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Harrock Hill Race Video 2013

Mad Dogs And English Men Go Out In The Mid Day Sun!

As Tess has retired from running [she is now 11.5 human years old [87 dog years!] it was left to me and Stevie Lewis to hit the Parbold-Ashurst Beacon trail! This was our 3rd run here, last week we smashed the course record but now as the full summer heat radiated upon us it was a matter of survival! On the first climb of stoney Lane we stayed together but the real action started on the climb of Hunters Hill! This is a brutal climb for sure! As we hit the super steep section 3/4 of the way up Stevie pulled past me and it took all my efforts to hang on then sprint ahead before the top! This is amazing improvement from Stevie after long term injury ;0] Onto the 3rd 2 mile climb up Ashurst Beacon and I half expected Stevie to to leave me behind! But maybe the heat and his lack of of endurance training was starting to show. I got into a pace that felt hard but sustainable and was slightly surprised that I pulled away from Stevie! I pushed on up the 4th climb of fairy Glen and finished with a fast descent down Parbold hill for a very HOT 14 Miler! I did read that running in the HEAT made you stronger1

From Injuried To Ready To Race!

Yesterday I visited sports physio Sarah Hall for a final check up before my first race back!
The calf now seems fully healed up and the training has been going really well.
We decided to treat the Harrock Hill Race as a progression run, starting off below full effort and building up speed as the race goes on.
This should be fun, letting runners pull away from me on the first climb before overtaking as many runners as possible to the finish.
Highest top speed for 10 years!
After a easy run round the Velvet Trail I did a set of 6 x 20 second strides on grass, hitting my highest top speed for many years 15.5 MPH!
Which goes to show the Marius Bakken 5K training is going pretty dam good!
Tess Injured!
On Sunday Tess was the one to get injured limping on her rear right leg towards the end of the run with Rob, thankfully she seems to recover faster than me and was back to 4 wheel drive by today after a days rest!
Tue
Easy Velvet Trail with Tess plus 6 x 20 sec strides Max speed 15.5 MPH
= 48 mins
Mon
Club run from Dunes, sandhills trail easy =1 hour 19 mins
Sun
Sandhill 6 with Rob and Tess 41 mins, plus run down and back = 1 hour 20 mins
Sat
Long run with Tess 2 x sandhill 6 loop, 44 mins and 40 mins, plus run down and back = 1 hour 45 mins
Fri
Weights core training
Thur
Hill sprints x 6
= 50 mins
Wed
25 min tempo run on sandhill 4 route plus 10 x 1 min, getting faster on each effort, final effort 5.04 pace. = 1 hour 20 mins
Tue
Sandhill run easy = 52 mins
Mon
30 x 20 sec, 20 sec rest on grass, plus club run over sandhills = 1 hour 40 mins

Harrock Hill Social Run and Meal

Friday 15th
The rain was bouncing off the Farmers Arms car park as we arrived, but this did not put a dampener on proceedings with a good group of runners turning out!
Yes it was raining stair rods but at least it was warm, so after dragging a few people out of their cars we were on our way.
In fact it was good fun splashing through the puddles on the way to the first climb.
little Trace attacked the first hill with a vengeance, opening up a gap which despite my best efforts I had trouble closing.
I felt under pressure as Neil breathed down my back, so I tried to force the pace a little more.
I only managed to claw my way back up to Trace once we reached the really steep single track section, I was really happy when we caught up to the runners ahead and were forced to slow down due to the narrowness of the trail.!
It later transpired that trace had been to a works party and had been drinking glasses of wine in the afternoon, now for most people that would be a recipe for feeling sluggish but not Trace, the alcohol turns her hyperactive!
We regrouped at the top of the climb then headed down through the cow fields to Parbold, with regular stops along the way for everyone to catch up and have a chat.
Some of us had run this race route many times in both racing and in training for others it was there first time tackling the challenging hills of Parbold.
Onto the second climb [The Escalator ] and once again Tracey blasted off, I caught her up with about 100m to go before we hit the top road, with her elbows sticking out she pushed me into the hedge in a Tour De France sprinters style! I just about managed to squeeze past to claim the King of the mountains sprint, but hell that wine really seems to be working for her as I've never seen her run so fast before!
We regrouped again before making our way up towards the ruined windmill at Harrock Hill.

A final suicide downhill then the short uphill sprint into the finish.
I think everyone really enjoyed the evening run over scenic countryside and even the rain stopped before the end of the run!
Now it was time for a wonderful meal and a great pint of beer in THE FARMERS ARMS with fantastic company-priceless!


NEWS
RUBBISH 5K, SOUTHPORT
Next Event 20th July CLICK HERE For Details

Asics HyperSpeed 4 Road Test and the Harrock Hill Race

I did my first run in a pair of HyperSpeeds tonight, first impressions are they will be a good shoe for my long progression runs and they might make a good marathon race shoe too.
2 years ago, I'd have used these shoes for 5k-10k races, but my perceptions have changed and now they feel more like a long distance shoe, being 'more' than I need for shorter distances!
Tomorrow is the last Harrock Hill race of the summer series, I've given myself 3 days easy, so will be hoping for a good run!
Conditions on the course are muddy in places after the heavy ran of late, so bring your trail shoes.
How to run up hills fast!
READ HERE
race starts at 7.30 from The Farmers Arms Hilldale.

Training
Tue 24th
Run with Tess round the Hillside loop at Level one =30 mins
Mon 23rd
Easy run with Tess on the Velvet Trail + 40 mins