Entries tagged with “running” from TRI-ing harder
"Mostly Harmless" was how the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy describes Earth, and the same can largely be said of the Headington 10k. Flat and featureless, the race starts and ends at Wormihghall airfield in Buckinghamshire (see map below). Around 4k is run on the airfield and the rest is on the roads surrounding it. It's not the most scenic, exciting or challenging, but it was still a good run for a Sunday morning.
There was a good turnout this morning of around 15 Roadrunners, and probably a couple of hundred others. It was not too hot, but with thunderstorms forecast for later in the day it got gradually more humid, until rain started at about 11 o'clock.
My previous 10k runs at Eynsham, and at Windsor Triathlon were right on the button at 52 minutes, but I have been doing a lot of running over the past few months - mainly slower running with my various newcomers, but also a little speed work at the gym. At the Oxford Motavation last week I managed 30:40, so on that basis - about 7:40 per mile / 4:50 per km - I was aiming for sub-48 minutes. This would be a significant increase over my previous times, but I guessed I could manage it.
I hit the first, second and third kilometre markers bang on the money at around 5 minutes per mile. My aim was to stay at this pace, and stay with Jane for the first half of the race, then put in a faster second 5k. My 5k time was 24:33, but I felt OK.
At the water station just after 5k, I took on some water and almost by accident sped up a little to pass Jane. Once past her I thought "might as well keep going", so I tried to keep a stronger pace. I managed to kick past quite a few people over the next few kms. I had a bit of a 'funny' at around 7k, where I'd convinced myself that I'd already done 8k, and at that point I started to lose track of my time and what I needed to do to hit 48 minutes.
I hit the nine kilometre mark at 43:35 - only 4:25 to go. I'd been starting to flag a little, but now had to put the hammer down for the last few hundred metres. I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but I started to hear the finish-line crowd and managed to kick for a final time.
I almost threw up on the finish line - again (am I doing something wrong here?!) - but was delighted to finish in 47:51. It shows that the training is paying off - even the slow running must be helping, and hopefully I'll start to catch some of the real ERR runners who can do sub-40 minutes. Perhaps a little way to go before that, though.
There was a good turnout this morning of around 15 Roadrunners, and probably a couple of hundred others. It was not too hot, but with thunderstorms forecast for later in the day it got gradually more humid, until rain started at about 11 o'clock.
My previous 10k runs at Eynsham, and at Windsor Triathlon were right on the button at 52 minutes, but I have been doing a lot of running over the past few months - mainly slower running with my various newcomers, but also a little speed work at the gym. At the Oxford Motavation last week I managed 30:40, so on that basis - about 7:40 per mile / 4:50 per km - I was aiming for sub-48 minutes. This would be a significant increase over my previous times, but I guessed I could manage it.
I hit the first, second and third kilometre markers bang on the money at around 5 minutes per mile. My aim was to stay at this pace, and stay with Jane for the first half of the race, then put in a faster second 5k. My 5k time was 24:33, but I felt OK.
At the water station just after 5k, I took on some water and almost by accident sped up a little to pass Jane. Once past her I thought "might as well keep going", so I tried to keep a stronger pace. I managed to kick past quite a few people over the next few kms. I had a bit of a 'funny' at around 7k, where I'd convinced myself that I'd already done 8k, and at that point I started to lose track of my time and what I needed to do to hit 48 minutes.
I hit the nine kilometre mark at 43:35 - only 4:25 to go. I'd been starting to flag a little, but now had to put the hammer down for the last few hundred metres. I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but I started to hear the finish-line crowd and managed to kick for a final time.
I almost threw up on the finish line - again (am I doing something wrong here?!) - but was delighted to finish in 47:51. It shows that the training is paying off - even the slow running must be helping, and hopefully I'll start to catch some of the real ERR runners who can do sub-40 minutes. Perhaps a little way to go before that, though.
This is a big weekend for my three runners, and also for me. Rosie, Katie and Roger are running the Race for Life and Run for Moore in Oxford South Parks (Katie at Silverstone racetrack), and I've got the Blenheim Triathlon. 
It's their first running event, and I'm sure they're all a bit nervous - I'm nervous for them! But I know they'll all do really well - I'm expecting Roger to do a sub-30 minute 5k (maybe even 25 minutes?), and Rosie and Katie won't be too far behind.
Blenheim is one of my races from last year so I have something to compare against. I'm definitely much stronger this year and should be able improve on my rather pitiful 34 minute "run". Overall I think I can shave 20 minutes off last year's time. With Sophie and parents in attendance, and a new Oxford Tri club tri-suit to show off, I am hoping to perform well.
Good luck to all us!
It's their first running event, and I'm sure they're all a bit nervous - I'm nervous for them! But I know they'll all do really well - I'm expecting Roger to do a sub-30 minute 5k (maybe even 25 minutes?), and Rosie and Katie won't be too far behind.
Blenheim is one of my races from last year so I have something to compare against. I'm definitely much stronger this year and should be able improve on my rather pitiful 34 minute "run". Overall I think I can shave 20 minutes off last year's time. With Sophie and parents in attendance, and a new Oxford Tri club tri-suit to show off, I am hoping to perform well.
Good luck to all us!
I have many half-baked theories on what motivates me and might motivate other people. Here are some of my recent ones:
1. Train with others
This is something that everyone who's ever trained in a group knows - training with others works you harder than training on your own. Obviously, this assumes you're all of a similar level, and all training as opposed to just out for a gentle bike ride to the pub... On your own, it's easy to back off, tell yourself you've done enough, or get lost in the moment and forget you're meant to be training (my mind wanders terribly when I'm swimming, for instance).
But if there are others around you will be able to challenge each other. One of you lifts off but the other will keep pushing, if your buddy sprints up the hill you have to follow them. And these little races make all the difference in turning a mediocre session into one that will have you vomiting at the end.
1. Train with others
This is something that everyone who's ever trained in a group knows - training with others works you harder than training on your own. Obviously, this assumes you're all of a similar level, and all training as opposed to just out for a gentle bike ride to the pub... On your own, it's easy to back off, tell yourself you've done enough, or get lost in the moment and forget you're meant to be training (my mind wanders terribly when I'm swimming, for instance).
But if there are others around you will be able to challenge each other. One of you lifts off but the other will keep pushing, if your buddy sprints up the hill you have to follow them. And these little races make all the difference in turning a mediocre session into one that will have you vomiting at the end.
Continue reading More thoughts on motivation.
Windsor triathlon on June 15th is an Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km ride), which is longer than the sprints I've done before, so I'm a bit nervous. I've also been told it's quite hilly but I'm ignoring that for now! It's important to me that I know I can complete the distance, even if it's slowly, and doing a couple of 'trial' sprint triathlons before my first one in Newbury a couple of years ago was definitely a confidence booster.
So I've been working up to the full distance over the past few weeks, in the hope that I can do a couple of trial Olympic distance bike/runs before the event, and I'm almost there. I've increased my run distances significantly since September last year, and can now run about 12km before I completely fall apart. But I've really neglected my cycling and swimming. Swimming will have to wait for now, as today I did a brick session (bike and run), which this time I did as a 40km bike ride and a 5km run. The run was a bit slower than I hoped (27m), but after a 40km ride I can forgive myself. Brick sessions are great practice for the day because they teach your body how to cope with the bike/run transition, which I think is far and away the hardest part of the triathlon. So I'm pleased I completed the whole lot in about 1.5 hours, and probably could have run a bit further ifI hadn't gotten bored.
Next time:full bike and run distance, then the lake at Cassington opens up in a few weeks so I can get back into the swimming practice!
So I've been working up to the full distance over the past few weeks, in the hope that I can do a couple of trial Olympic distance bike/runs before the event, and I'm almost there. I've increased my run distances significantly since September last year, and can now run about 12km before I completely fall apart. But I've really neglected my cycling and swimming. Swimming will have to wait for now, as today I did a brick session (bike and run), which this time I did as a 40km bike ride and a 5km run. The run was a bit slower than I hoped (27m), but after a 40km ride I can forgive myself. Brick sessions are great practice for the day because they teach your body how to cope with the bike/run transition, which I think is far and away the hardest part of the triathlon. So I'm pleased I completed the whole lot in about 1.5 hours, and probably could have run a bit further ifI hadn't gotten bored.
Next time:full bike and run distance, then the lake at Cassington opens up in a few weeks so I can get back into the swimming practice!
Today I ran my first cross-country since I was an 11 year old, and boy was it an eye opener! No shortcuts, no fag-smoking bullies, no running in your underwear, and no hot tea and buns at the end (I didn't get these at school either but I was hoping for them today. In the end Lesley and Marie had to go off to get some teas for everyone).
Organised by Woodstock Harrier's running club, the event was held at Clanfield in Oxfordshire around a few farmer's fields. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perverse point of view), the weather had been 'rather inclement' over the past few days, and all night last night, so the ground was very wet and muddy. I bought myself some new Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 since they're designed for trail running and are more grippy than my normal running shoes.
It was a relay-style race, and I was in a mixed team of 4 from Eynsham Road Runners (I'm finally an official member), with Jane, Linda and Anthony. I was out first and so didn't really know what to expect. The ground at the start was pretty muddy and claggy, so I was expecting it to be hard going, but I wasn't expecting 6-inch deep water around most of the course! The rain held off for most of the way, but the wind really kicked in at the end and that was a real killer.
It was good fun though, overall. As ever, it's always fun once you've finished. I was happy with my 27:30 for the 3 mile course (it was meant to be 5k but they apparently cut it short because of the weather - no idea what they cut out though as they obviously didn't avoid any 'wet bits'). I'll definitely do more cross country (as Graham pointed out, I have 6 or so months to come up with an excuse before the season really takes off again!), but maybe next time I'll wear warmer clothes.
Organised by Woodstock Harrier's running club, the event was held at Clanfield in Oxfordshire around a few farmer's fields. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perverse point of view), the weather had been 'rather inclement' over the past few days, and all night last night, so the ground was very wet and muddy. I bought myself some new Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 since they're designed for trail running and are more grippy than my normal running shoes.
It was a relay-style race, and I was in a mixed team of 4 from Eynsham Road Runners (I'm finally an official member), with Jane, Linda and Anthony. I was out first and so didn't really know what to expect. The ground at the start was pretty muddy and claggy, so I was expecting it to be hard going, but I wasn't expecting 6-inch deep water around most of the course! The rain held off for most of the way, but the wind really kicked in at the end and that was a real killer.
It was good fun though, overall. As ever, it's always fun once you've finished. I was happy with my 27:30 for the 3 mile course (it was meant to be 5k but they apparently cut it short because of the weather - no idea what they cut out though as they obviously didn't avoid any 'wet bits'). I'll definitely do more cross country (as Graham pointed out, I have 6 or so months to come up with an excuse before the season really takes off again!), but maybe next time I'll wear warmer clothes.
Our friend Joe, over at Joseph Bloggs has been challenged by his brother-in-law to run the Grim Challenge, an 8 mile "Cross-country" jaunty in December (where "Cross-country" means cold mud, cold water and cold muddy water). This is where off-the-cuff bravado gets you, Joe - beware!
And muggins here has agreed to do it with him... I figure I'll be done with the triathlon season by October and will have time to train up for some off-roading. And anyway, the ERR crew keep telling me how wonderful cross-country is. Let's see where off-the-cuff bravado gets me.
Joe plays a lot of football (quite well too - or so he tells me), so is fit enough, but he doesn't do much "running" (as opposed to sprinting back and forth and falling over, which I think is the key skill in football). So he wants to know how fast and how far he can run. This is presumably so that when he puts a nice little wager down on himself he can do it with some accuracy.
We went out for a first run together this morning. I very rarely run "with" someone else (as opposed to "against" them), but as I've said before it can be very motivating and gives two great benefits:
I also made more use of my Nike+ and ipod, just to track our pace and distance. It really is a fantastic tool, and despite what I say about about real-life-people being motivating, I get a bigger buzz from Lance Armstrong saying "Well done" to me at the end of a long workout! I'll do a review at some point, but for now, and at last, here is the point of this article: the Nike+ website lets you graph your runs, so here, Joe, is our run. The 1st and 6th km are my runs from my house to the 'so called mid-point' between our houses. But the rest is pure Joe.
And muggins here has agreed to do it with him... I figure I'll be done with the triathlon season by October and will have time to train up for some off-roading. And anyway, the ERR crew keep telling me how wonderful cross-country is. Let's see where off-the-cuff bravado gets me.
Joe plays a lot of football (quite well too - or so he tells me), so is fit enough, but he doesn't do much "running" (as opposed to sprinting back and forth and falling over, which I think is the key skill in football). So he wants to know how fast and how far he can run. This is presumably so that when he puts a nice little wager down on himself he can do it with some accuracy.
We went out for a first run together this morning. I very rarely run "with" someone else (as opposed to "against" them), but as I've said before it can be very motivating and gives two great benefits:
- it allows me to run at a different pace from my normal plod (we started off more slowly because Joe only has little legs, but then sprinted like a bugger when we started discussing Fartlek sessions)
- the time seems to go more quickly when you have someone to chat with
I also made more use of my Nike+ and ipod, just to track our pace and distance. It really is a fantastic tool, and despite what I say about about real-life-people being motivating, I get a bigger buzz from Lance Armstrong saying "Well done" to me at the end of a long workout! I'll do a review at some point, but for now, and at last, here is the point of this article: the Nike+ website lets you graph your runs, so here, Joe, is our run. The 1st and 6th km are my runs from my house to the 'so called mid-point' between our houses. But the rest is pure Joe.
Today's 10k was much more fun than I expected and I managed to get round in just over 52 minutes. Fifty two minutes - Woof! Woof! I was expecting to take 56+ minutes, so I'm really delighted with 52. I even managed to speed up a little bit for the second 5k which was nice.
Firstly, I have to say that the race was really well organised and marshalled, so thanks should go to to everyone at ERR for their hard work. The weather was just right too (I don't think they organised that): mild, wind-free and a little bit sunny at times. The two-lap course of Eynsham is very flat and easy underfoot, with only the odd leaf-covered or grassy bit. As far as I could tell nobody fell on their arse or injured anything through slips.
This was my first mass start on a run - previously I've only done runs in triathlons which are never 'mass' run starts because everyone hops off their bike at different times - so it was interesting. I met up with Ollie and Liz on the start line and we discussed tactics and weather. Then in not time I was in the middle of the 'start line shuffle' that I've seen in the London Marathon so many times. Within a few seconds though I was jogging along at an easy pace and trying to work out what 56/10 was (maths is not my strong point!).
I'd agreed with Ollie that I didn't want any company on the way round - I didn't want to either slow him down on his 45-50 minute pace or go too fast in trying to keep up with him that I blew up at 6k. So we had a quick 1 minute chat and then he dashed off through a gap of slow-moving runners.
Firstly, I have to say that the race was really well organised and marshalled, so thanks should go to to everyone at ERR for their hard work. The weather was just right too (I don't think they organised that): mild, wind-free and a little bit sunny at times. The two-lap course of Eynsham is very flat and easy underfoot, with only the odd leaf-covered or grassy bit. As far as I could tell nobody fell on their arse or injured anything through slips.
This was my first mass start on a run - previously I've only done runs in triathlons which are never 'mass' run starts because everyone hops off their bike at different times - so it was interesting. I met up with Ollie and Liz on the start line and we discussed tactics and weather. Then in not time I was in the middle of the 'start line shuffle' that I've seen in the London Marathon so many times. Within a few seconds though I was jogging along at an easy pace and trying to work out what 56/10 was (maths is not my strong point!).
I'd agreed with Ollie that I didn't want any company on the way round - I didn't want to either slow him down on his 45-50 minute pace or go too fast in trying to keep up with him that I blew up at 6k. So we had a quick 1 minute chat and then he dashed off through a gap of slow-moving runners.
Continue reading Positive talking and ladies bottoms.
I'm in Eynsham this morning for my first 10k run - at least my first one outside and with other people. Eynsham Road Runners describe it as a '10k Road Race', and the fact that there's a £100 prize for the first person to finish in under 30 minutes suggests that other people see it as a race too. I see it more as another milestone (10k-stone?) in my ongoing efforts to work up to an Olympic distance Triathlon.
It's a cold but calm looking day, and the sun is just poking through some wintery clouds. Looks like it should be a good morning for it.
I've had my porridge, got my kit ready, studied the route and I think I'm ready to go. I'm very nervous. Normally when I'm competing I know I have a good chance to outperform other people on the swim and bike but today I know I'm competing against serious runners. I understand that I have no chance to really compete, and honestly I'll be happy with just finishing (although 55 minutes would be a dream!). But at the same time I want to feel I'm doing my best, so not having a swim or bike to fall back on is a bit worrying. I don't want to come last!
Sophie tells me I always feel a bit wonky on race days and she's probably right, but I still feel like this is time it's worse than normal.
Ah well, at least it'll be over in an hour.
It's a cold but calm looking day, and the sun is just poking through some wintery clouds. Looks like it should be a good morning for it.
I've had my porridge, got my kit ready, studied the route and I think I'm ready to go. I'm very nervous. Normally when I'm competing I know I have a good chance to outperform other people on the swim and bike but today I know I'm competing against serious runners. I understand that I have no chance to really compete, and honestly I'll be happy with just finishing (although 55 minutes would be a dream!). But at the same time I want to feel I'm doing my best, so not having a swim or bike to fall back on is a bit worrying. I don't want to come last!
Sophie tells me I always feel a bit wonky on race days and she's probably right, but I still feel like this is time it's worse than normal.
Ah well, at least it'll be over in an hour.
Compression technology has been popular amongst serious athletes for quite a while, and has now started to become more popular amongst less serious athletes like myself. A lot of athletic clothing claims to be designed by boffins with the sole aim of improving your training and racing performance, but I think most people just buy fancy "technical" clothing because it looks good or has a swish on it (I know I do). The fact that compression clothing does appear to be backed up by 'science' really appealed to me - I can look good and get an easier life when exercising!Nike are just one of many companies that produce compression clothing. I chose this Nike Pro Vent Tight top when I was I was in the Nike outlet store in Manchester's Lowry shopping centre. The tops were on offer at around £15 rather than £25 so I decided to give one a go. As you might know, I am much more motivated when I have something specific to work towards, so the fact that the tops were tight was also a great incentive for me to lose a few more pounds.
Continue reading Nike Pro Vent Tight compression top.
I'm pleased with myself tonight because I have run 10k for the first time ever. The furthest I've run before was just over 7k, in preparation for the Oxford Tri club championships, and although in theory I knew I could run 10k, I'd never actually gotten round to doing it - running is still not my strong point.
I'm running the Eynsham Road Runners 10k race on 25th November. Anyone who knows the Road Runners know that they're a bit crayzeee, but luckily they've decided that it makes sense for members to be barred from the actual race (partly so they don't take up all the places, and partly so they have a ready-made team of marshals on the day).
The bad news is they've attracted lots of other crayzeees over the 19 years the race has run so far, so it's quite a competitive event. I'm happy to be last, but I don't want to be last by too great a margin, so I've been thinking it's important to get a couple of 10ks under my belt before the day.
So this evening was an important psychological step, proving that I really can run 10k, and in a semi-respectable time of 57 minutes. I'm hoping to get down below 55 minutes before the day (which should be realistic based on my 26 minute 5k time).
OK, so it was indoors on a treadmill, but I did run it at 1% incline so honestly, it felt like hard work!
I'm running the Eynsham Road Runners 10k race on 25th November. Anyone who knows the Road Runners know that they're a bit crayzeee, but luckily they've decided that it makes sense for members to be barred from the actual race (partly so they don't take up all the places, and partly so they have a ready-made team of marshals on the day).
The bad news is they've attracted lots of other crayzeees over the 19 years the race has run so far, so it's quite a competitive event. I'm happy to be last, but I don't want to be last by too great a margin, so I've been thinking it's important to get a couple of 10ks under my belt before the day.
So this evening was an important psychological step, proving that I really can run 10k, and in a semi-respectable time of 57 minutes. I'm hoping to get down below 55 minutes before the day (which should be realistic based on my 26 minute 5k time).
OK, so it was indoors on a treadmill, but I did run it at 1% incline so honestly, it felt like hard work!
For those of you who haven't seen the Nike+
(where the heck have you been for the last year?!), it's a fantastic
bit of gadgetry for runners. It's a plugin adapter for the ipod nano and a foot pod that you attach to your trainers. The adapter and foot pod only cost about £20.
The foot pod is very clever, and uses an accelerometer to determine how far and fast you're going, rather than GPS (which means it's probably not as accurate, but can work with cloudy, tree-covered running or even indoor running). See this FAQ on the Apple website for details.
The adaptor which connects to your ipod nano receives data from the foot pod and gives you useful feedback on your pace, distance, progress against personal goals ("You're half way", "Current pace is 5:27", "You look hot today", etc.). All very cunning.
Anyway, the point is that the fella who's in the advert is addicted to running not just because running's great (well, duh), but also because his Nike+ is continually motivating him to run harder, faster, longer. Without this, we are led to believe, his running just would not be quite so addictive. Without the constant nudges and "yay, go you"'s, he just wouldn't run as well or look so damn cool....
The foot pod is very clever, and uses an accelerometer to determine how far and fast you're going, rather than GPS (which means it's probably not as accurate, but can work with cloudy, tree-covered running or even indoor running). See this FAQ on the Apple website for details.
The adaptor which connects to your ipod nano receives data from the foot pod and gives you useful feedback on your pace, distance, progress against personal goals ("You're half way", "Current pace is 5:27", "You look hot today", etc.). All very cunning.
Anyway, the point is that the fella who's in the advert is addicted to running not just because running's great (well, duh), but also because his Nike+ is continually motivating him to run harder, faster, longer. Without this, we are led to believe, his running just would not be quite so addictive. Without the constant nudges and "yay, go you"'s, he just wouldn't run as well or look so damn cool....
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