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Race report: Snowdonia Marathon 2009

October 27th, 2009

We drove up to Snowdonia on the Friday and stopped overnight at a travellodge just outside of Bangor.

Saturday morning we walked out to autumnal weather. It was a bit blustery but nothing major. So we drove up to Llanberis. Very scenic drive – about a half mile out we drove in to the wind and the rain.Parking up was easy enough and it was a quick walk to the electric blue building to get under cover from the rain.

About a quarter to nine we joined the queue for the bus to the start of the race in Nant Peris. At quarter past ten we were still stood in the pouring rain and wind and it was announced that spectators could no longer be transported to the Start. So i left my support crew (very wet but understanding wife) and got on the next bus. The start of the race was delayed by about 15 minutes but this seemed to be taken on well by all the runners. Within a few minutes we were all penned in and ready for the off.

Miles 1-4 were up a gradual hill that was fairly easy going. The waterfalls and rivers had been well fed by the rain which was now easing up – but it was still windy out there.

Around the 4 mile mark you reach the peak of the first climb and then it’s a long descent all the way until mile 12. The scenery on the descent was just breathtaking, and i did slow down to take in some of the views.

Miles 12 – 14 were a steeper all up hill but nothing too major. This leads into miles 14 – 20 which are a gentle descent with a few undulations thrown in to the mix.

All is going pleasantly well. I’m fuelled up, hydrated and making good time. Mile 21-24 is some of the hardest running that i’ve ever done. The first part of this I put my head down and made slower but steady progress up the hill. It’s at this point that you start catching up with people who’ve already started to walk up the hill. I carried on running for a short while but found it just too hard going to keep this up. So I slowed down and eventually had to walk for a while. A bit of a jog/run/walk and it looks like you’re at the top. But you’re not there’s a little dip/and then a final climb. It’s around this point i think that you’ve moved onto slate track and then softer ground. Then you are at the top.

Now you have to descend into Llanberis. All the climbing that you’ve done has to be countered by a two mile run-in to the finish line. This was not an easy run in to the finish. The descent’s obviously very steep and I just went for it – I’m leaning backwards and taking shorter steps but it seems to work. I just let my feet get on with it and I find myself in site of the 26 mile mark. It’s here that i get my first bout of cramp – probably related to the newly developed running style i’d just been trying coming down the hill. A few encouraging words from a fellow runner and a couple of stretches and i’m past 26 and heading to the where the cheers of the crowds are. (Even an encounter with a pothole doesn’t phase me at this point) . It’s the final stretch running through the crowds to the finish line. It’s a super way to finish the race.

Exhausted and elated at the end of it all! Missed out on my finishers prize as I think I went the wrong way somewhere

The support along the route was surprisingly good. It seems you’re in the middle of nowhere but there are people out giving their support. In the villages that you pass through the streets are lined with people. The drink stations are manned – cadets, scouts and other volunteers all giving their time to make this a smooth process. Gels, isotonic drinks and (homemade?) chocolate available at the latter stages. The scenery was just superb and this is definitely one marathon i’ll be doing again

Snowdonia marathon course map
Snowdonia Marathon course profile

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October cometh..

September 27th, 2009

It wasn’t a bad week of running. Managed to complete all my training runs and have been making sure that i’ve been resting up when I can.

It’s been a beautiful autumn week whilst out running. Which can often make the running a lot easier. The colours of the trees, the mists hanging over the fields, the sun rising – how can I not be enjoying the runs!

The months have fast disappeared, the summer’s near enough gone and September is almost a blur. This soon brings us to October which means that i’ve got three more long training runs to put in before the Snowdonia marathon. I’m not daunted by this – i’m hoping the training will continue on plan which means that on the day i’ll have enough inside me to be able to finish and enjoy myself.

I finished off the week this morning with a 20 miler. I had a struggle last Sunday and only did 17 of the 20 miles I wanted to do. Last week the legs felt tired but i’m more than sure that the problem was mental – I had a lack of confidence in myself which is very strange. I’m not the fastest of runners but i’ve never before not finished a distance that I set out to do. So i’ll take that on as experience.

This morning’s run was a two looper:


View 2 loops in Canley -Westwood Heath (20 miler) in a larger map

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Taking a fall

September 15th, 2009

Up out and at it by six this morning. Decided to take a longer than normal run. Legs not hurting from the weekend’s run – bonus, but still not as smooth as the best of runs. But you can’t have it all.

It was dark on this run to start with. Most of the places on the route are lit by street lamp but not all which led to some pretty good foot finding in the dark.

About halfway round i see a man walking his dog on the same path as me so decide to give them a wide berth as I had plenty of time and didn’t want to hamper their nice walk. So i’m running along and as I make my move to go around them i lost my footing on the grass next to the path. I start to stumble. It’s ok i’m still standing. Oh it’s looking like a fall now. I’m still on my feet, but then my feet tie up and it’s hello road. I break my fall with my hand and my knee. The dog walker apologises, I tell him it’s really not his fault – i lost my footing but thanks anyway. So up and off the floor within a few seconds and away.

The rest of my run was a dream. My pace, my breathing all felt good (apart from my hand and knee). I finished the route off in good time. A bloodied knee and a bruised hand were worth it for that second half of my run. It’s just making me feel even better about running at the moment.

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Not the best way to taper down

September 12th, 2009

So last week has been a bit of a blur. I’ve been down with flu until Thursday and to be honest still feeling the effects. But went out for a run Friday morning. It has certainly got a lot darker in the morning since I last ran and the temperature has dropped too. But the run was ok. I was expecting a lot worse so pleasantly surprised that just a bit of resistance from my legs as they got me round.

Based on that i’ve decided to go ahead and run in the Robin Hood Nottingham half marathon on Sunday. I’m glad to say that there shouldn’t be a problem with me getting round. My fitness and past training should get me through that. Not sure whether i’m going to aim for a specific time though i would be most happy if i come in under an hour and forty minutes. But i will be listening to what my body tells me as I go round and not push things too hard. I’ve heard this is a good race so am looking forward to it. Much pasts and bed for me and here’s hoping it’s a little cooler in the morning.

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Route – Draycote Water park

August 17th, 2009

Got back to my long run yesterday. It was supposed to be around the 18 mile mark but i really didn’t fancy fiddling around sorting out a precise route so plumped for a few laps of Draycote Water instead.

Draycote Water is about 25 minutes from the centre of Coventry. Make sure you pay and display at the machine as you drive through the entrance or you’ll be trekking back to get your ticket.

The route is fairly straight forward. Each lap of the reservoir is approximately 5 miles. Pick your start point and off you go. The paths are well kept and there are facilities (3 portaloos) at intervals along the route as well as those in the main visitor centre. There are many other people out walking, running, cycling the route but there’s plenty of room for everyone (do keep your ears/eyes open on some bends for cyclists/other runners).

The route is flat along two sides of the route and the others are, to me, hilly – a few fairly short, steep climbs up and then back down again. I didn’t think this at the time but this mix of flat/hills are a great route for training on.

I ran 3 laps coming in at a well paced 40 mins for each one. I took 5 minutes break between laps as this was supposed to be a long and slow run. Didn’t feel that I was at a race temp but think I should still be going at a slower pace. I also tried out some energy gels at the end of each lap. I seem to get on better with the

I also took a rucksack with me this contained a hydration pack and my camera so this was a new experience for me running with any sort of weight on my back.

I toyed with the idea of a fourth lap but after a well argued debate between my head and my legs I decided to call it a day. I warmed down and just took in the views for a while before heading back to the car and home.


View Draycote water park in a larger map

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Running jackets (August 2009)

August 5th, 2009

It’s the start of August and i’m shopping around for a waterproof running jacket. Got caught in the rain this morning and think my old jacket has to be put out to pasture. Hoping not to be using the new jacket much over the rest of the summer though! I’m after a windproof and waterproof jacket that I can also hopefully use over the winter – with a few layers underneath.

I had a scout around the usual stores and some pointers from the running forums to get an overview of what’s currently available.

Over on the runner’s world forum there seems to be a consensus that Montane make a decent jacket or two:

Montane featherlite marathon jacket

The cheapest I could find this was at:

Rooughgear.co.uk – £32
Sportsshoes.com – £25

Montane Lite-Speed H2O Jacket

The cheapest places I found for this jacket were:

Towerridge.co.uk – £59
Outdoorkit.co.uk - £63
Achillesheel.co.uk - £70
Likeys.com – £65

I had a look around at the usual suspect manufacturers:

Adidas: Adistar Goretex Running Jacket 2009

Alexandrasports.com – £46
Achillesheel.co.uk – £60

Nike:

Nike Clima-Fit Hooded Jacket

Sweatshop.co.uk – £45
Sportsshoes.com – £45
John Lewis.com – £44

Nike Mens Gore Windstopper Jacket

Prodirectrunning.com - £100
Prodirectrunning.com – £50
Sportsshoes.com – £60
Amazon.co.uk -  £60

Brooks Nightlife Jacket

Prodirectrunning.com - £60
Alexandrasports.com – £45
Bournesports.com – £45

Ron Hill Vizion Advance Windlite Pro Running Jacket

Sportsshoes.com – £30
Alexandrasports.com – £55
Simplyrun.co.uk – £44

This is a very quick skim round of what’s available at the moment.

If you have any favourites or recommendations (or stuff not to touch with a barge pole) then add a comment below.

Oh and a new store i’d not heard of before: Likeys.com http://www.likeys.com

(Not linked with any of the above stores/brands, prices were what i found today, and comparisons were between jackets that looked the same to me!)

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Race report – Tenbury 10k August 2009

August 2nd, 2009

I drove down to the Tenbury 10k 2009 this morning. The drive took a lot longer than I thought and the planned hour of calm preparation turned into about 25 minutes. There was ample parking and you just needed to follow the signs for the swimming pool to find your way. (I managed to miss this the first time around but followed the trail of runners on my second pass). The race started off on a flat playing field and the 220ish participants flooded out through a gateway turning left on to the first hill of the day.

Not too bad as starts go and as soon as you hit the top you’re heading downhill again. There’s then a further set of inclines on the route that once you get to the top of you’re filled with a bit of relief that all the hard work’s done and it’s all downhill from there. That was a bit of a mistake and at around the half way point there is a further hill. It was a bit of a killer but once you reach the top it’s mainly downhill from there. The route takes you along a shaded path and at the end you come out just behind the start and it’s then the run-in to the finish line.

All in this was a great race. The organisation was quietly efficient and everything went smoothly from arrival to departure. The only oddity I found was the markers which were at mile intervals rather than kilometre but once you get your mind round that it’s not a problem. The marshalling and signposting was excellent and on a warm day the 4/5 waterstations along the route were most welcome. The route was very scenic with a few spectators/locals dotted around – but the finish was well supported. Nice medal, water and mars bar in the goody bag – with an invite to join in the 10 mile Fell Race in the Mortimer Forest December 2009, i’ll have to think about that one.

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Running route – Coventry Cannon Park to town centre to Kersley and back

July 13th, 2009

Did my long run this morning – had this one planned for last week but best laid plans and all that. So this run not surprisingly start in Cannon Park car park. There are a couple of reasons for this:

  • If I run from home there is a temptation at some point to cut the run short and head home. If i’ve left the car in the car park somewhere then I have to head back there to get it so a bit of incentive
  • I use the Fitness first gym so close to refresh myself after a run

You could start most of these routes from the Memorial Park park and ride car park too.

    Back to today… I headed up to the Kenilworth Road via Cannon Hill Road. I followed the Kenilworth Road all the way to Warwick Road past the rail station and towards the town centre.

    There is a route along the Coventry ring road that you can take on foot. I believe you can walk the whole way round though parts of it do involve subways. You can avoid the subways with some careful road crossing or slight diversions.

    I followed the ring road round to the botton of the Radford Road. Run all the way up the Radford Road. The Radford Road becomes the Tamworth Road near to the Royal Court Hotel follow this along until you see  Hollyfast Lane on your left. Hollyfast Lane is a country lane – it was surprisingly quiet this morning – and the views in the sun this morning were wonderful. Still amazed at the green spaces that are around Coventry and loving exploring these on foot.

    At the end of Hollyfast Lane turn left onto Wall Hill Road. I got myself a bit lost here. I knew basically where I was but it was t-junction and my bearings had forseaken me. Walked for a bit in either direction but couldn’t convince myself one way or the other. Luckily I had my phone with me, it took about 10 seconds to get on the internet and dowload the google maps to my phone. A quick search and I was heading left!

    Take a right on to Hawkes Mill Lane and a left onto Browns Lane. At the bottom of Browns Lane go onto Birmingham Road. This is where this morning got interesting for a second time. I had to take the long route round the Pickford roundabout. I wanted to run up the A45 but couldn’t see a path going up the slip road. I’m sure there is a path further up but didn’t fancy finding out. Anyone know if there is a path? Where it starts and how to get onto it?

    So I cut through Allesley Park. Again I got a bit lost here but headed out onto Winsford Avenue that takes you onto Broad Lane. Turn right up Broad Lane and that brings you to the A45. A bit of a detour but I wasn’t in a rush to get back. So along the A45 and through the subway just after Burnsall Road. Down to Sir Henry Parkes Road and back up to Cannon Park.

    This route is mainly along footpaths and can be hilly at times. I didn’t see a single other runner but I guess we runners have to work too! Nice long run.


    View Kersley in a larger map

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    Race – Allesley Festival 5k

    July 12th, 2009

    I watched the end of the fun run before setting off for the start of this 5k. Great level of enthusiasm from the younger runners that I saw and good support along the finish line.

    So a small trek to the start line on Staircase Lane – organisers in Allesley races like their hill starts!

    The course was along footpaths once you got on to Coundon Wedge Drive. A hill takes you along Wall Hill Road and this brings you to the top of Browns Lane. Browns Lane dips down towards the final hill of the course – The Windmill Hill. Once you’ve climbed this hill it’s flat/downward run to Birmingham Road and the Finish.

    I liked this race. There were about 50 entrants and a friendly vibe throughout. Despite being a relatively small race there were plenty of friendly marshalls along the route and there was sporadic local support too. A medal and plenty of refreshments at the Finish line – what more could you ask for? My thanks to the organisers!

    Allesley festival 5k medal

    And this is the route for the Allesley festival 5k. Not too sure about the start but it’s close to there:


    View Allesley festival 5k in a larger map

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    First blog post of July!

    July 6th, 2009

    I’ve been a bit lax with my blog posts. It’s not that I haven’t been doing anything! Last week:

    Monday – 4 miles in the morning and then a circuit session in the evening
    Tuesday – 4 miles in the morning and then an interval session in the evening
    Wednesday – 4 miles in the morning and then circuit and weight session in the evening
    Thursday – 4 miles in the morning and then a sports massage in the evening (Fire and Earth UK)
    Friday – 4 miles in the morning then a weight session in the gym
    Saturday – 4.8 km slow but steady paced run
    Sunday – no long run on Sunday i just took a rest day and took it easy in the sun.

    So keeping up with the regime and the two workouts for most of my weekdays. So still happy and getting through it all.

    Saturday i took a visit to the Coventry Runner store. Excellent service again. They’ve updated a bit since the last time I was there. There’s now video gait analysis available (for a fee which is refunded if you purchase trainers).

    Basically a video camera is pointed at your feet as you run on a treadmill. The camera records all the movement of your feet for a period of time. When it’s played back you’re able to see how much pronation (if any) there is as you move and advice is then given as to which type of trainer you should be looking at – so they fetch down a few pairs of trainers and it’s back on the treadmill for a try out of the trainers and another video session to see how those trainers affect your running.

    Very interesting to see the video of me running, particularly in slow motion, they’re able to point out how you should be running and you can see the difference that the different trainer styles make to your running.

    All in it’s a relaxed evnironment to shop in and the guy who served me (whose name I forgot to ask for) was a runner and knew all about the trainers he was selling (i’d done my research too!). They’re updating the resources on their web site soon so it may be worth checking in there in the near future – or now if you haven’t done so already.

    For those interested I pronate a bit so a structured trainer was advised – again you could see the difference on the video. Left the shop with two pairs: Nike Air Structure triax+ and Mizuno Wave Inspire

    Oh and they also have details of the local races that are coming up – Massey Runners, Coventry, Corporate 5 Challenge at Uni of Warwick Tues 18 Aug was a new one to me!

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