Tom Roper's Running Training

The Lewes 10k

The Lewes 10k is a wonderful occasion with, as Anthony of Sussex Sport Photography remarked, something of the atmosphere of a school sports day. Held on Easter Monday, I ran it last year when it was a sub-aquatic affair, with mud. This year the paths and tracks were hard. Clearly I prefer firm going, as I went round in a creditable 54:43, in spite of still being in recovery after the Brighton Marathon. It was a pleasure to meet another Brighton Marathon veteran, @orbific, aka James Burt.

The race begins and ends at the Lewes Leisure Centre, and heads out into the Ouse valley, on a roughly quadrilateral course, along farm tracks, past Iford church, over more fields and back into Lewes near the rugby club. It is therefore mostly flat, odd as that may seem for a race in Lewes. I started towards the rear of the pack, and stayed there for the whole of the race, except, unusually for me, I did pass some of my fellow runners towards the end. Looking at my mile splits, my pacing was on target for most of the race, but I slowed for the third and fourth miles, picking up the pace for the final section.

It was a good race and has given me courage for future efforts.

Seaford Striders results

Graham Vanaka 38:41
Phillip Carr 40:47
Chris Piper 43:18
Anthony Cross 44:03
Joshua Rudd 44:08
Nathasha Swan 44:37
Benjamin Moynihan 44:56
Natalie McCreath 47:59
Robert Ward 50:02
Lucy Thorne 51:19
Robert Webber 51:58
Claire Bulger 52:07
Robyn Delivett 52:46
Karen Clinton 53:33
Tom Roper 54:43
Cliff Parrott 55:41
Peter Cryer 5:55
Martin Waite 55:56
Tony Dray 58:13
Elaine Cooke 58:20
Victoria Wheeler 1:03:02
Claire Jenkins 1:03:28
Martin Bulger 1:05:18
Naomi Eglington 1:08:06
William Young 1:28:14

 

Rejoice, we conquer: Brighton marathon 2011

I hope there were none among the runners who fell by the wayside during Brighton's second marathon who suffered Pheidippides' fate. In the heat, the first-aiders did seem to have plenty to keep them busy. Nevertheless, fuelled by the water and energy drink stations, and many jelly babies offered by spectators, I finished my eleventh marathon in 4:46:52 by the chip. At the moment, I can't report the times of my other Seaford Striders, as the results don't yet allow one to search by anything other than name or number. I can say however that among assorted internet running comrades, MarathonDan, who ran as a 9 foot tall stick of rock, finished in 4:43:17, and Fit Artist managed 4:50:28.

It was a splendid day; the support from the crowds was tremendous, and made up for some of the harder stretches.

Miles 1-5, from Preston Park to Kemp Town: I was running too fast here; each time I checked my pace I realised, and tried to rein it in, but it crept back up. Looking at my mile splits, I was doing 9-minute miles up to mile 8.

Miles 6-10: Kemp Town to Rottingdean: harder work, as the heat increased. This stretch includes the only hills on the course, which are not substantial. Ovingdean village laid on a brass band, a pleasant change from the samba bands that made up most of the musical accompaniment on the route. Here my pace was as it should be.

Miles 11-15: still on target as far as pace was concerned, and this stretch brought us back along the sea front past the finish. Here the pavements were dense with spectators. I remember in particular a steward with a megaphone who had become quite unintelligible with excitement, and Sweder of Running Commentary, whose voice rang out above the fray as Ajax's in the melée outside the gates of Troy.

Miles 16-20: here it became difficult. There was a long drag out and back through Hove, well-supported but the slog to the turn seemed to last forever. I stuck it out, but at the end of the return trip, as we turned towards the front and Shoreham, at eighteen and a half miles, I had to stop running and walk. I had had pain in the toes of my left foot for more or less all the race, and now this was joined by knee and shoulder pain. For the next four miles or so I walked and ran, walked and ran.

Miles 21-26: when I reached mile 22 I forced myself to start running, and though I was often tempted to stop and walk again, the shame of doing so in front of so many supporters kept me going. Looking at my splits, I see that I was back on target pace for the final mile, which pleases me.

Will I run a marathon again? I'm uncertain. I trained as well and assiduously as I could, certainly as well as for the Isle of Wight in 2006, when I recorded a personal best for the distance of 04:10:40, and yet I ended up walking part of the course. In 2006 I was a callow youth aged 51. Now I am a knackered has-been of 56; perhaps I should grow old gracefully. After London in 2009 I said never again; I wouldn't rule out another marathon, but perhaps not for a while.

On a happier note, thanks to everyone who supported me, on the course, on Twitter, and by sponsoring me for the Moorfields Eye Hospital Development Fund, and if you haven't, perhaps because you didn't believe I'd finish, now's your chance.

Post scriptum: the full results are now up on the Sport Systems site. Seaford Striders chip times were as follows:

Names and chip times:

Adrian Campbell: 3:22:53

Ryan Stewart: 3:26:41

Clifford Evans: 3:30:17

Jason Harris: 3:57:00

Robert Ward: 4:34:55

Tom Roper: 4:54:09

David Holden: 5:22:56

Marathon eve

The weather continues to be warm. I didn't manage a last minute short run in my marathon kit today but, as they say, I can't get any fitter than I am now. Last night I slept well, apart from an odd dream in which I was at a job interview,  but one held in a court room. I was the candidate/accused, and sat behind glass in the dock, while the questions were relayed to me by a dysfunctional microphone. I said time and time again that I couldn't hear the questions, but the jury or panel didn't care. From time to time someone would enter the dock and whisper a hint to me, but the hints were as obscure as the questions.

However I sleep tonight, I go into tomorrow with 500 miles of training in my feet, and the knowledge that tomorrow will not be as wet as the Isle of Wight, as hilly as Beachy Head, as crowded as London (though it will be pretty busy) nor as far from home as the Neolithic. Good luck, everyone.

Two days to go

I didn't run yesterday, nor will I run today. I ought to be feeling like a coiled spring. Instead I feel a curious lassitude.

Every runner's eyes are on Sunday's weather. While the Met Office forecast says 18℃, Dr Stevenson, the Marathon's medical director warns of 21℃: http://brightonmarathon.co.uk/warm_weather.html. Either way, we need not fear the cold.

And in today's post came a sponsorship cheque from one of the Running Commentary community, MarathonDan. Dan is running dressed as an 9-foot tall stick of rock for Cancer Research. Do sponsor him here: http://www.justgiving.com/brightonrock2011. If you're feeling flush, you could sponsor me too; I'm running for Moorfields Eye Hospital Development Fund.

Catalogue d'oiseaux

Yesterday I ran my last run before the Brighton marathon, apart from a very brief excursion in marathon kit on Saturday morning. I went, on a gorgeous afternoon, to South Hill barn, Hope Gap and Seaford Head. As I reached the highest point a lark sang above me and I listened, trying to understand his song, the trills, turns and glissandos. If I could run the way he sang, naturally, unforced, fast....

It is something of a relief to have the last run out of the way. I need no longer fear injury, another fall on the flinty paths and a cut knee. As the Burra Mem is laid up with a broken ankle, I am perhaps over-conscious of the fragility of the parts of the body humans use to run. I worry about illness too: a headache and a sneeze might mean a cold, if so, will it be over by Sunday?

The long period of self-denial that has characterised the past seven and a bit weeks, to wit my abstinence from alcohol for half of the sixteen week training programme is taken a stage further today, when I renounce coffee. Prepare for shakes, headaches and other withdrawal symptoms. Is there any point to this asceticism? I think so, for I believe coffee tends to dehydrate, thanks to its diuretic effect.

I discovered that Southern, contrary to their publicity, are not running any extra trains on Sunday on the Seaford line, and the earliest one would get me to London Road at 8:25, which is a little too late for a relaxed walk to the start, deposit of baggage, and finding the green pen, so I shall drive to the University and use the park and ride.

Last speed session before the marathon

The last Tuesday speed run consisted of six quarter-mile fast runs, at 10k pace, according to the rubric, with 200m recoveries and warm-up and cool-down. I enjoy these, though I'm neither good nor fast when I undertake them.

Today the wind blew and the sea spat foam over Seaford front. A high tide brought the water rushing over the promenade at Splash Point. It's good to get these conditions out of the way before the marathon. Here's to a calm, bright, but not too hot, Sunday.

Pace over the quarter miles:

First .25 miles: 08:56
Second .25 miles: 08:57
Third .25 miles: 09:02
Fourth .25 miles: 08:40
Fifth .25 miles: 08:44
Sixth .25 miles: 08:35

 

Brain fodder

In the week before a marathon I need something to make me think uplifting thoughts. I don't want to forget about running, but neither do I want to be reminded of its grosser physical aspects. Two things come to my rescue:

The Winning Endeavours project, a collaboration between Archives for London, London Metropolitan Archives and the British Library, which shows images of the 1908 and 1948 London Olympics, and more besides, incuding archive pictures of the London marathon. I'm sure I'd run faster if those elegant Edwardian ladies were cheering me on.

Copyright of Hillingdon Local Studies Archives and Museum Service

The second is the latest in the Marathon 2500 lecture series, to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon, in which Thomas Scanlon of University of California, Riverside, will discuss War and Sports

From the website: 'Both sport and battle were "contests" for the Greeks, agones, in their terms.  We will here look at the fascinating and puzzling legend(s) of Pheidippides (or whatever his name was), ancient long-distance messenger runners ("day runners" hemerodromoi) as a class, ancient footraces in the stadium, perhaps a bit about the Olympic truce (on the theme of sport and war), the Marathon Race in the modern Olympics, and modern long-distance running.' You can either join in the webcast live, or listen to the archived version after the event.

One week to go

In a week's time I will have finished. I will be drinking my first alcohol for eight weeks, and insisting that I will never run another marathon again. For today, I ran a mere ten miles, some of it in thick fog, though the Cuckmere valley was in bright sunshine. I have now run at least 451.18 miles in fifteen weeks in training, probably more, given various Garmin breakdowns. Another 26.2 will be as nothing. This week saw my last ever run at work, a hills session-though central London hills are not quite the same as we have here in Sussex, Lloyd Baker Street was the best I could find, and two five mile runs along the front. I should have run a further four miles yesterday, but the small matter of taking my wife to hospital after she fell downstairs and broke her leg rendered this impossible.

Miles this week: 25.86
One week till the Brighton marathon.

It's not too late to sponsor me for Brighton. I'm running for the Moorfields Eye Hospital Development Fund and you can support me at: http://www.justgiving.com/tomroper