PAST PARTICIPLE of RUN
is
RUN
It's not "ran". You don't say "I have ran the London marathon", it's "I have run the London marathon".
Thursday 17 May 2018
Important advice no runner can afford to ignore
The
PAST PARTICIPLE of RUN
is
RUN
It's not "ran". You don't say "I have ran the London marathon", it's "I have run the London marathon".
PAST PARTICIPLE of RUN
is
RUN
It's not "ran". You don't say "I have ran the London marathon", it's "I have run the London marathon".
Anyone else live in always uphill bizarroworld?
When I leave my house for a run
When I'm returning home from my run
Wednesday 16 May 2018
Bracknell Half - Lemsip Special
The Bracknell Half has been running for 34 years.
I've lived in the area for 40 years.
Seems odd that I've never run it before.
Oh hang on up until a couple of years ago I wouldn't even run to the end of the road. Forgot for a second. It makes sense now.
Anyway this was the first year I'd give it a try. I'd heard it was hilly but so what? I plod round these roads all the time, I knew what to expect, and feeling confident following my first ever sub 2 at Thorpe back in February I was confidently predicting a new pb. Didn't quite go according to plan.
Initially I'd planned to run at least 5k every day for the duration of May, but by day 10 I realised I was pretty fatigued and if I wanted to enjoy the half I'd better take a couple of days off. Cue the world's shortest taper.
Day 11 and my throat is feeling a bit scratchy. But I've got tickets to see the incredible Brothers Osbourne in Camden and that's going to be a party and a half. Made the most of that.
Day 12 and I can't even drag myself out of bed. Hangover didn't help but we are talking proper manflu. Start dosing up on Lemsip and preparing myself for the disappointment of not being able to even start the race. Get my kit together but don't really believe I'll run.
Day 13 is race day. Wake up feeling not toooooo bad so I Lemsip up, leave the house at the last minute telling Serena that I'll probably take about 2 and a half hours so she won't have any rush to meet me for lunch.
I get to the start which is in Bracknell's newly redeveloped town centre known as The Lexicon. After my standard fifteen or twenty trips for a wee before the start (it's not just me right? Is it?) I shuffle my way to the back of the pack as I'm really not feeling it and definitely don't want to go off too quickly.
At 9am we set off and of course I immediately need another wee. Well stupid bladder will have to wait until I finish or run past a big enough bush.
We head from Waitrose up through the pedestrianised area in town and out through one of Bracknell's many underpasses. Start to think I was a bit cautious in opting to start so far back as the bottleneck meant we basically started walking. My Garmin told me my predicted finish time was around 2h20m but I'd mentally checked out of any targets and just decided to enjoy the run in sunny but not too hot conditions. Good job too as it's not a fully roads closed event so you have to stick to the pavement and getting past people in the first couple of miles is a chore, especially as there is a slow uphill section in the first couple of miles. I wasn't paying attention to my watch but I was playing ping-pong with the 2h15m pacers so I had a vague idea what I was on for my the time the second mile marker came around.
The course itself is nice if unremarkable, although maybe that's because I'm so familiar with the area. What does stand out though is the level of local support. The route runs close to a lot of residential areas and it's very much a locals event so people were out along almost the entire route offering support, jelly babies, and kids wanting high fives. Top tip - if energy is flagging mid race high five a child.
It's also worth mentioning the marshalls, there were apparently 250 of them making sure we didn't take any wrong turns or get hit by cars as we ran across junctions. Bracknell can feel like a bit of a maze so having them out on course pointing the way was essential. The organisers had also ensured that there were more than enough water stations dishing out paper cups of water and wet sponges. I always carry my own hydration but the sponges in the later sections as the day warmed up were very welcome.
And guess what? By mile 10 I wasn't feeling the effects of the manflu at all and I dared check my Garmin (I knew I'd dropped the 215 funbus ages ago) - couldn't believe it I was close to hitting a 2 hour finish. The final 5k would need to be solid by my standards but with Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner kicking in I figured I was up for it. Didn't figure on there being a couple of extra uphill sections to deal with though, nothing major but enough to put a drag on your pace, ah well it was worth a shot, really enjoyed the run anyway and considering the fatigue and the lurgy it was a good day's running...
...
... except ...
...
As I entered the Lexicon for the final L shaped stretch through the town centre the support from the crowd was brilliant and I found myself sprinting to the finish line. Honestly if you asked me to run 100m on fresh legs I doubt I'd be any quicker. I was flying. It was like I'd robbed Fenwicks and was making my escape while being chased down by the rozzers. I was Mo Farah, Daley Thompson, and Zola Budd rolled into one...
...Chip time 1h 59m 58 sec! I'd only gone and nailed my second ever sub 2!!
Feels good man.
And in case you're wondering I didn't even need to stop for a wee in the end, although was was tempted to nip in and use the facilities as we ran past my gym. Glad I didn't though or I'd never have seen this sweet Strava notification.
I've lived in the area for 40 years.
Seems odd that I've never run it before.
Oh hang on up until a couple of years ago I wouldn't even run to the end of the road. Forgot for a second. It makes sense now.
Anyway this was the first year I'd give it a try. I'd heard it was hilly but so what? I plod round these roads all the time, I knew what to expect, and feeling confident following my first ever sub 2 at Thorpe back in February I was confidently predicting a new pb. Didn't quite go according to plan.
Initially I'd planned to run at least 5k every day for the duration of May, but by day 10 I realised I was pretty fatigued and if I wanted to enjoy the half I'd better take a couple of days off. Cue the world's shortest taper.
Day 11 and my throat is feeling a bit scratchy. But I've got tickets to see the incredible Brothers Osbourne in Camden and that's going to be a party and a half. Made the most of that.
Day 12 and I can't even drag myself out of bed. Hangover didn't help but we are talking proper manflu. Start dosing up on Lemsip and preparing myself for the disappointment of not being able to even start the race. Get my kit together but don't really believe I'll run.
Day 13 is race day. Wake up feeling not toooooo bad so I Lemsip up, leave the house at the last minute telling Serena that I'll probably take about 2 and a half hours so she won't have any rush to meet me for lunch.
I get to the start which is in Bracknell's newly redeveloped town centre known as The Lexicon. After my standard fifteen or twenty trips for a wee before the start (it's not just me right? Is it?) I shuffle my way to the back of the pack as I'm really not feeling it and definitely don't want to go off too quickly.
At 9am we set off and of course I immediately need another wee. Well stupid bladder will have to wait until I finish or run past a big enough bush.
We head from Waitrose up through the pedestrianised area in town and out through one of Bracknell's many underpasses. Start to think I was a bit cautious in opting to start so far back as the bottleneck meant we basically started walking. My Garmin told me my predicted finish time was around 2h20m but I'd mentally checked out of any targets and just decided to enjoy the run in sunny but not too hot conditions. Good job too as it's not a fully roads closed event so you have to stick to the pavement and getting past people in the first couple of miles is a chore, especially as there is a slow uphill section in the first couple of miles. I wasn't paying attention to my watch but I was playing ping-pong with the 2h15m pacers so I had a vague idea what I was on for my the time the second mile marker came around.
The course itself is nice if unremarkable, although maybe that's because I'm so familiar with the area. What does stand out though is the level of local support. The route runs close to a lot of residential areas and it's very much a locals event so people were out along almost the entire route offering support, jelly babies, and kids wanting high fives. Top tip - if energy is flagging mid race high five a child.
It's also worth mentioning the marshalls, there were apparently 250 of them making sure we didn't take any wrong turns or get hit by cars as we ran across junctions. Bracknell can feel like a bit of a maze so having them out on course pointing the way was essential. The organisers had also ensured that there were more than enough water stations dishing out paper cups of water and wet sponges. I always carry my own hydration but the sponges in the later sections as the day warmed up were very welcome.
And guess what? By mile 10 I wasn't feeling the effects of the manflu at all and I dared check my Garmin (I knew I'd dropped the 215 funbus ages ago) - couldn't believe it I was close to hitting a 2 hour finish. The final 5k would need to be solid by my standards but with Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner kicking in I figured I was up for it. Didn't figure on there being a couple of extra uphill sections to deal with though, nothing major but enough to put a drag on your pace, ah well it was worth a shot, really enjoyed the run anyway and considering the fatigue and the lurgy it was a good day's running...
...
... except ...
...
As I entered the Lexicon for the final L shaped stretch through the town centre the support from the crowd was brilliant and I found myself sprinting to the finish line. Honestly if you asked me to run 100m on fresh legs I doubt I'd be any quicker. I was flying. It was like I'd robbed Fenwicks and was making my escape while being chased down by the rozzers. I was Mo Farah, Daley Thompson, and Zola Budd rolled into one...
...Chip time 1h 59m 58 sec! I'd only gone and nailed my second ever sub 2!!
Feels good man.
And in case you're wondering I didn't even need to stop for a wee in the end, although was was tempted to nip in and use the facilities as we ran past my gym. Glad I didn't though or I'd never have seen this sweet Strava notification.
Thank you Bracknell, definitely one I'll be including in my list of regular races from now on. It starts a couple of miles from my house, rude not to.
Sunday 6 May 2018
Don't concentrate on the finger
Anyone who has seen Enter the Dragon will be familiar with this quote from Bruce Lee
It's a great metaphor for running. You can obsess about pace too much and forget the simple joy of just getting out there and exploring. I realised recently that a lot of runners seemingly concentrate on the finger all the fucking time. Strava makes it even worse. You see these fuckers on there making excuses for their "slow" pace in the run name all the time.
I was the same for a while, broke myself of that habit early though.
Yeah I'll have some finger races, really concentrated to get a sub 2 half at Thorpe this year (nailed it by 17 seconds), and if I manage to get an uninterrupted 16 week plan completed before Brighton next year I'll be setting a marathon goal but for the most part don't forget that you can make running fun and fulfilling without chasing a pb or feeling that you are training for something.
Look at me. I tend to be grinning most of the time when I'm out for a run. Especially on days like today when it's sunny weather and a long weekend. Smiley twat that I am...
Thing about this playlist is it has everything from Disney soundtracks to Norwegian black metal. Shuffle it and you could be singing along to Tina Turner then all of a sudden some narly death metal kicks in and you choose the hilly path. Brilliant. At one point today I found myself sprinting up a really steep hill to the Rocky soundtrack and yes I punched the air and span round at the top.
Took some photos too. Can't do that if you are segment hunting.
Sunshine, woods, music. Would have been a shame if I'd just focussed on the finger.
It's a great metaphor for running. You can obsess about pace too much and forget the simple joy of just getting out there and exploring. I realised recently that a lot of runners seemingly concentrate on the finger all the fucking time. Strava makes it even worse. You see these fuckers on there making excuses for their "slow" pace in the run name all the time.
I was the same for a while, broke myself of that habit early though.
Yeah I'll have some finger races, really concentrated to get a sub 2 half at Thorpe this year (nailed it by 17 seconds), and if I manage to get an uninterrupted 16 week plan completed before Brighton next year I'll be setting a marathon goal but for the most part don't forget that you can make running fun and fulfilling without chasing a pb or feeling that you are training for something.
Look at me. I tend to be grinning most of the time when I'm out for a run. Especially on days like today when it's sunny weather and a long weekend. Smiley twat that I am...
So what's the secret of this running nirvana? Simple. Just switch off and run. Today I had a vague idea where I was planning to head but I set out with no goal in mind, just let the music, weather, and feel dictate my pace and direction. So load up the "Really Long Runs" playlist and off we go.
Thing about this playlist is it has everything from Disney soundtracks to Norwegian black metal. Shuffle it and you could be singing along to Tina Turner then all of a sudden some narly death metal kicks in and you choose the hilly path. Brilliant. At one point today I found myself sprinting up a really steep hill to the Rocky soundtrack and yes I punched the air and span round at the top.
Took some photos too. Can't do that if you are segment hunting.
Sunshine, woods, music. Would have been a shame if I'd just focussed on the finger.
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