911 - Bristol Half-Marathon

My 2nd Half Marathon but first in Bristol. My Bath HM time of 2:12:56 put me in the penultimate sheep pen (Red Labels) at the start rather than the rear one.

A recce visit last week ensured that I knew where to go and how to get there minimizing worries and hassle on the day. But I still managed to break the chip tie attaching it to my shoe. Park and Ride operated as promised - normally it does not run on a Sunday.

Objective was to beat my PB for HM. On the basis that the route was mostly flat and my recent training had shown decreases in my times for my 6.5 mile training route I was confident this would be achieved. As a stretch target I yearned for a sub 2 hour time - but I knew this would be v hard as my best training times were 58 minutes for 6.5 miles. Could I manage this for just over double the distance? Unlikely but worth a try.

Before the start - penned up and pent up

My race plan was to ease into the first couple of miles and then up the pressure on myself when the crowds thinned a bit. Not that they did. Also to concentrate on my smoothest running style to avoid effort being wasted in scuffs, trips, and thrashing limbs. I know you are supposed to keep a reserve for the later miles but if I went too slowly in the first half of the race I would not be able to make up the lost time - so I had to keep near the top of the range of my fuel-economy cruising speed. This time I also pre-planned which water stops I would use, going for a 2 stop strategy. Except I did not stop just slowed down. Spilled some. Other runners kept throwing bottles at me. Invisible? Moi?

The race goes under the Clifton Suspension Bridge twice so you get to see the faster runners coming towards you on the other half of the road. At that stage this was good for my morale as I only began to see other Red Label runners on the opposite carriageway when I was almost within sight of the turning point.

The route back into town goes around the other side of the harbour from the start and from there zig-zags all around the town. Here the surfaces can be a bit troublesome - tarmac mostly, not too bumpy but with raised metal edges, sometimes wet from spilled water. Granite setts are a bit of a pain - danger of twisted ankles on some of the larger ones and they feel a bit hard on the feet anyway. Slippery gravel on another part of the course. Cross-country and fell runners will be thinking “wimp”.

Although I had looked up the revised route and knew there were a lot of loops in the final portion I had not reckoned on how hard this would be. I did find that the reverse loops and sharp uphill bits in the last few miles were sapping of the morale as well as the physique. I know the bystanders mean well but their shouts of the usual mantras of “You can do it” (Methinks - I know or I would not have entered) and “Not Far To Go Now” (Methinks - 3 miles not far?) began to pall. I expect I was just jealous of Superman who got all the attention - but it did mean that I had to pass him and stay ahead to the finish - so indirectly it helped me too.

The hardest bit was the last 0.2 mile. Yes I know they tell you not to sprint but you just have to make a good finish don’t you? Besides - Superman was not far behind me and I had run out of Kryptonite to strew in his path.

Official Time 2:06:11. New PB.

Special Thanks to MOH who gave up a prime gardening day.

Buzzing

I am an addict.

Before I started out on this venture I was among the majority who regard “joggers” with a silent pity and contempt. Clearly from the agonised looks on their faces and the strenuous puffing sounds they emit the activity cannot possibly be enjoyable.

I was rather more in awe of runners. The guy I met skiing who had done almost every major Marathon on the planet - including London and New York - some more than once. He told me he just had to run every day. Well he was tall and skinny and to my way of thinking build like a runner. Nifty skier too.

Another exception to my theory was my Service colleagues who were required to meet minimum physical standards to keep their job. They ran most lunchtimes to maintain a certain level of fitness by regular exercise rather than lapse and then work extra hard to get it back again. Being stuck in offices as desk jockeys that was a real risk for them.

As an idle youth outrun, outgunned and generally out-sported by my schoolmates - among whom I was always the youngest if not the smallest - I was never athletic, or even fit. Consequently the Forces never had a lasting appeal. Other than the uniform for attracting the girls. In those days the USP for recruitment was - in the words of Monty Python - “For the Sport and the Travel, Sah”.

But now my jogging has taken a serious turn - and I find that I must get out several times a week. Rather like my former colleagues I don’t want to lose the level of fitness I have gained. For one thing it feels better than the previous fat(ter) me.

So I have signed up for 2 more Half Marathons - Bristol this month and Bath again next year. Don’t worry , I am not asking for sponsorship.

Not yet.

Getting a buzz from running

Alas! in truth the man but chang'd his mind,

Perhaps was sick, in love, or had not din'd. - Pope

Gates Analysis

I have just been Microsoft - again.
Hours of work down the pan thanks to Works Not Working.


Meanwhile, back at the blog. It is a year since I began running on 19th August 2010.

Thought I ought to commemorate it in some way. Discovered on Runners Forum a new initiative . A monthly 1 mile time trial.

Appropriate n’est pas?

Using my traditional ruler-on-the-map method I found an exact mile between the outer ends of two bridges on my “Bridge2far” route. Benefits of this are:-

• Easy to identify marker points
• Can be used in either direction
• Familiar territory
• More or less level - no visible gradient
• Proper warm-up of about 2 miles beforehand.

My time - 7min 26.82sec. Or 0:07:27. Not in Seb Coe territory but OK by me. A mile is a long way when you are steaming along flat out.

Now I have to improve on it next month!

The object of this time-trial is to compete with oneself - not with others. Inevitably one makes comparisons.

An arithmetic average of all the times announced is 7min 12sec. There are 13 faster than me and 10 slower. There is a difference of 4 min 39sec between fastest and slowest times. None of the times are faster than 5min or slower than 10. So on a track over 2 miles the fastest would not be able to lap the slowest.

This puts me into the upper part of the third quartile. Happy with that.

I know my place.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. St Matthew Ch 5 v 41

Steaming Along

Thou shalt have one God only; who
Would be at the expense of two?

Thou shalt not kill; but need’s not strive
Officiously to keep alive

Do not adultery commit;
Advantage rarely comes of it

Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat,
When it’s so lucrative to cheat

Thou shalt not covet, but tradition
Approves all forms of competition.

Arthur Hugh Clough

Earth Tides

In recent weeks my running has had a scientific bent in the spirit of enquiry.

I have got into the habit of running the same route regularly to see how the weather and my state of mind affect my running speed for the same distance.

Only - it is not the same distance.

At first I thought I must be cutting corners - so I carefully stuck to exactly the same route each time I ran. But the distance still varied.

On particularly hot and humid days I have been varying the time of day when I run - sometimes early morning and sometimes evening.

Then I found that the distance varied according to the time of day. Thus:-.

Serial Time of Day Distance Run Time

1. 06-57     10.43 Km     1:01:18
2. 08-12     10.44 Km     1:05:15
3. 12-29     10.46 Km     1:00:42
4. 12-30     10.47 Km     1:03:36
5. 15-44     10.54 Km     0:58:41
6. 16-25     10.46 Km     1:01:11
7. 18-43     10.49 Km     1:03:36

Now my Garmin is pretty accurate on distances. It did match the surveyed distance of the Bath Half Marathon and the 10km distance of the Swindon race.

My conclusion is that I have been measuring the phenomenon known as Earth Tides.

The moon causes tides in the oceans. But the gravitational pull of celestial objects is not just confined to very fluid elements like water but also affects the earth. The largest gravitational pull is from the sun and so this will have the largest effect - much more than other planets or the moon.

So as the sun rises and passes our hemisphere its gravitational pull causes the upper crust of the earth to heave up towards it, slumping down as the sun sets. As with the sea tides and the moon there will be a slight lag - with the highest “tide” occurring after midday. My runs at different times of day record the resulting larger radius curve as a longer distance and the figures reflect this “lag“ with the longest distances - and hence the highest “tides“ after midday.

Except for the run in the evening which shows a bigger figure than the late afternoon run. But this variation could be caused by the gravitational influence of heavenly bodies other than the sun - the figures are not necessarily the same on every day.

For a more scientific explanation, and some mathematics, see CalTech

Or for the rest of us try youtube

There are more things in heaven and earth,Horatio,than are dreamt of in your philosophy - Hamlet.

  

Or - it may just be down to satnav imperfections.

Plods Progress

1960s
Birmingham City Police
Town fringe 4am. Youths hanging around. Officer in panda car stops for a little chat.

Ladywood after midnight. Tipsy students carrying Bath Road sign when spotted by constable on beat carry sign into Police Station. Desk Sergeant notes down details of “find”. When asked if can be kept if no claimants, replies “Op It”.

Warwickshire Constabulary
Small village midday. Large group of lads. Local policeman on motorbike stops to find out who they are and why hanging around there.

1970s
Met
North London. Old banger is making lots of noise from exhaust. Waved down by bobbie on push-bike. Driver told “I know where this car lives - take it home now and don’t take it out again except to get it fixed”

Earls Court 10pm. Little yellow car driven in dashing style along Ring Road trying to keep up with Austin Healey ahead. Blue car behind suddenly sprouts sirens and blue lights. Flat-hatted crime cop gives driver of little car severe ticking off  “40 in a 30 limit, perhaps. 50 in a 40 limit, maybe. But you were doing 50 in a 30 limit! Don’t do it again, sonny.”

Central London. Armed police officer shoots and wounds passenger in a Mini.

1980s
Met
South London. A bored police officer advises home owner to “Move Home“ after the fourth break-in in 2 months. Takes no details and gives out yet another crime number. Surrounded by the evidence of finger-prints on windows and boot-marks on the remains of the door says no forensic examination will be done because break-ins are “routine low priority crime“ and the policy is to take no action.

Greenwich. Police examining burgled house of citizen arrest his son for possessing a traffic cone.

Greenwich Magistrates Court. Case of alleged assault. Accused not present. He had been “out” when police had called to arrest him. Police roundly castigated by magistrate. No Further Action taken.

Natwest Bank in Earls Court. Customer assaulted in full view of customers and staff. Police called at insistence of victim. Assailant admits assault. Police refuse to take action “It’s a civil matter”.

Sussex Constabulary
James Ashley - naked - shot dead in police raid.

1990s
Avon and Somerset Police
Second break-in within 1 month. Police reckon they knew who did it as local villains out on parole over Christmas. Hand out victim-support leaflets.

Met
Harry Stanley shot dead by police whilst carrying repaired table leg in bag.

2000s
Avon and Somerset
Notification of “Failure to stop after an accident” issued. Police refuse to supply any statements made about alleged “accident” or its precise time or location. When requested to examine car for signs of damage, police say “You might have repaired it”.

Force praised for its ethnicity and diversity policy guidance.

Cannabis found growing in concrete pots outside Bath police station.

Met
Jean Charles de Meneses shot 7 times in head.

2011
Sussex Constabulary
10 Feb - naked man shot and killed in Brighton.

Met, West Midlands, Avon & Somerset
The BlackBerry and Apple Riots - postcode gangs co-ordinate rioting, arson and looting across London,  Croydon, Birmingham, and Bristol using smart phones.

When constabulary duty’s to be done
A policeman’s lot is not a happy one. W S Gilbert

He that goeth about to persuade a multitude, that they are not so well governed as they ought to be, shall never want attentive and favourable hearers. Richard Hooker

Run Time or Distance?

New Race Entry
Getting a bit slack on the running & decided some incentive was required.
So have entered the Bristol Half Marathon on 11 September.

Same day as Italian GP.
Will have to watch out for poisoned umbrellas on that day - Georgi Markov.

New Discipline
Decided that should regularly run 60/6 - that is about 6 miles within 60 minutes.
Not done every day - or even every other day - but have managed 6 runs of more than this time or distance over the past 20 days. Excuse - heat and humidity.

Quarter Marathons
Distances have been mostly 6.50 miles with one of 6.52 and another 7.24. Variations include an extra loop. Each run involves setting out to a particular marker post at which I turn round - usually after about 28 minutes - reversing the route to the start. Whole thing out and back is 6.5 miles by shortest route.

Time taken has varied from fastest 1hr 0min 49 sec to slowest 1hr 4 min 14 sec for the 6.5 miles.

Injury Avoidance
Not running every day - or even every other day - has meant that aches, pains and twinges are less of a problem. Knee aches less after an hours run than it does over a 2 hour drive.

My theory is that driving at most economical cruising speed is the culprit. My knee aches from the strain of holding off and NOT putting the pedal to the metal. But if it makes a tank of fuel last 400 miles instead of 300 the saving in cost will pay for nearly unlimited quantities of Deep Heat.

Road Works
Lots of these both in the Motorway and on my running route - new gas pipes.
Infrastructure and Jobs.

The Professionals

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, “Make this fellow return” - I Samuel 29 v4.

You ain't going to believe it but I found the above quote just by opening the book randomly and reading what was on the page. It seemed appropriate. Mostly.

Then I edited it.

WYSIWYG

Taking The Long View

For a running blog this seems to have very little running in it.

Excuses:-

1. Back in August I said I would not post about every run
2. I have been travelling - so little opportunity to run
3. Working - for clubs (NOT nightclubs)
4. Gardening
5. Fixing the old car.

Running
In the past couple of months I have completed 17 runs - a total of well over 100 miles.
Distances - from a “quickie” 4 ¼ miler to a long 13 ¼ miles. Even one in the rain!

Travelling
Derbyshire, Isle of Wight, Cofton Park. Beautiful places.

Working
What is it they say about being retired?

Gardening
Mowing, hedge-cutting, weeding, watering, rain dancing.

Car Fixing
Done - head gasket, stud thread, tick-over.
To Do - little end, con-rod, clutch. And just about everything really.

 Mind the Gap

Blog-Offs
Other blogs go off topic too:-

This one includes cake - Hrun's Random Ramblings

And this one has cows Skeddaddle

"They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them."

Of Blogs
But surely all are equally valid in this post-modern world?

Mind The Gap