A look at back 2021 (pt 3)

Ok, so here’s the final part of my mini blog series looking back at 2021. In the previous two posts, the second of which you can find here, I talked about my ultra marathons. Now, its time to move back to road racing.

I hadn’t properly “raced” on the roads for a long time before last summer. Covid put paid to that like so many other things. After spending the first half of the year running on trails, I didn’t really expect to see a lot of progress with my road running, certainly not straight away anyway.

But after shifting my focus and Simon altering my training accordingly, it was time hunt down some PB’s.

Getting the monkey off my back

The 10k distance has been a bit of funny distance for me over the years. In May 2017 I ran Bristol 10k in 39.54. It was a big PB for me at the time and going sub 40 was a real milestone. I really hoped I’d kick on and get my 10k time down further but for a number of reasons, it never happened.

To be honest, for a while I started to fear that it was a fluke and I’d never even run that fast again, let alone go faster. The reality was though, I knew I was quicker than that. My paces for other PB’s proved that. All I needed was the right race at the time and in favourable conditions.

So at the start of July, those three things finally came together and I ran 39.31 at Martock 10k. I was delighted. It was actually a really tough race as it was overcast and humid at the start and when the sun came out it was uncomfortably hot.

Not only was I delighted but I was also relieved to have got that particular monkey off my back. What I didn’t know at the time, it would prove to be the beginning of a run of results that I could and would never have predicted.

Continued progress

A month later I was lining up on the start line of the Wessex 10k. My preparation for this hadn’t been great. I’d run once in 2 weeks prior to the event due to bursitis just below my left knee. Thanks to my trusty physio, aka Clive the magic man, I was able to run it.

Despite making the decision to run it, I had no idea how it would go or whether the bursitis would flare up again. But, I gambled. Wearing new shoes, the Saucony Endorphin Speed, I made a flying start and ran the first few miles at what was at that time my 5k PB pace. Oddly though, I felt great so kept pushing and just waited for the dreaded moment when I’d blow up.

Thankfully that never happened. I did slow down a bit but I kept pushing and managed a sprint finish to bag myself another new PB of 38.54. I also finished 9th out of 187 runners. Not bad considering I’d only run once in two weeks and just a few days before had been questioning whether to even run it.

I was learning to run strong and run brave. To finish off my 10k race progress, at the end of September I ran Taunton 10k. For the first time I went into a 10k race feeling confident and knowing I was capable of more than what I’d shown so far.

I absolutely smashed it finishing 8th out of just over 400 runners in a time of 37.47. I was ecstatic. To say I couldn’t believe it wasn’t quite right. I did believe I was capable but I didn’t always believe I’d achieve it.

My favourite distance

Half marathon has always been my favourite distance. I’ve run about 25 of them and for me it’s the perfect mix of speed, pacing and endurance. You also have to run smart to do well at this distance. It’s no good going out too fast as it can be too long a distance to hang on if you get it wrong.

Going into 2021 my half marathon PB was 1hr27.52, a time I achieved at Exeter half marathon towards the end of 2019. So while not as long overdue as my 10k time, I knew I was capable of more. How much more would actually surprise both myself and Simon.

First up was Bridgwater half marathon at the start of September. I had no specific time goal but hoped to go under 1hr27. I ran a really solid race, staying sensible at the start and from a few miles in, I slowly started to pick people off. One of the biggest things I learnt this year when racing is not to worry too much about pace. Obviously you need to know what pace to run at in order to achieve your goals. However, once you’re on pace, it then becomes more important to focus on those in front of you.

I would hunt each person down, it would often take time to catch them but as long as you’re gaining, you know you’re running at the right pace. So Bridgwater went better than I expected. I finished in a time of 1hr24.50, far surpassing my planned target of sub 1hr27. I also posted negative splits from mile 4. Things were changing.

Breaking down mental barriers

Belief is a funny thing. We all have it to varying degrees and in certain aspects of our lives but channeling it in the right way isn’t always easy. I was finally starting to believe that I could achieve more than I ever thought was possible before the start of the year.

This would be evidenced once again at Swansea half marathon in the middle of October. I went into the race full of confidence that I could better my time at Bridgwater and I did just that. The plan was slightly different this time. I was to run at PB pace for the first half and then race the second half. It was tough going at times as despite being along the coast, it wasn’t flat. It had also been an early start with the race commencing at 08:00.

I pushed hard and literally gave it everything I had to finish in a time of 1hr23.01. I’d set out for a sub 1hr24 and came within 2 seconds of going sub 1hr23. After the race I was a bit wobbly and felt the most spent I’d ever felt after a race. Everything about the last few miles hurt and when speaking to Simon after the race he told me I’d now reached the level in running that causes a different kind of pain.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I obliterated my time from Swansea. I’d run Reading half before so knew it was a fun race but I didn’t know how fast a race it would be. For me at least, it turned out be very fast! I went out harder than planned but felt good so went with it. From 10 miles in I kicked on and finished with a time of 1hr20.58.

I wasn’t overly surprised at how fast I ran, I was more surprised at how comfortable I felt running at that pace. It opened my eyes to what I’m truly capable of with running and that the sky’s the limit.

Rounding off the year

Back at the start of October I completed a hat-trick of distance PB’s for the year. I rocked up at my local Parkrun and ran a 5k in 18.01, finishing second in the process. My previous 5k PB was 18.45.

Less than a week after Reading half marathon I convinced Simon to let me loose on Parkrun again. I was full of confidence and I was race sharp so I went for it. I had to dig really deep but I came away with a time of 17.33. Obviously I was happy but I also felt it was long overdue.

It was a great way to finish a year which was without doubt my best and most successful yet when it comes to running. From the life affirming experiences of the ultras to all the hard earned PB’s, it was a truly fantastic year.

The questions that remain are, how did I improve so much and what comes next? I plan to answer both of those questions in upcoming posts. However, I will say this, if you trust the process, work your ass off and sprinkle in some self belief, you can achieve more than you ever dreamed. There’s always more in you.