2016: a review of my year

For my final blog post of the year, I thought it would be good to put together my own little review of my last 12 months of running. Whilst 2015 was pretty much defined by one run, this year has been more about steady and gradual plugging away and working hard to try and get my times down across all the main distances (marathon apart!)

I will take a look at some of my best and worst performances, what I have progressed with, what I need to improve, what I achieved and what I didn't manage to do over the course of 2016.

So let's get going...

January

My first race of the year, and first of the crosscountry season was the Lancashire Championships at Witton Park. Having recovered from a bad back over Christmas and new year, I was pleased to be back running, at the end of the month, I returned to the same venue for the Northern Championships and one of the toughest courses I have ever encountered!

February 

The Winter Warmer 10k at Blackburn (again!) provided me with a welcome return to the roads after a ten week absence from racing - the longest spell without a road race I'd had since taking up the sport. I was unsure what to expect and was just glad to get the race over with. I was delighted to take the win too on a very tough course.

I ended the month racing at the National crosscountry championships and had my best ever run in the mud, finishing in 80th position.

March

Wearing the Lancashire red rose vest was one of my proudest moments of 2015, but I hadn't managed to put together a good run, so to be able to get a second stab at he Intercounties this year and finishing in 36th position and second Lancs male was special for me.

April

My first run out at Cheshire 10k saw me record a pb of 32:06, just missing out on my target of sub 32, but was a big boost to my confidence after a shocker at Cardiff Half marathon. On a day when I probably shouldn't have run at all, I struggled round in just under 75 minutes, having gone into the race aiming to break the 70 minute barrier...

May

Christleton 5k was one of my favourite events of the year, and is without doubt the fastest 5k course I have raced on so far. I just missed out on my pb here in 15:08 after a slight misjudgement in the middle stages of the race.

June

It is no secret that Freckleton Half marathon is one of my main races in the calendar year, and one that I am desperate to one day win. I moved a step closer this year, finishing in second place and just missing out on my best time with 70:48.

July

Returning from a fortnight in Turkey feeling about a stone heavier than I had set off, I actually had a decent run on my return to racing just 4 days later, clocking around 15:15 at Podium 5k. It left me feeling positive and ready for an assault on my times in the second half of the year after a good break.

August

A month on from Podium and I felt in prime shape for a go at setting a new pb and hopefully breaking the 15 minute barrier at mid Cheshire 5k. The previous race there had been stacked and plenty had gone under that. This time out surprisingly nobody did, and I actually found myself leading the race throughout to take the win in 15:19.

September

The most bizarre event of the year came at Run Preston 10k, where chasing my first ever sub 32 (and well on course for it at half way), I got decked by an off lead dog. Luckily I bounced back up to win the race, but my ambition of getting the time went out of the window for another day...32:25.

October

Returning to Palma looking to defend my crown in the half marathon from 2015, I managed to do so on another fantastic trip away with team Wesham, full of great laughs and memories. Win in 70:52.

November

Being a bit more careful and selective of my races in October bore fruit in November, as I finally cracked the 10k distance with a fine run at Cheshire 10k to finish in 31:12. Without doubt my best run across any distance to date, I managed a good few scalps on a day where it all came together. A week later I won the Preston 10 mile in 52:34 (new pb), before rounding off an excellent month by winning Wesham 10k in 32:00.

December

My final run out of the year came at Ribble Valley, a slightly below par performance still goes down as my second best run to date over 10k, in 31:59 for 23rd place.

So there we go that was my year, with a total of 3,366 miles recorded, so hopefully some good groundworks and compound fitness in the bank ahead of a return to the marathon in Autumn 2017.

Thanks for reading, all the best to everyone and I hope you all have a successful, happy and prosperous 2017. Much love x

Ribble Valley 10k

Since setting new pb's at Cheshire 10k and Preston 10 mile road races in November, my eyes had been set on Ribble Valley 10k as my next targeted race. 

I had been going well in training and the indications were that I was in good shape to contend with improving that 10k pb further still. My final 'effort' training session prior to the race was last Thursday and I felt good in what was intended to be a final sharpener. The distance of the session was reduced to 2 x 1.5 miles, and I would have been happy to average anywhere in the region of 5 minute mileing. As it was, chasing down Rob Affleck off a 20 second handicap, I went substantially quicker than that. My first mile was recorded at 4:46 and my average pace over the full 3 mile of volume came out at 4:53 pace. It was a good final confidence booster ahead of race day.

All I needed to do now was tick over with some easy mileage and to make it to the race in one piece. I managed to do the latter, however the busy and hectic Christmas time saw me unable to run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day at all. Usually I would have liked to have done at least a few miles on one, if not both of the days leading up to a big race, but I didn't see it as any disaster and hoped I would get away with it and feel fresher for the extra rest.

As it was, this was far from the case. I woke up with the first symptoms of a cold, which has seen me unable to run since race day as it has progressively got worse, and I awoke feeling lethargic and far from "up for it" as I would like to have been. 

I had hoped that once I had warmed up and got a couple of kilometres in that I might grow into the race, but again things didn't quite go that way as I got my tactics wrong and went off too hard through the first 2k and suffered through the middle section of the race as a result.

Thankfully, I managed to find something from 7k to the finish to recover a few positions and to record a respectable time in the circumstances. I came home in 31:59 for 23rd position.

It is perhaps a sign of how far I have come recently that I am now disappointed at having broken 32 minutes, but not doing a bit more too. I actually went 1 second faster than at Wesham 10k a month previous, however it was a completely different type of run. At Wesham I had run a controlled and relaxed race from first to last and almost cruised around for 32 minutes dead and could without doubt have gone quicker. This time out, I ran the same time, but the pace and rhythm was all over the place and I really had to graft and grind the time out with every last ounce of energy. In the end though, I would say that it is a fairly decent result to round off a successful year, and something I can definitely use to kick on further in 2017.

Total mileage for the week (to Sunday 25th): 56

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:24

Total mileage so far this month (December): 241

Total mileage so far 2016: 3345

Average miles per day 2016: 9.35

Picking yourself up

One of the good things about writing a blog such as this, is that you have a permanent method of keeping track of how your training is going and something to reflect back on, plan forwards with and store ideas, memories and feelings too.

This week has been a difficult one on the running front, things have been going quite well for some time now and I have been feeling good and growing stronger each week, but for the first time in a while I found it hard to fit everything in and stay focused this week.

I have always been somebody that likes to keep busy and am always trying to juggle all aspects of life and fortunately up to now I have managed to keep them all in the air. But throwing Christmas into the mix, as well as the added workload and stresses of building up our first home has made that a tad more difficult. 

I have coped quite well so far I think, I have to admit that despite always maintaining that I wouldn't let buying a house impact my running and training, I did have some concerns about how I would manage it all at first. But having PB'd a couple of times and progressing nicely in the first few months since, I think I have managed to adapt quite quickly and it is something that will get easier with time and experience.

This last couple of weeks has seen me also juggling more of a social life too, with Christmas do's and get togethers meaning I've had to be a bit more flexible with my training routine. Saturday just gone for instance was my works do, so I knew I wouldn't be in any shape for my long run this morning! So instead I moved it to Saturday morning, but knowing that I had a busy day of plastering at the house and Moll to get to work for 9am, I had to set the alarm for an early one and was out of the door for quarter to 7 for a 15 miler through the fog! I was pleasantly surprised to maintain a healthy 6:15 pace throughout.

The hiccup this week came on Tuesday, which is usually one of my main speed sessions. I had planned on my first trip to the track in some 5 or 6 weeks and had even planned out my session - I was going to do 4 x 1 mile repeats and a couple of 400s to finish - but I ended up staying late at work and by the time I got out I didn't fancy the trek up to Cottam for a session on my own. Instead, it crossed my mind to do the same hill session that I have done in recent weeks, but no I bottled it and actually ended up having the day off completely! 

I hate missing sessions and especially taking days off, and I always feel guilty when I do so, and this was no different. It was my first day off in a few weeks and in the long run it won't do much damage to have had a little rest, but mentally this week it put me back a bit. We all have blips and are only human though. As a substitute, I did build a mini session into my usual steady run on the Wednesday, doing a 20 minute warm up, 30 minute tempo, and 20 minute cool down. In the 70 minutes I managed just under 11 miles in total, with the 30 minute effort seeing me clock 5.4 miles at 5:35 pace. I did the session on the Wesham handicap route, which is a 2 mile undulating loop so I was able to judge how far I was up to etc throughout. I was fairly happy with how it went as I didn't want to take too much out of the legs before Thursday's speed session with Rob Affleck.

Thursday's run really saw me back on task and I ran strongly in quite windy conditions. I completed our 2 x 2 mile repeats in exactly the same time as the week previous, despite encountering a lot of traffic around the docks and conditions being less favourable. Again I clocked 5:01 average pace per mile, so just about on target pace for Ribble Valley.

I managed to motivate myself to get out of bed early on Friday too to cram in an extra 5 miles before work in my first double run day in a couple of weeks, so I think I have just about covered for Tuesday's little lapse now.

Seen as this will be the final blog before Christmas, I would just like to take the opportunity to wish you all the best. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and get to spend time with all those you love most! The blog will be back for the end of year review on the back of Ribble Valley 10k on the 27th. If anybody has any tips, advice, or requests for how I can improve or progress the page over the next 12 months please feel free to send suggestions 😊

Total mileage for the week: 70

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:31

Total mileage so far this month (December): 185

Total mileage so far 2016: 3289

Average miles per day 2016: 9.37

On the road to Ribble Valley

This week saw me continue my build up ahead of Ribble Valley 10k with a fairly solid week of training. Although I didn't manage to motivate myself to do any of he early morning runs that I had intended on doing, I did still get a decent bit of mileage in each day, and it was all at a fairly decent rate too.

On Tuesday, feeling slightly leggy and tight in the hamstrings, I decided to avoid the track and so instead I did a hill session similar to the one from the previous week, but increasing the amount of reps and intensity of each one slightly. Doing 10 x 2 minute reps off a 60 second recovery, I averaged a pace of around 5:12 throughout and approximately 600 metres each time. I was particularly happy that I managed to maintain my pace right the way through the session, even when the lactic burn started to set in during the final few reps. According to my tomtom watch, I climbed around about 650 foot in total - so around 65 foot per rep, so hopefully this might help strengthen my legs in preparation for the undulating nature of the Ribble Valley course.

On Thursday I did a 2 x 2 mile session, off a 5 minute jog recovery, around Preston Docks. This is a tried and tested effort for me in the build up to 10k races now, as it has seemed to work well for me in the weeks leading up to Preston 10k and Cheshire 10k in recent months. In the two weeks prior to my run at Cheshire I averaged 5:04 and 5:03 on this session for the final weeks respectively. This Thursday , in ideal conditions it must be said, I ran 10:02 and 10:02 for the two repetitions - meaning an average pace of 5:01 and slightly better than anything I did in the build up to Cheshire which is a great thing to know and hopefully an indication of the shape I am currently in.

I got a longer run in on Sunday than I have managed for my long run in recent weeks, clocking up 15.5 miles and it was great to escape the bypass and get into the country lanes for the first time in a good few weeks!

Total mileage for the week: 72

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:25

Total mileage so far this month (December): 115

Total mileage so far 2016: 3219

Average miles per day 2016: 9.36

Taking stock

Fresh from three races in as many weeks, last week was a case of back to the basics and putting in some hard training miles ahead of an attempt at improving my times further at possibly Ribble Valley 10k, but certainly into the new year.

As I am not racing over the next couple of weeks, I will use this time to take stock of what 2016 has brought, the improvements that I have made, and what I need to focus on for the year ahead. I will chart my milestones, achievements, and disappointments alike in an end of year review and post this up in the upcoming blogs later this month,

For this week though, I have another little bit of news to share, in that I have had my place for the Berlin marathon 2017 confirmed, which gives me my main aim for the new year already and will help me to keep focused and determined through the winter months. It is a target that I have had for quite a while now and I am confident that I will be ready for what will be my first marathon in 2 and a half years when the race arrives next September.

In the meantime, the next couple of training weeks is all about upping my mileage again to north of 70 a week in order to get a good solid base to build from at Ribble Valley.

This past week I got off to a good start on that front. I managed to get out and run every day, which helped push the total mileage up slightly, but didn't manage to fit in any early morning running as I was having to set off early for work. Being a bit more local this week, this is something that I will look to do a couple of times to get a few double run days in.

My main sessions last week were a short hill session on Tuesday (7 x 2 minute efforts off 1 minute recovery) and a 4 mile tempo at a steady 5:12 pace on Thursday. My long run wasn't quite as long as I would have liked ideally as I reduced it down to 14.5 miles due to only getting out at 7pm on Sunday, as I'd had a busy day working on the house. Again, this is something to work on as I am concious that my long runs have been reduced for a few weeks now and I could do to start increasing them back up again.

Total mileage for the week: 70

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:22  

Total mileage so for November: 273

Total mileage so far this month (December): 43

Total mileage so far 2016: 3147

Average miles per day 2016: 9.34

Wesham 10k & Dinner Dance 2016

I had really targeted November as being an important month and an opportunity to try and set some new pb's over the 10k and 10 mile distance, whilst also trying to defend my hometown title at the Wesham 10k.

The first parts of those targets couldn't have gone any better of course, as I managed to set big personal bests in successive weeks. The final part of the challenge was to win this weekend's race, and as such I wasn't really bothered too much about the time I recorded as such, but more just about getting the job done.

I was a little bit wary coming into the week about how well I would be able to recover from the ten miler in time for racing again 6 days later, and a third tough race in as many weeks. It is something that I have tried to avoid doing too much this year, as I have tried to be a little bit more selective and sensible about my race choices - but there was no way I could miss my club's home race on our big day, with our end of season dinner dance on the evening of the race too.

Therefore I decided to be very careful about the volume of training I did during the week. I took the Wednesday off completely, and reduced my mileage and intensity of all the sessions on the rest of the days. I also avoided doing any speed work as I was aware that I was feel in a tad leggy and wanted to make sure I was fully recovered and fit to race.

Steven Gore and his team have done an exceptional job of promoting the Wesham 10k this year - it was the first sell out since 2009 and there was a real buzz about the event this time around.

Conditions were cold, clear, but also frosty in some places, which made for a slightly tougher course than it would already have been. I do think that the race team have put together a fast course now and hopefully the numbers and times will continue to improve year on year.

I had targeted running around 32 minutes, and couldn't have gone much closer - running on feel and crossing the line in 32:01 to take a good win.

This November has been a dream for me and such a contrast to the disappointment that the month brought me last year, I think it is fair to say that I have got my approach and training a bit better this time around and have been rewarded with the results I was looking for.

Now I will look to drop back into training, with a view to possibly returning to racing for Ribble Valley 10k at the end of December if I feel that I have got back into decent racing shape again by then.

The Wesham Road Runners Dinner Dance and presentation evening is always one of my favourite nights of the year. It is an opportunity to get dressed up and out of the work scruffs and running gear, and don my suit for a change. It is great to see everyone in a different and more relaxed environment away from the stresses of every day life, for some reason this night always seems to signal the start of the Christmas season for me. I was fortunate to be given the club's road race championship trophy for this year, whilst I was immensely proud to be able to see my mum be named the most improved female of 2016 - a just reward for all her hard work since joining the club!

Total mileage for the week: 57

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:24

Total mileage so far this month (November): 246

Total mileage so far 2016: 3077

Average miles per day 2016: 9.32

Preston 10

Last week's performance at Cheshire 10k was quite probably my best to date across any distance, but it was straight back to work this week as I hoped for a repeat of the pb smashing return at Preston 10 miler this weekend.

There aren't many 10 mile races around that I am aware of, unless you are prepared to travel far and wide for them. Therefore I haven't done one in a long, long time. My last 10 miler was in fact at the Preston event two years ago, with my pb standing at 55:30. Considering my half marathon pace is currently 5:21, the fact that my quickest time for a distance of 5000 metres shorter had an average pace of 5:30 suggested that this required revising considerably.

Speaking to Coach Affleck on the back of the Cheshire performance, we figured that I should be in shape to run between a low 52, to 52 and a half minutes - weather permitting. My main concern through the week was making sure I got my training volume and intensity just right during a week sandwiched between two races, whilst making sure I still did enough to be on peak form on the day.

On Monday I was fairly leggy after the exertions of the 10k, and so although I stuck to my usual 12 miles I eased off the pace a tad and ran slower than I usually would have done. Then on Tuesday I decided to steer clear of the track and instead did a shorter speed session around Preston docks, doing 6x2 minute efforts (1 minute recovery) at 5 minute pace. I was quite pleased with my pace I got down to on the back of a race, but still felt quite tired and heavy legged. Wednesday was an easy recovery run as I just looked to turn the legs over for half an hour or so and clocked 4.5 miles.

The key midweek session was on Thursday as I did a reduced 20 minute tempo with Affleck. It was wet and blustery, and we didn't want to expend too much energy, but tried to get as close to intended race pace as possible, whilst not going out too hard. I was quite pleased to average 5:23s for the session.

On Friday I did a nice and gentle 5.5 miles and then on Saturday met up with Luke Minns for a steady 8 miles at 6:40 pace. It is always difficult juggling racing with trying to maintain decent mileage and consistent training. I was quite pleased to clock a 65 mile week and hoped that I had judged things just right...

Race day. Last week at Cheshire I did a slightly longer than usual warm up of 3 miles, as it worked so well I decided to replicate it this time out too. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the conditions and weather was, compared to the unsettled and blustery weather of the last few days. 

In the race itself, I led out from more or less the start and set the pace. As I don't use my watch for pacing, I just tried to find the limit that I could reach where I was uncomfortably uncomfortable and could just about maintain the pace. For those that haven't done it before, Preston 10 is a two times 5 mile loop, and I was aiming to try and get through half way in as close to 26 minutes as possible. Martin Svensson of Penny Lane Striders put up some resistance and came alongside me at around the 4 mile mark, but I managed to see him off and open up a gap again before the halfway point and continued to put distance between us through the second lap.

I was delighted to set a new 10 mile pb of 52:34 to take the win, my first over the distance. Speaking to Rob Affleck afterwards, we are confident that this performance is a good indicator as to where I should look to be at pace wise over half marathon next year. In some ways I believe this was almost as good as last week's performance, considering I led from the front and set the pace myself rather than working with a pack.

I just need to get through Wesham 10k next weekend now, and then I can take some weeks away from the racing scene and dip back into the training a bit more for a while.

Total mileage for the week: 65

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:31

Total mileage so far this month (November): 189

Total mileage so far 2016: 3020

Average miles per day 2016: 9.35

A breakthrough

Regular readers of the blog will be well aware of my trials and tribulations over the 10k distance over the last couple of years. Despite it being a distance that I have always believed I should be strong over, I have always seemed to fall short of the level I have strived towards.

This led to me jokinwith many (though I didn't find it particularly funny!) about my "10k curse"...the biggest disappointment, of course, being the Podium short course debacle some 16 months ago. Outside of that however, I have also under-performed on the back of good training, but over-racing in the build up to last year's Abbey Dash, seen Ribble Valley cancelled, missed Trafford due to a clash with Intercounties cross-country selection and Salford as I was away doing the Half Marathon in Cardiff. Most recently of course, I was wiped out by a dog when well on course to break the 32 minute barrier at Preston 10k six weeks ago. 

Well, this weekend I was hoping that the stars would finally align for me and I could string out the perfect performance to put to bed that jinx and free my mind of all the nagging feelings of doubt and frustration that has gradually built up inside my head. I knew I was coming into Cheshire 10k potentially in the shape of my life, but I had to go out and prove it.

I have learnt valuable lessons from some of the disappointments over this spell. I pushed myself way too hard last autumn with back to back half marathons in successive weekends in October 2015 effectively killing my form through November, when I should have been in far better shape on the back of some really good sessions. This year, I tweaked my approach, still racing the half in Palma, but stepping back away from racing either side of that race in order to keep myself as fresh as possible ahead of what I hoped would be a bumper November (with Preston 10 mile and Wesham 10k to follow in the next few weeks).

Also, last year I probably pushed my limits a little too close to the edge in training, almost racing my sessions and performing in training to a higher level than I was actually racing!

This time around, I have tried to approach things a tad more sensibly and have held back just a touch in the last couple of tempo sessions.

I had a much reduced week of training in the run up to the race, running an easy 12 miles on Monday, followed by a session of 8 x 2 minute efforts at race pace, off a 1 minute jog recovery, on Tuesday. Wednesday was an easy hour run of 9 miles. On Thursday I took a rare day off training, instead resting up and getting myself booked in for a massage to try and make sure my legs were feeling in top condition. Big thanks to Vicky Birkett for fitting me in and taking care of me! Friday saw me do a final loosener with an easy 6 miles in order to just turn the legs over and get the blood pumping.

I had been fired up and raring to go all week and the race day just couldn't come quick enough.

Arriving at Arley Hall, in Cheshire, the weather was slightly better than forecasted during the week. Despite being wet, the rain was more constant drizzle rather than any downpours, another big plus being the lack of any real noticeable wind. The start of the race was delayed by ten minutes by a backlog of traffic arriving at the race venue.

When we finally did get going, Mohammed Abu-Rezeq flew off into an early lead and went on to dominate the race from the front and was never challenged on his way to take the win in 30:27.

Behind him though, the battle for the remaining positions was far closer, with 6 of us involved in a tight pack and sharing the workload really well in a way that made it so much easier mentally to keep up the pace.

I felt as though I ran a far more controlled and patient race than I have ever done over a 10k before, content to tuck in towards the middle of the pack in the early stages of the race, as I kept hearing the words of all those that have pressed the importance of not setting off too quick in the back of my head. Too many times I have been guilty of starting like a nutter and blowing up. But yesterday I managed to resist the temptation to push the pace.

As usual I chose not to use my watch for pacing, as I have struggled in the past mentally when it has become apparent that I am off the pace I'm targetting, instead I ran on feel, confident in the knowledge that if I was in amongst the likes of Ben Fish, then the pace was bound to be quick anyway!

Almost before I knew it, we were soon through the 4k mark, and I was still feeling fresh, and the group was working together and taking turns to lead it out in a way that worked extremely well for me, each time I took my turn at the front, I made sure to drop back at regular intervals to catch a breath and come back again with a fresh approach.

The pack was still tight and 6 man strong through to 6k, and I was starting to become wary of any of the other runners starting to try and break away and push the pace on, making sure I was prepared and able to react and go with them if they did so. At around this point, Ben Johnson came up the outside of the pack and made a little move. Whether consciously, or sub-consciously, myself and Ben Fish seemed to react to that and push on a little bit from the rest of the pack. At about the 7k mark we began to put a small gap between us and the rest.

It wasn't until we got towards the 8k mark though that it started to sink in to me that I was now well underway in the race, feeling unbelievable compared to how I was anticipating I would be doing at this stage, and running toe-to-toe with a runner that I have always seen as something of an inspiration to me since I came into the sport. I have the utmost respect for Ben, and his achievements he has earned. Previously I probably would have felt a little bit over-awed and out of my comfort zone to find myself in this position. But this time around, I felt comfortable, and as though I wasn't hanging on, but I was genuinely contending for position. I would like to think that our little battle helped us both and having Ben to work alongside definitely pushed me to keep driving on all the way through to the finish.

I still was anticipating the kick to come before long, but as we came through 9k and towards the final corners, I decided to try and strike first and made a break for the finish line. I managed to find a strong finish and went through the line in 31:14 to hold out for 2nd place and a massive personal best. 

Sunday I finished off the week with a steady 12 mile long run with Luke Minns, and my legs felt surprisingly fresh!

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone that has helped and supported me on my quest to become a better runner so far, from my Wesham team mates, my family and friends - especially my brilliant girlfriend Moll - who have stayed supportive and understanding of my training, and everyone I have trained with at the track. Helen Clitheroe's group has definitely helped me move on to a higher standard, and Chris Livesey and more recently Luke Minns have also been great to work alongside for the top end pace work I need. But more than most, Rob Affleck, who has been with me through most on my little journey. This performance just goes to show that despite some others doubts, what we have been working on in training has been setting me in the right direction and the patience has finally started to pay off. Hopefully there is still more to come.

Total mileage for the week: 61

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:30

Total mileage so far this month (November): 124

Total mileage so far 2016: 2955

Average miles per day 2016: 9.35