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!