People have asked me how I manage to do so much running with two young children. The truth is not particularly edifying - it requires ‘focus’ (a nice euphemism) from one partner and accommodation from the other. I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge my debt to the accommodating half of this arrangement!
My dip in form was under way by Jan 08 and the Amptill XC, but at least I managed a 'Hollywood' sprint finish!
Looking back at my running diary at the end of Jan 2008, I noticed something alarming - I had just completed 17 races in 15 weeks! Even by my standards that was quite something. It was perhaps inevitable that my form dipped in the early months of 2008 and I kept getting colds. I probably needed a planned ease-down after Xmas (Chris P - you were right), but the XC races were coming thick and fast, in addition to the road races I had entered. Something needed to give here, but I failed to cull my race diary!
By the end of March, thanks to a series of colds and general fatigue, I had finally had an accidental, but necessary, easier 6 weeks. During this time, both my mileage and speedwork intensity dropped. This did not immediately do my race form any good (*), but it did serve to give me the respite I needed to start a new cycle of improvement.
(*)
Reading HM (01:31:05) - 3 minutes slower than my Nov07 PB.
Sandy 10 (01:08:20) - nearly 2 minutes slower than my Dec07 PB.
During this re-grouping period, I made my first visit to the Human Energetics and Performance Centre at Anglia Ruskin University for some physiological profiling (recommended by Steve and Astrid McKeown). I will make a separate post about this, as it's fascinating stuff and I wouldn't want to stint on the detail! Suffice to say that I've found this to be educational, motivational and of great practical value.
Encouragingly, by mid-April I had my 10k time down to 40:04. This was not far off my Nov07 PB of 39:35 and signified a marked improvement in form since my March races. I now began to feel much more positive. Just before the Midweek League started, I had a holiday in Cornwall which afforded some very undulating training runs! This week of secret hill work seemed to do me good as my first 2 Midweek League 10ks were done in 39:11 and 39:16. The NHRR race, albeit not on the official measured route, saw me dip under 39m (38:59 - every second counts) for the first time. The only blot on the evening was having Mr Frampton storm past me at the 8k mark - RESPECT!
At the Welwyn MWL race I thought I had set a new V45 5-mile Club Record with 30:47, but alas it was not a certified course, and Mr Statto, more than anyone, has to take such considerations seriously. My frustration led to me find another 5-mile race two days later in Essex - the Springfield Striders 5, where I did officially set a new V45 Club Record of 30:38. It was a long drive home, but I was floating so high, I didn't care. Wow - my name would appear in lights on the Club Records list. When I joined NHRR I would gaze at this list in awe, so you can imagine how special it felt to see my name it.
Much better was still to come, as I embarked on a dramatic period of further improved fitness and performance that extended right up to mid December 2008. More of that anon in the final thrilling episode of "Running and Me" which will bring you bang up to date.
I hope all this does not appear too self indulgent. What I really want to convey as much as anything is the almost child-like sense of wonder and enthusiasm my mid-life discovery of running has generated. I've become a 40-something running evangelist/bore (delete as appropriate) and, as many people could tell you, if I'm not actually running, I can't stop thinking or talking about it!
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