The weeks are just flying by. We’ll all be doing our Christmas shopping before you know it. Here are the latest training reminders. Are you enjoying it so far?
Friday 2nd October. 2- 4 pm. Thirsk Garden Centre. Yes. It’s the first Friday of the month.
Time to catch up on all the latest gossip on what’s going on. Or not as the case may be.
Sunday 4th October. Stewart park. Middlesbrough. Races start at 11am.
Last year we won 9 individual xcountry medals. This year our aim is to get into double figures from across all age groups’ There is room and competition for everyone to encourage and support one another. The answer is simple. If you don’t stand on the start line you don’t win anything. Let’s get out there and show everyone what we can do.
We do have a flag ( It’s big and colourful!!) which will be parked right next to the tent ( which is also big but at the moment, not very colourful) You won’t miss them. It’s where you will register and get your numbers. Also. there will be flasks of hot water, tea, coffee and if you’re lucky, quite a few nibbles. All free for you to choose and use as you please. However, bring your own mug because I don’t like washing up!! Neither does Christine.
Monday 5th October.
6.45 – 7pm. Core session. Thirsk School gym
6.45 – 7pm. Sowerby Gateway.
I thought last Monday night was one of the best outdoor group sessions of the year to date. Almost 70 runners all training together. Easy to coach,plenty of room, safe and a great work out. We have a limited number of coaches and we like running too so it’s great to be able to join in. If we don’t get any more members to join the coaching team then we will be having more of these type sessions. To all the coaching team. You are all doing a great job out there. Sometimes we have to adjust how we deliver it. Thanks everyone.
A polite reminder.
Please remember to wear your head torch/waist light and wear reflective clothing or white/light coloured clothing so that you can be seen.
We do not have sole use of the track or field so please look out for other runners, walkers, dogs and cyclists and please give them plenty of space.When passing other users please make sure the you stay together in your group, passing on the same side as each other.
Running in the dark on your own, you may notice that you’re not quite as speedy as you are in the day time so embrace effort based running with like minded runners in our club. It’s much more fun than running on your own!
Remember that as it gets colder you may notice that your speed is slower during the first half of the session so don’t miss the warm ups. Looking forward to seeing you!
Warm up and running drills
Main Session:
Intense intervals with short recoveries in speed ability groups.
300 metres efforts/ walk or easy jog 100m/ group up 100m
Total 25 minutes.
Cool down jog and stretches.
Wednesday 7th October.
6.45 – 7pm. Rolling core work. Lung busters. Thirsk school. Sports hall .
6.45- 7pm. Sowerby Gateway. There are one or two safety reminders for you to catch up on . Boring stuff but with such huge numbers attending training we need to be aware of what’s going. I will not repeat this in the coming weeks so have a quick peep and we’ll concentrate on the running from now on.
Please remember to wear your head torch/waist light and wear reflective clothing or white/light coloured clothing so that you can be seen.
We do not have sole use of the track or field so please look out for other runners, walkers, dogs and cyclists and please give them plenty of space.
When passing other users please make sure the you stay together in your group, passing on the same side as each other.
Running in the dark on your own, you may notice that you’re not quite as speedy as you are in the day time so embrace effort based running with like minded runners in our club. It’s much more fun than running on your own! Remember that as it gets colder you may notice that your speed is slower during the first half of the session so don’t miss the warm ups.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Warm Up
Warm up and strides.
Main Session
4 min (2) > 4 min (2) >
3 min (1) > 3 min (1) >
2 min (1) > 2 min (1) >
1 min (30s) > 1 min
The numbers in brackets are the recoveries. The rest are the efforts.
Cool Down
Cool down jog and stretches.
It’s not always about the winning but sometimes it is.
I don’t know how many xcountry medals I have won but it’s quite a few. I don’t count them. I don’t even write them down. I won my first xcountry race at school when I was around 12 years old. On Sunday I won the Yorkshire Vets xcountry Championship ay M70 the age of 73. To me it’s more about the challenge of trying to win than the actual win itself. But if the chance comes along then I also like to win. I have competed at area level, county level, Northern, National and I also have a World medal to show for my efforts. I put on my club vest. I run for our club, I run for our team and finally, I run for myself. I trained to be the best I could be and to try and win this last race. This is how it went.
Six weeks before the Yorkshire Vets Champs I received an email giving details of this race. I entered straight away. I was already County M70 and I wanted to defend my tittle. Most of the time I keep myself in pretty good shape so I don’t need to have a long training program to get me up to speed. Six weeks is long enough to concentrate on for the distances I choose to run. During the past month I have been practising fast starts in races, especially parkruns and interval training sessions with the aim of getting my legs to move faster. 172 cadence./ 150 pulse average I’ve improved my speed but struggle a little on hills.
I always walk a xcountry first to look for the shortest way around the course. I need to be running my fastest on the easiest part of a course, strongest on the toughest and I plan my race accordingly. My warm up begins 35 mins before the race is due to start. Steady jogging with skips, twists and turns. Never any stretching. Twenty minutes to go then I run 6 x 60 to 80 metre strides.( never 5 of 7, always 6 ) Each one progressively faster than the last. If possible, on a slightly uphill slope so as to get on my toes, get knee lift and a longer stride. If I’m feeling confident then I do this wearing my club vest for all to see. I also wear my wedding ring, my favourite shorts, shoes etc but that’s a different story altogether.
I make my way to the start and stand on the front line. I don’t look much at anyone else. I let them look at me. Once on the start line I first think of Christine and how she might run. I then think about my family and from that moment onwards I think of nothing else but getting to the first marker as fast as I can. I don’t listen to any announcements or anything else. My finger is on my watch and I’m ready to go.
I’m lucky that at my age that races are short. 5 to 6k. It’s all about speed, getting a good start and keeping it going to the finish. This race was 5k, two laps with 4 small climbs on each lap. I won’t say the race was easy and went to plan but it more or less did. I lead from start to finish. The last climb was the worst. It hurt and it probably hurt more than at any other time that I can remember. Maybe that’s how it’s going to be from now on ( I hope not!!) The best bit was coming off the the top of the last hill, finding a change of speed and pushing on to the finish. County Champion doesn’t sound too bad does it?
Remember earlier this year I was invited to take part in a podcast with the James Herriot team. It’s now up and running and I’m placed along side Nicholas Ralph, Julian Norton and Peter Wright. I did get to mention Thirsk and Sowerby Harriers, It wasn’t all about farming.
