What a great race. Flat, fast, friendly, well organised, picturesque. Whatever superlative you could care to conjure up for a road race, the Lliswerry 8 has got it. My only gripe was the bottleneck at the start, which meant making up a little ground during mile 1. No big deal, though.
I felt pretty comfortable for the first half of the race, but after what was in hindsight a stupidly heavy breakfast I developed a stitch at about mile 5 and had to 'hang on' rather than finish strong (although I did just about manage a negative split). I thought I might have had a little bit more to give had everything gone 100% to plan, but certainly felt positive overall.
Here's hoping this was a good omen for the rest of the racing calendar. We'll see how the weather fares in Llanelli for my 10-miler in three weeks' time. If all goes to plan (you never know!), then we might get close to 1:05.
Official results here and my GPS data here
Distance: 8.00 miles
Avg pace: 6m 30s / mile
Conditions: Flat! Cloudy, 2°C
Position: 78th of 534 (putting me in the top 15%)
Monday 30 January 2012
Sunday 15 January 2012
Baby steps or both feet first?
It's been a funny old few weeks. The last week of December wasn't exactly what you'd call sedentary -- I even ran on Christmas Day -- but our trip to Japan and the virus I picked up afterwards have made for a slow start to the year. And knowing where to pitch your training after illness is always a tricky one.
But with relative abandon, I've run 22 miles and cycled 10 in the past three days. And none of it at a particularly forgiving pace. I guess it's a sign of the frustration I've felt at not being able to get out there. God help me if I ever end up on the sidelines for any real length of time.
You may have noticed my list of prospective races growing exponentially on the right, too. On the face of it, things are probably looking a bit too busy, but in reality I'll be treating one or two of those fixtures as practice runs for other events. For instance, I'll be running the Lliswerry 8 (apparently pancake flat) and the Llanelli 10 at target HM pace in preparation for the Bath Half. And the Llanelli Half I'll be running alongside Annie, lending moral support and/or kicking arse depending on how much she complains ;-)
There will undoubtedly be one or two early season triathlons in there, too. My swimming is coming along nicely (I can manage about a kilometre front crawl without much trouble now) and I'm going to be spending more time in the saddle over the coming weeks. That's in addition to the 4/5 runs per week that I've scheduled.
I'll be listening carefully to my body. I do have a tendency to jump in both feet first, but as I work towards my first triathlon I will effectively be cross training. So with the stomach bug now behind me, here's hoping for an injury-free start to 2012.
But with relative abandon, I've run 22 miles and cycled 10 in the past three days. And none of it at a particularly forgiving pace. I guess it's a sign of the frustration I've felt at not being able to get out there. God help me if I ever end up on the sidelines for any real length of time.
You may have noticed my list of prospective races growing exponentially on the right, too. On the face of it, things are probably looking a bit too busy, but in reality I'll be treating one or two of those fixtures as practice runs for other events. For instance, I'll be running the Lliswerry 8 (apparently pancake flat) and the Llanelli 10 at target HM pace in preparation for the Bath Half. And the Llanelli Half I'll be running alongside Annie, lending moral support and/or kicking arse depending on how much she complains ;-)
There will undoubtedly be one or two early season triathlons in there, too. My swimming is coming along nicely (I can manage about a kilometre front crawl without much trouble now) and I'm going to be spending more time in the saddle over the coming weeks. That's in addition to the 4/5 runs per week that I've scheduled.
I'll be listening carefully to my body. I do have a tendency to jump in both feet first, but as I work towards my first triathlon I will effectively be cross training. So with the stomach bug now behind me, here's hoping for an injury-free start to 2012.
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Forced hiatus
It's been over a week since that fantastic run and unfortunately that was the last time I got out. Shortly after getting back to the UK, I picked up a virus that categorically put me out of action for a few days. I managed a swim at the pool on Sunday and thought I was on the road to recovery, but then yesterday became inexplicably exhausted (struggled to stay awake at 5:30pm!). I'm still feeling achy and lethargic today, so I don't think I should leap back into anything just yet. How frustrating!
Monday 2 January 2012
My first run of 2012
For the past few days we've been staying with my girlfriend's sister in Numazu, Japan. I brought my running gear with the intention of going for at least one decent run while I was here. Since we're heading back home tomorrow morning, today was really my last chance so I got up and out first thing. And I was glad I did.
Annie came with me and we followed the Kano River out towards Suruga Bay. Annie turned back after a couple of miles and I carried on until hitting the port area. The scenery had been pleasant enough until that point, but from there on in was nothing short of spectacular. I ran for another 3 miles or so along a dike between Numazu and Fuji City, with Suruga Bay on my left and Mount Fuji emerging from the early morning cloud cover on my right.
Speed and distance didn't really matter: it was all about taking in the surroundings. And here's why:
Distance: 13.80 miles
Avg pace: 8m 16s / mile
Avg HR: No HRM
Conditions: Clear, 5°C
Annie came with me and we followed the Kano River out towards Suruga Bay. Annie turned back after a couple of miles and I carried on until hitting the port area. The scenery had been pleasant enough until that point, but from there on in was nothing short of spectacular. I ran for another 3 miles or so along a dike between Numazu and Fuji City, with Suruga Bay on my left and Mount Fuji emerging from the early morning cloud cover on my right.
Speed and distance didn't really matter: it was all about taking in the surroundings. And here's why:
Distance: 13.80 miles
Avg pace: 8m 16s / mile
Avg HR: No HRM
Conditions: Clear, 5°C
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