Swap Beat Week 1 Results

The scores are in the results tallied, percentages calculated and the winners can be announced. I heard back from Viv and Laura and have updated the SWAG post with their contributions. I have also listed the breakout of the Nike prizes and the Grand prize. There is a total of 14 prizes including the grand prize, so the way it will play out is each week the top two losers select their prize over 6 weeks the seventh week there will be only one winner and the overall winner will receive the Grand Prize.

Please post in the comments section of this post (yes I am a comments whore) your first and second choices; in case you both choose the same thing, the higher ranking will get priority. From there it is up to the winners to contact the relevant donor to arrange shipping etc. Clicking on their name in the SWAG post will take you to their blog. Once received you are honor bound to pose with said winning item, photograph yourself and post about it etc.

There is a slight rule change in the interest of fairness of distribution of prizes. Because of the small number of participants you now cannot win two weeks in a row. If you are in the Top 2 on consecutive weeks then prizes will slip down to the next person on the list, consider this motivation to keep yourself at least in third place. Of course if you’re third and the next week you come first you have to pass on the prizes. Hopefully this won’t get too complicated and the idea is that everyone gets something.

So without further ado and fanfare this week’s winners are: Maddy & NikeMom. Congratulations to you both. Congrats to everyone who managed a loss. Week 2 is underway, send me your updates Sunday and watch this space.

Late night long run!

And so on Friday night I turn up at my Doctor’s office after spending two hours in the car only to be told, can I reschedule (note told not asked!). I slowly count to ten: 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8... it is after all not the fault of the receptionist and it would be rude to shoot the messenger. So I rebook my appointment and leave. Now having not built in any long run time this weekend and the thought of no long run next weekend due to the reschedule I am wondering how I can carve out some time. Anyway after a chat with my lovely wife Sunday night is available and she agrees to put the boys to bed, ably assisted by the in-laws who are staying. So just before dark I head out, no trails just a simple 4 hours on the local roads.

The pace is not fast but steady for the first two hours and I am covering the mileage easily and without issue. I have in mind the distance of 26 miles. It’s hard to gauge the exact time as my 305 pauses at traffic lights when I do and I have a fair amount of junctions to cross, (22 in total by the end) which allow for a quick breather but break the pace, stride and concentration. Around Mile 15 I can start to feel the road through the sole of my right shoe, nothing too worrying but it’s there. At Mile 20 my pace falters some and I refocus my efforts, my pace is dropping from mid 8s to mid 9s and ends up in high 9s and even a couple of 10s by the end. By mile 25 I am pretty spent; it’s been a long time since I have gone anything further than 12-15 miles on the roads and I am starting to feel it now. I slog through the last 2 miles and then just for the hell of it push for another 0.2 just to make a round marathon distance rather than a round number.

I walk the last mile home to avoid a hard cold stop, consume a large bowl of home made cereal (carbs) and another of Greek yogurt (protein), pop 8 Recover-ease and a multivitamin, two glasses of water, stretch, pack my bag for tonight's 8 miler, shower and I am in bed by 10:30.

So I finish with an unofficial time of 3:55:43, an average pace of 8:59, not my fastest time but not my slowest, I need to upload to MotionBased to get the true numbers but I estimate another 10 minutes spent waiting for traffic lights. I was only nearly mowed down by cars only twice. Consumed 6 gels and 60oz of Pepetuem and burned off 3476 calories which will help towards Swap-Beat, results to follow! No MotionBased data and no photos but here's the GTC info:

WTF!

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday round up that is!

Wednesday I was scheduled for Intervals, quarter, half and full miles on a ladder working up and working down (¼ x 2, ½ x 2, 1 x 2, ¼ x 2) topped and tailed with a warm up and cool down. Usual place; on the beach path, not so usual weather: a strong head/tail wind depending which way you were going and usual time; and here is where it went wrong somebody moved the clocks! I managed to get through the warm up and first four sets but realized that I was going to end up in the pitch black on unlit stretch of path, after a quick readjustment I changed the miles to halves changed direction to stay in the relative light and had a shorter cool down. I ended up with a reasonable set of splits, not great but reasonable and a slightly shorter than planned run. Here are the splits:

Quarter mile intervals

Half mile intervals

Thursday I had switched for Friday (Tempo run for bike) and so this time I got to the start point earlier. Ten miles was the distance two to warm up at around eight minute miles, four at sub seven minute miles and another four at sub eight. I had traded in my Gel DS shoes, the asymmetric lacing was bothersome and for this run I was wearing Asics Banditos (doesn’t the name make you want to run like you stole something!), such is the joy of Road Runner Sports' 60 day trial. I set off with a real spring in my step, new shoes, zero wind compared to the previous day and the determination to have a good run. Well I had a great run, one the best I have had for a long time. My splits for the first two miles were a little fast. In the next four I was sooooo close to having a ladder (increasingly faster times) for the pace section; I was a mere 3 seconds off on mile 3 (#5 in total)! I eased off in miles 7 and 8 and then caught a second wind for mile 9 and went sub 7 minutes again, finally taking my foot of the gas in the last mile. So 10 miles in 1:12:35, average pace 7:15, that’s only 30 seconds off my best 5k pace of 6:47 and if you took the four miles at pace and the next two and a bit I would have run a 43:00(ish) 10k which is about 4-5 minutes faster than my 10k best. Here are the GTC splits:

Tempo run splits

It’s runs like this one that make me keep coming back for more and seeing a return on the training investment is always great. It got me thinking about to next year. I am pretty much set for the Spring, (more on that to follow) but the Summer is problematic due to the heat so, and this is early stage planning, I am thinking that I may just have to copy Nitmos’ Summer of Speed and work on 5 & 10ks and half marathons. My existing 5k and HM PBs are pretty good, I think, 20:47 and 1:37:32 respectively but my 10k PB is rubbish at 47:53. So with some work maybe I could get a sub 20:00 5k, sub 40:00 10k and sub 1:30:00 HM, having a quick pair of heels would certainly be handy when I start going longer distance next Fall/Winter…anyway, at least for now, it’s all just being kicked around in my head. .

And so this morning was a quick hours spin on the bike trainer; 15 miles making a total of 32 bike miles and just under 50 running miles for the week.

No running this weekend due to a medical thing, no biggie just off my feet for a few days. Those of you in Swap – Beat don’t forget to email me you weight by Sunday, Viv and JKRunning have had their swag added to this post, Laura I need yours. Finally Nick has some excellent incentives for you all, go check them out.