Time goes so fast....

Well, time is certainly whizzing past..... This is one of our busiest times of years work wise so other things (like this blog) start to slip a bit...

Some good news though ! I will be doing my Coach in Running Fitness course in November :) I think it is fair to say I'm looking forward to it as well as being a bit apprehensive all at the same time. I find the mechanics and science behind running fascinating and I'm looking forward to learning more about it all.

The Steyning beginners group is going from strength to strength. Considering we started in April with one person we now have over 20 ! On the 18th August some of the beginners will be taking part in their first fun run league race, I hope the weather is good but not too hot, it will be great to get them out running these races regularly :)

I've left the best to last..... On Monday I collected our new puppy, Honey. She is another Cockapoo from the same breeder as Millie. I had forgotten how tiny puppies are, and how load they can be at night for the first few nights...

It will be a few months before she comes out running with us, I'm taking Millie out running on her own at the moment (she is up to about 10 miles on a long run) and has learnt a few commands like "left" and "right" so I can tell her which way to go.... She still runs on ahead up the hills and waits for me to catch up !

Anyway, this is Honey :)

Short Film - Race for Life Worthing

Phill has very kindly put together this short film from the Worthing Race for Life :)



Worthing Race For Life - 2013 from Phill Beaney on Vimeo.

Summer is here !

Well, it looks like summer has finally arrived....

The memories of the dark, cold, wet runs in the sleet and snow are fading and instead I'm trying to get out early morning or late evening when it is a bit cooler...

Last week seemed to be dominated by running:

Monday evening I had arranged a trainer fitting evening over at Nick Rivett sport in Hove for the beginners group.

Tuesday evening was the beginners running group (I did fit in a sneaky 4 miles before breakfast as well)

Wednesday evening I was a marshal for the Round Hill Romp - I was right on the top of the South Downs Way with wonderful views. The weather couldn't have been better for running !

Thursday evening was our club training session... I managed to run my fastest ever mile at 7:18 so maybe the training and diet are starting to have an effect !

Friday - well Friday night I went to the pub :)

I have been keeping my long runs a bit shorter recently (8-10 miles) but I'm planning on increasing the mileage again at the end of July before my next 10 mile and half marathons in October and November.

On Sunday I'm running the Race for Life in Worthing with some of the ladies from the beginners group. It does feel strange to think it is only 3 years since I first ran that event and at the time it was the furthest I have ever run. I had no idea when I ran that race that three years later I would have run 2 marathons and be leading a running group. If you had even suggested the idea I would have said you were crazy !

I sometimes think it is strange how life works out and that perhaps none of us really know what is in store for us or what we will do along the way :)

Anyway, I thought I would post a couple of photos from the Round Hill Romp. One is a panorama from my marshalling point and the other was the first runner coming through.... and he was fast !!

Found this today...

I found this quote from Marianne Williamson today ....

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. "

Catch up time !

I know, I haven't posted much recently. A mix of it being our busiest time at work as well as being kept busy in my spare time with various house/family/running things :)

Our English summer is well and truly here..... I know it is because of the wind and rain...... none the less I have been out running. Both on my own and with the beginners group.

The beginners group really has gone from strength to strength and we now regularly have 15+ people with new people coming along each week. Next Monday I have organised an evening at a Nick Rivett Sport in Hove who have kindly offered to open the shop just for us in the evening so people can have a Video Gait Analysis of their running.

We have also had our first ever club pub run with a variety of routes so that ALL club members no matter how fast or slow could take part and this is going to be a regular monthly fixture.

I have also been off on a First Aid course organised by Run England; I now have a First Aid bumbag to run with on the beginners evenings and I'm officially qualified :)

I haven't raced since the Bedgebury Trailblazer but I have been out training 4 or 5 times a week. My next race is the 21st July (5 miles) but before then I have organised a group from our beginners evening to take part in the Race for Life. This is a great introduction to racing because it is such a positive, supportive environment and everyone gets a medal and goody bag at the end :)

I don't have any races scheduled for August or September, I tend not to book any too far in advance for these months because I don't know what my work commitments will be. (I'm typing this from a hotel room in Chester... it's a real rock'n'roll lifestyle ! - not)

Anyway, these are a couple of recent photos.... the Pyramid Orchids are in full bloom on the Downs at the moment, there seem to be more of them than normal.....

The second photo is our group for the first pub run :)

Bedgebury Forest 10k

Well, yesterday was the Bedgebury Forest 10k. This is a race I have run for the two previous years and each year I have got an almost identical time ( 59:06 and 59:04).

Bedgebury is a bit hilly and all off road, some of it on tracks and some through grass (and I don't mean paths !) so it is slower than a road 10k.

I really wasn't sure how I would do this year. This isn't one of the races I'm particularly targeting so my "tapering" consisted of running 30 miles this week and 6 days in a row... not the sort of thing you would normally do !

I entered in a wave slower than my predicted time and I think this was a bit of a mistake. The first part is quite narrow and it was a bit frustrating getting stuck behind people who were running in groups but taking up the whole width of the path without leaving space for anyone to pass them.

This brings me to my second moan....... I don't have any problems with people wearing headphones and listening to music when they run... but having the volume up so loud that hey are oblivious to everything round them in a race is dangerous. I saw a few instances where headphone wearers were obviously unaware of the people immediately around them and switched to another part of the track causing a collision...

Anyway, I will learn for next year and make sure I'm in a wave for my predicted time :)

This is also the first time that I used the function on my watch to race against myself. I downloaded last years data back on to my watch and used that as my course. This meant that I could see at any point if I was in front or behind where I was at that point last year. I found this really useful, in someways more useful than just setting a pace time because it did take in to account the hills !

I didn't carry water with me so I did stop at the water points for a drink..... and at the second one to wash the flies down that I had ended up swallowing (not nice...)

So, I finished in 56:25 knocking 2:39 off my previous PB for the course... looks like the training is working and I'm starting to get faster :)

A course PB

Well, it was another sunny run today !

Each time I finish a 10k I come away thinking that I must train harder for the next one and today was no exception.

The first part went quite well, I will look at the stats from my garmin when I get home but I think I was on target for a PB but I couldn't maintain the pace and that is down to training.

I found the last mile quite hard work which is where I met this chap. He was running in a mankini to raise money for a new church roof. He wasn't sure that the marshals would let him race so he kept shorts and t-shirt on until he was in the starting pen.....

Anyway, I finished in 54:16 according to my Garmin. Although this didn't beat my PB of 52:25 this is a course PB for me :)