9 more sleeps.

Back in March I had a panic, a moment of self reflection, and an epiphany.  I had been spending all of my running time with others and although it wasn't doing me any harm at all I wasn't reaping any benefits.  I was starting to think that I needed to do more running for me and then I got the email from Run for All reminding me that I had entered the Leeds half marathon.

In the last 6 weeks I have run hard, run long, and run for me, to try to get myself race fit* and I think I might now be ready for the Leeds half on the 10th of May.  As well as running I've also spent a very good portion of the last few weeks reflecting on how fit and fast I was this time last year, to try and compare where I am now.  I didn't have a running blog back then but I did post the following on Facebook:

9th May 2014: Operation 1/2 Marathon: It's here folks. This evening I went out for a run around Beeston for the last time before I hit the streets of Leeds on Sunday.
I'll be honest, my emotions are all over the place. I'm giddy with excitement because if I've learnt anything from the three 10k's that I've run in the last year, being part of a crowd of people, running in a pack, is a real buzz. But I'm also terrified that I haven't done enough training in the last SIX months and that I'll either fail to get around in 2 hours, or worse, fail to get around at all.
So there we go. 26 weeks of training. From just getting around the Abbey Dash in November to here. I can't claim to have enjoyed every step of the way but there has to be something about running that I enjoy as I'm planning to go the whole hog next year and enter my first marathon.
Thank you for all of the likes and supportive comments, they really have meant a lot to me.  One last thing. If you're in Leeds on Sunday morning, feel free to come out and cheer on the runners. Don't save your breath for me, the cheers of encouragement are one of the greatest things about running and it really makes all the difference when you feel like you can't go any further. See you at the finish line.

So this time last year I was this uncertain.  The same worries.  Would I go the distance?  Could I hit my target time?  I did both, making it round and smashing my target time by 8 minutes finishing in 1:51:48.  I also learned a few things along the way.  The Leeds half marathon is shrouded in folklore about how hilly it is.  I think these rumours come from folk who only run on billiard tables or treadmills.  If anybody has done any hill training they will hardly notice the climb up Stonegate, and Lawnswood ringroad will be over before you have started running up it.

Of course it goes without saying that if you have only been training on the flat you will find the hills hard, but as the saying goes "Train hard, race easy".  I think I'm actually fitter now than I was this time last year.  I'm starting to believe that I'm also a better runner.  I still have a couple of runs between now and the race but I'm starting to get excited and I can almost dare to think that I can beat last years time and set a new PB.  This is what Christmas must feel like to a 5 year old.  Only 9 more sleeps!

*"race fit" is different person to person, I'm not trying to win after all.

Run Edinburgh, Run!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of a ten day break in Edinburgh.  I have a lot of family up there but the chance to visit doesn't come as often as I'd like.  Last time I was up I took my running kit and went for a couple of runs during the stay, this time was no different.  Well, it was a little different as somehow I managed to pack more running gear than civvies.

The reason for all the kit was the impending Leeds 1/2 Marathon.  I am nowhere near ready for the race and I couldn't let a holiday get in the way of my lapsed training.  My plan was simple, two Long Slow Runs, a mid week 10k, and a birthday visit to Edinburgh parkrun to round off the holiday.

Why would you not run along this?

My Mum lives just outside Portobello so this would be the starting point of all of my runs for the week.  This is no bad thing as Portobello is home to a 3 kilometre long promenade which runs along the Firth of Fourth.  I've run along the "prom" before, incorporating it into a 10k route, but on Sunday my LSR was a 13k out and back, so I was bound to be running into the coastal wind at some point.
 

The legendarily changeable Edinburgh weather is the reason I took so much kit with me.  On Sunday morning I woke up to glorious sunshine and set off down Brunstane Burn Path towards Joppa and the start of the Prom.  The first 6.5k felt good but the return leg was much less comfortable, not due to the wind, but because of the raising sun reflecting off the Fourth.  I really must invest in some sunglasses! 13k 1:08:25.

For my next run I decided to head inland and take in the beauty of Holyrood Park.  I had a 10k route planned but altered it last minute due to Mum's concern about me running through Niddrie.  For a number of reasons I shouldn't have changed my route.  Firstly, I do most of my running in the less than salubrious inner-city areas of Leeds so Niddrie should have held no fear for me.  Secondly I was running in a city that I don't know that well.  Due to this I got lost.

Mmmm, craggy.

I knew that I would be fine and find my way back home as long as I kept the crags of Arthur's Seat on my right hand side.  I was right but I was way off course.  I found myself outside the Commonwealth Pool, dropped back into the park and made my way home, having added 3k and a stupid hill to my run.  13.3k 1:07:42.

On Thursday morning I went back to the front for the second LSR of the week.  Another 13k but this time with much less company.  I saw lots of other runners on my original run on the prom and Holyrood Park was full of people running and cycling on their lunch breaks.  Thursday morning is not peak running time.  The hills and added distance to the midweek run didn't do me any favours but I could run for days on end along any coastline, which is a good job as I had one more date with the Fourth.  13k 1:08:55

Saturday, for lots of runners, is parkrun day and I wasn't going to miss out just because I was on holiday.  I made my way across the city in plenty of time for the start and joined the first timers and visiting parkrunners for the briefing.  It turns out that Edinburgh was the 2nd park run in Scotland, missing out to Glasgow, but they are proudly the biggest and fastest parkrun North of the border.

What a location for a parkrun, best in the UK?

I'm used to small parkruns of 70-100 people, so standing at the start with over 500 other runners was more like a race day.  The only thing missing was the mass warm-up and the uncomfortable bib number.  We got underway and I found myself moving rapidly through the pack, backwards.  I know I'm not the fastest runner but at home I'm normally in the top 20 at parkrun.  People were streaming past me even though I felt like I was keeping a good pace on a flat course.

The final 2k was into the wind and I knew that I was slowing down because of it, but my split times had been much better than my legs were telling me.  I crossed the line just ahead of a runner that I had set my sights on at the start, got my barcode scanned and waited for the best part of the day to get my official time. 5k 22:38 NEW 5K PB

South Leeds Lakers on tour at Edinburgh parkrun

I had been hoping for a PB given that the Edinburgh route is flat as a pancake but I was over the moon with that time, 20 seconds faster than my previous PB.  It surprised me that Edinburgh only has one parkrun given Leeds has four, but having now run the course at Silverknowes I don't think I'd want to run a 5k anywhere else in Edinburgh, it fits so well where it is.

I'd had a brilliant week of running, give or take sun-blindness and getting lost.  I'd managed to get some good miles under my belt for the Leeds 1/2 and smashed a PB in the process but there was one thing bugging me.  On each of the 4 runs I passed many other runners and very few of them said hello, nodded recognition, or even made eye contact.  I like to think that we are one big happy running family but it would seem that the message is yet to make it to Edinburgh.  So go on lads and lassies, crack a smile.  They make you run faster, honest!

Walk Sancho, walk!

Having signed up to take part in this years Oxfam Trailtrekk event, it was only a matter of time that Team Llamas Not Included pulled on our walking shoes and did some training.  We had already been for an ill-fated night time expedition from Woodlesford to Leeds along the River Aire to test our head torches, but we needed to get some serious miles under our belts.

The idea was a simple one.  We would get up bright and early, make our way to Skipton, and walk to Horton in Ribblesdale following the Pennine Way.  We forgot, of course that this was the weekend that the clocks went forward, robbing us of an important hour of sleep before taking on the 40k walk.

Having left a car in Horton for the journey home, we set off from Skipton at 8:30am* along the Leeds and Liverpool canal towards Gargrave.  The rain had already started falling but, as Debs pointed out, "things can only get better".  I had a strong suspicion that she was going to be wrong and that things would get a lot worse, but we cracked on at a decent pace never the less, making a note to bring binoculars and a bird spotting guide when we take on the route again in August.

Gargrave came quickly and we were soon onto Stage 2 of the walk.  The Pennine Way was going to be our companion for the next eight and a half hours, although at the time we thought it would be closer to seven.  It wasn't long after leaving Gargrave that the rain got heavier.  This wasn't a problem to start with, but once we had cleared the tree lined farm track we also noticed that the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped.  At least the route was easy to follow.  Crossing a couple of fields we found the River Aire, which was much smaller than we are used to, and followed it faithfully.

In hindsight we should have listened to the warning from the group that we passed about the state of the path to come.  We laughed off thoughts of difficult terrain, things could only get better after all.  We were of course wrong.  Not long after Airton we came across a quagmire that left three of us with sodden feet.  The icy mud flowing into shoes that still had 25k to cover was not welcome, but the first sight of Malham cove was, as it heralded the end of the second section.

I was in two minds about changing my sodden footwear as we stopped at Malham for lunch, in the end I chose to keep my wet but comfortable trail shoes on, saving a dry pair for the drive home.  I'm sure that this was the right thing to do as my feet would only get wet again later on, it did mean that my decision to use a 60 litre backpack instead of at 15 litre one was hugely flawed.  A lighter bag would have been welcome, but we live and learn.

We pushed on through Malham and set off towards Malham Tarn.  The higher we got the worse the weather became.  By the time we had reached the Tarn the wind was whipping up waves you could have surfed on and for the first time, we walked in silence, protecting our faces from the stinging rain, only glancing around to make sure we were all still together.

The trees at the Eastern edge of the Tarn brought welcome relief from the elements, as did the driveway up to the Malham Tarn Field Centre, but we were soon back out in the open.  My gloves were now as sodden as my shoes, but the wind was so biting that taking them off actually made me more uncomfortable.  My hands were either hot with pain or cold and wet.

Morale was sapping away as we climbed the barren Fountains Fell and again we walked in silence for what felt like hours.  The only conversation was about where we were and how far we still had to go which, as anybody with a 4 year old will tell you, is not a barrel of laughs.  Even the sight of snow failed to make me smile.  Normally I'm like a kid in a sweet shop whenever I see snow, but this just acted as a reminder of how cold and remote we were.

As we reached the summit of Fountains Fell two things struck me.  The first was that in front of me lay Pen-y-ghent, I knew that we only had to get to the other side of the ridge and we'd be in Horton and we would have completed the day's walking.  The second thing that struck me was the wind, like a hammer to the chest!  It had been bad on the way up, but the hill had been protecting us from the worst of the weather.  Halfway down, while battling the wind and the sodden path, the rain returned.  The rain soon changed to hail and I swore at the world.  I took some macabre solace at the though that I had been right about the worsening conditions earlier in the day.  The weather could have been worse, and now it was.

We crossed the official end of section 3 and pushed on without stopping, or recording our time, to the finish at Horton in Ribblesdale.  Having climbed Pen-y-ghent last year I knew the way from here and that offered some relief, we were tantalisingly close to the end.  We said farewell to the Pennine Way and crossed onto the bridle way that would take us down to Horton, or at least we tried.  The wind we had pushed against coming down from Fountains Fell decided to have one last dig, a final turn of the knife.  We already knew that we had been on our feet all day but walking down hill should not be more difficult than going up.

We finally made it into Horton in Ribblesdale 5 hours after we had left Malham and, to add insult to injury, the public toilets were locked.  We had taken much longer than anticipated but I'm putting that down to the weather.  Importantly we had made it to Horton before the sun dipped behind Ingleborough and within the cutoff time for continuing with the Trekk.  We were cold, wet, and tired, but we had completed the first 4 stages.

If it had been the actual TrailTrekk weekend we may well have called it a day at that point, such was the level of discomfort, but the weather in August should be much better and we won't need to carry so much thanks to the support of our crew and the Oxfam volunteers.  Which reminds me, we are undertaking the TrailTrekk to raise money for Oxfam, a very worthy cause.  Deborah, Dalia, Jonathan and I will be fund-raising up until the event but if you would like to help us rediscover some of our lost morale you can donate on our JustGiving page.

I think our next team building session will be in a pub.  A warm cosy pub, with a roaring real fire, and only a short walk between stages, not stages, pints.  I think we've earned it for now.

*all times are approximate

Me, me, me!

I've set my stall out a couple of times for 2015.  Both here on Run Sancho Run and in public I have told people that I will not be entering and running any half marathons this year.  Instead I have entered a lot of 10ks, the 100k Trailtrekk Challenge and my first marathon, the York Marathon to be precise.

Over the last few months I have managed to get back to comfortably running 10k, but because the marathon isn't until October I've not bothered pushing myself to longer distance runs.  Instead I have focused most of my spare running time on leading South Leeds Lakers, either planning routes, running slower than I normally would or marshalling runs to make sure that nobody got lost on streets they didn't know.

This week I led 32 people on a route we are now calling The Beeston Rollercoaster, a 5k route made up entirely of hills.  Everybody managed two laps of the hill section, some people managed three sets, but I only ran the hills once as I was making sure nobody got lost on the first loop.  Marshalling, cheering people on, and making sure everyone is OK is, to my mind, more important than me pushing myself and ignoring everyone else.

But while everyone else has seen improvements in their running over the last 6 weeks, I have at best maintained form.  I'm really happy for everyone who is benefiting from the Lakers sessions.  PBs at parkrun are falling left right and centre and people are signing up for races that a month ago they would have run away from.

My problem is that while all of this gives me an sense of enormous well being*,  I'm not seeing any of the benefits.  My recent parkrun times are still a minute slower than my PB, a time I set last year.  As I pointed out earlier I've not pushed past 10k on my long slow runs yet.  All of this was brought home to me on Tuesday night after the group session.  I opened up my in-box to find an email from Run for All, subject: Time to check your details for the Leeds Half Marathon.

13.1 miles completed in 1:51:48

It turns out that the day after last years Leeds half, I signed up for this year, then promptly forgot about it.  After all that I have said I am running a half marathon this year and it's in 8 weeks! I trained for months and months through rain, wind, and snow last year to get around the 13.1 mile route of the Leeds Half, this year I've, well, this year I'm not even close.  I had already started to feel the urge to do more running for me and less for the group but this settles it.

I am no longer the kind of runner who is happy to just finish a race, I need to finish with my head held high knowing that I did my best, preferably better than last time out.  That's not to say that I'll be neglecting South Leeds Lakers.  It's a fantastic group, and one that I am proud to be part of, but I need to make sure that I make time for me as well, after all I have a PB to beat.

*Parklife!

Harewood 10k 2015 - Race Review

The 2014 Harewood 10k was given the accolade of Race of the Year*, so it was little wonder that I was really looking forward to Sunday's 2015 race around the grounds of Harewood House.  Last year the race was a slight diversion from my half marathon training, this year however I'd not been putting in anywhere near the same miles so I didn't really know how the day would pan out.

I had missed a load of long runs in the weeks before the race and my involvement in South Leeds Lakers and helping out at Farsley Flyers has meant that my midweek runs have been shorter, and slower than they should have been, but none of this dampened my spirits.

You see, this is not a PB course.  It's not fast and flat, far from it.  The appeal of the Harewood 10k is its setting.  I do all of my running in town, the closest I get to running off road or in the countryside is the canal tow path as it meanders through an industrial landscape.  Harewood is literally a breath of fresh air.

I set off early with my cheerleaders, well aware that the road to Harewood can snarl up at the drop of a hat, and made it in plenty of time to hear the tannoy guy wish good luck to the South Leeds Lakers.  If I wasn't already in a good mood that unexpected announcement really gave me a lift.  I met up with Gavin and John, two more of the Lakers and chose to ignore the group warm up.

There was then a 15 minute delay to the start of the race.  I assume this is because of people still trying to get onto the grounds but with nobody telling us what was going on it's only speculation.  When we finally got underway I settled into a comfortable pace.  For the first time ever I didn't go out all guns blazing, but was running comfortably under 5 minutes per kilometre.  By the time I was at the top of the first hill at 4k I was a minute under my predicted time.

I stopped pushing and tried to steady my pace at 5 minutes, well aware of what was coming up at the end of the race.  I took the time to look at the scenery which is not something you would choose to do at the Leeds 10k.  In no time at all I passed the 7k marker and braced myself for "The Hill".

I had started the day with two targets.  The first, last years time 54:10, the second, The Hill.  I was determined to get up the 1k long climb without breaking to a walk.  Last year it had defeated me early on, this year I kept going, kept moving my arms, kept my head up and shoulders back, kept running.  I made it to the top and pushed on past the 9k marker.

Rounding the final turns of the course I knew that The Hill had done its job and robbed me of running under 50 minutes but I still had time in the bank to better my previous time.  As I hit the home straight my ears erupted as friends and family started yelling my name.  I found one last burst of energy and crossed the line in 50:10, over 4 minutes faster than last year.

I love the Harewood 10k.  There were issues at the end with emptying the car park.  We were sat for around an hour in stationary traffic, but frankly if taking a bit of time to go home "ruins" your day and you believe that Age UK have "a trust mountain to rebuild" before entering one of their races again, I think that says more about you than them.

The Harewood 10k is already the first run on my list for 2016 but for the first time I will train specifically for it, more hills, more miles, and the prospect of a sub 50 run.

*by me.

Pop up Running Event hits Trinity Leeds

This Sunday, the 8th March, is International Women’s Day.  It will see Trinity Leeds and Leeds City Council come together, alongside Run Leeds and This Girl Can to host a special first time running event.  People in the city centre can expect to find a wide range of running based activities, from a Trinity fit trail, guided runs and a magic mile.

There will also be an event expo which will offer a number of information points sharing advice and assistance on how people can get active in Leeds. Including Leeds let’s get active, parkrun, the Veggie Runners, and information on the city's new running groups including South Leeds Lakers. 

This event will be like nothing before it, as it promises to show off not only Trinity, but most of the city, including the water-front.

When asked what people might see on the day, Ben Fraser one of the head organisers said: ‘To be kept on their toes, literally! Expect surprises and excitement!’  After the activities have finished, Neil Jones, Sports Development officer, and other head organiser, has promised: ‘A fantastic post event pasta party, with a very special guest.’ 

I'll be heading down to Trinity after finishing the Harewood 10k to see what all of the fuss is about and to promote the Lakers.  Hope to see some of you  there.

Wrap up and Run - Harewood 10k 2014

This time last year I was well into training for the Leeds Half Marathon.  The Leeds 10k and the Abbey Dash were behind me and I decided to mix up my training plan and enter an extra 10k race.  The AgeUK Wrap Up and Run Harewood House 10k to be precise.

I'd been training hard for months and in my head a 10k run was going to be a walk in the park.  My running schedule already included two runs over 10k every week, along with three shorter runs, so the distance was no issue.  I was also running up Churwell Hill a couple of times a week which was good as I had been told that there was a steep incline at around 7k of the Harewood course.

I did a bit more research into the route through the grounds of Harewood House.  It was meant to be paths and tracks but with a good chance of mud, so I decided to wear the trail shoes that I had bought to tackle the Somme like conditions of the Kirkstall to Rodley section of the canal tow path.

My race prep was going to plan.  I tapered my training so that my legs would be fresh and then I went out on an all day Street Food and drinking bender the day before the race.  Let me let you in on a little secret, stuffing yourself with tapas and curry then drinking beer and whisky while playing darts is NOT good race prep.

I had no right making it to the start line on time but I did.  Sadly I was there in plenty of time to endure the mass-humiliation of the group warm up.  Shimmying while marching on the spot was not doing my hangover any favours.  At least I had moral support from running buddy Diane who, like me, is also not a fan of the pre-race aerobics class.

The race finally got under way through a tight start/finish funnel.  It took some time to get over the start line but the pack soon spread out once we were passed the barriers.  Sadly we were bunched back together again almost straight away as the route took us through a five bar gate.  I know now that having to walk through the gate didn't have much of an affect on my finishing time but right then I felt like I had ground to make up.

We passed the front door of Harewood house and headed out to the back of the estate.  The narrow path through the trees was beset on all sides by muddy puddles and I was pleased as punch with my choice of foot ware.  Most people were sticking to the raised middle of the track but I could happily pass on the outside, accepting that muddy was going to be the way I finished the race.

At 3.5k the path opened up and we could look back across the estate at the house.  This was the moment that cemented the Harewood 10k as the best race I have ever taken part in.  Running through the countryside with birds of prey circling above me.  No traffic noise, just the rolling beauty of the Vale of York around us.  We dropped back into the valley and I started to think about what was coming next.  I knew that around one of these corners was "the hill".

There are a number of things that will stick in my mind from the hill.  The first was the disembodied voice of another runner who commented that they had never seen so many people walking part of a race.  I had thought that it was just me who had slowed to a walk but I was in the majority, a fact which helped me feel better about my failure to run the entire course.

The second memory that will stay with me long after I have hung up my running shoes, was a lad who had to stop and walk back down the hill to retrieve one of his trainers. The trainer in question had come off in a puddle of mud the like of which I've not seen since Artax was lost in the Swamp of Sadness.

The hill levelled off and I picked my pace back up again, covering the final kilometre at something like my usual pace.  I finished in 54:10 which was a couple of minutes slower than I had anticipated, but then it was faster than the time I had set for the Abbey Dash.  Even walking up the hill had resulted in me getting a new 10k PB.

This year's Harewood 10k is now only a couple of weeks away and I can't wait.  This year I will be sober and I am determined beat that hill.  I have two time targets to beat too, 54:10 for the course and 49:52* for the distance.  Anywhere between the two and I'll be happy, that said, I'm going to be happy getting to re-run my favourite race of 2014.

*time set at the Leeds 10k 2014