Running with the Elite - the Ipswich Twilight 5km

Having fallen a bit behind with my blogging, the following was written a couple of weeks back, and a more recent blog will follow shortly....

You have to believe in yourself if you're going to achieve your best. So long as you don't cross over the line and become annoyingly over-confident, then I truly believe this is a really positive attitude and is a major factor in racing well.

A couple of years ago, I entered an "elite" 5km race at the Bury track, which was for anyone able to go sub 20mins. There was no official qualification required, you just chose on the night which race to enter - the elite or the open. I'd only gone under 20 a couple of times at that point, but I felt I'd probably go a bit quicker on a proper running track, so took the plunge and put my name down. Things went badly, I didn't get under 20mins, and ended up last. I found it tough to deal with the disappointment, and decided at the time that I wouldn't ever enter an "elite" race again - or at least, not until I was good enough to properly belong in one.

Fast forward to Friday 14th August 2015 - and the start line of the Ipswich Twilight 5km, for "elite" runners! 

Qualifying

This time you did actually need to submit a qualifying time from a race in 2015 - the criteria being sub 20mins for a 5km, or sub 40mins for a 10km. I think I've mentioned before in a previous blog post that they wouldn't accept parkrun results, meaning that I spent most of the year thinking I wouldn't be able to compete it this one, since there are very few non-parkrun, UKA certified 5kms in which to try to get the time. I tried on 4 separate occasions to get the sub 40min 10km instead, but whilst I've chipped away at my PB over the last few months, it's still nearly a minute out. The Kevin Henry 5k series I race in does include one race - our club's home fixture, the Kedington 5km - that is properly certified, and therefore would count, so I was chuffed to bits to record a time of 19m38 a few weeks before. I was in!

Operation

And then I was out - or at least, I was for a time, since the original date of my first operation was only a few weeks before, not allowing enough time for recovery. Fortunately, they decided to change the date of the operation, and whilst this was initally a bit frustrating, in fact it's all worked out really well - for reasons I'll bore you with later - and as an added bonus, it meant I could still race Ipswich. So, back in, and really looking forward to it.

Slowing up - the ELY 5km

Ely is best known for its Cathedral. According to its official
webpage, other good reasons to visit are that it's quite close
to Cambridge and Newmarket. And only an hour from London.

My last post covered the Littleport 10km, which - although a marginal PB - was not the sub 40 I really wanted. It was clear that the discomfort was now significantly affecting my running, and this was confirmed the following Thursday when I competed in the KH fixture at Ely. Another 5km race (my 101st since I started running!) and on a new course which was fast and flat. I went off pretty well (first mile around 6mins,) felt good until halfway - even thought I may be on for a sub 19min at one point - before the wheels fell off completely, and in the end I didn't quite break 20mins. The discomfort played its part, but so too the lack of training. Suffice to say, I felt pretty down afterwards,

International Racing (sort of)

Confusingly, there is another parkrun in Wales in a place
called Tredegar, so this particular parkrun is known as Newport.
It's become a very popular event, in a great location.

The next day we travelled down to Wales, to stay with Charlotte's sister Victoria and her partner Mark for the weekend. On the agenda was a parkrun at Tredegar House, Newport - we'd done it about a year ago and I was keen to try to improve on my time. Unusually, I set myself a realistic target for this one - just try to get under 20mins, nothing more than that. The course was harder than I'd remembered, but I dug in and just managed it - and I was pretty pleased with a top 20 finish in a field of over 400: like most parkruns, it's grown tremendously in the last year. 

Mark is steadily improving, and wasn't far behind - it's fair to say we've extended our friendly rivalry to multiple disciplines, and whilst I may have won this one, he was marginal victor later on in our back garden cricket match, and then proceeded to thrash me at Fifa on the Xbox. I did regain a little pride later in the evening during trivial pursuits, being a cheese ahead before we all lost the will to live. We've now embarked on a season long Fantasy Football League competition - this is going to run and run!

A mention too for Mei, Charlotte's 12 year old relative, whose sprint finish at parkrun was pretty impressive. Although a little way off his PB, this was then put into perspective when we realised he was in clear need of his inhaler at the end - yet he hadn't let this stop him. Maintaining relaxed and controlled breathing in a 5km race is hard enough - I can't imagine having to battle against asthma on the way round, and it's this kind of determination in a runner that really impresses me.

Some non-running stuff (skip it if you like)

So the day of the Twilight 5km was also my last day working at Natural England. This has been a great temporary position, which I've done since January. Thanks to Charlotte's support, and prior to that the help of my mum, I've been able to step away from full-time coach driving, which I did for more years than I care to remember, and to pursue a new career in office work. Step one was to go part time, and study for a diploma. Armed with this, I then began applying for all sorts of great positions, and found no-one would take me on - the qualification didn't seem to count for much without some experience to go alongside. I joined numerous temping agencies, and accepted that I may need to reduce my expectations - I was no longer after the dream job: just any job would do! 

Amongst other opportunities, I applied to get onto a Civil Service Graduate Scheme. This involved an initial application followed by two stages on online tests (numeracy and literacy, verbal reasoning, etc) - and if you got through all this, you'd be invited to a two-day assessment centre for the final stage. I began the application process in November, but with over 13000 applicants fighting for only 250 places, it seemed wise to keep looking elsewhere!

Finally, in January, an agency found me a position as an administrator at Natural England. Poorly paid, but promising some much needed office experience. I couldn't have given up the coach driving (which is relatively well-paid) to take this position without Charlotte's help - we both saw it as a step back to (hopefully) take two steps forward, but it was a bit of a gamble financially, and I desperately hoped the experience I would gain would enable to me to get a better-paid job in the near future.

The job itself has been interesting, and has certainly helped me become much more computer literate, and to learn how to organise my time/workload etc. The work-life balance is great - I've loved flexi-time in particular, and it's meant I've been able to arrange work around the things that really matter (Charlotte, Harry, racing, etc!) In March, having got through the online test stages, and following a very intense couple of days at the assessment centre, I found out that I had been accepted on the graduate scheme, to start in September. Suddenly, everything was working out perfectly - the position at Natural England was open-ended, so I knew I could continue to work there in the meantime, with a great job to look forward to. The graduate scheme pays pretty well from the outset, and at the end of the 4 year course, I should have a managerial position, together with a host of vocational qualifications and a new degree - and most importantly, for the first time in my life, instead of just having a job that pays the bills, I'll have a career, with prospects.

And the icing on the cake - it's in the same government offices in Cambridge that I've been working in these last few months, so I already know the building, can keep my gym membership (which will be crucial for my post-operation rehabilitation) and will still see my old Natural England colleagues around the place too.

We didn't quite get everything moved into
place before the operation,
but I managed to remain useful afterwards...

So having now worked my last day in my old job, I had almost a month off - but it promised to be pretty busy, starting with a week's holiday in France, followed by, the day after we got back, a house move. This wasn't planned, but our landlady needed her house back, so we didn't have a lot of choice. We found a really nice place not far away, in fact in a slightly better location for our respective new workplaces. Due back from Lyon on the Monday, we only had a couple of days that would work for a move date - either the Tuesday or the Wednesday - since the Thursday was the date for my first hip operation, and I was expected to be on crutches for a good couple of weeks afterwards, which wouldn't be ideal for moving house!
Those two weeks would hopefully be enough time for me to recover sufficiently to begin my new job 10th September (they recommend 4-6 weeks off work, but 2 would have to be enough!) I should probably mention at this point, as I tidy up this post and get ready to publish it, that I've had the operation and all has gone well - more next time though.

The Ipswich Twilight 5km

A race with some amazing runners,
but we all got the same medal -
and it's immediately become
one of the most valued I have

So back to the race - and what an amazing experience. After the 5k race, there was also to be a 10k, which attracted around 600 local runners, but our race only had about 100 entrants pre-race - and only 84 of those lined up at the start line. There were just 4 of us from Haverhill Running Club - and I think we were all a bit taken aback when a small group of additional runners joined us, conspicuous in that they had their names on their vests, rather than race numbers like the rest of us. It transpired that these runners had been invited by the organisers, Ipswich Jaffa (who, as always, put on a very impressive event) - invited in order to raise the profile of the race in its first year, since they were all top class athletes. Their names were announced to the crowd, together with lists of their achievements - and to give an idea of the strength of these runners, I've mentioned the podium finishers (with times) below. For anyone interested, you can find more about their achievements on the excellent thepowerof10 website

1. Ryan McLeod      14m10             1. Jessica Coulson   15m56
2. Andy Heyes         14m12             2. Lauren Howarth  16m26
3. Chris Thompson  14m15             3. Gemma Kersey    16m29


So with a mixture of anticipation and fear, we set off, and it immediately felt like a fast race - and that was without even trying to keep up with the leaders. The route was as fast and flat as they had promised, along closed roads and pavements, and with literally no excuses. Which was exactly what I needed - this would give me a true indication of my current level. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised - much like at the parkrun the weekend before, I had limited my expectations to sub 20mins, and so managing to get just under 19m30 was much better than I'd hoped. Far more important than the time, though, was that I'd been able to close things before my operation with a decent run, in a great event, and with a smile on my face. Charlotte and Harry were there to support me, and we stayed to cheer on the 10k runners as they set off, before later learning that the other 3 HRC runners -
Sian-Marie, Siobhan and Mary Ann - had collected the 2nd female team award. A good night all round.

Near the back of the field (no.30) but an experience I wouldn't have missed for anything - and I hope to be back again next year.

So, a far more rewarding experience than my previous attempt to run with the elite - well worth taking the risk - and a good memory to bank as a I move into a period of non-running. I'm looking forward to getting through my operations, regaining fitness, and hopefully qualifying to try again next year.

  

Littleport 10km - the inquest!

Firstly, a gratifying spike in readership numbers again recently, so a grateful "welcome" to anyone who has recently begun following my blog - and as always, a "congratulations" to those of you who have been in it for the long haul and continue to plough through on a regular basis.

I'm not entirely sure why numbers have gone up. I push the blog in a few places - facebook, google plus and twitter, and then in addition I guess people may stumble across it whilst doing a search on the internet for something completely different. It may be that my last title ("What I talk about when I should be working") cropped up in search results when people were trying to find out about Murakami's excellent "What I talk about when I talk about running." My title was of course a nod to this book, which is a favourite amongst runners, and highly recommended.

Sorry, not this kind of racing....

It may also be partially explained because I used the hashtag "racingblog" when posting the link to twitter, and this was picked up on and "favourited" by a prolific and well-followed tweeter from the world of Nascar racing (who clearly didn't bother to read it, although who am I to criticise him for that!) So with apologies to anyone expecting an exciting blog about high-octane racing - let me tell you instead all about......

The Littleport 10km

So although I raced twice over the weekend of 25th-26th July, I decided to use the parkrun on the Saturday purely as a warm-up for this 10km on the Sunday morning, which was my A-race for the month, and as I talked about (extensively) in my last post, my big chance to go under the magic 40 minute barrier.

So did I get sub 40?

Erm - no! I talked in my last blog post about my planned strategy, which was to set off at, and hold, 6m30 pace. To this end, on Saturday morning I decided I'd try the same pacing at parkrun, and see how it felt. The answer - very comfortable, and it made a nice change not to go off fast and try to hang on, but to take it relatively steady and push on as the race progressed. In fact, the end result - sub 19m30 - wasn't too far off what I'd normally get at Great Cornard, but it was a much more enjoyable way of achieving it!



Toe striking on lap one

Toe striking at the finish too!

It felt strange not trying to win - something I've managed a handful of times now at Gt Cornard - but in fact, whilst I set off in about 12th or 13th place and gained a few positions throughout the race, I was never in with a chance of victory anyway, nor would I have been had I gone for it from the outset - there were a number of much quicker runners there, and in the end my finishing position of 7th place is probably about where I'd have come anyway. Well, maybe 5th, with a following wind. But no higher certainly.


What the experience gave me, as I'd hoped it would, was plenty of confidence that my race tactic for the next day was sound - 6m30 seemed very achievable, and if I could maintain this for the majority of the 10km and then push on for that last mile, then sub 40mins was definitely on the cards. Also particularly pleasing was that, judging from the photos, I seem to have maintained form throughout - it's not often I find two decent pictures from the same race!

 So What went wrong at Littleport?



Well for a start, despite having felt pretty good on the Saturday, the next day my old groin/stomach problem came back with a vengence, and I spent the Sunday morning feeling pretty uncomfortable, and unsure right up until the start as to whether or not I'd be able to race at all. Of course, pre-race nerves always add to situation, and often when I finally get going it's not as bad as I thought it was. Almost all runners suffer from this to some extent, hence the toilet queues before every race!

On this occasion, however, I did continue to feel pretty grim throughout. It's hard to say exactly what difference it makes to the run, except that at no point was I able to settle into a comfortable rhythm, which I'd hoped to be able to do for the first part of the race at least. The best way I can describe it is that it's like running with a bad stomach ache, which leaves you feeling sluggish, unable to relax and not particularly inclined to work hard. Consequently, even 6m30 pace felt tough.

In part, this was also due to the fact that the course wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. It's unlike me not to extensively research a race route beforehand, but for some reason I had just assumed this was all road and all flat - probably because I knew runners tended to get PBs here - and it wasn't until we reached the venue that I realised that it started and finished on grass, which is never great for a strong final push.

Chatting to some fellow club runners who had done the race a few times before, it then became apparent that the organisers had managed to incorporate the only hill in Littleport into the route - and it was an off-road hill, to make matters even worse! This meant that the fourth mile was going to be a little slower, if I kept to my usual tactic of maintaining even effort rather than even pace. Obviously on a circular route (ie where the start and finish are in the same place) then what goes up must come down, and so it didn't necessarily mean I wouldn't get my target time, because there should also be parts where I could go a bit quicker than planned - but suddenly it had become a different type of race to the one I was expecting. Not checking the route beforehand - a rookie mistake!

Going for Gold

No, not that Going for Gold. Which, for those who never had the
pleasure, was a European themed Quiz programme where contestants
from various non-English speaking countries had to somehow
translate questions posed in Henry Kelly's broad Irish accent,
 and yet still invariably beat the Brits to the correct answer. 

Anyway, at least I found all this out before we set off - so I adjusted accordingly, and ran the first couple of miles at 6m35 pace, before losing a bit more on mile 3, and then mile 4, with the hill, was unsurprisingly a bit slower again. The elevation came back down gradually over mile 5, and this should have set me up for a decent last third of the race, but I only managed to get back down to my original target pace, not quicker as I needed it to be by this stage.

I had approached the race with my usual Gold, Silver and Bronze targets, and although by the halfway point I knew Gold (sub 40) wasn't going to happen, I was desperately keen to at least hit Silver (sub 41.) If you're going for sub 40 and you don't manage it, you at least want to get 40 something! Even with this new easier target in mind, I still went into the final mile needing to significantly up the pace, having lost way too much time in the first half of the race.

The longest mile?

I can honestly say that last mile was the hardest mile I have ever raced in my life. A combination of groin pain, disappointment and general fatigue (no doubt due to a woeful lack of training) all meant that physically and mentally I had to work much harder than I normally would to pick up the time needed. I had to keep telling myself that sub 41 was worth going for, when in reality I was gutted that I'd missed the chance of sub 40 yet again. In the end, with a final mile of 6m17 - which, given the effort I thought I was putting in, feels like it should have been  soooo much faster! - I recorded a time of 40m57. I probably should have been much happier, having taken another 13secs off my PB, but I had wanted so much more.

As expected, loads of other runners got PBs too - I'm biased of course, but particularly impressive was Charlotte's improvement, taking a massive 1m45 off her previous best time. All the more notable since the previous morning's parkrun had also yielded a new PB, with a new 5km best of 22m14. She's flying at the moment, and I suspect when I begin running again after my operations that I'll need to ask her to slow down a bit when we train together.

What's happened since Littleport?

In terms of training - absolutely nothing! I was more shattered after Littleport than I can ever remember being at the end of short distance race - and I was in a fair degree of discomfort for a good two or three days afterwards. Add to that an unusual lack of enthusiasm for anything running related - even my latest copy of Runners World magazine remains unopened - and I haven't resumed running since. I think it's because I'd really built up the race as my chance to get a sub 40, which would have been the perfect way to sign off for a while - and although I have 3 more 5kms to race before the operation, for some reason I can't seem to get particularly excited about them. The discomfort has lingered too - yes, it's dissipated, but not as much as usual - despite not having run for nearly 10 days now - and that leaves me less inclined to pull on my trainers and go for even a gentle run. As I type this part of the blog, I'm about to go to our club's weekly speedwork session, and I'm in two minds as to whether or not to bother. I'm actually really nervous about going - a new experience, since normally I really look forward to these workouts - but I'm just not sure if I'm going to be able to manage it. The good thing about these Tuesday evening sessions is that you can chose how much effort you put in - so you only have to work as hard as you feel capable of. I nearly always give 100%, but I think perhaps not tonight!

Post-script - Wednesday morning

Still not quite writing this in diary form, although it may well be the way I go in the future, since I like the idea of tracing my running-related thoughts throughout the week. But having almost finished the blog at the end of the last chunk, I wanted to add that I did in fact go to training - and it went pretty well. The session was paired efforts - in other words, you have a partner relying on you to do your best - exactly what I needed, otherwise I doubt I would have given my all. So our coach for the evening, Andy, created a figure of eight course - 400 metres round the track, and 400 metres across a fairly undulating grassy area behind it. One of each pair (runner 1)  had to run the track, then hand over to their partner (runner 2) who ran the off-track part, before handing back over again. Each of us had to complete 3 laps, with your recovery time in between each lap being the amount of time it took your partner to do their bit.



I wasn't entirely sure I could manage a fourth....

Having done all this, we then had a short break before repeating the exercise, but this time changing over so that runner 2 ran the track part, and runner 1 the hilly part. Again, 3 laps each, before another break, and then finally switching back again for a final set - but this time, 4 laps. And yes, that additional one really killed!

As I mentioned before, you get out of these sessions exactly what you put in, and having someone else relying on me meant I put in plenty of effort, and found it incredibly tough as a result. My total mileage for the session, even including warm-up and cool-down, only came to 3.5 miles. But I managed to keep below 6min mile pace for (nearly) all of the laps, and afterwards the feeling was fantastic - clearly I hadn't lost as much fitness over the last few days as I thought, although I have gained a fair few pounds over the last couple of months and I'm definitely aware of this when I run, as well as when I look in the mirror! This weight gain is from a combination of slipping off the diet and not running so much - after 12-16 weeks of being unable to run after the operation, I dread to think how big I'll be, and clearly sticking to the diet will become even more important.


Ah, not quite as bad as I thought then....

Coming up Next

Charlotte and I followed up this training session by going for a gentle 5km recovery run the next morning. It wasn't the first morning recently that I'd set the alarm for 6am, but it was the first time for a while that I'd managed to avoid the snooze button! Going for an easy run the day after a hard training session or race allows your body to ease off any aches and pains, stretches out the muscles a bit without working them too hard, and better prepares you for the next hard effort.

For us, that's later today (Thurs) when we take on the next in the Kevin Henry Series of 5km races. I'm looking forward to this one - it's a new course, the home race for Ely Runners, who only joined the series last year and are hosting a race for the first time in 2015. Apparently being run on an old WW2 airfield, it's going to be completely flat, on a good surface, and therefore offers PB potential for those in shape to go for one. That's not me - I was training harder, weighing less and was generally in much better shape when I was going sub 19mins, so this seems unlikely this time around. However, I do have a KH best to aim for - 19m36 at Kedington last time around - and on a much easier course, this really should be achieveable.

The day after will be a rest day, as we travel across to Wales to stay with Charlotte's sister Victoria and her partner Mark, who like us is a keen parkrunner. Therefore on Saturday morning we'll be re-visiting Tredegar Park, together with Mei, who is getting steadily faster week in week out. Mei, by the way, is Charlotte's first cousin once removed - (and yes, I did have to look that up!) - in other words, the son of one of her cousins. Both Mark and I are way too competitive and we'll be keen to race hard against each other before spending the rest of the day relaxing with a big family BBQ.

The last time we visited Wales we ran at Tredegar for the first time, and I was pleased to get just over the 20min mark, but remember thinking it was a fast course that I'd like to run again. Since I now tend to break 20mins for most 5kms, I hope to be able to do the same this weekend. This is going to be my 72nd parkrun, but my last for some time, so I'm looking forward to making the most of it. After that, it's just a few days until what will be my last race, the Ipswich Twilight 5km, which I'll no doubt bore you with in a future post.

I'm so pleased that I made the decision to go to running club this week, helping me rediscover my motivation before these last few races, meaning that - hopefully - I can finsih off with a couple of decent performances, and a strong desire to recover quickly and get back out running again.

What I talk about when I should be working

Less than a month now until the first of my two hip operations, and (with apologies to Mr Murakami for the title) a short post outlining my current thoughts on what's on the horizon.

Is it really necessary?

Every time I wonder if I really need these operations, I'm reminded that I do. I mentioned a few races in my last post - Thursday's race at Girton was a little uncomfortable, but I didn't suffer much at all on either the Friday (sports day) or Sunday (Ekiden), and Tuesday's training run was fine, nothing hurt, and I couldn't wait to run again the next day. Wednesday's run was fine to start with, but from about halfway the old discomfort came back again, and it was a tough last couple of miles. I could easily keep going like this - I can manage short distance races fine, and also do a bit of training in between, providing I don't try to do too much - but ultimately, I'm not going to improve a great deal unless I can get back to a higher mileage, higher intensity training schedule.

A slightly tortured golf analogy

I remember when I tried to take up golf a few years back - I never really got the hang of it, but I used to go the local driving range and do my best to improve. Prominently displayed in large lettering on a sign at the range was a quote attributed to Albert Einstein - "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."



Oh. Fair enough.

I just did a bit of research on this quote, since I wasn't sure I'd remembered it word for word. As is often the case when you research something on the internet, you end up more confused than before you began - I'm now not entirely sure if it was Einstein, or Ben Franklin, or Mark Twain - but it doesn't much matter, because it's a great quote and it really made me think at the time about why I wasn't getting anywhere with my golf swing. Clearly, I was doing something wrong, and then just practising doing something wrong again and again. To improve, I first needed to understand how to hit a golf ball, before then practising hard to attempt to perfect it. So how did I manage this? The answer - a series of expensive golf lessons with the club pro - obviously, the reason why they displayed the quote so prominently at the range. 

Happy with that one. Trousers may have been a mistake though

I learnt a valuable lesson from all this - I have no talent whatsoever for golf, and it didn't matter how much money I threw at it, I was never going to be able to play at a decent level. To be fair, I improved enough to be able to enjoy playing a bit more, and didn't spend quite as much as I used to on replacement balls - but I could still easily get through a new pack each round. Lakes and rivers add not only to the aesthetic beauty of a golf course, but unfortunately also to the cost of a game!

The theory though was sound - acquire the knowledge first, before... practice, practice, practice. I think subsquently the reason I never managed to lower my handicap was not purely down to lack of natural talent - although this was undeniably a major factor - but it was also because I just didn't have the time (or money) to be able to play every week, and once a month wasn't often enough to get the hang of it.

Running - an easy sport?

The beauty of running is, as I've mentioned before, that it doesn't require a great deal of skill. I know some people who group runners into two categories - those that they feel are inherently talented, and those that they feel get there by dint of hard work alone. I'm not sure I agree with this - certainly, the runners I know who appear to be the most talented (ie quickest, and with the best running styles) I also happen to know work very hard in their training too. It's similar to that quote "the harder I work, the luckier I get." I'm not going to google that one to find out who said it - life's too short, and I'll only get confused. The point I'm trying to make is, you don't need specific skills or talent to be able to run, but you do need to work at it. There are certain things you can learn, be it how to improve your running style, how to choose what shoes to run in, how to approach certain races psychologically, etc, etc - but undeniably, above all else, the more time you're able to devote to running, the better you'll become. 

Unlike with my golf, I can (nearly) always find time to go for a run. Since I love reading about running, and listening to the advice of the many good runners that I'm lucky enough to know, I have learnt a lot over the last few years about how to get it right. I understand the importance of good running form, I've worked on my foot strike and my cadence, I have the right shoes, I know plenty of decent training routes, and plenty of decent types of training workouts - and I know which types of races I'm likely to do better in than others. In short, I have everything in place to continue to improve for many years to come - but only if I can apply my knowledge and experience to a decent training programme, and I can't do this all the time I'm struggling with discomfort.

This is my handicap chart from Run Britain. My running handicap (unlike my golf) has come down a fair bit since I began, but its no coincidence that the periods of significant improvement always correlate with periods of decent training.

It's not the end of the world - I'm much luckier than many, and I don't want to sound like I'm complaining - but I know that if I want to improve as a runner, it's a necessary step to have these two operations, even though it's going to put me out of action for a long time. The decision becomes harder every time I have a decent race - do I really need to do this? - but it's about whether I'm happy performing at the level I'm currently at, because without getting this sorted, I'm just entering races time and again off the back of very little work, and hoping for different results. Which is insanity, as Einstein almost pointed out. Possibly.

What level will I be able to run at after the Operations?

I'm hoping that, once I'm back running pain free, and am able to up the mileage and intensity of my training, that I'll push on significantly and tackle some much more demanding targets. High on the list is a sub 30min 5 mile - I'm close, but I'm aware that the difference between being able to average 6m15 pace - as I can now - and being able to hit 6min pace for 5 miles - to get under half an hour - is much bigger than it sounds. My current pace over 5 miles should be enough to get me a sub 40min 10km, but I haven't managed this yet either - so if I don't grab one at Littleport next week (more on this in a bit), then this will be my first main target once I return to training properly, which I expect (providing I can have the 2nd operation in December) to be Spring next year. Ultimately I want to be able to hit 6min mile pace for longer distances - a  10 miler in under 1 hour and a sub 1hr 20 half marathon would be very nice - and if I can do this, then my shorter distances could potentially become seriously quick - sub 18min for 5km at the very least.

But....I have to consider the possibility that, after the operations, I may not quite be able to get back to the level I'm at now. I am very fortunate to have Charlotte in my life - for all sorts of reasons of course, but within the context of this blog because of her understanding and her own knowledge when it comes to running. She knows better than any one else how important it is to me, and to my state of mind. She knows I'm going to find it hard being unable to run for so long, and will be a massive help in keeping me sane over the next few months. And she has also considered the chance that I may not be able to return to my current level - and has very sensibly suggested that the most important result will be not how quickly I can then run afterwards, but how comfortably.

Her idea is that, if I can't quite return to current pace, it may be that at the very least I find I can enjoy my running again, and that longer training runs then become the thing to do instead, leading to longer distance races again. In addition to the many great marathons out there, there is a whole world of ultra running to explore. All the time I can run at a decent speed, and improve, then this is not the direction I want to take - but her point is that if I can't get the speed back, I may find I can enjoy the greater distance instead. 

Next Up - Littleport 10km

Definitely my kind of race

And so to the next race - this coming Sunday, at Littleport. Deep in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, this race is completely flat, and so appeals to PB hunters across the region. Hills definitely make my condition worse, so I've been avoiding them wherever possible! I mentioned briefly above how my current 5 mile times suggest a sub 40 minute 10km should be achievable. To get a sub 40 minute run over 6.2 miles you need to run each mile at 6m27 pace. My last 5 miler at Great Bentley saw me average 6m13 - so do this for just one more mile (and a bit) and that's the target beaten easily. Of course, in reality I didn't run this pace throughout: I had a good first mile, a good last mile, and averaged around 6m20 pace for the remainder, with a couple of dodgy stretches thrown in for good measure. But even so, I am pretty sure that if the race had been a 10km, I'd have hung on and gone under the 40min barrier.

In fact, I've averaged under this pace for a couple of other 5 mile races, at Sudbury this year and Hadleigh at the end of last year, so I really ought to be able to manage this - but in three attempts at the distance this year, in addition to those in previous years, I've never quite got a 10km right. The tactic this time around is simple - don't try and get a decent first mile in, as I do for both 5km and 5mile races - instead, set off at the required average pace, or even slightly slower, and leave a bit for a push in the final mile. If I ran at 6m30 pace up until the end of the 5th mile, I'd have 7m30 left for the last 1.2 miles, which should be pretty straightforward since I always find a bit towards the end of a race. If I could match my 5 mile pace, I'd actually get well under the target - but given that it's always eluded me in the past, I'd prefer to be sensible, and to finish feeling I could have gone a bit quicker, rather than to set off at 6m15 pace and then struggle throughout.

This one was likely to be competitive

Psychologically, in order to do this, I probably need to start a little way back from the start line. In most shorter races I try to line up with the quick runners right on the line, no matter how quick they look - and this helps me to get off to a quick start - but it does usually then mean I get passed by a fair few runners in the middle part of the race, before clawing back positions in the last mile. This time, with a slower starting pace in mind, I know that if I start at the front I'll not be matching the speed of the leaders - so there's no point. Better to start a few rows back, and then gradually gain places (hopefully!) throughout the race.

And this one not so much....

There are a couple of courses where I've deliberately employed this tactic of starting further back - and at a slower pace - because I've known the first part of the race is much tougher than the last part -- I've blogged previously about the Newmarket Heath 6km, which I've run 3 times, and I approached this year's Kedington 5km in the same way. The feeling I've had, overtaking throughout rather than being overtaken, and recording notable negative splits (where the second half of your race is quicker than the first) means they rank amongst the most enjoyable races I've competed in, and this seems like a good way to approach Littleport.

But without anything on the course to slow me in the first mile (like the big hills at the start of Newmarket and Kedington) it's going to have to come down to being sensible. What can go wrong?!

A busy few days

As you'll know if you read these ramblings on a regular basis, I'm currently cramming in as many races as I can before I'm temporarily incapacitated! It's been a really enjoyable last few days - here's a quick (ish) roundup.

Girton 5km - Thursday 9th July

Usually it's me convincing Charlotte we need to enter races, but this one was all her idea - she's really enjoyed the races we've been doing for the Friday Five series, as well as the Kevin Henry fixtures, and this local fixture (just outside Cambridge) offered the chance for another evening race.

2013 had been much tougher

I ran here in 2013, and remembered it being pretty tough - flat, but multi-terrain (including some very muddy farm tracks.) This time around, with the weather having been pretty good, it was likely to be a bit easier, and so whilst I didn't expect to PB, I was hoping to get around the 19min mark. The race was a sell-out, which is always a good sign of a well-organised and enjoyable event, although the free beer at the end is probably also a factor.

A pretty competitive field of runners lined up for this one, and although I did my best to keep pace with the early leaders, this was a pretty futile exercise, and I began dropping back quite significantly as the race wore on. Fortunately, as often seems to be the case, I was able to find something again for the last kilometre - helped by the fact that it was pavement for the last part - and in the end I recorded a time of 19m36, which got me 31st place out of 198 runners.

Far more impressive was Charlotte's run - a new PB (how on earth she did that on a primarily off-road course is totally beyond me.) It seems that the tougher the course, the better she does in relation to other runners, a theory backed up by her finishing as 8th lady.

Another fellow club runner, Terry, made the short trip as well, and showed his usual determination to complete in fine style despite recent health issues that would have stopped most from continuing to run, let alone race. I hope I'm still able to get around the 30min mark when I'm in my 70s!

DEFRA Sports Day -- Friday 10th July

Thanks to a temping agency, I'm currently working at Natural England until my new permanent position with the Civil Service starts in September. According to our website -

We're the government's adviser for the natural environment in England, helping to protect England's nature and landscapes for people to enjoy and for the services they provide. Natural England is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

And the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - DEFRA - hold a sports day each year, pulling together all the various offices around the country to compete in a number of sports in a reasonably competitive yet very enjoyable event.

I totally had this race....

I originally entered just one event - the 1500metres veterans race - but as the day grew closer, it became apparent that I may be needed to help out elsewhere since we were struggling to fill all the slots in the Rounders and Football teams. In the event, I was just needed for the 1st rounders match - I was fine at running between the posts but in 3 attempts I didn't manage to hit the ball once! Unsurprisingly, my help wasn't needed after that - but I did play in the 4 group matches for our football team, in a very enjoyable 6-a-side competition.

Despite being hammered in our opening match, we managed to win the next three, meaning we qualified from our group to get through to the knock-out stages. Unfortunately our quarter-final clashed with my 1500m, so at this point I had to abandon my team mates. I didn't need to ask afterwards how it had gone, as I saw them walking back from the changing rooms freshly showered and changed - clearly no semi-final for us! Apparently we lost 5-0 - I can't imagine how bad it might have been if I'd been playing also.

It was interesting playing the football - I was definitely much fitter than the last time I tried to play, a couple of years ago, but I still found the short sharp bursts of energy required much more draining than going for a run. And it meant that, even with a half hour break between my last game and the race, I felt exhausted lining up for the 1500m. They ran the open race and the veterans race together - partly to save time, but partly in case there was a veteran quick enough to get a podium in the open event - it would be unfair to exclude them from the chance of winning the main prize. And that's exactly what happened - the race was won by a veteran (sadly, not me!) Speaking to someone who knew him afterwards, it turns out he does IronMan stuff - but that wouldn't necesarily lend itself to a fast 1500m time, and he's clearly a strong all-round athelete.

I didn't have the run I hoped for at all, and even though it was clear from the start who was going to win, I do feel I should have come in 2nd - but for whatever reason, it just didn't happen on the day. The football beforehand will have played a part, but I suspect the other runners had also competed in other events on the day too - so everyone was probably in much the same boat. My time was 5m26, whereas I'd been hitting 5mins in training, so I have to confess I was a little dissapointed. I came in 4th overall - however I did pick up a Silver medal (for 2nd Veteran) so it wasn't all bad. More importantly, Charlotte was table to take a rare term-time day off so we could spend the day together, and we both had a really enjoyable time: I particularly enjoyed the football tournament, and got to spend time outside the office with some really friendly work colleagues.

Now THAT's a Parkrun!

The sports ground we used is owned by the National Physical Laboratory, which is within the grounds of Bushy Park. This park was where parkrun all began back in October 2004, and for this reason it's now something of a Mecca for parkrun tourists - regularly attracting over 1000 runners, which is huge compared to the norm. It's a long way for us to go on a Saturday morning, but I definitely want to run this one sometime - although it's a lot more competitive than most: to put into context, the times that have seen me win at Great Cornard recently would only just get me into the top 50 at Bushy Park!

Ekiden Relay - Sunday 12th July 

An Ekiden is a long distance relay race. The term originates in Japan - the very first Ekiden was run to celebrate a change of capital city and was run between Kyoto (the old capital) and Tokyo (the new one) - a distance of over 500km. It remains a massively popular sporting event in that country, and is run over various distances. So there you go - a little bit of history for you.

In this case, a team of 6 of us each ran legs of varying distance to make up 42.2km (or 26.2 miles) in total. Hosted by Ipswich Jaffa club, the course is a 2.5km loop - which is therefore run twice by those on a 5km leg, and 4 times by the 10km runners. My leg - first off - was 7.2km - a strange distance in order to make up the exact number of kilometres required for full marathon distance, and comprising of a slightly shortened 1st lap and then 2 full ones.

He's from Framlingham in Suffolk - famous for ...
erm.....being the place that Ed Sheeran's from...?

I struggled a bit in the humid conditions, and I think my legs were still feeling the effects of all that football on the Friday (and a bit of sunburn behind the knees for good measure!) If I'm looking for excuses, (and let's face it, I often am!) I could also point to a lack of sleep the night before, since we didn't get home from seeing Ed Sheeran in concert at Wembley until about 2.30am, and had to be up again at around 7am. Obviously I'm not going to complain about that though - an amazing night out, and a truly exceptional musician.

In the end, I was pleased to be able to find a little bit for the last kilometre, and I approached the line at just under half an hour, so achieving respectability if nothing else. I handed over to Charlotte, who ran a 5km leg, and who then handed on to Gareth (10km) before it was time for Jason (5km), Angela (10km) and finally Danny (5km.) Six commandos (plus partners), a gazebo, plenty of food, some beer, a barbecue, and plenty of other friends out there competing for different teams - HRC, Gt Bentley, Harwich, Sudbury, to name but four - all in all, a really fun day out. As a non-affiliated team (the Commando Runners is simply a group of friends rather than an official club) we were competing in the social category, in which we achieved 4th position, with a total time of 3hr02mins. Pleasing enough, and we're all determined to come back next year to try to break the 3 hour mark and hopefully grab a podium place and some trophies! It has given me even more respect for runners I know who are capable of running a sub 3hr marathon on their own. There are plenty of challenging running targets that I hope to crack in the next few years - but I don't believe I'll ever manage this one!

From left to right - Danny, Angela, Jason, Gareth, Charlotte and me. Not a bad team, but lousy at doing YMCA

Back in training

I mentioned at the end of my last blog post that I hoped to return to a more structured training schedule prior to what will now be my last race before my first operation - the Ipswich Twilight 5km next month. This hasn't quite happened - since I'm trying to fit in as much racing as I can! - but short races can play a useful part in building towards one particular key race, and whilst I've not quite hit top form in any of the three I've mentioned above, hopefully they will all have helped in the greater scheme of things, as quick tempo runs if nothing else. 

That said, I'd missed getting out on my regular 5 mile training loop, and mentally too it did me the world of good to get out on both Tuesday and Wednesday to do just that. On both occasions, with my ipod for company, I simply enjoyed my running - something I don't do often enough. If it feels good, I try not to check the watch too much to start with, preferring just to go with it and not worry too much about pace for the first mile - which, after all, should ideally be a bit slower anyway on a training run, since it's effectively a warm up. On both these runs, I ended up settling into a pace of around 7m45, which felt comfortable, and I saw no need to increase the speed - as I've mentioned, the races I've done recently can double up as fast training runs, and for these two I just wanted to get some time on feet, some miles under my belt, and to run without pressure. 

Haver5k - Sunday 19th July

And so to the last race of this particular post - a last minute decision to enter this fun run organised by a club colleague, and part of the Haverhill Summer Bash - a fundraising event held each year on the town's recreation ground. I wanted to run this for two reasons - firstly, because I wanted to support a good cause and Jack's hard work, and secondly because I knew the route offered PB potential. I'll leave you to work out whether I've put those reasons in order of importance....

With a small line-up of only 50 runners, and none of the really quick runners that normally attend local events, it was never going to be the most competitive of races - and although winning appeared to be a possibility, my main focus for this was to try to break 19mins, and maybe my PB in the process. The route started and finished at the recreation ground, and included a stretch up the high street before joining our club's time trial route, which I know better than any other 5k course. Knowing there would be hardly any climb anywhere on the way gave me the confidence to set off quickly, which is pretty much my standard 5km tactic now - unless I know there are tough parts and easier parts. It was a strange feeling to be charging up the high street, out in front, running past Haverhill shoppers who clearly hadn't got a clue what was going on, but knowing I was building a healthy lead, and feeling really good.

Which is when I made the mistake of checking my watch - and discovering I was running at 5m30

Checking your watch mid-race can be a bad idea,
 And running in a suit doesn't help either.

pace. I talked last blog about how the watch can sometimes have a negative effect on my racing, and this was certainly the case here, as I immediately slowed to something more manageable. Not for the first time, I wonder what I may have done had I not known - could I have maintained that pace a little longer perhaps? No matter, I still managed to complete the first mile in just under 6mins - but given that the first half mile had been 5m30 pace, this meant I was now running at 6m30 pace, which indeed is what the watch showed as I began the second mile. Not only was my pace slowing, but - not surprisingly - the runner in 2nd place was gaining on me. I maintained 6m30 for the remainder of mile two, which was off-road along the railway path we use for time trial - and although the gap remained about the same, I began to anticipate being in a bit of a battle for first place.

In fact, I had a couple of slightly negative thoughts - the first being that it may be helpful if he caught me, because it's a bit easier to chase someone than it is to lead them - and the second being that actually, second place wouldn't be all that bad! This had been billed as a fun run - it was for good local causes - it really wasn't that important - all these thoughts were running through my head before I managed to remind myself that what I'd actually wanted from the race was a good time! Time to stop worrying about position and start worrying that I was in the last mile and the sub 19min target was slipping away.

Jack doesn't skimp on the trophies!

Of course, pushing the pace not only got me re-focused on the job in hand, but it also ensured I didn't get passed, and I ultimately collected a really nice 1st place trophy. Unfortunately, the distance showing on my watch at the end was too short for me to be able to claim it as a PB - 18m26 would have meant almost 30secs off, but 4.74km isn't really close enough for me to happily accept it - you always get a GPS margin of error to some extent, but not 260 metres! Being a bit of a stats geek, I've calculated a "real" result, based on how long that extra distance would have taken had I managed it at the same pace I was running the last mile at - the answer being just over 1 minute, taking my time to just under 19m30 - and this makes perfect sense, being about what I've been doing over 5km recently. It's a similar situation to that at Shelford fun run last year - and you just have to accept it: it's billed as a fun run, so you know there's a possibility things won't be quite as accurate as in larger events. Having played a part in organising a handicap time trial race for our club recently, I understand what it feels like to have to deal with complaints when you've given up your free time to help - it's put me off getting involved in race organisation again, and I have a healthy amount of respect for anyone that puts their neck on the line as a race director! Our monthly time trials are more than enough for me.

And so it was nice to pick up an award, but further confirmation that I've currently plateaued at around the 19min30 mark. I anticipate getting another similar time this week at time trial - I volunteered for the last one so my conscience is clear to allow me to race this time around. And then on Sunday, it's the Littleport 10k - fast, flat, and could it possibly be the sub 40min time I've wanted for so long?

In all probability - no! As discussed previously, my current lack of improvement is all down to lack of training in between all theses races - a subject I'm going to address in my next blog post. I'd love to go out on a high with a couple more decent race results, but I know I'll only do this with some serious hard work. 

Kedington 5km & Gt Bentley Friday 5

Kevin Henry Fixture 4 - July 2nd

So the "home" fixture for Haverhill Running Club, the 4th of this 6 race series, and we were all hoping for a big club turnout, with the aim of breaking 100 club members. As you'll see from the photo, loads of us showed up - a total of 112 in all, which was a fantastic result.

Last year I had a number of disappointing runs in this series, and so it's been fairly straightforward to improve my times in 2015. Although a cold prevented me from registering any improvement in the 1st fixture at Impington, I took more than a minute off at both Newport and Newmarket, and I've been edging ever closer to a top 50 finish in what are without doubt the most competitive fields I find myself racing against at any point in the year. Last year at Kedington I decided to take it steady up the hill, and then kick on at the top - this didn't quite work out, and although I picked up pace for the last part, I wasn't happy with finishing outside the top 100, with a time of 21m32. Looking back to my post this time last year, I can see that I was struggling more than usual with my groin pain at the time, and had eased off the running as a result - I also note I weighed a fair bit more than I do now. So there was every reason to expect a better result this time around, although to do so on this tough route I'd need some kind of plan.

Race Strategy

The route is about half a mile of flat to start with, and then you hit the hill. It's almost exactly one mile from the bottom to the top, but the first half of this is the steep bit, and the second half - whilst still going up slightly - is no-where near so bad. This takes you to the halfway point of the race, and from then on it's all either flat or downhill to the finish line.

Theoretically then:

Not for the first time, Charlotte regretted asking if I had a race plan

* Mile one needs a good first half mile off the start line to compensate for time lost on the tough part of the hill, but as a result shouldn't be too much slower than usual pace.

* Mile two is half slight hill, then half easy downhill, so that should average out probably about usual pace.

* Mile three is all either flat or downhill, so should be well below usual pace. There's no reason, therefore, why you can't get a good time here.

My aim was to run 6min mile pace to begin with, maintain effort (and accept a loss of pace) on the hill, then push hard from the halfway point, with a sneaky suspicion that I may be able to record my quickest ever mile split for that nice last section - my best previously was when I got a 5m48 at the end of Hadleigh 5 last November.

Split Times

So a comparison of what I wrote on my arm, and what actually happened:
(incidentally, I just scribbled some numbers on my right arm, I didn't create a table or anything....)


Distance         Spilt Time                             Elapsed Time
(Miles)           Predicted        Actual             Predicted            Actual

0.5                 3m00              3m15              3m00                 3m15

1.0                 4m00              3m24              7m00                 6m39

1.5                 3m30              3m21              10m30               10m00

2.0                 3m00              3m05              13m30               13m05

2.5                 2m45              2m55              16m15               16m00

3.0                 2m45              2m56              19m00               18m56

So how did it go? Well, as the above table shows, I wasn't too far off my targets throughout the race. As it turned out, I was a bit slower than expected on the quick parts, and a bit quicker than expected on the slower parts, but only 4 seconds out by the time I completed the 3rd mile, so pretty accurate for once.

I managed to get myself boxed in at the start, meaning I didn't quite get the flying start I wanted, but I suspect this was actually quite a good thing, since I had plenty of energy when I hit the hill, which I managed a little quicker than anticipated. I was within sight of three club runners who I've mentioned before - Mark, Craig, and Sian-Marie - the four of us tend to finish close together at the moment, so I knew I was doing okay when the gap between us didn't widen significantly as we made our way to the top.

So as we reached 1.5 miles, I checked my watch and I was bang on 10mins. On a flat 5km this would mean I was heading for over 20mins, but I knew due to the "race of two halves" nature of the route that I'd done the tougher part a bit quicker than expected, and providing I could get that quick last mile then I was on for a decent time.

Knowing the route so well gave me the confidence to start to push much earlier than I would ordinarily, and whilst one or two runners had passed me on the hill, I soon began to gain places, and continued to do so throughout the remainder of the race. To run the 2nd half of a 5km stronger than the first was an unusual and enjoyable experience for me, and it was a good feeling knowing I'd paced well for a change!

Looking at the splits, I can see I was slightly pessimistic about how much the hill would slow me down, and then slightly optimistic about how quickly I would manage the downhill section - but I did at least keep that last mile under 6min pace throughout, if not quite getting the mile PB I'd hoped for.

In addition to over 100 runners, we had loads of club members along the route taking photos and offering support.
This is taken on the home stretch, just before the 3 mile mark

Going through 3 miles in 19 mins would normally lead to a sub 19m30 finish time - but you never know in a race exactly how close your watch will show to 3.1 miles at the line, so I don't normally predict how long the last little bit will take me - and it varies wildly depending on how much I've got left for a sprint finish. There wasn't really anyone just ahead of me to catch as I entered the last part, but I managed to push on respectably enough, and (with 3.13 miles showing on the watch) I recorded a final time of 19m38. Almost 2 minutes quicker then than I've managed before on this route, and my finish position of 51st, whilst agonisingly still just outside the top 50, is my best KH position ever, so all in all a good evening's work. 

Most pleasing was the way I managed to execute a sensible race plan, and I have to say I didn't experience any of my usual discomfort at all during the race, although I suffered the rest of the evening and again the following morning as a result of my exertions, which is why this impending operation is so important.

Not much time to recover before racing again the following evening - some ibuprofen would be required before the off and I'd get round okay, hopefully grabbing that 5 mile PB in the process.

Great Bentley Friday 5 - July 3rd

The last race of the series, my 4th of the 5 - and since they take your best 4 results, this meant each one counted towards my final score. Although an overall top 3 finish was already mathematically impossible, 5th or 6th would be a decent achievement in a very competitive age category - but this mattered to me more as a one-off race, since it offered a clear opportunity of getting a quick 5 mile time and was likely to be my last proper race for a while (I'll give my all at both Ekiden and the sports day but they're more fun/social events than serious races.)

Just to ramp up the pressure, both Charlotte and I had decided to submit this race as our bonus for our club Grand Prix series. I've mentioned this before, but briefly, in addition to entering a selection of races chosen at the start of the season by our Grand Prix organiser, you get to chose any other race (that you think you'll run well at) to add in as a bonus. The club GP is scored on WAVA (a percentage score based on your time and accounting for your age) rather than position - so it doesn't matter how competitive the race is that you chose, you just want to pick one you think you'll run quickly.

 I was feeling particularly stupid today

It's a rare but nice feeling to line up at the start line feeling confident you're about to get a PB. As I mentioned in my previous post, this was as much because of the fast and flat nature of the course than anything else, but my basic speed has been good recently, and buoyed by my race the previous evening I felt confident enough to go off hard for the first mile and see how things progressed. Although the target was sub 32mins, I had a suspicion I may be able to get sub 31 if everything went well - which needed about 6m15 pace per mile, with a quicker last mile thrown in if possible.

I purposely avoided checking my watch for pace for as long as I could - eventually having a glance as we approached the first mile marker - and I was pleased to see I was bang on 6mins for that first mile. Although - not surprisingly - I wasn't able to maintain this pace throughout, mile 2 was still below target pace, and I passed mile 3 at around 18mins30. A quick bit of maths - which I quite enjoy doing in a race since it takes my mind off the physical effort for a bit - and I knew I was on course for a PB, and that if I could keep up this average, a sub 31 was on the cards.

At this point in the race, I realised that - had the race been a 5km (3.1miles) - I could have pushed on for the last part and probably grabbed a new PB for that distance. Whilst this was nice to know, it suggested to me that I'd gone off too hard with still 2 more miles to go. Sure enough, I dropped significantly in mile 4, and I had to work very hard in mile 5 to pull things back.

Not for the first time, I wonder how big a part psychology played in this slowing of pace. The first mile had felt great - almost comfortable - and yet was under my usual 5km pace. Perhaps if I'd not had my watch on, and not known this, I'd have been able to continue at the same pace - but as soon as I knew, I began to slow. I am certain that, once I realised I'd just run 3 miles at 5km PB pace, I immediately began to doubt I could continue like that. I can run 6 min miles on a treadmill without too much difficulty, because there's no option to slow unless you physically press buttons to alter the speed. All you need is enough willpower not to do so, and you just grit your teeth and let your body respond to the speed of the belt underneath you. As soon as you come off the treadmill and run outside, you introduce a greater element of choice into the equation, and fighting the signals that your aching body is sending to your brain (generally shouting "slow down!") is surely the hardest part of running.

That's what I said.
I just used more words.

But of course you can use psychology to your advantage too, and throughout the last mile I was telling myself that I'd never find a better course on which to set a PB, and that it was really important to do the very best I could in what was likely to be my last serious race for some time. Whilst I wasn't able to pull back quite enough time to grab the sub 31, I was really happy in the end with 31m04 - a full minute and 6 seconds off my old PB, good enough for 39th in a field of around 390. It also proved to be good enough to secure 5th place in the series rankings for my age category - which I was pretty happy with, although it was'nt as good as Charlotte, who achieved 4th in hers, or indeed club colleague Trevor, who came 2nd in our category, and whose improvements this year have helped inspired me to progress as best I can too. I'm really looking forward to the time, probably in late Spring/early Summer next year, when both operations are over and I can knuckle down to some serious training. I needed a decent time at Gt Bentley to take me into these next few months on a running high, and I'm convinced I can improve a lot further once fixed!

Harry seems to enjoy racing - he certainly puts
plenty into his sprint finish

It was great to see afterwards that all 5 of us representing Haverhill, plus our friends Kerry and Chris from Colchester, all got new PBs. Harry ran well in the children's race beforehand, as did Kerry's two children and one of Chris and Jenny's daughters, and and the whole event had a nice friendly, family atmosphere to it, in addition to attracting some of the best runners in the region (it's clearly not just me that purposely seeks out fast courses!)

My WAVA score - that now goes across as my bonus score for the Grand Prix -  came out as just over 73%. As well as being able to judge yourself against others runners (of different ages, or gender) using WAVA, you can also use it to compare the various race results that you've managed over different distances, to rank them in order, should you so wish. This is my best ever WAVA score, and consequently I can say - with some level of certainty - that this was my best ever result. A nice way to bow out for a while.

Or at least, so I thought......

 

Operation Delayed

I can't fault the Nuffield Hospital in Cambridge, who have been brilliant since I was first referred to them at the end of last year. Since then, appointments have come up pretty quickly, and progress has finally been made. Therefore, I didn't want to complain when they called to tell me they'd had to rearrange the date of my first operation. However, given the recovery time needed afterwards, particularly the first couple of weeks on crutches, it proved quite tough to find another date that worked - in terms of fitting in with my new job starting 10th September, and with the added factor of a holiday already booked for mid August.

Race kit sorted

In the end, we settled on a new date of 27th August, just after Charlotte and I get back from Lyon. It only gives me 2 weeks before I start my new position in the Civil Service,
but I'm assuming the first couple of weeks will be sitting at a desk doing training modules, etc, and not too strenuous - so hopefully that will be fine, even if I'm still fairly immobile at that stage. The only alternative was 4 days before we are due to fly out - and despite Charlotte's kind offer of pushing me around France in a wheelchair, this seems a much better option.


And every cloud, as the saying goes - because I can now do a few more races! Keen to make the most of what I thought were my last few days of running, we'd already booked in to race the  5km at Girton (Cambridge) this week, before I run the 1500m at my sportsday, followed by Ekiden Relay at the weekend. But now, I can do a few more, including three races I was particularly disappointed to be missing.

First of these is the Littleport 10km, fast and flat, and another chance to have a go at breaking the 40min barrier for 10km. If I can replicate my recent 5mile form, then it looks a realistic prospect.

I can also now look forward to the next KH fixture - a new one for this year, at Ely - meaning I'll only end up missing the last one of the series. This will be the first KH fixture I've missed since joining the club, with the exception of one I helped marshal at in 2013, but I hope to be able to go along and support Charlotte and my running club colleagues.

And best of all, I've been able to enter the inaugural Ipswich Twilight 5km race - which requires a qualifying time that I've been trying to get all year, and finally nailed at Kedington. The requirement was either a sub 40min 10km - which regular readers will know I've tried and failed to achieve  3 times recently - or a sub 20min 5km - which I've managed plenty of this year, but all parkruns or time trials and so ineligible, since the qualifying race needs to have a UKA license. I knew Kedington would be listed as an official race, but obviously at the time thought I'd be unable to do Ipswich due to the operation - so didn't realise the significance of breaking 20mins until the date got changed and I saw I could just fit in Ipswich before I go for surgery.

I have time now, unexpectedly, to get into that structured training routine I talked about in my last post, and will do so right up until Ipswich, where I'm really looking forward to seeing what I can do on a flat road 5km - hopefully a chance to go out on a new PB.

Next post though will talk about what should be a couple of enjoyable running events, at the sportsday (where I've also got roped into the 6-a-side football tournament) and the Ekiden relay. I'm looking forward to running with my Commando friends at this one, and being on the first leg means I can then relax and enjoy cheering everyone else on - I've been the last couple of years, and it's one of the highlights of the racing calender.