It was a pretty brutal race on Monday, where i finished 14th in 30.18. Again much like the 5k the race was not one in which I was likely to run a fast time, the temparature was 29c at the start of the race and again fairly humid. It would have been easy to just say I didn't have a good race but actually on assessment there was were a number of positive points to take from my performance. For one it would have been the easy option for me to drop out, I was finding it tough going early one, from as early as 3k into the race, when udner normal circumstances I should felt in control until around half way. I remember the america accent from the loud speaker (the stadium commentator) announced 17 laps to go! it was hurting at this point and initially I thought 'crap' this isn't going to be pretty but then I just thought to myself I'm going to finish this race if it kills me. I remember dropping out of my one and only race many years ago in a local race in Guernsey, much like Monday night it was hurting from early on but I took the easy option and dropped out... ever since then I said to myself I would never drop out of a race again. Also on reflection whilst I didnt feel great and wasn't running espicially well nor were many other athletes (with perhaps exception of the first 4 or 5 athletes) with a number of the field running between 60-90seconds outside there best times. All in all it was certainly a learning experience and one I won't forget.
Now the plan is to take a rest for my remaining days in Delhi, I will also take some down time when i get home and enjoy some time with Thomas and Teresa, who I haven't see now for nearly 4 weeks. Going forward I will easy back in training and have yet to make any firm plans for racing between now and the end of the year. Next year will be another important year with a spring marathon on the cards with aim being to run the Olympic qualification time (as yet unknown), so I need to make sure the body rest up and recharges now so I can make this happen.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Delhi update
Hi folks
I've been in Delhi now 5 days and no Delhi belly... so all good thus far with regular hand washing being the order of the day. The games village has been very good and well organised and the standard of the accomodation has also been much better than the media reports were making out, although I did of course arrive a week later than most of the team. The stadium for the athletics is an old structure but still an impressive building with a capacity of 60,000 people, unfortunately it nevers manages to fill up but still creates a good atmosphere, espicially when Indian athletes are involved.
My 10k is now 2 days away and its good to have the chance to get back on the track (in previous games I've only competed in one event) and I'm sure the extra time should will enable me to adapt to the climate a little more. The race will be on at 3pm UK time I believe.
I've been in Delhi now 5 days and no Delhi belly... so all good thus far with regular hand washing being the order of the day. The games village has been very good and well organised and the standard of the accomodation has also been much better than the media reports were making out, although I did of course arrive a week later than most of the team. The stadium for the athletics is an old structure but still an impressive building with a capacity of 60,000 people, unfortunately it nevers manages to fill up but still creates a good atmosphere, espicially when Indian athletes are involved.
Those who have been following the games results will have realised that I have raced already in the 5000m on Wednesday evening, finishing 15th in a field of 23 and in a time of 14.19. Not a particularly fast time but the race and the conditions were not conducive for fast times unfortunately. The race started fairly slowly with a 71second first lap, swiftly followed by a 61sec lap at the front and then slowed again. Whilst the pace settled a litte after this it still made things difficult for me to run even pace with such a big field. I must also must admit that I found the conditions more challenging that I expected. The weather reports that are printed at the bottom of every athletics result sheet didnt really tell the full story either... they claimed it was 32c and 60% humidity however this was printed on the bottom of every result on the day I raced suggesting that one reading had been taken earlier in the day and used for all results. I actually think that the temparature was cooler but the humidity was much higher than this. When I raced in Barcelona earlier in the summer the humidity was 70% and this felt much more uncomfortable than Barcelona. In terms of the race I was in contact with the lead group until just after halfway however when the pace moved on during the 4th km I had a bad patch and was quite aware of the humidity during this stage. I managed to find something over the closely stages and was involved in battle with two indian athletes and a guy from Guyana, I thought I'd done enough coming down the home straight to hold them all off but with 50m to go one of the indian athletes sneeked through on the inside.
My 10k is now 2 days away and its good to have the chance to get back on the track (in previous games I've only competed in one event) and I'm sure the extra time should will enable me to adapt to the climate a little more. The race will be on at 3pm UK time I believe.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Delhi bound
This will have to be a quick post as I only have 40mins before we drive down to the lake for our last run in Font Romeu (although technically the lake is not in Font Romeu). As soon as we get back from the run it will pretty much be shower, change and then head off to Barcelona for the night. Our flight departs early tomorrow morning so we are staying in Barcelona so to get at least some sleep before we begin our travel to Delhi. I hear everything is pretty good in Delhi in terms of accomodation now, its just the odd stray 10 foot python you need to watch out for :)
In terms of the training camp the two weeks at altitude does seem to have gone very quickly, granted two weeks is only half the time I spent up here in July but it has flown by none-the-less. Its been a productive training trip too, which as I think as I mentioned in my last post... is now like a second home, although its been very quite around here as it's now between seasons. Even down the lake, where we have tended to do much of our running there have been fewer people about, although ironically on Friday when we went down for an easy run to shake out the previous days track workout, we see next to no one down but of the 2 of the people we do see down they are from Guernsey! It was infact a chap called Mike Rhodes and his wife Jenny, Mike used to be my manager at Barclays Bank back in day when I had real job... as wife tells me :). As it turns out Mike has been living out here for 6 years running a guest house in a small town called Les Angles, which is basically a small ski town adjacent to Lac de Matemale (where we do a lot of our running). We stopped for a quick catch up before continuing our run, but next time I'm back in Font Romeu I will be sure to look him up. My wife also used to work with Mike so perhaps I will bring the family out here next time.
I better finish up now but next time I post will likely be after the 5000m in Delhi, the race will be on at 3.25pm UK time (which is 7.55pm, Delhi time) on Wednesday 6th October. The 10k is 5 days later but I must admit I don't even know the start time as I'm not thinking that far ahead. You never know what the conditions will be like and how the race will unfold but from my training I am in shape to to run a personal best, which would for me would rap up a good season. Plus chances are i unlikely to get another chance to run a 5k in the future as my long term focus will switich back to the marathon.
Ok better dash now as leaving for that run soon, thanks for reading.
Lee
In terms of the training camp the two weeks at altitude does seem to have gone very quickly, granted two weeks is only half the time I spent up here in July but it has flown by none-the-less. Its been a productive training trip too, which as I think as I mentioned in my last post... is now like a second home, although its been very quite around here as it's now between seasons. Even down the lake, where we have tended to do much of our running there have been fewer people about, although ironically on Friday when we went down for an easy run to shake out the previous days track workout, we see next to no one down but of the 2 of the people we do see down they are from Guernsey! It was infact a chap called Mike Rhodes and his wife Jenny, Mike used to be my manager at Barclays Bank back in day when I had real job... as wife tells me :). As it turns out Mike has been living out here for 6 years running a guest house in a small town called Les Angles, which is basically a small ski town adjacent to Lac de Matemale (where we do a lot of our running). We stopped for a quick catch up before continuing our run, but next time I'm back in Font Romeu I will be sure to look him up. My wife also used to work with Mike so perhaps I will bring the family out here next time.
I better finish up now but next time I post will likely be after the 5000m in Delhi, the race will be on at 3.25pm UK time (which is 7.55pm, Delhi time) on Wednesday 6th October. The 10k is 5 days later but I must admit I don't even know the start time as I'm not thinking that far ahead. You never know what the conditions will be like and how the race will unfold but from my training I am in shape to to run a personal best, which would for me would rap up a good season. Plus chances are i unlikely to get another chance to run a 5k in the future as my long term focus will switich back to the marathon.
Ok better dash now as leaving for that run soon, thanks for reading.
Lee
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Training camp update from Font Romeu
Well I've been at altitude now for just over a week and things have gone well since my arrival in Font Romeu. It feels more of a home from home now, although I am missing the family but this is something I will have to get used to as I'm planning to get to altitude much more regularly as part of my future plans. I certainly feel like the combination of having been on the previous UK Athletics altitude camp and having used my altitude tent for two weeks prior to coming this time has made the transition to real altitude somewhat smoother. I only arrived last Monday but by Wednesday I was getting my teeth into a session outside of the usual easy running (which tends to be on the menu for at least 4 or 5 days before a harder session is attempted). My first session was somewhat controlled however, which was... following a good warm up 4miles of tempo running plus 6 x 1min efforts plus another 3mile tempo. Tempo running needs to be adjusted slightly at altitude due to less oxgyen being available and I use a combination of adjusted target speeds as well as keeping one eye on heart rate values (i.e. compared to my normal sea level readings) alongside and like most of my tempo's runs a certain amount of run to 'feel'. I was running at very similar paces to those I was operating at the previous altitude camp back in July (for my tempo runs and when I was more acclimatized) so this early indicator bodes well. Since that session I have also been on the track and posted another solid session, although I feel that this may have gone better if not for an unsettled stomach (which I was carrying over the weekend). A couple of the lads had some symptoms of a mild stomach bug around the same time and I felt under the weather over the weekend but I'm pleased to say everyone is now recovered. Ironically it seems with all the talk of the athletes potentially getting Delhi belly at the Commonwealths games I pick up some pre-Delhi belly! on plus sider perhaps this will give me a cast iron stomach.
This camp generally has a slightly different feel to the one back in July as many of the athletes are hear to start their winter training, whereas myself, Chris Thompson and John Beattie are preparing for Delhi but it's been an enjoyable one with a good mix of focus and downtime. Our appartment which includes myself, Chris Thompson and Steve Vernon have joined forces in the evenings with our fellow athletes and taking turns with the cooking of the evening meals, which made for good social evenings. We then tend to spend the reminder of the evenings recovering from training with a few DVDs and the odd quiz to pass the time, if you're ever bored and you like quiz's checkout http://www.sporcle.com/ .
This trip is also somewhat shorter this time around for me (two weeks in all) and there is also little more than a week to my first race (the 5000m) and less than two weeks until the 10k (I'm doubling up) but I'm looking forward to getting on the track to race. It's been over 12months since I last raced 5000m, which was the National Champs In July last summer but I feel I'm in better shape now with the strength of marathon training under my belt and a bit of sharper work added to the mix recently. I feel I'm yet to put my full game face on but I have no doubt that when I arrive into the village that will change and the pre-race adrenaline will start flowing.
I will try post one more entry before I travel out to Delhi.
Until next time, that's all for now.
This camp generally has a slightly different feel to the one back in July as many of the athletes are hear to start their winter training, whereas myself, Chris Thompson and John Beattie are preparing for Delhi but it's been an enjoyable one with a good mix of focus and downtime. Our appartment which includes myself, Chris Thompson and Steve Vernon have joined forces in the evenings with our fellow athletes and taking turns with the cooking of the evening meals, which made for good social evenings. We then tend to spend the reminder of the evenings recovering from training with a few DVDs and the odd quiz to pass the time, if you're ever bored and you like quiz's checkout http://www.sporcle.com/ .
This trip is also somewhat shorter this time around for me (two weeks in all) and there is also little more than a week to my first race (the 5000m) and less than two weeks until the 10k (I'm doubling up) but I'm looking forward to getting on the track to race. It's been over 12months since I last raced 5000m, which was the National Champs In July last summer but I feel I'm in better shape now with the strength of marathon training under my belt and a bit of sharper work added to the mix recently. I feel I'm yet to put my full game face on but I have no doubt that when I arrive into the village that will change and the pre-race adrenaline will start flowing.
I will try post one more entry before I travel out to Delhi.
Until next time, that's all for now.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
New all comers record
Hi folks,
As per normal it's been a few weeks since I last posted but I head to Font Romeu this morning for two weeks altitude training tomorrow, before then heading to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, so I should be able to stick some more regular posts up while there. It was certainly hard leaving home yesterday having not that long been away, I certainly appreciate my time at home with the family more these days.
Things have gone well this week with both training and racing and I feel I have turned a corner these past few days. Generally the first few weeks back after the marathon had been going ok but were yet to suggest that all cylinders were firing. The Great Yorkshire 10k in Sheffield was 2 weeks ago, I ran 30.13 for 9th place in course which finishes up a nasty climb over the last last 800m. A solid run considering I had only been back into full training 2 weeks but also difficult not to be disappointed from a competitive perspective. I was also involved in some of the promotion of race, alongside former Olympic Marathon Champion Stephano Baldini, who was running in his last race in the UK before retiring. It was quite noval for me to be involved with pre-race build up alongside athlete's of his pedigree and I would have liked to have been able to give a better account of myself but it at least showed me I wasn't a million miles away in terms of specific fitness.
More recently I ran in the Inter Trust Race night last Thursday in Guernsey what was my last race before heading off to complete my final preparations ahead of Delhi. I had arrange for GB junior Jonny Hay and his training partner Adam Clarke (who paced the race) to come over. Jonny has been running very well recently and I knew I would get a good race from him. Adam set a good pace early on with the aim of getting us to 2000m into the race at close to 8min pace, but at 1600m I was feel strong and went past Adam to ensure a strong pace was maintained. From here I stretched away from Adam & Jonny and maintaining fairly even lap splits and finishing in a time of 8.06, which I was more than happy with. Conditions were decent but there was a little bit of head wind which was noticeable the top bend of each lap so given that plus the fact I ran the second half of the race on my own, suggests I am close to PB shape (which is 8.00). So all in all a good position to be in going into Delhi.
It never fails to surprise me the lift you get from a solid race performance and since the race I have felt really good in training, I ran a session yesterday of 15min tempo, 16x100 back to backs off 15sec recovery, followed by another 15min tempo and it was arguably my best session since Barcelona. Paces averaged at 5.00 per miling for each of the 15min sectons which were also run progressively at approx 5.20,5.00,4.40 per mile pace for each 5min section, the 100metre back to backs were all in about 15 secs (so approx 4.00 min mile pace). I also ran the session on the coastals paths which are undulated so a strong session
Right better dash now as off to Gatwick to catch my flight to Barcelona.
Cheers
Lee
As per normal it's been a few weeks since I last posted but I head to Font Romeu this morning for two weeks altitude training tomorrow, before then heading to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, so I should be able to stick some more regular posts up while there. It was certainly hard leaving home yesterday having not that long been away, I certainly appreciate my time at home with the family more these days.
Things have gone well this week with both training and racing and I feel I have turned a corner these past few days. Generally the first few weeks back after the marathon had been going ok but were yet to suggest that all cylinders were firing. The Great Yorkshire 10k in Sheffield was 2 weeks ago, I ran 30.13 for 9th place in course which finishes up a nasty climb over the last last 800m. A solid run considering I had only been back into full training 2 weeks but also difficult not to be disappointed from a competitive perspective. I was also involved in some of the promotion of race, alongside former Olympic Marathon Champion Stephano Baldini, who was running in his last race in the UK before retiring. It was quite noval for me to be involved with pre-race build up alongside athlete's of his pedigree and I would have liked to have been able to give a better account of myself but it at least showed me I wasn't a million miles away in terms of specific fitness.
More recently I ran in the Inter Trust Race night last Thursday in Guernsey what was my last race before heading off to complete my final preparations ahead of Delhi. I had arrange for GB junior Jonny Hay and his training partner Adam Clarke (who paced the race) to come over. Jonny has been running very well recently and I knew I would get a good race from him. Adam set a good pace early on with the aim of getting us to 2000m into the race at close to 8min pace, but at 1600m I was feel strong and went past Adam to ensure a strong pace was maintained. From here I stretched away from Adam & Jonny and maintaining fairly even lap splits and finishing in a time of 8.06, which I was more than happy with. Conditions were decent but there was a little bit of head wind which was noticeable the top bend of each lap so given that plus the fact I ran the second half of the race on my own, suggests I am close to PB shape (which is 8.00). So all in all a good position to be in going into Delhi.
It never fails to surprise me the lift you get from a solid race performance and since the race I have felt really good in training, I ran a session yesterday of 15min tempo, 16x100 back to backs off 15sec recovery, followed by another 15min tempo and it was arguably my best session since Barcelona. Paces averaged at 5.00 per miling for each of the 15min sectons which were also run progressively at approx 5.20,5.00,4.40 per mile pace for each 5min section, the 100metre back to backs were all in about 15 secs (so approx 4.00 min mile pace). I also ran the session on the coastals paths which are undulated so a strong session
Right better dash now as off to Gatwick to catch my flight to Barcelona.
Cheers
Lee
Friday, 27 August 2010
Racing...
Hi folks,
Last weekend saw me race for the first time since the European Marathon and I have to say it was a bit of a shock to the system! Having not run for 8 days following the marathon and then pretty much only jogging the remainder of the time, 3000m on the track felt somewhat alien to me. Infact it was more or less 12months since my last track race. Anyway you can probably sense me building up to an excuse :) as I didn't win. Joking aside I was 2nd in 8.23 in a somewhat tactic affair (and fairly windy conditions) in what was the first ever British Athletics League Match to be held in Guernsey. Whilst I would normally have not raced so close after a marathon, particular so short a distance I felt I got a lot from the race and played my part for the Channel Island Team. I felt great after during the cool down too and since then I have run my first track session which was surprisingly good all things considered.
In terms of racing now I will be running the Great Yorkshire Run in Sheffield on Sunday 5th September in predominately European start list, which will be show on Channel 5. The field will also I believe be a predominately European field with the only except being Australian Craig Mottram. The startlist currently includes Thommo (Chris Thompson) who won European silver over 10k last month, an ex-Olympic Marathon Champion in the form of Stephane Baldini, as well fellow Brit Andrew Lemoncello and also Cheba Martinez of Spain.
I will only likely race one more time before heading off Delhi for the Commonwealth Games now, in which I will be racing on the track over 5k & 10k. I decided after I was selected for Great Britain at the European Champs that a third marathon less than 6 months would not be a good idea longer term for my marathon plans, as I will be aiming for a fast spring marathon next year. It will be nice to have go at improving my best times on the track for the 5 & 10k and pull on a Guernsey vest although I guess it does mean I am sacrificing my chances of higher finishing place by missing the best event, this is just how it needs to be.
As part of my preparations I will also again be going to Font Romeu in France for 2 weeks of altitude exposure (I have a very understanding wife!). The altitude certainly seemed to work well for me in Barcelona and the longer term plan is for me to spend more time at altitude in the future in order give myself that extra edge.
That's pretty much me for now, although for those that followed by marathon in Barcelona and those who like a statistics, I worked out using my 5k split times taken during the race if I had not suffered with the effects of cramp I would possibly got up to 4th place. I started to feel the effects of cramp with 7km to go and this forced me to slow down despite the rest of the body feeling quite good. Of course part of racing the marathon in those types of conditions is about dealing with such problems but it does inspire me and give me the believe that I can go on to better things at the marathon in the future.
Until next time.
Last weekend saw me race for the first time since the European Marathon and I have to say it was a bit of a shock to the system! Having not run for 8 days following the marathon and then pretty much only jogging the remainder of the time, 3000m on the track felt somewhat alien to me. Infact it was more or less 12months since my last track race. Anyway you can probably sense me building up to an excuse :) as I didn't win. Joking aside I was 2nd in 8.23 in a somewhat tactic affair (and fairly windy conditions) in what was the first ever British Athletics League Match to be held in Guernsey. Whilst I would normally have not raced so close after a marathon, particular so short a distance I felt I got a lot from the race and played my part for the Channel Island Team. I felt great after during the cool down too and since then I have run my first track session which was surprisingly good all things considered.
In terms of racing now I will be running the Great Yorkshire Run in Sheffield on Sunday 5th September in predominately European start list, which will be show on Channel 5. The field will also I believe be a predominately European field with the only except being Australian Craig Mottram. The startlist currently includes Thommo (Chris Thompson) who won European silver over 10k last month, an ex-Olympic Marathon Champion in the form of Stephane Baldini, as well fellow Brit Andrew Lemoncello and also Cheba Martinez of Spain.
I will only likely race one more time before heading off Delhi for the Commonwealth Games now, in which I will be racing on the track over 5k & 10k. I decided after I was selected for Great Britain at the European Champs that a third marathon less than 6 months would not be a good idea longer term for my marathon plans, as I will be aiming for a fast spring marathon next year. It will be nice to have go at improving my best times on the track for the 5 & 10k and pull on a Guernsey vest although I guess it does mean I am sacrificing my chances of higher finishing place by missing the best event, this is just how it needs to be.
As part of my preparations I will also again be going to Font Romeu in France for 2 weeks of altitude exposure (I have a very understanding wife!). The altitude certainly seemed to work well for me in Barcelona and the longer term plan is for me to spend more time at altitude in the future in order give myself that extra edge.
That's pretty much me for now, although for those that followed by marathon in Barcelona and those who like a statistics, I worked out using my 5k split times taken during the race if I had not suffered with the effects of cramp I would possibly got up to 4th place. I started to feel the effects of cramp with 7km to go and this forced me to slow down despite the rest of the body feeling quite good. Of course part of racing the marathon in those types of conditions is about dealing with such problems but it does inspire me and give me the believe that I can go on to better things at the marathon in the future.
Until next time.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
8th Place in European Marathon Champs
I’m back at home now but still buzzing from Sunday’s race! 8th place seems a little bit surreal and the reaction back home has been incredible and I certainly didn’t expect all the attention I’ve got these past couple of days. I really enjoyed my few days in Barcelona and the general vibe in the team hotel has been good and it’s great to be able to say I was there.
Picture courtsey of Mark Sherman.
The marathon itself went pretty much went as well as I could have hoped with perhaps the only exception being a little scare at 2km to go (more on that in minute).Below is my race day as happened for those that are interested…
Pre-Race...
My day started at 6am (4hours before the race) with a quick shower to wake the body up before then heading down for some breakfast. After fueling on some muesli, fruits & yogurt (my usual food of choice, porridge, doesn’t seem be popular in Spain!), it was then back to the room to start drinking my high sodium drink, the idea being to retain as much water in the body as possible. Not especially nice tasting drink but if you like sea water you might like this! At 7.45am we left the room (I was sharing with Dan Robinson) briefly to hand our drinks bottles which we mixed up at the previous night. Then it was back to room to finish off the sea water! At 8.30am we took the bus to the course and headed to the designated athlete area which was located in a local leisure centre next to the start finish area, alongside the Barcelona Zoo. It was then just the waiting game… staying relaxed and most of all cool, which was helped by the wearing an ice jacket for part of this time. The idea is keeps your core temperature down as much as possible so to delay the inevitable process of over heating during the race. I kept my warm up shorter than normal today but I didn’t find temperatures at hot as I expected, I feel good and light on the warm up and I know I’m ready to race. I head back into the athlete area and pop the ice jacket back on for a few minutes. About 20mins before the start we go through to the final call room wear they place our timing chip into the back of our front Bib. A few of us spend the last 10mins to continue to keep the core temperature down by apply bags of ice to our body, then the call comes for the officials and we start lining up to be lead out on the course, it now that things can go pretty quiet and people stay to focus on any last minute race rehearsals in their mind. We have been taken out a little late so there barely time for a couple of strides to keep loose before they start lining us up.
The Race itself…
The plan was to start sensibly and not to run any faster than 2.16 pace for the first half of race and aim for around 3.15 per km. The race starts pretty steady so its means I am able to settle nicely into the back of the field and simply just let the race takes its course. We have to be careful on the tight bends as the first 2km of the race in around a 1km loop before heading out on 4 x 10k loops of the city. The first 10k or so goes off without any major problems, although I am slightly slower than planned but I feel comfortable and feel that the pace is about right. My only hiccup comes when I manage to pick up Ben Moreau drink bottle rather than my own at the first drinks station, fortunately Ben is right next to me so I am able to hand him his bottle. It means I miss out on my own drink which is not ideal with conditions as they are but Ben kindly provides me with some of his drink.
I ensure I make use of every water & sponge station as well as the personal drink stations, conditions are starting to hot up and the humidity is pretty high at around 70% so I ensure to dowse the back of my head and vest with water to aid the cooling process. I get to half way in about 69mins, which is a little slower than planned but I’m feeling strong, at this point I think about pushing on but I decide to hold back for a little longer and it seems by maintaining my pace I am moving through the field anyway. Only 2 or 3 km later Dave Webb catches me and we then start to move the pace on a little, so I go with it and from this point we start picking a number of people off. Towards the later part of the third lap however I start to edge away form Dave after having worked with him for most of the lap.
Moving in the final lap I am gaining in confidence and feel strong. I’m moving past a number many experienced marathon runners (most of whom have much faster personal bests). The crowd support from the British fan has been fantastic through out the race and there are many people I know from the UK running scheme out on the course, during the early laps I acknowledge a few people but later into race I decide to conserve my energy, there was even a Guernsey flag out on the on the course. I hear this made the BBC coverage right at the point when the 2004 Olympic Champion Baldini dropped out of the race.
Going into the last 7km of the race everything seems to be going like a dream, I am moving through the field still and I’m getting good information from people out on the course. I hear some instructions from Bob Smith (our team manager at Newham & Essex Beagles) telling me I am 1min 30 behind Bronze! Later on the course he tells me I am only 1min 20 behind Bronze! However that evening he tells me he lied about that… I was still actually 1.30 behind but he thought that would do little to encourage me! To be honest I needed little encouragement as I can see I am catching others in the race and a top 6 finish is looking possible. Unfortunately though with 2km to go I get cramp in my left hamstring and have to stop!! My first reaction is shit this could really mess things up! There are British supports right next to wear I stop and I sense there disappoint for me. I had been aware that this could happen and with around 6km I took the decision to slow the pace down even though I feel good otherwise, as I sense that cramp could kick in at any minute. I feel strangely carm when as I stop and stretch though, it’s no more than 10seconds before I get going again, all be it at a slower pace to ensure the cramp stays away. It does mean though that I drop one place from 7th to 8th but my main focus now is to hold onto this position. The cramp does fortunately give me no further problems and as I turn into the final bend any pain that I had felt disappears and a huge smile comes across my face, as I cross the line I subtly clench my fist in satisfaction and then enjoy the pleasurable sensation of a cold wet towel place across my shoulders…right at this moment this is bliss.
Post-Race...
After polishing off a sports drink in seconds and congratulating my team mates we head into the medical tents, it’s like a seen out of E.R. with athletes laid out on medical beds with drips in their arms and other sprawled across the floor through fatigue. My body feels in bits, I’m exhausted and I’m glad it over but the feeling is fantastic. As soon as we get back into the athlete zone in the leisure centre I locate my phone and call Teresa my wife, I feel pretty emotional at this point and just about manage to hold back the tears, it’s been a long time away from home but the reward has been worth it.
Later once I have got myself some food and I feel a little less dehydrated all I can think about is getting home to see Teresa and Thomas.
Incedently the Guernsey flag that appeared in the BBC courage was a guy called Tim, he approached me in Barcelona aiport as he was on the same flight home. He has family in Guernsey and they sent him the flag to wave at during the race.
Below is UK Athletics race report...
http://http//www.uka.org.uk/media/news/august-2010/01-08-10-european-13/
Now however I am enjoying doing nothing... well as little as possible at least. No running this week for me and I'm also making an effort to indulge on the food and drink front for a change. The Commonwealth Games are the next big one for me but right now I'm just enjoying my time off.
Picture courtsey of Mark Sherman.The marathon itself went pretty much went as well as I could have hoped with perhaps the only exception being a little scare at 2km to go (more on that in minute).Below is my race day as happened for those that are interested…
Pre-Race...
My day started at 6am (4hours before the race) with a quick shower to wake the body up before then heading down for some breakfast. After fueling on some muesli, fruits & yogurt (my usual food of choice, porridge, doesn’t seem be popular in Spain!), it was then back to the room to start drinking my high sodium drink, the idea being to retain as much water in the body as possible. Not especially nice tasting drink but if you like sea water you might like this! At 7.45am we left the room (I was sharing with Dan Robinson) briefly to hand our drinks bottles which we mixed up at the previous night. Then it was back to room to finish off the sea water! At 8.30am we took the bus to the course and headed to the designated athlete area which was located in a local leisure centre next to the start finish area, alongside the Barcelona Zoo. It was then just the waiting game… staying relaxed and most of all cool, which was helped by the wearing an ice jacket for part of this time. The idea is keeps your core temperature down as much as possible so to delay the inevitable process of over heating during the race. I kept my warm up shorter than normal today but I didn’t find temperatures at hot as I expected, I feel good and light on the warm up and I know I’m ready to race. I head back into the athlete area and pop the ice jacket back on for a few minutes. About 20mins before the start we go through to the final call room wear they place our timing chip into the back of our front Bib. A few of us spend the last 10mins to continue to keep the core temperature down by apply bags of ice to our body, then the call comes for the officials and we start lining up to be lead out on the course, it now that things can go pretty quiet and people stay to focus on any last minute race rehearsals in their mind. We have been taken out a little late so there barely time for a couple of strides to keep loose before they start lining us up.
The Race itself…
The plan was to start sensibly and not to run any faster than 2.16 pace for the first half of race and aim for around 3.15 per km. The race starts pretty steady so its means I am able to settle nicely into the back of the field and simply just let the race takes its course. We have to be careful on the tight bends as the first 2km of the race in around a 1km loop before heading out on 4 x 10k loops of the city. The first 10k or so goes off without any major problems, although I am slightly slower than planned but I feel comfortable and feel that the pace is about right. My only hiccup comes when I manage to pick up Ben Moreau drink bottle rather than my own at the first drinks station, fortunately Ben is right next to me so I am able to hand him his bottle. It means I miss out on my own drink which is not ideal with conditions as they are but Ben kindly provides me with some of his drink.
I ensure I make use of every water & sponge station as well as the personal drink stations, conditions are starting to hot up and the humidity is pretty high at around 70% so I ensure to dowse the back of my head and vest with water to aid the cooling process. I get to half way in about 69mins, which is a little slower than planned but I’m feeling strong, at this point I think about pushing on but I decide to hold back for a little longer and it seems by maintaining my pace I am moving through the field anyway. Only 2 or 3 km later Dave Webb catches me and we then start to move the pace on a little, so I go with it and from this point we start picking a number of people off. Towards the later part of the third lap however I start to edge away form Dave after having worked with him for most of the lap.
Moving in the final lap I am gaining in confidence and feel strong. I’m moving past a number many experienced marathon runners (most of whom have much faster personal bests). The crowd support from the British fan has been fantastic through out the race and there are many people I know from the UK running scheme out on the course, during the early laps I acknowledge a few people but later into race I decide to conserve my energy, there was even a Guernsey flag out on the on the course. I hear this made the BBC coverage right at the point when the 2004 Olympic Champion Baldini dropped out of the race.
Going into the last 7km of the race everything seems to be going like a dream, I am moving through the field still and I’m getting good information from people out on the course. I hear some instructions from Bob Smith (our team manager at Newham & Essex Beagles) telling me I am 1min 30 behind Bronze! Later on the course he tells me I am only 1min 20 behind Bronze! However that evening he tells me he lied about that… I was still actually 1.30 behind but he thought that would do little to encourage me! To be honest I needed little encouragement as I can see I am catching others in the race and a top 6 finish is looking possible. Unfortunately though with 2km to go I get cramp in my left hamstring and have to stop!! My first reaction is shit this could really mess things up! There are British supports right next to wear I stop and I sense there disappoint for me. I had been aware that this could happen and with around 6km I took the decision to slow the pace down even though I feel good otherwise, as I sense that cramp could kick in at any minute. I feel strangely carm when as I stop and stretch though, it’s no more than 10seconds before I get going again, all be it at a slower pace to ensure the cramp stays away. It does mean though that I drop one place from 7th to 8th but my main focus now is to hold onto this position. The cramp does fortunately give me no further problems and as I turn into the final bend any pain that I had felt disappears and a huge smile comes across my face, as I cross the line I subtly clench my fist in satisfaction and then enjoy the pleasurable sensation of a cold wet towel place across my shoulders…right at this moment this is bliss.
Post-Race...
After polishing off a sports drink in seconds and congratulating my team mates we head into the medical tents, it’s like a seen out of E.R. with athletes laid out on medical beds with drips in their arms and other sprawled across the floor through fatigue. My body feels in bits, I’m exhausted and I’m glad it over but the feeling is fantastic. As soon as we get back into the athlete zone in the leisure centre I locate my phone and call Teresa my wife, I feel pretty emotional at this point and just about manage to hold back the tears, it’s been a long time away from home but the reward has been worth it.
Later once I have got myself some food and I feel a little less dehydrated all I can think about is getting home to see Teresa and Thomas.
Incedently the Guernsey flag that appeared in the BBC courage was a guy called Tim, he approached me in Barcelona aiport as he was on the same flight home. He has family in Guernsey and they sent him the flag to wave at during the race.
Below is UK Athletics race report...
http://http//www.uka.org.uk/media/news/august-2010/01-08-10-european-13/
Now however I am enjoying doing nothing... well as little as possible at least. No running this week for me and I'm also making an effort to indulge on the food and drink front for a change. The Commonwealth Games are the next big one for me but right now I'm just enjoying my time off.
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