5K sub 20 race report (I wish)

So if you have been following my weekly (ish) training updates you will know that since the start of November I have been aiming to run a sub20 5K.

My aims at sub20 was part of a challenge with my running buddies Chris and Tony to see if we could hit this mark by the end of the year.

If you have read any of my previous posts on this you will know things haven't quite gone to plan and I haven't improved as I had hoped I would.

From a 21.00 PB back at the start of the summer I have struggled to get anywhere near the 21 minute mark, let alone go under never mind get anywhere near 20 minutes and sub 20 has just been a fantasy.

On Saturday the three of us headed over to Hackney Marshes Parkrun which is a great course for a fats time as it is so flat and a simple there and back course. It is so flat that even the Garmin feedback of the course having a 10m elevation is a thought that is scoffed at!

There was no talk or no confidence of a sub20 attempt, Chris was not feeling well after a dose of flu, Tony had struggled with any quality training due to work commitments and I knew I was in no shape to rival this time mark but maybe a PB was on the cards maybe?

The end results were somewhat mixed, firstly I won the race out the three of us which gave me a tiny amount of satisfaction but my finishing time was 21.25, nowhere close to my PB, however it is my second fastest parkrun time so another little victory. 

The problem was that I had ended up running over 5K, too much weaving around on the course, strava reported a pace of 4.11min/km which would give me a sub 21 5K if I hadn't zigzagged around so much!

Further investigation later showed that strava also reported that I had in fact ran a sub 21 5K, clocking 20.57, so a 5K PB but not a parkrun PB. 

Overall the sub20 5K attempt has been disappointing as despite solely focusing on speed work and running faster over a shorter distance I don't feel I have felt the benefits of this and seen anywhere near the results I had wanted. I know from feedback from other runners that there are a lot of improvements I could make to my speed work training so this is something I will take away to work on.

My other realisation is that running shorter distances faster is so much harder than marathon training! It hurts, its hard and its horrible! 

Anyways onwards and upwards, thanks for all the support and encouragement as always. Not too much rest for me over Christmas, as always more time off work equals more time to run and my first event of 2016 a birthday Half Marathon at the end of January is fast approaching!

Merry Christmas all and happy running in 2016!

Week 5 of sub20 5K training

Firstly I will be honest, sub20 is not happening, well not anytime soon. If you are reading this blog for advice on how to run a sub20 5K this is not the place for you I'm afraid. However if you by some weird choice of reading materials are looking for a blog about how not to improve your 5K time and run a sub20 5K then welcome this is very much a blog for you!

The start of December this week has seen me embark on an #adventrunning challenge. I am aiming to achieve the standard advent running goal of 30 minutes of exercise, in my case mostly running on every day between the 1st and 25th of December, yes that's right, running everyday on the run up to Christmas and also running on Christmas Day itself. Running on Christmas day I know is not everyone's (including my wife who is yet to be fully happy with my running endeavours) idea of fun but whats 30 minutes before the festivities kick in?

At this time of year it seems everyone is embarking upon an #adventrunning challenge or a festive related #runstreak of some sort. I suppose it is a bit tedious that everyone on social media seems to be doing the same thing and runstreaks are not the unheard of phenomena that they once were.

There seems to be a fair amount of criticism against runstreaks so I thought I would just explain the reasons why I am running everyday for almost a month:

• To challenge my own perceptions of what my limitations are 
• To help offset my festive indulgences 
• To keep me motivated to run during a busy time of the year 
• To get stronger and fitter from the increased amount of running 
• To get into the mindset of having running as an integral part of my schedule ahead of marathon training 

So on to what my training week this week has consisted of:

Monday - Rest day - bracing myself for the runstreak ahead

Tuesday - Runstreak Day 1. 31.45 minutes totaling 5.9K.

Another early morning 6am session consisting of a mile jog to the park, 4x300m sprint intervals followed by 4x200m hill sprints lit up by my head torch.

It was a good session where I felt strong and faster than I have in previous early morning sprint sessions.

The main talking point of the session was a fight I had with a bush, I say fight I ran into it and it attacked me with its prickly thorns, so more of an assault really. How did this happen I hear you ask? It was very dark and I was too busy checking my splits on my phone while jogging on a recovery run.

Honestly, it really is a worse injury than the photo conveys

Wednesday - Runstreak Day 2. 32.11 minutes totaling 6.6K

A 0.8K Warm up followed by a 5K session of 400m sprint/200m easy and 5 minute cool down jog.

Another good session that felt pretty good and I certainly felt some improvements in speed and strength but seriously hampered by lunchtimes pineapple upside down cake.

Thursday - Runstreak Day 3. 37.47 minutes totaling 7.7K

Working form home again I took the opportunity for lunchtime run and followed the same route as I did last week and aimed to knock a few minutes off my time.

I ended up taking over 2 minutes off my previous time with a 7K run in 32.47 which is 4.36min/km, I found this a very pleasing performance as it was a really hilly and tough route and I felt much more comfortable running at a higher pace for a sustained period.

Friday - Runstreak Day 4 - 30 minutes 5.3K a gentle recovery jog, saving my legs for tomorrows parkrun.

Saturday - Runstreak Day 5 - 21.55 parkrun plus plenty of time warming up & cooling down.

I headed off to Ilford Parkrun to put my legs to the test to see if I could translate my good training sessions into a good race time.

Ilford parkrun is my 5th parkrun venue and represents the nearest most convenient flat course at my disposal. Set in the lovely surroundings of Valentines Park its a pretty flat 2 lap route which is probably a little too twisty and turny to be super fast but is an enjoyable route.

My only grievance was the start of the run not kicking off until 9.07! I know its not a big deal and things can easily run behind time but I am quite a stickler for good time management.

The race itself was again a disappointment in terms of race time as I finished with an official time of 21.55. My 5K time was actually about 21.30 as the course went slightly over 5K, this is something I think I need to address as it is not the first time I have ventured a couple of hundred metres over 5K which is an important aspect to address when aiming for a specific time.

My race performance was OK, a first kilometre split of 4 minutes exactly followed by splits between 4.13 and 4.18 upset only by a 4th split of 4.28 caused by a shoelace malfunction.

Again as with my last parkrun at Hackney Marshes the weather was not ideal, although the rain held off it was still pretty windy which would have had an affect on times.

During the run I felt like I was really racing and pushing hard and it is becoming obvious to me now that I am obviously just not fast enough and not doing the right kind of training to deliver me the sub20 time I crave.

I still have two weeks until my sub20 showdown with my running buddies Chris and Tony, so there is work to be done, lets see what I can achieve!

Thank you as always to all the support and advice on my running from blog readers and from Twitter and especially from the incredible #UKrunchat community.
This blog covers my training week of 30 November to 6 December

The last run of 2014

Today was my first run post Christmas and my festive indulgences and despite feeling like the Michelin man after calorific merriment my run felt pretty good.

I am rather ending 2014 on a low note as over Christmas I have struggled to walk let alone run with severe pains in the front of my calves caused by a previously diagnosed complaint I suffer from, compartment syndrome.

Today's run was about seizing the opportunity to run while out visiting family, it provided the chance to run somewhere different and to reminisce about past running routes I used to regularly cover. A visit to Dagenham is not necessarily the most attractive proposition but it was nice to rerun familiar routes and I have always fairly enjoyed running in the area.

Coming towards the end of the year when you are feeling nostalgic it was nice to run around some of my old haunts.  

Castle Green Park

Back several years ago when embarking on training for my first marathon as a naive, up confident runner I did the majority of my training in and around Castle Green park. Foolishly I used to run the same routes repeatedly, over and over to build up my mileage for long runs as opposed to exploring new routes. In castle green I used to run my usual route around but then include figure of eights or extend my course towards the boundaries of the park in the aim of trying to squeeze in extra mileage. 

Castle Green lives up to its name of being a green expanse (minus the castle) which is somewhat rare in these parts with the busy A13 buzzing past. The City and more specifically Canary Wharf is easily visible on a clear day providing a scenic background. 

The most notable part of the park is Barking and Dagenham's sporting tribute to the boroughs sporting heroes. Overlooking the A13 opposite Barking rugby club proudly stands four monuments to the sporting prowess of England's football World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore and manager Sir Alf Ramsey, England's rugby World Cup winning star Jason Leonard and 8 Paralympic medal winning swimmer Beverley Gull. It's a tremondous moment to recognise the boroughs sporting achievements especially the unique and quite unbelievable feat of this unglamourous and less prestigious borough providing both England's triumphant manager and captain for our only World Cup victory. 

In many ways the monument is misplaced as it is somewhat hidden away and not in the most well visited of areas but despite this being placed across the road from the club where Jason Leonard started his career off and just down the road from Beverley Gull's childhood home makes it more than a fitting location.

The statues have provided plenty of inspiration as I have ran past them many times over the years and they have certainly motivated me when using the slope they stand upon for hill training. 

My run then took down to Becontree before heading straight down Hedgemans Road towards Dagenham Heathway. Hedgemans Road is one of those straight never ending roads that goes on and on. Great when your running well and want to power on but demoralising when running poorly when the end of the road never seems to come! It's also a great road for fartlek/interval training as the little side roads provide natural intervals to split up efforts. 

Old Dagenham Park

Then in the second half of my run I ventured through to Old Dagenham park which is part of the area that commemorates the old village when Dagenham was a small green hideaway miles from the hustle and bustle before urban sprawl gobbled it up into London's greater suburbia.

The park is somewhat of a hidden gem as it is a sizable green space consisting of tree lined paths, several football pitches, a traditional children's play area as well as the modern young people's skate park and hangout area as well as a surprising purpose built BMX race track which seems slightly out of place and underutilised.

Overall I covered around 8K over pavements, pathways and grass taking in residential roads, parks, busy shops and industrial areas. 

It was pleasing to finish 2014 with a successful and enjoyable run even if I feel I am limping into 2015 feeling less than fit after a Christmas of excess and feeling injured with my calves.

Thank you for reading and for whatever part you have played in supporting my blog and my running in 2014. I hope your year of running has been successful and I wish you every success and plenty of PBs for 2015!

How was your running over Christmas?

First off best wishes for the holiday season to everyone, hope it has been a merry Christmas and all the best for 2015 to everyone reading.

My Christmas break has been spent tucked away in a rented holiday cottage in Yorkshire with my wife as we decided to escape the stresses of a typical family Christmas at home by going off on our own, and we have had a great time!

Christmas day run?

Did you run on Christmas Day? In the build up to Christmas I noticed the buzz on social media focusing around people's plans to run over Christmas and specifically people's plans to run on Christmas Day itself. At the start and of the week I was full of plans to run over the week and to get out and run on the day itself but the week didn't quite work out the way. Who managed to get out for a run on Christmas Day? Pre Turkey or post Turkey? And who managed to maintain their running over the Christmas holiday period? Hats off to you if you did!

Running sight seeing

I am not afraid to admit that I haven't been running in a week!

My last run was while in Sheffield visiting my sister and I took the opportunity to sneak out for a few miles to see some of the sites. Predictably the sites I was in interested in seeing were sports related as I made a beeline for Hillsborough football Stadium.  

I was pleased to get out and stretch my legs and get a few miles in ahead of the indulgences of the coming festive period. 

Over the next few days I plan to reflect on my running achievements in 2014, so after a shortage of posts over the last few days standby for a flurry of activity for the end of the year! 

Day 21 Runstreak Santa Run

Today's run - Santa fun run - pavements - 5K - 24.12

Today was the one run a year where PBs and performance go out of the window, where looking cool in your running gear is forgotten about and instead you run around looking like a bit of a prat all in the name of charity!

This morning I took part in Saint Francis Hospice's annual Santa Run at Dagenham and Redbridge football ground the snappily named The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Football Stadium. 

The premise is quite simple; everyone meets up, gets dressed up in santa outfits and runs around the streets of Dagenham on a 5K route raising money for a local charity. 

The atmosphere is incredibly friendly, positive and cheery and everyone takes part with the smile on their face with a hood friendly spirit whether running or walking, seasoned runner or slow paced walker.

Its a great event that unites the whole community, it is a great introduction to running and running events for many and it was great to see so many youngsters taking part with their parents. And although it might sound strange I sensed a greater sense of satisfaction amongst runners at the finish line than I do at marathons as many participants would have envisaged a 5K distance as unbelievable and are therefore rightly proud to successfully complete the course with finish times becoming irrelevant.

The main challenge of an event like this is struggling with the 'one size fits all' generic costume. With our ever increasingly over weight society one size fits all becomes more aimed towards the larger individuals  and therefore becomes very troublesome for those of a smaller frame like me!

My wife did remark that I looked like a messy Santa as I didn't look particularly smart in my outfit as it was so grossly misfitting. Running in such an outfit was difficult to say the least, trying to stop the bottoms of your trousers coming down around your feet to trip you up, holding your waist band to stop your trousers slipping down (although I did have shorts on underneath!), then wrestling with your Santa jacket as it flailed in the air caused by running, there was also the itchy beard irritating your face and threatening to strangle your throat at any moment! 

The event was made all the more special as I wasn't running it on my own and was joined at the event by my mother in law. Although she opted to complete the course at a more serene steady walking pace while I chose to run round in a pleasing time of just over 24 minutes it was nice to have someone to chat with at the start and cheer on at the finish.

Today's race forms a part of my bigger fundraising efforts of taking part in a 29 day runstreak which you can read about here. As well as raising funds for Saint Francis Hospice today I have been specifically raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and if you would like to donate please visit my Just Giving page here.

Day 14 Enjoying running after a long weekend

Today's run - gentle pacing run - Pavement - 5.32K - 26.59
Yesterday's run - fartlek - Pavement - 8.22K - 43.33
Friday's run - Track session at Asics Target 26.2 - Around 7K covered

After a busy weekend it's time to catch up on my runstreak runs. Since my last update on Thursday Day 11 I was at the Asics boot camp on Friday and then had a particularly stressful day yesterday and today to be fair and although I had time to run but not to write it up.

For a summary of my experiences at the Asics boot camp you can read my experience here.

Yesterday I was looking forward to a chilled out Saturday, writing up my boot camp experiences, heading for a run and watching the rugby. It didn't quite turn out that way as when we returned home after a trip out in the morning we found our kitchen flooded!

The rest of the afternoon was then pretty much spent clearing it up then trying to identify and rectify the problem before trying to arrange for a plumber to come out through discussions with our landlord. The problem was eventually pinpointed to a blocked drain just outside the flat and when it was all over I was glad to get out for a run to relax and escape the stresses of the day.



I completed a 8K fartlek run and enjoyed throwing in some good sprint speed work, I am conscious of continuing to work on my speed and get faster ahead of any races next year.

In the evening I was so grateful to relax with some great home cooked food courtesy of my wife.




Today was also a stressful day as I had my parents visiting which is always a draining experience!

I was so looking forward to heading out for my evening run but didn't enjoy it as much as I could of as I struggled after a big Sunday lunch.

One of the main highlights of running at this time of year is seeing the Christmas decorations out and about. Here is the highlight from today's run:

Now I have had a bit of time to reflect on my Asics boot camp experience I am to be honestly feeling pretty calm about the next stage and progressing in the competition. What will be will be!

I am still incredibly eager to be involved in the final 5 and am very interested to see how I would progress in the voting stage but at the same time reluctant to but myself through the stresses of voting.

There were so many deserving characters at the boot camp and I just don't know how the judges will be able to pick out just 4 or 5 runners per category.

Thanks for reading, thanks for the support and honestly and sincerely the best of luck to all bootcampers for the next stage! Please remember my runstreak in support of Pancreatic Cancer and raising awareness of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, if you would like to donate please visit my JustGiving page, thanks!