This last Saturday, Geth and I expected to be out west at Heaton parkrun again… but a change of plans meant we travelled a day later than originally thought, so we ended up doing a quick one round Town Moor before our weekend adventures.
It was pacer week and I had new speed training shoes on, so I went for a fast one to see where I was after all this slow marathon training. ‘Where I am’ is just over a minute slower than PB pace, which I’ll take in the winter. I was feeling quite comfortable until the 26 minute pacer caught up with me and I realised I needed to step it up a bit! Finished in 25:04 in the end, which is solid.
This last weekend Geth and I continued our parkrun sandwiches (these are part of our multiday training) with a trip to Rising Sun. We originally meant to go last week but hadn’t realised it was off… this week, we were originally scheduled to go to Leazes, but that one was off! The parkrun cancellation dance is a real challenge during the winter.
Storm Darragh was scheduled to hit at about 10am, so I was relieved to see that Rising Sun (along a few other local events) did a morning course inspection and declared it safe to go ahead (parkrun volunteers are all heroes). It was actually fairly still during the run to the parkrun start, with only a bit of drizzle in the air.
The parkrun itself had a lot of puddles to dodge (or splash through – my trail shoes enjoyed themselves), but conditions stayed fine during the run – we took it easy for a 29:36 – and it was a lovely morning with lots of friends there! It was only on the last stretch on the way back home that the wind started to pick up, so we were really lucky with the weather window this morning.
This is one of the few shots where I actually look like I’m enjoying myself – though I really was! Photo from Rising Sun parkrun Facebook page.
Next week we are likely to be a bit further afield!
This was the second marathon of the year – something that would have been inconceivable just a couple of years ago, as my body simply couldn’t have handled it.
Following my 4:21 at Manchester I wondered if I was capable of a sub-4 this year. It was a big jump, but I had just taken more than two hours off my previous marathon time and was used to big jumps in terms of PBs at the time. I decided to train with the aim of sub-4 and see where it got me.
Training was pretty intense and I didn’t miss a session, but I did find myself struggling on the long runs – this was the first time I’d attempted to do marathon goal pace blocks during long runs rather than just taking them as easy as I liked, and I found it incredibly hard to manage the pace. This is very much a mental thing as I can manage much faster than marathon goal pace on shorter runs, but on long runs I always feel fatigued from early on and it seems impossible. Due to this frustration, I have also become more aware that my true easy pace (i.e. what I fall into when not focusing) is still very slow compared to other people I know who do similar race paces to me – and this has given me a bit of impostor syndrome in recent months, as it makes me feel that deep down I’m still a naturally slow runner and always will be.
I only did one B race (the Great North Run) during the training block, which was great as it meant things didn’t feel as disrupted as they did during the Manchester block. Going forward I’m going to be splitting training into slightly shorter blocks and mostly focusing on one race at a time.
I did a 15-week plan with a three-week taper as I had done for Manchester, but I found that I didn’t even begin to feel rested from the taper until a few days before the race. This should have been a bit of a warning sign.
Geth and I planned from about halfway through the training block to run the race together. He’d originally been aiming for a 3:45 but his training was significantly hampered by his Achilles injury, so he hoped he’d be able to pace me to the sub-4 instead.
I spent the last few days before the race really worried about the weather conditions, as Storm Ashley was forecast for the weekend. The wind didn’t end up being too bad on the day – it was the rain that was more miserable – but I really felt that because of the weather forecast, the race just wasn’t in my control anymore.
It was lovely to spend the weekend in York with some of the Benchies, as there were quite a few of us down for the marathon – and the out-and-backs on the course meant there were always people to look out for!
In one of the uni buildings before the start! Photo from Alice at TMBR.
Setting off on the day, I was glad I had Geth with me as it meant I didn’t have to worry about pacing myself – I could just stick with him. I was able to manage the pace but I knew from the first few miles that it didn’t feel as easy as it should. There was an energy missing in me. We had done a faster pace together at the Great North Run – also in the rain – and that had felt easier.
At halfway, we were still on pace, but I really felt deep down that I wouldn’t be able to keep it up for another 13 miles. I tried hard, but by about 17 or 18 miles I couldn’t stay at the pace anymore and Geth had to slow down to stay with me. The aim became a PB.
This was what kept me going for the last six miles, because the last six miles were hell. I wanted to stop and walk SO badly – probably more badly than I had done in Manchester. But, just like in Manchester, I knew that if I took even one walk break, that would be it – I would have given myself permission to walk, and I would keep doing it, and I wouldn’t get my PB. So I kept running as fast as I could, even though ‘as fast as I could’ was definitely not fast anymore.
The miles ticked by so slowly at this point, and there was so much mental maths. But finally we got to the last mile, and I was surprised to find that the notorious hill at the end – the one I’d found such a struggle when I did the Yorkshire 10 Mile back in 2017 and 2018 – didn’t feel like much of a hill at all these days. Geth encouraged me on, and I managed a weak semi-sprint over the line. It was a relief to finish, but I didn’t feel elated like I had at Manchester. There was quite a bit of disappointment there.
4:16:30. Very nearly a five-minute PB – 4 minutes and 58 seconds off my Manchester time. It was a difficult race and I’m proud I kept running when it got hard – that’s two nonstop marathons run now.
The Yorkshire Marathon used this finish line pic in their social media promo after the race. Nice to have a free race photo!
I won’t be attempting a fast marathon again until autumn 2025 (my next marathon is part of a multiday challenge, then I’m doing an ultra, then a fast half as my spring A race), which is partly why I was disappointed – I won’t get the chance to improve on my marathon PB for a year. But it does give me the time I need to improve and think about what I can do differently next time.
I will definitely be factoring in a longer taper. Back in my super-slow days, the happiest I ever was after a marathon was when I’d done a five-week taper. For next autumn’s marathon training block, I am going to try four weeks. I think, due to the spondylitis – which does still cause a lot of fatigue even though I’m very well medicated for it now – my body perhaps just needs a bit longer to recover after the peak training period.
I think I also need to find some way of speeding up my easy pace. This is more complicated, as I really feel that easy pace should just be what feels natural (and should speed up naturally as you become a faster runner in general – though unfortunately mine doesn’t really seem to be doing that!). However, I do have some initial ideas about things to try. I’ll change a few things around next year and see what works.
I have let the parkrunday posts get away from me, so I’ll make each parkrun recap brief! But quite a lot has happened in my own personal parkrunworld since I last updated…
Jesmond Dene #171
On the 10th of August I headed to Jesmond Dene, as I hadn’t given it a proper go for a while. Conditions were great and I managed a nice course PB of 25:54, sneaking under 26 minutes for the first time there.
I never usually run the same parkrun two weeks in a row, so I hoped there might be a chance of getting the ‘Groundhog Day’ achievement (run at the same parkrun twice in a row and get the exact same time)! I was a few seconds out, but I wasn’t going to complain about another course PB – 23:54.
Fair warning that these pictures might get a bit samey as we go along! Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Agnew #169
Oh my goodness, Agnew parkrun. I might be less brief with this one if you’ll indulge me.
Geth was still recovering from his injury at this point and was taking it easy. ‘You might win this,’ he said, looking around the field at the start. I would not allow such thoughts to enter my head. Besides, I had already spotted one fast lad in carbons, so I knew it was unlikely.
Bang, off we went, and for a minute there was only the aforementioned fast lad in front of me. Another fast lad soon joined him. But nobody else did.
At the turn of the first out and back, solidly in third place, I glanced at the other 58 runners stretching out behind me. Could I really hold them all off for a whole parkrun? I didn’t know.
But I was going to give it a good go.
Agnew parkrun is three laps with a lot of out-and-back sections, so you’re very aware of where everyone is. It’s a good thing I’d done it a couple of times previously and knew the route, as the two fast lads were completely out of sight by the end of the first lap. At every turn I was glancing at the following runners, analysing how far behind they were. I was running on pure nerves and adrenaline, surprising myself by how badly I wanted to keep my placing.
This must be what it really feels like to race. (Don’t let anyone tell you parkrun’s not a race!)
Halfway through the third and final lap, the fourth place appeared to be gaining on me a little… and so I found a burst of speed and energy out of absolutely nowhere. I ran for my life and by the final out-and-back he was far behind, but I kept pushing and pushing and gave it absolutely everything up the final stretch. I hadn’t even been thinking about my finish time, only about holding people off, but it was a new all-time PB for me. 23:21. A time that would absolutely NOT get you third place overall at the vast, vast majority of parkruns, but it’s all about who shows up on the day!
Over three months later I am still buzzing about this result. One of my best running moments of 2024.
Dad was in attendance with his camera and so I honestly could have posted about 20 photos of this parkrun (including a truly elated-looking one of me holding token number 0003) but I will refrain, as this is already a long post! Photo (c) John Cooke 2024.
Jesmond Dene #175
The following week it was GNR weekend, and so I did my usual volunteer stint at Jesmond Dene – funnel managing this time. Jesmond Dene always smashes its attendance record on GNR weekend (due to lots of runners in town for the race taking the opportunity to bag their ‘J’ parkrun) and this year was no exception, with 547 over the line (more than Town Moor that weekend!). It can be absolute madness at the finish funnel but it’s my favourite parkrun of the year. Loved it as ever.
Geth was marshalling – this is very much a ‘we did it!’ photo at the end!
Town Moor #635
I took it fairly easy for the post-GNR parkrun (I always like to go to Town Moor the week after and be part of the big GNR t-shirts group photo!) but still did a nice consistent 25:26.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Rising Sun #347
21st September was the first weekend with a bit of a nip in the air, so out came the long sleeves and trail shoes for Rising Sun parkrun. I took it fairly steady and Geth kept up with me most of the way. Not quite a course PB but close, with 25:22.
My sisters-in-law have recently moved to Greater Manchester, so on our first visit to their new place we scouted out their new local event (and took my sister-in-law along for her first parkrun!). It’s a very busy event and I made the mistake of starting a bit too far back, so it was really congested for the first stretch – but I managed 25:09, which I was pleased with given the hills on the course.
It was pacer week at Town Moor on the first weekend of October and I hadn’t done it for a while, so I signed up to pace 30 minutes and ended up pacing one gentleman to his first sub-30 following a serious injury. Bumped into him again at Yorkshire Marathon a couple of weeks later. Pacing is really rewarding when you can help somebody out! I was nearly bang on pace too, finishing in 29:56.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Jesmond Dene #180
I fancied another go at Jesmond Dene the week before the marathon, but kept it a little steadier as I didn’t want to go too hard that late in the training. Still a decent result with 26:27.
Photo from Jesmond Dene parkrun Facebook page.
York #520
We’d intended to do our pre-Yorkshire Marathon shakeout at Heslington parkrun, but realised the night before that it was a bit further out of town than we’d thought. We ended up at York instead in an absolute downpour with about 800 other people (including our friends Jack and Ann from the Benchies)! Could barely see in front of us but we got the job done and I finished in a comfortable 29:59.
Drowned rats! And of course there was a queue for photos with this sign…
Town Moor #641
Took it a little steadier than some recent attempts for the post-marathon parkrun effort, but I still found a bit of pace and came in at 24:53.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Denton Dene #70
I started November off with a return visit to Denton Dene alongside some of the Benchies. Managed second lady this time round (I couldn’t have caught the lady who came first even if I were on top form!) with a nice consistent 24:05.
Quite a few Benchies at Denton Dene that day.
Jesmond Dene #184
Back in the Dene the following week, finally feeling fully recovered from the marathon, and managed my second fastest time round the course with a 26:03 – which is pretty good considering Geth and I are now doing parkrun sandwiches (running there and back) every week as part of training for our next big race!
No photo for this one.
Heaton Park #657
We visited my sisters-in-law again and returned to Heaton Park. I started a bit further up and knocked a few seconds off my course PB as a result, finishing in 24:49.
Photo from Heaton parkrun Facebook page.
Fælledparken #613
I’d wanted to do a continental Christmas market trip for years, and this year we finally managed it, spending our 12th wedding anniversary weekend in Copenhagen! Ticking off a Danish parkrun was also a must and I’m glad I chose Fælledparken. It was covered in snow but the underfoot conditions were crunchy and not too slippy, and we had beautiful blue skies (unlike back home in the blizzard caused by Storm Bert!). We took it easier due to the snow, finishing in 29:35 – but it’d be a nice fast course in the summer as it’s really flat.
Just about staying upright on the snow-laden decking!
Town Moor #645
Finally, this last weekend we returned to Town Moor. We’d intended to do Rising Sun but found out the night before that it was off for a Christmas event. A nice easy-ish trip round the Moor instead following some long training days, finishing in 27:33.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Whew! What an epic – summer to winter. I won’t leave it that long again (I hope).
Finally, though, I want to pay a quick tribute to my Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 shoes, which you can see in most of the photos above. I have had these shoes for over two years and they have been my constant speed training companions, netting me more parkrun PBs than I can count. Sadly, however, they ran their 500th mile at Town Moor parkrun last Saturday, meaning it’s time for them to move onto a new life as driving shoes. I have laundered and relaced them accordingly, and to be honest am quite looking forward to wearing them in non-running life as they’re really funky-looking! I have got some Endorphin Speed 4s ready to take their place, so we’ll see how I get on with those.
This is a very late race recap. It’s been a mad few months and I’ve not had much time for blogging! But I’d like to get caught up before the end of the year, so expect a few more posts than usual over the next few weeks.
In September, as ever, I ran the Great North Run. It wasn’t an A race, as it was part of my training for the Yorkshire Marathon. However, I still thought I was probably capable of a PB, as I hadn’t run a half since February’s Valentine Half Marathon. In the weeks leading up to the race, I reckoned I could probably do 1:50ish. I was in the orange wave for the first time and I felt I was capable of it.
On the start line… before the rain arrived!
However, on the start line, I was having doubts. The weather was not kind (it would start to rain as we crossed the start line and would continue until we were nearly at the end), I didn’t really feel like running at max effort, and most of all I thought I would prefer to run with Geth, who was aiming for just under 2 hours following recovery from his Achilles injury. I decided that I would just set out and see how I felt.
A couple of miles in, Geth was still with me, so we decided we would run together at a steady pace to try and finish in 1:55ish, which would still be a big PB for me. It felt comfortable, and the miles ticked by really quickly despite the rain. I’ve done so many slow GNRs that felt like they took all day and this was so different.
No Red Arrows this year, but the finish straight was as wild and atmospheric as ever. I was conservative in my sprint finish because Geth couldn’t go too fast with his Achilles and I wanted us to finish together, but we still made it across the line in 1:55:22 – a 4 minute 9 second PB for me, and it felt so easy. I have high hopes for this distance next year.
The medals this year were designed to be held two together with alternate sides showing to depict the Tyne Bridge.
Another bonus this year was no freak flash floods! So we were able to get the bus back to Newcastle really straightforwardly and were home by 3:20pm (also a PB).
I am currently in my tenth year living in Newcastle and so it was my tenth Great North Weekend, having started with my very first race at the Great North 5k in 2015. I got all my T-shirts out to celebrate.
Ten Great North Weekends… all memorable for different reasons.
Looking forward to many more! (Especially if they fix the start area process, which was complete and utter chaos this year.)
The Saturday before last, being home in Newcastle for the first time in a few weeks, I went to Denton Dene for the third time. Based on previous runs there I was expecting to run about 25 minutes, but surprised myself with an all-time PB – 23:26! I wasn’t even concentrating on time during the run, I just knew I was on for first lady and was trying not to let the second lady catch up with me! Really pleased as that is not an easy course. I did suffer a bit with my asthma for the rest of the day though – my lungs worked really hard for that one!
With various Benchies and other friends after the run. Photo from Alice at TMBR.
Went for a slightly steadier effort at Leazes this past Saturday – managed a good solid 24:29, which was still a course PB by a few seconds. I found it quite busy, but I’m sure it’ll return to normal once Town Moor returns next week. No photo as I forgot to take one.
Still to decide on my parkrun venue for this coming Saturday!
Another Scottish parkrunday and another slight lie-in for the 9:30am start, as Geth and I were visiting Mum and Dad at their caravan! This parkrun event in Castle Douglas hadn’t yet started last time we were visiting, so it was good to ‘complete’ the Dumfries and Galloway parkruns once again. Not too far a journey from the caravan as well!
Geth and I were in our Carter USM running tops as the Carter Facebook page was trying to get as many ‘Carter tops at parkrun’ pictures as possible this last weekend! They got over 120 in the end from 101 different parkrun events, I believe.
Representing! Photo from Dad.
It was fun to bump into some folks from Carlisle whom I recognised from the Cowfest Troon bus trip last month, as well as somebody we knew from Town Moor parkrun back home!
It’s not a super fast course (too much on grass for my liking and lots of humps and inclines), but I gave it a good go and managed a very respectable 24:26, including a sprint finish thanks to the lovely guy behind me who was shouting at me not to let him beat me!
Last push! Photo from Dad.
A few quieter weeks coming up now so I’ll be visiting parkruns in my local area again.
I’m always excited to do a new-to-me parkrun! Especially in my homeland of Scotland, where I have so many links all over the place via family and friends. Somehow, though, I’d never done any of the parkruns in Glasgow. As I was in the city this last weekend to act as groomsperson for my old friend Sharpy at his wedding, it was time for that to change!
I chose Ruchill as it was the closest to our hotel in the city centre, though still a good mile and a half to walk. Geth was taking it easy due to his lingering Achilles injury, and I realised as soon as I clocked the slightly hilly course that it certainly wouldn’t be my fastest – though I did end up a bit quicker than I expected.
It was a lovely course with a great city view at the top, which you get to see three times due to the laps. The team were really friendly and I was surprised the field was so small (60 people) – I’d be interested to find out if that’s standard for parkruns in the city.
I’m not sure when we’ll be back as I intend to collect a few more Glasgow parkruns when I find myself there, but if I were ever in a position to repeat I’d definitely do this one again!
It felt like it took a while, but on 7th July I got to the final 10k race of my summer speed training block!
I wasn’t expecting or trying for a PB. I was already delighted with my 48:57 at Sunderland in May – I’d never expected to get sub-49 this year – and so I felt like I’d achieved everything I wanted to at this distance for 2024. Besides, the GN10k is a difficult course these days – a downhill start to the river (the same downhill start as the GNR) that of course needs to come back up as we travel through town and return to the Town Moor. Then of course there’s the horrible gravel section at the end that slows everyone right down. It’s not the best race and I expect I’ll be taking a break from it for a couple of years (though I may still make use of the very convenient running shoe recycling point that they provided in the race village on the Moor).
Nevertheless, I was hoping for consistency, as I’ve been doing around 50 minutes for all my 10k races this year. I was delighted to be in the orange wave at a Great Run event for the first time in my life (the fast laddies’ wave, as I used to think of it when I was stuck at the back in pink) and I wanted to enjoy it. Once upon a time (2016) I came last in this race out of thousands of people. It’s been a long journey.
It was a long walk down Claremont Road from the race village to the start – much longer than expected – and so it was a bit of a tight thing to get into the pen before the race started! That was probably a good thing, though, as I hate all the hanging around and the mass warmup. We were off before I knew it.
I decided not to stick with the 50 pacer on the downhill to the Tyne, as it’s really a race where you have to use the hills. I knew he’d catch up with me at some point. I was impressed that we had enough room on the Tyne Bridge for the out-and-back, as they’ve been doing long-term works on the bridge – a tentatively good sign for the main event in September, I hope.
The many twists and turns on the route meant that I often saw friends going in the other direction, which was a nice distraction! It started to get really tough in the second half with all the deceptive hidden uphills and then the gravel paths on the Moor. The 50 pacer caught me with about a mile and a half to go and there was no way I could stick with him, so I knew even before I finished it was going to be a season’s worst. 51:17 was the result. Still relatively consistent and over 10 minutes faster than my course PB from last year, so I’ll take it.
A bit of a party atmosphere at the end, and it did really feel like the end of a season!
A few pics with friends before and after!
I won’t do as many 10ks next year – probably just one or two. I was starting to get race fatigue this year, and I’d like to come back refreshed to some of these races in a few years’ time. Hopefully by 2025 I’ll be excited to take on the distance again!
In the meantime, though, I’m back to marathon training (for Yorkshire in October), which really is my happy place at the moment. Looking forward to getting some peaceful long runs in.
I was volunteering this last weekend as I had a Sunday race. I’d signed up as funnel manager but ended up as number checker instead, which is always fun and can be a bit hectic!
