With the injury problems I had had in the run up to the race, and the consequent loss of running, I decided straight off that I would not try to beat the train. My aim was to finish in around 2:20, averaging roughly ten minute miles.

I nearly made a schoolboy error. I got myself changed, did a short warm up, and then, as I went off to the start area, I realised I had left the timing chip in the car. I had to hurriedly find one of my parents, so that I could get into the locked car and retrieve the chip. Having done this I then made it back to the start, went right to the back, and waited for the train whistle to announce the start of the race.

I started at around 9:30 pace and kept this fairly evenly for the first few miles. I was overtaking a number of people who had started too fast and who soon slowed down. Somewhere in this section there was a large puddle that people were carefully going round the side, which seemed unnecessary effort to me as it was raining and there would be a fair amount of mud to go through later on! The fourth and fifth miles were a bit quicker – either side of nine minutes – and I had to consciously make an effort to keep a steady pace through this section.

The sixth mile was tougher. This includes a short sharp hill and we also went through a very muddy field for part of this. I used the slower section to get the gels out of my lightweight waterproof, which spent the entire race tied round me as I kept a decent enough pace to not need the extra protection it would offer from the wind and rain.

The seventh mile, to the turn, was back at 9:30 pace. Then we turned and went instantly uphill and onto a single person wide path contouring round the hillside. At this point the pace was set by the slowest person nearby. My footwear, decent off road Inov-8 X-Talons, was coping well, but these two miles took 27 minutes as there were few opportunities to overtake.

After this the path became a bit better – overtaking became possible. However, it was still muddy and care had to be taken not to collide with people in poor footwear who were slipping and sliding around. I managed to keep running, but my pace had dropped to 10:30. The extra bit of downhill in the twelfth mile allowed for a bit more speed, but then the lack of long runs told and I was reduced to a walk/run for the remainder of the race, particularly when back on the road in the last mile.

I managed a decent sprint finish at the end and finished in 2:25. Pleasing, but it does make me wonder if, with some more consistent training and no injuries, I could beat the train. I foresee a return trip to this race! Post race recovery was in the form of fish and chips with a glass of red wine, and a hot shower to remove all the mud.

The camp site we stayed at was good and there was the wood sculpture at the beginning of this post nearby.

The weekend before last I visited my family and I ran in the inaugural Poole parkrun. Also taking part in the race was local runner Liz Yelling. As we were going to the South West Orienteering Middle Race later in the day my parents supported, rather than ran, and dad went out with his camera.

I started comfortably, but a young lad went past me about 1km into the race. I decided that I could not let him beat me and speed up, staying a short distance behind him until the end when I overtook him. I finished in 22:15 and, with the course being fast, I can see myself running a fast time on a future visit.

]]> http://owls-count.net/blog/running/poole-parkrun-1/feed 1 http://owls-count.net/blog/running/reading-parkrun-77 http://owls-count.net/blog/running/reading-parkrun-77#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:10:51 +0000 Simon http://owls-count.net/?p=921 Anyway, eleven days ago I went to my local parkrun. This race happens a few miles from where I live and I run there and back, giving me a nice 10(ish) mile run. This means that I tend not to do the race flat out, as I want some energy left for the hill on the way home.

I ran a controlled 23:54, though I started a little faster than intended and took a bit too long to slow down into a comfortable pace. I finished roughly a third of the way down the field – 68/188. My finishing sprint was reasonable, but I left it too late to catch the guy in front. Cunningly, by linking to the video part way through you do not get to realise that a small girl finished a minute in front of me.

(I am working on the backlog of race reports, but slowly. If I do not start speeding up then I will soon have a lot more to write!)

I ran the first half at a fast, but controlled pace and turned round in 10:49. Just before the turn I had noticed someone, about 30 seconds in front, and decided I would try to catch this person on the return. I worked a bit harder and caught up with a fast sprint finish. I finished in 21:20 – an 18 second negative split.

This time is about 85 seconds down on my PB, which was set on the same course at the end 2009. I am not moving that fast at the moment, but I do think I can be back near that time later in the year.

For comparison here are my times, with mile splits, for the past races.
PB: 19:54 (6:26, 6:30, 6:20)
December: 22:33 (6:56, 7:28, 7:26)
January: 22:25 (7:19, 7:23, 7:01)
March: 21:20 (6:55, 6:59, 6:46)

I went off more slowly than normal and then picked up the pace on the return leg – the race being an out and back 5k. The first two miles were both around 7:20 and the third mile was 7:00. There were more people at the race and it took longer for the field to stretch out and allow free running. The greater number of people helped on the second half of the race, as having other people around encouraged me to keep to a decent pace – particularly the man who was on my shoulder from halfway through to 500m from the finish, when I pulled away.

Overall the time was a few seconds quicker than last time – 22:25 22:17 (the time I recorded on my Garmin was worse than the official results). Hopefully the better running will continue!

Positives for the Year
Duchy Marathon – a near half hour PB.
Running in the snowy altitude of Santa Fe.
Doing a noticeable amount of cross training.

Next year I intend to run more.

This year I have not put in as much training and knew that I would be running more slowly than last year. I started more slowly and slowed down a little. There was a noticeable, but not large, breeze on the return. I ran 22:33 – 31 seconds a kilometre slower than last year. I guess I have some training to do if I want to be running faster!

On Sunday I went to the South London Orienteers’ event at Longmoor. I decided not to run and instead went around taking photos. As the photos show, we have had some snow in the south of England!

I was off in the first race, but looking before the start at the others I knew that I would be orphaned off the back soon after the start and this meant that I made my primary aim to avoid being lapped. My fitness is currently down on last year and I knew that at my best I would just manage to go sub six minutes.

The first two laps were, I think, 91 and 92 seconds – roughly on plan. Then I struggled with the third lap, as is often the case. I think this was around 100 seconds. The final lap I managed to pick the pace up again and finished in 6:15. Slower than I would have liked, but not as slow as I feared it may be.

I borrowed dad’s camera during the second race and took a pile of photos.

For the third race I was pacing mum. We started a bit too fast, but managed to keep a good pace and finished exactly on the goal time of 9 minutes.

Then there was the question raised of who wanted to race 100m. Of course I instantly said yes – I never seem to remember how painful such a short race can be. I was happy with my time – I ran 14.5, which is roughly equal to my PB. All that remained after this was to eat some cake and there were plenty of tasty cakes to choose from!

I spent a good chunk of the rest of the weekend working on the garden. It has been sadly neglected for some time – the year I have lived in the property and, probably, for a few years before that. We cleared out nearly all of the ivy and took care of the weeds. Seven trips to the tip to get rid of the waste, though that is partly because of the car being small. It now looks much better and it is now possible to actually use the space to sit out and relax.

From the start I went off at an easy pace, accompanied by R. The first five miles were completed in 40 minutes, at an even pace. We then slowed, and ran the next five miles in 43 minutes, though this section of the race included most of the uphill sections and parts of it were into the wind and rain.

At the ten mile point R went on ahead, finishing in exactly 1:45. I took it more easily and finished in 1:51:14.

I had a reasonable run. I started slightly too quickly, but kept a reasonable pace throughout. I finished in 25:19 for the 3.5 miles.