Racing and Training 2018

I did six at six.. the Harlequin Dream. Carl took a tumble on this one and had to go to hospital. On a positive note my right hip seemed to be a lot more free in its movement. We shall see if the improvement continues!

Did some laps in Caerleon the first time for a long time. To make it fun I programmed the following workout into my Forerunner 235 ... 10 minutes warm up, 10 sets of (jog 500m, run 300m), 5 minutes cool down. ... and here is what Strava made of it... I also saw lots of joggers, Caerleon Runners, beeping motorists, King Charles spaniels, Lliswerry Groups 1 and 2, Air Cadets practice at the hall and much more! https://www.strava.com/activities/1865378160

I did a 21.2 km LSR with the 8am 10mm crew. It was the Newport Half Marathon course as near as dammit. ... and it was fun!

I did six @ six. The Harlequin Dream Course. Feeling a bit sore in the left ankle

I did the Lliswerry Interval Session this was my comment on Facebook - Septempo Did I mention the DNS in the half marathon in a hot & humid Malaga last Sunday? Discretion the better part of valour! Anyway, back home now and a nice welcome home interval session with Group 5 last night. with reps from Spytty McDonald's down & round towards the clock. The group was superbly led by pink hair  Claire . Rest today and Six at Six can't come soon enough.

Wednesday 12 September 2018 It was the 5000 metres on the track today. Once again, I spent a short time in the morning by the pool. My race was at 20:00 so I headed to the main stadium at mid-afternoon. I saw a number of my chums, including Sally & David, Ian Snow, and Barrie & Katie. Keith also came to watch. I was in the middle race of three. I would have expected to run 23 minutes and something. I ran 23:08.08 so that was not too bad. Ian Mitchell was in my heat. He was quicker than me in the 10K road race but I was quicker than him this evening. After the race Keith, Barrie, Katie and myself had some food and a beer in the bus station cafeteria.

Sunday 09 September 2018 I had a very poor night’s sleep again. Sleeping fitfully, I got up very early and was early for the 6:58 train. I had a bad stomach and generally felt quite rough. I had to visit the loo before the 10K Road Race. The race itself was tough in very warm and humid conditions. There was a problem with my chip recording and I did not get a finish time. I finished about 20 seconds in front of Andrew Murray. I was red as a beetroot and soaking wet with sweat due to the humidity. After my race I went to see Juliet run her 200 metres semi final at the University track. In the evening I went out with Stu, Joel, Juliet and Neil. We went out at 9:30pm and I got home at 2pm.

Wednesday 05 September 2018 This was the day of the first race, the 8K cross country. I had set my alarm for 8am as a back stop. I needed it! I woke one minute before the alarm went off. My idea of getting a taxi to the venue did not come to fruition so I walked, got the Cercanías for two stops and then walked at the other end. It was a good option as I got to see the course before I arrived at the start and finish area. Here is what I said to Keith Etheridge about the experience… I was pleased to finish the course it was a tough one. You are right, I was well aware of the progress that I have made in the last six months so I am happy with that. I ran most of the way with Rob Sargent who is definitely a baby… still in the 60-age group (but not for long). Rob was in front of me for most of the race. He pushed hard for 3 of the 4 laps but then tailed off. Archie had told us that he was only going to do one lap so we knew that he would not finish. I think quite a few runners approac...

I am in Malaga. I shall be competing in WMACS Malaga 2018. I shall not be doing much else. I was still very tired on Tuesday and I had a lazy day although I did go to the pool and did little swimming and aqua aerobics. In the afternoon I had a stroll down to the sea front and back through the park. I did some shopping – I found a supermarket which sells steak and strawberries! I had an early night.

am I ran to the Riverfront. I did a tempo riverfront parkrun (23:13) and I jog walked home. This was a 30 second improvement over a few weeks ago and my best time since pre-Denmark. Although, I was a lot quicker then (20:55).

pm I did 6 at six with 12 others. We did the Harlequin Dream route. I felt the benefit of reduced mileage this week.

pm I did an interval session with group 4. 6 * 800 on the SDR. Recovery times were varied. Shortest was 1:49, the longest was more than 3 minutes. here are some stats.... Splits  Time Moving Time Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Avg Run Cadence Max Run Cadence Avg Stride Length 2 03:45.7 03:40 07:45 07:33 188 211 1.11 4 03:43.2 03:36 07:30 07:16 190 203 1.13 6 03:47.8 03:46 07:30 07:26 192 210 1.12 8 03:34.6 03:30 07:21 07:11 192 207 1.14 10 03:34.3 03:33 07:24 07:21 191 203 1.14 12 03:33.1 03:29 07:09 07:01 193 207 1.17

pm I did speedwork at Caerleon 10 * 200 + 1 * 400 (1 min) There were quite a few dog walkers about. I felt pretty good but died towards the end. Maybe on the final 200 and the 400. Earlier on I felt like I was running with good form despite a weakness in my left ankle.

am A small but dedicated squad at today's 8 am session did the Llanwern loop. Two newbies, Chelsea & Liz pushed the pace along, chatting as they ran ... so that showed commendable restraint.  Matthew Potter  displayed easy running elegance as he cruised alongside them.  Roni  tail ran with  Jo Love   leaving me somewhere in the middle. At the start we were unsure when the rain would start. Suffice to say, we didn't stay dry.

am run to the Riverfront. Riverfront parkrun. Jog / walk home. 7.00 miles (approx)  :-)  . Did the parkrun in 26:26 Next week... Zager & Evans?

am massage with Daniela pm sis at six with Roni and the crew. We did the Harlequin dream (new course).

Did railway bridge reps (on the SDR from Boots) with group 5. The group was lead by Candy Claire and I took it fairly easy as I was very tired.

We did old faithful (Canal Last) Group 4. I was trending faster according to Twitter I worked hard along the canal.

This was a fairly key session. It was speedwork on tarmac (as opposed to on the track). I did a 1 mile warm up. I then did 1 * 700 metres fast with 10 mins recovery. Then I did 3 * 300 metres with 3 mins recovery between each 300. As you will be aware it was on the flat and fast (for some) one kilometre lap course at Caerleon. There were a lot of dog walkers out this evening and there were several King Charles Spaniels. One was pretty much a lookalike for Maisie so I stopped to chat to the owner. Obviously it got serious once the speedwork started. However my 7 minute recovery from the 700 metre fast bit turned into a 10 minute recovery as I got chatting again. This time to a guy who was coaching some kids. I felt that my 300 “sprints” were a lot stronger this week. I mentioned to Keith in an e-mail that the Strava stats reveal more about the session than is available on live track. I attached a screen shot of some stats for him to see..   Pace is the light blue gra...

I led the 8 am session (tail running). Neil Sidney was at the front. Neil Sidney Gareth Yeoman Rachel Jayne Neil Sidney Jo Love Kathryn Collins Dave Proffitt Colin Tebby We did a riverfront run from the tennis centre.