Racing and Training 2019

I did a familiar interval session. 10 * 200 (1m) + 1 * 400 I did these in Caerleon. I did a loop and a bit to warm up. i did the first 200 from the Priory down towards the Rugby Club. I did the next nine 200s on the pathway next to the Rugby club. My 400 was down the path and back up again.

I did an 8.85 miles LSR with Kate Parry-Jones, John Hill, Liz Kenward and Naomi Hibberd. We did the Lliswerry 8 loop anti clockwise. We went out and came back via Traston Road.

Another wet Six at Six. We did Waterloo Sunset. I actually ran up Waterloo Road so it seems that the S & C, Yoga and Pilates is doing me good.

Lliswerry Runners Champagne mile on the track. I ran 6:50. I worked on Martyn Jones who, early on, was about 50 metres in front of me. I caught him and outsprinted him just. My time of 6:50 is an indication of my fitness level... not good!

Six at Six ... an extremely wet and cold one. The original route in Reverse.

I did some intervals on The Queens Way with Lliswerry group 4. approximately 1 * 450 + (2 * 1250) + 1 * 450. Group 4 was a large group. I met Laura Edwards and Adam Pirouet (new to me) and Rob Davies' GF Gayle was there for the first time for a long time.

It was a wet evening. I did 3 * 700 (430, 4:30) + 2 * 300 (2:00) on the the Cold Bath, Broadway loop in Caerleon. I started the 700s at the School Gates and ran clockwise almost to the footpath start.

I did a 10 miles LSR. From the NISv up the canal towards 14 Locks. I stopped when 5 miles was on my watch. I went out slowly wit the Snowdonia training crew... Steve C, Louise, Mike Titley, Leanne and Kat. When I turned they carried on. When I turned I linked up with Laud, Nick Rees and Sarah Kembrey... so my return 5 miles was a lot quicker than the outward 5 miles.

We did the Harlequin Dream ... probably the last time before it gets too dark. I cut it a bit short 'cos I was very tired.

I did a track session with Lliswerry. Steve Crowther led the session for group 5. We did 3 * 400, 1 * 800, 3 * 400

I did the Cardiff Half Marathon. I predicted my (chip) time to within 8 seconds! To those who asked I said 1:45:00. My plan was to run with the 1:45 pace man and, at about 7 miles, decide whether to push on or not. At the start, the 1:45 mark coincided with the barrier between the white pen and the green pen. There were two 1:45 pacers in the green pen. There were two pacers with 1:45 on white flags but they disappeared and didn’t start the race. My plan scuppered? As it happened I was able to judge my pace…err judiciously, particularly since a few of my chums who I might expect to be around me were around me. So my pace was pretty much as I anticipated for most of the race. There is a slight gradient at 3 miles, a climb up towards Cogan & Penarth. This is offset by a similar short descent down towards the Cardiff Bay Barrage. Taking that into account, I was fairly even paced until mile 10. This is where the toughness starts. As legs get weary there is, paradoxically, ...

warm up... 6 at 6 the original route cool down

I did two sets of 2 * 160 plus 2 * 80 on the river front - first set relaxed, second set a bit faster.

I did a speed endurance session on the river front after Yoga. 10 * (500 easy, 300 fast) There was a downpour in the middle of it which was not great. I am quite tired at the moment.

I did the Barnstaple Half Marathon on a bit of a wet day and with a touch of a hangover. I ran to almost 7 miles with the 2 hour pace man. I passed that pack on the downslope to the Tarka train. I ran back a bit quicker. I passed a Rodent, Julie Scholey and I high fived Paul Dursley. All three were doing the marathon. I finished with a chip time of 1:54:51 (Gun time 1:55:16) I had a glass of Prosecco in the runners refershments tent. Kay and I went for Sunday lunch at the Rising Sun in Umberleigh.

I did six at six the original route. There were 12 of us. (Roni & Carl were in Berlin). Matthew Potter, Me, Mandy Sharp (new to six at six), Justine Blaber ... I spoke to her for the first time. Sammy Jo-Jo (I am now her Facebook Freind). Plus some regulars, Sam Skelton, Chris Stevens, Colette Crew, Gary Brewster, Dan James Hen , Nicola Rose and Colin Tebby.

This was the day of the BMAF 10000 metres in Jarrow. Unusually for pre-big race night I had slept very well at the Old Rectory B&B close to Jarrow Metro station. Last night I had a meal, a mixed grill, at the Ben Lomond pub and I drank Diet Coke. I had a low carb B&B breakfast of Natural yoghurt with a few berries, then, egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, and half a tomato. Carb wise, I had some brown toast and butter (one and a half slices). It was quite a warm and sunny day though not as warm as Venice! There was a slight breeze at times and later on in the afternoon it was chilly in the shade. I walked to the track, that was just over a mile away. Our race was delayed for nearly an hour. There were so many entries for the M65+ and for the women that what was timetabled as one race was split into two. This actually gave me plenty of time to warm up. So it was a good thing. In the race itself I needed to beat David Jones of Stratford to collect Silver. He went off fair...

I did a speedwork session on the Riverfront path after Pilates. I did two sets of 2 * 160 + 2 * 80. The first set was relaxed the second set was fast relaxed. I have a race on Saturday so did not want to induce fatigue.

Saturday September 07 In the morning I took a stroll along the beach side walkway. I went south west-ish (?) for about 1400 metres. On the way back I saw Steven & Wendy Doxey beside the pool of their hotel. It looks like Steven has superglued his tooth back in. I stopped at a beachside café and ordered a Caffe Correcto, oops! I meant Caffe Cortado, I discovered that Caffe Correcto comes with a shot of Grappa within! I asked at hotel reception about taxis from Eraclea. The guy reckoned it might cost about €30 so that’s a bit prohibitive. I noted that there are umbrellas in the hotel doorway. That might be useful for tomorrow. I strolled up to the bus station and found out that I could buy a €3.50 return ticket to Eraclea Stadium and use it on the EMACS buses. I’ve had sleepless nights fretting about the buses. I didn’t want to pay €24 for a weekly bus pass. The event organisers kept it quiet that you could use the buses and just buy a single or return ticket. So, I got the bus...

Monday September 16 I had my usual breakfast. I spent some time at the pool. For the first time I had food at lunchtime. A meat and cheese panino and some fries with two bottles of Birra Moretti. I had a snooze then finished off back at the pool where I bumped into Louise Jeffries and her husband who were also taking their last opportunity to visit the pool. I went to the Royal Oak for steak with potatoes and a mixed salad with a Guinness for a change. I had a two-flavour ice cream at the shop next door (vanilla and Crema con una volta). I headed back to the hotel to do some packing before bedtime.