Well – it’s compulsory, right? To sum up a
year’s activities and briefly outline plans for the next?
Yes, ‘briefly’. Least I’ll try.
…
LOOKING BACK: 2014
“So, my fellow runner: here’s wishing you a
Merry Christmas and a runtastic, successful 2014 – however you define
‘success’. As I’ve said before, I will define ‘success’ as a sub-1:30’ Half, a
sub-3:30’ Marathon and a “Got To The End” Highland Fling”.”
Missed out on the sub-90’ half: the closest
I got was 1:31’10” in Bristol. Which,
considering that with three miles to go I walked for a short while, is still no
mean feat. This was my third Bristol HM and I’ve yet to come to grips with
those final three miles, namely with the short climb over the bridge, the
weaving in and out of small streets and the last two short climbs. None are
insurmountable; they’re just not what you need when it’s a matter of seconds.
I’d love to have a go at a flatter route but Bath 2015’s already sold out, so
I’m probably nine months away from another shot somewhere. Not that it’s a
priority for me right now: maybe in 2016?
Now, the sub-3:30’ marathon… I managed that
one! 3:19’24” in Chester. Made up for my seizure in
Manchester,
when I was on track for an even better time. I’ll be back in Manchester on
April 19, 2015, although that’s not a priority for me either: we’ll see closer
to the time what shape I’m in and what’s a realistic goal. If I get there in
the shape I got to Chester, sub-3:15’ could be within reach. But Chester 2014 came
after months of focused marathon training, a treatment I can ill-afford for
Manchester 2015.
 |
| With Andy, Chris and Simon after Chester 2014, Up North - a photo that even ended up in The North Somerset Times! |
Completion was my goal. That said, I won’t
lie to you: I was hoping for a sub-12hr finish, too. So 11:52’15” left me very, very
happy. And a bit tired, too. But happiness was by far the overriding feeling.
I’ll be back at the start of The West Highland Way before dawn on April 25 –
all of six days after crossing the line (hopefully on foot) in Manchester…
should be fun!
 |
| Celebrating at the end of The West Highland Fling, with Martin, Mike and Andrew. (I really underestimated how much fun it would be!) |
Those were my three goals at the start of
the year. Then, as Spring turned into Summer, Roberto’s swimming lessons came
to an end and I was freed of Saturday morning Daniel-minding duties to start
parkrunning regularly. This has been a highlight for me, not so much for the
sake of the weekly 5k run but because it’s introduced a social dimension to my
running that is otherwise lacking on my pre-dawn runs. I’ve enjoyed many in-car
chats with Tim, Simon and Stuart, and even quite a few on-site exchanges
with Dom, Bob, Dave… folk whose faces are regular features of my Saturday
mornings, whose results I look out for hoping they’ve hit their goals. Because
sure, even parkrun comes with goals…
…and mine soon became a sub-20’ 5k. I first managed that on August 9, in Chipping Sodbury – my one and only non-Little Stoke parkrun to date, in which I came home in 19’52”. It took me a while to repeat the feat on more traditional territory, but I’ve since managed it five times in all, including a hat-trick over three consecutive weeks culminating on November 29 with my current PB, 19’37”. The following week I volunteered (i.e. did not run), the week after that I’d gone on a 39mi run (to celebrate my 39th birthday) only 48 hours prior and this Saturday just gone came after a week which had begun with two fourteen-mile runs to/fro an office with a laptop-laden backpack, but I have pulled off sub-20' since. Wearing a tutu and a Santa hat. Honest.
…and mine soon became a sub-20’ 5k. I first managed that on August 9, in Chipping Sodbury – my one and only non-Little Stoke parkrun to date, in which I came home in 19’52”. It took me a while to repeat the feat on more traditional territory, but I’ve since managed it five times in all, including a hat-trick over three consecutive weeks culminating on November 29 with my current PB, 19’37”. The following week I volunteered (i.e. did not run), the week after that I’d gone on a 39mi run (to celebrate my 39th birthday) only 48 hours prior and this Saturday just gone came after a week which had begun with two fourteen-mile runs to/fro an office with a laptop-laden backpack, but I have pulled off sub-20' since. Wearing a tutu and a Santa hat. Honest.
 |
| En route to 19'59" at Little Stoke parkrun on 27/12 - tutu, hat, Cranswick an'all. |
One goal hadn’t been stated, and that was
to run 3,000mi again. I was keen to ensure it was a means rather than a goal
per se, and fortunately I succeed in clocking more useful, focused training
miles, especially in the build-up to Chester. After that I found myself with little to aim
for, so I did indulge in the occasional junk mile run, although never on the
scale of 2013 and its 100 Half Marathons (101, in fact…).
That was a fun goal last year and I’m glad I achieved it, not least since I
only started chasing it during the summer after one of you clever clogs sowed
the seed in my gullible mind.
But yes, 3,000 is a nice round figure – and
round figures appeal to me (even if SWMBO is a reyt slim one!). Here’s how the
year just gone compares with its predecessor:
2013
|
2014
|
|
miles:
|
3,087
|
3,118
|
Runs:
|
406
|
485
|
Time
|
450:06’11”
|
460:43’26”
|
Elev. Gain (ft):
|
144,388
|
164,907
|
ft/mi gain:
|
46.77
|
52.89
|
Avg. Speed:
|
6.9mph
|
6.8mph
|
In a nutshell: hillier, slower runs, as I
ended up spending 10:37’ more on my feet to get in an extra 31 miles. Month on
month, the differences were often minimal: and I genuinely wasn’t trying to
track last year’s stats.
Of course, this nutshell conceals more than
it reveals, as the mixture of speedwork sessions and long runs makes the
average speed meaningless. But it’s a nutshell with which I’m happy, as a
nutter.
…
LOOKING FORWARD: 2015
After the year I’ve had, 2015’s got a lot
to live up to…
No, not The Highland Fling Race. Well, that one
too. But what last year was a key, defining focus will, next April, be… well, a
training run. A form check. And I say that with the utmost respect for what has
been my favourite race to date.
See, the difference is quite simple. The
Fling covers the first 53 miles of the West Highland Way, from Milngavie to
Tyndrum. The WHW covers the entire route, all the way to Fort William. It’s a
bit longer. 42 miles longer, to be precise.
370 people applied for a place in the WHW.
340 were deemed to be ‘qualified’, i.e. to have experience of similar races
(rather than similar mileage) – experience I gained on last year’s Fling. With
265 places available, this meant a ballot was required. This shocked my Mum,
who struggled to comprehend there’d be so many fools wanting to do this…
…and yours truly is one of the lucky 265
who will line up in Milngavie on June 20, 2015, at 1am. If the work that goes
into this between now and then is both right and rewarded, I should arrive in
Fort William at some point the following day. A big ‘if’: my biggest so far.
The most daunting, enthralling, defining I’ve ever set myself. May the fun
begin: it’s less than six months away… indeed, more five and a half!
The West Highland Way race is my sole goal
for 2015. If I get to Fort William, every drop of sweat, every step (and this
year my feet have touched the ground almost five million times between them),
every tear (hopefully of emotion, but I wouldn’t rule out pain…) will have been
more than worthwhile. Every run over the next one hundred and sixty-eight days
has to be focused on enabling the accomplishment of that one goal. There will
be long runs, recovery runs, speedwork sessions (yes, even for an Ultra),
parkruns, marathons (well, one) – but all will play a role on getting me to
Milngavie in the best shape possible. And thereafter to Fort William,
hopefully.
Here’s the conundrum, however. I have to
balance that single-mindedness with intermediary, non-conflicting goals, with
Greater Manchester Marathon and The Fling the obvious candidates. My mind
cannot afford to focus on a single goal between now and June 20: I’ll go crazy.
And, in my case, that can mean epileptic seizures. One reason I went sub-3:20’
in Chester was that the legs trained hard as usual, but somehow the mind got to
the starting line more relaxed than it had done for Manchester. Running has
been an increasing source of fun for me, from my now-regular parkruns to June’s
Longest Day Run, my 40mi fun run with my friends in
the North. Heck, I even ran a proper race wearing a tutu recently..!
One of those friends, Mike, will be crewing for me in
Scotland next June. Just typing that gives me the shivers. A short sentence
reveals I’m running a race that requires a crew and that someone volunteered to
give up time and money to accompany me on my journey. Not only that, but he’s
roped his fiancée Sarah in, too! Mike and I have run together three times
already: we ran High Peak 40 2013 together, about 18mi of Greater Manchester
and then most of this year’s Fling. When we start running together in
Auchtertyre, I’ll have already been on the move for over fifty miles, which
will most likely translate as over half a day. The saner amongst you will find
the concept of someone joining me “for the last forty miles” a bit odd. I’m
just looking forward to it: not with the arrogance of overconfidence, but with
the necessary self-belief to make the start, let alone the finish.
And I will know other faces in the
Milngavie darkness, as we leave behind the steel of the sign that marks the
West Highland Way’s beginning and embark on what for some of us will be the
journey of a lifetime. I’ll know Sandra’s, whom I indeed last saw in that very
spot – only she was in support mode that day, not running. And I’ll know The
Gaffer’s, of course. Alongside Martin, Andrew was a member of the quartet that
ran last year’s Fling: and, unbeknown to us, he also threw his name into the
WHW 2015 hat. And, like mine… it came out! I suspect we’ll bump into each other
now and then over the subsequent ninety-five miles…
There you have it, my one goal for 2015.
For the time being, anyway. Cometh July, I’ll consider setting some for the
latter half of the year. It’s set to feature three marathons, all in October (Chester on the 4th, York on the 11th and Bristol-Bath on the 25th) and an
Ultra : but that’s a long way off… certainly too far off for me to be
contemplating any times.
Indeed, no races now till March 7 and The Green Man, a 44-mile ultra
around Bristol on March 7. Earlier this week / last year (on New Year’s Eve), I
joined fellow Portishead RC members Stuart, Cath and another thirty or so hardy
souls on an informal but
organised recce
to see out this fantastic year. It was a good chance to get to know my 12-litre Salomon Skin Lab Hydro – and to get to
know Stu and Cath better, too! I felt relatively OK at the end of it, as I have since: and that’s as encouraging a positive as I could have hoped for as I look to build up stamina and recovery. We finished on the Wednesday evening, I ran 13.1 miles on the Friday morning and came in at 20’04” on the Saturday parkrun. All encouraging stuff. But still a long, loong, looong way to go!
Expensive piece of kit that running vest, at over a hundred quid. And it doesn’t look like the sort of kit that should set you back the equivalent of three pairs of shoes, to be honest. But it’s the sort of kit folk that run 95-mi offroad ultras use. Apparently. So I went and got mi’sen one.
Expensive piece of kit that running vest, at over a hundred quid. And it doesn’t look like the sort of kit that should set you back the equivalent of three pairs of shoes, to be honest. But it’s the sort of kit folk that run 95-mi offroad ultras use. Apparently. So I went and got mi’sen one.
Now, forget all about those miles for a
minute, be they mine or yours. That’s not why I run. Maybe once it was: but
it’s not now. I still run for that feeling of accomplishment, for those elusive
PBs (but I set new ones across 5k, 10k, HM and Mara in 2014), sure. But I also
run for the camaraderie, for the support given and received, for the chats
during runs, there and back, online and offline, about running and about other
stuff… should I ever lose sight of that, none of the rest will matter. It’s not
just about the running. It never is.
So: have a great endorphin-engendering,
goal-chasing, PB-smashing 2015! Even if those goals and those PBs aren’t
measured in time or distance. Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive. Hold on to
that notion, that notion deep inside, that I ain’t no sin to be glad that
you’re alive. Because baby, we were born to run.
