Yorkshire MT – Week 13

My number for Yorkshire came through in the post yesterday morning.

Nervous much? Absolutely.

I just have to remember; to repeat the mantra: ‘trust the process’.

I may or may not have a good race in less than two weeks’ time but I have had a fairly consistent twelve-week block of training, and am now in the middle of tapering. In some ways, it’s a little bit better than my Spring training. I am qualifying the ‘better’ because although I’ve managed to keep up a 30 miles-a-week average up until last week, which is better than the 25 ish I managed for Manchester, I did more cycling in the Spring. So it’s hard to gauge if I’ve improved. I don’t have any painful knee this time around which is a bonus, so my yoga and strength work seem to have been doing their job.

I am also a little bit faster, sometimes, in the shorter races. The first race of the Borders League was this Sunday just gone, and it turned out to be my best 10K time in eight years, which was really pleasing. Especially as I was still muzzie-headed from the Prosecco drunk at my birthday party the day before. So something is definitely working, and I’m moving in the right direction. I feel stronger. I don’t think I’m strong enough to get below the five-hour mark yet, but I can feel that that is coming.

That Borders race was my very first as a v50. I do love the words used around age with running. Words like ‘veterans’ and ‘masters’. It does feel quite empowering, and given that so many of the older vets in my running club regularly whip my butt, it’s also inspiring. I won’t be hanging up my laces in the near future because there is still much room for improvement, and even when that goes I’ve got this nice framework to compare myself to other similar-aged nutjobs.

Last week, in the first week of my taper, my mileage went right down, mainly because of my birthday. But I did get two really good speedwork sessions in, courtesy of two club races. The first was the final Wirral Multi-Terrain race, at Arrowe Park. I’d forgotten my head torch. The autumn nights have suddenly grown longer, so I needed to try and either stick with someone who had one for the sections in the woods, or just try and go as fast as I could so the light didn’t fade too much. Any race where my average is below 10 minutes per mile is a very good effort for me and I managed to take a couple of minutes off last year’s race. My lungs had a workout but it still managed to feel controlled.

The Borders race on the other hand, was one where I just seemed to hold on for dear life. The last three miles were fairly flat with a tail wind, which only meant that I tried all the harder. I think it was because I knew that I wouldn’t be getting a long run in this week because of all my drinking and eating cake commitments. I was spurred on to make these races count.  If I’d used the new watch I’ve been given for my birthday, I think it would have registered a heart rate that was off the scale. But I was made up with the time. It’s always good when you work really hard and have a little something to show for it.

Week 13

Day	What I Did
Mon	Prep cooking to freeze for my party on Saturday.
Tue	Grandson in the day   Multi-Terrain Series – Arrowe Park Run: 4.41 miles [7.1 km] Pace: 9.25 mins/mile [5.75 mins/km]
Wed	Cleaning the house and then driving to Stratford upon Avon for a couple of days and a couple of plays.
Thu	I turned 50! Had a steady run in the afternoon, once the previous night’s drinks had worn off. Run: 6.27m [10.09 km] Pace: 10.44 mm [6.49 mins/km]
Fri	Drove home and more party preps
Sat	My birthday party – and lots of Prosecco
Sun	Borders League – Race 1: Caernarfon   Gentle warmup run: 1.07m [1.72 km] Pace: 11.16 mm [6.93 mins/km]   Main Run: 6.22m [10 km] Pace: 9.04 mm [5.62 mins/km]