The North Lincs Half - 15/05/2016

Since being bitten by the ultra trail running bug almost two years ago I have run a lot of slow miles. They've been beautiful, muddy and tough but slow.  This training was essential for getting through three mighty ultras last year but I have been wondering whether I have been simply training myself to run long and slow.  

I do have a decent natural pace when I put my mind to it, so in addition to my one big trail race this summer at the UT 110k, I want to rediscover some of it and make some inroads into my road times this year.  The first opportunity would be at a race that is becoming a fixture, the North Lincs half in my boyhood town of Scunthorpe which I would be running for the third time.  It is pancake flat with a great opportunity for fast times and also to run with some of my old buddies from home.

Great to see you Mr Ellis
Photo credit Chris Pickwell

About five weeks out from the race I started to introduce one quicker run into my week to get myself used to clocking some faster kilometres ready for the race.  The sessions were hard as I'm so used to just steadilly accumulating the miles, but as a result my natural cruising pace quickly dropped by around 15 secs per mile.  After a few weeks, I was able to increase the distance covered at the faster pace and I started to feel more confident in having a really good crack at my half marathon time of 1h 28mins at this race.

Spot the Matt...
Photo credit Roger Kimberley-Scott

As it happened, the day dawned with perfect conditions, bright sunshine with a gentle cool breeze. As with last year, my old pals were there with me.  Ben, whose running is improving all the time was also looking to crack a personal best and Mark was just seeing how it went after having run a cracking race here last year.  On the start line it was a lovely surprise to bump into a friendly face in Gary Ellis, an old school friend who told me he has started running relatively recently back home in Liverpool.

Perfect conditions
Photo credit Scunthorpe Telegraph

As well as being flat, the course is quite scenic as it winds its way through villages outside the town and it still ends on the pitch in the football ground which is a nice way to finish.  I hope they can retain this when Scunthorpe United get a new ground soon.  Plenty of folks had turned out to cheer us on  along the route in the morning sunshine.

Mark breaks his 5k pb at the start, oops!
Photo credit: Roger Kimberley-Scott

I had worked out my splits for a one minute pb and resolved to stick with that pace as long as possible, fully expecting to fade a little at the end.  In reality I found that hitting the splits bang on was quite hard and ended up running several seconds per kilometre under.  I just went with it as we raced through the country lanes, fully expecting some painful payback later on.

I did hit a tricky patch around ten miles but it was more of a drifting of concentration than physical fatigue.  I quickly snapped out of it though and with only three miles to go I managed to get back on track and it wasn't long before we were rounding the corner for the long straight back to Scunthorpe. It was here I started to pass those who had gone out too fast and started to wobble but passing them gave me more confidence and I was able to lift the pace again which came as a surprise given my faster than expected start.  Entering the stadium straining for a few extra seconds, I knew I was on for a decent time but I hadn't looked at my watch for a wee while so I had no idea until I saw the race timer on the finish line.

Photo credit Claire Lewis

Before the race I thought that to put a minute into my best time would be a brilliant result.  In the end I battered down the doors of my pb by two and a half minutes to get home in 1h 25min and 31sec, a dream time given I have only really started thinking about faster stuff recently.  Perhaps there is something in this speedwork thing after all...

Suffice to say I am chuffed with that.  Its nice to have a time which better matches the amount of work I put into my running.  Turns out it was a day for smashing records. The course record was broken and Gary (see you next year?) and Ben also claiming new pbs.  Mark had a tougher day out than last year having overcooked it a little at the start but was still smiling at the end and even Harrison came away with a medal for bossing the fun run.

Proud fun run finishers
Photo credit Scunthorpe Telegraph

Afterwards we retired for a gravy dinner and a couple of shandies to top off a fab weekend.  Thanks to all the volunteers and organisers who put together a really well organised race.

I'm returning to the hills next weekend with the awesomest trail running community at the Hardmoors Osmotherley Marathon.  Cannot wait!

The North Lincolnshire Half Marathon - 02/05/2015

A good friend knows your best stories, a best friend has lived them with you

A rare return to the road this month to run the North Lincs half which is held in the town I grew up in (not so sunny) Scunthorpe.

The main draw of this race was to run with three of my oldest friends Mark, Ben and Chris. They each had their own goals for the race with Mark looking to go under 90 minutes for the first time, Ben looking for a pb and Chris looking to finish his first half. I decided to run in my Scunthorpe United colours in a cynical ploy to get more jelly babies on the course. Ben had opted for the old school singlet in an attempt to channel his Normanby Park AC under 12s form and Mark was obviously chasing the fetish support having gimped up in a ravishing pair of comedy black foot marigolds (vibrams).

We shivered together on the start line in the pouring rain for what seemed like forever before we were finally off, around 1,500 runners streaming out of town and onto the country roads.

Poser - note marigolds on the left

Mark and I decided to run together as I was feeling pretty confident about going under 90 minutes and it worked well as we paced each other for the first 10 miles. The weather even eased a little after an hour or so and the yellow flowering fields of rape looked spectacular with the purple storm clouds as a backdrop. The route is fast and flat and passes through the villages of Butterwick and Burringham before heading East back to Scunthorpe with a lap of the pitch at fortress Glanford Park, home of Scunthorpe United to finish. The shirt drew a few cheers from the hardy supporters braving the downpour on the route.

A pacy peacock

As 10 miles approached we were well on track for Mark's sub 90 target and I realised if i got a wriggle on i could still have a crack at my own pb so I decided to push on and see what i could do. I was able to make up some time but a combinaton of my recent heavy mileage, a lingering cold and a return of the maelstrom for a testing last mile meant I just missed out.

Mark digging deep for the final mile

In the end i was pretty satisfied with 1.28.18 on the day given i have mostly been running slow and long on trails this year.  The time didn't really matter, the best thing about this race was sharing it with my mates and it was awesome to be there with them and see them achieve.

Mark followed me home soon after I'd finished breaking the 90 minute mark for the first time despite a tough last few miles.  Equal kudos goes to Ben who blasted to a 10 minute pb and some nicely chafed nipples to sneak under 1.45 and Chris getting home looking fresh as a daisy in his first half marathon.

Shiny

I think putting a decent dent in my Half Marathon pb is going to require a different approach with some focussed training targeted to take me under 1.25.  All of this mileage for the trail ultras is great for endurance but not very good for improving speed over these shorter distances on the road.  Its quite cool though to feel like there are potentially faster HM times in there waiting to be extracted!

Although there were one or two issues with parking and some examples of rather militant stewarding, if you are after a fast half you can't go far wrong with this one and the finish in the stadium adds a nice touch.  Well done to everyone who braved the elements especially the heroic marshalls.

Next up a tough marathon in the mountains at the Howgills Trails 26 before the big one fewer than 6 weeks away!

Mont Blanc dreaming and the Vale of York Half

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -T. S. Eliot. 

It’s been quite a while now since my RTTS adventure and now feels like a good time to write something here about what has happened since. Writing these entries really helps me remember and reflect but perhaps if someone else gets something out of it, then that's great too! 

In the weeks following the RTTS to be honest I felt a bit lost. The big target I had been focusing on for so long simply wasn’t there anymore and I felt strangely empty.  It was really satisfying to have achieved my goal but I didn’t really know where to go with it all from there. The only thing I felt really sure about was that I didn’t want to let all of that work and hard won miles to just ebb away.

I toyed for a little while with entering another big ultra in the Autumn but when I tested this out with a couple of big mileage training weeks I found my hamstrings were still very sore. More truthfully though, my head simply wasn’t in the right space to go straight into the training required to do myself justice over another 100km + event so soon.  With hindsight, I guess the whole thing had taken more out of me than I thought at the time.

Slowly though, my mojo returned and an exciting plan started to fall into place for 2015.  I entered two well established and respected UK ultras; the Hardmoors 55 (a 55 mile ultra over the wild North York Moors along the Cleveland Way in March – brrrrr!) and the Centurion South Downs Way 100 (100 miles along the rolling SDW from Winchester to Eastbourne in June).  Both of these events require qualifying previous ultra experience. A couple of tough but very different races which will be a step up in terms of challenge from my racing this year.  

I began to realise that the RTTS experience has opened up a doorway to a whole new level of races in terms of distance, excitement and toughness. If, and this is a big IF, I finish these two races in 2015, I might consider myself a proper ultra-runner, we shall see.  The real prize though would be entering the ballots for the UTMB and Western States 100 for 2016 as I would have met their tough qualifying criteria. These are two of the most iconic and toughest single stage ultras in the world. Although the chances of bagging a number might be slim, it’s a pretty cool goal to aim for and no matter what, I’ll sure have an adventure qualifying… 

In the short term I decided to concentrate on the very first Vale of York Half Marathon as a little project for a few weeks which was in for September. After coming within 40 seconds or so at Edinburgh earlier in the year I was quietly confident I could sneak under 90 minutes for the first time, particularly when we arrived at the aerodrome start under clear skies and warm conditions. 

It was great to have banter with some friendly faces on the start line for a change as I was joined by my sister and a few good friends. The race started with a loop the looping aerobatics display which was a nice touch and after a rather strange start out and back along the runway we were quickly out onto the country roads around Sherburn in Elmet.  The race was well marshaled with plenty of water and I ran in the shade of the trees where possible to keep out of the sun which felt intense for the time of year. I was surprised how easy the kilometres clicked by and I knew that if I stayed under 4m 15s for each I would reach my target. I felt strong and even managed to kick with two miles to go. In the end I smashed 90 minutes and my pb in the process in 1:28:01. 

Nice bling at the Vale of York Half

This means I have knocked 6 minutes off my HM pb in 2014 purely as a result of more mileage from the ultra-training. The sub 90 half is something I have been trying to do a while now and this was my 8th HM attempt on the road. I was really chuffed as it feels like I have broken through a ceiling now for this distance which has taken too long, mostly because of injuries and lack of conditioning.  What was most satisfying though was how strongly I finished. I definitely had more in the tank and if anything felt I had run quite conservatively.  I know there is more to come at this distance, particularly if I trained specifically to peak and taper properly for one event. Sub 1:25 in 2015? 

To keep things ticking over the final few months of 2014 I have entered two local races. These smaller races have far fewer runners, are usually great fun and I’m sure they'll have a friendly vibe. It also feels good to support local races and run on new trails close to home.  First up is the Kirkstall Abbey trail marathon for another crack at the 26.2 (albeit on trail) in a couple of weeks and then the Frostbite Ultra in December, a 30+ mile yomp around Nidderdale from Pateley Bridge.  Having these races in the calendar has helped with the motivation in recent weeks particularly as the call of the duvet gets stronger in the winter months.  Hopefully they will springboard my preparation for what could be a decidedly fridgey Hardmoors in the Spring.