An Indian Winter

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, particularly those I’ve written on my return from a holiday destination, you’ll know that I’m not really into those sort of holidays where you spend every day lounging about doing nothing. But for once this is pretty much what I’ve been doing over the last two weeks. That was never the intention when the holiday was booked, though I was building up my training before we went, knowing that I’d have the possibility of reduced training whilst on holiday. However as it turned out a restful holiday was about all I could do. On day one I could barely walk without pain as I wandered about the resort with the most pronounced limp I’ve ever had, so it was clear to me that I wouldn’t be running at all on this holiday. Though, ever the optimist, I had taken plenty of kit with me.

This holiday was spent in India, Kerala to be exact. Over the years I’ve travelled to a number of countries but India was never one that featured highly on the list of must do places. I don’t know why if I’m being honest but it sits with Africa in my mind, a place I’m sure would be interesting but I have other places I’d rather visit, like Iceland or Scandinavia. Of course Carole thinks differently, she has no intention of visiting countries that are likely to be colder than Scotland and loves being out in the sun. So we compromise, we go to hot countries but she pays the bills, and it works quite well for me, as long as there is somewhere I can run – which is pretty much always the case as I can create interesting and beneficial sessions almost anywhere.

This year we weren’t sure where to go so Kerala came about a bit by chance, Carole wanted to go somewhere hot and we discussed various places, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Florida and then India came up. I said it was somewhere I’ve never been but it had been highly recommended to me by a bunch of co-workers from Infosys (I’m sure there was no bias at all). I also remembered one of my running contacts, Dave Denton, has a house, in Kerala and it sounded like a nice place. So that was it, Carole went off and booked the flights and hotel.

As the holiday approached we were having our doubts, we had to have injections for all sorts of potential diseases we could pick up, rabies, hepatitis and others. We were warned that there were poisonous snakes swimming in the sea and although malaria wasn’t really a problem, dengue fever was a potential hazard. Add to this the potential to eat something dubious that could cause illness and we were wishing we’d stuck to Florida. The place Carole had chosen was described in our guide book as being a bit tired, so hardly something to look forward to.

Things didn’t get any better as we set off at 4:00am, we were advised to arrive a minimum of 3.5 hours before the flight was due, but as it turned out check in didn’t open until 3 hours before. We could easily have had an extra hour in bed and still had plenty of time to get through customs. We were flying Etihad, my first time with them, and the plane seemed quite nice, plenty of space and the main meal was pretty good. I took advantage of the entertainment system to watch movies I knew Carole wouldn’t be interested in, starting with Lincoln. Now I like my history so I was interested in seeing this film and it was interesting, but I wouldn’t say it was very entertaining. I’m glad I’ve seen it because if I had managed to persuade Carole to accompany me to the pictures it would have been a few feathers plucked out of my cap, and I was glad when it was over. Then I tried Argo, more recent history (even if it’s getting a slagging for being historically inaccurate). I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it, but I did. Whilst I watched these films I became aware of noises going on a few rows behind me. It turned out there was some kind of argument taking place, I don’t know what it was all about but it was starting to get nasty when one guy was overpowered and handcuffed. He spent the rest of the journey at the back of the plane and we were warned the plane might have to divert if there was any further trouble. That would have thrown us into complete disarray so thankfully that didn’t happen, but it is amazing what lengths people will go to in order to be first off the plane.   

The stop off in Abu Dhabi was a drag and we were crowded into a small area with only one toilet to await the connection to Thiruvananthapuram. It was thankfully only a four hour flight, and a biryani later we arrived in Kerala, at 3:30am – it had been a long day (obviously the time difference meant it wasn’t as long as it looks but it was long enough). After passport control it was all plain sailing as we were picked up and taken a 20 minute drive to the hotel. At the point we emerged out of the airport I just relaxed and started enjoying the sights and smells of India, I was amazed how many people were hanging around the airport but as I was to find out, this is India.

We were booked in at the Leela Kempinski in Kovalem, it looked nice as we walked through the door and we knew we had a beach view room, but things were about to get a little better. The hotel decided to upgrade us to ‘The Club’ which had it’s own pool, gym/spa and breakfast area overlooking the ocean. The room was really good and we had a balcony overlooking the infinity pool and the ocean beyond. Not sure why we were upgraded, maybe somebody looked us up on the internet and mistook me for Roger Alsop the artist/musician or the one who breeds buffalo or even the guy who builds boats, but who cares it was a real treat.

Having arrived in the early hours of the morning it was straight to bed for us. With breakfast being served until 10:30 we were able to get a few hours shut-eye before experiencing India for real. Ok it wasn’t really for real, posh breakfast followed by a quick look around the hotel and the rest of the morning spent lounging by the pool. I was actually really grateful for the rest as it was painful limping along and I was concerned that too much walking would increase my recovery time. At lunchtime we needed to head into Kovalem proper, you aren’t supposed to take rupees into India so we needed to change some money and thought we’d suss out the local restaurants at the same time. It’s not a long walk into town but limping the way I was made it quite strenuous, still we were rewarded with a nice promenade, full of restaurants, and a lovely beach. The guide book’s description of Kovalem being a bit tired was maybe a bit over the top, I could see what they were getting at but I’ve been to many places that could do with being this awake. It’s an interesting place with busy shops and restaurants on the promenade and quiet narrow alleyways in the hinterland. As a resort it was a great place to be, yes there were travelling salesmen trying to sell their wares on the promenade and shouting across at you when you were eating in the restaurants, but that’s no different to Spain and at least here they didn’t come to your table to try to sell to you. All in all it was a casual sell, yes they pushed for the sale but they never bothered us. A few people got a bit wound up with it but I think that was down to them being a bit uptight. Of course it was much busier at the weekend when the townies travelled down, so it was nice to be able to escape back to the hotel.

After lunch it was back to the hotel and then down the other side of the hill to the private beach. Now I’m not a beach person, I like my shade and you don’t generally get good shade on a beach, I’m also not a confident swimmer so don’t like to go too far out into the sea and I have a thing about sand. So generally, when we’re on holiday, I tend to avoid the beaches. But here the beach was great, the water was shallow for some considerable way out, there was shade aplenty and I just learnt to deal with my sand phobia. The doctor’s warning about sea snakes was probably a little over the top or maybe we and the other hundreds of swimmers were just lucky.

That sort of set the pattern for the rest of the holiday. Gym, breakfast, pool, into Kovalem for lunch, beach, drinks on the balcony, into Kovalem for dinner. The food was really good, and cheap. We ate in the hotel a couple of nights, it was also good, but not cheap (only in relative terms). One morning we were eating breakfast when a few dolphins turned up, rounding up fish in the ocean below, a bit more interesting than watching crows fighting in the back garden.

The two tours we took were to Neyyar Dam, which included an elephant ride and a boat ride to a safari park, and a trip into Tamil Nadu, to the southernmost point of India, Kanyakumari, where there was a big statue on a rock, on the way visiting Padmanabhapuram Palace and Suchindram Temple. They were both long days so we were happy to just chill for the rest of the holiday. Also one day we had an ayurveda massage, which was a bit odd for me, quite relaxing and I came away smelling of treacle toffee but I’m used to sports massages, which made this particular massage feel like someone running a feather over your body. Mind you I never had to get naked for those massages with Cath Ferry, although I don’t think she minds if you feel the urge to do that as you’re lying on her table.

On the last day we had to vacate our room by 14:00 but our flight wasn’t until 04:15 the next morning. We made the most of the pool for the afternoon but any chance at catching a kip before our flight was ruined by the infestation of flying things that bite in the night, I did slaughter Carole at chess though. At least there were no fights on the flight home and I managed to watch Alex Cross and Skyfall in peace.

As far as exercise was concerned I clearly wasn’t able to run, I still can’t, but my limp improved daily and I’m now almost pain free. I started doing some light gym work and after a few days managed to do some work on the stationary bike but with no idea how long I’d be off running it was difficult to put any major emphasis on exercise, particularly when it was such a nice setting to relax in. In fact I was so relaxed I hardly ever thought about my life back home, that’s never happened before.

Now we’re home it’s back to my clients and I’ve stepped up the cycling a little. I’m hopeful I’ll be running soon, though not sure if it’ll be this or next week. It’ll be a slow start, 5 minutes on day one and then increase it by 5 minutes each time, until I feel confident to start training properly. So race wise I’m out of action for the time being, I don’t anticipate being able to race in March but hopefully I’ll be back to racing during April, albeit a lot slower and a lot further back to what I’ve become accustomed.

I’m aware this blog looks more like a holiday blog than a fitness blog, but they do say rest is an important part of training and what better way to rest than the holiday I’ve just been on. Carlsberg don’t do holidays, but Kingfisher do.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Music While You Workout

Are you an avid fan of distraction while you workout, do you watch the TV, listen to music, etc? Do you need to, in order to keep you motivated, relieve the boredom or do you do it because it’s there. What would happen if you didn’t have the distraction?

I may have mentioned it before but I’m not a fan of using an ipod whilst running, to me it’s a distraction too far and inhibits my ability to concentrate on important things, like the car that’s coming up behind me. I can’t relax with one dangling from my ears, much like I can’t run in a hood, it tends to obscure my peripheral vision. I also don’t like to see girls, on their own, running in secluded areas with loud music coming out of their ears. Race organisers state that you shouldn’t wear them in their races, you can’t always hear instructions shouted at you or hear things coming up behind you, quite rightly they are concerned for your safety, but it doesn’t stop people running with them.

When portable music devices first came out we didn’t expect to see anyone with a running reputation using one, but I remember my old training partner, Charlie Dickinson, telling me he caught international athlete, Kassa Tadessa wearing one in training. Since then a number of good athletes have admitted to using them during training.

Non of this really tempted me to try it, I do some of my best thinking when I’m running. Though I do admit to having my music blaring away when I’m doing a session in my gym, though I don’t always hear it as I concentrate hard on what I’m doing, or dream of my next victory. Having said that, one time this summer, when I knew I was going out for an easy run in Tatton Park, I decided to try running with an ipod, after all many of the modern apparel items seem to cater for the ipod, and I thought I should at least see what it’s like for others. I tried it and I really didn’t like it. I just couldn’t relax and had a pretty dismal running experience. So I’ve not run with it since.

But, I can understand why people use ipods or the tv channels whilst using gym equipment. I do find long sessions on gym equipment a bit tedious, though I use various tactics to make them bearable. When I lived in London I had a TV up in my office/gym and I will admit that watching sport not only distracted me from how tedious using a machine can be but also it made me work harder, the more competitive the sport the better. (I mean competitive in a fast action sort of way, e.g. rowing, cycling, rugby, football, running. I don’t think cricket or snooker would have the same effect, in fact I think it would have made me give up my session early).

I’ve seen people, at the gym, reading the paper, a magazine, or a book, whilst they’re working out. I can only assume that they aren’t working out very hard. However, last week, when I was able to do a slow 20 minute cycle at Cottons, I tried it and managed to read the whole paper without noticing how tedious the session was. Mind you I wouldn’t want to read whilst cycling hard, it would take away my concentration and I’d probably sweat all over the paper.

So, my personal experience is that I don’t generally need or want distractions during my workouts, I don’t need procrastination tactics, such as conversations with fellow gym goers or extra drink stops. I prefer to get on with my session and then relax with something to read afterwards. But I’m willing to accept that I do have a certain type of mindset, that maybe sets me aside from some other people, and what I like doing may not be what others like doing. So I’m not going to preach, but I would suggest you take extra care when exercising outside with music, oh and it’s not a good idea to run outside whilst reading the paper.

I recall, some years ago, a race meeting organised in a Kingston car park. It was a series of qualifiers and a final, all run while music was blaring out. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it, but some pretty good runners did. I believe it was enjoyed by all but maybe it wasn’t that successful financially, as I’ve not heard of anything like it since.

I’m still unable to run, it’s not become the drag one would expect, I guess I’ve trained so hard for so long that my mind, as well as my body, is enjoying it’s little holiday. Though I have to say it’s a little irritating limping everywhere. I am improving, but I know this is going to be a slow recovery and, as I now have nothing to aim for, I’m not going to rush back into training. This Saturday it gave me an opportunity to give something back to the parkrun family, I volunteered at Congleton parkrun, and no it wasn’t so I could maintain my position at the top of the points league, though I have done that. It was nice to watch others taking part and have the time to chat to other volunteers. Unfortunately I was busy in the afternoon so couldn’t repeat my volunteering for Salford at the last SE Lancs league. Going into this event I had a chance of winning the overall M45 title, but the fact that I couldn’t run meant that I wouldn’t have run enough races and therefore I had to forfeit that. Oh well, that’s just the way it is and to be honest, despite this little upset to my training and competing, I’ve had the best start to a year for many years. I know things will be slow for a while, when I start back, but I’m hoping I’ll be back to some good form by the last quarter of the year, though preferably before.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

British Athletics League

Last week I heard that Belgrave Harriers have pulled out of the British Athletics League (BAL). That must’ve been a hard decision for the hierarchy of Belgrave to make, as I know how important the success achieved by Belgrave, in the BAL, has been in the club’s recent history. But it’s a clear indication of one of the problems that Belgrave, and probably other clubs, have to deal with, a lack of volunteers. At one point, when I was Belgrave through and through, I considered that it might be something I’d like to do, managing the BAL team, but my departure from Belgrave knocked that idea on the head.

When I joined Belgrave, 1989 we were just starting to build a reputation in the top division of BAL, having joined it in 1987, following four successive promotions from Division 4 to the Premier Division (three as champions). Of course in those days they were known as BAL 1-5, or was it 1-4?. At the time I was in awe of the British League guys, I was only just breaking into the Southern League B team and had no idea that one day I would make it to the big league.

I got my big break in 1992, I had run 15:16 for 5k the previous year, though I wasn’t in that shape this year and was concentrating on the 1500m. But with Paul Evans running his Barcelona Olympic qualification race, over 10000m, the weds before a match in Edinburgh, he wasn’t going to be available. So I was the next man available. I was excited to be asked, Arthur, my coach, didn’t want me to run, feeling I wasn’t ready, but I thought I might not get another chance. So whilst I upset my girlfriend of the time, who had just finished studying and was looking forward to spending some quality time with me, I was getting ready to travel the length of the country for the BAL Div 1 5000m. We travelled up by coach and stayed overnight in Newcastle, I was sharing a room with Jim Estell on this occasion, which made sense as he was the other 5000m runner. The next morning we travelled up to Edinburgh on the bus. I didn’t really have any time to see Edinburgh, but at the time I was too focussed on my race to be interested in sight seeing, wish I’d known what I know now, probably would have made a weekend of it and appeased the girlfriend, but then that might have changed everything.

It wasn’t a dream start, Jim Estell was 8^th and last in the A string in 15:22.58 but my slower time of 15:32.06 was good enough for 5^th in the B string. The match was won by Harringey, we were 2^nd, Birchfield 3^rd, Thames Valley 4^th, Shaftesbury Barnet 5^th, Caledon Park (any of my Edinburgh friends know anything about them?) 6^th, Wolverhampton & Bilston 7^th and Old Gaytonians 8^th. Despite this little setback we won the league that year.

Belgrave won the league a further 10 times before times changed and they dropped down a division. My appearances were sporadic, either I wasn’t available or, when I was, somebody better was selected. But I had some good times and shared rooms with some great athletes.   

In 1993 I made two appearances, both in the 5000m, the first at Birmingham, where we had a better time than my previous event. Kassa Tadessa won the A string and I was 3^rd in the B string, setting a new 5000m pb, 14:53.5. Again we were 2^nd on the day, to Haringey, with Birchfield 3^rd, Shaftesbury 4^th, Thames Valley 5^th, Newham & Essex Beagels 6^th, Woodford Green 7^th and Edinburgh Southern 8^th. The second one was again at Edinburgh, by now I’d suffered a minor injury and wasn’t in the same shape so only ran 15:12.85 for 6^th place in the B string, Kassa again won the A string with 14:24.02. This time we were 3^rd, behind winners Haringey and 2^nd placed Thames Valley Newham & Essex were 4^th, Birchfield 5^th, Shaftesbury Barnet 6^th, Woodford green 7^th and Edinburgh Southern, surprisingly, in last place.

1994 I again made two appearances. I was really trying to focus on my 1500m this year, trying to get below 4 minutes. On 29 June I achieved my goal, competing for Surrey against the Army and Hampshire, 3:58.4. A few days later in the British League match at the Linford Christie Stadium, I improved that to 3:56.83 as I came 6^th in the A string 1500m (who would’ve thought I would make the A string 1500m in the premier league). Again we were 2^nd, behind Thames Valley, Shaftesbury were 3^rd, Birchfield 4^th, Haringey 5^th, Newham & Essex 6^th, Sale 7^th and Crawley 8^th. Later at Crawley I was 2^nd in the 5000m B string, 15:01.91, (my current club mate Paul Simons finished a few seconds ahead of me to win the B string), Kassa was 2^nd in the A string. I don’t recall the team positions on this occasion.

In 1995 I only ran in one match, at Birmingham. Again it was the 5000m and I was 4^th in the B string, 15:08.32. Daren Mead was 2^nd in the A string. Again, perhaps I was some kind of omen, we were 2^nd, to Thames Valley, Shaftesbury Barnet were 3^rd, Haringey were 4^th, Woodford Green 5^th, Birchfield 6^th, Blackheath 7^th and Newham & Essex 8^th.

1996 was a strange year, early in the year I was training really well and I’d run well in my first two road races of the year, the Belgrave relay and the South of England 12 stage. So I was looking forward to my first run out in the BAL. This was the first time I’d done the first event of the year, this year it was based in Liverpool. Once again I was partnering Kassa, though this time I’d been given the A string numbers (this caused confusion with the announcer and also during a conversation with the man that always seems to pop up in my races, Paul Simons. There was an added incentive to this race as Jon Jeffrey told me that whoever finished first, out of me or Kassa, would represent Belgrave in the European Champion Clubs Cup in Istanbul. I’m not sure if it was this, the strong wind or the large chicken dinner I ate the night before, but something went very wrong that day. I was hoping to get dragged along for a pb (would have to be under 14:35), instead I struggled and only managed 15:09.3 for 6^th in the A string, but Kassa struggled too, only managing 15:25.2 for 6^th in the B string. Not sure where Paul finished but I’m sure he beat me that day. Once again we finished 2^nd, behind Sale, Birchfield were 3^rd, Thames Valley 4^th, Cardiff 5^th, Shaftesbury 6^th, Liverpool 7^th and Haringey 8^th. So I was off to Istanbul, though now I was downgraded to travelling reserve.

As the years went on my best ones were behind me, younger better runners were coming into the team and I was no longer a part of the BAL squad. But surprisingly I got one final call up, in 2004. I went to Copthall for one last hurrah. I can’t find any results for this match so don’t know if Paul was there, who finished where, except that I know I was 7^th (presumably B string) with a time of 15:30.63. And that was it for me, the next year I had departed Belgrave. So my own experiences of BAL were nothing to shout about, though I did set two pbs, more noticeable was the fact Belgrave didn’t seem to win a match when I was in the team, though we did often win the league.

During my time at Belgrave, Herne Hill Harriers were in lower divisions of the BAL, but since I switched allegiance Herne Hill have risen though the leagues and are now in the Premiership, so good luck to them this season. I never got to run for Herne Hill in the BAL, I think I was getting close when I was running well, at 45, but there were always younger better athletes around.

Edinburgh AC were also in the BAL at the time I was there, but they appear to have drifted out now. I was once asked to run for them, but had to point out I was 1^st claim Herne Hill and therefore ineligible.

Salford Harriers don’t do track and field leagues, which suits me fine, I’m far too old to be worrying about teenagers lapping me in a 1500m.

This weekend I doubled up races again, well it seemed to work a few weeks ago. Sadly, this week it was a disaster. On Sunday it was the last of the Manchester Area Cross Country League races. I was in with a chance of 2^nd place overall in the M45s, but I’d hurt my Achilles at the Alsager 5, the previous week. I’d hardly trained all week and with having lost fitness over the previous two weeks, because of my back, I wasn’t in the shape to do something spectacular. I was of the belief that Dave Lockett, Malcolm Fowler and Ian Wetherall would all turn up and were all capable of beating me, particularly in my less than fit state. But I wanted to do the race anyway, for the Masters team, I figured there would be at least 6 Salford seniors better than me and thereby negating my need to score for that team, after all we were in with a good chance of winning the league, surely we’d turn out in force. As the weekend approached my Achilles was recovering, but I thought I needed to test it out before Sunday, so I ran the Congleton parkrun on Saturday. There was a bunch of youngsters who shot off at the start, 3 of them running under 17 minutes, with my lack of training I just couldn’t live with that pace, on the day, so I ran a solitary 5^th in 17:37. Not too bad I thought, I had imagined I would be slower than 18 minutes.

After the event my Achilles stiffened up, still it wasn’t as bad as after Alsager. I debated all night and the next morning as to whether I should risk it in Stockport but I figured the soft surface might be ok and, although I don’t like doing it, I could always drop out if necessary. When I arrived I bumped in Graham MacNeil, the overall M50 winner, I told him that I thought I was likely to finish 5^th overall in the M45 section and he told me that you had to take part in 4 races so Malcolm, Ian and Dave couldn’t beat me. I knew the next person was a good few points away from me so all I had to do was run round, though if I ran too slowly I would surely lose out. I made the decision to give it a go.

It was a real struggle to get going, I limped over the start and before the 1^st corner I was swamped and must’ve been back in the 100s somewhere. I was passing people from then on, even if I was holding back and taking the more uneven parts carefully. Half a lap in and I passed Mark Seed, my rival for 1^st Salford M45. It took me the rest of the lap to catch Stan Owen, who’s considerably older than me. After that I was starting to pick people off 1 by 1. I wasn’t able to really push, I knew the limits on my Achilles but I was feeling ok and knew I’d finish, my concern was how many M45s were ahead of me. Coming down the steep hill, with hidden blocks of concrete, for the last time I snapped my heel back too far, ouch that didn’t just hurt, that really hurt, I needed to slow down. There was a bunch of runners I was catching, including an M45 runner, but now I had to let them go. I thought about dropping out but I’d come so far, it was only half lap to go but I was running in pain, could I make it to the end? I did, just, but I had to let a load of youngsters sprint me in. In the end I finished in 53^rd position, about 20-25 places and 2 minutes down on where I would normally finish, but I’d done enough, I was 5^th M45 and therefore finished the series 2^nd to Wilmslow’s Rob Downs. I actually went over to congratulate Rob, but he was too quickly away and I wasn’t going to run after him. Sadly I was also 4^th scorer for Salford, which means we forfeited our chance of winning the league title.

a cautious start, at the back of the field

Since Sunday I’ve barely been able to walk, but it’s now Tuesday and I can see improvement. It’ll be a while before I run again, think of it as a holiday, without the sun.

It’s a shame as Saturday sees the end of the SE Lancs League, where I’m in joint 1^st place for M45s, I had a chance to win that outright. I’m also currently lying in 2^nd place in the Salford Masters championship, but only 1 point behind Dave Lockett, so if I could beat Dave (probably only if he didn’t turn up) that would create an interesting scenario. However I accept my fate and will move on to the next challenge.       

   

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Alsop’s Alsager 5s

I didn’t run many road races in my early days. It was track, cross country and road relays that my coach prescribed. So, during my best years, I never made it up to the Alsager 5, despite it being close to where my parents lived. Even when I took up road racing, in the late 90’s, there were so many events going on around London that I didn’t feel the need to travel up to Alsager, even if it did mean I could visit my parents at the same time, or maybe that was the reason all the time. When I turned 40, however, my attitude changed. I was aware of the fast times set at Alsager and I wanted to set one to lay down a foundation for England selection at the International Cross Country.

I made my Alsager 5 debut in 2005. But I was disappointed, my time was only 26:49 and I was hoping for something nearer 25 minutes. That time was only good enough for 28^th but, surprisingly, I was 1^st Master. For the next 4 years I was based in Edinburgh and for one reason or another, mostly because I was working, I couldn’t make the race. But at the end of 2009 I found myself living about 3 miles away from Alsager so the 2010 race was a definite for me.

Alsager 2010 – By now I’d turned 45, I was training hard but hadn’t raced since November. With this long gap I had no particular ambitions in the race, other than to have a good run, I was using it as a marker for the Trafford 10k. But as it turned out I ran faster than 5 years earlier, 26:33, a time that stood up as the 3^rd fastest for an M45 that year. Mind you it was only good enough for 38^th place, I was 2^nd M40, to Gordon Lee, but 1^st M45. 4 weeks later I actually went through the 5 mile mark, at Trafford, in a faster time.

By Alsager 2011 I’d been suffering with a recurrent knee injury since September. I managed to train through it to make my England debut in the November but soon after that I decided now was the time to take a break. The break did some good but it was a lengthy break that kept me out of this race. I did turn up and jogged around the course a little as Carole and Lee Riley were both racing it.

Alsager 2012 – No injury this time but still only a few races over the winter months, I felt fit though and was keen to keep my record going (1^st M40 in 2005, 1^st M45 in 2010). Unfortunately the weather was against me. I slithered and slid my way around the 5 miles, there were big stretches where there was very little road showing and it was tiring running on the snow. I felt like I was way back in the field and running really slow (mind you everybody was running slower than normal). I didn’t enjoy it at all. Coming to the finish I had enough left to sprint for the line, unfortunately there was only one clear line to run on so every time I tried to go round my nearest rival I had to go onto the ice, which meant I lost momentum. Unable to get past him I had to settle in my position, 49^th in 28:01. I thought there must be at least 5 or 6 M45s ahead of me but as it turned out the guy I was just behind was 1^st M45, if only there’s been a wider clear line to the finish.

The build up to Alsager 2013 is a completely different story, I’ve had a solid winter of cross country and have been racing and training well. I have a running client, Katy, from Alsager, and we’ve been around the Alsager 5 course many times during our various sessions, so I felt I knew the course (always an advantage, I feel). So far I’ve managed to avoid any illness, despite being surrounded by people with full blown colds, and my body was holding up well, until two weeks ago. That was when I had my back spasm. It felt so small and insignificant that I didn’t think it would keep me out of the race, the same thing had happened to me just before the BMAF cross country relays in November, where a few days rest had me back and running well. I thought the same would be true here, and it was improving every day, but I was in agony getting out of bed every morning. By the Monday before the race it was feeling a lot better, though still a problem first thing. I was going to leave it another day but I had to go to a meeting about a mile away so thought I’d trot there and back. It was ok, the next day it felt much better so I ran for 6 miles, still ok. Wednesday morning I had a run out with Katy and I felt even better afterwards. Another run out with Ray in the evening and things were looking good. Then, as I got out of bed on Thursday, I suffered an incredibly painful spasm. Enough’s enough I thought and tried to get in to see a physio, but no joy, fully booked. Well that was that then, season over, surely this is going to take a few weeks to sort out and I’ve already missed practically two weeks so all my racing fitness will be down the pan.

But I managed to get a quick session on Friday evening, with Ed at www.stretchmassage.com/

Ed had a look and did some tinkering, once again it was caused by a weakness in my glute/piriformis area. The next morning I woke up almost a new man, still a little tender getting out of bed but so much better than the previous two days. The temptation to run was strong but I had my sensible head on. I was going to go to the Alsager 5 on Sunday, anyway, Carole was running, so I’d warm up and if I felt ok I’d race, albeit a bit tentatively.

Race day, a slight niggle getting out of bed, perhaps I won’t be doing the race! But get up anyway and prepare like you’re doing it. We arrived in Alsager nice and early, got our chips sorted out and I went for a warm up. I ran for a mile, around part of the course, and all felt good, much better than earlier in the week. So I made the decision to race, though I was a little anxious and prepared to drop out if necessary. Lining up at the start it was nice to have brief chats with the large number of athletes I’ve got to know over the years, it kept me from worrying if I’d make it to the first corner ok. I was a couple of lines further back from where I would normally start, I wanted a low key start so no point in getting in the way of faster runners. And then we were off, it was closely packed for the first 800m, which meant I was having to pay particular attention to the area just in front of me, lots of pot holes. I was a long way back but turning the first corner, about half a mile in, I decided to start working and seemed to overtake a large number of runners by the 1 mile point. Still conscious of my condition I was holding back just a little but going at a pace which I hoped to maintain to the finish. First mile covered in 5:25, not really fast enough but under the circumstances I wasn’t concerned. Mile two was reached in 11:05, I was still passing a few people but now I was beginning to feel my reduced fitness level. I was now mixing it with a small group of runners, we were all going about the same pace, but I was tired. The benefit was there to be had though as I dug deep to hang onto the group, who weren’t going significantly faster than I felt I wanted. I missed the 3 mile marker but by the time I realised we only had about 1.5 miles to go. I knew I could dig deep for that length, I did, but I noticed my form was all over the place so for the sake of avoiding further injury I decided to hold off, just a little. I made it across the line, no sprint finish for me this year. My finishing time 27:45, not the time I was looking for a few weeks back but quicker than I’d have considered when I set foot on the start line. In fact I was surprised how close I was to some of my peers, maybe they’d had some issues too. The time was good enough for 52^nd place, but having observed many guys, who looked like they were around my age, finish ahead of me, I imagined I was outside the first 5 M45s. So it was a surprise to learn I was in fact 3^rd M45.

Just past the finish line I bumped into my old Edinburgh AC pal, Matt Bell. Last I knew he was working in Melbourne, Australia, but I think he missed the weather as he’s now back, a little boost to the Edinburgh AC team.

After the race my left Achilles was really sore and my legs have been a bit sore for a couple of days, it was the first time I’ve worn racing flats for some months, but, other than a little twinge as I climb out of bed, my back is feeling a lot better. Still not wanting to risk training at 100%, I’ll have to decide on the day if I’m to take part in any of the next few week’s races. In the meantime lots of rehabilitation work.



Just past the 1 mile mark, with thanks to Bryan Dale



Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Busy Doing Nothing, It’s A Pain In The Back

I like that song, reminds me of watching those old movies during my childhood, of course they weren’t so old then. For those who don’t know the song here’s the first verse:

WE'RE BUSY DOING NOTHING,

WORKING THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH.

TRYING TO FIND LOTS OF THINGS,

NOT TO DO.

WE'RE BUSY DOING NOTHING,

ISN T IT JUST A CRIME?

WE'D LIKE TO BE UNHAPPY,

BUT WE NEVER DO HAVE THE TIME

Simple but very truthful, I’ve met plenty of people who seem to be busy doing nothing.

Unfortunately it’s also how I feel about myself at the moment, I’m busy doing nothing, or rather I’m busy but unable to train. I’ve had a few issues with my back and hamstrings over the last couple of years and last Tuesday I was taken out of the game again with a back twinge. It seemed innocuous enough when it happened, a short sharp pain in the lower back and I stopped what I was doing, but it seems to be taking a long time to heal. It’s getting better day by day, but I just know by experience that it’s not quite right yet.

What caused it? I’m in absolutely no doubt that it has been caused by love, my love of cross country to be exact. Two weeks ago I was at Boggart Hole Clough slipping and sliding my way around one of the muddiest cross country courses I’ve been on. For four days following that experience I had aches in my lower back. One week ago, ache free, I ventured out to Leigh for another cross country race. This course was much more to my liking but there was a short section, a mini Boggart Hole Clough, that I struggled on and then just as I was making a long dash for the finish I slipped whilst taking a corner and nearly came a cropper, it’s that moment where I managed to keep my footing but clearly put undue pressure on my lower back that I believe is the culprit for my latest lay-off.

I’ve not done anything other than mobilisation and some mild back strengthening work and I had to miss making my debut at the Northern Cross Country Championships this Saturday. That was a bit annoying, but, judging by the reports I’ve heard and the pictures I’ve seen, was probably not a bad thing. Today, Monday, I was hoping I might be able to start jogging again, but the tell tale signs are still there and I need to be more patient. Maybe tomorrow, hopefully as I have two client fartleks booked on Wednesday. At least it’s only my running clients that have been affected, I’ve managed to work through with my gym fitness clients, even if it can be a bit painful at times.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard you train, these little incidents can catch you when you’re at a weak point. I’ll admit I have been negligent on my lower back exercises, I will do better. But don’t think that I’m giving up on cross country, my relationship with cross country is a bit like a marriage, we have our glory days, though they seem to be mostly in the past, we have our arguments, but at the end of the day we’ll still be together for better of worse – though I’m not making any promises of returning to Boggart Hole Clough this winter.

Thankfully Salford’s Men’s team didn’t suffer any consequences from my absence as they ploughed through the mud for 5^th place. The Ladies also acquitted themselves well with 7^th. My mate Ray, who had to drive up on his own, as I felt unable to stand around for a long period of time, also had a good run, making the scoring team for Chester Tri, in 528^th place.   

Hopefully next time I write I’ll be back doing what I do best. And to ensure I end on a positive, at least I missed running in some pretty horrible icy conditions. As I’ve often said, if you’re going to have an injury or an illness, at least have it when the weather’s rotten.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Cross Country Leagues

Ah cross country, don’t you just love it. Well even if you don’t, I do. It’s a great way to build your fitness for the road season ahead and the track season beyond that. But what makes it all the more exciting and purposeful for me are the cross country leagues. I’ve said it before, I’m a team player, I love being part of the team, particularly when you make a difference to the score for your team, and it’s these cross country leagues, as well as the county, area and national championships which really underpin the season for me.

I’ve been involved in cross country leagues since I first set foot on a cross country course, back in 1989, and, surprisingly over such a period of time, I’ve scored in about 99% of them. If I remember correctly I think I’ve only failed to make the scoring team on 3 occasions, and 2 of them were in my first season.

Back in the 80’s, 90’s and the first half of the 00’s I was London based and the league I was associated with was the Surrey League. It was a good strong league, every year you would have International standard athletes turning out (Justin Chaston, Gary Staines, John Solly, Richard Nerurkar, Paul Evans, Kassa Tadessa, Dave Taylor, Simon Fairbrother, Ben Whitby, Matt Yates – to name just a few), it was a strong league when I started and, although, like any league, there have been days when the field was weaker than usual, it still remains strong today. It’s had it’s changes, back then Boxhill Racers were dominant, a dominance which lasted well into the 90’s, but then they seemed to fade away. Woking and Hercules Wimbledon were both big teams of the past, they also drifted down into a lower division, though Hercules have now regained their position in Division 1 and are running well again. Hounslow, though Middlesex based, came, joined up with Windsor, Slough and Eton, and drifted back out after a brief spell at the top. Even Aldershot Farnham & District, always up there when I first started, dropped out to concentrate on their Hampshire league. Now Kent AC, from Kent (would you believe) are a part of it. It shows it’s class if clubs from other counties want to be part of it. And all the time stalwarts such as Thames Hare and Hounds, Herne Hill Harriers and Belgrave Harriers have been fighting it out for victory.

When I ran my first Surrey League, 28 October 1989, Richmond Park, I finished in position 126. Clearly not good enough to make the scoring 10 of Belgrave, on this occasion, but Belgrave were going through one of those phases where the top guys weren’t committing themselves to this league. They were languishing mid table so before the end of the season of four matches, despite only making it to 78^th position, I had made the scoring 10 in half of the races, and I would never again not make the scoring 10 whilst a member of Belgrave. Presumably this must have been tough for some of Belgrave’s older members to stomach, particularly those who had been part of the team that won this league every year from 1966-1972. For a few more years we struggled to get our best runners out and by the end of the 92/93 season we were demoted to division 2. This could have been a killer blow for some teams but, with a new manager and a new structured management team, we bounced straight back as champions of division 2. With victory came enthusiasm and a new breed of Belgrave Harriers were emerging. Good management, perseverance and enthusiasm from within started to breed success in other areas of cross country running and eventually, in 99/00, we were crowned champions of division 1, once again. This victory was particularly memorable, for me. I was working in Germany at the time and was flying home for matches, I only got back at about 11pm the night before the last league match. But I was Captain so there was no way I was going to miss this deciding match in the league. It had been a hard fought out league between us and Thames Hare and Hounds. We went into the match 74 points behind and emerged as victors. It was one of those days when almost everybody turned out for us and nobody had a bad run. We dominated the day, beating TH&H by 108 points to snatch the championship. I even led the race, briefly, it was an inspirational moment for me having such great runners, including two Ethiopian internationals, follow me up that first hill. On that day I was 9^th scorer for Belgrave, in 21^st position, a bit different from the times I was 3^rd scorer in about 50^th. We won it again in 2002, this time we went into the last race ahead and just held on to win the league by 6 points as TH&H tried to bridge the deficit. I was 6^th score that day, in 20^th position. Then Belgrave’s fortunes in this league began to slide. As the team I would move to began to challenge TH&H.

My last Surrey League for Belgrave was on 15 January 2005, on Wimbledon Common, I was 31^st. The next day I turned 40 and within a month I had left Belgrave and joined local rivals Herne Hill. I ran two league races for Herne Hill, the following winter, before I moved to Edinburgh. I scored in one but was 11^th HH man home in the other making it the first time I hadn’t scored in a league race, I took part in, in 15 years. I made my final Surrey League appearance in 2007, at Wimbledon Common, where I finished 34^th.

In Scotland my Scottish club, Edinburgh AC, were involved with the East District League. I made my debut on 21 October, at Livingstone, where I was 25^th, but 1^st over 40. That season I followed that up with 16^th (1^st O40) at Kirkaldy, 18^th (1^st O40) at Broxburn. I’d been lucky, managing to get all those days off work (I worked alternate weekends at that time). The following year I wasn’t so lucky with work and missed all matches. The year after that I was still making a mark on the league but no longer king of the O40s as Stevie Cairns matured and took my crown. Then it was down to Cheshire in 2010 and no more cross country leagues for me until this season.

Salford are involved in the South East Lancs League and the Manchester Area League, plus I believe we have some guys who turn out in the Red Rose league. That means it’s a pretty busy cross country season for us with 9 league matches, compared to 4 in the Surrey League, plus County, Area and National champs. This year, having been deprived of cross country league racing for so long, I’ve embraced it fully and turned out whenever I can, and to my surprise I’ve made the scoring 6 every time. As a senior team we’ve just won the South East Lancs League with a match in hand and are leading the Manchester League.

Personally I’m doing ok, not as well as I’d like, but I’m holding my own against some very good runners. In the first SEL race I was 9^th and 2^nd O45 to team mate Dave Lockett. The first MA race I was 39^th and 5^th M45, I missed the 2^nd of both, due to warm weather training and the BMAF cross country relays. In the 3^rd MA race I was 29^th and 3^rd M45. In the 4^th MA race I was 27^th and 2^nd M45 and this weekend, in the 3^rd SEL race I was 11^th and 2^nd M45, this time to another team mate, Paul Simons. As the current league standings lie I’m: In the Manchester League; 19^th overall and 2^nd in the M45 section (these positions could be seriously revised after the last match as it appears to be a best 3 of 5) and in the South East Lancs League; I lie 7^th and joint 1^st in the M45 section (again these are a best 2 of 4 so likely to be revised after the final match). But it gives me something to fight for.

I’ve been asked many times how long I think I’ll carry on running competitively. As you can see I’m still holding my own against younger runners. Yes it gets tougher each year but as long as I’m enthusiastic and have an enthusiastic team around me I’ll keep going, injury and illness permitting. One big benefit of these leagues, for us older gentlemen, is that you can score as a senior but also in your own age group, which is probably why there are so many Masters still competing in it.   

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

The Nightmare On Boggarts Hole Clough

It was an, almost, unique weekend for me, on the rare occasions where I’ve raced on both days the shorter Saturday race has helped me to a good race on Sunday. However, just because it’s happened on those rare occasions, I don’t go out of my way to seek double race weekends. There has to be a compromise somewhere and I do try to put family first, sometimes. Having said that, my relationship with Carole has blossomed to the point that she no longer gets frustrated when I focus my whole day on a race. And it’s a change I’ve taken complete advantage of by choosing to race just about every weekend this winter. She has developed an understanding of my desire to race and is starting to incorporate herself into my race weekends rather than be opposed to them. She’s even starting to enjoy standing around in mud for 40 minutes whilst I slog my way around a cross country course, now that’s true love. Or is it? I receive a post from one of my Pennington Flash pals, Shelle Bradley, who stated that her husband had run a race alongside another lady but, instead of going through the finish line with the other lady, he had turned round and gone back for Shelle and shared her finishing time. Now if that isn’t true love I don’t know what is, but no matter how much I love Carole, there is no way I’m ever going to share her finishing time.

I hadn’t originally planned to race both days, I had thought the cross country race was on Saturday, luckily one of my Salford team mates reminded me the race was on Sunday. So this prompted the idea to go to the Congleton parkrun, on Saturday, after all it was time Carole ran it. I’d also persuaded one of my clients, Katy, to go along. I’ve always thought that Katy and Ray were about the same standard, now was a chance that I would be proven correct as Ray and Sharon were also planning to go along.

The week prior had been pretty dismal, weather wise, this, combined with the fact I had a busy gym week with clients, led me to do my quality sessions on the treadmill. It was great for getting my legs turning over faster as, despite warm ups, warm downs and recoveries between reps, I was comfortably running 10k in 35 minutes. But the down side is that treadmills make my calf muscles tighten and no matter how much I stretched or rolled them they were still a little tight on the Saturday morning, still it was only a parkrun, not that important, until Malcolm Fowler turned up!

I hadn’t wanted a hard run but there was no way I was going to let Malcolm get the better of me again. But it wasn’t Malcolm I had to worry about today as he damaged his hamstring somewhere around the course, I wasn’t aware at the time I just kept pushing to the finish as I knew Malcolm would pounce if I slowed and offered any sign of weakness. But the run was won by Tom Bush, another local rival. He and his wife, Olivia, just seemed to have a bit more pace than me, on the day, as I finished in 3^rd place.

Carole and Sharon both had good runs but as I jogged around after the finish I saw Ray and Katy coming towards the finish, neck and neck. My theory proved I was intrigued as to who would come in first, and then Katy kicked. With only 2 seconds between them I’m looking forward to lots more inter-client showdowns.

So Sunday and Boggarts Hole Clough was the setting for the Manchester Area Cross Country League. I’ve never been there before but I guessed it would be a tough course. Still it’s all good strengthening work for me. On arrival I started checking out the course but when it got a bit muddy I decided it could wait until the first lap. As I walked back to where all the athletes congregated I bumped into James Jackson, James and I competed against each other on many occasions in the Surrey League, back when we were youngsters, when James moved up North he joined Salford Harrriers, but he hasn’t run for them for some time. Looks like he’s rekindling his competitive spirit and thinking about getting back into the Masters running scene. It’ll be some team with my old rivals from London, James and Paul Simons, plus the current crop of talented oldies and the addition of my mate Rob Tudor. So look out for Salford.

Just before the start of the race I went for a short jog and ended up getting my left leg entangled in a bramble, as the bramble untangled itself it ripped some interesting patterns into my skin, brilliant 4 minutes to the start and I’ve got blood oozing out of my lower leg. This reminded me of my comeback race, three years ago, I was just heading to the start line of the National Cross Country Champs when some idiot ran his spikes down the back of my leg.

Then we were off and I was immediately swamped by a horde of faster starting runners. The first part of the course was winding through boggy grassland and I was caught in a big huddle of runners, having my pace dictated to me. I could see Graham MacNeil up ahead and about to pull a big gap on me, but I figured that three laps would pull me through the field. The 2^nd part of the course was through wooded trails, and this is where I got caught out. The trail was so narrow and twisty and yet covered in thick sticky mud, with tree trunks running through it. I was in danger of having my shoes sucked. This was real hell for me, I really struggled through this patch and it even stopped me dead at one point. Back to the first part of the course and I managed to get into my stride, the field having elongated. I was passing people all the way round here but dreading the muddy patch I now knew was coming. Second time around, although bad, I managed to navigate the tricky muddy part by adapting my style to that more akin to a ballerina (I don’t have the most attractive running style at the best of times but I was grateful Sid Sacks wasn’t here taking photos of me. Then it was onto the 3^rd lap and, although my legs were no feeling tired from all the races, training and ballet practice, I was still picking people off. As I navigated the mud this time round I remember thinking how horrible this was, I may not be a star cross country runner but I do enjoy it, however, frankly, this is one course I could never grow to love. I pushed hard towards the finish but had nothing left to sprint with at the end.

Despite what I thought was a bad run, I finished in my highest position in the league, 27^th and 2^nd M45. This is probably because loads of people didn’t turn up, having raced Boggarts Hole Clough before. I’m currently lying 2^nd overall in the M45 section. No chance of winning that as Rob Downs has won all the fixtures, but I do have a chance to slip down, the scoring is based on your best 3 races so I’m sure the likes of Ian Wetherall, Malcolm Fowler and Dave Lockett will have a say in that, they haven’t finished 3 races yet so the last race is crucial. With Dave missing out today it also gave me maximum points in the Salford Harriers cross country Masters champs. So I do have a chance to win that competition after all, but I’ll have to beat Dave to do so. Although I genuinely hated the course at the time, and probably for a couple of days after that’s actually the sort of thing that will make me turn up again, I can’t have a cross country course be the master of me, I have to master the cross country course. I’m not saying I’m in a hurry to return and I’m not promising I will be back, but don’t rule me out.

This week’s been quite interesting. On Monday I was interviewed by a journalist who is writing an article on older runners, for Runners World. I don’t know when it’s coming out, nor how much of what I said will make the final article. But it was an interesting chat. The other big event of this week is my birthday, today. And what treat did I line myself up with….a double fartlek, Katy in the morning and Ray in the evening. Thanks to everybody who has wished me a happy birthday and don’t let the cold snap get you down.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk