Christleton 5k...aaaaand relax

The final race of my latest training block and targeted series of races came around on Friday night with the Christleton 5k. It is one of the fastest events on the racing calendar and has a reputation for producing quick times. When I was selecting races that I hoped could provide the best opportunities for me to dip under 15 minutes, along with Mid Cheshire, this was the one which I felt afforded me the best conditions to have a real go at that target.

Seen as it was the last targeted race for a few weeks, I also decided that it would be the best time I have to take a brief break from training in order rest up and recuperate from all the little niggles, strains and aches that start to build up over a prolonged period of consistent training. Last week's periformas problem is a prime example of my body just starting to let me know it was getting ready for a bit of a rest in order to come back refreshed, ready and raring to go for my Berlin marathon build up, which will get underway in earnest in the next couple of weeks.

The last big push before Christleton started with a steady ten mile run on Monday, before returning to the track to do a similar session to the Tuesday before Mid Cheshire. Before that race, I had done 6 x 800 metres at an average of 2 minutes 19 seconds. We decided (me and Rob Affleck) that the session had obviously worked pretty much perfectly in order to fine tune me ahead of the race, so we aimed for a repeat this time around. Again, we did 6 reps, with a starting target of 2:20 per rep. As it turned out, we both ran a little bit faster than anticipated, as I chased down Rob off a 10 second handicap over the two laps. I felt really strong and consistent in my rhythm and actually decided to reign myself in through the last couple of reps, to save myself for the race. I finished up with times of 2:15, 2:15, 2:17, 2:16, 2:17 and 2:19 for the session - representing an average of 2:17, some two seconds per rep faster than I did on the same session a few weeks ago.

I felt great, and eased up through the next couple of days, dropping down to just a 30 minute jog on Wednesday and 8.5 miles in about an hour on the Thursday. I had done all I could do and was ready for the race to come around.

Unfortunately there was one last little twist as a real spanner was thrown in the works on the evening of the race - in the form of motorway traffic and two traffic jams! We had set off in (what we thought was) plenty of time, some two and a half hours prior to the start time, however, despite our estimated time of arrival starting off on the sat nav at 5:58pm, we eventually only arrived at the race HQ just after 7pm - with numbers still to be collected, and a start time for the race of 7:15! Usually I would do up to 3 miles for a warm up, along with a series of short sprints, and lots of stretching. There was no time for any of that on this occasion and a steady run up and down the kilometre between race HQ and the start line was all I had time for - squeezing in near the front of an already packed front pen.

The build up hadn't exactly been ideal, but at least I had made it to the start - in a way it took some pressure off, and I reduced my expectations slightly, just aiming to run as best as I could in the circumstances, enjoy the challenge and see what happened.

As we got underway, I settled into a nice group headed initially by Vis and Sciacca of Sale Harriers through the first kilometre or so, then gradually I worked my way through the pack and took my turn at sharing the workload at the front. Knowing the course from last time around, I knew that the course was very similar to Mid Cheshire, with a fast start and finish, and a bit of an uphill section in the middle, between 2 and 3k at the end of the first loop. I knew it was important to start well, but make sure I left enough energy to attack the final 2 kilometres after the hill, and that last time out I had probably overlooked it on the uphill section and faded a bit towards the end as a result.

As it panned out, I actually ended up heading the pack through that section, but I didn't mind as the pace just felt nice and controlled and consistent, and it was still quite a nice big tight pack too, which would help in the final kilometres.

The pace couldn't have been much better through those first 2 miles, with splits of 4:48 and 4:49 leaving me bang in position for an attack at my best time, unfortunately I began to tighten up a bit in the third mile and the pace dropped a little with a 4:55, but the work with the pack of Johnny Kay and Karl Darcy (both Bolton) and Adam Sciacca (Sale) meant that I didn't drop too much and was able to keep on track for the sub 15. A big sprint finish to the line brought all four of us in within two seconds of one another and all dipping under, with me finishing 3rd place in 14:57 behind Dejene Gezimu (Liverpool), who had ran away from the field in the final two kilometres to take a comfortable win and Johnny Kay.

I have since had my first couple of days off, enjoyed with a spontaneous trip away to Paris courtesy of Moll! I might not have done any running over the weekend, but we certainly did plenty of miles walking as we explored the city!

I know that this is meant to be a running blog, but I will sign off with a couple of pictures showing some highlights of our trip ☺️

Total mileage for the week: 41

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:32   

Total mileage so far this month (May): 169.5

Total mileage for 2017: 1349.5

Average miles per day 2017: 9.57

A right pain in the arse

Those of you that are familiar with this blog will probably already be aware of my previous troublesome Periformas muscle. For those of you that don't know what this is though, it is a tiny muscle that is tucked in behind the glutes that is difficult to get to and so not exactly straightforward to stretch or massage. Basically the only treatment that can get in to the area is for you to have an elbow jammed in around the buttock region. It is every bit as painful and uncomfortable as it sounds! Unfortunately for me, it is a problem that I have become all to familiar with in the last 2 years or so, as I have increased my mileage.

The troublesome Periformas flared up again this week, after a nice period of 8 weeks or so without any problems. It meant that I was unable to train for three day from Monday to Wednesday and at one point made me extremely doubtful for the latest race in the interclub series - which was on Thursday. As the injury has become a relatively common thing for me in recent months, the only positive thing about that is that I have gained more of an awareness about when the problem is starting to rear its head and how I can best begin to start my recovery and rehabilitation to make it a swift turnaround. Previously, this sort of problem has kept me out of action for 7-10 days, so a three day lay off is definitely a step in the right direction.

If you suffer from the injury yourself, I have found the best method of treatment is to seek physio swiftly, but also there are some stretches you can do yourself a couple of times a day (lie flat on your back and pull your knee up towards your chest tight, and move slowly side to side until you feel the muscle start to pull, then hold for approx 20 seconds), whilst the foam roller or a tennis ball can come in handy to sit down on the buttock and roll over.

Thankfully, despite the frustration of missed miles and training at the start of the week, I was able to just about recover in time to race for my club at Lytham interclub on the Thursday evening. Lytham's event is a flat 5 miler along the front, pretty much 2.5 miles each way out and back. Typically, after a lovely few days of weather in the build up to the race, on the day itself, there was a strong howling headwind for the first half of the race.

Numbers have once again swelled this year for the club series, with some 413 representatives of the 7 local clubs turning out in force to support their sides. It has made for a superb atmosphere at both of the races so far this year, so hopefully the series continues to gather more popularity in the future and the series can go from strength to strength to strength. 

From a Wesham perspective, off the back of a surprise men's team victory at Blackpool in April, we were looking to follow that up with another strong showing at Lytham, and we were bolstered by a few great additions in Joe Monk (1st claim Blackburn) and the return of Les Cornwall. It is fantastic to see us trying to be more competitive, as you can't beat a team event.

As the race got underway, myself, David Rigby and Joe Monk pulled away from the field fairly early, and with the wind behind us initially got off to a decent start. As we turned back in to the wind after about a quarter of a mile, I found myself moving to the front of the pack and for whatever reason remained there throughout the slog into the wind - I'm not sure whether that classes as naivity on my part for not sharing the load, or positive running for taking it on - but about 3 miles in it definitely felt like I'd been a bit naive! 😂

As we dipped down and around Fairhaven Lake at coming up to the 3 mile mark, myself and Dave started to put some distance between ourselves and Joe, who had done well to stick with the pace all the way into the wind. From there on in it was a tough fought 2 mile slog back to the finish line, with there only being a matter of strides between us all the way. I have to be honest, I felt absolutely awful from about 4 miles through to the end and was running on empty - the days off had seemingly taken a toll and my hamstrings were beginning to tighten up more and more.

Thankfully, I just about managed to hold out until the finish line, and the time of 25:23 was almost 30 seconds quicker than my previous best performance on the course, in difficult conditions.

In the team standings, Wesham men were beaten by Preston by 40 points, but with a couple of front end runners missing it was still a fantastic result to come away from the race with second place.

On Friday, I felt awful, my hamstrings were still ruined from the previous evenings race, but I managed to get out and run the 11.5 miles home from work at a nice and steady 6:30 pace. Then on Saturday, still feeling the effects somewhat, I had to cancel a planned track session with young Joe and instead did the Lytham Park run as a gentle session, running round in just under 16 and a half minutes.

I felt a bit better on Sunday and took myself a little bit further with my long run, getting 17.5 miles in at 6:15 pace. Hopefully I am over the periformas problems for a while again now and can get through the final targeted race of this current training block at Christleton 5k this coming Friday. I then have a rest week pencilled in before the start of my Berlin Marathon training later in the month.

Total mileage for the week: 52.5

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:19

Total mileage so far this month (May): 128.5

Total mileage for 2017: 1308.5

Average miles per day 2017: 9.76

Running on tired legs

Quick on the back of a dream run at mid Cheshire 5k last week, on the May bank holiday I decided to have another run out at the Avenham 5k - seen as Molly has the bit firmly between her teeth at the moment and wanted to wear her new Wesham vest for the first time!

I wasn't too sure what to expect, and was more concerned with just making sure it was a decent work out and getting a bit more pace work into the legs. This would effectively be one of my sessions for the week as an alternative to a track session on the Tuesday.

Knowing the Avenham route to be an undulating and far from fast course, I wasn't too bothered about putting down any sort of time - especially on the back of a lifetime best run on the Friday and a 16 mile long run on the Sunday. However, race organiser Shane Cliffe wasn't for taking any excuses and made sure I knew he wanted me to try for the course record! 

Conditions were good, and I had some pacy company at the front end with Danny Collinge working hard and setting a very decent early pace - with the first mile being exactly 5:00. There is a fairly tough uphill section through the second mile and the pace slowed, but I found myself pulling away and a gap opening up behind. I didn't realise at the time, but Danny had been experiencing a few problems at this point, and I hope he is feeling better now - it just goes to show that no matter how fit you are, being healthy and well shouldn't be something we take for granted and I really hope it was just a one off problem for him.

I managed to hold off a bit of late pressure from Rob Affleck to ease away and just dip under 16 minutes to take the win and that course record, and it was pleasing to know I could still run okay on the back of racing just a couple of days earlier.

I doubled up on Monday, making the most of the day off work and ran in the evening with David Taylor at the club too. I am trying to creep my mileage up a bit and getting used to running on tired legs is something that me and Rob have discussed plenty in the past. It is important for me to get my body used to some higher volume and intensity efforts ahead of starting proper marathon training at the end of this month.

Molly had a good run too on a difficult course - and despite not enjoying the hills, she told me we were going to return to Lytham Hall for the Park run on Saturday, as she was hunting for another pb!

As I had done some pace work on Monday, I ran steady on Tuesday, just doing an hour after work and getting 9 more miles in. I ran easy on Wednesday too, clocking 8 miles at 6:40s, as I had a fairly short and sharp session planned for Thursday.

I have to admit prior to getting underway with the Thursday session on the docks, I really wasn't feeling pushing myself hard after a long day at work and two races in a week, especially with the wind blowing against us down the back straight meaning the second half of each rep would be a real slog! We did a repeat of our 2 x 1.5 mile session from a couple of weeks ago, and surprisingly once we got underway I actually ran much better than I had expected. I finished up with 7:23 and 7:23 once again - exactly the same as last time we did the same session, but in far less favourable conditions, which is a great sign.

On Friday, I topped up my mileage with another 8 miles at a nice gentle pace. We did indeed venture off to Lytham Hall for another park run on Saturday and Moll did get her pb she was after! I had a decent run out too and was happy with another little bit of pace work in the legs.

I wanted to go a little bit further with this week's long run, so added an extra little loop on the end of my usual route, in order to make it up to just under 18 miles. I ran nice and relaxed and felt really good to be running in the early morning sunshine. I try not to look on my watch on these long runs, instead just wanting to concentrate of building a rhythm and momentum through the run and gradually working through it. This week's turned out to be slightly quicker than I had anticipated, as I finished up with an average of 6:08s.

Total mileage for the week: 76

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

Total mileage so far this month (May): 76

Total mileage for 2017: 1256

Average miles per day 2017: 9.89

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