For the Exeter parkrun it was an opportunity as I was there for the weekend to watch Oldham Athletic take on Exeter for the final away game. So not good prep on the booze train the Friday before and finishing at the pub circa 11:30pm.
Still on the Saturday morning I bimbled down to start and lined up with a big crowd, it was super windy and so got into the middle of the huddle to keep warm! The course is nice and uses part of the University grounds so no dogs allowed, dogs are welcome but can prove tricky along with pushchairs (especially when they overtake you, gets me down like being in a marathon and someone in a costumes goes past!)
It's an out and back, the return leg reminded me of cross country at school and the side winds that used to hit you on Oldham Edge.
It was a tight crowd so until you do the big lap of the field there is little opportunity to make progress.
All in all a good run with the training and beer the day before meant doing a parkrun for fun not a time.
The weekend after was the Army versus Navy at Twickenham so same routine, beer on the train down on the Friday but did not have a late night, it was a two mile walk to Bushy Park so plenty of warm up...
The park is impressive and deer roam around the park which actually delayed the event as they crossed in front of the start.
I made it onto the run report as a visitor and I tried to smile honest, I ran the run wearing the brand new RRR bobble hat, the season for hats kind of over and it was a sweaty mess at the end so it was the first thing in the wash when I got back late Sunday!
It was a busy crowd of 1525 finishers so again locked into a pace but gave me good splits of
8:21
8:21
8:05
for the last hundred meters.... 6:47 strong finish
So ticked off the bucket list, if you are a parkrunner then do Bushy - the original and home of parkrun at least once.
Once I got back to the hotel I met a couple in the foyer and they enquired where I had run, they advised doing Kingston parkrun as it only has 300 runners and is a good course. So will do that next year.
Back to racing I took part in my first RRR race of the year The Ian Casey 5k Memorial, Ian Casey was a club member who tragically had a heart attack and died during the Gloucester Marathon in 2009. I did not get chance to know him well but he was much respected by everyone and we still turn up on mass for the 5K setup in his memory.
So this time I had prepped a little and being straight after work had to rush there. Garry Bower gave me a lift which is half the battle getting to races without a car.
I had forgot my watch so had to run with my phone in my hand, this did give me an opportunity to take a selfie of course
Ian's son also raced which for the 10 year anniversary was added poignancy, typically it was cold and small showers just to keep you on your toes. The buzz of a race is as exciting as ever and off we went up the hill, two laps of the Cowm reservoir and then back down the hill for a sprint finish.
The race went well and even splits with a strong finish, hopefully I can get back to 22 minute 5K times soon.
Cheeky pint after the race in memory of Ian
So now onto the biggest challenge so far this year, the Blackpool 10 miler
Once upon a time I would race 10 miles with ease... this time round, no real training, my longest run as been 6.7 miles and that was a bimble. I tried last Sunday to do 8 miles but that failed, lack of hydration, my hay fever tablet and roadworks with queuing traffic meant I packed up and walked home with just 3.5 miles logged.
On the Thursday before the race I joined in with the base group and we clocked 5 miles, all groups took it a bit easy with the race at the weekend and I heard people saying they would drop down a group to make sure they eased off.
It was the usual route to Tandle Hill Country Park and down to canal and back up to the club, still hard work and I got a taxi home rather than walk back up the hill to home...
Race day started at 8:30 for the coach pickup and as always a good bit of banter, but I was nervous and stared out of the window for most of the trip.
We arrived in plenty of time and the coach was parked close to the start so getting registered changed and warmed up was a breeze.
The course is basically two short laps from Glynn Square southwards to the War Memorial and back, then a long loop out to the north past the Norbreck castle hotel and back.
So a pensive start as I have not really done any distance training and this photo sums that up
On hand was support from runners who were injured and were very encouraging as you went past with their green and yellow pom poms! I can honestly say it was very helpful
The two short laps went okay and got into a rhythm trying to keep my heart rate down as was treating this as a training run, that notion went away as the racing bug always bubbles to the surface and decided 8:35 pace would be doable and that worked for the first 6 miles, the 7,8,9 miles were tough grinding out and once the dribs and drabs of people started passing me it got tougher.
The route was a bit boring and the small field of runners meant for large loop I was often on my own. The annoying "flat feet" runners that overtook me was demoralising its a pet hate they do that and sure they could fix it.
However at mile 9 I was caught up by Lisa from the club, as the pom pom team shouted my name, 5 seconds later I heard her name being shouted so settled for another place lost.
We had a quick chat and ran together for a bit and at 9.5 miles I decided to kick in and take a place back.
I finished with a chip time of 1:28:08 and the usual sprint finish, never I have wanted the water and chocolate freddo so much in my life, so much so I forget to stop the watch!
So not a bad effort and feel much happier now that I have done a tough race and look forward to the Oldham 10K, not the race I designed but apparently a tough hilly affair.
Mine was labelled "the flattest 10K in Oldham", Tony Muir labels his "the toughest 10K in Oldham" tongue in cheek perhaps but tough it is so 10K training starts now.
Strava Summit has a nice feature that tracks your fitness, it needs your FTP to be truly accurate but seems to be good enough without. It points out how your heart rate compares to your pace and flags up races when you tend to sustain anaerobic exercise.
Laters
Mark K
