Race report: 2013 Grand Union Canal Half Marathon

Ran this about two weeks ago. My time wasn't great (7:23 pace), but I can blame that partly on the muddy conditions, and I really enjoyed the race. The canal is very familiar to me so I felt at home. Had some energy left in reserve towards the end, so was able to pull off an aggressive late surge: my two fastest miles were 12 (6:53) and 13 (7:06). My family met me at the finish line in Watford. No great photos, but the shadowy one below shows off the 'purple patch' medal (and my son in the background).

It was a nice way to wrap up the 2013 racing season, which was the most active of my life. Three marathons, two half marathons, and two 10k's. Some good performances (especially the NDV Marathon and the 10k's), some disappointing ones (especially the other two marathons), but I'm running fairly well these days and happy to have been able to complete so many races without injury this year. Looking forward to the next big race, the 2014 London Marathon, about 20 weeks away.

Race report: 2013 Abingdon Marathon

Ran this a week ago in 3:27 flat. Was expecting to do better, not sure what went wrong. Conditions were OK, a little muddy, but I don't have a good explanation for why my time was 11.5 minutes slower than when I ran this same race a year ago. And 12 minutes slower than North Dorset Village, which was only 5.5 months ago and a tougher course. Not enough long training runs? Maybe should not have had three pints the night before? Getting old? Don't know. Just started feeling really fatigued around miles 18-20. Oh well, at least I'm not injured. so will just focus on London 2014, coming up in about six months.

Despite the disappointing time, it was a good day out with my family. After the race we had a nice Sunday lunch at the Royal Standard of England, a wonderful pub in Beaconsfield. The post-Marathon pub lunch has become one of my favorite rituals.

In, twice

Two London Marathon magazines arrived on Saturday, one telling me I was in 'good for age' (which I already knew), the other telling me I was in on the ballot. If I wasn't in already I'd feel really lucky about the ballot, as the chances of that happening were only about 20%. But I'll just fail to pay the fee and the place will go to someone else.

In other news, feeling good about Abingdon in three weeks. Not in the best shape ever but ready enough to be looking forward to it. Ran 22 miles along the canal and in Denham Village yesterday, felt good afterwards (except for the bee sting on my eyelid, acquired in my first mile, which has caused the right side of my face to swell up), not a fantastic pace (7:57) but had gas in the tank at the end.

Also, registered today for the Grand Union Canal Half Marathon on 10 November. Starts about a mile from our house. I've run on the canal hundreds of times so this feels like an appropriate race. Hopefully will be in great shape for a half, as this will be just three weeks post-Abingdon.

Race report: 2013 Burnham Beeches Half Marathon

I ran this last Sunday in 1:37:11 (7:25 pace). That's my slowest half marathon ever (of four) so my time was not remarkable, but considering the circumstances I'm pleased with how it went. I'd only run five miles total in the 17 days leading up to this event (most of which were spent on vacation in America) because my right knee had been aching. About a week before the race it was still hurting persistently enough to where I thought I might not be able to run at all. But my knee felt fine on the day.

I made the conservative choice to run in the relatively cushy New Balance MT101's. Compared to the ultra minimalist Mizuno Wave Universes that I had been training exclusively in leading up to the injury, these are well-padded. I'll be more careful about using the Mizunos for all/long runs in the future. In America I got some new black Nike Free 3's (v. 5) which so far I like a lot, so they will be my main shoes leading up to the Abingdon Marathon in two months, instead of the Mizunos.

Anyway back to the race. It was great and I'd do it again. Well-organized and a beautiful wooded course on paved roads. I guess they won't be posting/selling photos from it (and my wife wasn't there to take any because she remains in America), so I'll just post a picture of the medal.

One concern about Abingdon is I've gained about ten pounds over the past five weeks. I'd been losing weight and was down to 150 in mid-July, but then I spent three of the next four weeks fattening up in America (Miami and NC/VA/TN/MD). To top it off, since arriving back in the UK and living bachelor style for the past week, I've been eating pretty hedonistically, and this morning I weighed in at 160. Need to try and get back down to 150 over the next eight weeks.

Race report: 2013 The Highway 10k

Ran this today in a lot of heat (high 20s in Celsius, low 80s in Farenheit). Did OK -- my chip time (42:07) placed me 8th out of 111 overall and 3rd out of 28 in the Mv40 category. Charlie and Maggie both finished the 2k fun run. Maggie didn't enjoy it much but Charlie did, and his surprisingly fast 9:24 pace far exceeded his record for the mile (10:10) in our training runs.

Then we came home and saw Andy Murray win Wimbledon!

Signed up for London!

Seven seconds short of 3.15 at North Dorset was indeed good enough: my 'good for age' entry was accepted, I just paid the £35 fee so I'm officially signed up for the 2014 London Marathon. On my entry form I estimated my completion time as 3:08. Considering I've got nine months to train for it, that doesn't seem so unrealistic. Maybe I should aim for about 3.12 at Abingdon in about 3.5 months?

I've also signed up for a couple of shorter races that I'll run between now and the October Abingdon marathon. One is the Highway 10k, in Orpington, Kent, which I'll run this Sunday 7 July. It has a 2k fun run that Charlie will do as well. The other is the Burnham Beeches half marathon, on 18 August. It's a local race that looks excellent but somehow I hadn't heard of it until a few weeks ago. I'm doing it instead of the Wycombe half, which I'd signed up for but now can't do because I'll be in Miami for a conference.

Race report: 2013 Kent Roadrunner Marathon

I ran this, my 7th marathon, last Saturday 01 June. It didn't go so well. I've never run a marathon so soon after a previous marathon; I'd run N. Dorset Village four weeks before. This was the first race I've run, since I got back into racing in late 2009, where I've been really disappointed in my performance. I was troubled with exhaustion and calf cramps, and ended up walking for portions of the later miles. Managed a 3:32, my second-slowest marathon time ever. On the other hand, N. Dorset was my second-fastest ever, and qualified me GFA for London 2014, so my Kent shame doesn't matter so much. Was glad my family could join me at the cyclopark course, which was good in terms of diversions for kids (like the playground, where Maggie enlisted two boys to push her on a giant swing), and except for my finish time, it was a good day. Nearly failed to arrive on time (sat nav put us through central London instead of on the M25; after a stressful drive we arrived 15 minutes before the starting gun), so thankful to have even started this one. And I get some sun, a gigantic medal, and a finishing time that I would have killed for if I could have achieved it in my first marathon at age 27. This race also featured a 'showboating' competition in which runners are encouraged to strike funny poses; my attempt is below.

I'm thinking that in future, it will be sensible to leave more time between marathons, and focus on quality rather than quantity. Maybe two marathons a year, with a few half-marathons and 10k's in between. Somehow even with this failure, I love running more than ever, and am currently planning some races that I will blog about soon.

Race report: 2013 Dolphin Dash 10k

There's a charity 10k in Uxbridge called the Dolphin Dash. It's a pretty course that runs along the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne and around Little Britain Lake. I ran it two weeks ago (19/05/13) on the recommendation of a friend, and ended up finishing in 41:31, good enough for third place and a glass trophy. Wasn't expecting to win anything but it was a nice surprise and a fun day.

Race report: 2013 NDV Marathon

I ran the North Dorset Village Marathon last Sunday 05 May. Finished in 3:14:53, so qualified (with seven seconds to spare) for London 2014. Have never been so tired after a marathon, really worked hard to beat 3:15. So forget what I said, in my post after Abingdon last October, about marathons being less stressful and more enjoyable now. Sometimes the best option is to suffer a lot to get what you want. My pace was about the same as at Abingdon but this was a harder course, due to the hills. But I loved it; here's what I said in my Runner's World UK review: "Beautiful countryside, excellent organisation, great marshalls. Love the flying pig medal. Just a great experience."

This was the first time my family has come to one of my marathons, so that was fun. Charlie was especially enthusiastic -- that's him waving in the photos.

This was also my first marathon where I have another one just around the corner -- Kent Roadrunner is in 3.5 weeks -- so not much downtime, but really looking forward to the next one. That course should be a bit easier so hoping for something in the 3:10-12 range.

The next nine months

Am now officially entered into the following races over the next nine months:

North Dorset Village Marathon in May
Kent Roadrunner Marathon in June
Wycombe Half Marathon in July
Abingdon Marathon in October

Then maybe Luton in November? I'll do the London Marathon in April 2014, assuming I'm fast enough at North Dorset or Kent.

Training is going well. Ran 17 miles today at a 7:17 pace -- my best run overall since the Abingdon Marathon last October.