Tight at the top

Following hot on the heels of Saturday's race at Podium, it was a quick turnaround for Monday's interclub fixture. Wesham hosted he fifth race of the series, with a 4.5 mile course, starting and finishing at BNFL car park in Salwick.

My legs were still battered from the exertions of 48 hours previous, but I was determined to keep my winning run going and hoped that it could help see the team home to victory too.

I ran a nice consistent race, coming home first place in 23:17, at an average pace of 5:09. That was enough to record a 49 second gap to Affleck in second place.

Afterwards, my two and a half mile cool down took me longer to complete than the race itself, as my legs completely seized up! Fair to say I was ready for a massage having not had one in some six weeks...

Just as important to me as the individual victory, Wesham recorded a team win on home turf too. With Blackpool finishing one point better than Preston too, to push them down into 3rd place on the night, it meant that the teams are closer than ever going into the final two fixtures of the campaign.

In fact, Wesham have now moved level on points with Preston at the top of the table going into next months meeting at Chorley.

With just two races and only 8.9 miles in total to go now, things are starting to get interesting and from here on in every single point will count. 

This is the first time since I joined the club 4 years ago that we have got this far into an interclub season still with a realistic chance of finishing in top spot.

Well done to all who turned out this week, let's push on now next time out at Chorley - this could yet be our year!

#teamwesham

Third time unlucky...

As you all know, last Saturday I took part in the Podium 10k spin off race from the successful 5k series that they have developed at Nelson. Billed as one of the quickest courses in the area, and delivering many outstanding times on the night, it appears we now know one reason why it was so fast...

Unfortunately, having measured short on quite a few of the runners garmins on the night, yesterday it was confirmed that after a remeasurement of the course, it was indeed less than the full distance. How much by, I am not yet sure. But short is short, and as a result the times recorded are now null and void.

This is particularly frustrating for me on the back of my previous thwarted attempts to compete in races over the distance already in 2015, but even more so when I know that I genuinely ran extremely well on the night.

The first that I became aware of concerns over the accuracy of the course was on Sunday, when I saw that fellow competitor Jason Cherriman had queried the distance recorded on his garmin. Like many runners - Jason himself included - I am always a bit sceptical of the measurements given out by my watch so wasn't overly concerned, though I must admit my watch had it short too.

I contacted the race organiser on Monday and asked whether I had reason to be concerned and was reassured that the times were correct, and so was the course length. That evening at the latest interclub fixture, I caught up with Brian Porter. Brian is the man who measures and certifies courses to ensure their accuracy and to make them official distances. He was already aware of the discrepancies of runners garmins at the race, but confirmed that he had been and personally measured the course out and that the course (as long as it was marked out the same as he had requested) was 100% accurate.

That night I went to bed still believing that although the race had been under scrutiny, I had still officially ran a new pb time. The following morning I woke up to a text telling me some very different news...

The course had been laid out differently from the official guideline requirement for the certificate to be valid and was therefore now officially short. It was news that was very disappointing and hard to take considering all the hard work I had put into my training for the race - including running whilst away on my holiday to ensure I was in peak shape when I returned.

I have been told that the course could have been as much as 338 metres shorter than the officially measured one, however I find this extremely hard to believe. My own garmin measured it at 9.9k and I believe the shortest recorded was 9.87, although some actually measured accurate and even long - as I say I am very loave to trust readings on watches, especially when they vary so much over the same course!!

I reckon the course was probably short by between 100-150 metres, and if you was to take the bigger distance into consideration, then you could probably add a good 25 seconds onto my time. That would have delivered a time of 31:40 in theory. That would still have knocked a minute off my current pb and is a time I would have been delighted with still, but I admit to feeling more than a little bit frustrated and angry that I have been denied the opportunity of recording an official and accurate time.

Podium race organiser, Chris Barnes, has in fairness reacted quickly and is putting on a fresh (accurate) race within the next few weeks to make amends for the mistake. I cannot fault his reaction and commend him for doing so. I also feel some sympathy for him. Chris wanted to deliver quick times and to help make fast runners go faster against each other, that was the reason for putting Podium on in the first place. The 5k is already a highly successful project, and will only continue to get better and grow. I just hope that this blow isn't too damaging for its reputation. Everybody makes mistakes and these things happen.

Digressing slightly, this whole episode has made me wonder just what would have happened if nobody had been wearing a garmin on the night? The results would probably have stood and people would have trusted the times recorded on a fast, flat track. I wonder just how many races in years gone by - in the pre-garmin era - were in fact short, and therefore how many runners pb's if placed under the same levels of intense scrutiny would have still held up? 

As races compete to deliver the quickest times and strongest fields possible, it makes you wonder...

Podium 10k

For a while now, it has been my 10k time that has been the biggest source of frustration for me. I have felt that I had yet to properly represent what I was able to do over the distance. 

My pb time of 32:39, set at City of Salford 10k last September was an accurate reflection of the standard I was at in 2014. However I felt that having improved across every other distance by quite large chunks so far this calendar year, I was confident that I was now more than capable of a sub 32 minute 10k.

I am sure you will all be more than aware of my previous attempts to run at Trafford and Salford having been scuppered earlier this year. As a result, I had found myself having only done one race over the distance in the whole of 2015. That one being Worden Park, a tough undulating course which I didn't have enough high quality competition. Yet I ran within 10 seconds of my pb there, so I knew that I was in shape to take a hefty chunk off when I did finally find the right course and level of opposition.

A few months ago I competed in a new 5k event in Nelson, called 'Podium 5k' it had a great standard of opposition and as such it forced a higher level of performance out of me too - seeing me better my previous time by 16 seconds.

Shortly afterwards, I heard about the possibility of them putting on a 10k version of the race. When the plans were confirmed, I immediately put my name down, and ever since then I have been working hard towards making sure I was in the perfect condition to do myself justice in the race.

Last night, that race finally came round. 10 laps of a cycle track, the course is pan flat - the flattest you will find anywhere - and with a fantastic standard of athletes participating, everything was in place for me to finally nail a time that I could be happy with.

The race was won by Ben Fish in 30:15, with Dave Rigby second in a new pb of 30:35. Third place recorded approximately 31 minutes flat and my coach Rob Affleck smashed his own pb by running about 31:08 - his previous best being 31:54! Having given him a lift to the race, it's fair to say it was a good atmosphere on the drive home!

Myself? Well I had targeted taking at least a minute off my best time, and ideally wanted to give myself a shot at breaking the 31 and a half minute barrier. Driven on by the high class field, and encouraged by a good and vocal support, I managed to demolish my previous best by running 31:15 - knocking some 84 seconds off my time recorded at Salford and being good enough for 5th place. That in itself was amazing for me, as it meant I beat some outstanding athletes- including Jason Cherriman, who ran 2 hours and 22 minutes at the London marathon this year, and whose blog I have been following closely in his build up to an attempt at 2:20 at Berlin this September.

The course, and competition was fantastic, and the conditions could have been a lot worse - although there was a nasty head wind down the final straight, which of course we had to run into ten times. But overall, the setting couldn't have been much better for a pb attempt.

I would like to commend Chris Barnes and his team for putting on such a successful event. I am sure the Podium series will continue to grow and flourish as more runners become aware of it, and the promise of quick times and an atmosphere that allows athletes to perform to the best of their ability.

He only blot on my performance last night would probably be a poor fourth mile, which saw me run a 5:18 and drop some 7-8 seconds behind Affleck and the runner that finished third, as for the first three miles we had packed well, but once I dropped behind them, I was never able to close the gap back up again.

This performance has been a massive relief for me though and a boost to my confidence that I am able to compete at this standard of competition. I am already starting to turn my attentions to targeting an attempt at sub 31 now!

But that can wait a while, as I let the new pb settle in. It's a great feeling!

Packing

Right, well I am off on my holiday with Moll tomorrow, and thinking of things to do to avoid the final bits of packing, so decided to write a blog post about last night's race.

It was the second race in the Catforth Canter 5k trilogy, and it was set in much the same conditions as the first. That is bright, hot sunshine, with very little wind - pretty much perfect conditions.

Pulling in to the car park, I spotted Rob Webb of Rossendale, who was on the Lancashire cross country team in the Intercounties, so I knew that I would be in for a challenge and a good race. Rob also narrowly beat me at the Green Drive 5 last year and we have had quite a few good battles in the past.

I managed to grab a word with him before I started my warm up and as I thought, it confirmed that we would both be looking to run similarly, in order to run in and around 15:30. It was good to know that I wouldn't be having to run the race alone as I had done the previous month at the first race of the series.

Having Rob Webb there made it easier for me to judge the pace of the first mile, and we settled nicely into a rhythm that was maintainable - in contrast to the 4:40 pace I set off in last time out!

In this first mile, as the pace was more sensible, others were able to stay in and among us at the front end, and as we approached the first mile marker there were four of us packing nicely at 4:55 pace. The other two in the group being fellow plasterer(!) Raymond Edgar of Lancaster, and young Joe Monk of Blackburn.

I think we all benefited from being able to form a group at a fast, but steady pace. Edgar eventually finished second and narrowly missed out on a pb by just one second (25:40), whilst Monk followed up from his pb last time out by shaving another 3 seconds off his time (16:12) - well done Joe! In his first 5k outing of 2015 Webb ran a fast 15:42 for third place, within 10 seconds of his own pb.

This all just goes to show the power of packing, and despite the fact that we are all ultimately individuals racing against each other, by running it together and sharing the workload it is easier to run quick times.

As it turned out, I found myself pulling away from the others, as I maintained my first mile pace well through mile two. Despite the second mile being on a gradual climb, I clocked 4:57 for it and felt good going into the final mile - the difference between equal pacing here and the madness of last time out was unbelievable.

In the third and final mile, I dropped slightly off 5 minute miling as I was now out in front and perhaps if I had been harder pushed to the finish I might have snuck in a few seconds quicker. However 5:02, followed up by a big sprint finish just wasn't enough for me to record a personal best this time out.

It was though enough to set a new course record of 15:26, shaving four seconds off the previous best set 12 months ago by Stuart Robinson.

A good way to leave off before my holiday next week - I'm packing my trainers though of course! But it is a well needed break and I can't wait to spend time in the sun with Moll and recharge the batteries.

Thank you all that have followed my running diary so far, I look forward to updating you again when I return from Malta! :)

Rob

Turning up the heat

Race four of this year's interclub series saw Thornton Cleveleys hosting for the first time in hot and humid conditions, which were incomparable to anything that many of us had encountered before.

The Mercury had tipped 30oC and despite a stiff breeze, it was far from cooling. At work during the day I had heard it described, quite brilliantly, as a "holiday wind" the kind where hot air just hits you flat in the face.

Set on the promenade in blisteringly bright sunshine, the backdrop for the race was quite spectacular, warming up I managed to really appreciate and take in the views across the beach and sea, despite already literally dripping with sweat before we'd even began racing!

It wasn't only from the sun that I was feeling the heat before starting though, knowing that a win would see me clinch the championship, on the basis that it is your best 4 races to count and I already had 3 race wins in the bag.

My chances were aided by the fact that Dave Rigby was absent due to racing at a track meet, however 3 time interclub champion Rob Affleck was there so I knew I would still have to be at my best if I wanted to claim the victory.

I was slightly unsure of how I was to approach the race due to the extreme conditions, in two minds as whether to go out and attack from the front, or wait until later on in the race to make a move in case the heat effected my endurance.

As we lined up on the line before the gun, in truth I still didn't know how I was going to go about the race tactically, but as soon as we were off and running my feet made the decision for me. I reacted quickest setting off and was immediately on the front foot. Within the first strides I must have opened up a good couple of metres length lead.

I still had a few little concerns in my mind that I might have set off too quickly, but decided that since I had made the move to set a quick pace early on, it was now up to me to push through with it and run hard.

I made a conscious decision not to look at my watch throughout the race and to just run on feel. The first mile was fairly flat, but into a stiff head wind which made it a little more difficult. Looking back on my watch I recorded 5:10 for this mile.

Mile 2 saw a couple of undulations and an overall climb, whilst still into the head wind. I had tried my best to keep the charge on, but it had felt like a slightly slower mile, so it is unsurprising to find out that I ran 5:25 for this mile.

The third mile started off into the same head wind still, but after about a third of this mile we came around the end of the promenade and dropped down an embankment to be running back alongside sea level. I had expected to have the wind behind me on the return, but a combination of the fact we were now hidden from it by the promenade wall and the temperature made for stifling conditions.

I had sneaked a look over my shoulder as I came around the corner of the out and back course, and saw that I had opened up a good 20 second or so lead. My pace for the mile was back to around that which I started the race, recording 5:09. I followed this up with a 5:12 for mile four, but I was really having to dig deep by this point to keep up the pace.

Knowing that I was now so close to clinching the championship spurred me on somewhat though, and  I finished with my quickest mile - closing with a 5:05, despite easing up over the final metres. I finished with a pb time over 5 miles of 26:04. I was surprised to find how big a gap I won by in the end, perhaps the heat playing a part, as Affleck came home in 27:10 for a comfortable second place.

So there we go, I have done enough I think and should now have claimed the interclub title for 2015. Some people have questioned the importance of the competition recently, but to me I could not be clearer. This has always been a top target for me to achieve, ever since I came 17th in my first ever interclub outing 4 years ago. Stuart Robinson won at Wesham interclub that day, from Steve Littler in second, Affleck in 3rd and in a race that also featured Rigby, an in his prime Gethin Buttler and Steve Hallas. 

Robinson went on to win the Interclub crown that year. Affleck has since won it three years on the bounce, so I am in good company here!

Yes it has been questioned just how competitive it is at the front end of the championship right now, but anyone who has seen how Dave Rigby has been performing this year, and knows how close fought the two races I have had against him so far this campaign will know that I have not had it easy. Rob Affleck is actually running similar, if not quicker times to his previous seasons - it's just that myself and Dave have improved.

To question whether the top runners of the clubs involved in this competition should compete in it is wrong in my opinion. If newer club runners, inexperienced against higher standard fields don't get the opportunity to race against better quality here, then when will they? If we genuinely want to improve the standard of our sport, then segregating runners entirely into races by ability would be a poor move. You only get better by running against and with better runners - and that goes through the field, not just for the boys and girls at the front of a race.

It is my belief that the interclub series provides an important stepping stone for hopefully future success. I would have always regretted it if I hadn't have managed to win it at least once, and now I can say I have. It is an achievement that I am proud of. The fact that I have done so whilst representing the club that first gave me the opportunity to run makes it all the more satisfying.

Wisdom teeth, birthdays, hangovers and a 7 day working week...

After completing Freckleton Half in a very satisfactory time and position last Sunday, this week looked like being a tough one for me to do any sort of training at all.

I actually decided to put this down as a 'rest week' as I just couldn't see myself fitting in many miles at all, so rather than get disappointed about the fact, I chose to take a relaxed view of things and targeted managing 30 miles for the week.

With a holiday around the corner, and Podium 10k to train for however, I was also conscious of the fact that I didn't want my fitness to drop too much either.

So I decided to run to work on Monday morning, in order to fit some miles in before my tooth extraction that afternoon. Since I was working in Lytham with my dad I fit in 9 steady miles before work. It was an important run to fit in psychologically for me as I wasn't sure how long I would be laid up with my bad tooth.

As it turned out, I took the day off on Tuesday, but was relatively pain free by Wednesday and so ran home from work in Preston that evening. I had to take it easy, but was happy to get another 6 miles in.

Thursday was my birthday, and wanting to celebrate with moll and the family over a meal and film, I chose to run home again from work, rather than do my usual structured tempo. I fit in 8 more miles though at a slightly faster pace than the day before.

Friday night I was out once again, celebrating the end of Molly's exams and my birthday - so again it was a case of fitting miles in on the way home from work! Another 8 of them. Although none of these miles were structured as properly as normally, by this point I had somehow managed to fit in 31 miles before the weekend.

Which was just as good, seen as I had a dirty stinking hangover on Saturday morning! I did go for a 7 mile jog before work in order to sober up and come around enough to make it through the day - but I'm not afraid to say that it was the worst I have felt in a long long time!!

Today I ended up plastering Molly's bedroom ceiling, as part of her room redecoration, and so I have found myself working a 7 day week - understandably perhaps, I was a little bit leggy and jaded on my long run tonight. I ended up cutting it short at 12 miles, but was happy with the pace at 6:20 m/pm.

Overall, considering how much I had going on this week, I am actually happy with a 50 mile week and look forward to a big push in training and races this week before I jet off on holiday with Moll a week on Monday. I cannot wait!

Freckleton Half Marathon 2015

I trained hard for this one, 7 weeks of work at an average of 66 miles per week. Plus they were good quality miles too, enough racing, a mix of distances on the track and plenty of tempo runs too. So my expectations were pretty high for this year's Freckleton Half Marathon, a race that is special to me, but that I didn't feel it had done myself justice at since my first effort 4 years ago.

On Friday night, as I had my final massage in preperation for the race, Brian Porter told me an interesting fact - and thus laid down the gauntlet - no former junior champion of the race has ever gone on to nail a top 3 placing in the overall race...

That gave me an extra little bit of motivation and another target, although it wasn't really needed - I had been up for this race all week (and some) and was raring to go.

Last year, at the 50th anniversary of the race (the oldest half in the UK, don't forget!) I finished in 7th place, in 77:21 after coming out on top in a sprint finish for the position. It had felt like somewhat of a failure though, having worked hard for 12 months and having targeted closer to 76 minutes. But the heat had done for me, and having never really been comfortable at the pace, I wilted and lost a minute or so in the final 3 miles down the dreaded bypass!

This time out, knowing I was in far better shape - both physically and mentally - what with the confidence of a few race wins and a solid bank of training behind me, I felt ready to attempt to set a new PB. My current PB time being 71:54, set at Wilmslow earlier in 2015.

Setting out with a lap of the playing fields, before entering the village by running up Green Lane (my old stomping ground as a kid!) Ben Fish and John Mason quickly broke away in their own race for the title. It was good to be able to see the battle unfold a bit more this year, seen as I was a bit closer to them for at least a bit longer! It seemed as though Ben put in a bit of a push during the third mile and opened up an advantage - a gap that Mason couldn't then close as Fish claimed his record ninth win at Freckleton.

Mason is an exceptional athlete himself, a regular in the race, he has travelled over from his home in Canada each year since I have been doing the event, and this was his third time as runner up I believe. Only 20 seconds seperated the two in the end, as both ran sub 70.

Back to my own run, and despite the front two breaking clear very early on, the pace through the first mile for the chasing pack was still quick - we went through the first mile in 5:08 - bearing in mind that I knew an average of 5:28 would be PB pace, I already had time in the bank, which I knew would probably be needed as the next few miles would be into a fairly strong head wind. The usual heat wave hadn't materialised this year, and the stiff cooling wind may have made for slightly difficult conditions, but at least they kept it cool!

Mile two saw a 5 strong pack, with myself, Rob Affleck, Gary Pennington and a couple of others packing nicely - a runner from Otley running club (Yorkshire?) had originally set off alone in 3rd, but had soon dropped back in to join this group. I later found out he was a 2:24 marathon runner - so I was in amongst some quality athletes.

That second mile was 5:27, whilst mile 3 was 5:29. We had settled into a really good rhythm and as we turned off Kirkham Rd and into the country lanes heading towards Wrea Green, it was looking good for time. At this point we hit the wind...

Mile 4 was slightly slower pace - clocking in at 5:36 - but I wasn't too concerned at this stage, knowing that it was due to the conditions and also that the time in the bank from mile 1 meant I was still on track. On a downward section of the undulations on this mile, Gary Pennington put on a bit of a spurt. Me and Affleck followed, but the rest in the pack started to drop away, as we began to break away into our own smaller pack.

Later on in the race, Gary would confess that it was a bid from him to break free of the next civil service runner - and it sure worked for him!

Miles 5 and 6, through Wrea Green, timed in at 5:34 and 5:31 respectively, as we still battled with the elements through the first mile or so of this stretch, before getting the wind behind us for a bit as we came around the Green. It was good to see support from watching members of Team Wesham, who came with water in supply - even if I did miss it at the first attempt! Thanks Kerry for getting it to me again!

Mile 7 was steady at 5:31, and I was still in and around PB pace. However miles 8 and 9 through Saltcotes and around the country lanes into Lytham we were back running into a head wind. 5:37 and 5:35 miles saw our predicted time drop to 72:20, as that PB began to slip away.

In the back of my mind though I thought that if we could just get to the bypass in touching distance, then the next stretch would see the wind behind us right up until the final mile, so time could well be made up there.

Between 9 and 10 miles, myself and Rob Affleck pressed on as we entered that bypass stretch, a 5:20 mile saw us break clear of Gary Pennington and into a two-way battle for 3rd. Taking onboard some more much needed water - once again courtesy of the fantastic Team Wesham support crew! - we continued down the bypass at an increased pace.

During mile 11, Rob took on the lead and looked to push on, and although I was always able to keep him within reach, I could feel my body beginning to tire and knew that I would be hard pressed to beat him. But, if I could just keep up, perhaps the PB could still be on after all. Miles 11 and 12 both timed in at 5:26 each, probably just a little too conservative for me to catch up on the seconds needed.

Mile 13 was a case of hanging on and putting in that last bit of energy - at half a mile I was on for a 5:15 mile, which might just have seen me home in time - but I ended up with a 5:20, as Green Lane saw us into another headwind. Around the final corner and into the finish line, Rob had got away with a six second gap to dip under 72. I crossed the line in 72:04 - ten seconds short of PB time, but a massive 5 minutes and 17 seconds quicker than last years effort. I finished up in 4th position, my best yet at the event.

No doubt next year I will be there again, and with another 12 months of training and (hopefully) improvements to my technique and overall running fitness, who knows I might be able to go quicker and break into that front 3. We will give it a go anyway!

Ben Fish, John Mason, Rob Affleck and Rob Danson in position from the start!