The power of the mind........& a bit fun.

Things have been going well since Gosport, amazing what happiness & a good run can do for one`s confidence. This had got me thinking about my year`s running - generally not the best since I started this game. I hadn`t pushed myself, distance or pace wise since the comeback - definitely a case of holding back for fear of a repeat injury - unsure if this is normal or not but I guess it is. One season`s best I wanted to beat was my parkrun time - my season`s best was 23:56 - I simply had to do better but was running out of events.

So with that in mind I decided that the 8th Dec was the time to give it a bit of a bash. I eased off the miles in the week before, no 3 mile warm up, head was in `racing mode`. Kit was chosen - Club vest, shorts. Ok I hadn`t planned the weather being so cold (coldest this year) so the `marigolds` came out. Half mile warm up, I made my way to the dizzy heights of the front of the start line !!! Now I know parkrun folks don`t want to call it a race but raced off when the hooter went off. The plan was to sit behind Alison until I got spat out of the back as that should still give me a SB`s time. Within 0.5M I had gone past Alison - opps but running quite well. I was overtaking more folks than being past - all good. I didn`t look at the Garmin when the mile bleep went off. I did find myself slowing, but each time I leant forward a bit more, shorten my stride - thought of the wheel & pushed on. Back on the canal path for the second time & I went past a long time target. Now it was a case of just waving to acknowledgement to the marshals rather than saying "thanks a lot ". In the last mile & I could hear ladies behind me (cough thing) - I thought it was Alison sitting on me then storming past in the latter stages - well that`s what I would do. She pulled along side - it wasn`t Alison.

A marshal said words of encouragement - then said "Well done Jo, 1st Lady".....well that`s sorted then - I can beat 1st Lady (it doesn`t happen that often) - taking my chance I picked up the pace for the final bit & raced, screamed towards the finish line. I stopped my watch & collected my token - position No. 34, then checked the Garmin - I was actually shocked - initially I thought my Garmin had stopped during the run as I could not really believe the time.....it said `22:18` That`s ridiculous - that`s only 25 seconds slower than my PB & 20 seconds from my course PB set back in April 2010. Bizarrely my legs were not that tired - nothing left in the lungs but legs fine. Amazing what you can do if you set yourself up do to something & let go any fear or doubts. I did enjoy my scrambled eggs on toast down the post-parkrun cafe.

Splits - 6:56, 7:31, 7:24, 0:26 (0.07 @ 6:05) - Ave 7:16/m


The next day was the Hogs Back Road Race (racing two days on the trot - just like old times ;-) ) A local race, l did like this one but they had changed the course - no legging it up the Hogs Back road from Guildford avoiding the traffic :-( but for Health & Safety reasons totally understandable. Myself & Dave got there early - one cup of tea later & a short warm up it was start time (9.00am). Like normal I hadn`t really looked at the course so it would be a bit of surprise. Race plan as my legs were suffering from previous day speedy parkrun so it was a case of `Have a bit of fun" that was introduced. We started near the back but soon found the pace was too slow so were found the gaps & pushed ahead. Amazing what people wear - far too many folks wearing too many clothes & getting too hot too quickly. The hills towards the end of the 1st mile thinned out the runners but as I like going uphill it wasn`t a real problem. After about 2 miles we headed downwards - now letting go down hill is something I`ve been working on - I let myself go & flew down the hill. I eased up & waited to Dave to come back alongside.Then the course became very interesting - a good mile of twists & turns & up hill climbs. Myself & Dave almost stride for stride. Then came the flat at around 3.5 mile stage...and Dave took off....but didn`t disappear off in the distance as is the norm with him. After what seemed a long time we arrived at the top of the Hogs Back - it was all downhill from here. OK going downhill towards Compton on icy roads wearing my racing slicks (Brooks T6`s) isn`t great & was a bit dicey. We went past where I helped man a support stop at the Pilgrims Challenge earlier in the year.

Despite the tired legs, the distance between Dave & myself wasn`t increasing. At around mile 5 & I guess the 1st time in any race I was very cold in the `shorts department` - painfully cold. I was actually thinking "could I run at this pace with my gloves shoved down the front of my shorts??" I had worked out I only had at best just over 15 mins of running time left - I could manage that. The last mile did go quite quickly, I closed the gap with Dave - nearly in striking distance - maybe 400 to go but then he looked round. I couldn`t believe it - he hadn`t looked around for 4 miles - and sprinted off. I tired to catch him - we overtook several runners in this closing stage but I couldn`t get that distance back. Crossed the line & I wouldn`t like to use the phase "Warmed myself up" but I did feel better. Again really pleased with the finishing time - just by having a bit of fun & letting go.

(Instead of a mug or medal - the freebie was free photos - see above example of the sprint finish)

Splits (& guess the hills) - 7:53, 7:57, 8:53, 8:13, 7:07, 7:29, 7:38, 0.23 (0.06@ 6:15) - Ave 7:52/m



Next up - a bit of R&R & then the Haslmere Boxing Day Run on er Boxing Day - a serious race complete with a beer stop :-)

Have fun & enjoy.

Four years & 31 half marathons later....well I did say I`ll be back !!

Gosport Half

Despite only really back in training for 2 weeks (just under 30 miles per week) plus race week after CC50 I was looking forward to returning to Gosport & running this half marathon. My previous outing here was in 2008 & was in fact my 2nd Half Marathon & on that day I ran what was a PB of 1:48:22. A couple of reasons to look forward to this one was the big club turnout - 9 of us went down...and the pub lunch afterwards.....oh and of course the running bit.

From memory it was a very similar day - weather wise - very nippy & blue skies but still going with the Club Shirt & shorts (as it happened I went for the vest). I picked up Dennis - who wasn`t running but fancied a day out - and made our way down. Got there & almost straight away bumped into Dave, Dan, Tony, Anthony & Pete from the club. Drank coffee & fluffed around a bit, collected the timing chip, dropped my bag off & went for a warm run (0.87 M @ 8.16/m pace) where I nearly ran into Alison & David (again from the club). During this warm up I thought about the race plan - I knew I was on for a seasonal best - Fleet 2:07:XX - but a week before it was a sub 1:50:XX, during the week I had added 5 mins so a sub 1:55:XX, however down there & warming up I settled back for a sub 1:50 - with a super top goal of a course best...

We made our way to the start - the new start position - & found ourselves pretty much at the back. Hooter goes off & Dave manages about 20 metres till he gets `bored` and runs off - I`ve tried before to go with him & learnt the hard way so I hang back with Dan & Tony. 1st mile pops up & we are about right. 2nd mile was a bit fast - "easy tiger." We enter the dreaded Aerodrome - now the only good thing when in here is that we you see the faster folks running towards you - always impressive. Loads of Tesco`s runners doing well. Soon enough if was my turn to head out.

As the miles ticked over - the trouble with this course & for me it`s `too flat` - once settled into a stride my mile splits were very much the same. Back into the Aerodrome for a mile or two. Again saw the faster runners - saw Dave looking strong, I wondered where Alison was???? I went past Tony & Anthony a couple of miles back & saw Pete, Garry & David on the switchback parts & could see Dan in front but couldn`t catch him. As we headed out of the Aerodrome I felt my legs getting really bit tired - come on only a parkrun to go....

I expected the course to be along the promenade for a couple of miles then up a bit of incline & then home so it was a bit of shock to see Alison waving at me & coming towards me - I bet the confused look I gave was quite impressive. This kept me wondering for a mile or so. The course had changed - we had to run a small loop & then dropped down to a small path by the beach - during this mile I did feel myself slow & the group I was trying to tag unto moved further ahead. I tried to pull the pace back during the last mile but didn`t quite have in the legs - I did know a sub 1:50:XX was pretty much in the bag.

I saw Brian (Cove Joggers Ex Secretary) on the last corner, then Chris from Farnham Runners - both cheering me on...... 500 to go - I saw my target ahead. I don`t know if he had realised but he put his foot down too - and I now can confirmed that I am NOT a 400 metre runner but I gave it my all up the final part of the course. I went through the finish & nearly collapsed in a heap - it took me a while to catch by breath & stop my head spinning. I thanked the finishing area marshals & made my way through the finishing area. (btw I didn`t catch him).

Splits - 8:23, 8:09, 8:13, 8:01, 8:10, 8:12, 8:10, 8:07, 8:21, 8:21, 8:20, 8:38, 8:28, 1:01 (0.14@ 7:27)





Finishing time - 1:48:41 - 19 seconds away from my 2008 time - very happy with that esp as this is one of the few times I`ve actually felt like I`ve been racing this year and 3 minutes from my best 2011 time.

During the home straight I saw & heard Dennis so I made my way back down the him, chatted for a while before getting cold, so I headed back to the school to collect my bag & get showered. After we got changed we all met up & headed off to the pub for a Sunday lunch - which I have to say was very enjoyable. If you are looking for just one reason to join a Running Club that`s its there.

Weight wise - definitely getting rid of the `ball` - more running plus doing a lot more yoga - I guess up to 4 hours a week.

Next up - Sunday week it`s the `Hog`s Back Run` - and not wanting to pre-judge this one but they have changed the course from a really interesting 8 miler to 11.5 Km so we shall wait & see what`s that like.....

The results are in....

Yes the results are in from the Caesars Camp 50M run & worth waiting for.

I was one of the 45 starters than ran the 50 mile course in conditions & I quote from Henk "the worst they have ever been" & from the 29 who made it to the end I finished in 19th place.

Results - Link thing

I could be a bit negative to say that if I`d finished 7 minutes better I would have gained 3 places but I will not – it was tough, I learnt a lot – quite a lot about me & can honestly say I enjoyed it.

I guess the big question is - which will be sooner.....................my next 50 miler or next year`s CC50 race?? :-)

Next up this Sunday – Gosport Half. Unsure of the actual race plan but thinks a seasonal bests is on the cards.

Oh yeah I`ve been making plans for next year...... ;-)

Life is good - thankyou  K

What`s the point if you cannot push yourself............

These key races sure come round quick don`t they? Before I knew it it`s October – which meant the Caesars Camp 50 

Why was I here? Well shortly before making the decision to pull out of my solo run at the TR24 – my 2012 target race I needed a new challenge . I choose this one because it fits – it was laps (helpful when there is no support team), very very local (less than 3 miles) , I knew the course (previous races 2 x 30M + numerous training runs) & that as I`m not very good with hills it will help me to improve plus it`s 50 miles which is a long way Blimey - putting it this way

Training wise was poor but what sealed my place on the start line & not dropping down to the Midnight 30 was when I finishing the Farnham Marathon. My logic was that I could do 26.2M (not saying it was plain sailing) then I could do 30 miles at night & wanted to be outside my safety zone......

The race starts at Noon, this gave me plenty of time especially as my sleep pattern in race week was, even for me, was very poor. Most mornings I was wide awake just after 4.15am. My head thoughts was racing, ideally not want you want in race week but sometimes you cannot do anything about timing - I could not tell if was proper taper madness or a personal matter that knocked me sideways & always has – and now as I`m writing this after the race I`m hoping it was the former but probably a mixture of both but let`s hope it`s not a case of déjà va (have I said that before??).

Anyway just after 4am on race morning I was awake so I put on a film - Forrest Gump – it just seemed the right thing to do plus it made me relaxed. Shortly before 9.00am I nipped out for a bit of fresh air & wandered over to Frimley Lodge parkrun. Very interesting to see from the other side of the fence. I got backed & got ready. I had already sorted my kit into smaller bags with food & drinks in a cool bag & transferred these to my race HQ (my car)..

I got there & signed in – no jokes about doing the smaller `fun` run & returned to the car (which I managed to park in a spot that was the furthest away for Race HQ – a poor decision I later found out). Even though I expected to see a few familiar faces I still felt out of play – this was a proper endurance race. It briefly reminded me of that fox hiding caption..

This thought was soon removed by the race briefing, delivered by Henk. He sure does not sugar coat things – his warnings were stern – and his views on littering the course is so spot on (don`t do it). BTW He doesn`t seem to like compression socks, backbacks & garmins all worn together....congrats that man !!!

Looking back I am unsure how the race was actually started – in previous years it`s something like...”3 – 2 – 1 now f**k off you d*ckheads” – quite odd I just started to jog, there was no thoughts of “Ok, 50 miles here I come” I had gone for what most were wearing – trail shoes, short sleeved top (I wore my Club vest) & compression shorts & around my race number belt I had two gels & tied off I had my buff & arm warmers. The start was nice & slow with many early walking breaks especially up the 1st steep incline (this photo does not do it justice) & then up along the ridge & then the dip down before climbing onto the `Look out`...here were the best views on the course. Also the first area where care need to be taken – down a steep, wet, muddy, stony tracks that I think catch a runners out later.

Seeing as I had recently down a training run over there the course conditions for the 1st half was not a real surprise. Soon enough I was at the checkpoint (5.5M in), I think I only stopped for a couple of drinks & some jelly sweets or something. Miles 7 – 9 was the part of the course I had not stuck to when I came over here on my reccie runs...... blimey there was a tight drop which already was very sloppy with (liquid) mud & was sure going cause problems later. Then after a flat section and a rise it was down towards a real muddy section – shoe sucking section – I know this as it took my right shoe off without any problem – one footstep later & I had one wet, muddy sock – great. Then it was back towards the look out and some solid tracks & path. We turned off (I remembered this as this was the cause of my bonus miles in my very 1st trip over here), this track was even more trickery than the one earlier & it wasn`t going to improve. Soon it was less than a mile to go – which was good as I felt a couple of hotspots on my left foot – inside edge of the sole & tip of a couple of toes – the toes I was surprised with as my Mizuno Wave Harriers II`s have a large toe box & the step drops causes a bit of toe bashing. I dropped off the final hill & checked into race HQ before going to the car – see garmin connect to see how far I had to walk – what a dope. I sorted out the feet & after a clean pair of socks & a new top I felt a lot better. I also had about 175ml of flat coke & a muller rice. Out on lap two...

I soon caught up these the 3 (1 x 50M & 2 x 100M) runners who were very experienced & having a laugh, which helped me relax even more. I cannot remember if I went off or if they did but suddenly I was alone – which was nice. Well not quite alone – I met the Caesars Camp Cows along a small track....lucky they played nicely & let me though. Soon enough I found the checkpoint & it answered one thing – they had gone off ahead of me . I left them there. I looked at the garmin – 16 miles down. All felt good – no hotspots anymore, legs ok, running wise good & head was ok. I think I was lucky choosing a route through the mud field so no repeat of the previous lap & losing my shoe. The rest of the lap seemed to go quickly.

Again transition was about 10 minutes, no food – new top & change of race belt with my lights (Led Lenser H7 head torch & rear hazards lights). Now sometime during this lap my head became a trip on its very own – weird thoughts time – The sun will come out tomorrow song came out of nowhere & even more bizarre was where I got the `Cub scout law` from – wow. I need to focus & keep my brain going. They had coffee on the go at the checkpoint so I had a black one. I took it on the go  I managed the mud slide track quite well again. I thought I taken my safe route through the mud field but I hadn`t – big squelch & my shoe was gone – the right one & same results again. I sorted that out & carried on – well within 3 footsteps I lost it again – I mean LOST it ...a proper toys out of pram moment....I am glad no-one was near me. They could have heard me but not in sight. I looked down – 27 miles just gone – my 1st ultra for the year done. That was like a new page – I felt much better. I realised that if I was doing the 30 mile run I would be finishing soon – I didn`t want to finish. Ok I was tired, things were tighten up but I hadn`t finished yet which pleased me.

I may have taken longer at this transition, I wanted a helly top & my gilet – as it happened within a couple of miles it started to rain. I was joined by this South African runner – amazing to just listen & swop stories as the miles ticked off. I think at the checkpoint he carried on. 35 miles in – this was a good point – my second furthest run. By now my walking sections had increased. By now the tricky points on the course were very bad – I felt for the 100M runners & 30M guys. I saw one runner miss a turn so went after them - all I will say is iPod !!! I hadn`t checked but the numbers of runners I saw was getting less I could only imagine quite a few had quit. I made a deal with myself quite early on that I wasn`t going to quit – I might be one of the last 50M runners to finish but I wasn`t going to quit.

Just before Race HQ at the last incline a runner went past – a 50M runner – who was just about to finish 10hrs 25 mins or something. Instead of getting down about that I thought “hey that will be me soon....well soon in a few hours sense of the word”. I got a coffee & changed helly tops & put on my Haglofs smock as the rain had not stopped & made my way out to my last lap.

My time & cuts off`s permitting I had always planned to walk most of this lap – only really running the downhill sections. I thought I walked fast but it took ages ....but each step I was getting closer. At the checkpoint I thanked them for their work & support – they causally accepted it but it does mean a lot. I also bumped into Andrew & we had a good long chat – but soon enough I was back out on the course to finish it off. I walked with a 100M runner for a while then suddenly I was at the bottom of the `Look Out` – so that`s a climb, flat, long downhill, tricky section, firm flat bit & the tree section & finishing straight to go till I finished. As I neared the road & the last downhill to Race HQ a car was driving up & I`m glad my torch had enough light for them to see me as I didn`t want to stop...they saw me & I ran through to the finish.

Ok my last lap was not pretty & I would guess a 8M walk but I got the job done. I had gone out of my safety zone, beaten the head demons & those self doubts that had crept in.

I now have an `easy` 50M PB to break next time....I know I can do a better time.


Some stats;

10M - 2hrs 00mins
20M - 4hrs 24mins
30M - 7hrs 15mins
40M - 10hrs 27mins

19th out of 51 fifty mile starters - unsure how many DNF

Damage – a couple of blisters, toenail count = 9, legs & hips a bit tight. My smile is covering up a lot of doms I think.

Big thanks to Henk & his brilliant team – thankyou.

Next up.....a bit of rest & then in a couple of weeks I`ll go back over there & enjoy a lap.

Last thought.......Now if I can nearly spend 14 hrs on my feet on a hilly course what can I do on a flatter course - either mileage or time-wise terms.......tbc ;-)

Nice knowing you............

Since the Farnham Marathon and my little rest afterwards my running has gone well - hit a purple patch if you like. The weekend before last was the seasons best at Julian Farrell 10Km, last Saturday I ran my fastest parkrun this year at Woodley - 23:55 - but I always seem to run well at inugral parkruns....must be the thought of cake afterwards that does it. This bit of `speed work` did lead to a bit of problem about what to do on Sunday at the 10 miler at Tadley - do I take it easy or have a bit of a go.....????

On Sunday four of us (Dave, Peter, Dennis & myself) went over to Tadley - I couldn`t believe none of them had ran this 10 miler before. The weather was a bit chilly - ice scrapper was used & racing gloves packed. Not too much time to spare upon arrival. Only a few seconds warm up. We headed to the back of the starting area & waited for the gun....

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

A bit strange, anyway we were off. Out of the school, turned right, past some galloping horses, do to a small loop then back past the school & straight into the morning sun (& a bit of car traffic), Dave ran with me for this 1st bit - now the thing running with Dave he does like his progressive runs but his end speed is much faster than I could go....yes I have learnt the hard way before. So it`s eyes on Garmin when running with Dave. We caught Pete up in the 2nd mile - which is generally a fast one, we all ran together for a couple of miles. I think there was a drinks station at around 5 mile where Dave picked it up a bit & Pete dropped back.

As we made our way around the course I couldn`t believe that I actually ran a 1:13:54 (7.24/m pace) - as the course had mores twists & turns & up & downs than I recalled but at least the miles were ticking past. I didn`t bother with any water or gels I just tried to keep the pace steady - anything less than 8.51 would get me a Seasons Best..

Generally I kept passing folks which is always a good sign - someone did shoot past around the 7M point - must of started late !!! As we headed round the corner towards the 9M I realised we still had one long incline to go....I decided I would work that & caught a few more up. I had decided that a Chineham runner would be my target - I never did catch him but that`s sometimes the point.

I crossed the line & saw Dave sitting there - he had ran a 1:22:xx. I looked at my garmin & pleased that it was indeed a Seasons Best by a good few minutes at 1:25:10 - 8:34/m (it was 1:28:49 - 8:51/m - at Hook 10 in May), shortly afterwards Pete came in under the 90 minutes with Dennis teasing the tail runner. All in all a good day on a great course. I think the other will come back next year.    
Splits - 8:56, 8:07, 8:37, 8:23, 8:32, 8:30, 8:49, 8:38, 8:41, 7:52 (0.95M @ 8:17)

Next up is.......spectating at Frimley Lodge parkrun if I get up.

Oh and the `small` matter of Ceasars Camp this Saturday starting at 12 Noon. I really want to finish this one but I am if honest concerned about the 15 hours cut off (03:00am Sunday morning) - this will be tight.

Weather Wise - it hasn`t been good - Very Wet - but hopefully it will be only on the ground rather than still coming down.

Body Wise - feet & legs are good. I`ve eaten & drunk well this week. The head, however has been in a total spin this week - that`s life I guess - if not it`s Taper maddness kicking in big style. Hopefully after 50 miles it will be the other way around - my Head will be good but legs destroyed.

Training Wise - Very much undercooked this one but I did hear that`s it`s better to go into a race undercooked rather than overcooked.

Kit Wise - Taking everything I have.

I do plan to tweet every lap - follow me on @Mister_KG

See you on the other side as they say....

Never give in, never give up - focus

"Come on you Purples"

What a weekend of running for both me & the club.

Friday afternoon after yoga I decided I had better check out Caesars Camp. Despite there being no easy place to start I found the first bit OK (I started just after the mile 9 point on the official course), the course was looking good but very wet - in some places even being on the `top part of the course` paths were submerged in water. Coming down the `Look Out` was very interesting that with the wet conditions & small stones !! I guess I was 2 miles in before the rain came down again, lucky I brought my smock with me & need to practise wearing it. I went around and saw an old friend - the cows, well one large one in particular really - looking for the rest of the herd - not a happy cow.

Anyway I ran most of the course - only took a couple of wrong turns. The rain hadn`t stopped which caused a classic comedy moment on the second trip up to the `Look Out` - all I will say that it involved a hood down, hood up & me getting even wetter esp the back of my head !! Anyway it was a nice run - 8M in just over 1 hour 40 mins. Quite pleased as the next morning I thought I would take it easy at the parkrun but still ended up with quite a nice time & a cheeky progressive run.

On Sunday morning there was a couple of local races - Basingstoke Half Marathon & the more local `Julian Farrell 10Km`. A couple of the club members went to Basingstoke to see if they could flatten out the hills - they couldn`t !!, ten of us went over to the `Julian Farrell`.  I popped into the club beforehand and saw another 15 or 16 runners going out on their runs - so taking it up to 28 Cove Joggers pounding the local streets which I think it`s great. 

Anyway back to the Julian Farrell, my 10 Km results (inc TR24) over the year had been disappointing (Frimley Park = 52:26, BUPA 10,000 = 1:.01:52 (pacing duties), Yateley 1 & 2 = 51:22 & 52:30, Tadley = 50:54) so, and I keep saying this, I just wanted a good performance esp as it was a prefect day for running - misty & cool plus I was wearing my Brooks T6`s racers.   One funny moment arose beforehand was when Steve Connor (AFD) came over  to chat - he asked what time I was looking at. I replied along the lines of, well last year I ran 50:53 but I had ran a 9 mile warm up.............but before I could get any excuses in for this year - being heavy legged, not running that well, no real speed work, no endurance work, lack of tempo miles, next door neighbour budgie keeping me awake etc, etc, etc, Steve said I should aim for a low 48:xx then - well I`m not sure about then I thought to myself.

I was practising new fuelling strategy - breakfast was 2 x black coffee, a couple of slices of cold pizza & in my warm up (0.5 mile @ 9.05/m pace) a gel. Soon enough we were told 6 minutes to go & made our way to the nearby start area. As we assembled I looked round - a small field of runners (117 runners) some of which shall we say very, very coy with their starting positions in the line up - both good & bad positioning.

`Bang` went the gun - note to self pay more attention as I was looking the wrong way. I was running with Alison from the club, she asked what time I was looking at - I thought I better now say 48 - 50 mins, she replied "I`ll run with you for a bit" - now my understanding on a bit was not till we hit the first turn - some 75 metres of so :-) To be fair I did get blocked in & could not get those few seconds back. The course was one small loop, then back past the start / finish then out on the local streets & footpath (using the Frimley Park 10Km course).. The loop was fine is came & went pretty quickly - got some good shouts out, I didn`t mind the A325 - Portsmouth Road part - went through 5 Km point in 23:54 (I made an exemption by looking at the garmin there) - my fastest 5 Km this year. A little further up I got myself (foolishly) in with a group of runners but instead of pushing each other we just ran together resulting in a slow mile. When I realised this I changed pace and pushed on, hoping one would come with me as I knew we were heading towards `the hill` just around the corner at around 7 Km !!

I turned the corner on Crawley Hill (even the name does inspire you to run fast! ) I saw Alison in front - clocked her about 90 seconds in front or so using the accurate `lamp post timing` method. My garmin beeped - I looked at the pace just cleared that last mile at 8.00/m exactly - I wondered what the next mile would be !!

That hill is a toughie, a runner caught me at the top & shot past - good I thought someone to chase when I got my breath back. Threw some water over me which helped & gave chase. Now I thought I was doing well - till another runner came up along side. It was Tony from the club - cool can use each other here & that`s how it was for the last 1.5 mile or so. I think we must of looked good - side by side, stride by stride, I think we gained a couple of places. Where I could I used the centre of the roads due to the camber of the road & not a huge fan of running on the uneven pavements. Soon enough we could see the last big turn - a couple more runners we caught. We swung through the gate & into the school - I thought by judging from the sounds Tony was with me so I sprinted off towards the finish & through the finishing gantry. I made my way down the finishing tunnel and turned round - it wasn`t Tony.

My time, and I was quite shocked was 48:16 (a seasons best & Steve was right). I was pleased with that & had managed to sneak the average under 8.00/m (7.54/m to be precise). After catching a quick drink I joined up with the Cove Joggers who had already finished & the CJ `groupies` -Jean & Maurice, oh and Buster the dog to watch the remaining runners come through & hear all the race stories - some successes, some not - one didn`t know where the finish was despite the BIG sign & got pipped to the post......by his son ;-) 

All in all a good day for me & the club.



Splits - 7:33, 7:29, 8:18, 8:00, 8:18, 7:52, 0:42 (0.11@ 6:39) -  (5Km splits = 23:54 / 10Km = 48:16)

Results - Power Of Ten Results

Next up - Tadley 10M - my 10 mile PB course - and no not going for it there. Just a tempo kind of run..................but I would like a seasonal best ;-)

On the comeback trail....

....Farnham Pilgrims Marathon.

(Oh and no that isn`t me)

This one had been planned for a year, only because it meant breaking a 4 year streak of running in the Great North Run. This event was local, reportedly a tough off road organised by the local Rotary Club with lots of well supported water / feed stations. I was also looking forward to it as I early in the year I marshalled a race which was along the North Downs Way some of which we would cover in our route.

My race plan - was an estimated time of 4:45 to 5:15 hrs. I did wonder how I would get on from 20 miles onwards plus I did hear that the course had a harder back nine. I will say my choice of races this year has been good - mainly off-road & hilly stuff. My nutrition plan was simple - a gel every 5 miles, I was also using my hand held water bottle.

One of the main advantages (& disadvantages) of this one was that the start was only 15 mins away....this did meant I got there later than planned (09:15 for a 09:30 am kick off) & was a bit rushed. I saw a couple of folks I know - Tony (Cove Jogger), John (Ex Cove Jogger - who was aiming for another sub 4). I chatted to Ruth before & during the start. I also missed a few people I wanted to say hello to but I wasn`t going to go sprinting after them :-) Shortly before the start we all assembled & had the race briefing - basically we had to follow the Orange Spray - I did have my concerns beforehand about getting in some (unwanted) bonus miles on this but I didn`t need to worry as the marking of the course was one of the best I`ve seen - I would be really surprised if anyone got lost.
As we headed out of the start / finish field turned left and down - I was thinking hang about we need to go up here when we finish - gulp. The first couple of miles ticked away as I was chatting to Ruth, we saw Superman (100 Marathon Runner) helping Blind Paul along, which was amazing to see. I hope they got on alright with the uneven ground. Now I did set the garmin on virtual partner for 5.00 hrs pace - I had noticed I was a little quick but nothing to worry about. One thing I do like about running longer, slower runs is that the miles just seem to tick over.

We headed through Seale, along to Puttenham Golf Course - I did ask a golfer who was practising if he wanted to swop for 10 mins - he said no thanks. Down past these really nice cottages, down under the Guildford / Hog`s back road - I`ve never noticed those crosses before. The course was varied, we crossed a canal - just as two canal boats were trying to ram each other. I was mainly running by myself which was good - each time I tagged unto a group they stopped at one of the many, many feed stations along the way - the tables were nibbles were well stocked with different drinks, biscuits & sweets - all very nice but because I was using my own gels & carried water I just carried on. The views were simply magnificent, even spotted some buffalo & lamas, the cottages & houses were stunning - in Shalford there was a lovely sounding cottage - Lemon Bridge Cottage (didn`t see any lemons though) - 11:55 Miles just over 2 hours

At about mile 11, just before the sand, I caught up with a local legend Mike from Sandhurst - for the next few miles we leap frogged each other (well not actually leap frogged cos that would be silly in a marathon, half yes, full no). Special mention goes to the very vocal marshal up towards St Catherine`s Chapel - brilliant effort for us to get up the hill. Have not been up there for years. It also meant we were close to being halfway .

At about 15 miles Mike had caught me up again - must of been when I was tweeting (damn touch screen phones). We had to go up & around a Roman ruin - which caused some fun.

Almost three hours to the minute I was at the 16.2 mile point - so only 10 to go. Easy to break down - 2 x 5`s or 3 & a bit parkruns, I went for the parkruns. At about the 18 miles point we had joined up the outward course - past the tea room. I recognised this point as this was `my marshalling point` on the Pilgrims Ultra in the snow in January - I hadn`t recognised it on the way out. Up under the Hogs back, towards Puttenham, past the cottages again & I saw a couple of old tractors - which was nice,

At about 20 miles I had my last gel - I did offer it to some very lazy & rather large cows - they were massive (I was here at 3 hrs 47 mins), At this point I hadn`t seen anyone for ages but kept following the orange dots & seeing the marshals. Mentally the views & scenery kept me going & busy - physically, despite the lumpy course I was doing OK, tight hamstring but was only expected really but I was still moving forward. At 21 / 22 miles was almost the nicest part of the course - it was a wooded area with small lakes, flat with a hint of downhill. Here I overtook an Aldershot , Farnham & District (adf) runner Matthew Brown - this does not happen too often when I`m running. Now to be fair I did say this to him & he replied back that he was really a 800 metre runner - so I guess this marathon was like a LEJOG attempt for him - respect . I was glad we didn`t have a sprint finish !!!

Just before 25 miles was a bit tough as we to head over a field almost in a straight line for a good half mile stretch, a couple of runners overtook, then headed back under tress - I bet in the January snow these North Downs looked good. For me the worse bit was running up the hill towards the end, past the car park, pasted the pub - seeing all the runners who had finished.

I got to the top & through into the Start / Finish field & through the finish. My comeback marathon completed - I wasn`t feeling all that bad, tired, tight legs but all in all not that bad - I think I got my nutrition & drinking about right. I collected my goody bag - T-shirt, Medal, Calendars, etc - fantastic value. I made my way back to the start - saw Tony`s car still there (or as I think it was a very similar car) so I got changed, freshen up & made my way back to the Start / Finish HQ. Either Tony was in the pub or I missed him but he wasn`t there. I had a cup of tea, had a look at the Great North results that had come through. I saw Ruth finish which was good & in time headed back to the car & home. Very handy being 15 minutes away.

Totally enjoyable event, tough but so enjoyable.



Oh the race was won by Holly Rush in an impressive time of 03:07:03. How good is running where you have a 2:37 lady burning up the trail & a 800 metre runner in the same race.

Results - Full & Half

My thoughts on the way home was if I can do 26.2 miles I know I can do 30 miles. Now if I can do 30 miles then I think I can do.......................................

(Score on the doors - 10 Marathons completed v 8 Ultras)

Next up - after a couple of easy weeks it`s OMG October starting off with the Julian Farrell 10Km on the 7th October & need to think about next year`s plans.