Saturday, 12 April 2014
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Race Review - Derby 10k - 6th April 2014
2 races in a weekend seemed like a good idea when i signed up for them. Saturday was a 12km obstacle course with hills, rivers, mud and barbedwire. So Sunday's 10km flat(ish) road race should be a breeze. But the problem is that I'm becoming more and more competitive, and more obsessed with a sub 40 minute 10 km. So I've been training, not just pottering off for a run, but real, actual training. So I knew this was going to be a lung buster. I knew I was going to have to spend between 40 and 45 minutes pushing my self as hard as I could.
Being part of Team Derby Runner is great, the team president organises team parking, and facilities for us to leave our bags, relax pre and post race, and even get a massage. During the pre race chatting and "so, what time are you aiming for?", I found a few guys that are also looking and hitting the 40 minute mark. So it was great to have a few buddies to easily spot and try and keep pace with. Once we were in our starting pens, the banter started, especially when we realised how close to very front elite runners we were. Funniest line heard was "bloody hell, we're starting right behind the Kenyans". A five minute gap was given after the elite wheel chair racers went off, and then the gun went for main 10 km race.
As I set off I spotted a fellow team mate who is a 40 minute man, and he hadn't bolted off the line, but was running at a nice steady pace. AWESOME, I kept close to his shoulder and resisted my usual urge to sprint off the line. 50 metres in and this felt great, all I have to do is keep this up for another 950 metres. after about 1500 metres I was still close to my pacer and exchanging places with another team mate of similar ability, as we reached the city centre and roughly 4 kilometers my target was opening up a decent gap, I just didn't have the legs to keep up this pace, but was still tussling with other team mate, but soon he too pulled past and put a 200 metre gap between us.
I was soon joined by a third team mate around the water stations at the 7km mark, but I was going to make it hard for him to pass me, so I pushed harder tried to keep my slim lead. I then got a sense of deja vu, I've battled with this guy before. He's the dude with the red '50 Parkrun' t-shirt I've played this game with at a few park runs at Darley park. We battled, (well I say 'we', he was probably just running his own race, and it only me that had an inner dialogue of us fighting for position) exchanging leads up to the final kilometre and he managed to find an extra gear and pulled away. It was too little too late, as I hit the final 400 meters and started my sprint finish. It was a hard race and i was happy-ish with 42m44s, as it was a personal best, but I was hoping to be closer to 40 than 45.
Just mean I have to train harder.
Huge thanks to everyone at http://www.derbyrunner.com/ and RW for the photo.
Being part of Team Derby Runner is great, the team president organises team parking, and facilities for us to leave our bags, relax pre and post race, and even get a massage. During the pre race chatting and "so, what time are you aiming for?", I found a few guys that are also looking and hitting the 40 minute mark. So it was great to have a few buddies to easily spot and try and keep pace with. Once we were in our starting pens, the banter started, especially when we realised how close to very front elite runners we were. Funniest line heard was "bloody hell, we're starting right behind the Kenyans". A five minute gap was given after the elite wheel chair racers went off, and then the gun went for main 10 km race.
As I set off I spotted a fellow team mate who is a 40 minute man, and he hadn't bolted off the line, but was running at a nice steady pace. AWESOME, I kept close to his shoulder and resisted my usual urge to sprint off the line. 50 metres in and this felt great, all I have to do is keep this up for another 950 metres. after about 1500 metres I was still close to my pacer and exchanging places with another team mate of similar ability, as we reached the city centre and roughly 4 kilometers my target was opening up a decent gap, I just didn't have the legs to keep up this pace, but was still tussling with other team mate, but soon he too pulled past and put a 200 metre gap between us.I was soon joined by a third team mate around the water stations at the 7km mark, but I was going to make it hard for him to pass me, so I pushed harder tried to keep my slim lead. I then got a sense of deja vu, I've battled with this guy before. He's the dude with the red '50 Parkrun' t-shirt I've played this game with at a few park runs at Darley park. We battled, (well I say 'we', he was probably just running his own race, and it only me that had an inner dialogue of us fighting for position) exchanging leads up to the final kilometre and he managed to find an extra gear and pulled away. It was too little too late, as I hit the final 400 meters and started my sprint finish. It was a hard race and i was happy-ish with 42m44s, as it was a personal best, but I was hoping to be closer to 40 than 45.
Just mean I have to train harder.
Huge thanks to everyone at http://www.derbyrunner.com/ and RW for the photo.
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Saturday, 22 March 2014
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Equipment - Gloves - O'Neill 2mm SLX
When I was looking for winter gloves for obstacle racing, I needed something to keep my hands warm even when wet, surfers gloves seem to be the best idea. Surfers spend hours out on the water with wet hands, and need grip to push up off their boards when catching the waves. So they will have come up with something ingenious that would be suitable for obstacle racing.
Neoprene works by trapping a small layer of water / sweat inside the glove next to your warm skin and because neoprene is a rubber based material it is very well insulated and the thin layer of water remains nice and warm. This means it is essential to get a tight fitting glove other wise each submersion will simply flush the glove with cold water and chill your hands.
At the 2014 Tough Guy 15km obstacle race in late January I wore O'Neill 2mm SLX neoprene gloves. The weather consisted of a constant drizzle and temperatures in the single digits. The course is famous for its sub zero water obstacles and huge punishing obstacles.
The gloves were outstanding, not once did my hands feel the cold, every other part of my body took serious blows delivered by the aggressive cold water. My fingers maintained their dexterity for hand over hand rope crossings and so many climbs up cargo nets and greasy wooden A-frames. The surface on the palm and fingers added incredible grip and confidence when climbing and crawling. 2mm of neoprene is surprisingly cushioning when crawling and using my hands on tree trunks to slow myself when running down steep hills. But they never felt bulky or clumsy
Neoprene is very tough wearing too, after wearing these gloves at 6 obstacle races over the last 12 months the gloves look exactly the same as the day I purchased them. I can't recommend these gloves highly enough for cold wet obstacle races.
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