A mixed year but ending well

I had a great result even though injured at this years Virgin London Marathon 3:09:08 was just inside the good for age requirement for the VLM  2012. I picked up a calf injury just before which was aggravated on the marathon, then chest problems in the summer meant I had to rest for the next few months.

A knee problem kept me off the pavements and I decided to start cycling to get some fitness back, recent physio has cleared the problem (ITB is tight so judicious stretching regime now in place).

My goal now is to get fit and complete the VLM 2012 in a reasonable time, also to have a crack at some cycling time trials and hopefully a sprint triathlon in the spring.

I took part in the Stockport boxing day 5K and managed a 23:01 which spookily takes me back to my first 5k in recent years at the inaugural Heaton parkrun in June 2009. Back then I was a bit heavier but in a similar fitness state and managed a 23:00, so it tells me there is much work to do!

I did enjoy racing again though and had second thoughts about doing the hot toddy, the picture above was taken by Rachel Chapman and captures my mood perfectly...

On my Birthday (and anniversary to the wonderful Mrs Kelly!) we went shopping, Clare for an eternity ring and me... New running shoes. It was good to see Rick at Sweatshop again and putting a pair of Brooks Adrenalines felt like seeing old friends, I also picked up a pair of ASIC 2170's which will be reserved for distance training and races.

Wednesday I did a gym session for the first time in some time, I had a tough time on the treadmill, for the next couple of weeks I am going to attempt 5k at each running session. The first mile saw a mild ache in the left calf, the new trainers felt good but my chest was aching. The problem with treadmill's are it is too easy just to stop, so when I hit 2 miles it was getting too much I wanted to give up, instead I upped the speed and made the 3.1 in 26.21 so not a bad effort.

Next I tried the "Glute machine" but man are my glutes so weak! I figured not to do too much on my first trip back into the gym, a quick swim later and I was done!

Back into the gym on Thursday as the weather was seriously bad, another 5k on the treadmill and we have resurrected the Wii fit balance board as it acts as a great motivator for all the family!

On Friday I took to the roads on my bike, my goal is to increase my fitness whilst my legs get back to strength. I have fitted a garmin cadence device to the bike, on my first test before Christmas my average cadence was 66 which means I was turning the wheels 66 times a minute RPM) the aim is to average 90 and as I get fitter the speed will accompany the cadence.

Saturday saw the last Oldham parkrun of the year and 45 runners took part in pretty awful foggy wet weather, in 2012 we hope to grow the numbers back to the 75-100's again. Oldhams' micro-climate can often deter runners but it does not keep everyone away!

New Years Day went well as I put my Adidas Kanadias back on for the multi-terrain 'Joe Salts New Years Awakener'. Last year I managed 19th with 27 minutes and some change, this year, unfit and stuck for sections behind slower runners as the paths are narrow... 33:46 not a bad effort and I learned a lot about caring for my injuries. Remember before running I am to stretch my ITB, this is straight forward at the gym or at home, but as a stretch to be carried out lying down can be difficult to fulfil before a race. My calves were behaving today which I was please with but by mile two the left knee painful, I remembered my physio advice to slightly lift the knees  running and drop the pace. This I did for about half a mile and it worked  well, coming down the final hill my legs felt good and I turned on the sprint finish, nicking a place or three at the end!!! Andy O'Sullivan made a tanoy comment about my finish which is kind of embarrassing but everyone gets the same treatment.

So 2012 is here and my marathon training kicked off with a good effort, it tells me there is much work to be done to complete the VLM in a reasonable time. My true performance indicator I guess will be the Great North West half in February... Roll on the VLM

Have a great year everyone.

Mark Kelly 

The week that was

Monday saw me back on the physio bench for session number 3, Andy used a deep heat machine to warm my ITB up for its punishment. We also took some time to discuss linking David Roberts Physio to Oldham parkrun as they have done with Bramhall and Woodbank. They are offering a monthly prize of either a massage (Sports or the relaxing kind!) or 1/2 price assessment, to someone who has been injured. Much like the sweatshop prize for a deserving runner we can help a struggling person :)

I went for a run after physio and boy did my calves give me grief, my sedentary life has been taking its toll on my ahem..."athletes" body. The basic plan is to run the same 2 mile loop whilst I get my fitness back, then gradually increase the distance. The classic London marathon training starts on Jan 1st which gives you around 16 weeks to prepare, for me it starts on my birthday which coincides with the Hot toddy road race which is usually icy and has the best hill (Old Lumbetts) you know the one where you nose is scraping the road.

So after one mile my right calf was screaming and I was forced  to stretch it out for a moment, when I got home I jumped in a hot bath to give my legs a good stretch!

On Tuesday I repeated the same loop and felt a bit more comfortable, that said my right calf was tight and my thinking is that my running style has changed to protect my ITB (Sub-consciously). I need a coach to access my style but the track is shut until Jan 9th, hopefully Brian will be at a parkrun over the break so can give me a check over!

Wednesday was my last physio session, so fingers crossed my ITB issue is under control and I hoped to run at Oldham parkrun this week and use the "hot toddy" race as a training run. To put my RRR vest on once more will hopefully spur me on! (not all plans workout as you see later in the blog)

I ventured out on the same two mile loop that I used this week and yet again the calves where tight after one mile. My physio assures me this is fine and just a case of my body being way out of shape have been a couch potatoe for the last 6 months (my words not his...) happily though I stepped up to an average 8:36 min/mile from Monday and Tuesday's 9:03 :)

Now I can get my training diary sorted for 2012 but RRR have not published the race calander for 2012 as yet...

Yey I joined the gym again at DW sports, got a free month and looking forward to getting into "gym bunny mode" as I was being shown around the gym little has changed since last time I was a member. I will have to dig out an iPod as treadmills are notoriously boring but a neccasiry evil in winter training, my marathon mojo is definatly back in full swing.

Today I took part in the Stockport Boxing Day 5k, my first road race since the London Marathon. On arrival I parked up near Iain Stainthorpe of Rochdale Harriers and chatted whilst we walked to register. The excitement of filling out an entry form flooded back memories from earlier in the year, pinning on the number too much for me and I pinned it onto the back of the shirt in error and proceeded to wear it back to front! 

Of course it is winter but an unseasonably warm 11 degs meant I was getting dressed outside, topless and frantically re-pinning the number I got a "rude" awakening that 11 degs ain't that warm.

It was good to see Angie and Tony from Oldham parkrun in attendance, I also had a brief hello with Gill Doolan from Heaton parkrun... And again as she passed me on the second lap!!! 

I ended up with a 23:01 which was not bad in my current fitness level and recovering from injury. The left calf was quite tight but manageable, the knee behaving its self except on the last downhill section, where the pounding must have caused a bit of discomfort to must runners.

It felt great to complete a race before the end of the year, but I won't be at the "hot toddy" on my birthday as today was a good indicator of my capabilities. 5.8 miles and the biggest hill in Todmerdon just a bit too much to handle me thinks.

Instead I am off to Sweatshop in the morning for some shiny new running shoes and as my garmin's battery life is poor... possibly a new watch.

Just for those to have a laugh below is a picture of me on Christmas day wearing the bad shirt my bro Robert got me. Each year a group of us must buy/make a shirt so ugly you don't want to wear it and certainty not wear it in public. But wear it all day we must and this year I took my family to our local curry house for the best Christmas meal ever... For some reason I got looks of looks from customers and staff alike :p

Back on the road

This week saw me get back on the road after taking the summer and autumn off with health and injury woes. I have been getting physio from Andy Byrne at the Oldham branch of David Roberts Physio centres. The first session on Tuesday was a nervous experience as I was unsure my personal diagnosis would be corroborated!
If the knee issue was serious I.e. needing surgery then I had considered hanging up my shoes. Last Saturday Royton Road Runners had its annual presentation night and even though I was sat in the same place as last year, i could not have felt more differently.

2010 had been a great year and 2011 carried on in much the same fashion, my Marathon PB at London had secured a good for age place in the VLM 2012, but since then I have run just a few miles!

Andy was giving the knee a great looking at and to my relief he informed that my issue is ITB related. It was no surprise when he remarked it is largely due to having weak glutes! During my coaching training I would always be embarrassed giving demonstrations in areas like squats as I just wobble and fall over. Bear in mind that at the time I was marathon fit and should have been doing single leg squats for breakfast!

This week was the last "track" session for RRR, Brian and I met the runners as usual but the track is shut due to building  works! So it was a hill session instead. The weather was so bad I was glad to get the call that the session was over, we won't meet again until the 9th Jan.

I had another ITB physio session on Friday and it is amazing that they don't leave bruises, but it is working   I went for a run today, just a couple of kilometres but it felt good to be out. I dug out the Adidas Kanadia's and headed out onto the snow. My ITB was fine and part of me was happy I had pain elsewhere in my legs! My fitness is at zero but now it is time to start working on getting back to running, London is jut over 4 months away...

On Saturday we had our Santa Dash at Oldham parkrun, 52 runners braved the snow to run around a just passable course. Resplendent in Santa suits and raising lots of money for Christies we had a great time and the cake provided by Tony and Angie.. totally scrumptious. Below a picture of Sandra, Bev and I on the start line, I had no end of problems stopping the oversized trousers from dropping, a jacket that would not stay shut and a belt that snapped first go. Not to mention a beard more annoying than my real one!

So onwards and upwards and once again a say roll on the Virgin London Marathon



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Robin Hood Marathon - From the MarathonTalk.com Motivation Station!

What a weekend, as I sit here with my legs feeling like they had actually done the Marathon I reflect on a great two days.
Saturday morning started as always with parkrun and a super turnout of 70 finishers, a few were heaton parkrunners, a late notice closure of the park (well the bit we use) meant a hasty dash to Oldham.
After parkrun I headed off to "Go Outdoors" far an emergency purchase of sleeping bags and a mallet... long story.

Stephen practices "Clacking" and blowing the whistle

Stephen and I then drove down to Nottingham firstly to see Rick Bennett who was very busy doing his role his Site Supervisor at the festival, then it was off to the campsite. We were the first from the team to get to there and it was very windy, I quick call to see how far Tom Williams was away confirmed at least an hour so we agreed to wait it out. Greg Brock (The website guru behind www.MarathonTalk.com was next to arrive, soon after Paul Sinton-Hewitt (PSH) pulled into the carpark. Another call to Tom and we decided that it was better to set the camp up as the wind had died down and the sky has brightened up.

In all there were about 20 campers who tucked into a great BBQ, a couple of runners who were taking part in the race joined us, it was a bit cruel as we enjoyed Burgers, Kebabs, Helen's world famous Veggie Burgers and a fair amount of booze. They of course had exciting pasta and Lucozade in preparation for the Marathon!

At around 9:00pm the heavens opened and thus the MarathonTalk motivation team beat a hasty retreat under canvas, an early night ensued...

How does this work again?

5:15am an un-holy noise of trucks and inconsiderate workers who laughed, swore, dropped crates and basically acted  like louts setting up the Water-Aid station for mile 17. This just happened to be on the over side the hedge were were camping next to, annoyingly we think these were the same people acting like morons clearing our tables and pallets at Mile 20 (The MarathonTalk motivation station) before the race had ended!!!

At 8:20 we headed out for a run to the start of the marathon, after a couple miles my knee was in agony, I gritted my teeth and carried on. We had a group photo at the finish line and headed back, the knee surprisingly was not nearly as painful on the way back. A quick camp clear up and we went in convoy to the mile 20 station to prepare for the runners (The first two already at mile 9) Stephen and the other children got busy opening bottles and we soon joined in the... fun.

On the whole the day was great fun, encouraging the runners like we do at parkrun only for a much longer time! Stephen who had said the night before he had wished he had gone to Blackpool with his Mum and Brothers, admitted in the car on the way back that he actually was glad he came and would be back next year!

It was great to see Jamie Cook who takes part in Heaton parkrun running well, Ria Bright however was struggling, given that this was her 3rd Marathon in 3 weeks that would be enough to destroy most people especially if you are on your legs for 6 hours at a time! Well done to both of them!

Well I am off to soak my legs in the bath after a hard days graft, next time you are in a race and someone handles you a bottle of water... thank them please... a whole lot of hard work goes into making sure you get much needed nutrition.

Oh to the louts that woke us early setting up the water station... (being paid and on double time at least)...

"Make the fleas of a thousand dogs infest your armpits!"

Have a great running week

Regards

Mark

No mobile signal, Internet or roads to run on

My worst fears have been realised! Arriving at the caravan on Friday I stared in horror at my iPhone no signal. A quick survey found a similar response from the rest of the family, only Stephen had a week O2 signal and GPRS which is like being in the 90's!
The only place I can get a signal is at the top of the hill at the entrance to the park.
In the evening I ventured out with a sense of trepidation the site is on a steep hill that leads down to the sea, great for scenery but I don't fancy hill reps all week. I explored the entire park and decided to head out onto the road, having not seen a pavement on the A75 I hoped there would be some sort of respite for pedestrians. Alas there was not and I decided today was not a good day to die, so headed back.

On the way back to the van it is a steep descent and this gave my troubled knee a torrid time, it actually felt like it was moving around in a wild motion.
I took the easy choice of walking back the last 100m as a cool down and protect the knee!

It struck me that had I still been training for the Robin hood marathon it would have been nigh on impossible to get my long run in today... So it looks like it will be a treadmill week at the onsite "fitness suite" which thankfully is not like the mobile signal... from the 90's

- have a great running week

Mark K
From sunny Scotland :p

Location:Scotland

Back to running at Oldham parkrun

In a snap decision I decided to have a stab at running again! In the last couple of weeks I have had good news from the hospital that my heart is in no danger and last week run over a mile for the first time in months with out my knee giving me grief.
I was due to do backup timer and when parkrun regular Lynn Newman arrived dressed in jeans (a dead give away that no running on the cards) I had an instant replacement for my volunteer duty. So I trotted off to warm up, dressed in kind of running gear... tracksuit bottoms and my Adidas Tempo zero's which I stopped using for running as they murder my calves and knees!!!

It is plain to see harriers and club runners as they are the only ones warming up and I often muse that one day I will do a mass warm up with the parkrunners!

I figured that I would go to the back of the pack and take it easy, but hey once I got into my stride I was soon in the top ten and just relaxed and tried to enjoy the run. But guess what after my Garmin bleeped the first mile I saw a 6:50 and figured just a bit too quick, soon after a nagging pain in my left knee. Not apin as intense as before but enough to consider an exit right and walk back to run HQ.

But I fought on and after another mile it eased off and recorded an 8:00 min/mile, by now my chest was screaming due to a total lack of fitness and the hills of Alexandra Park just continue on and on and on.
The last lap of Oldham parkrun takes you through the woodland walk which is again a hill in disguise.
The Garmin bleeped on the final straight signifying the last .11 and it was a 7:33 so happily crossed the line in 22:48 a modest time after months of nothingness!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/107893320
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/oldham/results/latestresults

I enjoy talking to runners when they finish a parkrun, it adds a better edge when you have been through the same experience.
I have now have Oldham parkrun using the latest technology including webFMS (Online event processing), VMS the cut down version of the old FMS but has some great new features. Not forgetting the Junsd 9006 USB stopwatch which Roger Hardiman has written conversion software so they can be used as a backup timer at parkrun.

I will soon be releasing the latest version of "Hitch hikers guide to parkrun" for run directors! Now I have done a video version and just need to include VMS and perhaps a video of using the junsd .

So now I will begin to train and get fit, the knee problem promising to be a horrid memory. My next running trip will be the Robin Hood Marathon, not to run it as my entry will show a DNS :( but instead Joining Tom and Mart from http://www.marathontalk.com at Mile 20 on the motivation station :)

So I hope you all have a good week and keep on running!

Mark K

A busy running week... without actually running

As the NHS finally whirr's into action this week with the cardiology tests I reflect on a good week in the more fun parts of my running life!
Usually on a Monday evening I would be track side stopwatch, clipboard and whistle but the recent health worries have put pay to that. Thankfully Don is standing in for me and making sure the runners get their weekly interval training fix!

Wednesday was the Royton Trail which is Royton Road Runners annual club race, along time ago I offered to help with the timing so was hoping to get there! Brian Moore our stats man organises the results and on this occasion we were going to use the parkrun timer in an effort to make the front of the funnel a simpler job for the stopwatch folks.
It went very well and the import process to the spreadsheet fairly straight forward, we will continue to see if the parkrun model has any merit going forward... Who knows barcoded race numbers???

Friday saw the first gathering of all the organisers for parkruns in the North West. Paul Sinton-Hewitt and Tom Williams (www.marathontalk.com) gave us an update on all things parkrun now and in the near future.
PSH started with an impassioned history of parkrun right up to date. Manchester has grown its numbers since Bramhall started  followed by Heaton, Woodbank, South Manchester, Oldham, Bolton and Pennington Flash.

Liverpool has started its own story at the Princes park and will surely mirror Manchester's growth in the coming years
After the meeting some of us went out for a meal and we headed off in convoy, when the lead car pulled in at a MacDonalds were were somewhat confused as we should have been at the Curry Mile in Rusholme. It turned out the lead car was the Liverpool team who never intended going for a curry and were grabbing a quick burger on the way home!
My everlasting vision will be of PSH, Tom and 6 other parkrun leaders enjoying a post-meal Vimto lolly... surreal!

On Saturday it was Sandra's first time as race director and as we met in the park, the heavens opened!
Last week had been good weather but Bev's first RD experience had its own issue... vans driving around the park.
Sandra delivered a great run brief, managed volunteers and could not have done a better job. The ladies did so well I can relax knowing that Oldham parkrun will continue to grow and grow. parkrun is all about community and as I was chatting to Sandra at 8:30am it reminded me of discussions the night before. There are now over 80 parkruns which means hundreds of parkrun leaders and volunteers having the same emotions as they head in to a park on a Saturday morning! Thousands of runners some for there first time, happy and excited about meeting fellow parkrunners the chatter can be deafening!

Well I hope that the doctors can get to the bottom of whatever is making me unwell and I can get back to running soon.

Regards

Mark

The worst week of my life

Not only does my left knee keep me from running, it seems my heart is having a bad spell!
Monday night before my usual coaching duty I warmed up with Dave E and could not believe it 0.65 miles in and bang, excruciating pain in my left knee. So back to square one and Robin Hood looks out of my league.

For the last couple of months I have noticed the tendency to utter the words 'oops got up to fast' and feel a touch dizzy.

Well early on Thursday morning I passed out after presumably going to the loo! I was taken by ambulance to Oldham Royal Hospital and one of the tests indicated a condition known as "postural hypotension" this is where your systolic blood pressure drops when sitting up from lying down or standing up. Mine drops around 20 which is enough to make you light headed at the best of times. I was later discharged as an outpatient from Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and began immediately to rest and recuperate (my fall was bad enough!).

On Saturday morning I rolled out of bed feeling much better and proceeded to setup Oldham parkrun as usual, this week being dubious as there was a 'Dragon Boat race' in the park lake.

During a pre-event risk assessment, Sandra (one of our regular runners and volunteer) suggested that if too many vehicles were seen on the course, then cancel the run either before or during the race.
On the route a coffee van was using part of the path, the owner "Liam" turned out to be a heaton parkrunner!
He moved his signs to make the gap a bit wider, so on we continued.

I briefed the runners accordingly and set them on their way, sure enough after one lap Sandra reported far too much traffic, so I got on the radio and advised marshals to warn runners to stop and return to race HQ!
By 9:30 we had packed away and I headed with my Eldest son as he was in one of the Dragon Boat teams!
I felt great and for no apparent reason started to get light headed, breathing was difficult and sat on a low wall feeling very unwell.

A first-aider was close by and soon recommend getting to Hospital, which thanks to one if the leaders of our boat race team , drove me promptly to A&E where I just made it as my condition worsened!
I must had a panic attack and was struggling to breathe, the ECG showing a very fast heart rate. The doctors administered all sorts of drugs including aspirin to thin my blood. A am very grateful to Brian for staying with me and helping to calm me down. Our conversation about car park wardens in rip-off Britain will remain with me for ever!

I was sent back up to the MAU ward and spent all day staring at either the clock or the ceiling. Thanks to my Wife and Sister for spending time with me it really helped keep my spirits up.
Finally I had my second blood tests at 10:45pm and just over an hour later the results can back confirming that my heart had not been damaged in the morning's episode :)
So at 12:30am I arrived home discharged again as an out-patient and now await further tests.

Because of my knee I could not take part in the Freckleton Half, so my revenge on it's punishment on me last year will have to wait!
Happily though Colin G who was on top form at Edinburgh with a 3:07 came 34th (1:26:40) out of 650 runners at today's Freckleton. If I can get him back to the track I am sure I can get him sub 85 and 3:00 for his half and full marathons!

I am now on full rest which means no work, no coaching on Monday's (I hope Don can step of retirement for a while), parkrun race directing, volunteer co-ordinator for now. Fortunately the poppy-run is not until October 30th and I have a fair bit of the work done anyway.

I hope your week as been much better than mine!


Mark K

1st mile knee pain-free in 2 months

Yey, at last after 2 months of rest I managed 4 laps of the track knee pain free! my fitness is wiped out of course but a good sign in any case.
The bike work however is helping to get my cardio work back on track and I hope that I can get fit in time to complete the robin hood marathon. Finishing the marathon rather than any PB goal of course and this marathon was only ever for... FUN.

Oldham parkrun was a great success this week not just for the super turnout but from the buzz before and after the event.
The weather was great, sunny, light breeze and around 9 deg Celsius. As we processed the results the temperature dropped rapidly and by the time I pulled up at home it was hail-stoning! Talk about fickle weather systems...

So this week I will try and stick a couple of miles down on the track and kick start a short marathon training plan.
I hope you have had a good running week and I should think my next race will be the Sale 10 mile in a couple of months time, or perhaps a parkrun as they are every week ;)

Mark K

The road ahead

Tomorrow I am supposed to start my 12 week programme for the Robin Hood Marathon (RHM) in September... so today I went on a bike ride to kick start at least a bit of fitness! Over 15 miles and my knee never once complained.
So tomorrow I will head out on the track and complete a mile, I hope. All being well I can start to get back to marathon fitness in good time, the RHM is not a major target so if I can not get ready in time then its no big loss.

Oldham parkrun was a great success this week with 64 finishers, quite a few of which turned out in fancy dress as it was the "runfree" event promoted by Lucozade. It was a very welcome site to see runners re-hydrating after a very warm 5K event. I hope to get a photograph from Saturday and publish on this blog, my fancy dress outfit was... warm to say the least!

So sorry it is a short post but hey if I run 1 whole mile tomorrow night it could mean a return to lots of running!

Have a great running week

Mark

Back to exercise... on a bike

Sorry I have not been blogging for some weeks, a project at work is taking up all my spare time that is normally filled with running! My injury woes refuse to abate but fear not, I took to the trails on a bike for the first time in... years. Needless to say I feel a little saddle sore but I am assured my butt will "toughen up" after the miles roll on!

The twinge in my left knee I felt on my last long run before the VLM has returned and no matter which running shoes, running surface (Track, Grass or road) or pace... has manifested into agony. The furthest I can managed is 1/2 mile then my knee gives me pain that stops me in my tracks.

My good friend Rick Bennett, Manager of the Sweatshop store in the Manchester Arndale and Event Director at Heaton parkrun, mailed two photo's he took of me at the VLM 2011, which has cheered me up.
Standing at around mile 13 you get to see runners on the way back (mile 22) from the same spot.
In the first photo I appear to be holding my nose, this is probably due to tipping water over my head at mile 12 and it dripped down through my shades onto my nose!
on the second photo you can clearly see my running style is shocking, I am sloping forward as highlighted by the speed camera directly behind me. Since becoming a running coach I seem to always pick holes in my running pictures!

More upsetting is that I still have no pictures with me "keeping up" with Nell McAndrew...

In a week or so I should be starting my marathon training for the Robin Hood in September, I hope my knee starts to strengthen soon, the lack of running is becoming to be a bore.

Please enjoy your running, as I cannot!

Mark Kelly



A great Easter break

Following a marathon the general recommendation is to take a rest and let your body recover. As a keen runner this is tough to do, helped or not by being injured I have been restless to say the least!
The hundred pushups app on the iPhone is a great way of focusing on exercise with a swim session later in the week planned.

I am already planning for the next marathon (Robin Hood, Nottingham in September) not so much the race but how to condition my body better.

The lack of miles in the last few weeks in the build up to London, the injury cost me at least 5 minutes and will no doubt take me longer to recover for sure. There are many things that I am reflecting on right now, my pacing, nutrition, core body strength to name but a few.

Reading in this weeks 'Athletics Weekly' that in 2010 the average cost for a runner to kit up, travel and so on costs around £450 pounds to take part in the London Marathon... I can vouch for that.
One thing I can count on for Nottingham is a quieter Saturday to rest my legs. The standing around on tube trains and walking around the expo in London was horrendous on the runners who should by all rights be taking it easy.
I am considering a better strategy for next year including a proxy collection!

I just about managed 53 push ups on Thursday over 5 sets with just 60 seconds of recovery, the app works like interval sessions on the track... Push you body hard, recover and push again. I followed that with my first swim in over a year and made 30 minutes before my calf tightened and shoulders ached (pushups then swimming... Not good combo)
The swimming went well and after 30 minutes I felt the calf tighten slightly and my right knee did a classic "Give it up man" as it has always has! So I will be looking to do one swim session a week in my new look training plan in readiness for the Robin Hood Marathon.

A windy Saturday morning saw a great turnout at Oldham parkrun with 49 finishers and 24 PB's which was a great result. As you can see I was well wrapped up against the cold wind, complete with hat, shades and 5 o'clock shadow... meanwhile runners we in shorts and t-shirts!
I will be back at the track this week to give the legs a test and hope to start basic training if all goes well!

Have a great running week

Mark K

Calf injury is very angry with me taking part in the VLM

After my first marathon last year I experienced elation, tiredness and constant hunger! It was no surprise to me after the Virgin London Marathon that these sensations would re-appear. An extra challenge was presented to me "the morning after" to navigate the tube and get a train to Slough.
The training course I spent the next three days on was interesting but not helped by the constant tiredness and aching legs, it was great however to eat like a pig all week!
Upon my return to home late on Wednesday I emptied my case to discover in horror my Brooks Ravenna 2's that had dutifully got me round the VLM had not made it back with me :( I must have left them behind when changing into my Adidas training shoes, so someone is now either the happy owner of a pair of shoes with just 96 miles on the clock... or they have been blown up by the police as a suspicious un-attended bag!

By Thursday my legs had eased up and blisters largely gone, so I strapped my angry calf up and headed up to the club to take my group out for a run. But alas my calf started giving me grief almost straight away and 2 miles in my knee was in agony. One of the runners, Lisa had a stitch (to which we can find no reason why they keep happening) and we walked back to the club whilst the rest of the group finished the run.

So as a good coach would tell me "give running a break" I have to take recovery as the only option to ensure the injury heals. Therefore the next race in my diary is out of bounds (Chester Half Marathon) though I will be there with the family to enjoy the race as a spectator.

I am now booked onto the sports first aider course with the St Johns ambulance folks on the 6th May so Chester will be my first club race as "Coach" complete with first aid bag!

I have yet to get a photo from the race, there are plenty on the marathonfoto website but at £50 for one digital download or £75 for all all them that is daylight robbery... so here is a picture of my time stuck to the fridge-freezer instead!

So for the next few weeks it will be a case of cross training and start the "New Me" working on my core, swimming and get this on Friday I started the http://www.hundredpushups.com app in the iPhone. So come the Robin Hood Marathon in September I should be a lot fitter, injury free and be able to not necessarily be faster than at London, but be better prepared, run more even paced and finish without loosing my shoes!

Saturday parkrun

Oldham parkrun had a good turnout despite a number of our regular runners on holiday... or warm weather training as I call it! In the mornings my calf is at its angriest so strapped it up and got their early with Stephen and enjoyed a kick about with the football. Jason Chapman from Sweatshop was back this week and had the timer role whilst Stephen did both marshalling points (Involved a bit of running for him!).

Simon Lake doubled up as registration and photographer, he took loads of great photos and here you can see me doing the  race brief... calf neatly tied up!

I truly relaxing Easter Sunday with no long run to do... something inside would rather a LSR for sure :(

Have a good week

Regards

Mark K

Virgin London Marathon a great race

It’s been a mad couple of weeks, the elation of passing my coaching exams last Saturday which was such hard work and a long day. It had a technical exam to start with and then into the practical assessments which takes up all day!

VLM Race report

The day started cloudy and we parted ways with Stuart and Dave as they headed off the to “Good for age” start. Both Chris’s were with me in pen two and as we crossed the line we were 40 seconds behind the elite men. The start was as predicted a mass of people entirely in the wrong pen meant doing my best to keep to the blue line and minimise weaving around (As it adds distance and increase the risk of calf strain, mile one thus resulted in a 7:46 and mile two 7:10 so was a minute off pace after the first two miles.

In marathon running being a bit slower at the start is not a bad thing as it generally warms you up for the torture that you will putting on your body over the next 26.2 miles.
So it is important not to rush to get the time back and eek your target pace back on at a small chunks and this will reduce the risk of blowing your race.

My left calf gave me grief from mile 3 and my heart sank, fortunately it eased off at mile 6 but kept me in a bit of discomfort through the rest of the race. The mile splits were roughly 6:50 for till mile 14 were I finally hit a 7:00 minute mile followed by another 7:01 at mile 15. This put me on a negative split overall which in normal racing terms is not ideal.

At mile 15 I caught up with Dave E and strode on, half a mile later he passed me and looked supreme as he run off into the distance and he finished with a 3:05:09 a super result.
I was caught by Nell McAndrew at around mile 17 and enjoyed a bit of a chat, aside from my beautiful wife Nell has to be one of the most gorgeous woman and a great runner. She is a superb ambassador for Cancer Research (UK) at mile 20 I remarked “I should change my name to Nell and get this great support you have” I am not sure if her laugh was to humour me or not!

Also at mile 20 is when the race turns on and your legs are really screaming at you and Nell just strode on as Dave E had some 4 miles before!

The last 6 miles were hard work and every muscle was cramping, scary but you just have to grit your teeth and use your “central governor” to override the pain. It is a wrench to see other runners however that have succumbed to the agony and put into wheelchairs or collapsing to the floor.

Turning onto the mall I had spasms in all the legs but tried my best to run tall and stick some pace in at the end, my time was a very rewarding 3:09:08

Split	time	diff	min/km	km/h
5K	00:22:34	22:34	04:31	13.29
10K	00:43:38	21:04	04:13	14.24
15K	01:04:58	21:20	04:16	14.07
20K	01:26:34	21:36	04:20	13.89
HALF	01:31:08	04:34	04:10	14.4
25K	01:48:25	17:17	04:26	13.56
30K	02:11:27	23:02	04:37	13.02
35K	02:34:45	23:18	04:40	12.88
40K	02:59:21	24:36:00	04:56	12.2
finish time	03:09:08	09:47	04:28	13.45

It has been a great climax to the end of three great weeks and now my legs are annoyed with me!

Have a great running week (I have a rest week planned.. oddly)

Mark K

Back on the road

The treatment for my chest infection starting Monday took a few days to start taking effect. I did one lap on the track on the cool down with Dave Emanuel and that was enough to set my chest off!
The runners did well, I set them on a pyramid session and finished them off with 10 minutes of "Indian File", all the guys are showing good improvement over the winter.

I was at the doctors Monday morning and thankfully my chest was declared clear of gunk but still put on a course of anti-biotic's and told not to race on Wednesday at the Vera Hirst 5K.
London is my "A" race and with it being just a few weeks away a 5K is not important enough to risk the race of the year.

So Wednesday night I arrived at the race with Lisa one of my runners who cares not for racing but still wanted to be there.
There were a flood of Royton Road Runners already there and were warming up as we arrived and I decided to record the start and finish of the race, the video can be seen on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDEyRaSzzYs

Andy O'Sullivan is a great race organiser and being an ex-copper has a great persuasive talent for getting you to volunteer. Those who know me best know that I volunteer for any running event if possible as it is just as much fun facilitating a race as running them!
It started with "Mark can you pick up those cones" and then "Could you assist Marylin on numbers please"
Now then... every week I volunteer at parkrun, Race Director, Timer, Numbers and registration and marshaling. Traditional road racing race management differs form parkrun thus...

• Runners register before the race and pin their number to the shirt
• The race is mass start and the timer set the race off (Using a stopwatch and a backup)
• Runners come through the funnel and the timer records the time to a position (Assistant shouts the time)
• The numbers person writes the runners number against the position (Assistant shouts the number out)
• After the race it takes ages to marry all the runner data in order to publish the results.

At parkrun:

• Runners register once... for life there is no number to pin and runners have a personal barcode
• The event have a mass start and the timer is started. (A backup iPhone, android app can be used)
• Runners come through funnel, the 'single' timer simply presses a button as they pass.
• The 'single' numbers person hands a barcoded finishing token.
• The runner takes their 'personal' barcode and finishing token to registration were they are scanned.
• After the event the timer and finishing scans are married up in minutes and published to the web via 3G.
• Usually before runners get home they get an email advising of their position (Which they already know) and the time.

So back to the race! The chance to take part in a road race funnel was awesome and felt at home at the "frenzy" of a race finish. 3 of my runners were racing for the first time and hopefully the practice runs made the evening a bit more enjoyable and they all did very well.

On Thursday the ladies were back at the club for a training run and I tried to take it easy on them but still put a quality session. So we headed off to Tandle Hills country park which to be fair.. .is hilly but they did well and ran up some and walked others. So a 3.5 mile run went well and it was my first run for a week and felt good to get some fresh air in my lungs, also stretch my legs instantly made the stress of inactivity fade away.

This weekend was the start of three of the biggest events for me in 2011 and they all happen in succession.
My sister Fay finally married David and has been the culmination of lots of planning, hard work and they are a great couple. For some reason I thought the Church service was in the morning and have been trying to secure a race director for Oldham parkrun to take my place... But I looked at the invite again and realised the service was to start at 12:30pm!

So as Jason was Race Director this week I took the opportunity to do a tempo run and this week won the event for the second time. This time it was John Cook keeping me honest and it was only on the last lap that I managed to create a gap, Oldham parkrun is a hilly course and the last lap is a bit longer, utilising the woodland walk. This is a scenic section of the park but is even more hilly which at the event of a race as we all know really hurts.

So a dash home and quick processing of the results meant I could grab a shower, get dressed and be at the Church in time!
The service was great, the afternoon speeches grand and the evening superb. The hotel is superb and back when planning my Virgin London Marathon training plan I at first was concerned that this week should be an 18 miler on the taper down to race say. That was until I mapped out the run home an found that the distance was far enough to fit the run in with some to spare!
Much as I would have loved to lounge in the luxurious spa facilities and fabulous pool which opens up to the outside with a large open window that makes steam drift over the edge... I was getting set for a run home.

The route seemed straight forward on paper but in practice I did not appreciate the undulation, figuring that as Bolton is a higher elevation than Oldham surely it would be mostly downhill.
In actual fact as you run from town to town it goes up and down, presumably because the lay of the land historically makes use of valleys. In any way it is just a fact that the North and East of Manchester are just plain hilly and any long run round these parts are going to have the odd hill in them any way.

I took some photo's on route, the first as I entered the outskirts of Rochdale, it was a great sight and triggered the feeling 'I am nearly home'. I ran on and turned off the direct road home to make use of the canal towpath, the plan was to do a couple of miles at marathon pace, two things put pay to that:

• The path is shut on large sections for ground works
• My legs were very tired from all those hills!

As I did my cool down and walked and jogged to the top of Tandle Hill I took a photo of the view from whence I came. 

What I saw was a huge black cloud closing in on me, I picked up the pace and took shelter in the trees till finally I reached the memorial tree for my foster father who passed away a few years ago. 

As I stood there reflecting on my memories of him I could not decide if the cold rain was his idea of a joke... or a welcome cooling effect! 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76911353

As I sit here with tired legs dreading doing the ironing I look ahead to the next two big weekends in this trilogy of big events my UK Athletics Level 2 coach assessment and that small race the VLM!

Have a great running week

Mark K

Chest Infection puts pay to running for over a week!

It has been a miserable week since the joy of racing the East Hull 20 and coming 38th out of 400 and hitting a great pace. Sunday evening I was "bushed" and crashed out on the sofa as you would expect completing an endurance event, Monday I woke up feeling groggy and managed to get through the day at work a little bit.... grumpy. By Tuesday I was floored with man-flu and failed to go to the track for my interval session, during the course of the Wednesday I stayed at home in the morning, spending a few hours in the office during the afternoon for meetings and left for home early.
On Thursday I started to feel a bit better and felt OK running with my group around the Littleborough 5K and felt happy that I got a few miles under my feet.

There lies the last miles for the week where I only clocked a total of 5 miles for the week and my health just deteriorated day by day.

As I write my blog.. two days late, I am starting to fight off the chest infection with the aid of penicillin and will not be racing Wednesday evening. It will not be all that bad as I can be at the race in my coach role and help my group achieve their full potential on race night!

This break from running is of course affecting my training for the VLM and I hope my training so far will not be lost on race day and naturally some goal adjustment is to be expected!

I hope to be well enough to jog out on Thursday for a few miles and get back to a level of training befitting a marathon runner.

I hope your week and been better than mine and remember:

Never run through an illness that is below the neck as it will delay the body's ability to recover!

Regards

Mark K

East Hull 20

Well it's been a busy old week again the VLM is my focus now with just 4 weeks remaining. Mondays coaching went well 8 runners were put through their paces with 4 x 800's and just 4 minutes recovery. Last week they did 10 x 400 off 2 minutes recovery so the intention was to to push them a big longer!
My coaching diary was submitted this week and hopefully it is good enough for final assessment in April. It will be a busy month as my sister gets married, I get my cholesterol gets retested, my running coach test and of course the Virgin London Marathon!

At the track training on Tuesday I was practising marathon pace in Mile reps, running at a slower pace is a weird feeling. When on the track the natural instinct for me is to be running "eye-balls" out, but I must master running at my marathon pace. So I will be practising my goal pace of 7:00 minute miles at quite a few of my runs, doing it at the track makes it easier as I don't have to keep stopping for traffic lights and so on.
Although I averaged 7:02 for each mile the pace is not even enough, practice makes perfect!

After each run I download the GPS data from my Garmin forerunner 405, it uploads direct to Garmin Connect... then I import it into sporttracks,export from sporttracks to www.runsaturday.com, finally updating my training plan spreadsheet (rules my life!) Whilst reviewing my total mileage on runsaturday I spotted that the distance I have covered so far this year matches my entire 2009 effort!

Wednesday yet again failed to be a double run to work and back, the new payroll system still needs a helping hand. It always seems to be at 16:30 that a phone call is made and I "run" upstairs! The morning run had not been a great session so the day did not end on a high!

The Thursday group did very well again, this week doing 5 miles exactly at a good pace, next week will be their final training session before the Vera Hirst 5K on the 30th so things are looking very good for them.

A quick hill session on Friday saw the end of training for the week as I wanted a bit of recovery for Sundays 20 mile race. I was awake before the alarm rang out at 6:00am Sunday morning, my kit was all set out and I headed of to pick up Dave on route to Hull a mere 1 hour 40 trip away. We arrived at 9:00am and were just in time for a good parking spot 50 meters from race HQ! The race was limited to 400 and given the parking, toilet facilities and assembly area 400 is just the right number. They closed the road just before the start of the race and we were off, the first mile and half are on the main road but the marshalling was second to non and we were soon on a dis-used railway track on a seemingly flat course.
They bill the race as a great warm-up for London, flat and fast... which for the first 8 miles was certainly true, I chatted to a number of runners around the course and most were training for spring marathon (Notably London). There then appeared a couple of hills which thankfully did not last for long and it was the wind that played a slowing effect for he second half of the race.

Early on in the race a local accent boomed out "guys from Lancashire are here" the runner went on to explain that he was originally from Oldham and had moved to Yorkshire. He chatted for a bit longer and promptly trotted off into the distance. I was following a guy in a blue t-shirt for sometime, mesmerised by his sweat sodden back and the colour getting darker then further down his back the longer the race went on. I lost sight of him at around the same time I turned around to not see Dave!

At 18 miles I caught up with the guy wearing the blue shirt, the colour now retreating upwards! At this point I was overtaking a number of runners and feeling strong, in the distance the runner from Oldham. As I caught up to home my watch bleeped 19 miles and a 7:00 min/mile... my target pace! A brief chat with the Oldham chap and I pushed on, the last mile registering 6:31, the same as my first mile.

As I write this blog... a day late as I was whacked Sunday evening, the results still have not been published so my time unconfirmed is 2:17:45 some 2 minutes faster than target pace but I am happy to have felt good and my longest run since the Edinburgh Marathon last year. At Edinburgh I think my target was 8:12 minute pace and I was just a bit quicker then.

So legs intact and my morale boosted so once again roll on  the VLM and just 4 weeks to go


Have a great running week

Mark K

5 weeks to the VLM

Well the excitement for the Virgin London Marathon (VLM) just keeps building. On Monday the track was a busy old place not only did we have 12 athletes training (had them doing 10 x 400m) but Amanda Thirsk had around 30 of her Run in England group, training using 100m relay.
This meant 'track' being shouted on a routine basis! I stuck to my track4 card training to regiment a safe training environment.

Tuesday mornings run to work was a pleasure, stopping to take a photo of the calm scene featuring a couple of ducks:


At around 5 miles though I had sudden cramping sensation that had me doubled over which thankfully passed after a brief rest.

The run home was nice, the ducks were behaving themselves and just managed to get back on the roads before the light faded! The pace was good up and till 'Stinky Hill' and just plodded back.

Wednesday mornings run to work was a chore, the legs felt heavy, it was cold and windy. Worst of all I could not get the shower at work to be remotely hot. To cap it off I was going to be late out as HR had a new payroll system going live... Which was refusing to work! Thankfully Clare came to pick me up and so the evenings schedule was not lost.

The Running group I lead on a Thursday had a good workout achieving 5.21 miles which is the furthest they have run to date! Next Thursday they will be doing the last recce run of the Littleborough 5k which they are taking part in on the 30th March. They are doing very well and I am confident that they will produce great results on the night.

On Saturday I was due to take part in the Dentdale 14 mile road race which is number 3 in the Royton Road Runners championship. My wife Clare had opted to race direct at Oldham for me so that I could take part, unfortunately she was ill in the night so I reverted to plan A!
Oldham parkrun went well with 30 runners taking part on a dry morning (for a change) the local newspaper, Oldham Chronicle turned up to take a photo so that they can do a feature. So I look forward to seeing the article with much interest! I hope they don't spell my name wrong and put our winner (Mike Mannings) down as a junior... as journalist sometimes make errors!

I have been in the office for most of the day and took the opportunity to get a long run home in and made a route through "Boggart Hole Clough", I missed out on the cross country recently so was keen to see the park for myself. I was also breakng my Adidas Tempo's which I will be wearing at VLM, so far I am not feeling the love for them and after 4 miles my legs were not responding well to them. I stopped for a bit of a stretch and it did the trick and now the trainers are not concerning me so much!
By far the biggest adventure on my way home was exiting boggart and seeing a gang of lads on a bit of land neighbouring the path. Not an unsual event I grant you but the sound of something whizzing past my ear and breaking up in a tree next to me was. I assumed it was ether a stick that they had thrown but the speed and distance it had to travel. Then the thought it was an air rifle sunk in and let me tell you wearing the tempos came in handy and I picked up to 4:40 min/mile pace for the next 200 metres...

Tomorrow I post my coaching diary off for assessment which forms part of my level 2 coaches award, the big day for assessment being some 4 weeks away. I can tell you that the nerves are kicking in with the VLM being 5 weeks away it is adding to my grey locks!!!


Have a great running week

Mark K

Enjoy the sights and sounds of your run

It's been a mixed week, after the fun at the Great North west half, the business of recovery and adaption... Kicks in!
On Monday I took the opportunity to warm up (and down) with the athletes I coach at the track. My niggley hamstring strikes again so 'protect and serve' is in operation.
Tuesday is track night for me and I took my new racing shoes for a try out. Sadly they were not what I hoped and a rethink is required, a word of advise if you don't feel the love when you purchase new running shoes then you should look to take them back to the shop. Fortunately I get mine from Sweatshop and this should not be a problem as they have a super 30 day return policy.

I took to the streets on Wednesday for my now regular feature of a carbon-neutral commute to work. I take largely the same route as I drive ( once spring is in full swing I can switch to the Rochdale Canal) and this week I mused about the ambience of what in effect a dull run.
Firstly in the opening mile there is 'Stinky Hill' which is a steep downhill that is a real test on the way home! Stinky you might ask? There is a sewerage farm along side that reminds you of the effect 10,000 people can have on the local environment!!!
The next smell I come across is the Sarsons factory, they are famous for making vinegar and trust me any sleepiness that was around disappears once that vapour hits your lungs. They have recently painted the fence and the smell of paint on metal fences takes me straight back to my childhood. It must have been when they re-painted the school fences at the end of summer ready for the September term.

Not long after Sarsons I sometimes catch the brewing stage of lager at J.W. Lees. Being a tee-total-er the smell of booze is not a massive favourite, especially when the hops are being used as the smell is like Ovaltine on steroids! The other week nearly knocking me sick :s
From them to work the worst of all is smog from all the cars, buses and trucks... not nice. A recent development is a huge bakery on regenerated land near to my office, now the aroma of baking bread I challenge you to to deny that is one of the greatest smells... ever.

On Thursday I took my running group to do a recce run of the Littleborough 5K route. This will be the first public race for may of them and hopefully now they will be more confident about the Vera Hirst 5K on the 30th March.

Friday was not a good running experience for me, the cold that has been all about my head this week finally travelled to my chest. So I hit plan B for the journey home and my wife graciously picked me up from work

Parkrun
Last week John Mayall of Rochdale Harriers was present at Oldham parkrun, had a great run and has featured our event on his very good website racemaps.org.uk (Link added to my page).
You can see his write up at the following address
http://www.racemaps.org.uk/alexandrapark/oldhamparkrun.htm

Copyright (C)  John Mayall 2011

This week we had 31 runners (5 new runners) and 12 Pb's, I awarded the Sweatshop prize to Vicky Stainthorpe who has shown a great improvement, in fact a PB every time she has run since the end of January now dipping under 29 minutes:

This weeks PB was no doubt helped by the expertly fitted Asics at Sweatshop!

Today (Sunday 6th March) I was due to take part in the Silverstone Half Marathon, alas my hamstring is still a bit sore and On Friday my head cold had traveled to my chest so abandoned the run home from work. Happily I enjoyed a bit of a lie in and my legs felt good and more importantly my chest had cleared significantly. So I headed off on a Long Steady Run, the route... Hilly of course and just under 16 miles, I settled into a comfy pace and up Oldham road into the town centre. As I headed up Ripponden Road (A monster hill) I surprised myself how well my legs responded and I was averaging 8 minute miles, which a year ago would have been my race pace!
I kept this pace pretty much all the round in an effort to practice keeping a steady pace... important when racing of course.
It was the nicest day of the year so far, my only crime was not to take a picture whilst taking a 30 second break at the War Memorial, I took a long swig from my drink instead!
You can see my run at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71536618

Next week I hope to be taking part in the Dentdale run 14 miles and 379 yards... of hills

- Have a great running week

Mark K