Alsager 5 Mile Race

Going yet more out of synch, how could I forget the Alsager 5 Mile Race in Feb! I dipped under 30 mins to clock 29:53. I thought id never see a sub-30 min clocking again. So well chuffed with this race. I did ease down and hit it hard. Probably peaked too soon for the 24 March Duathlon goal😒🤪

December Training Race - Chrimbo 10k

Still going chronologically backwards! In December 23 I raced a local 10k; the Newcastle Chrimbo 10k. I surprised myself here as I wasn’t flat out but managed a clocking of 38:08 on a rolling and twisty course. I wish I’d pushed harder to dip under 28 min!

 

Kit Stuff!

 Random update on kit I like:

Nike Alphafly 1 bargain under £100!  Not many of these rare version left to buy now but these are thought to be the best version of the original super shoes. Crazy prices if you commit to full price. 

Ben Parkes Legend run cap. An awesome cap for running. Well ventilated and incredibly lightweight

Off to the European Duathlon Champs representing the GB Age Group team in June 😎. Need the official kit and thanks to my great employer Leidos for some sponsorship by assisting with recent entry ands kit purchase!

Oulton Park 5K Race

Ok! This race was in 3 March 24 as a fine tuner for the British Duathlon Champs on 24 March. It was a good weather day for the time of year and a decent time on a rolling course. Finishing in 18:03 and second place overall - the fast guys were in other events (!) - I was pleased with this run. 

Another Blog Catch-up!

 Yes, another blog void because of the vlog focus. It makes it difficult to keep this narrative historical blog going but I must maintain this record to give me a different medium to look back on. 

So since December then! I’m probably better starting from now and recollecting backwards. My first goal of 2024 was always the British Duathlon Champs At Oulton Park on 24 Mar 24. That was last weekend! I’ll keep it brief as there is a vlog on YouTube. 

I’d hope for. Podium or even a win. Result: 4th. Doh🤨. I had the fastest runs in my cat but my bike (in my eyes) let me down. My first run of 8.6 k was 32:05 at 3:46 pace. Bike 1:06:05. Second run 16:28 at 3:58 pace. I was 18 seconds off 2nd place. But reflecting, I couldn’t have gone quicker anywhere. I really pushed to the limit. Worryingly, I seem to have picked up some foot arch problems over the last few weeks. I’m managing this but the morning of the race my right arch really took my race focus away as I didn’t think I’d even make the start line. Anyway, a few pics to remember the race day. 

Time Warp!

 😮 Wow! Where has the last 2 months go? I guess the Vlog has taken all my time. That was one of the main reasons for creating the Vlog - to stop me working late and getting stressed. It’s certainly done that. But I don’t want to stop this Blog either. It’s been going for so long, it would be a real shame to cease blogging now ✊. So let’s recap on the last 2 months.  

The strength and conditioning has been the priority, as planned. My target remains the British Standard Distance Duathlon on 24 March 24. Still maintaining the S&C, I returned to the track to raise the run intensity and bring in sweetspot sessions for the bike. 

The track sessions have been enjoyable, even with a couple of icy evenings to contend with. As we get towards the end of December I’ve just completed a track session that indicated some decent run form: a pyramid session of 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400. I averaged 3:28 per k across the session, with the 1600 at 5:42. Pretty chuffed with this session. But have I suddenly found my race form too early?  I’m thinking of some reverse periodisation sessions by bringing in some longer endurance steady runs. But keep building the sweetspot bike sessions. 

Right, it’s late and I need my Zzzzzzzzs. I’ll update further to document all the YouTube channel stuff and also a recent Podcast I was lucky enough to be a guest on. The AMP Podcast specialises in chats with Age Group multisport folks - aspiring or experienced , it’s not elitist. More to come on this  

See you all 🙃  later. . . .