Setting Goals

Image by Trey Rattcliff (a pro level photographer offering images for non-commercial use) used under a creative commons license - from Trey's  fantastic website at Stuck in Customs Image Url 

If you are interested in photography and using fantastic images in your blog then you could have much fun visiting the website of Trey Rattcliff, an HDR photography professional. What is unusual about this pro photographer is that he offers his images for free non-commercial use under creative commons. This is a generous thing to do and I am taking advantage even though the image has nothing to do with running.

I liked the photo above as it reflected my mood today. I have, as you may know, not been running for a week and had a lot of time to think over my goals. In many ways I have been calm and focussed as I have mulled it over. After my last marathon I decided to have a break from that distance, I never enjoyed the race and to be frank felt a failure at the end of it. That feeling has stayed with me a little and I think I have been letting it determine my decision making rather than  being in control of my own choices. I have decided to take some control back and I have set some new goals for next year.

My main goal for next year WILL be to run an Autumn marathon. I don't know which one yet but I hope to set a new personal best so the course needs to be fast and flat. My current best is 3.17.18 and my aim is to run under 3.15 (3.14.59 will do). I know if i concentrate my efforts I will be able to get close to this. I have a lot of work to do and a lot of decisions to make along the way. Hopefully this blog/journal will show my path towards a successful achievement of that goal, I'm going to give it my best shot anyway. 

Happy running.

Run to the Loch

I am still not able to run due to the strain in my hip/groin area after Saturdays race. I am stretching and doing a little bit of spinning on my bike on the trainer. As ever it's frustrating not being able to run but the twitter crowd has been supportive and giving me great advice on how to get healed quick, the power of the web.

So what to record here while I am not running? I thought it would be a good opportuninty to share some of the things that I see on some of my routes with you. I have been using a little program for the mac called viewfinder which searches through Flickr for images but most importantly those that are labelled creative commons copyright. This means that I can find images that are a lot better than I have to illustrate my favourite images (pretty much everything seems to have been photographed now).

One of the views that I see regularly is this one of rowing boats on Loch Thom. This is the reservoir that provides much of the water for my town and surrounding area and is located in the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. You can read more about the Loch, it's creation and the area at Wikipedia

Photo by gumdropgas - http://flic.kr/p/5FJgKe - used under a creative commons license

This vista is one that I enjoy as this is one of the uphill runs that I do from my house. It only takes less than 2 minutes for me to get into the countryside (downhill) and then I head to this point at the Loch which is about 3 miles uphill from my house. By the time I get to about here I tend to be knackered but the view helps me get myself back in order pretty quickly.

I'll keep doing these little posts of the areas I run in. Is that ok? what images get you smiling or motivated on your runs?

Happy Running (or stretching in my case).

Glasgow Parkrun 5k

The Parkrun races are a great free weekly 5k race that started in London (I think) and have spread around the UK and also now also to mainland Europe. I chose to run this as my first race back since the marathon in April and the injuries I have had since them. 

Pre-race

My running pal picked me up and we went and picked up another two clubmates. The weather was wild with heavy rain and strong winds but the forecast for the race start time wasn't too bad and we were hopeful we would get some relief from the bad weather. We arrived at the venue in Pollock park in plenty of time and went for a little jog to stretch the legs a little. A good thing about these races are that they are designed to be easy to turn up at and just run. Basically you pre-register and then you can show up and run any week. Volunteers keep everything going smoothly, obviously once you have a run a few it is expected that you do your bit and volunteer as well. After our jog we got ready and joined the other runners on the line ready of the off. 

Start

The weather had abated with no rain and the wind had dropped a good bit. It was quite a congested start and we had placed ourself a little too far back for our pace so the first dash from the gun was a hairy experience with some danger of tripping and lots of bumping. I had a look at my watch (a Garmin 305) and was dismayed to see that it had failed to register satellite but i thought that the stopwatch was still working.

Mile 1

I ran the first bit of the race on the shoulder of my training pal. He is faster than me and I was pretty sure he would move away from me which he did about three quarters of a mile into the race. The route for this race is on pavements inside the park. The surface is good but due to the rain some parts were a little flooded. This mile is primarily flat with one little uphill which was tough on the legs. I didn't feel too great at this point and felt as though my leg speed was rotten and my breathing more laboured than it should be, I had no clue as to my pace, as I had no watch and there are no mile or kilometre markers.

Mile 2

The race follows a double loop inside the park so in this mile you climb quite a significant hill for the first time. It snakes up in a S shape for about a tenth of a mile. This is a tough little hill but I actually began to settle about here and started to feel stronger. The course then goes downhill for quite a bit and I was able to pick the pace up a bit.

Mile 3 & .1

In the third mile we headed round the park a little and then back up the S shaped hill. Now this is where I got really confused. After the second time up S hill I looked at my stopwatch on my Garmin and it said 12.05? I couldn't believe I had only been running for that long but accepted it and was feeling stronger. I decided to preserve some energy as I thought I had at least another 10 minutes of running ahead. 5 or 6 other runners went past me at this point but I thought they were going a bit fast with so long to go (!) suddenly I saw a sign on a tree, 100m to go! either I was running at world record pace or my watch was totally goosed. I picked my legs up tried to catch some of those who passed me but it was too late and I finished with quite a lot still in the tank.

Time and placing

It took me a while to find out my time but I eventually got my official time, 22.04 and finished 58/179 (50th male).

Post Race

There are positives and negatives here. The positives are that I ran 7.07 pace and finished feeling as though I had a little left in the tank. It's not an easy little course with 3 or 4 hills and I felt ok going up the hills. The organisation is fantastic and for a free event outshines many paid races I have been to.

The negatives  are that I failed to concentrate on what I was doing and never really reacted well to having no watch. I had no clue how long I had been running for and my mental strength was weak. I let too many people go past me too easily and let others run away from me without reacting. I didn't really push myself as hard as I should have.

Next Day

The bad news is that I had to cancel my long run today (Sunday) as I woke with a terrible pain in my right hip/groin area. Feels as though I have strained or pulled something as the pain eases once I have been moving around a little. I will take a few days off running, stretch and get on the stationary bike to loosen the muscle. I think this is a direct consequence of not doing a cool down run after the race and that is my own stupid fault!

Happy running.

Communication

This a conversation between a work colleague (she is German but speaks perfect English and is a great person) and me -

"Michael what do you know about the faeces project"

me, somewhat taken aback "THE WHAT",  

"The faeces project, you know the one about the different types of faeces in different children".

"someone is doing a project on childrens faeces"?

"no no no not faeces, faeces"

"huh?"

Her, "wait" she runs off and comes back with written information, pointing "see the faeces project"

"ahhhhh the FACES project" (which i had no knowledge of).

Probably the most worrying part of this is that it wouldn't surprise too much if someone was running a project called the faeces project, but that's another story. Hope you don't mind me sharing this little anecdote from work, I know this is a running blog but sometimes these things crop up and they are crying out to be shared.

I haven't ran for two days as I had a planned rest day on Wednesday and work got in the way on Thursday. I was going to go out today but since I have my race tomorrow have decided to just leave it take this as an easy low mileage week.

Race report tomorrow evening

Happy Running

Summer Olympics (and other games)

Photo by Denis Collette - http://flic.kr/p/5bCVzX used under a creative commons license

As a kid my pals and I used to play games based on the current fad and what was the "in thing". It seemed to go on a seasonal basis, hop-scotch one week, marbles the next etc etc. You get the picture, we were always onto the next thing and inventing or following the next set of games or activities.

I remember how we used to play full scale olympics and athletic events in the summer (not every 4 years I don't think) and created a whole range of events. Running laps around the block, throwing bricks as a shot putts and sticks as  javelins. We were very creative and as far as I recall we never killed anybody with a brick or a sharp stick. A few injuries but no deaths!

One of the reasons that I enjoy running now is the way that it allows the adult me to recreate these cyclic periods of "play". Spring marathon, summer 10ks, winter club races etc etc. I am just a big kid really and like to play and I've missing all of this as I have been injured and haven't raced for so long.

So on Saturday I plan to line up for my first race since April. Just a 5k but I'm feeling nervous and excited about it. I'm nervous as I have almost forgot how to race. How do I pace myself? how will my body react to being pushed harder than it has for a while? I remember how tough these shorter distance can be because you push yourself to the limit. But I am excited as well, I can't wait for that buzz as we head to the race and the feeling at the start of energy and anticipation. I will give it my best shot and try and visualise myself back in those childhood days, laughing and having fun with friends as a way to help me thought the nerves and capture the excitment. 

I have a couple of questions to answer from previous entry comments (I don't really know what the etiquette is for answering blog comments so I thought I would just do it here). Regarding running with friends or alone on the whole I tend to run with someone BUT I do also love to run alone. I find though that making the commitment to get out the door with someone helps with motivation and with working a little harder in training. Regarding the amount of running a did pre-injury, I did tend to run 5/6 times a week before I was injured and my body seemed up to it. I injured myself during the marathon in April and it seems that was a direct consequence of dehydration (so my own fault).

Thanks for reading and for comments and questions. Feel free to interact, it makes it feel as though it's  worth writing then.

Happy running.