THE HARRIERS HERALD
No.
144, February 2005
Editorial
Sue
Thurs 3rd Tom
to lead
Thurs 10th Mo
to lead
Thurs 17th Handicap Race
Thurs 24th Marie
to lead
Thurs 3rd Sue
to lead
Thurs 10th Handicap
Race
Thurs 17th )
Thurs 24th ) and collection of route markers?
Thurs 31st Martin
to lead
A message from Lucy:
If anyone would
like to run part or all of the Compton 40 route I will be doing the 'double' -
20 miles each day - on the 12th and 13th of February. Meet in the Institute car park at
Subscription Reminder
A reminder that the 2005 subscription is now due. Thanks to all who have paid up already. For those who haven’t yet paid, but wish to remain a club member, please return your forms and payments to Lucy. If you no longer wish to remain a member, please also let Lucy know.
Correspondence received by
Secretary, January 2005
Abbreviations: BCAA =
|
Correspondence received |
||
Sender
|
Subject matter |
Action |
|
Silson Joggers |
Silverstone 10K entry
forms |
Notice-board |
|
|
Longleat 10K entry forms |
Notice-board |
|
AAA |
Hastings Half Marathon
entry forms Road Relay Champs (Women
& Young Athletes) AAA Champs & European
Trials Venues for England
Athletics consultation meetings |
Notice-board / file |
|
National Soc. for Epilepsy |
Running for this charity
in London Marathon |
Possible charity for
Compton Downland Challenge? |
|
BCAA |
Wanted: Volunteer to
manage Berks x-country team |
File |
|
BCAA |
Subscription renewal and
call for volunteer for BCAA Treasurer |
Subscription renewal sent
31st Jan. |
|
SEAA |
Information Update #84;
Preliminary notice of AGM; Athletics Development Update |
File |
|
Running Imp (via Simon) |
Form to update our club /
event information |
Form returned 25th
January |
|
Race Director |
Lochness |
Notice-board |
Goring & Woodcote Lions 10K,
9th
January
Sue
Four Compton Harriers competed in this annual local event starting and finishing in Woodcote (though I’m afraid one traitor felt obliged to wear a Reading A.C. vest again!). Mo and I were slightly caught out as, since we last took part in this race in 1999, it has been accurately measured and an extra quarter-mile added on to make it exactly 10K – oh well, a good excuse for a slower time! Lucy took part in 2003, so the longer course was familiar to her. Martin was taking part for the first time, so he was none the wiser.
The race started on time, and we had a kilometre of flat to establish our places, before heading on the long downhill stretch to Goring. Being a local event, there were plenty of familiar faces around. In front of me, I could see Reading A.C.’s Sam Aldridge (winner of the 2004 Compton 20 event) leading the field, with Reading’s John Burnett and Toby Laver, and Newbury’s Ian Coxhead also up there. I caught Bob Taylor at 2K, but we could both only watch in envy as Martin made the most of the downhill and pulled further away from us. Reading Roadrunner’s Belinda Davies passed us, and I knew I was then third lady. Looking at my watch at 5K, I was on course for sub-37: if only the rest was downhill too…… The first uphill section from 5-6K wasn’t too bad, and then there was a nice downhill stretch. The final 3K is mostly uphill and, although the weather was very pleasant, we were running into a breeze. The official race photographer was located at the finish, so none of the on-line photos are particularly flattering!
Considering the wind and the terrain, we were all pretty pleased with our performances. Martin was 8th overall and third veteran man (38:50), I was 21st, and 3rd lady (40:55), Lucy (93rd in 47:12) also made the top-ten in the ladies contingent, while Mo (249th in 60:08) had a further 70 competitors behind him. The event went very smoothly and was very efficiently organized. So efficient, in fact, that the presentation took place 15 minutes earlier than expected so Mo and I managed to miss it. We finished with a well-earned drink at the pub opposite race HQ, and were still home in time for lunch.
Handicap Race (Village Lap)
Sue
Illness and
injury meant only five runners took part in January’s Handicap Race. Although mild, there was a very strong wind
from the west and south so Shepherd’s Mount,
After four races in the championship series, Dick remains the leader, although
Pete and I have managed to reduce his lead to three points.
|
Pos |
Name |
Start time |
Finish time |
Actual time |
Handicap Beaten? |
|
1 |
Pete |
|
|
|
+0:02 |
|
2 |
Tom |
0:31 |
|
|
+0:15 |
|
3 |
Sue |
|
|
|
+0:16 |
|
4 |
Lucy |
|
|
|
+0:22 |
|
5 |
Yvonne |
0:22 |
|
|
+0:24 |
|
Position |
Name |
Race
points |
||||||
|
Race
1 |
Race
2 |
Race
3 |
Race
4 |
Race
5 |
Race
6 |
Total |
||
|
1 |
Dick |
7 |
7 |
6 |
- |
- |
- |
20 |
|
2= |
Sue |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
- |
- |
17 |
|
2= |
Pete |
- |
3 |
7 |
7 |
- |
- |
17 |
|
4 |
Lucy |
4 |
- |
4 |
4 |
- |
- |
12 |
|
5= |
Marie |
- |
6 |
5 |
- |
- |
- |
11 |
|
5= |
Tom |
3 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
- |
- |
11 |
|
7= |
Vicky |
6 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
6 |
|
7= |
Mo |
1 |
2 |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
6 |
|
9 |
Susanne |
- |
4 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
5 |
|
10 |
Yvonne |
1 |
- |
- |
3 |
- |
- |
4 |
|
11 |
Martin |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
Website
update…
http://comptonharriers.cjb.net/
Mo
For this month, I thought I would try something a little different. You may remember that I featured race pace and predicted time calculators in some of my recent links of the month. Well, I have reproduced an article on training by kind permission of Runners World. The article provides a guide for runners who aim to achieve and maintain peak performance.
Once you have read the article, you can click the link to the training pace calculator (if you are on line of course) or you can go on line later to calculate your training pace for a particular training session.
Training
for Success
Train too hard and you'll probably burn out or get injured. Train too gently and you simply won't make the most of your potential! By studying the various training sessions below and then using the training pace calculator, you will be able to determine the correct pace at which to carry out each training session.
Easy runs
Top coaches and exercise
physiologists believe that most runners should do 80 to 90 per cent of their
weekly training at the easy run pace (this includes your long runs, done at
approximately the same pace). Easy runs
build your aerobic fitness, and your muscular and skeletal strength. They also help you burn more calories and
recover for harder workouts.
Tempo runs
Tempo runs help you improve
your running economy and your running form. They are sometimes described as
'threshold' or 'hard but controlled' runs, and they will help you prepare for
races of 10K to the marathon. Tempo sessions generally fall into one of two
categories: steady runs of 2 to 6 miles; or long intervals with short
recoveries. Here's an example of the
latter: 4 x 1 mile at tempo run pace with 2 minutes of recovery jogging between
efforts. You should do tempo runs no
more than once a week, and they should make up no more than 10 to 15 per cent
of your total training.
VO2-max runs
VO2-max training helps you
improve your running economy and your racing sharpness. These sessions are
sometimes called 'intervals', and are most useful when you are preparing for a
race of 5K to half-marathon. Here's an example of a good VO2-max workout: 6 x
800 metres at VO2-max pace with 4 to 6 minutes of recovery jogging between
efforts. You should do VO2-max workouts
no more than once a week, and they should make up no more than 6 to 10 per cent
of your total training. (When you run
these workouts, you are running at or near 100 per cent of your maximum oxygen
capacity, which scientists call VO2-max.)
Speed-form runs
Speed-form workouts help you
improve your running economy, form and leg speed. These are also interval sessions tailored to
help you prepare for races of 800 metres to 5K.
Here's an example of a good speed-form workout: 8 x 400 metres at speed-form
pace with 3 to 4 minutes of recovery jogging between efforts. You should do speed-form sessions no more
than once a week and they should make up no more than 4 to 8 per cent of your
total training.
Yasso 800s
Yasso 800s are an invention
of Runner's World
Long runs
Long runs form the
foundation of all marathon-training programs and build everything from your
confidence to your discipline to your fat-burning. So, even when you're not training for a
specific marathon, it's a good idea to do at least one semi-long run a
week. Because long runs are done at a
relaxed pace, there's great latitude in how fast you actually run. In general, we believe that slower is better
than faster. Let your long runs be your
slow runs, and save your legs for other days of the week when you might do
tempo runs or maximum-oxygen runs. But
there are a thousand theories about how to do long runs, none of which have yet
been proven superior to the others. The
important thing is building up the distance and training your body to keep
going for 3, 4, 5 or however many hours it's going to take you.
Summary
Don't overdo your training!
Hard days
Most beginner and
intermediate runners should do no more than two hard days a week. More advanced runners can do three hard days
if they're careful. Each of the
following is a hard-day workout: tempo runs, VO2-max sessions, speed-form workouts,
Yasso 800s, long runs.
Hard days/Easy days
A hard session should usually
be followed by one or (even better) two easy day sessions. Easy days can include rest days and
cross-training days.
Rest days
Most beginner and
intermediate runners should run no more than 4 to 6 days a week. You should take one or two rest days, when
you do no training at all (or just take a relaxed 30-minute walk) and one or
two cross-training days.
Cross-training days
The world of
cross-training has expanded dramatically in recent years. While research indicates that cross-training
probably won't make you a faster runner, it can make you a stronger and
healthier and less injury-prone runner.
Runners do best with cross-training exercises that are
non-weight-bearing. This includes
swimming and aqua-running, strength-training, bicycling and rowing. Other non-impact exercises include Nordic
skiing, elliptical training and step climbing.
When online,
click here
for the training pace calculator.
Next month, I will include
race time predictor and race time calculator tables.
Fixtures: A selection of
local and other well known events for your information:-
·
Ladies Start time:
·
·
·
Sunday
Organised by
Team Kennet (Contact Nick Bull).
·
·
Sunday
·
·
Ladies Start time:
·
·
·
·
·
(Mo - Feb 2005)