December Update

Andy Reading 10k - 8/12/13
* Time 37:00 (bl**dy windy!)
* Overall Position 30th
* MV50 Position - 1st (trophy AND a bottle of wine >>>)
* New MV50-54 Club Record (beating my own previous mark)








East Haddon XCL - 15/12/13

* Overall Position 31st

* MV50 Position - 2nd - winning MV50 title with race to spare ;)

Buntingford 10 Mile - 29/12/13
* Time 01:01:24
* Overall Position 13th
* MV50 Position - 2nd (the trophy! >>>)
* New MV50-54 Club Record
   (beating my own previous mark)
* NHRR 2nd Team in Herts Snr Champ's

MV50 Career to-date

A good 8 months!

• 20 races completed - 1^st MV50 in 12 of them, 2^nd MV50 in the other 8
• New MV50-54 Club Records set at 5km 5-mile, 10km (twice), 10-mile (twice) and half-marathon
• Midweek Road-race League – MV50 Series-winner (4 wins)
• 3 Counties Cross-country League - MV50 Series winner (4 wins)
• Herts County MV50 Champion at 5km and Half-marathon
• Ranked in top 5 in Eastern Region for MV50-54 at 10k (5th), 10M (4th) and Half-marathon (3rd)
• 11 out of my 12 best-ever age% scores set since May 2013

Updated 12th Jan 2014 - never lower than 2nd MV50 in all 20 races completed since my 50th birthday!!

Leighton FR XCL (Wing)

All-out effort on challenging course

After a semi-cautious approach at Wooton, I put it all on the line this time and made up a 'massive' 2 places to 29th vs 31st last time).  Given how I felt in the last km, I'd hoped for a better reward, but at least I know I left it all out there amongst the cow-pats, stagnant water, hills and cloying mud!

I was pleased to finish 1st MV50+ again, leaving me in a strong position to lift the MV50+ Series-prize with 3/5 races completed.  I am also standing 12th in the MV40+-rankings.  

Sir Darth Frampton eases through the stream... but Andy doesn't ...











NHRR ladies were 2nd on the day and the men 4th. Overall NHRR were 4th on the day and moved one place up the rankings to 4th after 3 races.

St Neots Half-marathon

Sunday 17th Nov - another good effort...

• Good conditions - cool and still
• Good quality field
• 01:20:19
• 1st MV50 prize (106 in category)
• 27th out of 900+ finishers
• 3rd best half-marathon time ever
• 3rd best-ever age% score (83.37%)
• Best time on this course
• Suggests 10k time of 36:00-36:30 possible

Well, that's 9 races in 8 weeks and I am still in one piece.  My right calf and hamstring are quite tight though, so no speedwork this week.  Next Sunday - guess what?  Another XCL meet - race 10 in 9 weeks!

I am feeling very good in half-marathons, despite hardly doing any over-distance training.  If I can translate 6:08 mile-pace into 10-mile, 10k and 5-mile races over the coming months I'll be very happy.

Wootton XCL 10/11/13

No mud-baths, fell-running nor water-crossings - perfect, but...

I liked this new course, although 3 big laps and 2 small ones (as opposed to 3 small/2 big) would have have been better.  4.3 miles is a tad too short.  I felt I set off far too fast at Wellingborough, so decided to set off more conservatively this time.  I was quite happy with my performance until I found out my finishing position was 31st - compared with 25th last time.  I'd hoped this was due to an injection of faster runners who'd not made the first race - analysis showed this not to be the case - I think I just played it a bit too cautiously.  Having said that, perhaps my mind and body were just not up to another full-out effort, given all the racing I've done in last couple of months?

Never mind, I was 1st MV50 again, putting me in a strong position to win the series-prize for that category and I did my bit for team-NHRR. 

Despite fielding a much weaker team than in Race 1 (I was 3rd male-scorer), NHRR finished 5th overall (3rd Men, 7th Ladies) and are still in touch with a top-three position.

Wootton XCL PREVIEW

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Stevenage Half-mar

3/11/13 another good day at the office...

Given this is not the fastest of courses (and cerainly much slower than the recent G.E.R.), I was pretty pleased with my performance here, which I consider to be on a par with that in the G.E.R., albeit about 40s slower.  As in my last 3 races, it was pretty windy again here!

(left) County Champions!  Mark Vaughan MV40 and yours truly MV50 - (right) around the 9-mile mark.  Thanks to Sue Vaughan and Karen Dodsworth for the pics
(below) Herts County GOLD!









* My time 1:20:55
* 13th place overall (out of 583)
* Herts County MV50 Champion
* 2nd MV50 overall
* My best ever time on this course

Wellingborough XCL

27th Oct - strong winds, steep hills and stream-crossings

At first glance, Croyland Park looks a very innocent venue for a cross-country race, but looks in this case are very deceptive.  With a couple of steep switchbacks on the valley-side, a new extended section around playing-fields (including a steep bank), the infamous stream-crossings and  the 3-lap structure (familiarity breeds despairing anticipation) this race adds up to - arguably -  the toughest challenge in the Three Counties League now.  Add in the strong winds and you had a mean little 5-mile ordeal on your hands!

I was fairly happy with my 25th place out of nearly 400 and 1st MV50 position.  This was my highest XCL-placing since 2010.  I may have set off a little too fast and had a pretty grim 2nd lap, but I managed to rally for the final lap and make up quite a few places, including 2 in the last 100m. 

 

NHRR men were 3rd and the ladies 6th, giving us 4th position overall of the 13 competing teams. We had almost our strongest teams out, so we couldn't have done much more.   A couple of teams seemed to have raised their game a bit this season too.  In previous years, I think we'd have finished 2nd or 3rd with a similar performance.

Once more into the stream dear friend...

Fenland 10 - 20/10/13

Something in the wind...

Ok, I admit it - I was Club Record hunting again.   Despite getting to bed at 2am after the Awards Dinner and some gusty winds out on the Fens, I managed a new V50 CR of  01:01:30, 10th place overall and 1st MV50. 

Without the wind I think I could have been well under 61 mins and close to my first PB in nearly 4 years - that would have been something. At halfway I was managing 6-min mile pace comfortably, but as I turned into the gusts I started losing around 20s/mile from then on.   With a field of less than 300, I also found myself in a solo time-trial after about 3 miles, with 9th and 11th places around a 40s and minute ahead/behind me at the finish respectively. 

Anyway, enough quibbly excuse-making - it was a good performance in the conditions, beat  Sir Darth Frampton's respectable former CR-mark by over a minute and leaves me with 5/6 MV50 Club records.  Only the Marathon MV50 CR to go - a challenging 3:03:16.  Do I hear the siren calls of a Spring marathon?

Watch this space...

Hatfield 5k Series

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I hadn't done a 5k for nearly 4 years coming into this series and was a little apprehensive, but all worked out well.  It's a fast course and a well organised race with a great HQ (Affinity Water offices) and ample parking.  I managed to post a couple of decent times (broke MV50 club-record twice) and picked up some prizes too.  Due to a tight hamstring, I didn't do the 3rd race last night, but went along to support my team-mates and pick up my trophies in person

Most pleasing was the County MV50 5km gold medal.  I've waited 50 years to be a County Champion at something and the closest I'd ever come before was doing Middx trials for U19s rugby in about 1980!

I also picked up a nice trophy for being 2nd MV50 over the series, being pipped to 1st by a speedy MV50 from Chelmsford AC, whom I'd have to have run PBs to beat, so well done to him.

I was also part of the NHRR team that won the team prize for the series.

A runner from Bishops Stortford RC came up to me last night and said he read my blog - so someone actually still reads this!!  Thanks John.

NHRR Awards Dinner

Something very nice for dessert...NHRR - Best Male Runner 2013

In NHRR history, only 3 people have won this award 3 times or more - Paul Pearce, Gary Halsey and now myself.  I am thrilled, delighted and very honoured to be in such company.  It just goes to show, even with relatively modest talent, what is possible when one tackles something with whole-hearted determination, focus and application - oh and yes - bloody-minded obsessiveness and attention to detail!

In the last few years I've had some pretty dark days, but not least with help and support from some special people at NHRR (you know who you are), I am emerging from the dark clouds into a brighter, sunnier glad-to-be-fifty world... THANK-YOU

Peterborough Great Eastern Run 13/10/13

50 - and loving it!

This will have to go down as one of my best ever races.  Despite very windy conditions, I paced myself very well.  In fact, I posted only my second ever negative split - 6:15 mile-pace for the the first half and 6:00 mile pace for the second - with the help of the wind.

• My second best ever half-marathon time - 01:20:14
• A massive age% PB for distance at 83.45%
• I was 2^nd MV50 out of 315 finishers in that age-category

 

Left - at the finish line
Above 1. Nice trophy
Above 2. post-race with the Annetts twins

Time to ease off a bit

Less is sometimes more....

I have put in 5 hard months of training and (latterly) also racing.  I've achieved my main goals which were to win the MWL Div 1 MV50 prize, start making in-roads to the NHRR MV50 Club Records and to enjoy training and racing again.

As in previous years, I felt very tired going into the final MWL race and also the FVS 3k relays last week. I've also been feeling really tired in easy/recovery runs.  I also perform well below par when when the temperature gets above 20 deg!  I scaled down mileage last week and also skipped the Sunday long-run and am already feeling better. 

The medal haul!

Here I am at the FVS 3k Relays. Disappointed with my time, but I was tired, it was hot and I took a wrong turn at one point!  On a positive note, NHRR were 1st Vet Team in both the Open and Herts County categories.

In the news again!

In the Comet 2 weeks in a row - fame at last...





Tonight it's the 3k Relays in Fairlands Valley.  I've not had a decent performance in this event since 2009 - perhaps tonight I might deliver a par-performance?

Midweek League 2013 - the post-mortem

I just love being 50!


* 4x races
* 4x MV50 1st places and MV50 series-winner
* 3x 10k times under previous Club Record
* 4/5 of my best ever age% scores
* Would have been 3rd in MV40 category!
* 9th ranked in Open category (out of 360)
* Part of winning Male Vet team!









Sadly, our collective target of staying in Div 1 was missed by the narrowest of margins.  We were not far off 2nd place, but ended up 5th and relegated.  Tough, tough, tough.  Still, watch out Div 2 next year!

Luton AC John O'Callghan 5-mile - 28th June 2013

A good night's mission in Luton!

• 7th out of 114 in race
• 1st MV50 prize 
• New NHRR V50 Club Record (29:26)
• 2nd best EVER age% score (82.86%)

So, since I turned 50 I have...

• Posted 3 of my 4 all-time best age % scores
• Finished 1st MV50 in 4 races out of 4

50 and loving it!!!

NHRR MWL 10k Wed 26 June 2013

Great night for NHRR and yours truly...

• NHRR came 2nd on the night and took a huge stride towards Div 1 survival
• I was 1st MV50 for the 3rd consecutive race and lead the MV50 rankings for the series
• Time was 37:08 on a tough course - indicates I am now in good sub sub-37m form
• 20th position - best in series so far

MWL Royston 4th June

Good form continues

• 1st MV50 again (very pleased with that)
• 22nd overall out of 372 (vs 23rd Race 1)
• 4th man home for NHRR
• Time 39:09 - a tough 10.5k course, so 6-min-miling was respectable

NHRR came a very commendable 3/6 on the night, leaving us some hope that, with good turnouts in the last 2 races, we might escape the drop -  Houdini-fashion!

My all-time age% scores, showing a return to form after a less-than-glorious few years!

He shoots.... he scores!

Back in the swing at last - Welwyn Midweek League 10k - 23rd May 2013

• Official time 37:03 (5:57.7 mile-pace) - best 10k time for over 3 years
• NHRR MV50-54 10k Club Record - whoo-hoo!
• My 2nd highest ever age % score (82.85%) - get in!
• 1st MV50-59 in the race - right-on!
• 2nd best MV50-54 10k road-time in 2013 for Eastern Region (Power of 10)

Not a bad night's work!

On a team-level, we had 5 of our fastest chaps absent :(.  Let's hope they can make future races, as otherwise the trap-door to Div 2 awaits.  Well done to the ladies on finishing 4th on the night.

Watch out MV50-54 category - I have arrived!

Ticking the boxes

• Weekly mileage steady at around 45
• Completing long-runs consistently and at a good pace
• Training sessions going well
• Back to 11st 7lbs
• Feeling energised

The only thing missing - some races to put it all to the test.  I will tell all right here!

Trying to be a lean, mean, running-machine (again)

With the Midweek League fast-approaching, I am trying to get in my best shape since 2010.  Given most of my form over the last 3 years, that won't be too difficult, but if I can get around 6 min/mile pace for 10k in the MWL I'll be delighted at this point.  I am doing my best; upping the mileage, dropping a few lbs, working hard in training and eating more healthily.  Hopefully it will pay off.

In a few weeks, and just in time for the MWL, I will turn 50 and so enter the Vet 50-54 category.  I welcome this noteable anniversary as it opens up a new set of challenges.  I am hoping the rest of 2013 will see me recover at least some of my former running glory - and of course attain inner peace, joy and harmony.  Stay tuned to learn how I do!

Wootton XC Sun 3/2/13

The pain of Cross-country!

I'd had high hopes of this race based on good training sessions, but some interruptions due to illness and the weather put a dent in my fitness and my hoped for top-30 finish did not materialise.   I was 35th - broadly no change from the previous race.  Having a large meal and too much wine the night before didn't help either!

I felt lousy in the warm-up and likewise throughout most of the race.  The picure says it all...feel that pain ;o)

Signs of Recovery?

Managed a 13.2 mile run yesterday at 6:50-pace with an average effort of 137 bpm/75% of max. Conditions were excellent, but even so, it's been a long time since I managed a run of this distance at that pace with only a moderate effort.  Still barely hitting 30 miles/week, so very encouraging.