Tuesday 31 December 2013

Xmas Overindulgence

It wasn’t intentional but these things happen around Xmas. With relatives in Scotland and England Xmas was always going to be a long affair, and it’s not over yet, still some chocolates and, would you believe it, left over alcohol to consume.

But, actually, this year my overindulgence has less to do with the food and drink, though there was a bit of that, particularly during the Scottish stage of the grand xmas tour, than it does with the running.
My training consolidation phase has meant I’ve been training pretty hard, both running and doing my PT sessions and this leaves you a little tired at times. That’s fine of course, just like when I was training for the marathon, and it’s why I’m not racing at the moment, were I to race I’d ease back on the training and that would change everything, plenty of time for racing in the near future.

Of course because I don’t view parkruns as races I’d planned to include a couple of them. I wanted to run in Edinburgh, partly in the hope of catching up with some of my running friends, partly because I had a current best there of 19:25 and partly because I didn’t want people to think I always ran in a fairy outfit. Then I wanted to run on Xmas day, because I miss the Paulauff that takes place every Xmas day on Wimbledon Common, so I decided to do Delamere parkrun, the course has changed since I last did it so that made it worth doing. But that was all I had planned, then I wanted to focus on my training for a month.

Well Edinburgh went well, a new course pb of 17:35 and an enjoyable run, despite the strong wind on the return, that never seemed to be behind on the way out. Four days later, on Xmas day, I wasn’t really wanting to get involved in a race so was quite glad when the youngsters all shot off, I just focussed on a solid performance but ended up taking everyone but 1st place, running a 17:58 in the process. Of course being 4 seconds behind the winner I was a bit annoyed that I didn’t push harder, but I reminded myself that it was really just a means to an end and I hadn’t turned up with the intention to win. Then Carole said she wanted to do a parkrun on the Saturday, I wasn’t keen but in the interests of relationship harmony I decided to go along. My mindset was very much in the not really wanting to be there, in fact I’d done a fast run on the treadmill and a PT session the day before and I was feeling a little tired.

Understandably I never really got into it, yes I still ran a solid run but, at 18:25, it showed my lack of interest. There was a time I’d have been disappointed with that, until my injury I’d never run slower than 18 minutes, at any parkrun, but the 19:25 in Edinburgh put paid to that.

So as we approach 2014 it’s time for me to think about what I want to achieve next year. I can also reflect on a year that, despite being one of my worst for injuries and being unable to run for great chunks of it, actually gave me a lot of satisfactory performances. I even managed to add to my collection of medals with two BMAF Nationals (gold and silver) and a North of England (bronze) finding their way into my trunk, none of which would have been possible without the support from my Salford team mates, I’ll be back aiming for more next year. It was also good to see my clients doing so well, the running ones understandably as I put my 25 years of experience to good use, but also my non running clients, for who I’ve been using an exercise formula called Rogfit, can’t remember who came up with that name. Lastly, it was good to see my mate Rob Tudor enjoying success with Salford. Rob talked to me about joining up earlier in the year and I told him what I enjoyed about being a member. It was enough to seal the deal and Rob, despite suffering his own set of injuries, was able to gain three medals at BMAf National level with the squad, two of which were in the same team as me. I’m hoping we’ll both be making more of an impact for Salford next year, but more especially it would be great to be in the same race, when we’re both fully fit, though at 49 he is getting a bit past it now.

Happy New year all.

Written by Roger Alsop

Monday 9 December 2013

Consolidation Phase

I’m going through a phase, in my training, I call consolidation. After the long struggle with injury, followed by the three races in succession, to get fit for and represent my club in a National championship, I’ve decided to concentrate on getting some solid training done before I race seriously again.

I love racing, it’s why I train all the time, to get, and maintain fitness, so I can perform at my best in races. But there is a danger that racing too much can make you stale, which is why I don’t race every week. For the same reason I don’t do parkruns every week, even though I view them more as a paced training run rather than a race. It’s too easy to get caught in a trap, of always doing the same pace in races, that you never seem to advance, which is where putting in some consolidated training can give you opportunities to try different things and refresh your spirit.

I know there are some people who can race week in and week out, often more than once a week, and they thrive on it, but I don’t, I like to recharge my batteries every so often. That’s the way I’ve been ever since I was under the guidance of Arthur Bruce and it’s often led to me producing a performance nobody would expect looking at my previous form, which is why racing form isn’t always a good indicator of potential.

So since the BMAF cross country relays I’ve been focussing on my training, I haven’t even decided when I’ll race next, though I will be slipping in the odd parkrun, only for matrimonial purposes. My training has consisted of longer distances, more reps and PT sessions. This means that my legs are always a little tired but manageable, what you’d expect for any athlete training hard in the winter.

Saturday was one of those parkrun days. Carole wanted to do one and I could see no reason to object. We chose Congleton, because it’s been a while since we last went there, in fact at my last attempt to run it I had to ease off after a quarter of a lap and stop altogether at the end of lap 1, it was far too soon after damaging my achilles.

When the run started I chose to take it steady, not so South Cheshire’s Pete Mallison, who shot off. I tracked him for a while but he kept pulling away gradually. I wasn’t really in the mood for busting a gut, I was happy to just have a hard run, not that that would suggest I could have beaten Pete who finished in a time 6 seconds faster than my best around the course. My own time was 17:36, which I’m quite pleased with, I didn’t push too hard but produced my 2nd fastest parkrun time of the year. That means I’m on my way back to good form, hopefully it won’t be too long before I produce something a bit more spectacular.

Cue picture of me running something above current form of the time. This is a picture of me on my way to winning the Wimbledon 10k in March 2004 in 31:56, previous 10k’s over the previous year had seen me unable to break 33 minutes but on this day I found myself unexpectedly in the lead from the start and just decided to keep pushing it, running scared!



Written by Roger Alsop
www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Wednesday 27 November 2013

BMAF Cross Country Relays 2013

There is a report of this race, by one of our eloquent supporters, Pete Budd, which you can find at http://www.salfordharriers.co.uk/Race-Reports.htm This blog is my personal interpretation of what occurred on 23 November 2013.

This weekend I joined in the fun on one of Salford Harriers away days. Organiser, Dave Lockett, had a bus full of old men and a bucket full of beer for the annual trip to Derby. With the bus unfortunately not coming via Northwich, Rob and myself, along with cheerleader Carole, made our own way there, as did some of the supporters, who not having to run, enjoyed a bit of a lie in. This was the 2nd consecutive year the BMAF cross country relays were held at Moorways Stadium, Derby. Last year Salford did well taking medals in all four of the men’s events (see report http://rogalsop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/salford-silvers-take-gold.html), this year we were missing some runners and some of those present were lacking fitness, but there was nothing wrong with our passion, we weren’t intending to just make up the numbers.

A couple of months ago I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to run in these championships, having suffered adverse effects during my attempts to race in the September relays. On my racing return, just three weeks ago, I had such a shocker that I was lucky to be considered for the B team. A good run last week saw me promoted to the M45 A team, but it was a close run thing. Having not been selected I was determined to get out there and run a blinder, to show I could still run well, but once I was back in the A team I was more nervous about my run, I was the slowest man in the team and I didn’t want to let them down. Still I knew what I would have to do if we were to have any chance of competing with the strong Leicester boys, and I was looking forward to being competitive. As the day approached my body was starting to feel pretty strong and my confidence was rising.

Rob, Carole and I arrived, in plenty of time, to find the rest of the Salford boys already chilling in the winter sun. Then it was a case of getting our numbers sorted and surveying the course. Last year the course had been dry and fast, this year it still looked relatively dry, though there were some sticky patches, and, with no wind, it looked like being another fast event. The distance was marked as 3.1k, same as last year, though it did look like there was a little extra bit added on before the last uphill, but I’m no expert on course measurement and it is irrelevant how long it is as it’s the same length for everyone.

The ladies and M65s were off first and it provided us with a close finish and an excellent time in the W35 event, for W45 Clare Elms. This year Salford didn’t have an M65 team. Then it was our turn, on the basis of last year’s times I figured I had about 20 minutes after the start of the race until it was my run, I was on 3rd leg. So after watching the guys crest the first hill I started to get ready. Our M45 leader, and day trip tour guide, Dave Lockett, had made a bold start near the front of the pack. We needed him to get as close to Gordon Lee, one of the UK’s M45 best and Leicester man, as possible, but initially Dave was ahead. In fact it looked like Gordon was struggling for pace, until he emerged from the woods ahead of our Dave. James Kovacs was also hanging onto Dave’s shorts and our B team runners were showing us what they were made of. At the end of the leg Mansfield Harriers (M35) were clearly in the lead after a storming leg by Mark Johnson, Tipton (M35) were lying 2nd with Lincoln Wellington (M45) in 3rd place, just three seconds ahead of Gordon Lee’s Leicester. Our Dave had done us proud, his 10:41 saw him well positioned amongst the M35s, but crucially we were only 10 seconds down on Leicester, occupying 3rd place in the M45s. James was a further 17 seconds adrift but keeping Salford in the medal hunt with 5th M35 team. Our M35 B team was well up too with M45 Paul Birkett showing that he’s improving week on week, his 11:14 being a solid target for other members of the team and the M45 boys to aim at. Sean Cordell was in the mix for an incomplete M45 B team, running 12:56. In the M55 race Ilkley Harriers were first to show, but Phil Quibell kept Salford in the hunt with 12:18.

With our top M35 and M45 teams so close together it was going to be another good race between the two teams on leg two, let alone all the other teams trying to stop us from winning medals. For the M35s it was Billy McCartney, up against M45 (and last year’s M35 gold medallist) Ian Jackson. The guys slugged it out over the 3.1k but at the end there was still the same gap, as both guys ran 11:18. The M45’s were still ahead of the M35s but, more importantly, we were still 3rd in the M45 race, Lincoln Wellington’s man had run the same time as Jacko so they were now our nearest rival in 2nd place, the gap to Leicester had opened up, as they took the lead, their 10 second lead from the 1st leg had increased to 36 seconds as they front loaded their squad. Our M35 B team was also showing highly in the mix as newcomer, John Dance, ran a great leg, 10:51, showing what an asset he will be to Salford. The M45 B team threw in the Towell, both during and after this leg, Bob Towell being our final runner and showing that he still has it with a 17:00 clocking. With many of the M55s away or injured it was Tom Daniels who was called into the team and kept them going with 15:41.

So as I stepped onto the start line for my leg I had a few things to ponder, Leicester’s man looked familiar, so I convinced myself he was their weak link, this would give me added impetus to my chase knowing that as much as I was about to suffer, he would be suffering more. I was the leading Salford man, maybe not by far, or for long, but I had Salford’s reputation on my shoulders. Matt Shaw was representing the M35s and not only is he a damned good runner but he carries 13 years less aging process and beer about his person, it was a foregone conclusion that the M35s would not be behind the M45s at the end of the 3rd leg, but perhaps I might benefit from a bit of a tow as he passed me.

I went off hard, as was needed when you have a 30 second deficit to the leaders, but even so I was surprised when Matt overtook me whilst we were still going round the track. My hope for a tow in the Lotus / Mercedes ilk was dashed as it became more like a Red Bull / Marussia type tow. Still I was going plenty hard enough, I actually started accumulating lactic by the time I hit the mud patch and my lungs were working in overtime already. I imagine I’d gone off too fast for my fitness level but it was only an 11 minute run, surely I could put the pain to the back of my mind and concentrate on overtaking runners. It took me until I hit the woods, about half way round the lap, before I caught the Lincoln Wellington runner. I sensed he tried to hang onto me for a while, which was a bit distressing as I fought for breath whilst navigating the twists and turns of the woods, but I eventually pulled clear.

Back out of the woods and up the sharp hill into the stadium area, my favourite bit. This is where the Salford boys are most vocal and it really helps me. I forgot about the pain I was in and focussed on getting my legs to turn over quickly again. Leicester were a small dot on the horizon but I wasn’t about to give in, I had no idea what their next two men were like but we had Derek Crewe and Rob Tudor to follow, I had to give them every chance. I pushed through to start my 2nd lap, legs were screaming at me to stop, my lungs felt like they were about to explode out of my chest, but this is where a strategically placed Carole comes in handy. If you don’t look like you’re trying as you run past Carole you get an earful and I didn’t fancy a night in the spare bed, so I forced myself to keep pushing, then through the Salford boys again, not the place to slow down either. Feeling it on the hill and then a slight slow down and wide line around the corner of the downhill as I was worried I was too tired to control myself through the mud. Back into the woods it was about 3 more minutes of pain, keep pushing. Up the hill again into the Salford boys and once again the noise was incredible, I went for the finish from this point and gave everything I had left, as I passed the line it was the first time I’d felt like I was going to throw up after a race, ever. Everything hurt, but mostly my pride as I realised I hadn’t made any inroads into Leicester’s lead (in fact I had gained 4 seconds). Then I turned around to see an M45 runner had come in just behind me and that was another shock (until I found out it was Brecon’s Austin Davies who had run, not only the M45 best, but the day’s best time of 9:58), I hadn’t been aware of his presence at all during the race.
Running hard up the final hill 

Where did Salford stand now. Matt had brought the M35s into 1st place, the M45s were now 2nd in their race and the M35 b team and the M55 teams were still battling, Mark Seed had run 12:25 and Mike Wakefield 12:23.

Coming into a team late is never easy and it’s a particularly hard task when you’d turned up expecting to be in a B team only to find yourself in the lead with a mass of teams hunting you down. But that’s the nature of an event like this, it doesn’t matter if you’re fastest or slowest as long as you put in the same amount of effort. Phil West was the unenviable runner in question and he gave it everything he had. Two teams, Bourneville and Tipton, came past but Phil tried so hard to keep us in touch with them and ahead of the others, his 11:37 stacking up well against his opponents. In the M45s Leicester pulled further ahead as Derek Crewe couldn’t quite match Gareth Deacon’s pace, but he’d stretched the gap to Brecon a further 11 seconds. A good leg also by Charles Foster in the M35 b team, he’d expected to be working but when that fell through he could think of nothing better than a day trip to Derby. This was the final leg for the M55s and we had England international Stan Owen. The team was well back when Stan started but that didn’t stop him running the 4th fastest M55 time of the day. In doing so he pulled the team up to 10th position.

The final leg for the M35 and M45 teams and it was still to play for. Dean Parker, of Bourneville, ran a good leg from the front, ensuring that they stayed ahead to take victory. Our Mike Grace ran brilliantly to snatch silver for Salford from Tipton. The M35 b team finished 12th with Albert Castille fighting against some very competitive middle order men and earning a good 12:04 for his efforts. Rob Tudor, my mate and Cheshire gurning champion 1981-2012, was left in an awkward position, 50 seconds behind Leicester but only 13 ahead of Brecon. Should he chase hard and risk losing silver or should he concentrate on keeping silver by holding something in reserve. In the end Rob decided to go for it and threw in a fast first lap but having Leicester nowhere in sight with only 5 minutes to go must’ve been galling, still Rob kept the pace up, no telling if Brecon had another Austin Davies up their sleeve, whilst, no doubt, holding something in reserve should he need a sprint finish. His reward, team Silver, 2nd fastest in the team and 7th fastest M45 of the day, he’d done just the job we wanted, making up time on Leicester whilst only giving away 1 second to Brecon.

It was job done, two silvers for Salford, not as good as last year’s one gold and three silvers, but still a successful trip.

And then onto the presentation. The moment where Dave earns his reputation of Salford Tour Guide of the year by presenting the team with a bucket of beer. The medal presentation was drawn out, but beer is a great comforter in times like these. For myself I feel I must apologise to my Salford team mates, I’m usually pretty chirpy after races, particularly if I feel I and/or the team have done well, but on this occasion I was a shadow of my dancing on the table self, the race, albeit a short one, had taken every ounce of energy out of me, I had nothing left to give and sat slumped in a corner dazed and confused. I had about as much conversation in me as a trappist monk and spent the majority of the presentation staring at the bottom of an empty beer tin, wondering when somebody would notice I needed to be fed another one. But I managed to make it up to collect my medal, which is my only complaint about the day, the guys all ran pretty hard and deserve some recognition for their efforts, I believe it is fitting that each should get their medal and a handshake presented to them by whoever is the official on duty but today all the team’s medals were handed to the first person up.

Anyway enough complaining, I don’t really think we should complain too much about people who give up their time for these events (unless they add 11 seconds to your leg time), once again it was a brilliant day out on a good course with good facilities.

At the end of all that how do I feel about my run? I ran out of my socks, it was a far superior run than anything I’ve done this year and possibly one of the best runs I’ve done for many years, all the more special because I’m still not back to full fitness. People talk about eyeballs out and giving 110%, well that’s about how I felt during my run (though I have a problem understanding how you can give more than 100% I will accept it’s use in the context of this blog). In the end I was joint 8th fastest M45 and I came away with another national medal, can’t say much fairer than that.
I may be smiling but if it wasn't for Jacko and Dave I'd be slumped on the floor

Written by Roger Alsop

Photos courtesy of Sid 

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Old Rog, More Like the Old Rog

Last week’s race in Stockport was one I’d rather have forgotten as soon as it was over, but of course that doesn’t happen, the results are out there for everybody to see. So instead I’ll embrace the fact that I sometimes have bad runs, after all it makes the good times more special. Of course mid-week that result got even worse as I was demoted to 72nd position, as three runners appeared Mr. Benn like ahead of me in the final results.

It was always my intention to race again the following Saturday, and the fact that I’d had a bad run wasn’t going to reflect on that decision. My body felt weary from the race but I felt I had something to prove, if not to anybody else then at least to myself, my training had been going well so surely I was better than the results indicated. I had a decision to make, did I ease off my training to ensure I was fresh for the race or did I continue my hard training regime focusing on getting fit for future championships. It was an easy decision to make, nothing was going to make a dramatic improvement in one week but the hard work put in now would pay dividends later in the season. So I put myself through a tough week of training, made even tougher by the gale force winds on Thursday.

Saturday approached and it was a nice dry day, a bit chilly but it is November. I managed to persuade Carole to come with me, I won’t take her along if I think the course isn’t spectator friendly but it does make that little bit of a difference having somebody there rooting for you. We arrived at the course in plenty of time, I picked up my number and went for a walk around the course, with Carole. I used to run a lap before and after the race but these days it’s hard enough racing 6 miles I can’t be bothered to add an extra 4 miles to the total, I’m not a mileage junkie, and at least this way I could spend time with Carole, she was going to have to spend long enough on her own while I raced. The course was mainly firm going, with small pockets of mud, much more to my liking than last week.

As we got back towards the start the ladies were already on their way, only three from Salford but they were running prominently and took first team. Compared to last week it was a low key turn out for the men, only four of us, more supporters than runners. Not enough for a team, it takes six, and we didn’t think we had enough for a Masters team, we thought it was four to score and although we all qualify as Masters, nationally, in this league it’s M40+ and Billy’s a mere youngster. As it turned out we only needed three so we did finish a team, coming second in that category.

After a team pic, courtesy of Sid Sacks, we were off. Normally Billy’s a fast starter so I expected to see him ahead of me, along with Paul, who’s running so confidently at the moment. But I was surprised to find myself leading the Salford Harriers. Last year I briefly led the whole race but no chance of that today, running with dented confidence and the presence of Dave Norman in the field, I was back somewhere around 20th position. All I was interested in was having a better race than last week, finishing closer to Paul (he was 51 seconds ahead of me last week) and finishing 2nd Salford.

I put in a solid first lap, but even so I was surprised I was still the leading Salford runner, at the turnaround point, as you start the next lap, I had a quick look across the field and saw Paul not far behind, only a matter of time before he caught me, I was already starting to feel I little tired. Billy was a little further back, I hoped that was a big enough gap for me. My mindset was now fixed on retaining my position as Salford leader to the end of the second lap and I ran the lap as though it was my last, with the exception of my storming finish (I’m not that daft).

I managed it but as I started the third, and final, lap Paul had closed right up on me to within 5 seconds. Billy had fallen back further so it was all about Paul and me. Clearly Paul was going to beat me, I was feeling really tired and he looked fresh and determined, still I decided that the longer I could hold him off the closer I could finish behind him. I pushed down the hill for a breathing space and even ran confidently through the muddy patch. Then we hit the open field and the wind was hitting me hard. I pushed through it but I was really beginning to feel tired now. Onto the next field and I pushed hard, trying to hold off the inevitable. Further and further into the lap and still Paul hadn’t come past me. I was getting close to the end and pushing as hard as I thought I could. Then it was onto the tricky bit through the wood, I could hear somebody catching me but I thought it was probably the young runner I’d passed earlier. As we hit the mud I heard a voice and looked around to see Paul on my shoulder. I had position so took the best line, whilst being fair and leaving space for Paul to come around me, if he wanted to. It was a tricky place and I did accelerate so we emerged from the woods still in the positions we’d entered and now we didn’t have far to go to the end, two straights and a hill to the finish. I pushed and got a little gap, I pushed again and hitting the hill I put in my final effort at the start of the hill. It was a long hill but I could sense I was going to hold off Paul, with relief and thinking we didn’t have a team I allowed a Leigh Harrier to sprint past me at the end, only to find out later that had cost me 1st M45 position. Numpty.

I was really tired afterwards, I felt quite weak on the way home, but I was much happier with my performance and I’m heading in the right direction. Plus that’s two cross country races on consecutive weekends and not a trace of a problem where my injuries had been. It was good to see my old fighting spirit showing itself and now I’ve remembered what it’s like to fight for position I’m hoping it will help me next time out.
The Four Salfordeers - Paul, me, Billy and Albert (or Andrew as known in some circles)
Running confidently through the woods

The following day I’d arranged to meet my mate Rob Tudor for a long run. I wasn’t sure if I’d be up to it but no harm in trying. We had a good run around Northwich and the woodlands, I was surprisingly springy for the first 5 miles, but I was tiring towards the end. Another week now and back to the hard work.

Written by Roger Alsop (with thanks to Sid Sacks for the pictures) 

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Rog’s Racing Return

22 September, the date of my last race. I wouldn’t call it a disaster but it was a pretty disappointing display. I couldn’t run at 100% effort because I was in pain, not the good pain that you get from knowing you’re giving everything but the bad pain from the ongoing injury and then the worry that you’re only making it worse. So poor run in the bag I called it a day, as far as racing was concerned.

I was clearly able to run, without too much discomfort, but I couldn’t run flat out, so I decided it was time to tick over and concentrate my efforts on helping my running clients and try to enjoy running rather than flogging the old body.

Following the success of the bioresonance treatment I was keen to see how my body would hold up to racing, but my early attempts were thwarted. I managed to find excuses not to race; taking Carole to the airport, picking Carole up from the airport, taking my mum out for a birthday lunch, but really I was just a bit nervous about over-committing myself so close after recovering from what has been my longest ever sustained period of injury. So I missed the 1st Manchester Area Cross Country League fixture, I ignored the urge to do a parkrun and I threw away the opportunity to run a fast 5k on the Wirral.

But I had a plan, I was already booked on a trip to Spain, my usual pre championship tune up venue, booked when I thought I’d be back to my best by now, so I’d train hard over there and race the day after I returned, in the 2nd Manchester Area Cross Country League fixture.

Training went well in Spain, good quality runs interspersed with long runs around the hilly interior, with some relaxing long walks along the beaches of the Costa Calida.

Sunday 10 November, Woodbank Park, the venue of my last cross country race, 9 months to the day previously. Although a little nervous, having completely knackered my achilles on that previous occasion, I was keen to put that behind me and show what I was capable of. I arrived in good time, despite all attempts by my sat nav to send me all over the place, and it was a lovely day with the sun shining. But beneath that wonderful sunshine my nemesis lurked, a waterlogged and muddy cross country course. Oh well, can’t have everything my own way and at least I’d finish better than my last visit, 53rd, when I could hardly run at all.

At the start line I was surrounded by my Salford team mates, a good turnout for the club and this helped me to feel positive about the race. Then the gun went and I was immediately swamped by a mass of runners. No problem it was a wide enough start and I was sure I’d pick my way through the field. And then the next 40 minutes just seemed to meld into a blur of mud and I finished the race in my lowest ever Manchester League position, 69th.

In trying to understand what went wrong I have no clear answer but lots of theories.
1.       It was muddy, I’ve never been a class cross country runner but constant mud just doesn’t suit my style of running. True I’ve won cross country championships and was even 2nd in the British Masters Champs, but all achieved on firm courses.
2.       I’ve missed a lot of training throughout the year and whilst I’ve managed to run reasonably well over the occasional 5k a 10k is a different pair of training shoes, and if you’re lacking fitness cross country will find you out more than a road race.
3.       I’m lacking race practice.
4.       I train on my own or with clients that aren’t as fast as me, perhaps that has made my understanding of how hard I am training a little unreliable.
5.       I’m old and want a beer in front of a log fire while watching the TV, bring me my pipe and slippers.

Whatever the reason I know it’s only a matter of consistent training over time and getting back into the racing mode that will bring me on again to challenge my peers. I don’t give up that easy, the pint can wait. Two positives I can take from last Sunday’s race are; that I ran hard up the hill and, despite my hamstring throbbing on the 3rd lap, I suffered no post race adverse reaction. I’m now awaiting my next cross country race with relish.

Incidentally Salford won the Men’s and the Men’s Masters races, my contribution was not needed in either team.

Written by Roger Alsop

Thursday 24 October 2013

The Scottish Period

It was an all too brief period of my life, but still remembered fondly, the years I resided and raced in, and for Scotland. It wasn’t all positive, but no point in dwelling on the bad aspects, much better to enjoy all the positivity I took from my running north of the border.

I’d been on holiday to Scotland on a few occasions, I loved the scenery and I was partial to the odd dram, but I never thought I would one day live there. I lived in a nice part of London, my job was there, most of my mates still resided in London and most importantly, my running club was just up the road, so why would I want to leave? I had actually visited Edinburgh with the Belgrave British League team, back in the 90’s, running my debut British League race, a 5000m in 1992 – I was 5th in the B race with 15:32, a year later I was back – improving my time at Meadowbank to 15:12 but only finishing 6th in the B string (still at least I wasn’t lapped this time).

After that season Edinburgh dropped out of the 1st Division so the next time I raced in Scotland was 12 years later, in 2005. At this point I was working for RBS and spending a few days at a time in Edinburgh. I would stay at the Holyrood hotel, nicely located close to Holyrood park and I’d do a couple of laps around the park before going to dinner. Sometimes my Scottish pal, Jim Buick, would meet up with me and we’d run around the park together or Jim would take me on one of his scary runs around Edinburgh, not scary because of all the ghost tours but because Jim had a habit of running across roads in front of traffic. Sometimes he’d take me along to one of Martin Hyman’s sessions at the Meadows, they were great sessions and even at 40 I was holding my own against the youngsters from Edinburgh University.

A torn hamstring in the first half of 2005 held me back a little, it was a summer of little racing, but I managed to get to the last of the Self Transcendence 2 mile races at the Meadows. Still not back to fitness I could only manage a 10:24 for 8th place. And then my life changed, RBS offered me a role based in Edinburgh and I agreed to take it. I moved up in November but the first 4 weeks were spent staying in various hotels, not the best when you’re working nightshifts, so as soon as a friend offered me a flat in Gorgie I took it, and that’s where I stayed, just around the corner from Hearts FC, until my own place was ready in March.

It was a great location for training, I had the canal close by in one direction and in the other I could get on a disused railway, converted into a path, which went all the way into Leith. I was training well, on my own, but because I hadn’t joined a Scottish club I hadn’t raced for a while. My next race in Scotland was on Boxing Day, a 14k handicap race at Beescraig. I was working Xmas day and when I returned home at 19:30 I wasn’t much in the mood for drinking on what had been my loneliest Xmas day ever, so a 14k blast seemed like a good idea. Jim picked me up and took me along to the race, I didn’t know anybody else there so it was a bit of an odd experience, over the years I’d got to know most of my opponents in London races. The race was (if I remember correctly) 3 laps of a country park route featuring a climb up and back down Cockleroy hill. So it was a bit of a trail come hill race, not something I was very experienced in, but it beat spending the day on my own. Jim had told the handicappers that I was a 30 minute 10k runner, based on the fact that I’d run under 31 minutes, once, 12 years earlier. This meant I was last off, a minute after the guy in front of me. So the lonely Xmas continued as I saw pretty much nobody for the entire race. As I descended Cockleroy the final time it was bonus time as I slipped over and managed to punch myself in the mouth (one of those punches that I could never have achieved with such accuracy or power if I’d planned it). Upon finishing, checking my hip and my teeth were still all there I found out I was 2nd fastest, Mark Johnston – soon to be a team mate at EAC was fastest. With that I was glad to see the back of 2005.
2006 was to start much better. I wasn’t working over the New Year but still new to Scotland I wasn’t exactly on everybody’s party list, so it was an early night, though I was rudely awoken at midnight by somebody setting off fireworks in the Castle. The next morning I headed over to Portobello for the promenade run, a 4 mile race that went out for two miles and back for two miles. I had a good race, the winner, Mark Draper, was always in sight and I was less than a minute behind Darren Gauson. I finished 4th after a great battle with Ross Arbuckle for 1st Master prize.

I then went to Japan for a couple of weeks to celebrate my birthday, so my next race was late February. By now I’d been approached by EAC to join them but I was still mulling it over. This race was the KB5 (5 miles around a hilly course at the Braids), where I apparently still hold the M40 course record! It’s a lovely course and since I moved around the corner a month later a route I used fairly often in training, in fact it was the first place I took Carole for a run (which probably wasn’t the best idea). Because my job required that I work every other weekend, races were not so frequent at this stage in my life and my next two were down in England, on duty for my 1st claim UK club, Herne Hill. My next race in Scotland was the Scottish Road Relays on 1st April, which I’ve already written a whole blog about http://rogalsop.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/six-men-make-edinburghs-day.html

I followed this up with a run in the Jim Dingwall 10k, I could only managed 21st in the race and was disappointed with my time of 33:15 (though it took me three years to better that time). The rot was setting in, stressed out by my work and probably over-training, due to loneliness, I got injured.
My comeback was a low key affair, the EAC 5k handicap, where I managed the fastest time, 16:20. Then onto the cross country season. I actually had a good cross country season, the courses suited me, I finished the season as first Master in the East District league and was selected to represent Scottish Masters in the International Cross Country event, where we took the silver medals.

2007 started almost identical to 2006, I ran at Portobello again, coming 4th again and first master, running just one second slower than the previous year, how’s that for pacing. My next races were indoor, I’d decided I would use up some holiday competing at the European indoor old people’s championships. Because I’d never run indoor before I figured I’d better get some practice in so entered the Scottish Indoor champs and the Scottish Masters indoor champs, which took place at Kelvin Hall. I didn’t do so bad, I was 7th in the Senior 1500m, 4:18.25, but found that a bit fast considering I hadn’t been near a track for about two years, the next day I was 4th in the 3000m in 9:05.12 and a month later I took the Scottish Masters crown in the 3000m, 9:05.97.

It was Scotland where I did my first proper hill race, thought I ought to try it so I picked a short one, the Hunters Bog Trot. It was a strange affair, one of the hills was so steep I had to walk, I was feeling annoyed with myself until I looked up and saw the leaders, internationals, walking too. Well that was it, I’m a runner not a walker and I could have taken up race walking if I’d wanted to get a high ranking, I decided not to bother with hill running again. On the more normal hills I was doing great, passing people on every climb, only problem was on the steep descents I was being re-passed by those I’d taken and more. I remember one guy flying past me at the top of the hill but he was going so fast he couldn’t stop at the bottom and ended up diving headfirst into a gorse bush. As I passed him lying there I considered offering to help, but I was in a race. Thankfully he was ok and we enjoyed a few post race drinks together, during which he continued to remove gorse spikes from his forehead.

Over the next few years, despite getting older and slower I did quite well with EAC and represented Scotland every year in the international cross country. But I never quite ran my best, nightshifts put paid to that as I was living with a constant feeling of jet lag. During my last year there, at 44, I did start to regain some of my form as I prepared to leave RBS and nightshift behind, though I was quite shocked to win the Haddington 5 mile road race outright. My last race, living in Scotland was at Cumbernauld, one of my favourite cross country courses, in the Scottish cross country relays. A few weeks later I represented Scotland for the last time, having been told I would no longer be eligible when I moved back to England.

Four years on, May 2013, I ran my first race in Scotland, the Edinburgh parkrun, this being my first race since knackering my achilles was a slow affair and also my first parkrun in a fairy outfit. But despite being my slowest ever 5k it signalled the start of another Rog comeback that has so far resulted in a North of England bronze medal and a National Masters gold medal.

I don’t know when I’ll next be in Scotland, I have a different set of races to do with my Salford team mates, but next time I’m back I hope to coincide with a race.
One of my last races for EAC, East District relays at Prestonpans


Written by Roger Alsop

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Bioresonance Therapy

What do you know about bioresonance therapy? A few weeks ago I’d never heard of it, but it’s been around for some time. The reason I came to find out about it is due to my ongoing injury issues, that seem to have dragged on throughout this year. Recently I was having a chat with one of my friends at Ronhill, during which I mentioned my frustration at not being able to get clear of injuries, and he suggested I tried this treatment, putting me in touch with therapist Mike Beaver, from Wilmslow.

I’ll tell you more about my treatment later but first a little about the therapy.

What is bioresonance therapy?

It falls into the category of empiric medicine, such as homeopathy, acupuncture and other natural healing methods, and has been used in human medicine for more than 25 years. One of the benefits of this therapy is that it is non invasive, i.e. no needles or drugs are used as part of the therapy, instead it uses frequency patterns, which are passed through the body. It can be used for skin diseases, allergies, intestinal problems, sports injuries, and many others (see the website for further information).

That’s my simple explanation of the therapy, to read about it in more depth visit www.reson8.uk.com which covers it in much greater detail.

Bioresonance in sports medicine

Whilst it’s an interesting subject for all ailments the bit that was most relevant to me was it’s use in sports medicine and Mike gave me the following information: It is being used by 13,000 therapists worldwide, including some top sporting institutions, such as The Moscow Centre of Sport Rehabilitation. Both new and old sports injuries can be treated very effectively with bioresonance therapy and injuries can be reduced in the first place by improving blood circulation, receptor and brain communication, strengthening heart, muscles, joints and ligaments.

A research group was set up in Slovenia, featuring two groups of 12 sportsmen with overstrain syndrome, one group using conventional treatment and one group using bioresonance therapy. The results of this research showed that bioresonance therapy can be used successfully on overstrain syndrome without difficulty or negative side effects and that better results were achieved in less time with fewer sessions than by using conventional therapy.

So you will understand why I decided to use the therapy; firstly it was recommended by somebody I trust, secondly looking at the information on the website it made sense, thirdly I was already receiving other treatment but the long term problems I was having were not clearing up.

My bioresonance experience

The piriformis problems were dragging on and I still wasn’t able to get full range of movement during my running, which meant I still couldn’t run fast, then I had one of those nasty back spasms. This was on Wednesday morning, two weeks ago. After the spasm I was practically incapable of doing anything, in a lot of pain and completely unable to run. I was due at the chiropractor that afternoon so, whilst a little concerned that the spasm’s were, perhaps, coming back to haunt me, I felt sure I would be sorted out. However a couple of days later I was still getting the spasms. It was at this point I was chatting to my friend at Ronhill. I read up a bit about bioresonance and thought it was worth a try so I gave Mike a call, had a discussion about it and booked in an initial session for the following Monday. We discussed costs, as there seemed a lot involved in the treatment, and I was wondering how much each treatment would be. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost to see Mike was no more than most physio sessions, and considerably less than some.
 
By Saturday morning I felt I could try running again, we were heading off to Blackpool later in the morning so it was only a short run, but it was a struggle, 30 minutes of shuffling along like a man in his 80’s. It wasn’t very pleasant, though I suspect when I’m in my 80’s I’ll feel a whole lot better about being able to run that fast. We stayed over in Blackpool, it was very illuminating, and the next morning was so nice, with the sun shining and, with us staying near the sea front, I just had to go for a run. Ok I started off with the intention of going for a run but it soon became evident I was going for a shuffle. At this point I was keen to see Mike but, I wasn’t exactly sure if it was going to help.

Monday dawned and I actually had a running client early on, thankfully she wasn’t one of my quicker clients but I did feel a bit more relaxed in my running. We ran for about 30 minutes and I loosened up so I left her and ran for a further 30 minutes on my own, then I went to see Mike.

Mike started the session by carrying out various tests to check out my internal organs, and to see if I had any viruses or was carrying any parasites, thankfully I was given a clean bill of health. Then it was onto my back and Mike used his machine to treat me. I had been told not to drink any tea, coffee or alcohol before the treatment and now Mike told me to steer clear of these until the next day, and off I trotted back home.
Despite drinking water on the way home I still felt a bit dehydrated when I arrived so continued to drink throughout the day, I also had a slight headache, which was probably due to the caffeine withdrawal, I also felt a little lacklustre and wasn’t really looking forward to the two running clients I had lined up for that evening.

Come the evening I felt more alive, the headache had disappeared and I had replenished my body with water. I did feel a little stiff setting off with my first client but I soon settled down, come my second client I was ready to fly, which was just as well as she was in the mood for a really hard session. Everything about that run felt good, I had no pain in my back and, despite this being the fastest I’d run I wasn’t getting any pulls in my hamstring, just a dull ache in the piriformis area. Surely this was too good to be true, I had thought it would take me some time still to recover but here I was running at a good pace with no pain. Early days yet and although I was running at a reasonable pace it wasn’t my race pace, my first session at my pace would be a better indicator of success.

The next day I was due to meet Ray for a tough hour long session in Tatton Park, but soon after I got out of bed I felt a twinge in my back, ‘oh dear’ I thought, ‘here we go again’. Thankfully it wasn’t a bad twinge and I was able to work with a client in the morning, which helped to loosen things up. Come Ray’s session I was once again running fast, virtually pain free, over the undulating grasslands of Tatton Park, not the best surface for someone with a back problem but I didn’t experience any pain in the back just the same dull ache in the piriformis.

With a further, but less intense, back twinge, the next day I rang Mike and asked for a further treatment on the Thursday, where I wanted him to also take a look at the piriformis. Then I went out for a run on my own and did one of my quality sessions, at my pace, for the first time in ages. I was quick, not as quick as I normally go as I was a little nervous about the hamstring pulling or the back going, but this was faster than the runs of the previous two days. It was a good training session but one I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing before Mike’s treatment. Come Thursday I decided I’d do another tough session before my session with Mike. At times I struggled, not surprising as it was the 4th day on the trot I’d done some form of quality, plus there was a stiff, cold, wind in my face for the first 20 minutes. Clearly I was tired but the back and leg had come through well, then off to Mike’s for treatment.

Mike treated my back and piriformis and I decided to take Friday as a rest day to give myself a rest.
On Saturday I did another quality run, still not 100% but faster than the one on Wednesday, with no repercussions. Sunday morning was my long run, although I still like to do a long run on a Sunday it has been a while since I’d run for longer than an hour (hardly fits the description of long run really) but this time I felt good, after an initial slow 10 minutes to warm up. Once I hit the Northwich woodlands I was in full flow and running at a good pace. I was enjoying myself again and didn’t really want to stop, but you can’t go on forever. In the end I ran for an hour and 25 minutes, way longer than anything I’ve managed this year. I felt good and I felt positive. The only thing that bothered me was that I was reluctant to really push up hills, not the best attitude with a cross country season just starting.

The following day I decided to do a hill session (see how the paragraphs just glide into each other), just a short one as I had a running client in the evening and that was likely to be a tough session. This gave me some confidence to push up the hill but, because I was extending my leg further, I was getting a slight tug in the hamstring. Nowhere near as much as I had before starting treatments with Mike but it was still a concern. It’s been good progress but even I’m not optimistic enough to believe things will be sorted out in two sessions, so I booked a further session with Mike for this week. However, I do seem to be able to train hard in-between treatments.

It’s now Wednesday, exactly two weeks since the big back spasm and goodness knows how many weeks since I started experiencing the problem with my piriformis. Today is the first morning where I haven’t had any twinges in my back, since that first spasm. I also did another of my hard runs and couldn’t feel any pain in my piriformis or hamstring. I went to see Mike for the 3rd time and he treated me again, also working on my achilles, which is still a little tender from the injury I received in February. I left Mike feeling good and full of confidence that I will be back racing soon and I can’t wait for my next run.

If you’re interested in finding out more about bioresonance therapy then take a look at the website www.reson8.uk.com or if you’re local to Wilmslow and want to get in touch with Mike, you can call him on 01625 531222.

Written by Roger Alsop

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Tough Times Ahead

After the holiday came the relays. With my hamstring pulling it was always going to be touch and go that I’d be able to run but, as regular readers will know, I love taking part in relays so it looked like being good news as I managed to run well enough to make the start line for them both. I knew I wasn’t 100% but I was getting better each day and I thought the short sharp blast might even help me.

If you’ve read my previous blog you’ll know I struggled at Lancaster. Well the following week I travelled to Blackpool for the North of England Relays, slightly longer at 6.6k, but the pain had continued to recede as the week went on so I was confident I could run better than at Lancaster. It was a good start too, the weather couldn’t have been any more of a contrast to the previous week as the sun beamed down on us and the temperatures soared. Understandably I was a little nervous about my leg but went for a warm up to get everything working and check out the course. The warm up did neither, my leg niggled and my confidence ebbed a little, the course was, at best, confusing and I had a less clear picture of where I was running than if I’d not bothered with a  warm up. The race started and Salford A were always up there, Salford B were fighting their corner aiming for National qualification and Salford C, my team, were right in the mix.

I was 3rd leg, taking over from the only man I know who can make fast running look slow, Mike Grace. There were girls aplenty for me to chase, it was like being back at school, but 40 metres into the race I felt a twinge in the leg and hobbled a few steps, I was ok but I had to slow it down, so much that it took me an eternity to pass any of the girls that I’d normally have swept past. In the meantime three other teams had passed me. I never really ran slow but I never really found my stride either, pain was with me all the way, which made it a much harder run for me than it should have been, considering it was only 6.6k and relatively flat.

My leg over it was down to the next three runners to make up the places I’d lost. It was another disappointing run for me. I don’t usually get dejected after races, if I get beaten then it’s usually because those that beat me were better, even so I would have given 100% to try to beat them, but these last two races had seen me unable to give 100% and I felt I was getting slower rather than faster. Irrespective of dejection I’m never down for long but it made me think about what I could do about it.

Decision made I’ve decided to put racing on the back burner until I get full resolution for my problem. I’m comfortable running at around 7 minute mile pace, but faster than that causes a problem, which means I can still run, just not fast. In the meantime I’m trying to build a stronger base by doing some intensive sessions that I’ve created for my more advanced clients. And it’s working, I’m still relatively fit but I also feel much stronger, just need to get rid of the pain and I’ll be back where I want to be.

Despite not being able to achieve much myself, lately, I’ve seen the athletes I advise produce some good times in races, so at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I’ve made a difference somewhere.

With the cross country season looming I’m wondering if I’m going to play any part in it. Luckily, for Salford, we have so many great athletes and particularly in my own age group, that I won’t be missed. It’s more a case of me missing them and cross country. Knowing my luck I’ll probably be declared fit to run the day before Boggart Hole Clough!

Just to cheer myself up here’s a picture from the days I used to be able to run fast and pain free, my leading a 1500m, you may notice some good athletes behind me, though I’m not sure it was for long. With thanks to Ray O’Donaghue.

It was a long time ago when I could run fast but I'd forgotten colour photography was yet to be invented.

Monday 16 September 2013

Confidence

It’s been a few weeks since I last blogged, I went away to the USA for a couple of weeks after the Capenhurst 5k. It was a good time to go, most of my clients were taking holidays too which eased the self employed pain. Before we went we’d been watching the Athletics World Championships and it was an interview with Mo Farah which gave me the inspiration for this blog. In the interview Mo stated how much more confident he was about his running ability, and it captured the moment really well. Confidence is a big weapon in our armoury in anything we do, go into an interview lacking confidence and you’re unlikely to get the job, approach your boss for a raise but show no confidence in your argument for why you deserve it and you’ll walk away with nothing. And so it’s true in running that you’re more likely to produce a good result if you run with confidence.

But how do you get this confidence in the first place? Simple, get to know your body well, know what it’s capable of and believe in yourself. OK sounds simple but how’d you do it. Well here’s an example. I took on a client earlier this year, he’d never broken 18 minutes for 5k, so I geared his training to running reps at sub 17 minute 5k pace, not to far below as that would have put him under too much stress. Week by week his reps got gradually quicker until he started to believe he could break that 17 minute barrier. Alongside this I made some other sessions mentally tough by giving him longer reps than he was used to, so he was used to pushing himself through the tough times which you’ll inevitably get in races, the longer they are. As well as the training I talked him through race scenarios to get him to understand what emotional stresses he would go through in races and how to combat them. It didn’t take long to get that first sub 17 minute 5k and after that sub 17 became the expectation rather than the barrier. We’ve come some way but we’re not stopping there, goals are being revised for next year. The one down side of the help I’ve given him is that he keeps beating me.

I’m a confidence runner myself, the two 5ks I ran recently showed that. Wythenshawe Park was my first proper 5k for some time and I was still getting back to fitness after my injury. During the race I did lack confidence at times, I was running faster than I had all year but I didn’t believe I could beat Dave Alexander of West Cheshire so stuck behind him. The result: I didn’t beat Dave, but I did still produce my fastest 5k since my comeback, though at 17:02, slightly short of my goal of sub 17. A week later and I was back in action at the Capenhurst 5k, this time I was feeling more confident in the run up to the race, having that 17:02 in me I knew I could find that little bit extra to sneak under 17. That was until the day before the race I tweaked my back and lost most of my mobility. On the day of the race I went to my chiropractor and she loosened me up, but I was still 50:50 on doing the race. I went anyway and decided to jog about to see how I felt before deciding for sure. The jog did me some good and, although still a little stiff, I decided to go for it.

I wasn’t as confident as I’d been, I did have hopes of beating my mate Rob Tudor earlier in the week, but I hadn’t lost all my confidence. I know I’m able to turn it on in races and felt that I could still sneak under 17 minutes, even if I didn’t think I could beat Rob. It was a steady start for me, Rob shot off way ahead of me, but I still went through the first k marker in a time quicker than at Wythenshawe Park. I felt ok and a quick mental calculation told me that if I didn’t lose too much time on the next few k’s I would break 17 minutes. But once again Dave Alexander was just ahead of me. For the next two k I put out of my mind any thoughts of beating him as I concentrated on keeping my pace steady. He was obviously going well too as he retained the same gap on me. With 2k to go I had a surge in confidence, I felt good and knew I had more in me than I had been giving so I raised my tempo slightly and focused on taking Dave. Somewhere during that k I eased past Dave and of course, having done the work to get there, there was to be no easing off now if I didn’t want him to come back at me. I kept the pressure on and noticed my old sparring partner Graham MacNeil just up the road. I’ve had some great races against Graham but hadn’t beaten him since my injury, now was my chance and I switched focus to him. It was a great feeling running neck and neck with Graham and I was always confident I’d be able to raise the tempo in the run in to the line. Unfortunately the finish was just around a corner and I’d anticipated it being further away, so I left my finishing burst a little later than I could have. Still I beat Graham, Dave and reduced my years best to 16:46. Rob was still some 21 seconds ahead of me, he’s not going to be an easy nut to crack, but that just makes the game all the more exciting for him as well as for me, he knows me so well he knows he won’t be able to ease up.

A great tussle with Graham MacNeil, Dave Alexander to the right in the blue singlet

Obviously there was a difference in confidence levels between the two races, but my confidence still isn’t as high as it has been. The only way that’s going to come back is by consistent training and gradually increasing the pace I run at. Which is all I can do at the moment, while I still suffer the consequences of my earlier injury. But even when I’m not at my most confident I can still pull off decent performances. My biggest problem comes when I’m over confident, I’ve gone too hard too early in races, believing that I’m invincible. In truth I’ve managed to get away with it some times having imposed myself on the rest of the field enough to kill off any fight back, but I’ve sometimes lost to someone who didn’t give up and hit me back when I’ve hit my weak point. Still it all makes for interesting racing, winning or losing as long as the battle was good, I’m sure Mo Farah would agree with that after his loss to Kenenisa Bekele at the Great North Run.

Our visit to the USA was great, we only covered Massachusetts and Maine but even that required a fair amount of driving. I managed to get some good quality training in during the first week but in the second I pulled my hamstring, I put this down to the driving, I just couldn’t get in a comfy position. So during the second week I had to start with gentle jogging and gradually bring up the pace each day. Even last week I was unable to do any fast workouts but I was still getting faster towards the end of the week. Frantic work with the foam roller was helping.

On Sunday it was the North West Road Relays, which marks a year since I first ran for Salford. On that occasion I was also coming back from a pulled hamstring but ran a great leg and that propelled me into a decent winter. This time it wasn’t so great, it was an easy course that I should have stormed around but the niggle in my hamstring prevented me from turning the pace on. I was struggling to find my rhythm during the first lap but finally got there for a strong finish, albeit a little too late. A 15:09 clocking equates to a 17:21 5k time, which is a little backwards step, though the heavy rain and strong winds might have had something to do with that. Hopefully my continued abuse of the foam roller will help me to recover my form before too long.  



Written by Roger Alsop
www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Monday 19 August 2013

Tale of the Unexpected Medal

I don’t usually race in the evening, I don’t have a ‘thing’ about it it’s just that I often work into the evening so evening races don’t usually fit in. So I wasn’t originally planning to do the Sale Sizzler last Thursday night. But as things turned out I had some free time and I decided to make the most of it.

Having never done a Sale Sizzler (5k race in Wythenshawe Park) before I didn’t really know what to expect and as the conditions were expected to be wet I took four different pairs of racing shoes. That might sound a bit over the top but each pair has it’s own properties and this was a proper race after all, I usually run parkruns in ordinary trainers. Not only was this race 4, last one, in the series but it also hosted the North of England Championships.

I’m fortunate to have gained many medals from Championships from the South of England and also Scotland, but I’ve never been in a position to win one from the North, however, due to my ongoing achilles issues, I had no pre-conceptions of gaining my first Northern medal at this race. In fact I didn’t even think I’d feature amongst the old people taking part, all my sights were set on an improvement on my season’s best and trying to dip under 17 minutes. Modest targets, I know, but with almost as much time spent not running as running, this year, and still not able to do absolute speed work, there’s no point in being too ambitious, patience is a better virtue.

A few weeks ago my achilles was so painful I would definitely not have entered this race, but a Southern friend recommended I try the McDavid ankle support. I wasn’t sure at first my achilles was improving and the feedback on the support said that it wasn’t necessarily going to assist my particular injury to recover. But after going through a week of increasing pain I decided it was worth a try and promptly ordered one from Amazon. Amazon promised to deliver within a week but the support turned up within two days, very impressive, though, unfortunately, 30 minutes after I’d already run on that day.

The next day I tried it for the first time, no instructions came with the support and though it seemed obvious I could have benefited from some assistance. What happened was I strapped myself up too tight which gave me some trouble. Once I realised, more by error than judgement, that the support needed to be looser, improvement was rapid. I’m now at the point where my achilles is not painful all the time, sure it’s not perfect and it does throb on occasions, but I’m able to work quite hard, though not as hard as I’d like, with it. With the improvement coming I decided to give the race a go and entered online.

I arrived at Wythenshawe Park quite early, it’s something that has served me well in the past, and went for a recce of the course. Unfortunately I lost the course, I’d quickly glanced at the hand drawn map stuck on the wall but my memory failed somewhere along the way, still seeing as I was just making up the numbers it really didn’t seem to matter that much. I’d jogged around without my ankle support and the achilles seemed to be holding up well. I had intended to race wearing it, but I decided not to, on the basis that if I strapped it up too tight it would require me to stop and fix it, the less you have to do or think about in a race the better, so I left it in the car, along with the three pairs of racers I’d decided not to use. 

The race started on the track, I can’t recall starting a road race on a track since I ran a 10k in Battersea Park in 1990, so it was a little strange and, due to the drizzle during the day, very slippery. I slithered around that 1st 500m and was glad to get onto the trails, now I could start making my way through the field. I didn’t get very far before I caught up with Dave Alexander from West Cheshire. I know Dave quite well and we are of a similar standard normally so I knew I was going fast enough. Somehow I missed the 1k marker but at 2k, covered in 6:50, I knew my pace was about right. It had been a while since I’d run at 17 minute pace so I was finding it tough, but using my rhythm I hung onto Dave, who appeared stronger than when I last raced him.

I also missed the 3k marker and know I slowed in that 2-4k, so when I reached 4k I figured I needed to push to get back onto target. Clearly Dave had the same idea as we both seemed to increase pace at the same time. On the way to the finish we passed a few guys and I was determined to keep my pace up, not wanting to relinquish any of my gained places. Dave was running so strong I knew I’d have to push really hard to beat him and, today, I just didn’t feel I had any more.

I finished in 44th position, 4th M45 (but a long way behind 3rd) in 17:02, a season’s best but nothing to get too excited about. Dave had maintained his gap, finishing 2 seconds ahead. What I hadn’t realised was that I was in danger of being caught by a fast finishing colleague, in the guise of Dave Hudson, who was just two places behind me. This proved crucial as Salford ended up with North of England bronze, Joe Bailey, Rob Hughes and myself making up the team. Of course I was so far down the field I had no idea that was the case until I got home. But that was a great ending to my day, my first medal in a Northern Championship, that’ll be treasured with all the others. At my age I don’t expect to get amongst the medals in ordinary competition anymore so it’s quite special to me. But it’s also served to give me a kick up the backside, to make me realise I can still feature in the Salford team, especially if I can continue to improve. Realistically I’m not expecting to hit my best form until next spring, but if I remind myself of the 17:37 I ran on 23 August 2012, following my torn hamstring, and what a good winter I subsequently had, it’s not inconceivable that I may be back sooner than that. 

One of the things I enjoyed about the night was being in the company of my Salford colleagues, and meeting up with the many athletes I have become friends with over the years. Delamere parkrun is good but, as I’m shy, I don’t really chat much before I get to know people, to me racing isn’t just about racing, it’s about the social side too. Another good thing was that there were two athletes in the field who are advised by me, both set good pbs.

I’ve been watching the World Championships with interest, some fantastic performances. Obviously Mo is the talk of the town here in the UK and I’ve really enjoyed watching him dominate his races, but I was also pleased to see Chris O’Hare, from my old club Edinburgh AC, do well to make the 1500m final. Unfortunately Chris seemed to run out of steam in the final, but a useful experience which should give him good prospects for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Just to finish off, I mentioned the McDavid ankle support I’ve been using. If you’re having Achilles problems yourself you might want to consider this option.
 



Written by Roger Alsop

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Running Book Reviews

This week I’m turning my blog over to a couple of book reviews. I always intended on writing a review about Gabrielle’s book but delayed that when Athletics Weekly did one. Last week I was sent a pre-release copy of ‘You Know You Are A Runner’ with a request to review the book so I thought it would be a good idea to write both reviews at the same time. Both books are vastly different, ‘You Know You Are A Runner’ is a light hearted joke/cartoon type book with well drawn illustrations to emphasise those traits that only a runner, or someone who knows a runner well, would understand, whereas ‘British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980s’ is a much more serious book, based around a series of interviews with former marathon greats.

Book One – You Know You Are a Runner – Richard McChesney

This is what I would call a comic style book, consisting of 40 cartoons, each one drawn to illustrate a particular amusing trait that distinguishes runners from normal people, and yes I recognised myself in some of the illustrations. This is the first in a series of books to be published, in the ‘You Know You Are A’ series, written by Richard McChesney, himself a runner, who used to compete for the Surrey based club, Stragglers, but is now based in New Zealand where he is the event director for the Lower Hutt Parkrun. Reading through the book made me chuckle, sometimes aloud, as each cartoon revealed something that I and many of my fellow runners will recognise about our own peculiarities, or those of other runners we know. The cartoons themselves are well drawn by Brighty (Steve Bright) and Brock (Robert Brocksmith) who are both UK based professional cartoonists.

The book is available exclusively on the Amazon network in both Kindle format and as a paperback (below is a link for each), and is, in my opinion, priced very reasonably. Further information can be found at 


I enjoyed reading it and I was amused as I paged through it. This is just the sort of book I would buy as a stocking filler for a friend who was either a runner or married to a runner.


Book Two - British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980s – Gabrielle Collison

Before I review this book I have to declare an interest, Gabrielle is a friend from the days we both competed for Belgrave. That aside, my review of this book is written with the same honest approach as that of the previous book.

Gabrielle was a very successful runner at Belgrave Harriers, achieving a National Championship medal in the 3000m. During her MSc, in Sports Science, she wrote her dissertation on British Marathon runners, years later she was encouraged to convert this into a book, which is ‘British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980s’.

Some of my friends managed to get hold of a copy before me and their comments were very enthusiastic. They found it hard to put the book down as their interest was peaked. So I was really looking forward to getting stuck into the book. However, the nature of my work meant I didn’t have a lot of time to get into the book, at first. The book is a series of interview questions carried out with various runners who were well known and respected within the sport, back in the 80’s. It asks them about how they got involved with running and, in particular, the marathon, how they trained for marathons and various other ancillary questions. The interviewees have been very honest and go into some depth at times, offering up pages of interesting information. The book also has a statistics section comparing achievements of marathon runners in the 80s with those of today. I found I would start to read a chapter, each athlete forms a chapter, but having to put the book down again before I finished that chapter. This was frustrating me so I put the book aside until I went on holiday. Then it came into it’s own, lying in the sunshine relaxed I was able to give the book my full attention and found the time just passed me by, like my friends before me I found it difficult to stop reading the book. To me some chapters were more interesting/revealing than others but this may have been down to how much I knew of the individual before I read his/her chapter, but all in all I found it a fascinating read.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and in fact I have gone back to re-read an occasional chapter, which is easy when you have it on a kindle. However, I know of all of the runners, they were at the level I aspired to be when I was just beginning, somebody just into running may not enjoy the book to the extent that I did, however, if they’re really into their running, the relevance of who the person is will be less important than finding out how they achieved the times they did. 
To get the book from Amazon go to:
British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980s


To find out more about Gabrielle, or the various books she has written, visit www.gabriellecollison.com


The book I am currently reading is a book about Bradley Wiggins, it was a Xmas present from Carole. It’s not a big book but it makes for an interesting read. I’m expecting a Chris Froome book this Xmas, I know how Carole’s mind works.


Written by Roger Alsop

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Rhythm Running

When I talk about rhythm running I’m not talking about listening to an ipod during your run, or trying to keep up with the beat of the stuff they pump out down at the gym. I’m referring to a term I use to illustrate that feeling of running when everything is in synch, your legs move fluently with your arms and your breathing, and your mind is totally focused on where you are going. Others may well call it something else but this is how I describe it to my clients, because it’s how I feel when I’m running well, I run rhythmically.

I have a number of clients that I run with, in order to make them better runners I don’t just take them out for a run I talk them through how to run better and I put them through various tests to get them to practice what I tell them. I try to teach them how to move their body better, how to relax and how to pick up the pace and push without causing stress to the cardio-vascular system. What I’m aiming to do is to get them to run to a rhythm that suits them. 

It sounds like it should be simple, and it is, but lots of people don’t appear to run rhythmically. I do and I’ve been very successful with it. Naturally I never used to think about it being rhythmical until I tried to find the best way to describe it to my clients. The only time I really struggle to run with rhythm is during cross country races, with all the twists turns and thick mud it’s difficult to get into a rhythm which is probably why this still proves to be my weakest discipline. Even so, I have had successful races over the country, so there are obviously some occasions I’ve managed to use it.

I was recently trying to help a client pass the bleep test but as we rehearsed we kept falling short of the required mark. As I was running alongside her I was observing her and it was clear that she wasn’t getting the rhythm, we were running at the same pace but she wasn’t relaxed and she wasn’t moving her legs properly plus at every turnaround I was pulling away by about half a metre. I spent some time trying to coach her into using the rhythm and there was some improvement, but by the end of the last session we were still just short of the required mark. There wasn’t much more I could do so I gave her one last run through of how I wanted her to run and told her to rest over the weekend. Come the Monday morning, the day of the test, she smashed it. Sometimes it takes a while for teaching to sink in but if you persevere you get there in the end.

Last week I realised that my Achilles was flaring up, I’d been doing a lot of client running up tough hills with uneven surfaces. Probably not the best thing to do whilst I’m still in recovery mode but sometimes you don’t know until it’s too late and I don’t like to let people down. Luckily it wasn’t too late to react, I took a sight seeing week in the hope things would improve. It took a long time but eventually things did improve and I was ready to start my quality runs last Saturday, not really ready for a parkrun at Delamere, but some faster intervals. I also ordered a McDavid ankle support, suggested by one of my Surrey based running friends. I wasn’t altogether convinced that would be the answer but nothing ventured…. This arrived just after my quality run on Saturday, once again Amazon set their expectations low (delivery was actually due today) to exceed your expectations, and I’ve been wearing it ever since (obviously only for runs, I don’t sleep or shower in it. Still not sure if it’s going to help, though the Achilles is not as sore as last week and I’ve done some good running.

My quest is now on to run a 10k, I finally feel ready and realise, with the lack of speed work (or rather my inability to do speed work fast), I’m not going to make huge inroads into my 5k times this year. I’ve been working on my sustained pace, using my rhythm running method. I’ve accepted that I will never have moves like Jagger nor a sprint finish like Tudor so my best bet to beat my mate Rob is to lure him into a 10k and make my move when he’s least expecting it, mind I might have to get him drunk the night before too. Anyway Rob it’s on my ‘Too Do’ list and it’s going to happen so you might as well start accepting it now.

Here’s two pictures of me from last season’s cross country season, can you tell which one has more rhythm? And a picture of me totally concentrated on bringing Herne Hill home first in a relay.  

The chasing pack sensing a damaged man at Stockport
Well clear of 30th place at Wythenshaw



My kind of surface and a 1st leg winner in a road relay championship. Eyes totally focused on the prize and keeping some of Britain's best Masters behind me.



Written by Roger Alsop