2015 - Just for Fun - Great Manchester 10k 2015

Great Manchester Run 10km - May 2015

Written to a Friend

"In case you wondered, Manchester 10K went exceptionally well. Considering my doubts about fitness I landed a time of 01:01:26, way ahead of my expected 1:05 - 1:10. I wasn’t even trying for a time, I was just enjoying the bands and swerving to the edge to high five kids who had their arms out, I was gobsmacked at 9km mark when I looked at my watch and was only 55min in.
Seem to be none the worse for it. Left Achilles was quietly reminding me it is there but nowhere near a limp and barely noticeable today."

It Begins; Another Year
February 2015 arrived and my thoughts turned again to running and, in particular, the Great Manchester Run event. After the disappointment of having to pull out just before the 2014 event due to illness, this year was to be low key, no sponsorships, just see how it goes and if I get there, enjoy the day.

Training Routine & Duration
I managed a few erratic visits to the gym during February, short treadmill efforts with walk breaks but followed with a swim. My heart wasn't really in it and it was into March before my first road run, a mere 1.5km. Struggling with a minor hamstring problem and for no reason I could identify, shin pain, I continued with 2 treadmill + swim sessions and one road run per week through March to early April.
Already April and feeling under par compared to last year I stuck in a Parkrun at Platt Fields Manchester.
I chose Platt Fields as a flat course instead of  my home Parkrun at Bramhall which is a taxing up and down course to reduce risk of injury. But Platt Fields was so wet it was playing Russian Roulette not knowing whether it was a wide shallow puddle or a pot hole or even a ditch. Anyway, I came out uninjured and fairly satisfied. Well below a 60m 10km pace but this year is not about a target time.
With only 4 weeks to go, I head up to Scotland in a motorhome in freezing conditions and do no running for the next 10 days. 

Readiness
Now only 3 weeks to the Manchester 10k and I had still not run continuously over 5km this year.
The next 2 weeks I moved to 30-40 min outings with no walk intervals culminating in an 8.5km one week before the event with a 64min 10k pace.
This 8.5km and not feeling anything like as fit as last year set me believing I was ok to finish but expecting maybe a 1:10 time. I did nothing in the 5 days prior to the event to let still niggling injuries settle.

On The Day

As with 2 years ago, the local trains were packed and we were glad that we set out early.
It was a great atmosphere in town and as my assembly time approached I left my support team (Lynne, my wife x) and headed up the streets toward the start.

Wrong area
I had moved well forward and there were many Green wave runners around me but there were also a significant number of Pink. Studying lamp post markers and flags I realised that I was actually some way behind the back of the Green wave. Recovering this was a challenge as the side barriers were up and I had to climb out and use side streets to move forward to the entrance to the Green wave area.
Lesson learnt for next year; read the start entry route map properly and obey it.

Warm-up
Last time, I stuck to my own warm up routing walking fast in side roads but this year I joined in the orchestrated fun warm up and 'fun' it was. Everyone in it together makes all the difference and to my surprise (I know it shouldn't have been) it was an excellent warm up and by the start I felt really good.

On The Road
The run went well, I found it hard work but still relaxed. The run through showers were welcome.
If I felt like it, I would accelerate through a gap but equally, I'd slow next to bands and swerve to the the side to high 5 a kid now and then.
My favourite poster was, "I'm proud of you random stranger". The people supporting along the route and the sheer pleasure of the event does indeed carry you along.

Time
Timing wasn't to be an issue today, It was for the fun of it. No heart rate monitor and though I had Runkeeper running on my phone, I left my headphones behind so I had no pressure and temptation.
However, around 9km, I looked at my watch to discover that I was only 55mins in, way ahead of where I expected to be and though I didn't try to speed up, I was tempted to keep moving that last 1km and crossed the line in a very surprising 1:01:26.

It Didn't Happen for me - Great Manchester 10k 2014

Just in case you wondered how the run went, ..it didn't!

My wife had a bad cold for about eight days and I thought I'd got away with it but it got me end of last week and with a running nose and burning chest on Saturday I considered it too dangerous even if I felt I could've dragged myself around on Sunday. 

I feel oddly fortunate that I definitely wasn't fit to have run on Sunday. If I'd felt a little better I would have had conflict as to whether I should have tried.

Still well fed up over weekend, especially watching the TV coverage.

Well done everyone who took part.  I'm now looking for a replacement 10k late June or July, maybe Leeds.

Bugger!

Only days before the race, the only thing running is my nose!
I'm supposed to avoid health and fitness issues for these last few days but it is not going well.

My wife has had a really bad cold and chesty cough for over a week and now I seem to have contracted it. Burning throat, running nose, aching sinuses and sore eyes. Just waiting for it to hit my chest. That's number 1 thing that's not supposed to be going on now.

Number 2 is an injury that I have no idea where it's come from. My last run on Tuesday went well and I was fine 'till I got my boots on to head out on my ranger patrol at Lyme Park on Wednesday when I became aware of shin pain. I though I must have banged it and it continued with annoying discomfort all day. When it came to driving home I realised it was more in tendons and muscles to left and behind my shin bone and each time it's been rested it's stiff and hurts.  It may be that I've been compensating for the hamstring problem, I really don't know!

So, I'm dosed up with Lemsip, taking it easy, drinking a lot (not alcohol) and resting my leg applying cool packs and ibuprofen gel.

Hopefully I'll get to run but unless I'm a lot better it wouldn't be safe. I feel a slow time coming on if I do manage to run.

Ready.... I think

Injury Status
My long standing achilles problems continue but with care not to suddenly increase training frequency or impact, post-run stretching, cool packs and strapping, the symptoms remain mildly annoying rather than worrying.
All therefore seemed good, until I slipped on a steep hillside while checking a boundary wall above a steep valley. This was in my alter ego role of Patrolling Ranger at the National Trust Lyme Park.
I went down heavily sideways on my left leg and, though it didn't hurt at the time, I suffered pain and stiffness in the side and back of my knee and hamstring pain in the following days. This knocked me out of training for several days and I'm still feeling it though healing is definitely well under way.

Urgent Training
After the panicked realisation of how imminent the race was, training has gone well over the last 2 weeks.  I have been trying to get out every 36 hours, e.g. Mon p.m., Wed a.m., Thur p.m., Sat a.m. which has worked quite well.

I have also been running the parkrun 5k at Bramhall on Saturday mornings culminating in a very satisfying Personal Best last weekend at 26:33.

5 days ago, I deliberately upped toward a10k duration with a 55 minute run. This turned out 9.8km with an average speed of 10.62kph so all looks well for a reasonable performance next weekend.

Pre-race Break
Today, Tuesday, I completed my last run before the Great Manchester Run 10k next Sunday. I kept today to a fairly flat 15min route trying to stay steady and not taxing but still averaged 10.5kph.

So now to take it easy and not hurt anything for a few days. That said, I'm on duty at Lyme Park again tomorrow!

ST ANN'S HOSPICE

Many people, like me, know someone who the magnificent St. Ann's Hospice have looked after, particularly end of life care. If you would like to support them, please use my JustGiving page (Sponsor me button) or Text as follows:


   Or, Text GEDX69 followed by amount e.g. £2 to 70070 

Running for St. Ann's Hospice in memory of Margaret Donovan (Mum) and my classmate from junior school, Sheila Waddington.

2014 - Here We Go Again

Bupa Great Manchester Run 2014

60@60

It is nearly a year now since I turned 60 and celebrated by challenging myself to run the Great Manchester Run 10k in less than 60 minutes under the label 60@60 (#60at60 on Twitter because of the '@').

After the resounding success of the run, 58:28, my drive to keep running faded though I had developed a liking for it and occasionally ventured out for short jogs.

10th January 2014

Christmas had passed, winter lethargy had set in and I was aware that I currently had no goals in mind. Thinking about this, I thought, actually, I rather enjoyed taking part in the Great Manchester Run. So I entered for 2014.

Training

I went for maybe 2 runs then let apathy get a hold once more.  I had been working on a contract for a few months but when that ended in March I had time on my hands and no excuse. I thought I'd head back to payasugym and book myself some sessions at my convenient local gym with pool. Horror of horrors, it was no longer available and as I wasn't paying membership fees I bought three sessions and cashed one in to use a local leisure centre. The treadmills were fine but to use the pool involved changing to move through the building then changing again to use the pool, and anyway, the pool was closed as a school was using it! 

Not impressed, I lost interest and by the time I thought I should retry my remaining 2 sessions had expired.

So, all my training has been road. It has been interesting to observe my starting fitness, I was quite different to when I first started 2 years ago when I needed to alternate walk / run even 1 km as my lungs couldn't supply. This time, I found breathing much easier and was immediately able to do a couple of km continuous. Alarmingly, I discovered that the achilles injury suffered 2 years ago was still an issue and it was that that forced very gentle increases but with a combination of stretches, strapping and ice packs I have managed to keep going. I do miss combining with the swimming which definitely helped with lungs and knees.

Mid April I was just about getting myself fired up when I realised that the event is Sunday 8th May, I had it in my head that it was end of May... Aahh Panic!

So, the past couple of weeks I have been getting in a minimum of 3 runs per week, currently around 4-5 km so I still need to ramp up. I've been running about 10 kph so am happy I should manage around an hour though I wasn't intending working on any target time this year. In the latter stages of the event last year, my heart rate was over 205 bpm and I'm not convinced that it was a safe thing to do.

Today

If you'd asked me a week ago, I'd have been full of doubt but the last week has really turned around and my stamina is up and my heart-rate reassuringly down. Yesterday, I completed the Bramhall Parkrun 5k in 28:33 which really pleased me. Bramhall is a tough course with a variety of gradients and a great test so this was an excellent result for me. I also had a max HR of 186 at a stage that I was pushing 198 last year (see comment above about safe?)

I'm now having to fight thinking I could even beat last year's time; it'd be amazing but I suspect stupid.

Sponsored

I was just doing it for the fun of it this time but once I became sure I would get there and after an enquiry from a neighbour I decided I would go sponsored again but not aiming high. Last year I raised over £450 for St Ann's Hospices in memory of my Mum and a school friend Sheila Waddington who had benefited from their fantastic care but if I can manage £50 this year that would be great.

So, if you would like to support St. Ann's Hospice, you can use my JustGiving page or Text as follows:



   Or, Text GEDX69 followed by amount e.g. £2 to 70070 

Running for St. Ann's Hospice in memory of Margaret Donovan (Mum) and Sheila Waddington.

I Did It! Great Manchester run 2013

58:18

Sunny Manchester

This post is a little late as, somehow, the urge to blog faded as I crossed the finish line in 58:18. Any feelings of needing a fallback 10km to acheive 60@60 were gone in elation and my focus suddenly transferred to heading off on holiday a few days later. I was indeed now sixty years old but at this moment I didn't feel it.

Thanks to all who sponsored me in support of St Ann's Hospices which has so far resulted in £404.50 contribution to this magnificent organisation. My Mum and Sheila would be well chuffed.



A Sunny Day Out In Manchester
The day was most enjoyable, a beautifull sunny Manchester morning greeted us at Piccadilly Station and we headed into Piccadilly Gardens to pass time until our start. I was amazed that the local trains into town were overfilled with runners and their families, it began to dawn on me just how big an event this is. "Us" refers to my daughter Gillian, who has a couple of 10k's under her belt and had travelled up from London to take part having entered whilst still living in Manchester, and Lynne, my support team (and wife).

We passed a pleasent half hour in the gardens grabbing a bit of sustinence including a gingerbread man from Pret', the cost of using their toilet, then headed our separate ways. I was in the Blue wave starting at 11:25 and keen to stay with my estabished routine took a stride walk in the side streets for 5 mins rather than joining the group warm up. I joined the pack about 3/4 back.

Injury Scare Over
My injury scare descibed in my last post led me to doing no training at all other than a swim in the days before the run. It wasn't until I made the first few tentative steps past the Start line that I was releived to discover that all was well.

The Run
At the start, the pack filtered slowly forward to the line and I was able to get directly to pace though dodging and weaving to maintain it. The pack was dense and the need for wing mirrors and eyes to side and back proved to be hard work in spite of having tried parkrun to experience starting in a pack.  This need to pay huge attention to those around, sometimes having to plan a swerve right across the pack just to go forward a few feet, proved to be a lot of effort. I was wearing my trusty heart rate monitor and was alarmed at how high my rate was compared to the same pace running on my own.
I had learned that my pace drops after 6-7 km so planned to maintain a little over 11kph for the first 6km. The last 4km has a gentle uphill gradient and the temperature now after 12:00 was high in the sun. It was good to have the leeway to slow a little 2-3km from the end.
I was alarmed to be experiencing a heart rate of 209 bpm and slowed as much as I could just to try to stay under 200 which was still way over the 175 I had set as an alarm as too high. I wasn't out of breath and felt fine and had it not been for been for the HR monitor I would have turned in an even better time. It was only fear that stopped me sprinting at the finish. I've blogged previously at length about my experience with the HR monitor.

Afterward
The three of us found each other and headed off to queue for a table and had a nice lunch before heading for the train home to share a bottle of chilled fizz in the garden.
I was pleasently susprised to feel great after the run. The following morning my ankles were a bit 'clicky' and  48hrs later the muscles on the front of my thighs were a bit sore but that was the worst after affect that I experienced.

What's Next?
So, it was a buzz, I sincerely hope to do more and certainly keep going with some running including parkruns. I was asked on facebook, "What's next, 55 at 61?" to which I answered, "Maybe 70 at 70?".

 The big result is that I have proved to myself that 60 ain't washed up so I'll declare my sixties to be my new forties and endeavour to keep a bit of twenties in my head.

Finishers: Gillian (55:48) and Dad (58:18)

  
Running for St. Ann's Hospice in memory of Margaret Donovan (Mum) and Sheila Waddington.

Double Injured With Days To Go!

I know I said that was my last post before the run but, unbelievably after all this prep', I am injured only days from the run.

Injury #1
My wife and I took the tent for it's first outing to Snowdonia at weekend and in the middle of the night I was trying to get my sleeping bag zip from underneath me arching my legs and felt a 'ping' in my leg at the back above the knee.  It still hurt a little during the day though not badly.

On return home a little research said hamstring (yes, I have got this far in life and not been certain what  'hamstring' injuries were even though I now realise I've had several; all minor).

Injury #2
On Monday morning I considered the hamstring was OK to run and headed off for a 6km. As it was one week now to the run and I was going to use a route with hills and go a little faster than for the run then ease off for the week with a gentle treadmill & swim planned for Wednesday pm.
This route and speed turned out to be a very bad decision. The training run seemed to go comfortably with an 11.3kpm average speed but after I stopped I realised that the old achilles problem had returned and the hamstring was pulling and a couple of hours later I knew I was in trouble. In restrospect, unconciously protecting one may have exacerbated the other.

Panick Stations
Sick with regard to my state with less that a week to recover I went full on for RICE. Monday and Tuesday I moved very little, applied frequent Cold pads and Ibuprofen gel to supress inflamation and wore gentle elastic bandages whilst resting my leg up on the settee whenever able. Tuesday pm I started to carefully stretch the limbs to assist correct fibre healing and took a gentle walk.

I'm now at that point where if I could forget about it I would walk without any limp but I keep over compensating. Stretching is more comfortable and there is very little pain in either injury points more a feeling of stiffness. Carrying on with home treatment, stopped the cold now and moving toward massage and heat.

59:59

Hopefully, with care and gentle work I'll be ok for Sunday but I have abandoned my evolving hope of sub 55 and will just be happy if I can acheive my primary target of sub 60.  59:59 will do just fine!


  
Running for St. Ann's Hospice in memory of Margaret Donovan (Mum) and Sheila Waddington.