Lancaster 5km // Prudent Riverside 10 mile

Its been another couple of weeks of busy and successful racing, with another to look forward to next week to finish it off before focusing on specific training for the Great North Run.

Lancaster 5km

Yes...I know I've only just published the post about my 5km and 10km benchmark races last month, however it has been over a month since then and the next Lancaster 5km has come and gone.

This time I was feeling a lot more fresh and confident going into the race - I hadn't done no silly fell runs the week leading up to the race, and also had a much easier session on the Thursday to ensure fresh legs. The days goal was to better by 5km PB by anything more than 1 second! I wasn't convinced it was possible on the drive up to the race, and wasn't quite sure of the shape that I was/am in however I was going to give it a good go!

Again there was a few familiar faces on the start line, however was struggling to find faces which I would be able to hold onto the back of, apart from Phil Waite who ran 15.18 last month. As the race started, I tried to hold the pace back a little and wait for Phil to move his way to the front. By the half mile point, this was the case and then I just tried to stay with him for as long as I could - which turned out to be the 1 mile marker! There was no chance I was trying to hold his pace but nobody was coming with me either, so I was on my own!

We went through mile 1 in 4min 56 seconds - yes, not the best paced from myself! I soldiered on and just tried keeping the foot on the gas, shaking off the will to considerably slow myself down. Mile 2 went by in 5min04sec and the will to slow was getting stronger. I think that at this point, if there had been another runner with me, it would have helped a lot to spurr myself on. I did slow a little but not too much - I had a clear lead on pos.3 and was hopeless of catching Phil - I was in dead mans land!

Mile 3 ended up coming by in 5min12 and the final sprint to the line seemed unnessessary and impossible. I ended up running through the line in 2nd place and a time of of 15.39 and collasped to the floor, swimming in Lactate and gasping for air! I dont like these 5km "sprints"!

Despite the drama, I did actually feel better than last month and also managed to knock 12 seconds off my PB - Misson Accomplished! Im getting there! I also got a crate of Bud as a prize!

Prudent Riverside 10 mile

Despite training being more focused towards 5-10km speed work the last 2 month, it was decided to compete in Prudent Riverside 10 mile this weekend as more of a fitness check and confidence boost before starting a short specific training period for the Great North Run.

Race conditions were looking surprisingly good. It was a little humid and a slight headwind on the return although nothing which would seriously impact my time. Since not training for this distance though, I was unsure of the pace or perceived effort that I could withstand for the distance. Having completed a full working week of 12 hour shifts as well as fitting in 2 hard training sessions, I didn’t particularly feel race-ready on the start line either, however it would be good to see how I could hold up without a taper to set a realistic target goal for Great North Run.

As the race kicked off, I held back a little bit to see how the race would develop at the front. I tucked in just behind the lead runners for the first mile to see how the pace felt. I felt rather comfortable with the pace but as we approached the first mile marker, the pace began to drop slightly. I decided to step to the front at this point and maintain the pace that we had set off at.

Only 1 runner, Rob Affleck, of Preston Harriers stayed with me at this point with a gap slowly developing between us and 3^rd place. I remained on the front for the first 3 mile when Rob decided to help with the pace a little at the front for half a mile. I still felt very comfortable here though and got myself back on the front again to lead us to the 5 mile marker in just over 27 minutes.

The 2^nd half of the run gave the task of several hills and undulating sections to tackle. There is nothing closer to home for a Cumbrian road runner though and so I pushed on up the hills, still feeling fresh, from mile 6 and 2^nd place started to fall behind.

I held the pace for the remainder of the run with the last 4 mile being the fastest of the run (final 5k coming in at 16.10) and cruised home to victory in a time of 53 minutes and 44 seconds and 2^nd place coming in 42 seconds behind. All in all it was a successful run without being pushed for pace, plus a negative split on a more difficult 2^nd half. It has provided all the confidence needed to set myself a respectable target time for Great North Run. I felt strong and relaxed running at that pace which gives great self-confidence going into specific half marathon training next week. Onwards and upwards!