One Year On!

One year has come and gone since I started this blog. As planned I put myself through various tests and experimented with different methods of training for races to see if a running amateur can pull it off without engaging a fitness coach.
What with the recession that gripped the world from last 2 years. Countries are still struggling to pull up their balance sheets. Individuals and families were not spared and such things as health and fitness may have taken a secondary priority on the budget lists.
How many gym, swimming and general fitness expenses were cut as a result? Logic points to the inevitable conclusion that a good amount was not spared the dreaded chop.
So how does DIY (Do It Yourself, to the uninitiated) exercise help in these circumstances? There is a lot of information out there and there is a real danger of a novice getting information overload. Some training information is contradictory and confusing. Some appear reasonable and credible at face value but you will come across some fitness guru somewhere criticizing and rubbishing it.
So I decided to put to taste some of the training concepts and techniques, using myself as the guinea pig.

I participated in 4 races last year and I plan to do the same this year. I will use different approaches to my last years. Today as I write this I completed the 1st of the 4 series race. I completed the Adidas 5 mile race in 37.01mins, 2 minutes faster than the same race last year.



There is no doubt that experience played a major role in helping me run faster. I learned from my last year mistakes, both in terms of training and the actual race. For example last year I kicked off at a lightning pace; only to fizzle out half way into the race. I realised that I needed to maintain a pretty constant and regular pace throughout the race. This means controlling my edge to sprint off from the start.
This year I had few runners overtaking me in the last half of the race unlike last year's race.
I am also more familiar with the track than I was last year. I knew the most challenging parts of the track and I had a plan. The section immediately after the military hill is the most demanding. This is the section after the hill climb. I pushed hard to try and keep a sub 5mins/km pace but that was tough as usual. A 5.05mins/km pace was not that bad
I gradually increased pace all the way to the finish line. My last lap was even the second fasted; which was a great surprise given that I always seem to loose pace with increasing real estate (ground covered).
This year I have been running with the ASICS running shoes. I have to say they seem to be comfortable and I have not had a foot/ ankle or knee injury since. I am not sure if this is down to the ASICS or its down to the fact that my joints are more used and are better prepared for the impact and abuse from running
Despite the improvement I failed to finish below the number 1000 (1135) There was a record increase in participants as compared with last year. More than 6000 people participated in the 5 mile race.