Swansea 10k - personal best

I did very well on a very very well organised course (and event), I completed to my own watch time in 57minutes and 2seconds... a personal best and all with not having run for 10 days. Seems my activities in other fields has had major plus points... I felt very very comfortable to 5k, it was only the last 3k that I slipped slightly behind Sian's excellent split time plan for 9 minute 'miling' all the way. The last three showed the hole in my preparation was stamina training.

All in all very pleased, and happy that perhaps I can mix up the training... although there is no escaping the need for miles ;o)

Too much cross training, oops, hehe!!

It seems that I have gone and gotten caught up in the joys of another sporting temptation... that of rowing... the four oarsmen of the apothecary are coming along very well... and it even seems that I may have an okay stroke!?!?!

I haven't been for a run since a quick 2.5 miles with Sian around 10 days ago, my first run in too long will be the Swansea 10k this coming weekend... though it seems that it may be an excuse to be in the same locale as Joe's Ice Cream parlour.

I hope that all the trips up and down the river Taff have left me pretty fit, along with riding to and from work on the bike (which is stuck in middle 6 gear at the moment and hard work to ride just now!!).

The time I am looking for is, well... anything below an hour!!!! We'll see, I'll blog the outcome don't worry ;o)

Cardiff 10K pictures

Bib and then me labouring to carry the bib over the line....


...as you can see I found it very hard!!

Cardiff 10k - tough experience

The Cardiff 10k this Sunday just gone was a tough one, it was very hot and humid (thunderstorms were in the air), I was tired (after a busy week), and I had a plan that I hadn't worked out thoroughly.

Around 3000 runners at a well organised event, marshaling was a bit iffy in spots (but there were plenty of them and enough that knew what was going on), the water situation was much improved on last year, I arrived relaxed [bib number 1518] and all set to go.

My plan was to set off at marathon pace and see if I could hold to it whilst a bunch of runner were pouring past me... this I managed very well and was happy. Until I realised what this meant for my overall time at 3k... if I carried on I would finish somewhere between 1hr 5min and 1hr 10min. I was unhappy at the thought of running one that slow, so opted to speed up and break the hour (as I have in every other 10k I've run). In speeding up, I think I had left myself too much to do, I'd have to run a quick 6-7k and the heat of the day wasn't helping. In the end I think I out thought myself and ended up with a time of 1hr 1min 35sec.

The setting off slow was a success, but I hadn't thought it through... it seems at the moment (until I do more training) that I am a one pace runner. Trying to change once I'd set up at one speed proved hard to judge!!

Lessons have been learnt and I am now 95% sure that I will not be doing the full marathon in Cardiff this October... I will opt to get fit more slowly and constructively. Doing another couple of 10k races and the Cardiff Half Marathon before Christmas instead. I have to many commitments to train for the marathon before Christmas and also fear I will injure myself by pushing too hard... and an injury is the last thing I want as it would ruin too many activities.

The blog continues... a pic of me at the 10k to follow and then the pursuit of marathon fitness for the spring through the Winter... a training time that has proved a problem in the past that I hope to tackle head on ;o)

Important lessons learned

Tonight I ran something approaching 9 miles [I have to check and measure the distance] in 1hr 31min 50sec, which is not far off of the marathon pace that I hope to be running. I set off for the run at roughly 7:20pm. I did most of the run with a heartrate of 154bpm, again pretty comfortable. The lessons learning are a little more important than these stats...

[1] Don't run on blisters without appropriate protective application, I finished the run with a strange soreness in the blister area. The whole area is tender and the skin is wrinkled and angry.

[2] The most important lesson... do not run alone after dark on unlit paths!! I ran a route around where I live which in large sections follows a river path, I predicted I would be through the section before dark but was wrong. In the woods / shrubs alongside the path a bunch of people were gathered drinking / smoking who knows what... when I approached a dog came running out of their location (clearly an early warning against the approach of police or anyone else), it was barking like crazy and chased me down the path for a good 50 metres. I kept running at the same pace and ignored the dog, following advice I had as a kid... I know nothing of the dog except it was large, brown, excited, and encouraged in its chase by at least one of the party in the woods. Afterwards I was shaken, my heartrate spiked and the rest of the run was a worry.

If you do anything while running, consider your choice of location and time much more than I did. I was so lucky that the dog was not more aggressive or more encouraged by the strangers in the dark.

On a lighter note I did feel very happy with how the running went (I am looking forward to the Cardiff 10k on Sunday), and am looking forward to my second session on the river tomorrow morning.

A link to what can only be rowing chaos...

...to follow my Llandaff Rowing Club Pub and Club efforts take a trip to The Four Oarsmen of the
Apocalypse it us certainly a colourful blog so far ;o)

Hopefully we will be training 2 to 3 times a week, which should break up my running nicely and ensure no boredom sets in over the coming weeks of getting fitter (okay, getting fit!!).

Yet more cross-training

No run again today, I cycled to and from work as usual, and then there was my first ever rowing session at Llandaff Rowing Club. It went well and was good fun, not really much of a physical workout but I guess that will come in future outtings. Still cross-training is good I guess ;o)