Wednesday 21 January 2015

Brass Monkey's - It certainly was!

The Brass Monkey Half Marathon was the first big test of 2015.  In terms of the build -up it was either a third of the way through the build- up (if you were following an 18 week plan) or at the beginning of a 12 week plan assuming the majority of the week post race was devoted to recovery.  That is assuming of course that you conform to one of the off the shelf 12 or 18 week programmes.  
For me the Brass Monkey represented a point in time, a test to see where I am and how the training is going.   Right up until race morning I was unsure how to run the race.  The problem with winter races like this is you really are at the mercy of the weather.    In the past fortnight I’ve run in some freezing cold weather, snow, sleet, high winds and in some cases opted for a treadmill session  rather than risk a twisted ankle on the icy pavements.
So the Brass Monkey race plan was only going to be about the weather.  I decided that if the weather was a wintry shocker I would run the race as a true marathon pace effort tagging a few miles on either side.   On the day the weather was almost perfect with a ground frost, temperature around -1/-2 and no wind.  I say almost perfect as we stepped out onto the finish area I envisaged carnage in the home straight given that you could barely walk the course never mind run at speed.   We were also informed that there were patches of black ice on the course between about 5 and 7 miles which may need us to be cautious.   The rest of the course was bathing in tropical sunshine!
As the race started I felt really comfortable – the target pace of around 5.40 seemed effortless and the first few miles ticked along with splits of 5.31, 5.33 and 5.33.  The black ice started to appear on the course and this slowed the next few miles to 5.42, 5.43 and what would turn out to be the slowest mile of the day with a 5.48 mile at Mile 7.  Once we were past this point it seemed the whole field speeded up as a result of being held back for the last few miles.  My focus was now on the two Vet 40’s immediately in front – Alisdair Tatham of NYMAC and Andy Grant of Harrogate.  Both excellent runners over a wide range of distances.   I caught Andy at something like the 9 mile point after two consecutive 5.35 miles and set about trying to reel Alisdair in.  I reached the 10 mile point in 56.18 and Andy must have rallied as he also went past me again and set about trying to get to Alisdair.   Mile 11 – 5.39, Mile 12 – 5.38 were comfortably hard leaving me with a mile to catch the two in front.  I probably sub consciously thought at that point that I was settling for the position I was in and barring a disaster would be comfortably under the 75 minute barrier that I had set myself.   I closed with a 5.46 mile which left me the final 200m or so to negotiate – thankfully the organisers had gritted this section so I left my ice skating finish for another day.  14th overall. 4th Vet 40 in 74 minutes 18 seconds.


I’m really pleased with the time because it shows that in terms of fitness levels I am in decent shape.  The way I ran the race was a lot stronger overall and more in control of my pace at the end – no hanging on for the last few miles which was always a feature of my early half marathons.   
The half marathon as an event is not one that I feel I have been able to crack in the past.  My overall pb is 72.22 set at Wilmslow Half in around 1995.   That’s about 5.30 per mile so given my run on Sunday I think may be one that I look at for a slight revision.   Of all my non marathon pb’s this is the one that I think is in my reach.   
Well done to the race organisers on Sunday for putting on a great event.  I haven’t raced the Brass Monkey for a long time and it really was a great event, well organised and well marshalled.  Should they have allowed the event to go ahead given the conditions?  On reflection it was probably a brave decision as the middle section was a bit touch and go.  I was made aware that a similar size race over at Helsby in Cheshire was cancelled on the morning of the event due to ice on the course.   It’s a fine line as an organiser and I suspect both races got it right on the day.  

So in terms of the build up to the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon things are going well.   Last week was a solid 60 miles (including the Brass Monkey) and now it’s time to focus on making the long runs slightly longer and with a greater focus on the marathon pace finishes.    My next race is the Snake Lane 10 on the 22nd February.  Last year this was a bit of a make or break day as it was my first long run of the build-up as a result of a badly timed bout of sciatica.  This year I’m hoping to afford myself the luxury of a few easier days in the build-up and an all-out race effort over 10 miles.  The next four weekends will be an important phase in the marathon build up where I aim to push the long runs up to 22/23 miles while maintaining the quality in the programme.


Saturday 17 January 2015

Manchester Marathon Ambassador

Got the news this week that I have been selected as an ambassador for the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon.  Entries are still open and its a fantastic well organised marathon.  http://www.greatermanchestermarathon.com   I will be putting plenty of work into both my marathon training and my blog as I progress towards a personal best over 26.2 miles.

Here is the link to the Athletics Weekly site where you can read my brief biography and meet the other three ambassadors for the  The Asics Greater Manchester Marathon Ambassadors 

Tomorrow its the Brass Monkey Half and looking at the weather forecast the race will certainly live up to its name!

Wednesday 14 January 2015

Manchester Marathon Build up

My Manchester Marathon build up is pretty much in full swing now.   I've completed 7 long runs in the period between Chester Marathon (after a bit of downtime) and have a decent base level of fitness that's ready to spring into the main build up period of February and March where I will do a few tune up races over 10 miles at Pocklington and a 20 mile race at Redcar.

Its always useful to look back and compare this time last year and whilst I may have put some quality long runs in during late December and early January this was all cancelled out by a few weeks struggling with sciatica.

Compare my session last night on the treadmill last year (it was a bit icy to run outside although I was prepared to  brave the cold the pavements were just too icy to do any quality!).

Last year - barely managed 3 miles on the treadmill before the sciatic nerve seized up and forced me to return to the mobility work.

Last night - 4 x 10 minutes effort starting at marathon pace then increasing to a nippy 10km pace.  felt in control and finished the last rep covering 2.9km in the 10 minutes.

This weekend I'm hoping to run the Brass Monkey Half Marathon but I'm hedging my bets about how to run it.    It will all be dependent on the weather as to how the race will be so I've decided to train as normal this week but just ease off towards the end of the week.   Its never been a real target race but more of a test to see where I am.   The weather is a bit unpredictable at the moment so there is always a risk that the race may not even go ahead.

I've bought myself a pair of fell shoes in the january sales and set myself a goal of at least 15% of my overall mileage off road.  Two runs so far in them on the hills and I have to say its a nice break from the road miles.    The main benefit and one of the reasons I have done this is the grumbles from my achilles I have been experiencing intermittently over the last six months.  I'm managing to run fine and have been doing some preventative exercises but its not something you can ignore.   I've noticed after the off road runs less impact and stiffness in the achilles so will persevere with this.  I may even enter the odd fell race for a bit of fun

Just heard on BBC breakfast that 20 minutes of brisk walking a day can make you live longer...   Its not exactly rocket science is it!