Mark Kelly's Running Life!: October 2021

In this post, I will cover the lead up to the Manchester Marathon and the event itself, as ever the race calendar was packed and not helpful for an endurance event!

Cowm 5K

To start with the Cowm 5k, effectively a reservoir trail race. This race was included in the RRR championship as the usual 5k track trial was not available. However, annoyingly not long after we signed up, Rochdale Harriers announced the time trial to be on the same night, 21st September!

So rocking up to the start with my legs a little sore after the Sandman Duathlon but warmed up and got to the start line, ready to go. The route is used many times in the year for different races; however, it is common for people to be annoyed that it is always a little short of 5k.

We started much further back on the road and felt more confident it would be the full distance!

I got myself somewhere near the front; the start of the race is a narrow road that bends to the right; at the end, it is a sharp left and an uphill to the reservoir. So I went off quickly and tried to keep with the fast guys until we got to the water. Ordinarily, you try not to burn out so soon, but this course has narrow paths, gates and a bridge to navigate, so clear air is a bonus.

Keeping the fast pace proved challenging, but I got into a rhythm, back and forth with some of the racers for most of the race. It is two laps of the reservoir, and as I exited the trail back to the road, it was literally downhill from there. I opened up my stride to take advantage and overtook two of my clubmates. Unfortunately, one saved himself for the upcoming marathon, the other struggled with an Achilles injury and hobbling a little.

I crossed the line 11th in a time of 19:14, the race still a little short at 4.99K bah!

Flying round to lap 2

Oulton Park Sprint Duathlon

My next race was another duathlon, the TeamGB "Age Group" European Qualifiers, a chance to get into the team for next year's European Championship in Bilboa, Spain.

The race was held at Oulton Park, a motor racecourse, so closed off to traffic and a chance to compete with speedy people!

It was a 4.2km run, 20km bike, 4.2km run; the transition being in the pits was excellent, as you finish the lap, you peel into the pits, grab your bike and run to the mount line at the far end.

You do 5 laps of the course on the bike and peel back into the pits, rack your bike and run like hell for a final lap of the course. Sounds straightforward? Sort of!

It was a mass start that I failed to get near the front; during the race brief, I found that I should have unclipped my helmet on the floor. This was new to me so I dashed back into transition to sort it, this left no time to fight my way to the front.

It was a scramble off the line, one chap caught the back of my foot, I had nowhere to go, unfortunately, he tumbled to the floor. On retrospect, I went too quickly and cleared the 1st kilometre in 3:34, the next 3 were more like 4 minutes each.

Run 1

I quickly located my bike, stuck my helmet on and took what felt ages to change into bike shoes. I also took a gel; this added time and lessons must be learned to minimise time spent in transition.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) has updated the rules on Age Grade "Sprint" deeming drafting (where you stay close to a rider to get aero benefit) legal, this meant that any aero packages like disc back wheels and tri bars were banned. As my bike has none of these features, it levelled the playing fields a bit.

I pushed hard on the first 2 laps, but could not for the life of me draft behind anyone; the elites were in packs of 5 or so and went whizzing by 😡

All by myself

Finally, a bit of draft

Laps 3,4 and 5 were tough going, the wind had picked up, my HR significantly ramped up and struggled to keep the speed up. I was glad to see the pit entry and prepared to dismount.

No drama like at the Sandman duathlon where I slid off my saddle and landed on the crossbar with an ouch! This time feet out of the peddle and running over the line with the bike.

Off the bike into transition

My wife was watching me from the pits and captured this great side shot.

Whizzing into transition

I struggled to rack up as 203 had put his bike in my spot; this cost me time as I had to think about what to do. I used his spot and went to recover my trainers, so time was lost all over again.

I ran as fast I could go out of transition and my legs were as heavy as lead!

Heading out of the pits

The second lap was 1 minute 30 slower than my first but I pushed as hard as possible.

My watch and official times differ a little, officially I crossed the finish in 01:19:06

Finish at last

Splits

I am pleased with my time and effort, with focusing on the marathon and RRR races meant cycling took a back seat. However, I have a lot to learn, more time to spend cycling and next season to look forward to.

Manchester Marathon 2021

After a year of expectation, the day finally came to lace up the trainers and head into Manchester for the biggest challenge. If you recall I have Pulmonary Sarcoidosis that I keep under control with exercise, others suffer terribly and this was a chance to raise awareness and some funds for the charity SarcodosisUK; please visit my fundraising page if you can help them out.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mark-kelly57

This year course has improved from the last few, no longer does it have Carrington (Manchester United's training ground) which was a complaint from runners boring and lacking supporters.

Now it has a loop of the City Centre in its place, much better! There was a half marathon at 8:30am, which means marathon runners had to set off nearer to 10:45, which means you are running in the midday heat right when you would rather not!

There were three colour waves, each had 3 groups, so Red A,B,C etc. this was to help keep us safe from Covid... but as the pens were packed and outdoors, I still don't get it.

The start is near to Manchester United "Old Trafford", the finish is outside Old Trafford Cricket ground. The irony is that things are often billed as Manchester when they are actually Trafford or Salford Now, with the city centre loop, they are being faithful to the name!

After a lot of waiting around, my group lined, once the group before had disappeared, the gun went off. I tried to keep my speed down; for once I sort of did, checking my watch and letting the runners in the front head off rather than chasing them!

The loop around the city centre was okay, some crowds giving support which sounds like a cliche but it really helps. Wearing my club vest, I get "Well done Royton" often as well as "Mark" as your name is on the number.

Deansgate

This was taken on the way in, you can see runners heading the other way back up to Trafford.

You do a sort of loop of Old Trafford before heading up through Sale towards Altrincham, this picture shows me still doing well and a gel getting warm in my hand. It was around here I saw clubmates from Rochdale Triathlon on their bikes. They were offering support; unfortunately, my request for one of their bikes was refused 😜

Still feeling strong

Going through Timperley and Altrincham was great, the crowds were very supportive. It was also where some hills appeared, annoyingly the sun had really come out. Passing through 25Km I started to suffer, no matter how much water or gels I could feel my energy-sapping, my hips were grinding and I really had to focus on my breathing as my lungs were burning.

I was so glad to see Mile 24 as RRR were manning the water station, grabbing a bottle from Tracey, one of our group leaders (In my first couch to 5k cohorts 10 years ago if I recall correctly). The club cheered me on, it lifted me; my 3:15 time had slipped with no chance of recovery; soon after, Oldham and Royton Harriers (My club of old and as a child) had a cheer station double bubble, I gritted my teeth and pushed on.

Coming to the end of a marathon, every part of your body is screaming, your mind can go a bit wonky. You can see the finish from a mile away, it doesn't ever seem to get close.