Category Archives: Running

Take The Next Step – Jersey Marathon 2015

08 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by in Jersey, Running

≈ 59 Comments

After Longford 2008 and Cork 2010 (drawing a veil over two previous ignominious DNFs) I declared ‘never again!’ Two miles from the end of Jersey 2015 I fervently wished I had stuck to that. That two miles could have been two hundred as far as I was concerned.

I’ve done OK these last 16 months. I’ve totally reappraised my eating and drinking habits, lost a bunch of weight, have trained and raced well. In fact in my 63rd year I’ve set a new PB (PR in the US) for 5k and have come close to doing likewise for 10k. So, deciding that life’s too short for regrets I put my name down for the 10th running of the present incarnation of the Jersey Marathon.

Now, it must be said I’m no runner. I only started 13 years ago to regain a bit of fitness and grew to enjoy it without ever getting beyond the ‘respectable’ mark. Still I had hopes of getting inside my previous best mark of 4:27, a rate of 10-minute miling.

Jonathan Edwards started the race - pic Matt Porteous

Jonathan Edwards started the race – pic Matt Porteous

So, four miles in and averaging 9.21m/m. In fact, with the exception of a sharp uphill section in Mile 5 I didn’t slip into 10-minute miling until the second half of the race. A mistake? Possibly. But sometimes you just go with your gut feeling. It was a perfect day for running, mercifully the cloud cover remained keeping the temperature down and I was enjoying the great race experience. As well as the individual marathon there is a team relay. The result is that it’s a dynamic experience for runners and spectators. The support throughout from the Jersey public was awesome, the best I’ve experienced.

The eventual winner Aleskey (Russia) - pic Matt Porteous

The eventual winner Aleskey (Russia) – pic Matt Porteous

They say – and how true it is – that the second half of a marathon starts at 20 miles. From Mile 15 I had to start to dig deep and from Mile 20 it was becoming a serious challenge. Never a thought of quitting though – you find ways and means from that point. Thankfully there’s a downhill section bringing the runners down to St Aubin with three and a half to go. Another painful mile and my legs done packed up on me. For the first time in a marathon I was reduced to alternate walking and running. The mainly younger, fitter relay runners streamed by together with a number of marathoners. Many had words of encouragement to me and others as they did so.

The leaders in Waterworks Valley having dropped me - pic Matt Porteous

The leaders in Waterworks Valley having dropped me – pic Matt Porteous

There are many examples of battling through the pain barrier. Today once again it was Anthony Lewis a local journalist who suffered a catastrophic stroke several years back. It is an achievement for him to manage one painful step. Today he pushed his body to a half-marathon in six hours.

The ‘central governor’ theory propounded by Tim Noakes is interesting. It holds that the mind protects us from over-exertion by programming our muscles accordingly. The trick is to over-ride the theory. Thus, with the finish at last only a few hundred yards away all the pain slipped away and I was striding like a champion down Conway Street, Commercial Street and Wharf Street lined with fantastic support to finally make the finish line at the Weighbridge in a chip time of 4:34.31 and 15th M60.

No longer running tall, relaxed, smiling

No longer running tall, relaxed, smiling

And I’m happy to say, slow or not, I still beat my beautiful and very fit daughter Emma (26) who finished her very first marathon.

Yes I’m pleased I gave it a shot but – never again. My mile splits which tell a tale were
9.17
8.48
9.34
9.45
10.37
9.38
9.37
9.30
9.40
9.32
10.06
9.54
9.38
10.00
10.00
10.26
10.26
10.05
10.50
10.35
10.57
11.07
11.10
14.13
14.30
12.26

Jersey Jogging

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Jersey, Running

≈ 27 Comments

My blogger friend Jean over at Social Bridges calls it ‘Phunning’. At my speed it’s more like ‘Phogging’. Join me in the gentlest of four-milers on a sunny Saturday morning. Click on the first image to open the gallery.

Jersey Half Marathon 16 Nov 2014

16 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in Running

≈ 33 Comments

When I first started blogging back in the mists of time (2003-ish, pre-Wordpress) it was purely about athletics and running. The emphasis changed over the years and now it is of course mainly a writer’s blog.

Roy Half 2014-11-16

Not the winner

I was never much good as a runner but I started to approach something like competence in 2010, the year I set all my PBs. It’s been pretty much downhill since then. I got older, did less miles, put on a fair bit of weight.

In July I started to turn things around, but it was back in May 2011 that I last ran a Half-Marathon. I therefore started with a bit of trepidation this morning. Although my PB is (and will remain) 1:46 I was hoping for 2:10 with a stretch target of 2:00. A final result of 2:05 was pretty satisfactory.

My running buddy Ella (in red) and her friend Rebecca, running her first Half.

My running buddy Ella (in red) and her friend Rebecca, running her first Half.

I set off cautiously – there are a series of little uphills in miles 2 & 3. Then I fell in with Marie and we chatted and trotted along steadily up to the 7-mile marker at Gorey Pier. I felt OK so decided to see what I could do. I was able to pick it up significantly – and it’s always nice to pick other runners off. I timed it nicely for a final effort on the track only to find that, due to a re-measure, you now do a lap and a half on the track to finish 😦 But I was happy enough to have come through a bit of a test. Next target is 1:57 in the late Spring. Mile splits as follows.

9.25
10.30 hills
10.16 hills
9.41
10.06
9.36
9.49
9.07
9.14
9.13
8.57 🙂
9.04
9.09

Ancient trails and woolly mammoths

19 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in Jersey, Jersey local history, Running

≈ 19 Comments

With the fine weather and the holiday season upon us our band of Jersey Joggers has become rather thin. Five of us set out this morning in the north-west of the Island, in the parish of St Ouen about which I’ve written in the past. Insofar as you can find isolation on a 9 x 5 mile island St Ouen provides it. Times past there were folk that never travelled from here to the bright lights of the capital, St Helier, let alone further abroad. And today in an hour we barely saw a soul.

St Ouen's Bay from the escarpment

St Ouen’s Bay from the escarpment

The land hereabouts rises from the sea up an escarpment to the higher ground on which lies rich farmland. One way up the escarpment is to take one of the well-hidden ‘donkey tracks’ and this is what we did this morning. Steep and sandy, one is soon rewarded when, puffing and hands on hips, the high ground is reached and St Ouen’s Bay glistens behind you in the morning sun. Another barely-used trail follows. One wonders just how old these sandy trails are and for what purpose they were used in years gone by.

Even when one reaches the tarmacked lanes there is little sign of life, just the odd cow or horse startled to see gaily-coloured, sweaty strangers. Lore has it that you need to show your passport at the parish border and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if an old farmer jumped out and demanded we do just that.

Back down the quiet lanes to sea level after a life-affirming few miles.

La Cotte de St Brelade
There is an archaeological fortnight going on and in the late afternoon I took the opportunity to join a guided visit to this well-known site. Well-known but infrequently visited as you need the agility of a goat to access it at low tide across a boulder-strewn beach and and a rocky climb to the site itself. Kudos to the (even older) folk that gallantly struggled and conquered.

La Cotte, we knew, is one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Europe. It has yielded thousands of finds that evidence occupation by Neanderthal Man from 250,000 years ago, up to when the Neanderthals were replaced by modern man.

tonysmusings.blogspot.com

tonysmusings.blogspot.com

It was fascinating to have two eminent archaeologists familiar with the site to put it all into context – the way successive ‘cold’ and ‘warm’ periods affected the sea level and therefore the mineral deposits and erosion. The layers of sediment, clearly seen, were explained as was the history of excavation at the site. Despite the importance of the place there remains much which remains to be done. Also there is need of a plan to protect what has been exposed over the years.

Sadly the experts debunked one myth, hereunto held true by every Jersey child. Although mammoth remains have been found in profusion they were not driven over the cliff to their doom. Rather they were hunted on the lowlands at a period where the sea level was much lower.

Truly I live in a wonderful place.

Jersey Jogging With a Smile

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Coaching, Jersey, Running

≈ 30 Comments

Coaching any sport is a labour of love. Very few outside the very best in their field do it for the money. The day you fall out of love with coaching is the day you pack it in. Your dissatisfaction and lack of enjoyment will soon spread to your coachees.

I was reminded of how much I enjoy coaching on Wednesday evening. On the final night of Jersey Joggers’ Couch to 5k programme, for adult beginners, we had no less than 45 start and finish their target 5k run through the dark roads and lanes of St Clement. Probably 50% were first-timers with the others generally returners to running after a long layoff.

I guess this is about the 9th or 10th programme of this type I’ve led. It was by some distance the largest group. I don’t know where everyone comes from, really I don’t. I was expecting double figures considering it was the 3rd programme in 14 months, but we regularly had 40+ turn out in sometimes miserable conditions on the Esplanade on weekday evenings. We lost a few, inevitably, through injury and other commitments but what a great turnout for the finale!

And most stayed for the Celebration party at Partners Restaurant, as you can see. I’m the worried, big one in the brown T-shirt.Partners Mar 14

Everybody enjoyed the programme, I certainly enjoyed working with everybody and met some lovely people. Ominously there are a significant few who are looking forward to doing it all over again in the autumn. That’s not quite the idea but I still like seeing familiar faces on these courses.

So onwards with an extension programme to prepare those who wish for a 10k on 6th April, then we’ll see what will transpire.

Why old blokes shouldn’t sprint

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Coaching, Running, Writing

≈ 15 Comments

I’ve always wondered what a pulled hamstring feels like. All my life I’ve been reading about footballers and athletes in particular, highly-trained creatures, succumbing to a hamstring injury which keeps them out of action often for several weeks, depending on severity. Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen are examples of world-class footballers who have spent as much time on the physio’s table as the pitch whilst accepting their eye-watering salaries.

Ryan Giggs in familiar circumstances

Ryan Giggs in familiar circumstances

And, in my 61st year, having played most sports under the sun, I’d never been on the end of such an injury. Until this morning.

One of my greatest pleasures is in coaching the Jersey Spartan AC Minis, children aged 8-11. This morning on (Alleluia!) a fine day we’d had a good session of hurdles and high jump. Then we split the young athletes into teams of four for a sprint relay to finish off the morning. But, if the number of children don’t divide by four, grown-ups have to be commandeered to make up the teams.

That was how I ended up anchoring Team Eight, hoping to bring us home victorious in Usain Bolt style.

A proper relay team

A proper relay team

The first race went fine, but we were fourth. With a few minutes to spare I ordered a re-race. This time I put my faith in my incoming runner, a commandeered parent. I set off, extended my hand behind me and ‘plop’ in went the baton, a perfect hand-off.

I was in second place but confident I could overtake the little girl in the lead. But heck, she wasn’t giving in that easily.

And then it happened. With yards to go I made my final effort then – bang – it was like I’d been shot in the leg. I staggered across the line, high-fived the victor, and wondered if recovery is possible before the Spring 10k race next Sunday 😦Ambulance

Encouragement from a fellow runner

24 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Coaching, Running, Writing

≈ 15 Comments

Us writery (writey?) types try to avoid cliches but you could have knocked me down with a feather. Steve Runner is the granddaddy of running podcasters with Phedippidations having been going for something like seven years. He has about a zillion listeners but he still makes a big effort to make his broadcast near enough a one-to-one as is possible.

Well, first I had a Twitter ‘follow’ from @phedippidations (huh?) then a couple of referrals to this blog from http://www.steverunner.blogspot.com Curious, I clicked into Steve’s blog and there, in the show notes for his latest podcast Fdip 302 is a link to this blog. Intrigued I listened in and there, from about the 40-minute mark, is a shout-out for this blog and in particular my running novel Barry. Which all goes to show it is indeed a small world and it is sometimes impossible to hide 🙂

So, click across to Steve’s website and treat yourself to an hour’s quality entertainment. It’s aimed at fellow runners but it is much more than that. Steve Runner, legend. (He’d hate that tag with a passion).running man

And all of that gives me renewed heart for my recently-formed Jersey Joggers group. The other evening we had no fewer than 28 runners complete a 5k run to round off a nine-week Couch to 5k programme. We have 70+ on the mailing list many of whom dip in and out. It’s not for everyone and I certainly don’t mind if people come and go. We are getting new enquiries all the time and I’ve now got a balancing act to do between the new beginners and those more competent/confident that are now flying and aiming for a 10k run next month. On Saturday morning in the spring sunshine I took part in the most enjoyable run I’ve had in ages, an easy 4.4 mile loop that reinforced how good running can be.

Now we can only hope that the better weather asserts itself – it’s been a long winter.

Google Street View, loving it

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Ireland, Running, Writing

≈ 17 Comments

I’ve just re-run the Connemara Half Marathon in about 30 minutes – sitting here in my studio apartment in the comfort of my armchair.

For some reason I’ve hitherto ignored the charms of Google Street View. Unfortunately I believe I’ve found yet another way of doing nothing useful. It’s brilliant and only now have I been seduced, though this plug-in has been out there for a little while now.

For those newly arrived from Mars, much of the world’s roadage (new word) has been photographed by cameras mounted on top of cars. The results have been stitched together so that you can click your way along pretty much anywhere a car can go. You can gawk at the buildings to left and right and you won’t ram the car in front stopped at the lights. If you’ve missed a turn you can pull a 180 without getting hooted.street view cameras

So today I conquered the Hell of the West at the head of the Maam Valley – a piece  of cake that 1.8 mile climb. Whilst in Ireland I repeated a perfect little 12-mile run through the barren landscape of the Dingle Peninsula. I’ve taken a trip back to Dunmanway in West Cork. There’s my late uncle Jimmy’s cottage. He was a level-crossing keeper. The railway line closed in 1961 but you can still easily see where the track ran alongside the river. And, a few yards further on, the site of the cottage where my grandparents brought up 12 children. The building itself, with it’s myriad memories, replaced by a nondescript modern affair.

North portal, Passage Tunnel, Cork

North portal, Passage Tunnel, Cork

The possibilities are endless. I’ve always wanted to ‘do’ Route 66 like every other old hippie, and here’s an opportunity. I can stalk people. Give me your address and I’ll come and stare at your house 🙂

I guess in the future that the technology will move on again and one will be able to drive rather more quickly along the streets and roads; for all its wonders Street View is still a bit clicky-clunky. But it’s an amazing project and proof, if it were needed, that little remains secret in the 21st century.

Anyone else had fun with this?

Jersey Joggers, I wonder if anyone will come…

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Running

≈ 9 Comments

Crikey, I knew we’d had some interest but I didn’t expect 40 people to turn out for the very first session 🙂 Good intentions and all that. But come they did in their droves, most of them even bearing disclaimer forms which may or may not save me from a legal claim in case someone has a heart attack or something. All but a handful were female.

We’re starting off with a basic Couch to 5k course, over nine weeks. This involves a walk/jog routine, certainly in the early weeks. With little enough choice in Jersey on dark evenings we convened at Bel Royal from where you have traffic-free runs along the front with at least some lighting to guide the way.running man

This week’s three sessions are – warm up then jog 60sec, walk 90sec x 8, stretch. The jogging bits are done very slowly, though the participants have the option of stretching out a little if they wish after the half-way point.

I’ll gradually be introducing good running habits, one at a time. Tonight’s was simply – run tall, eyes ahead which automatically aligns head, shoulders and hips so the feet land correctly under the centre of gravity.

Now I hope everyone doesn’t bring an extra friend on Wednesday or we might be in crowd trouble!

Looking back at Cork Marathon June 2010

12 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by in Ireland, Running

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A bit nostalgic tonight. Back in June 2010 I made my third and final attempt at completing the Cork Marathon. At a low personal ebb early in 2010, having recently left Ireland with heavy heart, I promised myself that I would be back that June under happier circumstances. This is how that day unfolded.

Back On The Rock

That’s it, done, finished.  At the third time of asking I sailed (well…) over the finishing line in Cork yesterday.  I trained well for 18 weeks and finally executed a good race.  4:27.23 was only a little way outside my target time of 4:22 so I’m well pleased.

Weather-wise there couldn’t have been a bigger contrast to the last three race days; but there was no doubt which the runners preferred though it was pretty miserable for the many helpers, paid or otherwise.  Heavy rain was forecast for the 9-12 timeslot and duly arrived with a vengeance.  But before this I had the good fortune to meet Woddle and eliwallach from Boards.ie once again.  There were a lot more boardsies in town but on this occasion I missed them.

So, off with bin-liners and on with the race, starting from Patrick’s Street as usual.  Off around the town with me…

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