race report – Page 4

Race Report – Bike and Run Köln – Team Sprint

This isn't going to be a long race report, but it was a race, so there is a report!

This was my second year of doing Bike and Run Köln in the team event. We cycle 42km then run 10km, there are four in a team and the clock stops after the 3rd person crosses the line. Last year we were pretty good, but I struggled to keep up on the bike, and was the 3rd fastest runner, making it a hard day for me! This year I fancied that I would be able to run much faster and hopefully ride better too, though that was less certain.

Dimi doesn't run too much and has been actively telling us that he won't be able to keep up on the run for a while now. He is a strong cyclist though, so we were dropping hints that he could put in more work on the bike so that we are fresher on the run! Christian was our best cyclist and best runner last year, but he told me that he hasn't run at all since January, so he wouldn't be strong on the run. Jochen is an all-rounder, if he was our weak link, we would be doing ok!

Last year we went out of the blocks like a bunch of idiots, only to have to slow down gradually over the 42km, this year in slightly damp, but not wet weather, we started off quite controlled, much better. We were pushing about 40km/h which was the same as last year, with the speed gradually increasing. Last year my pulls were short and I was really struggling to stay on the back of our train, this year it felt 100 times easier, I could push the pace and get back on a really rest. After 3 loops surprisingly Dimi started to struggle, he wasn't coming through to take his pulls very strongly, then he would fall of the back after the corners, I shouted for him to take shorter pulls, and he skipped a few too, and we continued on at about the same pace. After 4.5 of the 5 loops, he couldn't keep up anymore, and me, Jochen and Christian pushed on for the last 4km or so. We didn't want to break up on the ride, but as Dimi had said he wouldn't run fast, it seemed a waste to wait for him on the bike.

We got into transition and I was incredibly slow. I don't know why exactly but the others were ready before I had my first shoe on! I was shouting for them to run as I felt confident that I could catch up, but they waited not sure if we had to leave transition together or not. After about 500m, it was clear that Christian's lack of run training was going to make him our number 3 for the day. He wasn't slow, but in comparison to last year, he didn't have his edge. One team had passed us on the bike (we had passed 2) and after about 3km another team came past us. There was nothing we could do about it, it was more a matter of getting to the end now! I noticed that the team that overtook us was pushing one of their runners, I offered to do the same with Christian, which I then did for 6km. It was new experience for me and quite hard work! It means you have to work harder and you can't swing one arm, quite a strange feeling. The next 2 loops of 3.3km went by and we ran in a respectable 44min or so 10km. That was about 2 mins slower than last year, but our bike was about 1 min faster, so we were 1 minute slower overall. Unfortunately there were 3 real triathlon teams in the race this year, and they were all minutes ahead of us, so we were 4th. I'm not sure that we could have been top 3 on our best day…

Dimi came in a few minutes later and we enjoyed our well earned alcohol free beers and cake!

I think a big difference this year was that me, Christian and Jochen all had tri-bars on our bikes, with me and Jochen having TT bikes. Dimi is a strong rider, but without the tri-bars, he was giving himself extra work to do, which caught up with him. I know that next time we climb a steep hill, he'll still be racing off up the road! It was a shame that Christian hadn't trained for the run, but he has a new job and where he lives now isn't great for running. I would have like to see what I could have done, I had the feeling I could have gone sub40, maybe even more. It isn't too important anyway, it was a great brick workout and I'd be keen to do the solo version next year if we can't get the team back together.

Race Report – Bonn Marathon – Goal Achieved (kind of)

So the big day was upon me, I had travelled up to Bonn on the Saturday and spent a bit too much time wondering around, but had a nice day. I wasn't feeling overly stressed, mainly because Katja was stressed enough for the both of us! I got up and ate some bread and cereal bars for breakfast, not much else was available. Katja’s half marathon started at 8:30 or 8:45, it wasn't really clear, but it meant we were up at 6am and ate breakfast well in advance of the race.

We went to the start area, it was really cold but sunny. I was well wrapped up and watched as Katja started the race, I went to the bridge that is about 600m into the race and watched her come back over it at the 8km mark, and then saw her again at about 9.5km. As the HM started late, it was already 9:55 when I had seen her a second time, so I went to check in my bag and get ready. I decided for a minimalist warm up, mainly just wanting to be sure I was done with the toilet and have a very short jog.

I got to the front of the race corral by 10:20, the 3h pacers were basically at the very front of the race, barring the few Africans who were there. The race started and I had no issues with people around me, so tucked into the 3h group where I intended to stay. After only 2km I noticed that I had to pee, I wasn't desperate, but I needed to go. I decided to run a bit more before going, so that no 2nd stop would be needed. I stopped, peed and started off in pursuit of the group. I caught them back up after maybe 1.5km, maybe a bit too quick but not a crazy sprint either.

The group running skills of people was pretty bad, lots of trips and one guy was swinging his elbows everywhere and hit me about 5 times, later after he hit someone else the person he hit got really annoyed and shouted at him. A 3rd person had a chat with him, and he immediately apologised profusely. 5 minutes later elbows man hit into me, so I moved to the side, where he followed and hit me again, I said "come on man! FFS" or words to that effect, then realised that he had a disability, not good…

After 10km we were almost perfectly on pace, so I stopped checking my watch. my heart rate started rising over the next 10km, which was worrying to me, but I still felt good. After 20km I realised that we were way ahead of 3h pace, the 3h group went through the half in 1:28:30, I went through in 1:28:45 having noticed and slowed my pace. I was happy to have a cushion, but worried that it could be too fast..

After 24km I noticed that I would need a portaloo, this wasn't a simple run to a tree problem. I got to the drinks station at 25km and quickly got everything done and started off again. It cost me very little time, maybe 15-20 seconds, and I could run in comfort to the end. I finally got to see Katja after 29km on the bridge, she looked very worried, but i reassured her that everything was ok, it was going to be close, but it was ok. I reckoned I had about 50 seconds "lead" over a 3h pace at that point, though I wasn't gaining anymore, I wasn't losing too much either.

In retrospect and looking at Strava, the next 6km are where it all went wrong. It felt hard and it had warmed up quite a bit. I didn't have any idea of my pace, expect for the KM markers but at this point all I could work out was that it was really tight. In the last 5km I gave up the ghost of getting a sub3 about 10 times, each time then thinking of how much I wanted it and surging on. I had decided that I could do the last 1.2km in 5 minutes, but faster would be a push. I came around the corner to see the 41km sign and passed it with about 4:45 to spare for a 3h run. Again my head dropped, but I knew I had to give it my all. A slight downhill made me think I might do it, but the km dragged on until eventually I could see the finishing line ahead of me and my watch read 2:59:45. The finishing line as more than 15 seconds away though, so with the crowd screaming me on, I crossed the line in 3:00:15.

I wrote at the start of the year that a London good for age time of 3:05 was the goal, but it hasn't been my real goal for quite some time. It was so close that I could only laugh after the race, that is laugh and almost cry from the pain of my legs!

My excuses:
1) Strava shows my running time as 2:59:33, without the toilet stops I would have broken 3, almost no doubt.
2) The 3h pacers went out 90 seconds fast, in fact they ran the 11.1km between 10km and 21.1km about 75 seconds fast. It doesn't sound a lot, but I am 95% sure that if they had run an even race, I would have broken 3h with or without toilet breaks.
3) It was a touch warm in the 2nd half of the race. I don't know why they start the marathon at 10:30am, thus ending at 13:30ish for me, but the last few km were getting pretty warm, especially as there was not a cloud in the sky. I think on a cloudy day I would probably have run sub3.

It doesn't matter now anyway. I can hopefully run London next year off real marathon training and I am sure I will smash 3h, I want to be looking more at 2:50 really. Now the next part of my training season starts, cycling season.

Race Report – Rheinzabern OsterLauf (Half Marathon)

Right I haven’t updated for last week but I ran a half marathon today so will do my race report and get back on track with the regular updates tomorrow!

Jochen has been planning the Rheinzabern Osterlauf for a while, but it is a long way from home for me, and he wasn’t going to come back to Mainz after, so I was going to give it a miss… until on Thursday he changed his plans and offered a ride there and back, so I was on for a last tune up race before Bonn!

Last year I ran the 10km in Rheinzabern, I was really happy with a 39:56, a new PB, but things have moved on a bit since then. My aim for the half marathon was a 1:23:00 or better, as that would mean that my half marathon time is as good as my 10k time, and both would predict a way faster than 3h marathon, my big pre-season goal. I did also hope for a top 10 finish, but that was very dependent on who turned up..

So we signed in and did very little warm up. The weather was cold, about 4 Celsius and raining, good race weather in my opinion. With only 300 runners in the field, there was little traffic, so I wasn’t held up at all. The first k I was actively trying to run slower, but I passed the KM marker after 3:47, too fast. Jochen had planned to hang on as long as possible, as he wanted to run as fast as possible, with 1:25 being a goal time. He stayed just behind me as I tapped out km after km in just under 4:00/km pace. After 6km I was feeling great and the wind was behind me and without really trying I accelerated to 3:45 pace.

That was when Jochen dropped behind and I started moving through the field. There is a cross-back after about 9km and I counted that the first 8 were well clear, then came 2 groups of about 10, then me. I was pretty sure of catching the 2nd group, but the first would be tougher. 2km later I was into the 2nd group, which had started to splinter. A guy in red was going off the front, but I caught and passed him by 12km. There were a few people falling back from the first group but not enough yet, and man in red was hanging on behind me. I had gone through 10k in 38:42 and then 15km in 58:04, so the pace was consistent and good. After 17km I caught 2 more with man in red still behind me, then came the 2nd cross back (its a 2 loop race). I counted 11 ahead of me, all pretty well clear too, so top 10 was out, but sub 1:22 was looking good. It was only after the 19km marker that I really started to feel the pace and it hurt.

The last 2.1km were purgatory, I knew that any decent pace would get me my goal, but I think the man in red passing me hit me mentally, even though I had expected it to happen. I saw that no one was behind me, so I could just do what I could do, and see what happens. Through 20km I worked out (possibly incorrectly) that a 3:45km would get me a 1:21:30, I fancied that and was even mumbling 1:21:30 with each breath! but Through 21km in 1:21:25 I realised that wasn’t happening but I ran in a self-timed 1:21:49, great!

I got a cup of tea and saw Jochen sprint in a 1:24:58 (somehow rounded up to 1:25:00 by someone!), to round off a very successful day. The results were soon posted and I was 13th overall, and 3rd in my age group 🙂 So I got a little easter basket for my effort, which was nice.

So there is not much more to say – don’t F up the last 2 weeks to Bonn, and run and even paced 2:59! Vdot says I can do a 2:50:45, so 2:59 should be easy… right!

Race Report – Frankfurt Half Marathon

I have been ill this week, my lungs haven't been happy and I have been getting muscle ache from normal work outs, on Thursday as I gave up on my intervals after 3 of the planned 7km repeats, I was not confident.

On race morning I was feeling much better and my PB seemed on again. My PB is 1:27:35 but my recent 10k races suggest that should be destroyed! I woke up at 6:15am ate my omelette and porridge and left the house at 7:20. Pre-race 'preparations' went well and I got to the start line a few mins early. There was a 1:24 pace group which looked interesting to me, but after 2km in 7:50 I was still behind the 1:29 pace group!

I soon passed them and settled into a 3:55/km tempo which was fast for me, but felt comfortable and my HR was in a good zone. After what I thought was 5km I checked the GPS and saw 7km were done, another good sign. The ks ticked away and soon I was at 15km in 59:30, flying. The one incline of the day followed, I had been just behind the 1:24 group almost all the way, but after the hill I decided to push on ahead of them. The overpass next to Commerzbank Arena was the last tough bit and the long run round the stadium was quickly done.

The last 50m are in the stadium I gave a little sprint and stopped my watch – 1:23:40 about a 4 minute PB and 6 minutes better than last year!

All in all, it went well. My average HR of 169 is lower than normal, and I think that fully fit I might have had a few more seconds off my time, but I'm not complaining! This run sets me up nicely for a sub3 attempt in Bonn in 6 weeks time, that would be awesome!

It is also my second goal of the season reached, I think the 5k time goal is a sitting duck now!

Week review to come, but this was easily the highlight!

Rodgau 10km Race Report – Year goal number 1 completed!

Race day = Race report!

Build up was just a normal day, slept well, ate omelette and porridge (not together) for breakfast, then went into town for a bagel and Kona coffee (cue jokes about that being the closest I will ever get to Kona) before meeting Jochen to go to Rodgau. Judith kindly came with us today as support. I knew that there are lots of fast runners who do Rodgau 10km, so my PB wouldn't get me near the top 20, but that meant there would always be people to run with, which is a good thing.

It was really cold, so I put off getting ready until 25 mins before the start, then 'prepared myself' for the race adequately, and warmed up. We were quite a few people back from the start line, the usual idiots were pushing to the front, even though they will quickly fall to the back. That made the first 400m a bit annoying as I tried to overtake the rolling roadblocks. After 600m or so I was pretty much free, with Jochen behind me I couldn't see how he had negotiated the traffic. The course seemed to have occasional slight downhills, but never any uphills, I know that is impossible but that is how it was!

The first 4km felt pretty easy, I didn't have HR and ave pace showing on my watch, as it was all in a forest, so I expected that to be wrong anyway. Looking at the time and the KM markers, I saw that I was at about 3:50/km pace, which is faster than PB pace, but slower than 38min pace. In Rüsselsheim, I felt like it would be hard to keep my pace up after 4km, in Rodgau it felt easy. After 5km my time was exactly 19 mins, and I mean exactly! I had noticed though that the slight breeze had been against us in the first half, and should, thus, be behind us in the second half, bonus!

I continued passing people, whilst not once being overtaken myself. The next km was in 3:46, wow, that means I am faster than 38 min pace by quite a bit, and still feeling good! the same happened in the next km and the next, all of a sudden 37:30 seemed on the cards, if a stretch. After 8km I saw 30:04 on my watch, I could run almost 4min/km for the last 2 and still break 38! At this point I was aware that there were some gastro-intestinal issues on the horizon, but I had seriously decided that with my black running tights on, I wasn't going to miss my PB for anything, and I mean anything! Luckily it didn't come to that, but it was a serious fear for a few minutes there!

Finally in the last km I caught a small group of guys and a girl ahead of them. It crossed my mind that I could just follow them for the last few hundred metres and be happy with my time, but memories of missing 3rd in my age group in Rüsselsheim spurred me on, so I sprinted on by. With 100m to go I passed the woman in front of them, maybe she was the first woman I thought, that would be good, not to be chicked in a good field. I sprinted in and stopped my watch at 37:22, unbelievable! A 3:30 last km and my first goal of the year not only reached, but destroyed! I gasped for air but got it together enough to watch Jochen run in a 38:45, a good run and a big PB for him (it's only his 2nd 10km and the first went far worse than it should have).

The one slight disappointment was when the results came out. I had seen that they had little silver running shoes as prizes in the age groups, after my race I had thought I had a chance of one of the 5 in my age group, but I soon saw that I was 9th and would have needed a 34:48 to get 5th!
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I was 48th overall, but bugger it, I can't help others being dead fast! I saw that the woman I passed at the end was the 2nd woman, only 20 seconds behind the 1st woman, so close.

A 50cent honey waffle and coffee were perfect after-race nourishment before heading back to Mainz for a swim.

With no more 10km races on the horizon, this PB might stand for a while. The next planned race is Frankfurt half in 4 weeks, sub-1:25 looks very likely now along with ticking goal 2 off the list 🙂

https://www.strava.com/activities/251639160
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Lindensee 10k

First race of the year, a 10k race in Rüsselsheim. I managed to rope Jochen into racing with me, he hasn’t run too much in the last few weeks but claims good form for his first 10k race ever!

After getting warmed up and 'emptied' I was ready to go. The start was a bit fast, a first look at the watch showed 3:30/km and Jochen was still ahead of me! After about 1km the pace settled and I moved past him and through the field. I seemed to be having to push a bit to keep my 3:50 pace up and my HR was up around 178… too high.

After about 4km there was a sharp turn where I could see that the footsteps behind me weren't Jochen, because he had fallen about 30m behind. I pushed on in a small group, 2 of whom then passed me, one a bit too quick, the other perfect to follow. After 6km I saw 23mins on the watch, only 16mins or so left, that's why 10ks are good!
The last few k clicked down without too much excitement. I passed someone like he had a flat tyre with 1km left, the guy I had followed for ages didn't seem to want me to pass, and I don't think he was in my age group, so I didn't fight too much (it turned out he was in my age group and it was a fight for 2nd!). The end was starting to hurt, but a quick look at the watch showed 38:36, a 70 second PB!!

https://www.strava.com/activities/242207270

Jochen managed a 40:25 or so, he was very disappointed. It's the first time I have beaten him, and hopefully not the last 🙂

I'm not planning anymore races until Frankfurt half marathon in 6 weeks. Today's time predicts a 1:25:10 half, the first goal of the season is within reach.