A good little course through some of Leeds' secret woodland glades, in very mixed weather.
I saw Leeds Rhino and Chris Brown there. Were any other forumites involved, and if so, how did you get on?
A good little course through some of Leeds' secret woodland glades, in very mixed weather.
I saw Leeds Rhino and Chris Brown there. Were any other forumites involved, and if so, how did you get on?
"Get yourself together, Jones" - Ray Davies
9th time I have done the race and slowest time ever today. 1hr and a few seconds.
I cant even use my plantar faciitis problem as an excuse really as it didnt bother me during the race. I think old father time has just really caught up with me this year.
3 solutions really ,1 pack it in 2 accept I'm a bit slower now and just enjoy my running or 3 train like hell and try to get back to previous years standards
not decided which option to take yet.
might feel better after tomorrows race, the pier to pier race at South Shields and Sunderland followed by a boozy afternoon with club mates.
Disregard option 1. That way lies misery.
Option 2 is pretty sensible for those of us over a certain age; but spice it up with a bit of option 3. It can also give a boost to age grade your times occasionally, or else mentally re-set your pb's, making this year your new year zero. Alternatively, avoid the problem by running in a different set of races.
And remember that most of the population, twenty-somethings included, would be amazed by anyone getting round that course in an hour.
These are my strategies, anyway!
Your devoted Agony Uncle,
Tussockface
PS You might feel your plantar fasciitis later on. Even if it didn't apparently trouble you in the race, you'll probably have been making subtle compensations for it, even if unconsciously. It probably did affect your time.
Good luck tomorrow.
"Get yourself together, Jones" - Ray Davies
As a rough guide to the slowing process you could try putting in a previous time for the approx distance together with your age when you did it. Then putting in your current age/performance and seeing how they equate on the age grade calculator
http://www.runbayou.com/Wavacalc.htm
A mate of mine has been using this for some years (he's over 65) and he reckons he's slowing between 5 and 6 seconds per mile per year.
Last edited by Epocian; 16-05-2009 at 05:06 PM.
Thanks Epocian.
I don't know if it'll cheer Leeds Rhino up, but it's given me a boost! Age graded, my last 10k and 5k runs give me new all-time pb's!
Off now to celebrate with a drink. Or should I treat what I now find is the body of an athlete with greater respect?
"Get yourself together, Jones" - Ray Davies
Decided to give it a miss this year having run it 6 times before. What were conditions like on the trail after Friday's rain?
Still pretty good underfoot. One or two puddles but nothing to call serious mud. Trail shoes were perfect, though you could probably have got away with road shoes. Studs would have been overkill.
"Get yourself together, Jones" - Ray Davies
Yeah I've only ever worn studs once in the race in the early days before they 'levelled' the path back from Meanwood Park itself.
When I first moved to Leeds in '95 I lived two minutes from the park/trail and it played a major role in motivating me to get out running again after a 4+ year break in early 1990s.
It does seem amazingly secluded/rural for somewhere so close to a major city centre. And I didn't spot any wrecked cars, abandoned shopping trolleys, or corpses, at all.
"Get yourself together, Jones" - Ray Davies