2015 Running Resolutions Update

It's now nearly 5 months since 4am on January 1st, when I posted what I believed were (just about) achievable, but ambitious, running targets for this year. Now, I have absolutely no idea what could have caused me to be so optimistic about my forthcoming performances at that particular time in the morning on that particular day(!), but I have to confess to having had several doses of reality over the past few months. The top three of these have been...

1. My Physio (who is also my running coach of sorts) challenged some of my PB targets, based on the amount of improvement I would have to make over several different types of events during the year. 

2. I know you'll be stunned and shocked to hear this, but apart from a couple of weeks this year, I haven't really been as disciplined in regards to my fitness and conditioning as I should have been. To the extent that I probably wasn't going to get near my existing PBs, never mind the target PBs. 

3.  Due to a combination of laziness, feeling a bit delicate after a Friday night, and actual legitimate reasons, reaching my target of running 32 Parkruns this year (to take me to a total of 50 and a commemorative t-shirt) has become much more difficult. In fact I have run only 5 of the 20 available to me this year, which means I have to run 27 of the remaining 32! Alas, due to holidays and the half marathon (and marathon) events I run, I can already count 11 weekends when I will not be available for a Parkrun. Obviously I need to revise this target down if I'm going to feel at least some sense of achievement for this particular goal! 

After having discussed my targets for 2015 with my physio he asked me how I had calculated them. When I explained that I basically made them up on the spot at 4am immediately after a Hogmanay party (at the Hudson's - great party), he suggested that a little bit more thought might be worthwhile. He proposed that a reasonable expectation, if I really worked hard, was to look at reducing each of my current PBs by 5%. As you'll see below, this should make my targets a wee bit more achievable for everything except the half marathon.

I've also rated what I think my chances are of beating my current and revised target PBs for each of the distances, using the confidence levels Very High, High, Medium, Low, and No Chance. 


5k                                                                              
Current PB:                00:25:27 (Pace 5.05/km)
1st Jan Target PB:     00:22:59 (Pace 4.35/km) (10.7% improvement)
Revised Target PB:    00:24:11 (Pace 4.49/km) (5%   improvement)
Best so far this year:  00:26:39 (Pace 5.19/km)

For the 5k I'm obviously relieved that I'm allowed to run a whole 14 seconds a km slower than my original target PB, but given that my fastest 5k pace this year is 5.19/km I have A LOT OF WORK TO DO. I reckon I've got a good chance of beating my current PB, but the revised target looks a wee bit daunting.

Confidence Level:
Beating Current 5k PB                   - High
Achieving Revised Target 5k PB    - Medium


10k                                                                              
Current PB:               00:51:19 (Pace 5.08/km)
1st Jan Target PB:    00:47:59 (Pace 4.48/km) (6.5% improvement)
Revised Target PB:   00:48:45 (Pace 4.52/km) (5%    improvement)
Best so far this year: No event yet

My first thought here is... how the hell did I manage to run my current PB?? It's practically at the same pace as my 5k PB. Next thought is, I don't really run many 10k events! As you can see I haven't run a 10k at all yet in 2015 so I'll have to be on the lookout for one or two between the regular half marathons I attend. In fact I may end up only running the event in Bellahouston where I set my current PB.

Confidence Level:
Beating Current 10k PB                  - Medium
Achieving Revised Target 10k PB  - Low


Half M                                                                         
Current PB:               01:54:41 (Pace 5.26/km)
1st Jan Target PB:    01:49:59 (Pace 5.12/km) (4% improvement)
Revised Target PB:   01:48:57 (Pace 5.09/km) (5% improvement)
Best so far this year:  01:59:18 (Pace 5.39/km)

Following my target PB revision I now have to run 3 seconds faster during each km than for the original target! To make things more difficult, I am now unable to attend the half marathon in September at which I believe I could at least break my current PB. However, next week's Edinburgh half marathon is a quick one, and even though I'm still working on my fitness, there's a wee chance I could get close to my current PB. I'm certainly going to give it a try!

Confidence Level:
Beating Current Half M PB                  - Medium
Achieving Revised Target Half M PB  - No Chance


Marathon                                                                  
Current PB:               04:50:11 (Pace 6.52/km) -
1st Jan Target PB:    04:19:59 (Pace 6.09/km) (10% improvement)  
Revised Target PB:   04:35:40 (Pace 6.31/km) (5% improvement) 
Best so far this year:  No event yet

This year I'm running the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham. Although it does have hills, it looks less challenging on that front than the only marathon I have run to-date at Loch Ness. This is giving me some cause for optimism that I could take a good chunk off my current PB.

Confidence Level:
Beating Current Full M PB                  - Very High
Achieving Revised Target Full M PB  - Medium


Parkrun                                                                  
Original Target 32 during 2015 for a total of 50
Revised Target 22 for a total of 40 (5 down and 17 to go, with 32 weeks remaining)

Early nights on Fridays required !

Confidence Level:
Reaching 40 Parkruns           - High            -

I'll post another review later in the year. Hopefully there will have been better progress than there's been to-date!

Blackpool Half Marathon

26th April 2015: 02:03:00 (Chip Time)

Official Results (Gun Time)

This might have been, but ended up not being, the April leg of the Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2015 (at least for me). The reason for this was that entries had closed for the Monikie Half M in April before Chris and I had a chance to register, and this seemed like a reasonable alternative as it's not that long a drive from Glasgow to Blackpool.

However, Chris noticed that there was still a waiting list in play for Monikie, and he was keeping close tabs on it. Sure enough, additional places became available and we both ran Monikie for out April Half M. It was a great event and day out, which will be covered in the Half Marathon a Month Challenge post for Q2, so 'no spoilers'!

It's fair to say that weather in the latter part of April this year has been pretty horrendous. Both cold and wet. Sure enough this was also the forecast for the day of the Blackpool Half M, which is not so bad if you're running (at least for me!), but wouldn't be so good for two of my 'support team', Antonia and Scarlett, as they were hoping to make the most of the trip by having a wee visit to the Pleasure Beach. On the day though, by a tremendous stroke of good fortune, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Coupled with the fact that it wasn't that warm either, it meant that conditions were favourable for everyone's activities. 

Like many events the Blackpool Half M combined a 10k, a half marathon and a full marathon. The latter two started at the same time and the marathon runners basically had to do two 'laps' of the half marathon course, poor sods. 

On the tram on the way up to the start I got chatting to two guys who had separately, but spookily, both travelled up from Buckinghamshire for the event, and it took them the same time to get to Blackpool as it did us from Glasgow. 

One of the guys, called Giles, was running the half marathon and to be honest he looked a wee bit as if he had been on the bevvy the night before, and was just planning on running it off. When I searched for his result after the event I discovered that he came 25th overall and 4th in the 40s age category, with a time of 01:29:29 !! 

The other guy, Troy, was running the marathon, but 'only' as part of his training for the Lanazarote Iron Man event the following month. He said he was a plodder and usually got round in about 5 hours, but I checked his result too, and no doubt he would have been delighted with his 04:25:13 !

The route itself was basically 5k South of the start, and back, then 5k North of the start, and back, with an extra 1.1k chucked in somewhere. The bi-directional nature of the route meant that it was possible for both tail winds and head winds to play a part and, despite the clear skies, there was a constant 20mph 'breeze' throughout the event. As is always the case you never get back with the tail wind what you lose due to the head wind, and the latter was present throughout the entire middle 10k of the race. 

What was a lovely surprise at the 5k and 7k points in the race was to see my support team at the roadside to cheer me on before they went to their roller coasters. By the 7k mark the aforementioned head wind was starting to do its damage though, and I wonder if they noticed I was running 19 seconds a kilometre slower than I was at 5k?!

There were some great views during the run, especially as it was such a bright day. I took this wee snap about 14k in....

Yes, I know everyone in front of me looks as if they're out for a wee stroll, but I suppose for most amateur runners a half marathon is actually just that. A longish, extra brisk stroll.

At around the 16k we dropped quickly from street level down to the esplanade, and we had the wind at our backs again, thank goodness. I really enjoyed that part of the run, even though it was getting a wee bit tiring at that point. The organisers had one more surprise for us though. About 800 metres to go we were still down on esplanade, but the finish line was back up nearer street level! They chucked in this nice , very steep incline to finish things off. Just what you need after running over 20k. 

My finish time was exactly on the 2 hour 3 minute mark. This seems to be becoming my 'par score' for a half marathon, so I'll need to find something extra this year to get anywhere near my current PB, never mind my target PB. 

After I picked up my t-shirt and medal, and had the mandatory banana, I jumped the tram back to meet the troops near the roller coasters. The tram stop was actually on the running route, and the marathon was still ongoing. As I alighted the tram who did I see but Troy! He was about 20 miles into his marathon and was going along nicely.

Overall it ended up being a great trip to Blackpool, and I will definitely consider running it again.