Just a brief report this time...
This was a small race in Gloucestershire, organised by the local methodist church to raise funds. There were only 60 or 70 runners, so the fact that I finished 7th wasn't as impressive as it sounds!
I lined up close to the start line and kept the leaders in sight for a short while, although when my watch chirped 6:03 for the first mile I did ease off a little. That's about 5km pace for me! A bridge over the M5 marked the end of any busy roads and the start of winding, picturesque country lanes. Great scenery and barely a breath of wind. I was enjoying myself by now.
Mile 2 took 6:20, which I felt was too slow. So from then I tried to maintain a slightly quicker pace. I was just off a pack of runners chasing the lead for the entire race. Nobody overtook me, nor did I overtake anyone. My remaining 3 splits were pretty even and I managed a time of 31:05, knocking a huge 55 seconds off my previous PB, set in May. All in all I was thrilled. A thoroughly enjoyable race!
See my Garmin data here and the official results here.
Distance: 5.00 miles
Avg pace: 6m 13s / mile
Avg HR: No HRM
Conditions: Cold and clear
Monday 19 December 2011
Tuesday 13 December 2011
Keeping it short and sweet
I wanted to post separately about this. See, while it's true I have been slacking off in some departments, I've been pulling my socks up in others, especially speed work. I've been consistently joining Cardiff Triathletes for their Monday evening run, which typically entails fast intervals or hill sprints, and hammering out the odd lung-bursting tempo run.
And it seems to be paying off: on 3 December I knocked 12 seconds off my 5km PB, posting a time of 18:47 at Cardiff Parkrun. And at last night's regular Monday evening session I had sprung on me a 2-mile time trial, but surprised myself with a time of 11:22. That's the first time I've ever been timed over that distance (other than as part of a duathlon), so whatever time I ran was always going to be a PB. But it felt good to be the first runner home and to average a blistering pace of 5:41/mile.
So now I just need to keep up that speed work as well as the long runs, cycling and swimming. Easy! Next major test, though, is a small 5-mile race on Saturday, and I have my current PB of 32:00 in my sights. Let's end this calendar year on a high!
And it seems to be paying off: on 3 December I knocked 12 seconds off my 5km PB, posting a time of 18:47 at Cardiff Parkrun. And at last night's regular Monday evening session I had sprung on me a 2-mile time trial, but surprised myself with a time of 11:22. That's the first time I've ever been timed over that distance (other than as part of a duathlon), so whatever time I ran was always going to be a PB. But it felt good to be the first runner home and to average a blistering pace of 5:41/mile.
So now I just need to keep up that speed work as well as the long runs, cycling and swimming. Easy! Next major test, though, is a small 5-mile race on Saturday, and I have my current PB of 32:00 in my sights. Let's end this calendar year on a high!
Note to self: get back on it!
Over the past few weeks my long runs have been a bit sporadic: I've surpassed 10 miles only three times in 16 days. My cycling has also fallen by the wayside: nothing for the past week-and-a-half and only a handful of spin classes before that. Even swimming is down to one weekly session. I could lay the blame on a whole bunch of things -- not least my work schedule -- but excuses are for losers. I think what I need is some kind of forfeit system for every time I have that 'let's give tonight a miss' feeling. No biscuits for 24 hours, perhaps?
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