Time for reflection

Two weekends without racing: no bad thing given the weather and the need for some decent mileage. So, time for a bit of reflection and to get on my soap box a bit. On a personal level the training has been going well although at a price. I've churned out more winter miles and the last two weeks have been my biggest for many a year; just steady running, which is all my aching body will take but it seems to work. I really am aching all over; slipping on the frozen snow and lethal ice hasn't helped (picture is from our bedroom window), especially my ongoing Achilles problems and slight hamstring tweak. Went to see an excellent physio today, Helen Hall who practises in Cirencester & Fairford (I have number if anyone interested). She didn't mince her words but talked real sense. She also told me what I already know, my body is in pretty rough shape! Possibly more on this - the physio, not my body, in due course.

The point about how I feel at the moment and the training I'm doing is important. At some stage the hard miles need to be put in and by their very nature they make you weary. The fact that I am 52 (v nearly) just accentuates the pain. Most reading this are much younger than me and can therefore get away with it. I'm taking a gamble just to see if I can have one final fling at some relatively decent times but you lot can cross the weariness barrier and make progress.

I vowed when I started this blog that I wouldn't harp on about the 80's when everyone ran fast; if you ran 3 hours for a marathon you were in danger of coming last (it happened to a friend of mine); everyone ran 150 miles a week, drank 10 pints every night then ran 10 miles home in their hob nailed boots ... However if it helps to illustrate a point then why not? After all, the way people ran 25 years ago must hold some clues to what is still possible today despite our sedentary lifestyle. Sites like 8lane waffle on about training methods and theoretical quality sessions but the overriding thing that strikes me about the comments that I read there and elsewhere - and they are written by good runners - is a lack of consistency. Yes they train hard but not all the time. This, I think, more than anything else is the difference today. The long term view must be taken - forget the race coming up next month, yes do it but only as a stepping stone. The real target must be year on year improvements off good endurance training throughout the year and the belief that this will eventually lead to times currently totally out of range. It must be a lifestyle thing.

Work out what your base week is i.e. number of times you can run broken down into easy recoveries, intervals, tempo / threshold, fartlek, hills, lsd (long steady distance) then build into that being your normal week. Then just get on with it. As Steve Cram once said, if you want to be a better runner then run more miles.

We had a fantastic group of runners at Ranelagh and we all grew up together. The Wednesday night club run around Richmond Park was the highlight of the week as well as being a hard tempo run of generally 12-13 miles. The elation afterwards in the bar was sensational and if a Wednesday run was missed there was a real feeling that your weekly fix had been missed. This was a year round session done with friends with similar attitudes, the camaraderie was wonderful. That's why a talentless runner like me was able to post some half decent times. If I could do it then so could most of today's runners. You just have to have belief in your own ability and faith that consistent training will bring its rewards.

I'm attempting to build something similar with our Tuesday sessions at Cirencester. It's harder because it's a session evening but it is beginning to gel and I get the feeling that we are working well as a group, cajoling each other into sustaining the effort. It is definitely taking shape. I don't know what will happen during the summer, only time will tell.

Stop press: May have wrecked my Bourton chances. Got into an awkward position lifting my wheelchair bound mum from car to her chair, something I've done hundreds of times, and thought nothing of it at the time. A few hours later I tried to stand but couldn't as my back had seized up. I'd struggle to run a bath at the moment, let alone a 10k.

Glutton for punishment

Three races in six days, not the most sensible thing to do - especially in January - but there were good reasons for all three:

1. Did Tuesday night's Bridge Inn 5km so that I could post a ranking time. Unfortunately after a lovely calm, dry day, the wind got up and the rain came down with bad consequences. I felt that I was competitive yet was well shy of my 16:45 target. My splits of 8:11 / 8:59 on the out & back course give the game away. It was straight into the wind on the way back. What was more annoying was tweaking a hamstring on the wet, dark, twisty footpath. Bah, humbug. Justin had planned to come down with me but must have seen the forecast as he pulled out, sensible man. Enjoyed the company of Chris Riches for a beer afterwards and we waxed lyrical on club problems.
2. I don't miss mob matches and Blackheath completed another winter's efforts (that's 135 now since 1974). Chris decided he needed a workout and racing on Saturday fits in much better to the training routine so he not only came along but he obliterated the field, winning by four minutes! His only problem on this old fashioned, traditional one lap course that took in a dozen stiles (see pictures of us both) and went up hill and down dale, was to stay on course. Great run and should give him confidence going forward. I was pleased to beat all Ranelagh bar Chris & thus win the Harry Sheer trophy as 1st V50, except that no one could find the trophy! Shame as Harry was a dear old friend of mine - he loved cricket & running - before he died many years ago.

3. Adrian was struggling all week to get a decent team out for the Oxford League. It was bitterly cold and I didn't fancy a long run alone so despite an aching body from yesterday's racing and long drive, I ran. I did a six mile run to get some Sunday miles in then lined up near the back of the field. With the bitter weather it wasn't too muddy so I wore flats - as I had at Blackheath - and had a lovely run, gradually moving through the field. The great news afterwards was that Cirencester won by a solitary point. Fantastic. Did a four mile recovery run in the evening before a long soak in the bath. I need a rest!

Favourite track session!

No races for a couple of weeks now, as planned and quite fortuitous given my streaming cold last weekend. Having, for once, trained well & stayed healthy through the Christmas period, there was a certain inevitability about going down with something. Although making you feel miserable, it's important to try to put a positive slant on such things, otherwise you drag yourself down: this was drummed into me by daughter Natalie on the phone last weekend when she told me off and said not to be a typical bloke complaining of man flu! From a running perspective it is very important to have a structured training plan but it is also vital that adaptability is addressed. You cannot train at full tilt all the time; easier weeks need to be incorporated into planning. If, however, a cold or slight niggle comes along then use that as the easy week and adapt your schedule accordingly.

Anyway, this week I've been thinking about how well the club sessions have gone on Tuesday nights through the winter. Despite constant cold weather, we have worked well together and there is no doubt that a number of regular attendees will be looking forward to Bourton next month to see how the winter conditioning has brought them on. We have concentrated on long efforts with short recoveries and it has been good to see how everyone has adapted their attitude to ensure that they compete throughout the session and don't fade badly. It helps that there has been a great camaraderie amongst everyone, with friendly cajoling and encouragement for all and good little groups working together. Long may this continue.

This got me thinking about my favourite track session. I suggest that anyone of a nervous disposition stops reading now! In short it was 62 x 400 with 3½ minutes recovery, in an average of 68 seconds. I'm cheating a bit here really because this was a race. Barendrecht, near Rotterdam in Holland was the location, a four man 100km track relay organised by my long standing close Dutch friend Alex Halter. I did this five times with Ranelagh in the early 80's, we were 2nd the first year but then won it each of the four years thereafter. Our winning time in 1984 was 4.46.48, which is sub two hour marathon pace for nearly five hours! Sometimes it frightens me when I look back on these runs.

Essentially the rules were simple, 250 laps of the track had to be covered by the four runners in any format. There was a changeover along the back straight and clearly the best format was to break the race into 400m efforts, hence the 3½ minute recovery whilst the three other runners did their bit. To spice up the race, the organisers regularly announced mini races within the overall event, a bit like sprint bonuses in the Tour de France: so in the middle of an effort, the bell would ring and the first to finish the next 400 between a couple of teams starting the lap together, would win a prize. We ended up each year with a myriad number of bizarre gifts, ranging from chickens to flowers, umbrellas, books, beer and money.

It was mind over matter to sustain the efforts for so many hours and you locked into a routine: run 400, hand over the baton, walk to tent, sit down for a minute, get up to loosen the legs again, walk to the handover, do the 400 ... 62 times! The picture is of one of our winning teams: from left Simon Collingridge (avg 69.1), DW (68.3), Simon Hedger (69.5), Steve Pautard (68.1). We all lived within a mile of each other in Worcester Park (Collingridge was my flatmate) and we trained a lot together, notably our Monday night 10 milers that always started slowly before we gradually cranked up the pace until eventually we were absolutely flying. Great days. Pautard ran 2.19 at London at the age of 19 and repeated the time a year later, albeit with brown shorts: he was totally focused on his running but rather burnt himself out on 130 miles a week too early in his life. Last I heard he was playing golf off a single figure handicap. Hedger moved to Australia after marrying an Aussie flatmate of mine, and, like his dad before him back in the 1950's, became an excellent runner, cracking 50 for 10 miles. He's now back in good old Blighty but is feeling the cold and doesn't like being beaten by Wrighty! Collingridge was undoubtedly the most natural runner, his best was probably a 30.10 track 10km at Crystal Palace together with some big road race victories when living in France. However, he was too easily distracted by women and beer to dedicate himself to running - Claudie will attest to the number of broken hearts he left at my flat!

At Barendrecht the fun didn't stop with the running. The evening's festivities were always superb. Most teams hung around afterwards (about 25-30 teams competed) and the organisers put on a big meal. The Belgian teams, our biggest rivals, always brought cases of their famous (& strong) red beers and the celebrating went on well into the night. The next day's Sunday run was always fairly amusing, the combination of the 25km at 4½ minute miling, the food & drink and the dancing & singing left us all somewhat weary. But what a track session and invariably a few weeks later I would run some of my best races.

So, what is there to learn from this? Firstly, enjoy the social camaraderie that team racing and socialising can bring. Running is a lonely sport but runners can relate to each other and have mutual respect for the effort, if not always the result, that goes into training & racing. Secondly, track sessions and any sort of interval work don't just mean 8 x 400 with 200 jog: mixing pace with endurance has to be key to progress for most club members seeking to improve at 10km and above. That doesn't mean going out and doing 62 x 400 each week but it does show the worth of the long conditioning workouts we've been doing through this winter, together with tempo and threshold runs that really build the endurance base. Sharpen this up with some spicy short track intervals in the spring & summer and the race times will tumble. I promise.

PS Just seen today's Midland XC Champs results: Cirencester a magnificent 8th, not many points off 5th. Adrian's boys are coming on really well and with another equally strong 6-8 runners available the prospects for April's 12 stage relays are exciting to say the least.

Frozen wastes of Banbury

Now that was good fun! Serious cross country is off my agenda these days as my Achilles will not allow the wearing of spikes. I get away with Ranelagh mob matches as they are social occasions and just good training. It's a shame really because I have always believed that xc serves a purpose in terms of strengthening the athlete through the resistance of mud, hills, awkward terrain and all sorts of winter weather. I always used to race over the country on a weekly basis taking some races seriously but using others as good hard training runs. It also helped that xc was, and still is, generally on a Saturday afternoon with the consequence of a perfect weekend: race Saturday afternoon, drink Saturday evening then get out for the long Sunday run.

With the winter weather continuing its harsh vein, it was evident that Banbury's course would be frozen and I could get away with wearing flats so I told skipper Adrian that I'd have a run round. Having done a two hour training run the day before I had no expectations of performance although it's amazing how often a good race can come in these situations through relaxation and no race stress. Today sort of fitted into this category, but only eventually ...

I might have 40 years experience of racing but sometimes I'm as stupid as ever: I wanted to start steadily and then move through the field, something I do as a matter of course, but I ignored one obvious problem. About 200 metres into the race there was a tiny gap to run through with the added problem of a fallen tree to climb over. This was crass planning by the race organisers, being so close to the start, but something I should have thought about. But no, I naively sauntered off at a leisurely pace then came to a grinding halt as I queued to get over the damned log! As it turned out this made the race more fun. The next mile or so was awkward as I tried to pass others along the narrow disused rail track (see Bill Leggate's photo), made particularly difficult by the rutted ground, but as the field spread out I started to stretch my legs and by the second lap I was absolutely flying. What a great feeling it was to feel so strong and to pass others at pace. With a mile to go I spotted club debutant Ben Rosedale up ahead - he was having an excellent first run in the red & black - and was able to get by before spotting Robbie Brown a few more places further on. I got up to his shoulder with about 400 to go, he looked back, saw me and took off for the finish. I might have been going well but I had no change of pace. Great run by Robbie and hopefully a sign that he's about to make a breakthrough in 2009 - perhaps his mum, Sue, will get her way and he'll give up rugby, and all those horrific injuries, and take his running seriously. I hope so as he has the talent.

The club turnout was pitiful and that's a real concern. Adrian (see picture, on his way to a superb 4th place finish) works really hard as captain and we have the makings of a cracking team but races such as the Oxford League should embrace the whole club, not just the first team, and that's just not happening.

Lies, damn lies & statistics

That's good. The bubble hasn't yet burst. Having not raced seriously for a while, I wasn't sure how the fitness levels were despite some good solid training. To be honest I wondered whether my autumn successes may have been isolated and not attainable again. So I lined up at the Pilot Inn '5' near Gloucester this morning not knowing what to expect. It was bitterly cold - the drive to the race had been quite spectacular, particularly around Birdlip where there was a complete whiteout of frost on the ground and in the trees; wish I'd had my camera - and I did a longish slow warm-up just to try to get the blood flowing.
Although a very small field, there was some decent quality and Jeremy (Billy Whizz) Bradley and Phil (blogger) Parry were soon out on their own. By the second mile I found myself in the next group and the five of us stayed together for the rest of the race. I only knew two of the group: Andy Prophett, a former winner of the Bourton 10km but coming back from injury, and Dave Lander who'd beaten me at Tewkesbury in November over the same distance. Paul Barlow had just beaten Lander on Boxing Day so he was a big target for me. Prophett was a nightmare to race against as he kept veering from side to side. We all took turns at the front of the group and that maintained the pace. It took an age to reach the turn around point on the out & back course with the latter stages being very undulating. On the way back I pushed on up one of the hills, breaking up the group and dropping two including Lander. It was then a question of hanging on to the others. I sustained my pace to the finish although Pete Stephens from Severn surprised me right on the line. That disappoinment was more than made up for by my time of 27.29 (out 13:45, back 13:44), my best for 18 years! What's more I am now ranked No.1 in the country at V50 for 5 miles in 2009. OK we've only had 12 hours of the year so far but nobody can take away the fact that I topped the national rankings!!
A happy, healthy & enjoyable New Year to all. May there be friendlieness & peace everywhere (and may the €uro crash so that we can afford to buy property in France!).

Two mob wins in a row

Thanks to a car load from Cirencester turning up and running second claim for Ranelagh - Wrighty, Chris Illman, Keith Firkin & Claudie - a second mob match win on the bounce resulted in a flooded Richmond Park. It has to be said that Claudie's input was relatively minor, a bit of retail therapy in Kingston whilst the boys were swimming around the park, but she did her bit in the car, motivating us towards an epic win whilst explaining how much she intended spending on jewellery!

David Rowe's picture of the delights of Richmond Park was taken two weeks ago, hence lack of water.

Spent half of the run contemplating what I'd write about Andy Bickerstaff, affectionately known as DH to those in the know. Definitely his week for the treatment given his mocking before the race. Fairly easy really: after many years of his captaincy, Marc Snaith has taken over this season and the mob match victories are flowing. DH's record as skipper was Won 8, Lost 20! He didn't even come into the pub for a celebratory drink after the race, albeit he had a good excuse, but DH not drinking, what has the world come to? Checking back, it appears that we haven't won back to back mob matches since 1988 so we can't blame DH entirely. Bring on Blackheath!

PS So that DH continues to talk to me I'll plug his excellent website that promotes training runs all over the country: have a look at http://www.goodrunguide.co.uk/

Feeling guilty

After a good week's training, albeit with various aches & pains, my first back after a few weeks active recovery, I had a difficult choice at the weekend. Should I run the Oxford League at Culham Park or not? This was a tough decision and I changed my mind a few times. My big problem with any sort of testing xc course (and Culham Park is very testing!) is the pressure on my ailing Achilles. It is no longer possible for me to wear spikes and running on muddy / hilly courses becomes virtually impossible. Against that is my very strong views on the whole team ethic of these league races. This is a very individual sport but we are part of a team and as such should support the main team event of the winter. So what did I do ... ?

The long run at the weekend is sacrosanct whether racing or not so I went out on my own on Saturday morning, Adrian being busy with family, and had a lovely cold run to Siddington, a lap of the water park, Poole Keynes, Ewen & Siddington again, about 14 in total. It was very sunny and I ran early - this meant two problems, namely a very low sun in the sky which blinded me at times and icy country roads. As the day went on I started to think that if I could make the scoring seven I should run the league race, even if wearing flats. Claudie wasn't impressed with the idea: "you'll get injured again" she said. Then Chris texted. He is coming back from injury and building up his training very sensibly. Could he have a run with me Sunday morning he wanted to know. This swung it, I had a reason not to go to Culham. Sorry Adrian, sorry team. I thus ended up with a second long run of the weekend - this time only about 11 miles although at a decent clip - which for my running was perfect but for my conscience ...