Fame At Last, I get interviewed by Tips4Running.Com

READ HERE

CLICK HERE

Ashurst Beacon hill race and RicksRunnings future, long and short term aims

On Wed I took friend and team mate Tracey down to the Ashurst Beacon fell race.
My plan was to enjoy the scenic views and pace Tracey round at the same time [ stopping myself running round at race pace and doing myself some serious damage just 3 days after London].
The race starts at the top of a 550ft climb with a suicide downhill for a mile, first on tarmac then dusty dirt tracks.
Away from the start I found myself still up with the leaders after 400m,.
I looked round and saw Trace was some way back, ooops, I pulled over and waited for her to catch up, I then made downhill progress at a more sensible pace [ I still hit 4.25 pace on one section].
After a mile we came out onto the valley floor, up ahead the monsterous climb up Parbold loomed ahead.
Over the Leeds Liverpool canal Bridge and the 1st climb started, I let Trace take the lead and tried to give helpful tips!!! Lean foreward into the hill [from the ankles] keep relaxed, remember to take deep breaths etc :]
We made good progress to the top, coming out onto the main rd by the icecream van, sorry Tracey no time to stop!
After half a mile along the top rd we turned left and descended down Fairy Glen [ no sightings of fairies today, not even the human kind!] see photo; Fairy Glen.
My legs felt very good, but was glad I was not pushing all out, soon we reached the bottom and took some wooden steps up and over a wall, across green fields, then back along the dirt track we had been on some 15 mins ago.
Now we had to climb straight back up to where we started from, Tracey was working hard and I tried to encourage her forward [ speed your legs up and shorten your stride, imagine there is an elastic band attached from the guy in front to you, pulling you in etc].
At last we turned off the rd and followed the final track up to the Ashurst Beacon monument.
I remember trying to sprint up the very steep bank here a couple of years ago, man it hurt, no problem for me today but poor old Trace went through hell and collapsed in a heap over the finish line!
Tracey achieved her aim of finishing first of the Southport girls back and it puts her in a good position for the club GP.
Me, I had a great time and enjoyed the run up and down the hills on my favourite trails, with no damage to my legs. RESULTS
Disclaimer; this was not part of the Marius recovery plan :]
I was going to tell you about my future racing plans, but I've run out of time,.
Lets just say I'm planning to run the hardest, toughest and meanest Marathon in the country in September, more news soon!


Recovery Week
Sat 1st May
easy run over the big sandhills with Tess = 1 hour 25 mins
Fri 30th
easy = 28 mins
Thru 29th
easy = 28 mins
Wed
Race = 48 mins
Tue
Velvet trail easy = 37 mins

MARATHON TALK, Running Podcasts

CLICK HERE; LONDON MARATHON,interview with Paula Radcliffe

Podcast with Alex Vero CLICK HERE

RunCenter: London Marathon Recap CLICK HERE

MESSAGE FROM MARIUS BAKKEN ON MY LONDON MARATHON EFFORT

Hi Rick,

I got your message, congratulations on an absolute fantastic run ! I had two friends running London this year and they both had to add several minutes to their "normal time" because of humidity during the race. If you continue to train smart, you'll break the 2:45 next time you try - I'm sure about that.

I wish you all the best with your training and many congrats again.

Kind regards,
Marius

MY VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON P>B> RACE Report!

VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 2010
Running round the closed roads of the most famous capitol city in the world, with the most enthusiastic loudest crowd ever, you feel like you are the center of the worlds biggest carnival! It's an incredibly uplifting experience. DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS ?
I travelled down to London on Friday with friends and team mates Joanne, Paul, Simon and my wife Niz, this meant we could pick our numbers up at the Expo straight away once reaching London and have Saturday to relax!
The BBC were giving warnings of super high temps for race day, I took this with a pinch of salt, it seems the media these days are looking for shook horror stories or try to make everything more dramatic than it really is! My own weather source had predicted rain since last Wed. Saturday dawned bright and sunny with nice fresh air and lots of oxygen, A great day for racing or a sight seeing and shopping trip as Niz took me round Chinatown, Covent garden and Trafalgar square.
Before the shopping trip Simon, Paul and myself went for an easy jog round Regents park for 20 mins.
Sunday dawned cloudy and humid with the threat of rain mid morning, temps were said to by 16 C, not to bad but the humid air might prove to be a problem! After a walk to the train station we boarded the train to the start, the others were on different starts to me so we wished each other good luck and I made my way to the 'good for age red' start. I met team mate Peter Roome in the enclosure and we talked for a while. Peter collapsed at the finish of last years race with heat stroke so he was happy when the rain started to come down! Just before the start the rain stopped leaving a damp humid atmosphere behind!
I got a good start, just 10 sec to get over the line, 'my race was on'. I was planning negative splits, something I have never managed in the past! Trying to run exact split times for each mile proved very hard and in fact impossible for me, the course is not flat, granted no big hills but there are constant rises and falls for the whole route. Mile one 6.27 mile two 6.21, mile three 6.11, mile 4/ 6.12, mile 5/ 6.15 I needed to slow down a bit, but as i did my legs felt heavy, my rhythm felt wrong! This felt bad! 6/ 6.39, 7/ 6.28, 8/6.23 9/6.28 I hit 10 miles in 1.03.10 just ahead of the plan, now I had to speed up to 6.19 pace.
As I ran faster I felt better, now instead of runners passing me in a constant stream I started passing runner after runner, 10 mile 6.17, 11/ 6.15 12/ 6.15, 13/ 6.21, 14/6.18, 15 and 16 miles 12.39, 17/ 6.24, 18/ 6.15, 19/ 6.26, 20 miles 2.07 about 15 sec slower than target pace, now I was meant to run at 6.15 pace until the end! From the start it felt like I was running into a headwind, confirmed by Simon, yet when we turned around it was still there nagging away at my energy, in truth it was just the thick humid air that was difficult to push through, increasing air resistance!
I reached 20 miles without hitting the wall, infact I was in the fast lane taking out runner after runner all the way from 10 miles, now I was focusing in on each runner in front of me and passing them at speed, I remember only one runner passing me in the last 6 miles. Runners dramatically slowed or stopped right in front of me but I charged right through, my legs felt a bit weird the whole race but I was strong for sure, but not strong enough for 6.15 pace! 20 miles 6.18, 21/ 6.37, 22/ 6.39, 23/ 6.27, 24/ 6.17, 25/ 6.46. 26.2/ 7.55, Total 2.47.36
That was my strongest ever finish. I took out shed loads of runners in the second half [ this felt ' AWESOME']. If only I'd run 2.46 I'd have been mega happy, I knew to run 2.45 I needed to be feeling fantastic and the weather conditions had to be spot on for me too ! Even so a new all time P.B. after a 17 year running career and at the age of 49 this is pretty 'FANTASTIC' I think you will agree?
I now believe if I stick to Marius's plan I can still improve for some time to come, I know I've badly over trained in the passed and the proof of his training are my two P.B.s so far this year. Thanks Marius :]
On a final note I tried the new breathing method but found it impossible to concentrate on my pace and the breathing at the same time, so gave up on it after a few miles, I'll work on that in training in the future.
RESULTS
2.47.34
3 min 39 sec faster than last year!
1 min 18 sec faster than my old P.B. set 7 years ago when I was only 42!
So here's to MORE FAST TIMES IN THE FUTURE!
Photo's
1/ carb loading on saturday :]
2/ wearing white and green, at 22 miles
3/ Club photo after finishing in style :]
MY LONDON MARATHON'S 1999 - 2010
Year Age Actual Time Age Adjusted
1999 38 2:49:53 2:49:25
2000 39 2:56:15 2:54:33
2002 41 2:54:53 2:50:47
2003 42 2:48:52 2:43:43
2004 43 2:52:34 2:46:06
2009 48 2:51:15 2:38:48
2010 49 2.47.34 2.34.11


Mon 26th
Recovery run, felt quite good apart from slightly tight calf muscles = 15 mins
One conclusion from my run today and looking at my race photo's is i think i was running with my pelvis pushed back [as in sitting down], this is a bad habit of mine and noticed myself doing this on some of my tempo runs, the result is loss of power and a general feeling of weakness in my legs, pushing my pelvis forwards increases my momentum and increases the power in my legs.
CLUB NEWS REPORT 25 April 2010: Old timers lead the way at London Marathon (by Mark Ashby)

New life time P.B. at London Marathon 2.47.34

Place Overall	Place Gender	Place Category	surname	BIB	Category	HALF	Finish time
376	369	30	» Bowker, Richard H (GBR)	31513	45-49	01:23:12	02:47:34

THE IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING! VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 2010

Here I am, standing on the very edge of a ginormous cliff, waiting to jump off!
Like a little bird about to take it's maiden flight, will I go soaring into the clouds or tumble down into the rocks and disappear into the crashing waves! Yes it's Marathon time again! It only seems like yesterday when on a freezing dark winters day I was looking through Marius Bakken's training plan, thinking jeez can I really do all this training and come out the other side?
The answer is yes! I'm fitter, stronger and maybe even a little wiser.
I'm ready, you bet I'm ready!
I changed my diet and lost 10 pounds.
I changed my running mechanics, so I can take advantage of the 'muscle stretch reflex ' principle.
I've changed my breathing pattern so my body will absorb more oxygen into the working muscles.
I changed my shoes to ones that will give me maximum return of energy.
I've worked on mind training and positive thought!
So here I am now, on the very edge of the cliff, ready to jump! From here on in, the time for words is over, the time for action is now, it's time for guts and determination and a belief that the impossible is just a restriction on my perception of the possible!
IT'S TIME TO FLY!
See you on the other side:]
THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND SUPPORT, IT MEANS A LOT TO ME, CHEERS :]

HOW TO RUN A 2.45 MARATHON

CLICK HERE
Should I go for negative splits! What do you think?







Photo; A 'young' Ewen and Scott

Last real session before the Marathon, cold and windy!
4 x 1 mile at Marathon effort. location; Selworthy hill 1/2 mile loop
Mile 1/ 6.13 av pace
Mile 2/ 6.12
Mile 3/ 6.08
Mile 4/ 6.06
Average BPM 130 [about 80% of max]
Total time 51 mins
Almost had a moment of madness! Self doubt tried to creep in, " go on run the last mile flat out, I think you need to see how well your really going" !
"Piss off self doubt" I said! I've done my training, the long miles,progression runs, and tempo sessions, my 1/2 Marathon time show I'm ready, I'm not having you f**k my big day up.
I know you too well 'Self Doubt' so just shut up!
With that he left in a sulk and I kept to my training plan. :]
From now on I will call my self doubt 'Brian'.
With a name he will be easy to deal with :]

Mon
Easy run with tess,Velvet trail = 39 mins

How to; SPRINTING and BIOMECHANICS

RUN CENTER VIDEO BOSTON MARATHON
and interview with Ryan Hall. CLICK HERE

Ryan Hall - Boston Marathon 2010 from Runblogger on Vimeo.

RUNNING KEEPS YOU YOUNG! IT'S OFFICIAL

Yes it's true, that's why I only look 24 [from the inside] REPORT

One Week To Go, Virgin London Marathon
My tune up and taper has gone well, I will use the fragmented breathing method in the race, think it might be worth 10 secs a mile!
Next weeks training has one session of 4 x 5 mins at marathon pace, one easy 40 min run and then the Big Race [ I might add some easy short runs through the week]

NEWS FLASH
Tracey sets new P.B. on Sandhill 6 with 40.19

RunCenter: Boston Marathon Day One CLICK HERE

How to; Fragmented breathing video with the Bear foot Runner, Boost energy, lower pulse rate and lactate levels for Distance Running

Ryan Hall's Boston Training Tips from Run Talk Radio on Vimeo.