The Blackminster Half "Scorpion Run"- and an "accidental" PB

My friend Linzi and her husband decided at some point last year that they would organize a race in aid of local charities.  As it happened I didn't have a race planned, so I decided that the best way to support would be to take part.  Falling three weeks after the first trail marathon of the year and two weeks before the first ultra, I figured it would be a great chance at a speed session to keep the "go far, go slow" mentality at bay.  In light of recent improved performances, I briefly thought about trying to break the 90-minute goal that's been toying with me for the past few years.  Luckily, Nic reminded me that I'm naturally an idiot and should probably not have two focus races in the same month (who's the coach, now?).  The weekend before I kept to my training plan and put in my toughest back-to-back (23.5 & 10) so far.  With those sessions, the exhaustion-laced mid-week runs, a light head cold, and feeling totally wrecked the day before, I was pretty circumspect about how the race could pan out.

EVRC turned out in numbers for this excellent local race

On Sunday, I woke up feeling pretty reasonable.  The cold was shifting and the sun was shining (well, once it rose high enough).  I'd settled on a half-way house of a race plan to run as a goal-marathon-pace session, and then speed up in the second half if I felt OK.  When people asked what I had planned, I kept saying "I'll go with 7:15s and then see how it goes", or "1:35ish".  I'm not sure I believed it, but it was the sensible approach.  My strategy was to only show the lap time on my watch, and concentrate on keeping each lap effort in the right zone.  When Race Director Colin (Mr. Linzi) called all runners planning for sub-1:30, about 10 people headed for the line.  So, when I lined up behind them, I was unnaturally close to the starting line.  But, I kept in my head "7:15 for the first mile".

Sunny, yes, but not quite warm enough for  standing around in a vest

Then, of course, the horn sounds and off we go.  I saw 6:45 on the lap time after a few hundred yards and immediately eased off a bit.  I didn't really want to knock myself out after 8 miles, and I also didn't want to overcook any of my club-mates who had said they'd try to hold my announced pace with me.  The first mile included some nice gentle downward slopes, so I ended up with a 6:52 - just a bit faster than planned!  With deceptive gentle upward slopes for the next four miles, I eased back a bit but was still running sub 7:10.  It certainly helped to have plenty of friends and club-mates along the route cheering us all on.  The Day family mobile cheering service was especially appreciated - for a while, every half mile or so Roger and Maz were stopped by their bikes cheering us on.

The course started to ease back "downhill" (well, it's all pretty flat, really), but I was now in the "windy" section of the course.  Luckily, race day was calm for the breezy aerodrome area.  I tried to tuck in behind the only nearby runner for some shelter, but he was struggling.  So, I pressed on at a steady pace and he clung in behind me.  As we eased up yet another gentle slope, I kept the effort consistent and my drafting partner retook the lead.  This time, I stayed tucked in and kept there for about half a mile before he tired again and finally dropped off the pace.

Around the village of Marcliff, club-mate Ben had enough of my steady-effort method and pulled away up a hill to the cheers of his family.  We were approaching 8 miles, and I was nearly content to let him go.  I wasn't about to ruin my race plan by running someone else's race with another 5 miles to go.  He was obviously feeling pretty good, and I still had no idea how I was feeling.  Nothing hurt too much, but I wasn't exactly "in the groove".

We carried on through a nice flat section for a couple of miles before we approached the advertised "sting in the tail" - a short, sharp up followed by a steep down and then another short ascent.  It's the sort of topography that makes you look up and notice, but is perfectly manageable when you're used to the hilly trails.  I knew as this section came closer, if I could see Ben, then I could catch him on the steep descent.  Sure enough, half-way down I flew past Ben, gave him a thumbs-up of encouragement (I fully expected to see him again soon), and carried on down the hill.

Finally, with only two miles to go, I allowed myself to "race".  I pushed up the pace to make sure that Ben would have a struggle to catch me.  I was happy if he did pull out all the stops and beat me, but I saw no reason to make it easy!  At last, I felt like I was really running strong.  On the final section of the "sting", Nic was enjoying her official photographer role, sitting in the sun taking pictures.  She shouted encouragement as I smiled for the camera. 

Still smiling with just over a mile to go.

Once at the top of this last little hill, it was a little over half a mile down the hill and along the road to the finish.  I had no idea how far back Ben was, but I knew he was close enough from the encouragement he was receiving.  I had plenty of strength left, and just kept pushing the speed up all the way to the finish line.  On the final approach around the school field, I saw the clock and realized I had a good PB on the way and sprinted for all I was worth to burn off those few extra seconds.  I planted both feet on the chip mat to be sure the time was registered and gave Linzi a big hug of thanks for the great race.  I'm not sure she appreciated the sweaty embrace, but I hope the sentiment was well received!

Weekend Doubles (including WAAA XC Championships)

Over the Christmas holidays, I realised that my ambitions and my schedule were at odds.  I've been happily running marathons on three training runs per week for around 18 months.  Last year, as usual, I had more two-run weeks than four-run weeks.  This year, though, I've got into my head that I want to do some trail ultras, starting with around 34 miles and working up to 100+.  Preparing for that on three runs a week just won't do - the weekday runs would take too long and would rather get in the way of staying awake at work.   So, I've bitten the proverbial bullet and will be interrupting my traditional Saturday long sleep and adding in a fourth run.  Standard fare for many, but a step I've been trying to avoid in an effort to keep some non-running down-time in my life.  We'll see how it goes.

This week, I got to put the theory to the test during a standard working week - no more holidays to provide extra recovery time.  Saturday, I did at least get the late wake-up, because the local county cross country championships weren't until the afternoon.  So, I woke up around sunrise (way too late in the morning at this time of year!), mooched about the house catching up on a few things, and then headed out for the afternoon of fun.  Last year, the race was tough and hilly.  The year before, the race was flat, icy, and horrible.  In both cases, I came away with a mildly injured right ankle/calf/Achilles combination.  So, this year, the goal was to enjoy racing and come home fit!

I'd like to say the race was really exciting and interesting.  But, from the back half of the pack, it was just a case of running hard, passing where possible, and trying not to fall into the canal where the course takes a sharp dip into a 90-degree turn (or a filthy swim!).  There was a nice, short hill to keep us on our toes.  A bit of mud here and there added to the challenge.  In the end, I managed to keep a very similar pace to last week's Festive Five, which is very pleasing.

At the front end of the field, of course, there was a bit more nip and tuck.  The EVRC Ladies definitely showed up, placing three in the top 10 and winning a team 2nd place.  The faster part of the Men's team put a consistent group in the high teens and 20s, giving them a 4th place.  From the pictures, and they certainly looked both fast and exhausted!  Then, I spent my evening feeling a bit rough from the effort and the cold air while planning the Sunday trail run with super crew chief Nicola, as she trains for her first (and second, and third) trail marathon(s).

Sunday, we decided to take in a part of the Cotswold Way that we've not been on before, from Cleeve Hill to Seven Springs.  I'd looked at the map a few times and decided it was a pretty easy route - one good long downhill and two really tough uphills to keep us company.  The nice thing about choosing a route based on the criteria of "I'd like to learn about that bit of trail" and "that's the right sort of distance" means that you don't always think through the ramifications.  So, it wasn't until I was speeding down the hill towards Dowdeswell Resevoir, that I realised we would have to get back up the beast on the way back.  Still, hills are great fun and there was no reason to worry just because I hadn't planned on a particularly tough day.  In the end, we put in nearly 16 miles and 2500ft of climb.

Theory tested, and it seems like a good way forward in the short term, I'd rather have a run-free day on the weekend.  We'll have to see how it all pans out over the next few weeks.