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Many of us watched Mo’s world 2 mile record at the weekend. Did you notice his half way split though? He went through 1 mile in 4.04 which had he maintained this he would have run 8.08 which would have been 4 seconds outside of the world record. OK so Mo has a blistering last 400m when racing but had he gone through 1 mile in 4.01-4.02 would he have maintained this?
When competing in a race where you are trying to get a fast time or personal best then aiming for a negative split is often the best way forward. Starting out too fast and hanging on rarely works but building through really does.
It is very easy sometimes to get caught up in the moment at the beginning when you are feeling good. All too often in a distance race though you get past half way and the wheels start to come off and you just gradually get slower and slower and that pb time just disappears. I’ve been there myself many, many times and paid the price!
It is so important in longer races like a half or full marathon that you run within yourself to half way then build through. It takes some belief to accept you may not be on target at half way but know that you can come through with a faster second half. For me personally I have found my best times have always come from starting steadier then racing the second half of the race. Running like this you will also find that you are picking off other runners (who have started off too fast) and this is a great feeling and pushes you on even quicker!
A while ago I turned my ankle whilst out doing an off road run. Luckily it seemed ok for the rest of the run and when I got home I iced it and took some ibuprofen for a few days, carried on training as normal and all seemed ok.
Unfortunately, with every cross country race I have done my ankle/achilles has been feeling niggly either during or after and getting worse after every race. I've managed to keep things going in training by icing and stretching several times a day and convincing myself its just a niggle and nothing more.
So I "attempted" the Northern Cross Country Champs in Pontefract yesterday. I knew things weren't great on my warm up as it was worse than it has been in training all week. At this point I was still trying to convince myself all will be ok and it just needs warming up and will be fine. I started the race and it was sore. Things just went from bad to worse - from being sore but manageable to practically limping by 3k. At this point I was just jogging until I saw my husband and had to pull out.
I'm gutted. I never expected anything amazing at the champs but just to do my best. Doing cross country this year was to serve a purpose in doing something different (I haven't done cross country properly for over 10 years with just 2 races 8 years ago) and to gain some strength going into my road running from March onwards.
I knew that there was a possibility of injury especially to my achilles. I have been prone to problems from just doing steady runs on bobbly ground in the past but I had to give it a try.
A few days rest and some physio and hopefully I can get back to training and a rethink of what I want to do.
It was the Cheshire Cross Country Champs on Saturday and held at Bolesworth Estate. A beautiful place for a race and held in a part of it that I hadn't been in before. It was so muddy and water logged that I should have brought my wellies to walk the course! We had 2 large laps to do and the back part of each lap had a few short sharp hills. I did actually expect the course to be a lot hillier that it was though.
Our race went off with the Under 20 men which when I first saw this on the timetable I was a bit disappointed as I felt it might change the way the race was run (possibility of there being men in front blocking the view of any girls that may be ahead). In the end I was completely wrong as there weren't that many men and most of them went off quite quick!
So the race started and after 400m I was hating it! I really wanted to stop. I just don't run well in calf deep water logged muddy ground! I just had to keep telling myself that it doesn't matter what happens here, just finish it as its all part of making me stronger for my road races. After about 1km I was in 4th place but could see a girl ahead who I definitely thought had started off too quick. I caught her up by around 2km and by now we were on some firmer ground which was more enjoyable!
I moved into 3rd place and once into the 2nd lap and coming up to the the short hills I felt I was making up ground on 2nd place. With about 1km to go I had got closer but then she turned a corner and must have accelerated as by the time I got to the corner suddenly the gap had grown again. It then just wasn't enough to make up to the finish. I was happy to finish in 3rd and so glad it was over!
I had my first proper cross country race in 8 years on Saturday (not including the xc relays in November as they were so short)!
This came the day after a very emotional and draining day on the Friday. I went out for an early morning run and 400m away I found my cat in the road and he'd been hit by a car and killed. I am devastated and heartbroken but giving extra love and cuddles to my other cat. I am now so paranoid every time he goes out though and having trouble sleeping.
So I got up on Saturday feeling tired and drained but trying to put it out of my mind just for a couple of hours.
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I actually ran really well and was pleased with how I did. I started off fairly steady and was in about 10th place after 1km. I then picked off a few girls in the first lap and heading out onto the 2nd lap I was now in 3rd place. I stayed here and ran with 2nd place. About 1km from the end we were approaching a short sharp downhill and I felt she was stuttering so I went to go past her only I hadn't looked ahead and seen the sharp left turn at the bottom! I overcooked it and skidded to a stop at the bottom, went wide then by the time I turned left and up a short sharp hill she had a gotten a gap on me. I then had to recover myself from this and the gap grew a bit more. By the time I started to close it down it was too late. I sprinted with the last 100m but couldn't quite get to her! Really pleased to finish 3rd and feel there is a lot more there. With a few more races, more confidence and not making stupid mistakes I'll get better. I really enjoyed this and looking forward to doing some more.
I raced at the Conwy Half Marathon last Sunday. After my 10k race the week before I'm actually feeling pleased with my performance at Conwy.
I have done nothing but steady running for the last few weeks with no fast effort sessions and my longest run has probably been a little over 10 miles. I went into this race with a much better attitude than last week. I had decided that my lack of speed work and just steady running will suit me better for the half than the 10k and to use it as a race to see where I am now when not on form and know that by March all being well and injury free I can see a big difference.
I started off with a girl I've raced against before at half marathon but decided the first couple of kms were a bit quick so I backed off. I was now in 5th place but feeling ok about it! The race starts out flattish then goes around the Great Orme which is uphill all the way up for over 2 miles then of course down hill back then flattish back to the finish. 3rd and 4th place were about 150m ahead of me by the time we got to the Orme. I took it fairly steady going up and ran within myself. 2 men caught me and were breathing hard. Every time we hit a flat bit I would overtake them then they would come past me going up the steep bits - all the time breathing hard! As soon as we hit the down hill I just let myself go and dropped them! Half way down I caught 4th place and flew past her which was a really good feeling. I didn't put the brakes on once going down and my feet were slapping the ground. I could see I was catching 3rd place so just focused on her. Onto the flat and at the 9 mile mark I caught her. I ran with her for a bit as I wondered if I had just had a better down hill part and if she was still feeling good. I listened to her breathing for a bit and decided that she was in pain and it was time to pick it up!
I had a good last couple of miles and picked off a couple more men. So I finshed in 3rd and was just 60s behind 2nd (who beat me by just over 60s at last weeks 10k)! I was really pleased and feel there was more there but I ran the race right for me with a strong second half. It made such a nice change for me to do a fairly hilly race as so often I pick races that are flat to try and get a fast time.
I hate racing when I'm not fit!! In the past I would only race if I was 100% fit or there abouts. This year though I've tried to do a few races knowing I'm not in the best shape (far from it) and hope that I will be stronger mentally from doing this.
My first unfit race was the National Cross Country Relays on 1st November I wasn't too bothered about not being fully fit as it was so short (just 3k) so I reasoned that it was 39k shorter than my favoured distance of marathon running and it was a fun event and a chance to race with and meet some new team members of my new club Stockport Harriers. I was quite pleased with how I ran. I haven't run a cross country race for over 8 years and the course was very undulating, twisty and very uneven under foot. I was a bit of a wimp in places and very stuttery with my stride length! I need to do a lot more off road, technical training runs! I was on the 2nd leg and managed to hold the 5th place that the first leg runner had come in at. Overall we came 6th which was a good result.
I then raced at the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k on 16th November. Originally when I'd entered this I was hoping to be in pb shape but after the injury and break I had to accept that this wasn't going to be. I also got asked to represent the North of England which I didn't want to turn down as I've been asked a few times and its always clashed with a marathon in the past. I was gutted to be in such a high caliber race knowing that I wouldn't be at full fitness as I would really have liked to go against the other girls knowing that it could bring out my best. During the race I started off too fast! The 1st km was a touch quicker than my 5k pb time and normally this wouldn't feel too quick I would just know I needed to slow down, this time it really hurt! I had 3km of pain before settling down. To be honest I lost my head a bit because so many girls had gone past me and I felt like crap! I settled into a pace that by 7km I felt I could probably run a half marathon at the same pace! My finish time was as expected with current form but I was gutted to finish 29th.
I haven't written for a while! I went on holiday with my mum and sis to Lanzarote for a week with a hope to get some end of season warm weather training in. I went running on my second to last day and pulled my calf muscle.
I didn't think it was too bad and with a couple of days off it would be ok but that wasn't to be. After a few attempts a running I ended up having 10 days off from running and then took the decision to take my end of season break now rather than at the end of November as originally planned. This then meant missing the 10 mile race I had planned in Twickenham on 19th October.
I'm seeing the positive side to this - it now means that I will get a full cross country season in and be fitter for the earlier cross country races in December and January than I would have been if I'd had the later break.
