American Express Winter Festival Golden Mile

Saturday the 21st of June saw me have a go at a race distance I had never raced before! This race was apart of this years American Express Winter Festival here in Queenstown. 

The Golden Mile.. Consisted of two laps around the town centre of Queenstown. The atmosphere was really buzzing and the streets were filled with spectators. Not having done any speed work with months and only really racing longer distances I wasn't expecting much in the race but thought 'Why Not?!' I had nothing too loose but gain a 1 mile personal best. 

I had put up on my Twitter and Facebook page the couple of days before that I was racing and for poeple to predict my finishing time. I wasn't really sure what time I was capable of running and figured it would be a good laugh to see what others thought I could do. The predictions what come in had a huge range between the times.. The quickest at 4:35 - 6:20, I was hoping I could run around 5:10-5:15 to be honest but wasn't sure how the legs would cope. 

Otago Daily Times newspaper shot of the start..

Race morning soon came around and after heading into town and collecting our numbers. I wasn't feeling great but legs felt fresh! (For a change) Midday soon come and we were off, I had decided to go with the tactic of go off hard and hold on for as long as possible. How hard can it be to sprint a mile right? I couldn't of been more wrong!! Off went the gun and the front line shot off like we were racing a 100m.. I dropped into the second little group behind the 3 leaders. Our group was 4th,5th,6th,7th I figured it would be to try and hold onto this group for as long as possible and then try make a move towards the end if my legs had anything left. As we approached the final 200 meters on lap one it had a slight up hill section and our group had just slowed a fraction and the leading group was now 2 athletes. I decided that if I was going to go it was now! I just upped the pace for 15 seconds what gave me just enough to over take and put a little distance on the second group of runners and just managed to catch the leading 2 runners, but by doing this I now didn't actually have much left in the legs. Half way round the second lap the leading running decided to break and push on for the win neither myself or the second runner had enough to go with me. On the same incline as the first lap I tried to see if I had anything left to try for 2nd but the 2nd place runner had much more in his tank and held me off really well to finish 2nd and myself 3rd over the line. In a time of 4:51! I was very surprised to see when I looked down at my watch to see the time of 4:51. According to my gps the course measured out at 1.03 and my mile time was 4:46 but I am very happy with my official time at 4:51, and 3rd overall.

Top 3 overall results..

Would I race a one mile race again? In a strange way I think I would. I would like to maybe race the distance over a quicker course of just one lap and less tight corners. Overall I was glad I took the chance to race it and was pleased to see I still have some speed.. Well it's speed for me! 

Thanks to everyone for reading and following..

Paul x 

Understanding the importance of rest in training..

Since the Christchurch Marathon back on June the 1st I haven't really been doing much to be open and honest.. My 3 weeks back to back racing in May/June included a 100km mountain trail race and a marathon has taken it right out of my body.

Over the last few week I have just tried to keep doing something each week as always. Mainly so I don't get fat as I still eat like I'm training for ultras but also just to try and keep in some kind of shape.. It's actually pretty hard to keep some fitness when you are on a rest month. I had chosen June as a rest month from racing and long miles to allow my body just recover from what I did last month and hopefully I can come back stronger and fitter with a fresher body. If there is one thing I have learnt over the years of training/racing it's the body actually needs just as much rest as training! I have often been known to push myself to the limits in races but as I get a little more experienced I am learning when to stop and listen to the body..

The tally chart below is just a little in sight to how little I have been training each week. I have tried to keep one speed/gym session each with on a Sunday with Gem, Emily and Lauren as always, but other than that I have just been going out doing a few miles here and there:

It has actually been a good few weeks training with Emily,Lauren and Gem as it has given me a purpose to my running in a bid to help them get fitter, faster and stronger! Also pacing my flat mate Rachael last week to her first sub 2 hour Half Marathon is always nice to be apart of. People setting goals and you being apart of it to help them achieve it is just awesome. Basically I have been running for others this month but I have really enjoyed it, actually going out and running with good friends makes it always worth while getting out the house on a cold and wet winters night to go for a run. 

Looking forward I might actually just for the fun of it, compete in a event in this years American Express Winter Festival in Queenstown as a total one off and something what couldn't be further away from what I actually usually race. A straight out 1 mile race, 2 laps of town in a bid to run the fastest time for the mile. Now I actually have no speed left in the legs with all the longer distances I now run but I figure I have nothing to loose, why not just have a go at racing with some of the best in the country at a distance what is way out side of my comfort zone.. What time will I run, who knows!! Other than that I think I will just tick by with the miles and recover fully ready for some good winter training in July.

The Golden Mile 21st June 2014.. 

Thanks as always to everyone who supports me and follows my running jollies around the world

Paul x 

Christchurch Marathon

Another week gone by and another race completed for me! As mentioned in my previous posts I was going to be running in this years Christchurch Marathon 2 weeks after completing the TNF100, never had good feelings at all about it. One with having tired legs from all the climbing and stairs in the TNF100 and also I had been struggling to find a good feel from the body since the race. I knew it was just my body telling me it wanted to rest but it's amazing what your mind can do once your body has given up.. 

Friday before the event I flew up to Christchurch in time for the race. On arriving I popped down to briefly help some friends from the Shoe Clinic in Riccarton/Asics do some setting up in the marathon expo before heading off for some food and an early night at a friends of mine who had kindly offered to put me up for the weekend, Thanks Di! . Saturday was spent working in the store over there again before having a belly full of food and an early night. I hadn't slept great on the Friday night with it being in a new environment and new bed etc etc... But Saturday was much better after getting use to the new surroundings. Gem and some good friends Emily and Lar was doing they bit again this week helping me to get ready for the event mentally as I was feeling a little low about the race I didn't feel great in my self and body wasn't up to much. Again a big Thank You to them for being good friends and being by my side when needed :-) 

Race ready! 

6:15am on the Sunday the alarm rings out I look over at the weather and it's at a lovely fresh -2 degrees. For most people this would be freezing and wouldn't even dream of getting out of bed but I must say I really enjoy running in the colder climates and was happy it was a dry/fresh morning. Good bowl of porridge and a banana and I was ready to go. Kit was good to go, my Nathan Phantom Pak to carry some gels (This is an awesome sleek and classic bounce free design with a weather resistance pocket.) Hoka One One Stinston Tarmac with the usual shorts and vest! Di again was helping me out by getting me to the race on time, great not having to worry about public transport. 

Result from good old black ice.

After a good warm up and thoughts gathered it was time for race start!
8:30am the gun went and off and off we ran into the distance. I found it particularly hard to pace the run from the start as they had a 10km, Half Marathon and the Marathon all going off at the same time and as you can imagine so many different paces. If there is one thing I have learnt over the years of running its to run your own race and not worry too much about what others are doing around you, this defiantly helped me in the first 21km of the race. Once I had started moving I wasn't feeling too bad apart from being a big sluggish, I kept thinking that my legs would just stop going at some point with them being so tired from the last 2 weeks of racing and training. Around the 26km mark was the biggest hic up for me in the race as I put my left foot down on a stride it just slid right from underneath me on some black ice that I hadn't seen and I just hit the deck with a thud! A couple of seconds to gather myself and I was back up with both knees cut open and my left arm and elbow all bruised and split.. This wasn't going to stop me finishing the race for sure! Every one has heard of the quote "Go Hard or Go Home" I wasn't ready to go home. I continued to tick the KMs off and push towards the finish line back at the Airport where we had started the race. I was relative pleased at how I had managed to keep a steady pace over the distance (not a fast one by any means) and I crossed the finish line in 15th overall and 13th Male in a time of 2:53. Always lots of room for improvement for sure!
  

Km Splits

All in all job done and another marathon completed what takes my tally of races above the marathon distance to 20! Time for a little rest and some solid winter training here in New Zealand before deciding on my next challenge.. Thanks again to everyone who is always there supporting me and to Nathan Sports NZ for their constant support with the latest hydration packs/belts/bottles! Much appreciated
Paul x