Salford 10k and last few weeks

The last few weeks have been a mixed bag of racing, training and holidaying.

Just before i went on holiday I had put in a good week of training and had the Salford 10k as my final road race before my transition to the track. On the Monday before i put together a session of 4*1k starting with a 2:48 and gradually upping the pace each rep which cumulated in times of 2:45, 2:42 and 2:37. This was one of the best sessions I had put together in a while and hopefully pointed to a quick time on the Friday.

The result however was not what was envisaged, the field at the front end was of a high standard with the likes of Anthony Ford, Andi Jones, Matt Pierson and Joe Bailey amongst others. I was cautious at the start as it was a warm morning and I knew that the first k would be very quick. We went through the first k in about 2:50 and i found myself a little bit in no mans land but two runners came back to me just after 2k. The leading 4 were not getting away, however after 4k I started to feel heavy, i went through 5k in about 15:40 way off pace and i was just hanging on for the last 5k. Finished in 32:09 was way off what I wanted/expected, put it down to my breakfast being too late and too heavy (Porridge about 2 1/2 hours before) and the warm conditions.

The following day I flew off to Croatia with the better half. I was able to get in some decent running where I was, however it must be said Croatia is a very hilly country and I was lucky to find some coastal paths to get my runs in. Managed about 50 miles during the week so enough to keep going. We also threw in a 40k bike ride over a mountain and a day of sea kayaking.

Since then I have been preparing for the Trafford Open on the 17th of May. I had Matt Barnes wedding the weekend after Croatia in the Lake District. On the morning of the wedding the groom, best man, usher, friend and myself did 5*5min session on Grange-Over-Sands promenade. Again i was clipping along at a good pace, it was estimated (Garmin died just before) I was hitting between 4:40 and 4:45 per mile.

A busy few weeks will be coming up hopefully the training i have been putting together will pay off.

Bailey

National 12 Stage Relay

So the National 12 stage relays have come and gone, first of all a well done to Tipton for their late late show in their victory and to all the other teams that competed. The Sale team were hit by a succession of withdrawals in the weeks leading up to the race and our overall position (32nd) is the lowest that I have been involved in.

My race it self was hard to judge, last year i ran 27:15 but at the same time I was set off in 3rd, quickly moved up to 1st and then was dragged through by quicker runners catching up. This year it was a different story, I was set off in 27th place after Jamie Roden had gone the wrong way on his short leg (he thought he was doing the 6 stage the numpty) and didn't have much to aim at for the first part of the race. I caught my first runner just after the first hill but was then on my own again until the turn around on the long drag. I'll admit I suffered until then as I always forget how long that part is. I took a few more places once I hit the down hill and round the pool and sprinted up the finishing straight. My time was 28:01, as you can imagine, not overly impressed but the time difference between each race (from last year) is steadily coming down.

The next few weeks are fairly hectic in terms of racing and training. I will be racing the Salford 10k on Good Friday before heading off to Croatia for a weeks holiday, I still will be running just not the sessions. On my return I have Matt Barnes' Wedding and before the end of May I'll fit in a 3k and 1500 (probably at the Trafford open meeting and BMC respectively). My first steeplechase will not be until the 4th of June in the BAL in Cardiff i will probably follow that up in the BMC at Watford.

In terms of my barefoot revolution there have been a few additions to my schedue. After every session I complete on the track I am doing at least 800m barefoot as part of my warm down and of course still enjoying my Kinvara, so much so I have bought another pair, this 'livestrong' esque pair look pretty cool and still have all the benefits. I'm actually finding that when I run in my hurricanes my achilles, in my problematic right leg, aches almost as soon as I start running. Could this be the end of my supportive shoes?

It may be a couple of weeks until my next blog but I will endeavor to fit it in where possible.

Bailey

The Dent 14.1 mile

I completely forgot to say about Matt Barnes' stag do and the Dent 14 road race, i shall keep it brief.

So we arrived in Dent on the Friday afternoon, post usual stag activities of buggying and quad biking. We then proceeded to the local, and only, public house for dinner and copious amounts of beer, cider, shots and cocktails. Lets just say some were worse than others.

The next day everyone woke up a little worse for wear and we were lucky the race didn't start until 1 as otherwise it would have been carnage. Then the outfits came out. Previously an email chain had occurred about the activities of the weekend and it was suggested we do the race in fancy dress, below was the outcome.

From left to right: Dave 'Spiderman' Norman, Darren 'Robin' Talbot, James 'Duffman' Bailey, Nick 'Wonderwoman' Leigh, Ian 'Ironman' Fisher, Andy 'Superman' Norman, Matt 'He-Man' Barnes, John 'Spiderman' Rogers.
I'm sure it was quite the spectacle as we jogged into town with the 400 other racers watching on. We all started at the front, i'm sure that most of the racers thought we would go out and then gradually fall back. Not so, 5 of us finished in the top 7 and Dave won! Dave has put together a thorough race report with additional photos in the link here.

I enjoyed it in a weird way, went through half marathon in about 75 high so not hanging about either on an extremely undulating course. And of course to celebrate our achievement, a curry followed by a late night clubbing session in Kendal!

I'd have to say it was probably the most extreme sporting stag do i have been on and probably won't be topped for randomness.

National road relays this weekend, hopefully a better result than the Northerns. I'll report back next week.

Still loving the Kinvara's but currently alternating each day.

Bailey

Catchup and Minimalist/Barefoot running

My last post was just after the National Cross country/mud bath with the Intercounties just on the horizon. In the weeks up to the race i put in a longer week (70+ miles) and then eased down again to about 50 miles for the intercounties. Last year i had a really good run (by my standards) finishing 56th , however this was coming off the back of what was my best ever winter and performances. This year i knew i wasn't going to be in the same sort of shape but was still hoping to be about 20 places lower than last year. I finished 105th and a minute twenty seconds down on last year. Clearly a bit of work to be done however I have to say I'm probably about a month to 6 weeks off the sort of fitness levels I was this time last year.

Since then I have had a couple of weeks training and the Northern 12 stage in Catterick, the training has been going well, felt a little tired at times with the amount of miles and sessions completed, but I have been sure to take the easy weeks easy to give me time to recover.

The relay were ok, i was disappointed with the time (23:04 for ~4.6 miles) and the fact i had the sprint of shame at the end. I am staying positive and looking forward to the National 12 stage where i will hope to improve on my time from last year.

The next little thing i want to talk about is the minimalist/barefoot movement that seems to be rumbling on in the back ground. I was bought the book 'Born to Run' (pictured) by my girlfriend for Christmas. She was recommended it after telling people i was a runner, it is considered the bible of barefoot running. Now i'm not going to tell you the whole story, you'll have to read that yourself, however there is an interesting underlying theme about minimalist and barefoot running and the evidence backing it up is quite compelling. The thought is that our new trainers with their motion control and cushioning is doing more harm than good. After all we've survived for thousands of years without them and it wasn't until the 1970's that these sort of trainers were developed. Rather than land on our forefoot, as nature designed, allowing our feet, achilles, calves and legs take the force the new trainers cause us to land on our heels putting more pressure on our knees, hips and backs while also causing damage to our achilles and calves. If you don't know any runner who has had achilles, plantar faciitis or calve problems they must all be made of steel/barefoot runners! It has been proved there has been an increase in injuries of this sort rather than a reduction. After reading this I thought to myself it all made sense and why not give it a try, I knew I ran the risk of aggravating my achilles injury but my thought it was caused by the way i was running so changing it it may help. I also realised it would and still will be a slow process gradually removing my orthotics and changing my shoes. I have made conscious efforts when going out running to land on my forefoot which inturn shortens your stride but puts less pressure on the various points on the body.
With regards to the shoes there has been the movement towards the 'less is more' ethic from shoe companies, for example the Nike Free's, Saucony also released their first foray into the minimalist area in 2010 with the introdction of the Kinvara, a lightwight, low heel to toe drop shoes (4mm compared to 13-18mm in most trainers). I have recently received my pair and from the few runs i have been on I am delighted with them. They feel a lot lighter on my feet and have noticed a fair increase in my steady run pace. I will definitely be getting another pair once my Hurricanes give up. I will keep you informed in the future about how they hold up and thoughts on them.

Next up will be the National 12 stage in two weeks time, I expect i will be puting in a couple weeks of hard training, racing and then preparing for my favourite time of year, TRACK!
Bailey

Where do i start..

It has been far too long since my last post, my running has been blighted mainly by illness but things are back to normal and i have been able to get back to some form of fitness.

The end of 2010,running wise, was something to forget, my last post was way back in August i had just returned from the European Championships (watching not racing) and was looking to get my running back on track. I had began building up from what felt like nothing at the end on August and gradually was upping the milage each week. Then in September i came down with a virus, raced in the Northern 6 stage and was then out for around month with the virus, cold and just to finish it off a week and a bits worth of stomach upset. Well done me not listening again.

When i finally got back to some sort of health it was a case of starting all over again. The first few weeks was just running, getting something in the legs and gradually upping the milage to a 'reasonable' level. The sessions started in November, back at the car park at sports city. The first few sessions were slightly demoralising, i was way off the pace and i felt i was going full out, it was expected but still a shock. I systematically increased my milage and sessions through December as well as adding in my weights session once a week.

My first race wasn't until the new year, a Greater Manchester league in Woodbank park, Stockport. It ended up being a reasonable result however the week later in the Cheshires' was a different story, a muddy 5 lap course already cut up by the age groups and women showed up my lack of strength and i struggled finishing 8th. John and I decided from then on i would only race every 2 weeks until the strength came back. The following weeks included 70+ mile weeks and some good sessions, things were looking up.

The Northerns in Sunderland were next up and after my 38th place finish last year i was hoping to get close again this year. Disaster struck when i started suffering stomach cramps halfway round the second lap, i considered a Paula but decided against it and suffered through to 50th place.

Two more hard weeks (70+ and 80 mile weeks) followed by an easier week led to the National or as it as better known the Muddy Hell. I arrived with Tom and Graham Lancashire to be greeted by the bog that was the spectators area, the course was ok... until people started running on it and it cut up like a cows field. There are horses for courses and i am not a muddy horse. 120th, way off what i expected but i'll let this one slide.

Next will be the Inter-counties in Birmingham this weekend, hopefully dry and firm!

Hopefully a few more posts in the coming months rather than a bi-annual update!

Bailey

Back to the drawing board

First of all i would like to say a big congratulations to all those athletes that competed at the European Championships. I was there for the first few days, although i wish i'd been able to stay longer, and the performances of the athletes that i saw was 1st class. I was able to watch the 10,000m final and Mo's finish along with Chris Thompson's gutsy finish was inspirational. The performance on the whole bodes well for future championships and here's to the big 2012.

As for me, well, last time i was cutting back and trying to deal with the fatigue that was hindering my races. I raced the England championships at Gateshead and in all honestly i shouldn't have. I felt flat as soon as i started the warm up, the race wasn't much better as i started struggling after 1k. After the race i spoke to fellow Sale Harriers and friend Stuart Stokes and he gave me some advice and kindly offered to sit down and go through things. I decided to call a close to my season i was just digging myself into a deeper hole.

Since then i've not run for 2 weeks, done a lot of sleeping and had many conversations. I'm just getting back into things, doing one steady run a day and will build up towards the end of August.

Sorry it's short and sweet but not much to talk about in the last few months.

Not Again...

It's been a while since my last post and there has been a reason for it... i may have been over doing it again.

I raced in the AAA's for the first time since 2007, and it was a great experience again. The crowds and cameras were different from the usual races, as was my performance. Again i was with the leading group, well chasing group after Luke Gunn shot off after 800. I was hoping to sit in and cover the breaks as they occured. I did that but with 1k to go the wheels fell off again and i struggled home in 9:09. Shocking considering how easy i felt the last time i ran 9:09.

Since then i have been completely drained, i have not been able to barely any running. The following week i was drained i took most of the week off as i was so out of it. I raced in the British league that Saturday and finished 4th in 9:20. The next day as i was walking round i felt physically sick.

I went to see John Rogers, my friend a GB doctor, and he has gone through all the symptoms and ran some blood tests. These tests have come back normal and this in turn has pointed to the overtraining syndrome.

Since then i have been limiting my self to one run a day no more than 25-30 mins. I am starting to feel better and am planning to start doing sessions this week. I am planning on racing at the England champs in Gateshead, depending on how i react will depend on what happens for the rest of the season.

I am not going to record my training for the past few weeks as i think it's in the region of 50 miles for 2 weeks.