Leeds Abbey Dash
Last October, I ran 30:50 here, my fastest 10k in 10 years. Then I went to Valencia Marathon in December, (read post here), and had a shocker.
It took me a long time to get fit again. Then I raced another marathon, (it went so badly I didn’t even write a blog) and put myself back in a hole.
I’ve realised the Spring, Autumn marathon pattern doesn’t fit me any more (Ken said as much). Six months is not enough time for all the Kings Horse’s and all the King’s Men to put me together again.
I was not enjoying this. Training hard, getting fit, then being left with nothing to show for it. So, I took a step back from the marathon merry-go-round.
I looked back over my training diary (much more useful than Strava), Leeds Abbey Dash was definitely the race I enjoyed most. I remembered fondly, how at one point, 8km, the group I was in swept past a runner who had gone out too hard. He tried, in vain, to hang on to us, to beat out a last flame from the dying embers of his fire. But he couldn’t, so he started howling, continually, in pain and frustration. In any normal environment this would be quite unacceptable. But it made total sense at the time. We all knew what he meant.
Percy Cerutty said something along the lines of;
If it takes one month or ten years to climb the mountain, what of it? The view from the summit is the same.
Most weeks, with life and work and everything factored in, I can only absorb, recover and respond to a maximum of one session a week. Some of the guys I coach can manage 3 or 4. That’s not my reality age 44. And that’s ok. I can still stack blocks. I can still see progress. It just takes longer.
When I ran my 30:50 last year I was really happy with my execution. I split the 10k into 6 x mile splits, and every mile I executed very close to perfect. I finished feeling I hadn’t left much in my legs. 1 or 2 seconds at most.
I wanted to go sub 31 again this year in Leeds. I knew the precise sessions and splits I needed to hit. After Manchester Half, I had an easy week of 67 miles. Then I went 100, 100, 100, 100, 101, and 101 on race week. In this period, I managed to tear a hamstring, so missed a few key sessions. We also had other stuff going on, which meant Nina was often away in London, and a lower weekly mileage resulted.
The first mile felt harder than it should. The second was about the same. Breathing and rhythm just slightly out. We got to 5k, halfway, I needed 15:30, I looked at my watch, it said 15:42, urrr! Too slow.
We came round a cone, and were instantly blinded by low winter sun. The guys I had been tracking, like Messerschmitt Bf 109s in a dogfight, vanished into the glare.
We hit a slight climb, and that, along with the poor 5k split and low sun, was enough for me to lose heart, my dear reader, I am ashamed to admit. I took my foot off the gas. I let negative thoughts creep in. I wasn’t going to run sub 31. I may not even manage sub 32.
But I had a secret weapon. The weeks of training for this race. Training imprints importance. It’s all very well saying you want something. But we evolved to run before we evolved to talk. Every time I found a way to get out the door in the cold rain and finish another session, reinforced in my subconscious mind:
“Hey this race must actually be important.”
I had really bust my butt these past six weeks, working specifically for this, my last race of the year. I had worked too hard to go down without a fight.
So, my subconscious stepped in, and decided to stop whining and start trying.
And that’s what I did. I stopped looking at my watch and just recommitted to executing the next mile as best I could.
I started to enjoy it again, now that I had let go of outcome and concentrated on process (boring, I know).
When we re-entered Leeds centre, the tall buildings blocked out the sun, and I could see my teammates Dan and Adam just ahead. I tried to pick up the pace, but so did they. They both ran 31:07. I came in 6 seconds behind, 31:13.
I was over the moon with that. A Season Best by almost a minute, and back in the realms of performance I felt my training deserved. One mile I had a wobble, but other than that I was right on my limit. I give myself a 5 out of 6.
The weather is getting more unpredictable, and it puts every marathoner in a difficult position. You train so hard for one race, but the chances of getting benign conditions are decreasing every year. If you get poor weather, you can’t just pivot onto another race a few weeks later. And it’s not as if we’re all racing for position. Every marathoner wants a fast time.
The weather for Valencia Marathon this Sunday looks pretty good. It was nearly canceled last year due to flooding. It is the fastest marathon in the world, brilliant course, perfectly designed, beautiful city, buzzing atmosphere. Which is all great! I’m a massive fan. I can’t wait to watch it unfold.
The British interest is massive! Here’s just a few of the athletes I’ll be tracking:
Phil Sesemann: Ran 2:07 in a tune-up race 6 weeks ago, and is being paced by his training partner, and Olympic 4th place, Emile Cairess.
Alex Yee: The Kent AC man. Olympic Triathlon Gold medalist. Been focusing on his running this year. Because he knows running is, by far, the superior discipline. Ran 2:11 in a hot London.
Tom Evans: Only has a 2:26 PB, but is the current UTMB champion (the biggest race in the world of trail & ultra).
Tomos Roberts: Gafr Meirionnydd. Our local hero! A PB of 2:20 from Berlin last year.
Lily Patridge: Finished 1 second behind me in Manchester Half two months ago (it probably still haunts her).
Have a great week and see you next Friday!