14:52 (Mid Cheshire 5k)

Last August, I travelled down to Kingsley in Cheshire to run in a 5k race that I had been told about that was gaining a reputation for producing quick times. The previous race, last April, had seen half a dozen runners clock under 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the August race didn't have quite the same depth of quality - which combined with really heavy rain - meant that it wasn't condusive to such quick times, and I actually came away from the race taking the win in a rather moderate time of 15:20.

Although I was slightly disappointed with my time that day, I had seen enough from the event to know that on another day, with more competition, this was a very quick course. A few months later, the race got handed the English Championships, and in turn this meant that a rapid and stacked field was put together. I knew that I simply had to be in on it, and that this was a genuine occasion for a shot at setting a new pb.

My main concern coming into the race, was whether I was sharp enough and had that very top end speed, having not done much in the way of genuine fast pace work for a few months. What I have been doing well though is running lots of hard tempos, fartlek sessions, progression runs and most importantly for me - racing.

My recent races have all gone well, and as a result my confidence levels have soared in recent weeks. The final part of my preparation this week, was to do a short and sharp track session - my first since November - just to prove to myself that the speed was there and that I could cope with the 4:50 pace that I needed if I wanted to clock my first sub 15.

The track session couldn't have gone any better. Rob Affleck set up the session for me and acted as my hare to chase down, setting off before me and making me work to close him down over each rep. We did 6 x 800 metres, off a 90 second 200 metre jog recovery. We had targeted me coming away with an average of 2:25 for each rep - which would represent a solid 3 miles at race pace. What I actually produced was something a little bit quicker than I had anticipated, but better still, I grew in both pace and confidence as the session developed. My six reps were as follows: 2:21, 2:21, 2:20, 2:18, 2:18, 2:18. My average time for each rep was just under 2:20, or about 4:40 pace per mile. More importantly, I actually felt controlled throuout, and knew I had more left in the tank. For my first track session in so long, I was delighted with that outcome.

The rest of the week leading up to the race was spent just ticking over with a mixture of steady paced and easy running, making sure that I was fresh and ready for action on Friday night. Rather than concerning myself with hitting certain mileage goals, I decided to just go out and run for an hour on Wednesday (9.3 miles at 6:28 pace) and then cut down to half an hour on Thursday (4.4 miles at 6:51 pace).

Another couple of key aspects to this week's build up was that I have recently made a slightly more conserted effort to fuel myself better. I've had plenty of rice, pasta and jacket potatoes - as burger and chips have become more and more a thing of the past for me. Also, I have started taking on board a lot more water, and even (very slightly) less caffeine! Furthermore, I have been very fortunate to be put on a few easier jobs this week and managed to escape early on Friday to rest up ahead of the race. Even down to my mum offering me a lift to Cheshire took away the stress of having to drive an hour and a half to the venue. My parents and Molly have always been so supportive of me and my running, I am so lucky to be surrounded by as many people as I am that care and help me in every way possible to be the best that I can. 

Rob Affleck has been a huge influence on me and has taught me to plan my training and races properly, whilst also listening to my own needs and targets that I'm aiming for - I personally don't think that I could have hoped for a better coach for my own progression so far and I am massively greatful for all his help getting me to this point. Hopefully we can continue to progress and keep making the strides that we have together so far.

As I already knew what the course was like, I knew that it was vitally important to get off to a good start, without getting carried away with the pace set by the lads at the very front end, as the second and third kilometres were largely up hill and would be more about digging in. As we came through the first k marker, we were told that we had gone through in 2:42. My first instinct was that this was a bit fast - especially seen as 3:00 average was the requirement for that sub 15! 

  

But I knew that it was all time in the bank and that I was now ahead of the rate, we then went through the mile in 4:27. In the past, going through in such a fast pace would have ruined me and I would have fallen to pieces, but I am definitely building my endurance now, and I managed to hold it together as we began the long section of climbing back up the hill. I heard another shout as we went through 3k that we were on 9:00 which meant that I was bang on track at the top of the climb.

Fortunately I was also in a nice tight pack of 4 runners, and we all shared the load and pushed each other all the way to the line. As the finish tunnel came into view with about 100 metres to go, I could see the clock and knew that I was going to be on for a huge personal best and I didn't even need to dig into the deepest reserves to make it home under that magical 15 minute barrier.

I finished up with 14:52 and 18th position overall, as a massive 23 runners in total went under 15 minutes, with the winning time being a rapid 14:01. Hopefully this is just the first time I go under this time now, and I will be looking to repeat the performance at Christleton 5k at the back end of May.

Total mileage for the week: 70.5

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

Total mileage so far this month (April): 319.5

Total mileage for 2017: 1180

Average miles per day 2017: 9.83

Mind over marathon

London isn't the only marathon of course, but it is far and away the biggest, boldest and more than any other, the place to be. I watched with great interest and and a touch of jealousy (!) as all the runners set off on their own 26.2 mile journeys nth is morning. Be it elite runners, club runners, fun runners, or people running in aid of charity or in memory of loved ones, every single runner undertook the same challenge.

If you watched the brilliant BBC documentary "Mind over marathon", then you will know that ten of the runners on that start line were running to raise awareness for the "heads together" campaign championed by the Royal family. They are encouraging people to talk about mental health and championing the benefits of physical exercise is one way in which they are doing so.

It is perhaps apt that the heads together campaign should be this year's charity of choice for VLM. The marathon is such a unique, exhausting, relentless and unforgiving challenge at times - not just physically, but mentally also. You always know there will be a point in the run when doubt, and questions will pop into your mind, you just have to overcome them.

If you didn't catch the programme, please catch it on the iPlayer, it really is a fantastic watch. You can see through the first part how they have all already bought into a shared sense of belonging, community and purpose.

In my opinion, we have a truly special community in the running world, and despite any little rivalries that we all have, at the end of the day we all want to see each other do well, improve and most importantly enjoy our running. Speaking from a personal perspective, running has helped shape me into a much more rounded and better person I hope. When I first started, I was in kind of a state of flux, having left school and drifted away from previous friendship groups, I struggled at university and didn't really fit in. Joining a running club gave me a new focus and direction. It has also provided me with countless opportunities and has seen me meet and befriend some of the best people I could wish to meet. And of course I met Moll!

One of the best moments and a highlight of this mornings race was seeing Matthew Rees of Swansea Harriers (team mate of first GB athlete Josh Griffiths, who had a sensational run - what a day for Swansea!) forfeiting his own finish to help a struggling runner over the final stretch down the Mall to the finish. It was a great show of sportsmanship and humanity that I believe is unique to the running community, and which makes me feel so proud to be a part of what we have.

I would also like to say a big well done to all of my team mates at Wesham that represented our club so well there today, I hope you all enjoyed your day (minus the running pain!) and are happy with your results. Also well done to Ugis at Blackpool marathon this morning too, running sub 3 hours.

I think we are in the midst of an upturn in performance in the UK at the minute too with distance running, some of the times recorded by the elites this morning were fantastic, and the amount of sub 2:30 efforts was brilliant to see. Locally, Ben Johnson of Southport and Waterloo had a barnstorming run in 2:21:46 - phenomenal!

There was no marathon for me today, mine is 154 days away and counting, and training will kick into full swing for it in about 6 weeks time - scary stuff! 

I upped my mileage up above the 80 mile mark for the first time this year, this week, as I aim to try and get my body adjusted and ready for the heavy miles ahead - I don't want it to come as too much of a shock to the system so hopefully I can ease my mileage up gradually before I get my proper marathon training underway.

On Monday I ran a total of 13 miles, with my usual half hour jog before meeting with the running club to add on 9 miles with them.

On Tueday I did a similar speed session to the previous week, by doing the same 3 minute on, 1 minute off, fartlek session. As I wasn't racing this week I added a couple of extra reps and did 8 in total, giving me 24 minutes of effort in total at an average pace of 5:07. Including the warm up, cool down and recoveries, I managed to complete my 10 mile loop in just under the hour so was pleased with the session as a whole.

I ran easy on Wednesday, ticking over for an hour and managing just over 9 miles for 6:38 pace.

Thursday was my usual meet up with Rob Affleck, and we turned our attentions towards some upcoming shorter distance races, so did a shorter, sharper session of 2 x 1.5 mile reps. I clocked 7:23 for both reps and was happy with my pace and consistency throughout. I will need to go a bit quicker on race day to get the times I want, but hopefully with the race day adrenaline and competition around I will find a little bit more.

Again I ran easy on Friday with 8 miles at 6:35 pace, before doubling up on Saturday by doing the Lytham park run as a tempo workout (15:48), whilst Moll ran a new best time of 27:58(!) and then doing an easy 5 miles in the evening.

I ended the week with my long run on Sunday morning - I got it out of the way nice and early to make sure I didn't miss any of the marathon coverage! I was pleased with how relaxed and comfortable I felt and I just ran nice, steady and consistent for the 17.5 miles at 6:15 pace throughout.

Total mileage for the week: 80

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:28

Total mileage so far this month (April): 249

Total mileage for 2017: 1109.5

Average miles per day 2017: 9.82

Salford 10k 2017

When things start to click for you, the feeling of hitting form when running is something that can't be compared to any other experiences I've had in other sports.

On the flip side, when you aren't quite on it, our sport can be the most unforgiving and difficult to cope with. At the start of the year I felt that I was scratching around for form and struggling on my training runs. I started to get quite frustrated as each setback and mishap followed on in quick succession and it seemed at that time to be pretty relentless. I've spoken to lots of other runners about it, and it is obvious that we all experience times like this. It is how you react to it that is important, as eventually if you keep your chin up and your feet busy, it will eventually pass and your form will return.

Thankfully, my luck seemed to change with Trafford 10k in March, I surprised myself with how fast I ran there, but am in no doubt that it was simply the strength and depth of the field that day that got me through that one. But that one performance is all you need. Since then, gradually with every run, and every passing race, I have gained more and more confidence and momentum and I have found that I have begun to relax much more in my training. 

Between that and the improving weather and light meaning that I can now escape back into the country lanes, I really feel in a brilliant place right now with my running again. All those hard runs and long slogs through the winter, the rubbish sessions and the tough miles suddenly all seem worth it for the place that I am in right now. When you you are able to enjoy your running, you simply have to make the most of it, and when you are in form you have to deliver while you can.

Everyone knows the frustration I felt when trying to break the 32 minute barrier for 10k, it seemed to take an age to make the transition from a sub 33 runner, to a sub 32 one. But when I finally managed it at Cheshire last November, it genuinely felt a weight was lifted and I stopped putting quite so much pressure on myself. That I then was able to follow it up so quickly with another pb at Trafford then helped me relax even more, it meant that I felt I had proved that the Cheshire performance wasn't a fluke or a one off and that I could do it again. It gave me greater belief in myself.

It is so important that you believe in yourself, in the path that you have set for yourself and in the goals that you want to achieve.

My next goal for the 10k is of course to now break 31 minutes, and my first attempt at that was to come at Salford on Good Friday. It was a good excuse to take a morning off work if nothing else!

In the build up to the race, I had a fairly relaxed start to the week, with a steady ten miles on Monday at 6:19 pace, followed by an easy 8.5 miles on Tuesday at 6:26s. I booked in for a massage on Tuesday evening in preparation for the race to make sure all the lactic was out of my legs from my last couple of races.

My only real session was on Wednesday. I had intended to do a short track effort, but was unable to make it so instead did a substitute workout of 6 x 3 minute efforts off a 1 minute recovery. As I was less than 48 hours away from the race, I made sure not to go flat out - but running as close to race pace as felt comfortable. I managed 5:07 pace on average and it left me feeling confident of a good run on race day as I felt strong and relaxed throughout.

On Thursday I made sure to reign it in and just ran an easy 10 kilometres through the lanes at 6:40 pace and just concentrated on finding a nice rhythm and turning my legs over just enough.

The race kicked off at 10am on Friday morning and despite once again being wet and rainy conditions, there wasn't much in the way of wind to contend with, so the weather was pretty condusive to quick times.

I was able to get a good position on the startline in order to make sure I got away smoothly across the line and straight into the race at the front in the middle of the lead pack. There was a strong field battling it out and that meant there was plenty of bodies in amongst it at the front end to work with.

Salford 10k is a two lap course, with the only short incline coming around a kilometre into each lap, other than that the rest of the course is pan flat, with a downhill section around 3.5 and 8.5k in.

It really is a fast course, and I would argue a quicker one than Trafford even - but the strength in depth for the field isn't as strong which makes it that little bit more difficult to push yourself to go quicker. Fortunately for me, I was in a great battle throughout and so I was pushed all the way around.

I couldn't have ran the first lap any more evenly, with all of the first three miles recorded at 4:57 pace, and I passed the 5k mark in 15:20, meaning I was slightly ahead of my target pace. I was tucked nicely into a strong group, which as the leader dropped out at halfway began to battle it out for first place unbeknown to me!

Marc Brown of Salford and a runner from Stockport Harriers began to open up a bit of a gap from the rest of the field early into the second lap, but our pack just about managed to keep them in sight and within range. Again, working as part of a group proved hugely beneficial as we encouraged each other to keep going and keep digging in. At 7k, with the pace just beginning to lag a little (mile four was down to 5:05 pace up the incline), I was given the encouragement I needed as one of the other lads piped up with "If we want to get that 31 minutes we are going to have to pick up the pace back down the hill".

It gave me the edge I needed and I worked hard through 8k to get within striking distance of the Stockport runner. Half a kilometre on, I went passed him down the cobbled street and tried to chase down the Salford runner, that I hadn't realised at that time was now leading the race.

I dug in and keeped trying to crank up the pace as much as I could down the big long straight towards the finish line. There was one last sharp turn to the finish line and the clock was reading 30:56, 57, 58 as I gave it everything trying to stride over the line and dip under. It wasn't to be on this occasion but I was elated to record a new pb of 31:01 to clinch second place.

I am delighted with that time, but not content to settle for it. Missing out on the sub 31 is going to be my motivation to keep wanting to improve in the future. Hopefully with lots of hard work, I will get here eventually.

I concluded my week with a relaxed 10 miles at 6:15 pace on Saturday, after watching Molly run superbly at Lytham Park Run to beat her previous best time by almost 3 minutes(!) and my weekly long run of 16.5 miles on Sunday.

Total mileage for the week: 72

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:20

Total mileage so far this month (April): 169

Total mileage for 2017: 1029.5

Average miles per day 2017: 9.71

Blackpool interclub 2017

I have always loved the local interclub series. There is just something about it that captures my imagination. I always see the start of the series as the beginning of the summer season and the return of the better weather. The sense of competition and the fact that every runner taking part is a registered club runner helps too. Then there is the racing in the evening aspect, I love that too - it is just something a bit different and it is great to be a part of a team event, I reckon it draws something extra out of your performance.

The series returned on Wednesday this week with the first race of the 2017 season, with Blackpool playing hosts to the first fixture once again with their two lap course totalling 4 miles around Stanley Park.

You tend to find that the turn out is typically that little bit better for this first fixture, as the sun tends to be shining and as all the teams look to try and make the best possible start to their campaign. The turnout this time around didn't disappoint, with almost 400 runners making their way to the startline.

At the beginning of the week, heading towards race day, my knee was thankfully beginning to feel a bit better and the pain that I have been experiencing in recent weeks was subsiding more each day. I had just ran fairly steady through both Monday (10.5 miles at 6:27 pace) and Tuesday (8.5 miles at 6:35 pace) and so I was feeling fairly fresh going into the race.

Fortunately I had managed to arrange a job just around the corner from Stanley Park for Wednesday and so I was able to get to the venue in plenty of time for a good long relaxed warm up without stressing about innocuous things such as parking and traffic. I did a 3.5 mile warm up, sprints and stretches and still had time for a bit of a mooch around and a good chat with a few friends prior to the start.

There was plenty of competition at the front end for this first race, with usual suspect Rob Affleck accompanied by Dave Rigby who was back sporting his Preston Harriers vest as he used the race as a sharpener ahead of representing Salford at the national road relays at the weekend. Luke Minns was also there running for Blackpool, so it was all set to be a fast pace from the outset.

Once we got underway, I managed to manoeuvre myself to the front of the pack as we headed into the park and down through the wooded area for the first time. The pace through the first mile was very good as we went through in 4:49 and myself and David Rigby managed to open up a bit of a gap to those following as the course headed out onto the perimeter of the park for the first time.  

Through mile two, the pace remained fairly quick as the course carried us back into the park over the little bridge and as we headed around the lake and skate park and back towards the fountain that signalled the end of the first lap. We encountered one small problem as we completed the lap, as an off lead dog was left by its owner to run across the course and jump around my ankles - fortunately this time I managed to stay on my feet and didn't lose too much momentum, even if I did have to alter my path and put the brakes on to miss colliding with it. Again I apologise to those around that would have heard some bad language on my part - sorry!!

The pace through that second mile had remained under 5 minute mileing, as I clocked 4:57, and still there was absolutely nothing separating the two of us as we pushed each other every step of the way heading into the second half of the race.

I managed to pinch a few yards worth of time advantage through the third mile despite the pace easing back slightly as I held out ready in case a big finish was needed. Still I recorded 5:05 for the third mile so it still wasn't a slow mile. Then on the final mile the pace increased again as the end of the race was in sight, I had felt surprisingly comfortable throughout the entire race and even in the final stretch I felt as though I had more left in the tank despite finishing with a 4:57 mile there was no real sprint to the finish as I was happy to run it in with the knowledge I was well under my 20 minute target and enough of a gap behind me, finishing in 19:43. 

The performance bodes really well ahead of Salford 10k on Good Friday if I can maintain my form.

The rest of the Wesham team performed brilliantly too and we pulled something of a shock off to come away from race one with the men's team victory - a great performance and a remarkable result for us really considering the strong opposition. Hopefully we will continue to turn out in force to have a successful season.

The second half of the week was mainly about recovering from the race and building up as many miles as possible before the weekend as I was away on a stag do with the lads so wouldn't be in any state to run! 

On Thursday I doubled up, clocking 5 miles before work at 6:50 pace, followed by 9 miles in the evening at 6:35 pace. Then on Friday I got up at 5:45am to sneak another 8.5 miles in at 6:30 pace before heading off to meet the boys for a weatherspoons breakfast.

I had Saturday off and then completed my week with a long run on Sunday afternoon as soon as I arrived back home. I consciously made the decision to run on feel and not look at my watch, expecting it to be a hard slog after a few days on the beer, so I was shocked to see that I had averaged 6:03 pace for the 16.5 miles when I reviewed my run afterwards. I must still have been drunk is all I can say, as it felt remarkably laid back and comfortable!

Total mileage for the week: 69

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

Total mileage so far this month (April): 97

Total mileage for 2017: 957.5

Average miles per day 2017: 9.67

Knee'sy does it...

Firstly, I apologise for my tardiness and lateness with the blog this week - but better late than never and all that...

Having had quite a month of racing in March, this last week was more about getting decent recovery in, whilst also cracking on with as much decent training as possible.

Unfortunately I found myself restricted somewhat by the same knee pain that had affected my training through much of the previous two weeks. I'm not really sure why - but I am definitely not complaining(!) - it didn't affect my races over this time, but I have definitely been feeling it in the training miles. 

On the back of last week's blog, I got quite a bit of good advice from lots of my running friends that have had similar problems in the past themselves. I took this onboard and made the decision to bite the bullet buy a pair of support trainers for my longer and easier mileage training runs. I tried using support shoes earlier on in the year, unsuccessfully, as they gave me pain in my Achilles and were perhaps a touch over-supportive. That time I had changed brands, so this time around I stuck to what I know and trust with Adidas, and although it is still early days, the Sequence ST is so far proving to be a success both in terms of comfort and cushioning as the knee pain has started to abate a bit at last.

I have also found that I am now feeling the pain more on solo runs, and particularly in the early stages of my training sessions, about 10-15 minutes in to my running I am getting some pain which then seems to subside as I get warm and into the run. So it is possible that now it is more of a mental issue, as I am conscious of having had the problem and am now more acutely aware of any twinges?

Anyway, I have managed to plod on and keep going with training more or less as normal again this week - except for Wednesday when I took the decision to take a day rest due to the pain I had encountered in my speed session the day previously.

I managed to record fairly good mileage this week, but the harder sessions were pretty up and down, more due to general tiredness and leggyness from Saturday's relays than anything else.

Monday was a steady run with the running club, although the pace was fairly brisk from the outset as I think we felt a bit of a spring in our steps to be able to escape down the lanes and away from that bypass at last! We did 8.5 miles in total at an average pace of 6:10.

Tuesday's session was a bit of a disaster, I never really felt comfortable or committed to it for some reason - possibly due to the tiredness, but also perhaps as it was another solo effort, but whatever the reason I ended up cutting down to just 8 x 1 minute reps off a 45 second recovery, the average pace wasn't actually that bad looking back on it, but I didn't enjoy it one bit - and the knee pain peaked during the cool down which made my mind up to take Wednesday off completely to try and recover. Ice, magic bags of peas and self massage have become my biggest recovery aids recently and I had plenty of that on my day off training.

It appeared to have done the trick, and although I wasn't really satisfied with my run on Thursday it was a pain free session and more miles in the tank at least, as I did 2 x 2 miles at an average pace of 5:10.

Friday was a ten mile steady effort at 6:25 pace and was again largely pain free and another box ticked. 

I decided to do a park run on Saturday morning as a substitute session for my two poor mid-week ones and thankfully I was joined by Luke Minns so we added a 30 minute warm up and cool down on either side of Blackpool Park Run which we tempo' at just over 5:20 pace. 16:24 for the 5k was a pleasing enough run in the rain and damp underfoot conditions through the woods.

I finished the week off with a really strong long run on Sunday, I did 16.5 miles at an average pace of 6:08, starting gentle at 6:50 pace and working my way down to 6:20 by half way and getting below 6 minute mileing for all of the second half miles.

The week ended a lot stronger than it started and hopefully I am now over the worst of the knee pain and able to crack on more again from here.

Total mileage for the week: 72.5

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:23

Total mileage for month of March: 294.5

Total mileage so far this month (April): 28

Total mileage for 2017: 888.5

Average miles per day 2017: 9.66

Northern 12 stage road relays

Through the first two and a bit months of the new year I had weeks on end without managing to get a race in, so it seems as though I have made up for lost time a little bit recently with a flurry of 3 races in four weeks. 

This week it was a chance to get involved with a team event, as it was the Northern 12 stage road relays, which were held at Stanley Park in Blackpool. It is a great event and one of the highlights of the racing calendar due to both the high standard of competition, but also as it is a real chance to socialise and work together with all the members of your club as it is a proper team event and a full day out.

Thankfully recovered from my back trouble and with my periformas feeling much better, I was still still struggling throughout the whole week with the same knee pain that had troubled me in the build up to Wilmslow Half. A spot of physio on Tuesday evening led to a diagnosis of the problem to be a strained medial ligament in my left knee. The symptoms are similar to something called 'runner's knee' and thankfully I've been advised that it is something that I can just monitor and manage - so as long as it doesn't hurt or trouble me too much I can just run through the pain and hopefully it will ease off with a bit of time. I certainly don't want to be taking more days off if I can help it!

So having been told I can crack on with my training, I managed a fairly good mileage week, albeit with a slightly reduced intensity in some of the sessions in order to try and aid my knee's recovery prior to the relays.

On Monday, I managed 13 steady miles, 4.5 fairly gentle early doors, before 8.5 at the club night later on.

On Tuesday I again ran steady, as I decided on doing just one hard run in the middle of the week between the two weekend races. Therefore I ticked over with a ten miler at 6:40 pace. Then on Wednesday I did 2 x 2 miles with Rob Affleck. This week's session was slightly different as we chose shorter, more intense reps on an undulating course in order to try and prepare the legs as fully as possible ahead of race day. I was pleased with the session as I came out with 5:11 average pace - recording 10:20 for the first effort and 10:24 for the second.

I suffered a bit with the knee on both Thursday and Friday, so had to tread a bit more carefully than I would have liked and I just trotted out 7.5 miles each evening at 6:50s.

I got lucky, as by the time the relays came around the knee pain had eased off again and I was able to race without any trouble on that score.

I feel that I had a fairly strong run, and considering the strength of the field, I was happy to come away from leg one with a tenth place finish. Mine was one of four long legs, which was a distance of approximately 5.9 miles. The course threw up some challenges with quite a few tight bends, twists and turns and the odd lump and bump too, but being on the first leg ensured that I had plenty of company and competition to drag me around. I finished with a time of 29:54. 

Team Wesham had a good turnout and managed to field two complete men's teams, as well as two women's teams too, and everybody performed really well - so much so that we managed to beat local rivals Blackpool and Lytham - well done boys!

On Sunday morning I did my long run with Luke Minns of Blackpool (yes he got reminded of our scalp!) and we took it fairly easy with it being the day after racing and stuck to 6:30 pace to round off a solid week.

Total mileage for the week: 76

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:36

Total mileage so far this month (March): 250

Total mileage for 2017: 816

Average miles per day 2017: 9.60

Wilmslow Half Marathon 2017

I was feeling in good shape and fairly high in confidence at the start of this week, after the recent run out at Trafford. I was hoping to push on and have another good run at Wilmslow Half, and the big aim was to try and break the 70 minute barrier, having gone pretty close on a few occasions last year, with runs of 70:29, 70:48 and 70:52. 

Up until Thursday this week, I would have said I was in good condition to finally do it and take another little rung up that ladder. I had begun to taper down from Monday, doing just 8.5 miles at 6:50s, much less than my usual 10-12 at a faster rate. 

I followed this up with a reduced speed session on Tuesday of 6 x 3 minutes effort / 1 minute jog recovery. I wasn't particularly concerned with my pace too much so long as I was under my intended race pace. I was content with my average pace of 5:08s for the efforts considering the undulations of the loop I was doing the session on and the strong winds on sections of it.

On Wednesday I had an easy 7.5 mile run at 6:30s. At this stage I was feeling confident ahead of the weekend, with just one reduced tempo session planned for the Thursday, before a day off on Friday and an easy run set for Saturday ahead of the race. I had done all the hard work and was easing down and within sight of the race and feeling ready. The forecast wasn't great, but there is nothing you can do about that.

Then at Thursday, out of nowhere and for no obvious reason, my back tightened up halfway through the working day. To complicate things further, I felt something click in my knee as I tried to pull myself up onto a scaffold without straining my back further! I cancelled my tempo session and tried an easy run, but had to give up after 3 miles as I was worried about doing more damage. 

I managed to get a massage booked in for the Friday after work, and Sue Samme worked miracles on me once again and loosened he back right up. The problem was once again with my glutes and periformas, so it is something that I am becoming increasingly aware of needing to strengthen as it is about the fourth time I have had this problem in the last couple of years. I have a feeling it is an occupational hazard injury due to being on the trowel all day, but I'm sure there must be things I can do to prevent it, so I will have to get researching!

As well as having Friday off, I had to take Saturday completely off to, rather than risk inflaming my back again, or my knee further, as I was still feeling pain there too. I was feeling a bit fed up and sorry for myself and was pretty 50/50 whether I would even race, deciding to leave the final shout until after my warm up on the day.

I got through my warm up unscathed and felt just a little bit stiff - probably more from the couple of unplanned days off more than anything else, and the pain in my knee wasn't causing me any problems when running.

So deciding to race, I then made my mind up to stick with the original plan of trying to hold 5:15 pace for as long as possible, with the aim of getting time in the bank in the easier first half of the course.

The first mile was pretty rapid at about 5:05, as I tried to make sure I managed to get into a pack. Thankfully, the big group then broke up a little, into two separate groups shortly after. I found myself in a four man pack with Salford's Grant Johnson, Mark Offord and Rob Affleck.

The conditions weren't great, and as such I think being part of this little group was definitely beneficial, as we all took it in turns to head the group and push the pace. At around 4 miles, the group dropped to three as Rob Affleck dropped back a bit and we kept the pace nice and even, ticking along at a decent rate. We went through 10k in 32:30, which was a tiny bit quicker than I had expected, but I was feeling strong and working with the other two lads was helping as we seemed to be ticking the miles off fairly quickly. 

We continued to share the load up to 8 miles, and we went through that mark at 5:16 pace, meaning that at that stage we were on about 69:20 pace. Shortly after that, Grant pushed on strongly and I wasn't able to go with him - and to be honest my own pace dropped as I suffered a bit between miles 9 and 11 to over 5:30s. Unfortunately this meant my average pace dropped off from the 5:20s needed to get below the 70 minute barrier. I struggled to get back on pace and ended up running home the final mile fairly conservatively, content in the knowledge that I had given it everything and that the conditions and dramas of the few days previously hadn't helped.

I have to be happy with the performance considering where I was at in the days leading up to the race, and I am fairly confident that I am not too far off from that elusive sub 70 now. Ending up in the prizes with a 9th place finish was a nice ending too, as I finished in 70:39.

Rob Affleck managed to finish in 14th place for first vet 45 and Garry Barnett also had a great run in 1:24 as we all enjoyed our day out and pub lunch afterwards🍺

Hopefully I will recover well through the coming week now, ahead of next weekend's Northern Road Relays.

Total mileage for the week: 48

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:37

Total mileage so far this month (March): 174

Total mileage for 2017: 730

Average miles per day 2017: 9.36