Shaved............

...........................a few more seconds off my 4 mile PB today at the F.M.C. 4 Mile Road race at Little Island. 25:19 I measured.

I wasn't even planning on running it but 2 colleagues at work were running and they needed a third to make up a team. I didn't ease up on my training programme in preparation for it as the long term goals are more important.

It was a beautiful sunny morning with a little nip in the air and a larger than expected crowd turned up at the start line (a lot of new years resolutions), so much so that the 1100hrs scheduled start was put back to 1130hrs so that all participants could sign up.

The course is more or less an out and back along an industrial estate (not the most scenic) with only a few small inclines to deal with.

I purposely placed myself 10 rows back from the start so as to avoid going out too fast - I wasn't planning on busting a gut after my 16+ mile long run yesterday (although my legs felt fine).

The gun went and we were off. The first half mile involved a lot of ducking and weaving, slowing and surging just to find a piece of pavement to run comfortably on.

Mile 1 in 06:38 - not bad considering the congestion.

Over the 2nd mile the crowd began to thin out and I made steady progress passing those that had set out a bit faster than they should have - I could hear the laboured breathing as I passed.

Mile 2 in 06:31 - while there had been some slight inclines I thought I had been faster than that. I'll have to pick it up if I want to get under 26 minutes (06:30 average)

I began to pick up the pace slightly after I passed the 2nd mile mark continuing to pick off runners in front of me - this idea of starting easy is certainly good psychologically as picking up the pace later ensures that you do more passing than (whats the word?)

The 3rd mile had more descents (mile 2 in reverse - more or less) and I still felt strong and comfortable. The number of runners I was passing was declining as I approached my own pace group.

Mile 3 in 06:00. Good going! Just a mile to go keep the effort up - only 6+ minutes left.

I continued to concentrate on churning out the quick leg turnover - half a mile to go - a slight incline to the finish.

3 runners in front of me with 200 yards/m to go. I tried to pick off the nearest - he sensed me coming and surged ahead passing number 1 and 2. My surge took me past number 2 to finish in 25:19 (06:10 for the last mile).

While the last 200 yards was strenuous I was not gasping for air when I finished.

All in all an enjoyable run. Perhaps I could have shaved another few seconds off the time had I started closer to the front - but would I have enjoyed the race as much. McMillan says I could do 24:40 based on my recent 10 mile time - so I think I'll aim for sub-25 minutes later in the Year.

My energy this morning is a welcome change from the tiredness I felt during the week completing the scheduled runs as follows:-

Thu Jan 24th
- 8.6 Miles Easy in 01:09:41 (08:06 pace @ 123HR - seems a bit low) - Felt ok.

Fri Jan 25th
- 5.9 Mile Fartlek in 44;54 (07:37 pace @ 146HR)with 8 x 90 secs @ 3k pace . Run in the park at lunch time as I felt too tired to rise early in the morning. Footing a bit slippery on the grass sections. Felt very tired especially during the early reps.

Sat Jan 26th
- 16.7 Miles in 02:12:15 (07:55 pace @ 132 HR) Added 1 mile to last weeks long run - felt better than I would have expected following fridays effort. HR started in the mid 120's and rose to the mid 140's with no real change in pace.

Sun 27th Jan
- 9 miles including 4 mile road race in 25:19 (06:20 pace @ 158 HR)

Mile 1 - 06:38 (141HR) - certainly brought down the average
Mile 2 - 06:31 (161 HR)
Mile 3 - 06:00 (163 HR)
Mile 4 - 06:10 (168 HR)


Training week six - 58 Miles.