Bridging from one race to the next

Having had a hard race yesterday and knowing I have a relay down in Coventry on Wednesday, I settled for a 10k run today rather than the standard 8 or 9 mile Sunday special. I decided to set the Garmin for a 45 minute 10k (4:30/km) which seemed nice and steady after yesterday, but still fast enough to do me good for Wednesday.
Feeling stronger than I expected however, I pushed on and upped the pace. I looked to be heading for around a 40 minute 10k at the 5k mark but a faster second half meant a rather pleasing time of 39:31. Of course it was all on road but there was some bracing climbs at times and considering the energy expended in the push for the top 6 yesterday, I feel pretty happy with the time. The weather is beautiful outside; sunny and fresh with no wind - it really was a joy to be out even if it was on the tarmac!
So, onto Wednesday. The King Henry VII School relays (Coventry) is a big event which attracts top runners and schools from all over the country. Last year we finished 17th albeit with a weakened team. The addition of Billy Pinder should be a big boost to the team and will hopefully help us build on last year. It will be interesting to see if I can improve upon my time of 13.27 as well. Each leg is 2 miles round a park (woodland, paths and tracks) and a team consists of 6 runners - I think we have a good chance of mounting a medal challenge but we shall see. I may do a few bounds and strides tomorrow in preparation for then depending on how I feel.
Another great weekend's running and after today I really fancy entering a 10k (possibly Edinburgh in May) to find out what I could do time-wise in a race situation. Onwards and Upwards to Coventry!

A couple of pictures of today's race

The road to English Schools...Round 2

Having finished 6th in November at the Harrogate and Craven Area Championships, I qualified to run for Harrogate and Craven against Scarborough and various other areas. Rather conveniently the races today were held at Aireville Park in Skipton; I know every corner and hill like the back of my hand as I regularly train here after School. Pre Race I knew top 6 would guarantee a place to run for North Yorkshire against the whole of England in the English Schools Championships in Manchester on 20th March.
The final 2 places (of 8) would be decided after the race at Durham next weekend which the top 15 finishers today would qualify for.
The weather was cold but the park was blessed with beautiful sunshine. The going underfoot was firm but by the time it got to my race (the last race) the corners were pretty chewed up and very slippy! I set off very steadily with the intention of pulling through and hopefully having a good crack at the top 6. The race was 7km with 1 short lap and 3 longs - after the first lap (short) I lay in around 13th place. I came through just as I'd planned to and by the end of the 2nd long lap I had made my way up to 6th place - Could I hold on? Unfortunatley not. A strong last lap from a lad who had kept me in his sights since the first lap came to pass me leaving me to finish 7th. I was delighted with this but at the same time a little disappointed with giving away 6th place. I did give it all I had and couldn't physically have gone any harder or faster so I think I am being hard on myself to say 6th was given away.
Where does this leave me? I will not be running at Durham next weekend to prove my credentials for English Schools selection and so will speak to the North Yorkshire team manager about my consideration for one of the remaining 2 spots. I believe I have a good chance given my performance today but time will tell. Fingers crossed!

The big'un!

Having had a hard weekend's running and a big race coming up on Saturday, I decided to put in a really solid day's training today. I had been building up to it it since Sunday and after 'ooing and arring' as to what I should actually do, I decided on intervals to be run faster than race pace at 2 minutes each with 1 minute recovery jog. Feeling very energetic this morning, I went with my original idea of 14 efforts therefore leaving me with 42 minutes of hard training. To top things up to an hour, I had an 8 minute warm up and 10 minute warm down.
The sheer thought of having to do another 13 efforts after the first one is a big challenge to overcome. The session went very well and progressed nicely. The garmin decided to play up a little and so had my average pace varying from 5.55 to 6.34 between efforts, but I would say the day's total distance was around 7.5 miles (despite Garmin making it 7). I felt particularly strong on the last couple where I really felt to push on through the pain barrier giving me the maximum effects from a bloody hard session!
The terrain was off road varying from muddy fields to woodland tracks and contained a few short but stiff climbs. As a consequence of some uneven stuff, I managed to go over on my ankle a couple of times which is now very swollen. I hope this will be alright for Saturday.
What's going down on Saturday? It's the next round of the English Schools qualifying. I will be running for Harrogate and Craven after finishing 6th in the area championships at the end of November. Top 6 will get me into North Yorkshire for the English National Schools in Manchester. Failing that, I will have to settle for top 15 where I would qualify for North Yorkshire to run in Durham against a couple of other areas. Top 6 will be a tall order given that I'm competing against the year above but Hey! anything is possible.

Coming on 'Leaps and Bounds'

Today I did a bit of preparation for tomorrow with a few strides and bounds. These included fast high knees, heel flicks, long raking bounds and the like. It may not be a training session but it certainly won't do me any harm ahead of what is going to be a hard day tomorrow. I am planning on doing: 2 minutes hard, 1 minute recovery for 40 minutes, with a 10 minute warm up and 10 minute warm down. This should leave me in good shape for Saturday where I have the chance to qualify for North Yorkshire.

Easy run? No such thing!

After the hard race yesterday, my legs were pretty tired this morning. I therefore thought a steady 8 miler over different terrains (road, towpaths and farm tracks) should do just the trick. So, I programmed the Garmin Virtual Partner (tells you if your ahead or behind your set goal) in for 8 miles in an hour (7 mins 30 per mile) which seemed reasonable for a steady paced run, taking into account I would be running over terrain which is not as fast as the tarmac. About a mile in however, I felt incredibly strong and kicked on. I felt to be flying and although my legs were a little dead on the climbs, my leg speed felt great even on the muddy, grassy canal towpath. I got back home having done 7.18 miles (a little short of the target of 8 miles) but had done it in 47.20! Not bad considering a good 2.5 of the miles were on muddy off road and completley energy sapping. This left me with a pace of 6.36 per mile which I was delighted with. I topped the distance up to 8 with a jog warm down. A great weekend's running! A couple of days off now to let the body recover before a big session on Wednesday.

A couple of snaps of me running as Joel Griffith!

Carnage at the Northern XC Champs

The intention of the weekend was to go and have a run at Stanbury tomorrow. A phone call at the 11th hour last night changed everything. Skipton were short of a body at the Northerns held in Blackburn so I stepped in, running for Joel Griffifth! I was pretty unsure as to how I'd run, particularly after a hard session on Thursday still in my legs. I ran very well, coming through on the second lap to finish 53rd in a very competitive field of 130 (+ however many dropped out.) All this before a certain someone reported me running for the wrong club meaning I was disqualified. A certain someone from the club which failed to enter me! Still not a bad result (before DQ) considering I could have prepared much better. Below are results of the team who finished 8th before I was disqualified. Recovery run tomorrow!

10 173 B Pinder Skipton AC 21:28
53 172 W Marshall Skipton AC 22:55
56 174 A Sinclair Skipton AC 22:57
76 170 W Crisp Skipton AC 24:05

Death Reps

Save the best 'till last, or maybe the hardest?! The hill rep session is definitley the hardest of my week and today was no exception. I warmed up for 15 minutes with various stretches, bounds and jogs etc. then hit the reps out. The climb is about 1 minute and today was pretty muddy. I sprinted up before jogging down for my recovery. I did this for 30 minutes, covering 4 miles and feeling pretty strong considering the conditions, before a nice 15 minute warm down. This gave me a total distance for the day of 6.5 miles. This is the last session of the week (hense hardest goes last!) giving me a total mileage of 21 miles (over 3 runs) which have been pretty well earnt (not many easy miles!) and should hopefully leave me in good shape for Sunday for Stanbury Splash - looking forward to it!

Intervals

I did a session today consisting of: A 10 minute warm up, 6 x 3 minutes hard with 1 min 30 recovery, 10 minute warm down. My legs felt a little tired from Sunday's effort (still!) but I managed to give it 'death' and run 0.46 miles on each effort. The intervals were round a triangular course so uphill and down dale in very muddy, boggy conditions. I was therefore fairly pleased with the 6 minute miles or so I was consistently churning out. Roll on Thursday for some hill reps!

P.S. Town drew 0-0 at home to Bristol Rovers tonight. Very disappointing.

End of exams!

AS Levels are over and no exams till Summer, Phew! Hope to be able to get out with the club for a few more night events again. Tomorrow I intend on doing some speed work in the form of intervals before going to watch Town. Should be able to fit the session in...

Yesterday's Run

The blog looks pretty lonely with only one post so I may as well put yesterday's run in. I did my long run for the week on the tarmac yesterday, running to West Marton, then to East Marton and back to home, sweet home. It was 9 miles, completed in a pleasing 1 hour 20 seconds (6 mins 42 per mile) particularly when I spent a good 5 mins skating on an icy back road and there was 1100' of ascent involved.

Checking In...

Welcome to the blog of Will Marshall. Here I will record my training runs and races, as well as including a few pictures and the like. Nothing fancy, just a bit of a laugh.