Be My Team Mate

I believe I’ve mentioned it previously but I’m a Formula 1 fan. I’ve been watching it since I was a kid, back in the days when the drivers were all playboys, risking their lives and saying what they thought. I drifted away for a few years because it seemed to get a bit processional but I got back into it during the Schumacher era. I was persistent, I’d watch them all, even though, for a while they got boring again. I even went all the way to Melbourne to watch the Australian GP one year, ok I was touring Australia at the time so not such a big excursion. Last year was a cracking year with lots of overtaking, which is what I’m interested in, that’s wheel to wheel overtaking rather than the letting team mates through or passing someone while they’re in the pits.

So far this year, after races in Australia and Malaysia, it’s not living up to the excitement of last year. Yes there’s been some good passing moves but it doesn’t seem like there’s been as many. It was good to see Kimi Raikkonen win in Melbourne and the Red Bull domination challenged, though that seems to have lasted for only one race. This weekend there were two interesting developments. Firstly Alonso crashed out very early on, which robbed us of a chance to see some great racing, though it did give Massa the chance to shine in his own right, which he failed to do. Secondly was the decision by Vettel to disobey team orders and rob his team mate, Webber, of the victory.

I’m in two minds about this incident. I prefer drivers to race each other, following team orders robs us of a potentially great battle between two drivers with almost identical machinery, however because Webber was following team orders, he wasn’t in race mode with Vettel, as he believed Vettel would not overtake him, so we were robbed of a battle anyway. Were I in Vettel’s shoes I would have wanted the win too, but one day the shoe might be on the other foot and there may well be a time when Vettel needs Webber as his rear guard. If I were Webber I’d be as bitterly disappointed as he clearly was, the win was his, he’d done everything he’d been asked to do and, knowing what the team orders were he could afford to relax a little and enjoy victory. How will Webber react in a similar situation again, or even Vettel for that matter, has the trust between team mates been so eroded that they are more bitter rivals than their opposition, playing into the hands of Alonso. My preference would be for no team orders, for the best drivers to race each other, but it’s never going to happen unless we have one driver for each team, and even then you can’t guarantee it as you have mixed loyalties.

In running we have inter team rivalry, it’s often stated that you’ll sometimes try harder to beat a team mate than somebody you don’t know, and that does happen. But there’s also a bit of camaraderie when you’re running alongside a team mate in a race. Knowing you are the same ability can encourage you to push a little harder to work together on the opposition. I’ve often given words of encouragement to team mates that I’ve passed towards the end of races, I’ll encourage them to come with me and hang in to the end but I won’t be slowing down for them as I’ll be chasing someone else down. The other thing I tend to do after I finish is go back along the course to give my team mates a hurry up, it doesn’t matter how worn out I am I get out there and shout encouragement at them, whether they want it or not. I’m a great believer in encouraging your team mates to do better, as long as they finish behind you.

This weekend we saw the cancellation of all the area 12 stages. This was a big shame for Salford as we had a strong squad out, on the other hand it was good news for one of my former clubs, Belgrave, as they found themselves with only 11 men. The races will not be reinstated, which is a shame as 9 teams will miss out on medals, and it could have been one athlete’s only opportunity of that medal. Somebody suggested running the area championships as part of the National championship, which I think is a great idea.

Also this weekend it was the World Cross Country Championships. I love watching cross country on the TV, it’s just unfortunate we don’t get more of it, but even I could see that this championship wasn’t of the standard that they used to be, though this actually made the races more watchable than on other occasions. It’s a shame we can’t encourage the best in the World to compete at the World championships but I guess everyone has their own agenda.

When I visited my parents this weekend my mum had dug out some things from under the bed. One was a copy of Athletics Weekly from September 18 1996. The front cover has four pictures, three from the Great North Run, one showing my old mate, Paul Evans, as he heads towards a 2^nd place finish behind Benson Masya, incidentally my other club mate, Gary Staines, was 4^th in that race, Belgrave won the domestic team race. One was of Yvonne Murray leading over the Tyne Bridge, she would eventually come 4^th with fellow Scot Liz McColgan winning. One was of Carly Wilson winning the Junior Great North Run, I don’t know what became of her. The 4^th was of Janine Whitlock, our top female pole vaulter at the time, who had just vaulted 4 metres. Looking through the magazine it’s quite interesting to see the names of people I’ve competed against; many greats were running sub 67 in the Great North run, including a couple of friends; Bill Foster and Bashir Hussain. In the ladies race it was good to see my friends Jackie Newton coming 9^th and Clare Pauzers in 12^th place. Canadian Neil Smith was claiming a world record for running the ‘beer’ mile in 5:42.3, but as they were only consuming 330ml of beer a lap they must’ve been doing the girls race, surely real beer milers consume pints! Another one of my mates, Dave Taylor won the Buffalo Chips 10 (presumably 10 miles) in Sacramento, interesting name for a race a bit like the Dog Poo 4 or the Cat Wee 7. Other interesting results showed another couple of old mates, Dave Dudley and Lee Hurst coming 3^rd and 4^th in the Preston 10k, with Alex Rowe 10^th, Andy Wilton winning the Congleton half marathon with a sub 70 clocking, Eric Crowther, down in London winning the Sri Chinmoy 2 miles in Battersea, ahead of my old Belgrave sparring partner, Phil Carstairs, with other Belgrave pal, Kevin Quinn in 4^th. I could go on but even I’m getting bored.

Also found under the bed was a programme for the Wilmslow Half Marathon from 2003, which was the only year I’ve run it and also hosted the AAA and Inter-counties championship. A look back at the results that years show; The race was won in 62:23 by Julius Kibet, with Ian Hudspith 2^nd and first Brit. Salford’s Andi Jones was 6^th in 64:41, local to Crewe, Mike Proudlove, ran 65:26 for 9^th, another Salford runner, Duncan Mason ran 66:30 for 17^th, which was one place higher than Lee Hurst, who must’ve been between clubs as he wasn’t listed as Belgrave. In 22^nd and 23^rd were my Belgrave colleagues Will Cockerell and Alaster Stewart, having particularly good runs with 66:48 and 66:54 respectfully. They were just ahead of, now m45, Gordon Lee with 3^rd Belgrave runner, Paul freary two places further back, closely followed by Matt Shaw, in his Tipton days. Alex Rowe was 1^st m45 in 69:39, Richard Ward was 41^st in 70:38 and I was 45^th in 71:01. Behind me were such notable as; Darren Hale, Lee Dunn and Bev Jenkins of Salford (Bev was 2^nd lady in 73:08, Matt Barnes of Altrincham, Paul Simons of Shaftesbury (for once behind me) and Derek Crewe of no club mentioned.

And finally from underneath the bed was a clipping of the 2002 Lara Queens Head 5k from 27 Dec 2002, which was won by Martin Whitehouse of Birchfield in 15:12, with me 2^nd in 15:37.

Enough of the nostalgia, here’s hoping the weather in Britain will cheer up soon so we can witness some more great British results.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

British Masters Cross Country Championship 2013

I had an idea for a blog that I wanted to write but then I received the results from the British Masters Cross Country Championship so decided to write about that instead. The championship is for men and women over a certain age, currently it’s 35 for both but in the past it was 40 for men and 35 for women. There are a series of races, split across age groups, this year there were two; Women (all ages) and Men over 65, and Men 35-64.

I’ve been eligible for these races for 8 year’s now, qualifying age was 40 when I first became a Master, however, I’ve only taken part on three occasions. My first opportunity was in 2005, it was held in Bangor, Northern Ireland, but I was only a few days back from a break in Australia and I had thought I wouldn’t want to run that close to travelling after a holiday where I couldn’t guarantee training to the max, so I didn’t bother entering. Shame really as I came back from Australia in great shape, then a few days after the race I tore my hamstring. The field was really strong but I was in one of those periods where I was running with total confidence and I would no doubt have been aiming for a win, where I would have finished, nobody knows but I would have been up at the sharp end, at least for some of the race.

In 2006 I was unsettled in Edinburgh, I’d hardly raced since I moved up towards the end of 2005, but I was training well on my own and reasonably confident with my form, though not as confident as the previous year. I stopped down in London over the Friday night and team mate, Mikey Boyle, drove me down to Bournemouth for the event. Herne Hill had a strong team out and I was keen to make my mark. I set off at a good pace and joined my team mate, Dave Robinson, at the front, alongside Greg Hull and Brian Rushworth. But the night shifts and travel took it’s toll and I drifted back through the field. It was painful watching runners, I knew I could beat, pull away from me, but although I saw my personal ambition fade away I dug in deep for the team. Greg Hull won the race, from Brian Rushworth. Dave Robinson just managed to hold off a posse of Bristol & West runners for 3rd. I finished in 18^th. With team mates Mikey Boyle in 20^th and Tony Harran in 26^th we came away with team silvers, behind a very strong Bristol & West and just ahead of a very good Sunderland team.

I missed the 2007 event because I was competing in the European Masters indoor champs, which was on the same weekend. Thankfully I came away from that event with a team bronze in the cross country event (which didn’t take place indoors), making it worthwhile missing the BMAF champs.

Me and my mate Mikey Boyle await our medals in Helsinki

I missed 2008 because I’d had an injury during the winter and just didn’t feel I could justify travelling to the event. I was also probably working a nightshift weekend which would have meant taking 4.5 days annual leave for one race, and then only if there were enough staff on to cover my absence.

2009 I was starting to run reasonably well but this was also the time I was training to become a Personal Trainer so something had to give, it was the trip to Wales that went.

After three non appearances it was good to get back into the race in 2010. Now living and working in Cheshire I had no distractions from nightshift and I was running pretty well. I hadn’t had much of a racing winter, having my two teams, Herne Hill and Edinburgh AC, almost equidistant between my new home and really too far away to justify travelling to when I had other things to concentrate on, so I wasn’t sure of my form when I entered the event. In fact I wouldn’t have bothered but there appeared to be a lot of interest within the Herne Hill team, so I entered to give the team a chance at medals again. In the weeks before the event our team fell apart and it was only myself and Francis Marsh, who I was staying with, who turned up on the day. In that same period my own form had blossomed with good runs at the Alsager 5 and the Trafford 10k, I was once again in the mood for an attempt on the championship, at least to be 1^st M45. The race was held in Northern Ireland, on the Stormont estate. I love running there, I’d run well there when I was representing Scotland in the Masters International, over a slightly different course, and when I saw how dry it was I was really confident. I took my usual steady start, letting people drift ahead of me, but, thinking this was a fast course, I started moving through the field before the first corner. I had one of the best runs of my career coming in 5^th overall and 2^nd to Brian Rushworth in the M45s, my last lap had been feisty with only overall winner, Dave Morwood, running quicker. It was a great result for me, 2^nd in a BMAF championship, something that I would match a few months later on the road, and not that far behind some great athletes. Even better I beat a number of runners; Alan Murchison, Paul Carroll, Francis Marsh and Alec Woods, whom I wouldn’t normally expect to beat over the country. The only downside was that more people didn’t turn up, 15 seconds behind Brian Rushworth and 50 seconds ahead of, 3^rd placed, Peter Knight, I was sure I could have competed well against the best of the M45s on that day.

Couldn't quite catch that M35 but happy with an M45 silver.

In 2011 it was a different story, I’d been injured for a good deal of the cross country season and only made my comeback about 3 weeks before, which I covered with my 1^st ever blog. It was obvious I wasn’t fit, 500^th in the National Cross Country followed by a 17:25 parkrun at Heaton Park, but I wanted to compete again and having seen the small turn out the previous year I wanted to support the event. My lack of fitness showed as I was over 3 minutes behind overall winner, Salford’s Martin Cox, and a good minute behind my, now, Salford team mates, Dave Lockett and Mike Deegan. I finished 17^th M45, 53^rd in the race.

In 2012 I was all set to run, in Bath, then a few days before the event I put my back out.

And so to 2013, I’d been looking forward to this year’s event. My first full cross country season since 2008/9 and I was running pretty well, if not spectacular. Salford were up for it and we had a great chance to win numerous medals, just like at the cross country relays. Unfortunately my damaged Achilles meant I had to let the team down and missed the bus. But my Salford team mates did us proud. Eric Williams was best placed individual, taking the M55 gold, while Dave Lockett took the M45 bronze, Stan Owen the M60 bronze and Arthur Walsham the M80 bronze. Four of our teams took medals; gold for the M55s, silver for the M65s and bronze for the M35s and the M45s.

It was also good to see a number of my masters friends and rivals turning out good performances, I hope to be doing the same next year.

There’s nothing much to say with regards to my injury, other than it’s still there, so I’m going to stop mentioning after this blog. It’s not as painful but it is becoming a bit of a pain, particularly as it’s keeping me from the sport I love. This is where patience is important, but I have a small problem, as it’s not painful unless I put weight on it in a particular way, it’s easy to forget about when I’m with clients. Well what’s the problem with that I hear you ask, simple, because I’m always introducing new exercises to clients I do a lot of demonstrations and sometimes in the heat of the moment I forget there are some things I can’t demonstrate explosively, until the pain kicks in. Here’s to the next week and the next, until the day I can run those first steps.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

  

Inter Counties Cross Country Championships

It’s more than four weeks since I last ran, that fateful afternoon in Stockport that ended my cross country season. Despite the length of time I’ve been, mostly, inactive, I’m not getting twitchy or irritable, like I would have expected, in fact I’m enjoying not putting myself through such an intensive training regime and having a bit more time to pursue other interests. In fact I’m hoping the sustained rest will give me more hunger when I do make a come back. The downsides, for me, are that I cannot run with my Salford pals or train with two of my improving clients, Ray and Katy. But I’m being patient and managing to keep busy with other things, going away for 10 days helped. This weekend was the Inter Counties cross country champs, an event I’ve only taken part in on two previous occasions. Some times I was injured, some I had other plans and some I was just not good enough to make the county team. This time I was selected as a reserve, for the Cheshire team, and told I had a very good chance of running. It would have been nice to represent Cheshire, where I spent my school years and my M45 days but injury put paid to that. It was also the Trafford 10k, a race for which I have very happy memories. So this weekend could have been the one that turned me from chilled out dude to moody old git, but it hasn’t, I’m still a cucumber.  

However, having done very little on the fitness front I’ve been lacking inspiration for this week’s blog, so I’ve decided to recall my memories from those two occasions I ran in the Inter Counties cross country and also the Trafford 10k from 2010. If nothing else, writing about them will bring some fire back into my, now enlarged, belly for when I do return to running. Not very long this week as my memories from the two inter counties races are quite faded and I could only find one set of results.

Having won a Surrey County championship on the track, and being a better road runner than a cross country runner, it was somewhat surprising that I gained my first Surrey vest for cross country. It was 1994, the Inter-counties were being held at Luton. Each county selected 9 runners to represent them at these championships and despite only finishing in 14^th position at the County Champs, I had made the team. I remember getting on the bus, excited to be representing my county, and being given a Surrey badge and vest by Mike Firth. The only other thing I can remember about the bus journey was chatting with Stuart Major and classy master, Bob Treadwell. I’d raced at Luton before, in the National cross country champs, so I knew it probably wasn’t the sort of course to suit me, but I was a more confident runner now, surely I’d run ok. I didn’t, finishing in 226^th position. The race itself was won by Andrew Pearson in 36:48, with his Yorkshire team winning the team event. That, unfortunately, is all I can remember.

My next race in these championships came in 1998, Cardiff. I’d had a better County champs, finishing 10^th, and was starting to run well again after breaking my foot in the summer of ‘97. Cardiff was a very good field and a tough course, but one that suited me better than Luton. There was a minor panic before the start, when I couldn’t find the team manager to get my numbers, but that all got resolved in time to feature on channel 4’s coverage. I didn’t have a spectacular run but it was a big improvement on my previous attempt, 112^th. The race was won by Keith Cullen in 35:02, with Greater Manchester taking the team title. I couldn’t get hold of results for the 1994 event but I’ve just looked at the 1998 ones and it was absolutely loaded with talent, Richard Nerurkar could only manage 9^th. So although I was a little disappointed at the time, in hindsight I had a pretty good run, for me.

That was the end of my Inter Counties career, though never say never, having made reserve this year what chance making next year’s team, there was an M55 in this year’s event.

My alternative race, this weekend, would have been the Trafford 10k. I’ve only done this race once, in 2010, but I thought it was a great course and would definitely do it again, if I wasn’t injured or on holiday. I only entered in 2010 because I was lacking race fitness and wanted something to sharpen me up for the British Masters cross country champs. I’d just finished 1^st M45 in the Alsager 5 miles, so fancied trying a 10k, the last one I’d done was in Sandbach, in September, where I’d finished 2^nd in 34:10. On the day the Trafford race was due to be held I had been suffering with a cold and hardly slept the night before. When I got out of bed, the road in front of me was covered in thick snow. That’s it, back to bed, forget the race. Luckily, for me, not the organisers, the snow caused Trafford to be postponed but it was now scheduled the week before the BMAF cross country champs. I’d only entered BMAF because I thought Herne Hill were taking a strong team, but they weren’t, so I figured I might as well do the 10k anyway, I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it might affect Herne Hill’s result. I’m so glad I did. I settled into the first 2k at a steady pace and then I metaphorically switched on my race brain, I settled into a pace that was solid but I knew I could keep going until the end and I was running with a racer’s focus. Because of my steady start this meant I was passing people for the next 8k. I went through the 5 mile marker faster than I had done at Alsager, I was ecstatic but had to quickly refocus my mind as the job wasn’t quite done yet. There was an old guy up ahead of me and I started to chase him down, I wanted to be first M45 and he looked older than me. With half a mile to go I passed him, as I did he gave me a ‘well done lad’ comment, which was quite amusing when I found out he was actually younger than me. I finished strongly for 20^th position, just behind a couple of my new Salford team mates, with a time of 32:19. That was a huge confidence booster for the following week’s race, where I finished 5^th, but 2^nd M45.  

As far as the injury is concerned, I don’t think it’s career threatening, I’ve seen a couple of people about it and they agree, I’m actually going to see someone else but I think it’s just a matter of being patient, stretch it out a bit and don’t do anything stupid. And when I do start running again, forget the past and start afresh. Until I start running again I’m not even contemplating races but hopefully I’ll be back racing before too long.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

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