I ran the Bungay Black Dog marathon last Sunday The provisional results are at http://www.bungay-marathon.co.uk/downloads/2009BungayMarathonProvisionalResults.pdf
I'm afraid this was not my best marathon, it was a two lap course with hills for the first 6 miles of each lap and I got a time of 3:40:08 which puts me 88th out of 249 people. Not as good as Blackpool but not as bad as the Boundary run. My friend Chris ran the half marathon option and did really well so that's good.
Not much to report this week. I missed the London marathon yesterday since it clashed with my Dad's 60th birthday party which was held in Cornwall. It would have been nice to do both but it was pretty much impossible. Maybe next year.
Training continues to go well. I've cut down on the swimming but increased the bike work and the vegan diet is also working out OK. It's my first triathlon next weekend out at Dorney lake. I'm hoping the weather improves.
Till next time
Monday, 27 April 2009
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
A run down memory lane
Hello all,
I hope everyone had a good Easter? I know I did. I went up to Manchester to stay with my Dad and step mother and step brother for a few days. I think I needed the break. I’ve been really tired and worn out this last week, ever since the Blackpool marathon. Basically the day after the race I did a 2 hour work out and went for a 1.5 mile bike ride in the evening. I didn’t run on the Monday but the bike ride must have done me in since running on the Tuesday and Wednesday was really hard work and I felt really tired. By Thursday I had no energy left and only managed a half hour run I was pretty miserable but I had the weekend to look forward to. I drove up (or rather down – although Cambridge is south of Manchester by tradition one always goes down from Cambridge and comes up to it no matter which way you go) on the Thursday night. Friday I just had an hours workout at my Dad’s gym with a mix of cardio and weights (about 50:50) and Saturday and Sunday I did nothing, that’s right, nothing. This was the first Sunday since well before Christmas that I have not done a long run and I think it was worth it. I felt much better on the Monday and went for an hours jog round home and up to my old school. I was slightly perturbed to find the old primary school had been knocked down and a block of flats put up in its place but it was nice to run round all the old streets. The old florist on the corner was still there and the park where we used to play football on a Friday. On coming back from that I entered my first triathlon event of 2009 which will be the tri-nations vs. the UK event at Dorney Lake on the 3rd May. It should be a good one.
Tuesday I was back at work and did a two hour workout an hour’s run at lunch and an hour’s bike ride in the evening. I also went to see the local LA fitness with a view to using their pool rather than the local one (the former is much warmer). I’m not sure if it is worth the money yet but it was a nice pool and club.
This Sunday is the Bungay Black Dog marathon. I’m not sure how my knees will hold up for this but there is only one way to find out.
More next week…
I hope everyone had a good Easter? I know I did. I went up to Manchester to stay with my Dad and step mother and step brother for a few days. I think I needed the break. I’ve been really tired and worn out this last week, ever since the Blackpool marathon. Basically the day after the race I did a 2 hour work out and went for a 1.5 mile bike ride in the evening. I didn’t run on the Monday but the bike ride must have done me in since running on the Tuesday and Wednesday was really hard work and I felt really tired. By Thursday I had no energy left and only managed a half hour run I was pretty miserable but I had the weekend to look forward to. I drove up (or rather down – although Cambridge is south of Manchester by tradition one always goes down from Cambridge and comes up to it no matter which way you go) on the Thursday night. Friday I just had an hours workout at my Dad’s gym with a mix of cardio and weights (about 50:50) and Saturday and Sunday I did nothing, that’s right, nothing. This was the first Sunday since well before Christmas that I have not done a long run and I think it was worth it. I felt much better on the Monday and went for an hours jog round home and up to my old school. I was slightly perturbed to find the old primary school had been knocked down and a block of flats put up in its place but it was nice to run round all the old streets. The old florist on the corner was still there and the park where we used to play football on a Friday. On coming back from that I entered my first triathlon event of 2009 which will be the tri-nations vs. the UK event at Dorney Lake on the 3rd May. It should be a good one.
Tuesday I was back at work and did a two hour workout an hour’s run at lunch and an hour’s bike ride in the evening. I also went to see the local LA fitness with a view to using their pool rather than the local one (the former is much warmer). I’m not sure if it is worth the money yet but it was a nice pool and club.
This Sunday is the Bungay Black Dog marathon. I’m not sure how my knees will hold up for this but there is only one way to find out.
More next week…
Monday, 6 April 2009
Blackpool marathon - new PB!!
Yesterday was the Blackpool marathon (http://www.blackpoolmarathon.com/) up in the North West of the UK. It was actually a really nice weekend. I was getting very tired at the end of last week so I did no running on Friday and drive up to Manchester to stop off at my Dad's. I did no exercise at all on Saturday and spend a relaxing day vegging out on the sofa reading and eating a bit too much but I figured carbo loading would be good. On Sunday I was up at six for breakfast and the drive over to Blackpool. I found somewhere to park fairly easily (though it was a bit expensive) and then headed over to race HQ to drop p my stuff off. Baggage storage was a room in the Hilton hotel where I also bought some vegan friendly running gels and energy bar. There was a chap outside giving away free Lucozade gels which were going like mad as soon as he put them out.
The race itself was good. For some reason I was very apprehensive before the start. The race was two laps of an out and back course which went along the Golden mile and hen along the sea front. I didn't enjoy the first lap that much but after I had my first energy gel at mile 13 my body seemed to get in gear a bit more and things went better. I went faster, enjoyed the scenery and as the sun was out I even got hot and bothered for the first time this year. There was no chip timing for some reason (they wrote your time down when you crossed the line) but according to my watch I got round in 3:22.38 which is about two minutes of my personal best (set in Berlin last year) of 3:24.07 so I am quite happy with that.
After the race I limped back the hotel picked up my stuff and heading back to the car for the long drive back to Cambridge. I was quite tired but made it home OK. Next week I only have a 10k race planned but I may do a longer run as preparation for the Bungay marathon in two weeks.
Have a good week all and please feel free to add your comments to the blog. I'd like to know who is reading this and what thy think.
The race itself was good. For some reason I was very apprehensive before the start. The race was two laps of an out and back course which went along the Golden mile and hen along the sea front. I didn't enjoy the first lap that much but after I had my first energy gel at mile 13 my body seemed to get in gear a bit more and things went better. I went faster, enjoyed the scenery and as the sun was out I even got hot and bothered for the first time this year. There was no chip timing for some reason (they wrote your time down when you crossed the line) but according to my watch I got round in 3:22.38 which is about two minutes of my personal best (set in Berlin last year) of 3:24.07 so I am quite happy with that.
After the race I limped back the hotel picked up my stuff and heading back to the car for the long drive back to Cambridge. I was quite tired but made it home OK. Next week I only have a 10k race planned but I may do a longer run as preparation for the Bungay marathon in two weeks.
Have a good week all and please feel free to add your comments to the blog. I'd like to know who is reading this and what thy think.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Aches and Pains
Ok, so first up those of you looking for the Reading race report please see below. A report from Blackpool will be up some time next week I hope.
I've managed a fair amount of training this week but my legs are very tired and today I actually had to stop running while out even though it was nice and sunny out. I didn’t hit the wall really but I just had no energy. I had felt like going running was a bad idea as I went to get changed but decided to try anyway. I didn’t get very far. The same thing happened in the pool last night, I just ran out of energy. I don’t know if I have just done too much in these last few weeks or if I am not eating enough (or maybe both) but my legs feel a bit like lead and with the Blackpool marathon coming up I’m wondering if I should just cut right back and rest for a couple of days, carbo-load and see how things go. I’ve also got blisters on the end of a couple of toes that could do with healing up before Sunday.
Blackpool is supposed to be a fast course so it would be nice to be able to perform to the best of my abilities. On the other hand I do want to keep exercising and losing weight so I’m not sure? You are supposed to taper for a marathon anyway and I can’t keep being so low on energy in the week as my training is starting to suffer a bit so I’m not sure what to do. Also, I can’t go running tomorrow anyway as I have a lunchtime meeting and then I’m heading over to Blackpool via Manchester in the evening. I would usually always have the Saturday before a big race like this as a rest day but now I’m thinking maybe I should do a quick run then to make up for today. I don’t know. I’ll have to rethink training from now on I think so I can be more effective over the whole week. Any comments?
I've managed a fair amount of training this week but my legs are very tired and today I actually had to stop running while out even though it was nice and sunny out. I didn’t hit the wall really but I just had no energy. I had felt like going running was a bad idea as I went to get changed but decided to try anyway. I didn’t get very far. The same thing happened in the pool last night, I just ran out of energy. I don’t know if I have just done too much in these last few weeks or if I am not eating enough (or maybe both) but my legs feel a bit like lead and with the Blackpool marathon coming up I’m wondering if I should just cut right back and rest for a couple of days, carbo-load and see how things go. I’ve also got blisters on the end of a couple of toes that could do with healing up before Sunday.
Blackpool is supposed to be a fast course so it would be nice to be able to perform to the best of my abilities. On the other hand I do want to keep exercising and losing weight so I’m not sure? You are supposed to taper for a marathon anyway and I can’t keep being so low on energy in the week as my training is starting to suffer a bit so I’m not sure what to do. Also, I can’t go running tomorrow anyway as I have a lunchtime meeting and then I’m heading over to Blackpool via Manchester in the evening. I would usually always have the Saturday before a big race like this as a rest day but now I’m thinking maybe I should do a quick run then to make up for today. I don’t know. I’ll have to rethink training from now on I think so I can be more effective over the whole week. Any comments?
Reading half marathon
I know, I know, I was supposed to have this up a few days ago but I’m afraid it’s been a busy week.
This last Sunday (29th march 2009) was the Reading (pronounced Reding for any American readers) half marathon (http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com). This is a big race (almost 12000 entries). This year was the third year in a row I have run and the forth time overall as Reading was the very first half marathon I ever ran back in 2003. I was very slow in that run. I was not doing as much training at the time and had never done the distance before. I was running with my friend Ian who was training for that year’s London Marathon and was in great shape. We set off together and at first I was OK but I should have started slower and conserved some energy (this is where experience of the distance counts) and about half way round I started to drop back and eventually had to ease off. I even ended up walking part of the way after hitting the wall. I was quite gutted at the time but still pleased to finish and have my first ever half marathon medal. I still have it at home, it has a Lion on (as this is a Reading symbol for some reason) and I still maintain is one of the best medals I have ever got at a race.
These last few years have been better. I’ve always run this race with at least one or two friends, Ian in 2003, Chris and Gregor in 2007, Chris, Gregor, Jules and Claire in 2008 and Chris and Helen this time round in 2009. We had a very early star this year though. Chris had kindly offered to drive and had booked a car park spot. The trouble was that there is usually so much traffic on the way to this event that this year they decided they wanted people parked up by 8.30am. This obviously meant leaving Cambridge quite early. We agreed to leave at 6am which given the clocks went forward the night before felt like 5am. In the end Chris (understandably) had a bit of trouble getting up and we left around 6.30am but I had still been up since 5:45. I had a bit of kip in the car on the way there as it was warm and comfy and I was tired. I did my best to stay awake but I just couldn’t quite manage it. Luckily Chris was kind enough not to mind too much, though I did feel guilty.
In the end we got to the Reading fairly early and parked up with no real problems (which was good). I had brought breakfast with me (some bread, raisins and porridge oats made up with cold soya milk a banana and an apple) as I figured it would be better to eat it closer to the actual start time than when I got up (it also meant I could stay in bed a bit longer). After that we headed over the race HQ, looked in the Sweatshop tent (not very good really) and met up with Helen and James, we chatted for a bit and then we dropped our kit off and headed for the start.
Being so close to the London marathon and a very well organised race Reading gets quite crowded. This is not usually a problem for me, though I gather people right at the back don’t like it. The only issue I had was that right at the start when the commentator was trying to get people to line up, he actually told people to push there way through. This was in my mind a very silly thing to say when you have 12000 people on one stretch of road!
Once the race got underway it was all OK. I did not feel this was my best race though My legs felt heavy and tired and I wondered if I may have over-trained for it (over 21 hours of exercise since the previous Saturday). Still I got a chip time of 1:32:32 which is quite good and a new PB for Reading. I did the race in 1:41.42 in 2008 and 1:44.20 in 2007 (the less said about 2003's race - my first time at that distance and woefully ill prepared - the better). As regular readers will know my very best time for half marathon distance is 1:30.4 set in the Milton Keynes half marathon a few weeks ago. That race was a lot flatter and less crowded than Reading. I still have the magic 1:30 barrier to break but I am already signed up to a few more races so you never know.
They gave us a neat goody bag and a nice medal at the end. Unfortunately, as a Vegan I could not eat any of the generous amount of goodies in my goody bag (a banana or other fruit would have been good but not essential). Luckily my friend Helen got a slightly different set of items in hers and kindly gave me one of them which I could eat.
After the race we all headed to a pub with a Helen’s housemate and her friend and had a nice lunch. I had a bit of trouble getting vegan food (and got a few odd looks in the process) but eventually settled on a baked potato with beans and salad and a very generous side order of chips which did the job. It was a bit scary at the bar, several middle age women wanted to admire (and feel) my medal and there was on chap who insisted his daughter was vegetarian even though she apparently ate fish and chicken! I think I ate too many chips (and also had a home made vegan pizza for tea) but I figure pigging out after the race is almost as much fun as the event itself so I don't mind too much. If it is good enough for Chrissie Wellington (http://www.chrissiewellington.org) then it's good enough for me. You can see pictures of the event by going to http://www5.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event_entry.py?job=Sports%2FCPUK%2F2009%2FReading%20Half%20Marathon and searching by my running number which was 843 (there are also group shots from 2007 and 2009 below).
I feel asleep again on the way home but it was all good.
I'll be back for this race next year if I can.
2009 (Oli, Chris and Helen)
2007 (Gregor, Oli Chris)
This last Sunday (29th march 2009) was the Reading (pronounced Reding for any American readers) half marathon (http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com). This is a big race (almost 12000 entries). This year was the third year in a row I have run and the forth time overall as Reading was the very first half marathon I ever ran back in 2003. I was very slow in that run. I was not doing as much training at the time and had never done the distance before. I was running with my friend Ian who was training for that year’s London Marathon and was in great shape. We set off together and at first I was OK but I should have started slower and conserved some energy (this is where experience of the distance counts) and about half way round I started to drop back and eventually had to ease off. I even ended up walking part of the way after hitting the wall. I was quite gutted at the time but still pleased to finish and have my first ever half marathon medal. I still have it at home, it has a Lion on (as this is a Reading symbol for some reason) and I still maintain is one of the best medals I have ever got at a race.
These last few years have been better. I’ve always run this race with at least one or two friends, Ian in 2003, Chris and Gregor in 2007, Chris, Gregor, Jules and Claire in 2008 and Chris and Helen this time round in 2009. We had a very early star this year though. Chris had kindly offered to drive and had booked a car park spot. The trouble was that there is usually so much traffic on the way to this event that this year they decided they wanted people parked up by 8.30am. This obviously meant leaving Cambridge quite early. We agreed to leave at 6am which given the clocks went forward the night before felt like 5am. In the end Chris (understandably) had a bit of trouble getting up and we left around 6.30am but I had still been up since 5:45. I had a bit of kip in the car on the way there as it was warm and comfy and I was tired. I did my best to stay awake but I just couldn’t quite manage it. Luckily Chris was kind enough not to mind too much, though I did feel guilty.
In the end we got to the Reading fairly early and parked up with no real problems (which was good). I had brought breakfast with me (some bread, raisins and porridge oats made up with cold soya milk a banana and an apple) as I figured it would be better to eat it closer to the actual start time than when I got up (it also meant I could stay in bed a bit longer). After that we headed over the race HQ, looked in the Sweatshop tent (not very good really) and met up with Helen and James, we chatted for a bit and then we dropped our kit off and headed for the start.
Being so close to the London marathon and a very well organised race Reading gets quite crowded. This is not usually a problem for me, though I gather people right at the back don’t like it. The only issue I had was that right at the start when the commentator was trying to get people to line up, he actually told people to push there way through. This was in my mind a very silly thing to say when you have 12000 people on one stretch of road!
Once the race got underway it was all OK. I did not feel this was my best race though My legs felt heavy and tired and I wondered if I may have over-trained for it (over 21 hours of exercise since the previous Saturday). Still I got a chip time of 1:32:32 which is quite good and a new PB for Reading. I did the race in 1:41.42 in 2008 and 1:44.20 in 2007 (the less said about 2003's race - my first time at that distance and woefully ill prepared - the better). As regular readers will know my very best time for half marathon distance is 1:30.4 set in the Milton Keynes half marathon a few weeks ago. That race was a lot flatter and less crowded than Reading. I still have the magic 1:30 barrier to break but I am already signed up to a few more races so you never know.
They gave us a neat goody bag and a nice medal at the end. Unfortunately, as a Vegan I could not eat any of the generous amount of goodies in my goody bag (a banana or other fruit would have been good but not essential). Luckily my friend Helen got a slightly different set of items in hers and kindly gave me one of them which I could eat.
After the race we all headed to a pub with a Helen’s housemate and her friend and had a nice lunch. I had a bit of trouble getting vegan food (and got a few odd looks in the process) but eventually settled on a baked potato with beans and salad and a very generous side order of chips which did the job. It was a bit scary at the bar, several middle age women wanted to admire (and feel) my medal and there was on chap who insisted his daughter was vegetarian even though she apparently ate fish and chicken! I think I ate too many chips (and also had a home made vegan pizza for tea) but I figure pigging out after the race is almost as much fun as the event itself so I don't mind too much. If it is good enough for Chrissie Wellington (http://www.chrissiewellington.org) then it's good enough for me. You can see pictures of the event by going to http://www5.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event_entry.py?job=Sports%2FCPUK%2F2009%2FReading%20Half%20Marathon and searching by my running number which was 843 (there are also group shots from 2007 and 2009 below).
I feel asleep again on the way home but it was all good.
I'll be back for this race next year if I can.
2009 (Oli, Chris and Helen)
2007 (Gregor, Oli Chris)
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