brownlee & Andrew Pearson were neck and neck throughout. Amazing runners. M ran great, finishing 58th overall which is a sign of his fantastic progress since last year (he was 3 mins quicker on the same course!). Well done M! Results here.

Racing Highs

Just a quickie whilst our visitors sleep off our Saturday night (I also got a bit 'pished' at the pub) and I guess blogging whilst our guests look on is not good hostess behaviour. We had a really lovely day at Burnsall yesterday. Big thanks to the organisers for another lovely event this year, see results here. The weather was gorgeous if a little bit too warm for this tough 10m but we were ready for a great race. This was to be my last trip out before a bit of an ease down so I was really up for enjoying the event and then indulging in lots of cake and that amazing ginger ice-cream at Katie's Kiosk, with the spectacle of the fell race and the end of day presentations to look forward to.

Though M & I we were a bit worried by the hot sun (neither of us cope that well racing in the heat) we managed to keep our cool and ran a strong race. I was determined to run a sensible start knowing the climbs to come in the later miles and somehow managed a negative split for the second 5m. This was a bit of a wonder and I'm not quite sure how I managed it, particularly if you know the tough climbs in the second half of this cult classic. There was also plenty of much appreciated support all around the course from Mr T of Complete Runner and fellow club mates, including Stewart M who kept me driving for that sub hour result. We ran in great company with some fine Otley and Bingley boys, including our mate Julian M, (who is clearly getting his old racing form back) and Kevin O who had a strong run and added to the fine sea of Bingley vests. I also had the pleasure of bumping into fellow blogger Old Runningfox who also had a great run, finishing as first local but rather unjustly not having an age group prize to celebrate his incredible achievements & fine vintage.

Anyway, M also finished very strongly in a quality field to come 14th overall, 3rd V40 and 3rd counter for the men's team with a 2nd team prize! I finished 7th overall and first lady with a lead in the end of over 5mins. Most of all I was chuffed to just sneak under the hour on this course - I didn't think I'd be anywhere near that time so it was a great feeling to finish this latest training phase with a strong and testing run; confirmation that my fitness is back for the more competitive racing this Autumn. It'll also keep me focused as I've just heard I've got an elite start at the English Champs 10m event in October! Yikes, I can hardly wait.

Killer K's

Yes, it rained again. And, in usual fashion, it chucked it down and blew a gale as we drove over to a rather grey old Nelson for our track work this week. I'd moved plans for the session to Thursday to allow these old legs some recovery time from Sunday's race but was still feeling a wee bit daunted by the prospect of the session planned; 8x1km reps.

On arriving at the track the planned 8 reps in my head shrank to 6, and then again to a diddly 5 as the warm up around the park found out the stiffness and sore spots in my quads still grumbling from Sunday. A warm up in the surprise company of Mr. Complete Runner followed by a few sprint strides set us up nicely for the session. I had the usual nervy tummy these sessions always seem to give me; I think its the anticipation of the basic hard physical work ahead. Anyway, M set off at a hare's pace and I sat back, looking a bit lazy but sticking to my planned pacing; trying to be steadfast and consistent at each 200m split. After rep #3 my quads started to tire but I stuck to my guns and by rep #5 I was beginning to reconsider things and return to my original plan of 8 intervals. M finished with an impressive sprint finish at #6 but I repressed the urge to finish with him and stuck to doing the extra 2, albeit a bit tougher battling the windy bends alone.

Anyway, I was chuffed to finish the full 8 all with pretty consistent times which is usually a sign of good pace judgement for me. I think Garmin kit is a great tool but has a risk of diminshing my awareness of pacing. Track work is one of the few training disciplines I think is essential to help me understand how pace feels as well as improving my form. It was a really good sesh today and a timely reminder of why I do this stuff. In a virtuous frame of mind then, we ambled home via a nice pub for lunch. We finally met the sun who came out to greet us - she must have been on her hols, somewhere nice I expect.

The Big 100

No, 100 is not the number of Lidl treats I've scoffed since my last shop there 24 hours ago. This is a very significant number, as today a local running star will have raced 100 half-marathons since his athletics career started as a school boy. Terry L started his running career over 45 years ago and has achieved many running feats in his time. Having run a total of 100 sub-40min 10k races & no less than 100 sub-69min 10m races, today will be his 100th half-marathon race! Terry has shared his experience and passion for running with many local runners over the years. He continues to clock at least 50 miles per week, 7 days each week, whatever the weather. Here's hoping the sun has been kind for his slightly scary 2pm start at Freckleton HM today.

As for me, I enjoyed my favourite session of the week, my long run on the canal path from Silsden. I was joined by M and our old club mate Mark I for the first 6 miles. It was great to have company but the boys were less than eager to run the 16 I had planned so we parted company at 5 Rise Locks, just outside Bingley and I pressed on alone for the remaining miles. The sun was in full force but the shade of overhanging trees on the canal side and light winds made the run a treat. I was pleased with how I felt, especially after the track yesterday; the legs were comfortable running in my endurance zone and I found myself struggling to keep the pace down in the returning 8 miles; clocking a total of 16m at 7.08 pace despite my attempts to put on the brakes. I'm confident that my strength and endurance are returning; its just the speed that needs a bit of attention now. Settled in to watch the athletics again today; what a dream telly weekend we've had, what with all the 'new rules' drama, crashes and 'spikings' and exhausted athletes; who needs Arnie...

Lapping In The Sun

I set out to Nelson track today feeling a little nervous about the prospect of an intervals session in the hot sun after my most recent struggles to achieve anywhere near my former pace. I've been well off my track performances at Xmas time so was also worried that I might not quite make it through the full session. As a nice distraction I had a bit of company with local celebrity Terry L and local talent Alan B from Leeds City for company; both on the warm-up and then providing a target to chase through my reps. I resolved to do 8x600s with a reasonable recovery and had no idea of what times to expect; I haven't done this session for months but was sort of hoping to be somewhere around 2.03 mins. I enjoyed a lovely warm-up in the morning sun around the park with these two fellas for company and then after a few strides I resolved to make a start. The sun was pretty hot by mid morning so found I was working hard. Terry L also kindly shared the session as my rabbit to chase; this worked well in giving him a good head start before each of my efforts to make the final 200m a bit of a surging effort to try and pass him.

I was nicely surprised after effort #1, clocking 1.55 for this first rep, though I feared I'd misjudged the pace, being off track work for so long. Anyway I managed somehow to keep the full 8 reps all within 3 or 4 seconds of each other which was beyond what I'd expected to achieve at this stage in my fitness. I celebrated the session with a visit to Lidl for a good stock up on Bratwurst for M and Nougat Pillows & choco softies for me. They also do some great chocolate soya milk that's yummy for a post session refuelling. So, an afternoon of idle snoozing, chocolate munching and preparing for the relay tomorrow. We've plans to call by fellow club mate and Bingley superstar Sue B's 50th birthday bash tonight too. I intend to be very good and stay away from the shandy.