Tough Ten
This weekend I competed in my second race of the year, the Easyrunner "Tough Ten" challenge at Weston-Super-Mare.
This race was recommended to me by one of my running buddies from the gym. Having read the reports from previous years on the runners' world website, I decided it would make a good, tough training run to help get me in shape for London and sent off my entry form.
I'm generally quite pleased with the way my training is going at the moment. I even plucked up the courage last week to go to the Harriers' training session at the track:
http://swindonharriers.com/training/neilenglandschedule
The last time I went was just after my holiday and feeling overweight and under-motivated I "wimped out" after a couple of reps. The problem with this session is it tends to attract the best runners in the club, as only very serious people would willingly put themselves through such pain! Anyway, although I was unable to complete all 17 x 300m reps, I did make it through the session and actually quite enjoyed it. I also made a couple of friends by getting chatting to some of the runners of similar ability. It does add some variety to my training to go these sessions and they sure as heck WILL get my 10k and half marathon times down in due course.
I had two rest days in the week; on Thursday I met up with Pete in Bath for a drink and a curry, which was very enjoyable. It helps now that his train home is at the same time as mine so I'm not left in the pub on my own for half an hour at the end of the evening. We chatted about running and races - Pete competes in mountain bike races - and how nice it is to see parts of the world you might otherwise never experience by competing in events. As long as you come away from an event knowing you've done your best and you've enjoyed yourself, that's all that really matters, we concurred.
On Friday I didn't train either as I had to wait in in the evening for my new lodger, Tom, to arrive from Holland. On Saturday I felt a bit restless, and taking a view that the race was going to be a training exercise more than anything, did body pump at the gym, followed by a very slow and steady 6 mile run.
In the afternoon I made the customary trip to the cinema, and this time saw "Music and Lyrics". I was originally planning on seeing "Hannibal Rising" but got the times mixed up. I very much enjoyed the film; I always like Drew Barrymore and while Hugh Grant always seems to play the same character (fobbish English gent) he does play the part very well. It was standard rom-com material, but funny and enjoyable.
I travelled down on Sunday morning with three of the lads from the gym, and Mike Sas who works for MAN ERF UK. We went in two cars, I went with Mike in his car - it made sense as he was always going to finish well ahead of me (his 10k PB is 36 minutes!) and wouldn't want to be waiting round in the cold for me.
It was indeed cold on Sunday morning, and I wondered if I shouldn't have worn an extra layer. As it turned out, I soon warmed up. I went well for the first few miles, knocking out the first three miles in 24 minutes. It soon got a lot tougher however, and the first hill up into the woods was very, very steep. I tried to run all the way up but couldn't manage it. In the woods, the surface was very muddy (not surprising after the rain and snow in the last few days) and while I managed to keep running, it wasn't easy to get a foothold.
The worst part for me was, as usual, the downhill stretches. My downhill running seriously needs some work, and people were flying past me on both sides.
Having said that, the hill second time round (there were two laps in the woods) was an absolute killer. It's not often that I admit defeat and walk up a hill, but this was one of those rare occasions. I was completely out of breath and was worried I might give myself a heart attack if I tried to run much furthe! I decided during this race that the hill I use to do hill reps is no longer challenging enough for me - I need to find a steeper one so I can take my hill running to the next level.
I got to the top however, and completed the rest of the race. I nearly had a nasty fall near the 9-mile marker, catching my foot on a loose rock (it wasn't the best of surfaces!). Somehow I managed to pull myself upright, but I'll never know how.
I ran my hardest on the final section along the beach and finished the race in 1 hour 31 minutes. Obviously I'd have liked a better time than that, but I worked out that equates to roughly 9-minute miles. When you consider I couldn't manage 9 minute miles at the Bath half marathon (which is flat and all tarmac) a year ago, to do it on this course shows how much I have improved in the last year.
And most importantly, I came away knowing I had done myself and absolutely enjoyed myself, as per the conversation I had with Pete. The views out to sea were fabulous, and this is an event I will probably do every year. Next year I'm sure I'll be a lot lighter and will aim to do it in less than 1 hour 20 minutes. As I write the next day, I am quite sore and know I must have worked hard during the race!
The afternoon was fun as well. I just relaxed on the sofa with a few cold beers and watched England beating Australia to win the Commonwealth Bank One Day series! I don't much like the Duckworth/Lewis method, but I'll take a win over Australia any way it comes and this was a great end to an otherwise abject tour. Obviously I'm pleased as punch that the boys will come home with a trophy and something to show for their efforts down under. And maybe, just maybe, the upcoming World Cup may give England fans something to shout about.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, February 2007
This race was recommended to me by one of my running buddies from the gym. Having read the reports from previous years on the runners' world website, I decided it would make a good, tough training run to help get me in shape for London and sent off my entry form.
I'm generally quite pleased with the way my training is going at the moment. I even plucked up the courage last week to go to the Harriers' training session at the track:
http://swindonharriers.com/training/neilenglandschedule
The last time I went was just after my holiday and feeling overweight and under-motivated I "wimped out" after a couple of reps. The problem with this session is it tends to attract the best runners in the club, as only very serious people would willingly put themselves through such pain! Anyway, although I was unable to complete all 17 x 300m reps, I did make it through the session and actually quite enjoyed it. I also made a couple of friends by getting chatting to some of the runners of similar ability. It does add some variety to my training to go these sessions and they sure as heck WILL get my 10k and half marathon times down in due course.
I had two rest days in the week; on Thursday I met up with Pete in Bath for a drink and a curry, which was very enjoyable. It helps now that his train home is at the same time as mine so I'm not left in the pub on my own for half an hour at the end of the evening. We chatted about running and races - Pete competes in mountain bike races - and how nice it is to see parts of the world you might otherwise never experience by competing in events. As long as you come away from an event knowing you've done your best and you've enjoyed yourself, that's all that really matters, we concurred.
On Friday I didn't train either as I had to wait in in the evening for my new lodger, Tom, to arrive from Holland. On Saturday I felt a bit restless, and taking a view that the race was going to be a training exercise more than anything, did body pump at the gym, followed by a very slow and steady 6 mile run.
In the afternoon I made the customary trip to the cinema, and this time saw "Music and Lyrics". I was originally planning on seeing "Hannibal Rising" but got the times mixed up. I very much enjoyed the film; I always like Drew Barrymore and while Hugh Grant always seems to play the same character (fobbish English gent) he does play the part very well. It was standard rom-com material, but funny and enjoyable.
I travelled down on Sunday morning with three of the lads from the gym, and Mike Sas who works for MAN ERF UK. We went in two cars, I went with Mike in his car - it made sense as he was always going to finish well ahead of me (his 10k PB is 36 minutes!) and wouldn't want to be waiting round in the cold for me.
It was indeed cold on Sunday morning, and I wondered if I shouldn't have worn an extra layer. As it turned out, I soon warmed up. I went well for the first few miles, knocking out the first three miles in 24 minutes. It soon got a lot tougher however, and the first hill up into the woods was very, very steep. I tried to run all the way up but couldn't manage it. In the woods, the surface was very muddy (not surprising after the rain and snow in the last few days) and while I managed to keep running, it wasn't easy to get a foothold.
The worst part for me was, as usual, the downhill stretches. My downhill running seriously needs some work, and people were flying past me on both sides.
Having said that, the hill second time round (there were two laps in the woods) was an absolute killer. It's not often that I admit defeat and walk up a hill, but this was one of those rare occasions. I was completely out of breath and was worried I might give myself a heart attack if I tried to run much furthe! I decided during this race that the hill I use to do hill reps is no longer challenging enough for me - I need to find a steeper one so I can take my hill running to the next level.
I got to the top however, and completed the rest of the race. I nearly had a nasty fall near the 9-mile marker, catching my foot on a loose rock (it wasn't the best of surfaces!). Somehow I managed to pull myself upright, but I'll never know how.
I ran my hardest on the final section along the beach and finished the race in 1 hour 31 minutes. Obviously I'd have liked a better time than that, but I worked out that equates to roughly 9-minute miles. When you consider I couldn't manage 9 minute miles at the Bath half marathon (which is flat and all tarmac) a year ago, to do it on this course shows how much I have improved in the last year.
And most importantly, I came away knowing I had done myself and absolutely enjoyed myself, as per the conversation I had with Pete. The views out to sea were fabulous, and this is an event I will probably do every year. Next year I'm sure I'll be a lot lighter and will aim to do it in less than 1 hour 20 minutes. As I write the next day, I am quite sore and know I must have worked hard during the race!
The afternoon was fun as well. I just relaxed on the sofa with a few cold beers and watched England beating Australia to win the Commonwealth Bank One Day series! I don't much like the Duckworth/Lewis method, but I'll take a win over Australia any way it comes and this was a great end to an otherwise abject tour. Obviously I'm pleased as punch that the boys will come home with a trophy and something to show for their efforts down under. And maybe, just maybe, the upcoming World Cup may give England fans something to shout about.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, February 2007
posted by Jon | 8:54 pm
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