Xmas Overindulgence

It wasn’t intentional but these things happen around Xmas. With relatives in Scotland and England Xmas was always going to be a long affair, and it’s not over yet, still some chocolates and, would you believe it, left over alcohol to consume.

But, actually, this year my overindulgence has less to do with the food and drink, though there was a bit of that, particularly during the Scottish stage of the grand xmas tour, than it does with the running.

My training consolidation phase has meant I’ve been training pretty hard, both running and doing my PT sessions and this leaves you a little tired at times. That’s fine of course, just like when I was training for the marathon, and it’s why I’m not racing at the moment, were I to race I’d ease back on the training and that would change everything, plenty of time for racing in the near future.

Of course because I don’t view parkruns as races I’d planned to include a couple of them. I wanted to run in Edinburgh, partly in the hope of catching up with some of my running friends, partly because I had a current best there of 19:25 and partly because I didn’t want people to think I always ran in a fairy outfit. Then I wanted to run on Xmas day, because I miss the Paulauff that takes place every Xmas day on Wimbledon Common, so I decided to do Delamere parkrun, the course has changed since I last did it so that made it worth doing. But that was all I had planned, then I wanted to focus on my training for a month.

Well Edinburgh went well, a new course pb of 17:35 and an enjoyable run, despite the strong wind on the return, that never seemed to be behind on the way out. Four days later, on Xmas day, I wasn’t really wanting to get involved in a race so was quite glad when the youngsters all shot off, I just focussed on a solid performance but ended up taking everyone but 1^st place, running a 17:58 in the process. Of course being 4 seconds behind the winner I was a bit annoyed that I didn’t push harder, but I reminded myself that it was really just a means to an end and I hadn’t turned up with the intention to win. Then Carole said she wanted to do a parkrun on the Saturday, I wasn’t keen but in the interests of relationship harmony I decided to go along. My mindset was very much in the not really wanting to be there, in fact I’d done a fast run on the treadmill and a PT session the day before and I was feeling a little tired.

Understandably I never really got into it, yes I still ran a solid run but, at 18:25, it showed my lack of interest. There was a time I’d have been disappointed with that, until my injury I’d never run slower than 18 minutes, at any parkrun, but the 19:25 in Edinburgh put paid to that.

So as we approach 2014 it’s time for me to think about what I want to achieve next year. I can also reflect on a year that, despite being one of my worst for injuries and being unable to run for great chunks of it, actually gave me a lot of satisfactory performances. I even managed to add to my collection of medals with two BMAF Nationals (gold and silver) and a North of England (bronze) finding their way into my trunk, none of which would have been possible without the support from my Salford team mates, I’ll be back aiming for more next year. It was also good to see my clients doing so well, the running ones understandably as I put my 25 years of experience to good use, but also my non running clients, for who I’ve been using an exercise formula called Rogfit, can’t remember who came up with that name. Lastly, it was good to see my mate Rob Tudor enjoying success with Salford. Rob talked to me about joining up earlier in the year and I told him what I enjoyed about being a member. It was enough to seal the deal and Rob, despite suffering his own set of injuries, was able to gain three medals at BMAf National level with the squad, two of which were in the same team as me. I’m hoping we’ll both be making more of an impact for Salford next year, but more especially it would be great to be in the same race, when we’re both fully fit, though at 49 he is getting a bit past it now.

Happy New year all.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Consolidation Phase

I’m going through a phase, in my training, I call consolidation. After the long struggle with injury, followed by the three races in succession, to get fit for and represent my club in a National championship, I’ve decided to concentrate on getting some solid training done before I race seriously again.

I love racing, it’s why I train all the time, to get, and maintain fitness, so I can perform at my best in races. But there is a danger that racing too much can make you stale, which is why I don’t race every week. For the same reason I don’t do parkruns every week, even though I view them more as a paced training run rather than a race. It’s too easy to get caught in a trap, of always doing the same pace in races, that you never seem to advance, which is where putting in some consolidated training can give you opportunities to try different things and refresh your spirit.

I know there are some people who can race week in and week out, often more than once a week, and they thrive on it, but I don’t, I like to recharge my batteries every so often. That’s the way I’ve been ever since I was under the guidance of Arthur Bruce and it’s often led to me producing a performance nobody would expect looking at my previous form, which is why racing form isn’t always a good indicator of potential.

So since the BMAF cross country relays I’ve been focussing on my training, I haven’t even decided when I’ll race next, though I will be slipping in the odd parkrun, only for matrimonial purposes. My training has consisted of longer distances, more reps and PT sessions. This means that my legs are always a little tired but manageable, what you’d expect for any athlete training hard in the winter.

Saturday was one of those parkrun days. Carole wanted to do one and I could see no reason to object. We chose Congleton, because it’s been a while since we last went there, in fact at my last attempt to run it I had to ease off after a quarter of a lap and stop altogether at the end of lap 1, it was far too soon after damaging my achilles.

When the run started I chose to take it steady, not so South Cheshire’s Pete Mallison, who shot off. I tracked him for a while but he kept pulling away gradually. I wasn’t really in the mood for busting a gut, I was happy to just have a hard run, not that that would suggest I could have beaten Pete who finished in a time 6 seconds faster than my best around the course. My own time was 17:36, which I’m quite pleased with, I didn’t push too hard but produced my 2^nd fastest parkrun time of the year. That means I’m on my way back to good form, hopefully it won’t be too long before I produce something a bit more spectacular.

Cue picture of me running something above current form of the time. This is a picture of me on my way to winning the Wimbledon 10k in March 2004 in 31:56, previous 10k’s over the previous year had seen me unable to break 33 minutes but on this day I found myself unexpectedly in the lead from the start and just decided to keep pushing it, running scared!

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

BMAF Cross Country Relays 2013

There is a report of this race, by one of our eloquent supporters, Pete Budd, which you can find at http://www.salfordharriers.co.uk/Race-Reports.htm This blog is my personal interpretation of what occurred on 23 November 2013.

This weekend I joined in the fun on one of Salford Harriers away days. Organiser, Dave Lockett, had a bus full of old men and a bucket full of beer for the annual trip to Derby. With the bus unfortunately not coming via Northwich, Rob and myself, along with cheerleader Carole, made our own way there, as did some of the supporters, who not having to run, enjoyed a bit of a lie in. This was the 2^nd consecutive year the BMAF cross country relays were held at Moorways Stadium, Derby. Last year Salford did well taking medals in all four of the men’s events (see report http://rogalsop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/salford-silvers-take-gold.html), this year we were missing some runners and some of those present were lacking fitness, but there was nothing wrong with our passion, we weren’t intending to just make up the numbers.

A couple of months ago I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to run in these championships, having suffered adverse effects during my attempts to race in the September relays. On my racing return, just three weeks ago, I had such a shocker that I was lucky to be considered for the B team. A good run last week saw me promoted to the M45 A team, but it was a close run thing. Having not been selected I was determined to get out there and run a blinder, to show I could still run well, but once I was back in the A team I was more nervous about my run, I was the slowest man in the team and I didn’t want to let them down. Still I knew what I would have to do if we were to have any chance of competing with the strong Leicester boys, and I was looking forward to being competitive. As the day approached my body was starting to feel pretty strong and my confidence was rising.

Rob, Carole and I arrived, in plenty of time, to find the rest of the Salford boys already chilling in the winter sun. Then it was a case of getting our numbers sorted and surveying the course. Last year the course had been dry and fast, this year it still looked relatively dry, though there were some sticky patches, and, with no wind, it looked like being another fast event. The distance was marked as 3.1k, same as last year, though it did look like there was a little extra bit added on before the last uphill, but I’m no expert on course measurement and it is irrelevant how long it is as it’s the same length for everyone.

The ladies and M65s were off first and it provided us with a close finish and an excellent time in the W35 event, for W45 Clare Elms. This year Salford didn’t have an M65 team. Then it was our turn, on the basis of last year’s times I figured I had about 20 minutes after the start of the race until it was my run, I was on 3^rd leg. So after watching the guys crest the first hill I started to get ready. Our M45 leader, and day trip tour guide, Dave Lockett, had made a bold start near the front of the pack. We needed him to get as close to Gordon Lee, one of the UK’s M45 best and Leicester man, as possible, but initially Dave was ahead. In fact it looked like Gordon was struggling for pace, until he emerged from the woods ahead of our Dave. James Kovacs was also hanging onto Dave’s shorts and our B team runners were showing us what they were made of. At the end of the leg Mansfield Harriers (M35) were clearly in the lead after a storming leg by Mark Johnson, Tipton (M35) were lying 2^nd with Lincoln Wellington (M45) in 3^rd place, just three seconds ahead of Gordon Lee’s Leicester. Our Dave had done us proud, his 10:41 saw him well positioned amongst the M35s, but crucially we were only 10 seconds down on Leicester, occupying 3^rd place in the M45s. James was a further 17 seconds adrift but keeping Salford in the medal hunt with 5^th M35 team. Our M35 B team was well up too with M45 Paul Birkett showing that he’s improving week on week, his 11:14 being a solid target for other members of the team and the M45 boys to aim at. Sean Cordell was in the mix for an incomplete M45 B team, running 12:56. In the M55 race Ilkley Harriers were first to show, but Phil Quibell kept Salford in the hunt with 12:18.

With our top M35 and M45 teams so close together it was going to be another good race between the two teams on leg two, let alone all the other teams trying to stop us from winning medals. For the M35s it was Billy McCartney, up against M45 (and last year’s M35 gold medallist) Ian Jackson. The guys slugged it out over the 3.1k but at the end there was still the same gap, as both guys ran 11:18. The M45’s were still ahead of the M35s but, more importantly, we were still 3^rd in the M45 race, Lincoln Wellington’s man had run the same time as Jacko so they were now our nearest rival in 2^nd place, the gap to Leicester had opened up, as they took the lead, their 10 second lead from the 1^st leg had increased to 36 seconds as they front loaded their squad. Our M35 B team was also showing highly in the mix as newcomer, John Dance, ran a great leg, 10:51, showing what an asset he will be to Salford. The M45 B team threw in the Towell, both during and after this leg, Bob Towell being our final runner and showing that he still has it with a 17:00 clocking. With many of the M55s away or injured it was Tom Daniels who was called into the team and kept them going with 15:41.

So as I stepped onto the start line for my leg I had a few things to ponder, Leicester’s man looked familiar, so I convinced myself he was their weak link, this would give me added impetus to my chase knowing that as much as I was about to suffer, he would be suffering more. I was the leading Salford man, maybe not by far, or for long, but I had Salford’s reputation on my shoulders. Matt Shaw was representing the M35s and not only is he a damned good runner but he carries 13 years less aging process and beer about his person, it was a foregone conclusion that the M35s would not be behind the M45s at the end of the 3^rd leg, but perhaps I might benefit from a bit of a tow as he passed me.

I went off hard, as was needed when you have a 30 second deficit to the leaders, but even so I was surprised when Matt overtook me whilst we were still going round the track. My hope for a tow in the Lotus / Mercedes ilk was dashed as it became more like a Red Bull / Marussia type tow. Still I was going plenty hard enough, I actually started accumulating lactic by the time I hit the mud patch and my lungs were working in overtime already. I imagine I’d gone off too fast for my fitness level but it was only an 11 minute run, surely I could put the pain to the back of my mind and concentrate on overtaking runners. It took me until I hit the woods, about half way round the lap, before I caught the Lincoln Wellington runner. I sensed he tried to hang onto me for a while, which was a bit distressing as I fought for breath whilst navigating the twists and turns of the woods, but I eventually pulled clear.

Back out of the woods and up the sharp hill into the stadium area, my favourite bit. This is where the Salford boys are most vocal and it really helps me. I forgot about the pain I was in and focussed on getting my legs to turn over quickly again. Leicester were a small dot on the horizon but I wasn’t about to give in, I had no idea what their next two men were like but we had Derek Crewe and Rob Tudor to follow, I had to give them every chance. I pushed through to start my 2^nd lap, legs were screaming at me to stop, my lungs felt like they were about to explode out of my chest, but this is where a strategically placed Carole comes in handy. If you don’t look like you’re trying as you run past Carole you get an earful and I didn’t fancy a night in the spare bed, so I forced myself to keep pushing, then through the Salford boys again, not the place to slow down either. Feeling it on the hill and then a slight slow down and wide line around the corner of the downhill as I was worried I was too tired to control myself through the mud. Back into the woods it was about 3 more minutes of pain, keep pushing. Up the hill again into the Salford boys and once again the noise was incredible, I went for the finish from this point and gave everything I had left, as I passed the line it was the first time I’d felt like I was going to throw up after a race, ever. Everything hurt, but mostly my pride as I realised I hadn’t made any inroads into Leicester’s lead (in fact I had gained 4 seconds). Then I turned around to see an M45 runner had come in just behind me and that was another shock (until I found out it was Brecon’s Austin Davies who had run, not only the M45 best, but the day’s best time of 9:58), I hadn’t been aware of his presence at all during the race.

Running hard up the final hill 

Where did Salford stand now. Matt had brought the M35s into 1^st place, the M45s were now 2^nd in their race and the M35 b team and the M55 teams were still battling, Mark Seed had run 12:25 and Mike Wakefield 12:23.

Coming into a team late is never easy and it’s a particularly hard task when you’d turned up expecting to be in a B team only to find yourself in the lead with a mass of teams hunting you down. But that’s the nature of an event like this, it doesn’t matter if you’re fastest or slowest as long as you put in the same amount of effort. Phil West was the unenviable runner in question and he gave it everything he had. Two teams, Bourneville and Tipton, came past but Phil tried so hard to keep us in touch with them and ahead of the others, his 11:37 stacking up well against his opponents. In the M45s Leicester pulled further ahead as Derek Crewe couldn’t quite match Gareth Deacon’s pace, but he’d stretched the gap to Brecon a further 11 seconds. A good leg also by Charles Foster in the M35 b team, he’d expected to be working but when that fell through he could think of nothing better than a day trip to Derby. This was the final leg for the M55s and we had England international Stan Owen. The team was well back when Stan started but that didn’t stop him running the 4^th fastest M55 time of the day. In doing so he pulled the team up to 10^th position.

The final leg for the M35 and M45 teams and it was still to play for. Dean Parker, of Bourneville, ran a good leg from the front, ensuring that they stayed ahead to take victory. Our Mike Grace ran brilliantly to snatch silver for Salford from Tipton. The M35 b team finished 12^th with Albert Castille fighting against some very competitive middle order men and earning a good 12:04 for his efforts. Rob Tudor, my mate and Cheshire gurning champion 1981-2012, was left in an awkward position, 50 seconds behind Leicester but only 13 ahead of Brecon. Should he chase hard and risk losing silver or should he concentrate on keeping silver by holding something in reserve. In the end Rob decided to go for it and threw in a fast first lap but having Leicester nowhere in sight with only 5 minutes to go must’ve been galling, still Rob kept the pace up, no telling if Brecon had another Austin Davies up their sleeve, whilst, no doubt, holding something in reserve should he need a sprint finish. His reward, team Silver, 2^nd fastest in the team and 7^th fastest M45 of the day, he’d done just the job we wanted, making up time on Leicester whilst only giving away 1 second to Brecon.

It was job done, two silvers for Salford, not as good as last year’s one gold and three silvers, but still a successful trip.

And then onto the presentation. The moment where Dave earns his reputation of Salford Tour Guide of the year by presenting the team with a bucket of beer. The medal presentation was drawn out, but beer is a great comforter in times like these. For myself I feel I must apologise to my Salford team mates, I’m usually pretty chirpy after races, particularly if I feel I and/or the team have done well, but on this occasion I was a shadow of my dancing on the table self, the race, albeit a short one, had taken every ounce of energy out of me, I had nothing left to give and sat slumped in a corner dazed and confused. I had about as much conversation in me as a trappist monk and spent the majority of the presentation staring at the bottom of an empty beer tin, wondering when somebody would notice I needed to be fed another one. But I managed to make it up to collect my medal, which is my only complaint about the day, the guys all ran pretty hard and deserve some recognition for their efforts, I believe it is fitting that each should get their medal and a handshake presented to them by whoever is the official on duty but today all the team’s medals were handed to the first person up.

Anyway enough complaining, I don’t really think we should complain too much about people who give up their time for these events (unless they add 11 seconds to your leg time), once again it was a brilliant day out on a good course with good facilities.

At the end of all that how do I feel about my run? I ran out of my socks, it was a far superior run than anything I’ve done this year and possibly one of the best runs I’ve done for many years, all the more special because I’m still not back to full fitness. People talk about eyeballs out and giving 110%, well that’s about how I felt during my run (though I have a problem understanding how you can give more than 100% I will accept it’s use in the context of this blog). In the end I was joint 8^th fastest M45 and I came away with another national medal, can’t say much fairer than that.

I may be smiling but if it wasn't for Jacko and Dave I'd be slumped on the floor

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Photos courtesy of Sid 

Old Rog, More Like the Old Rog

Last week’s race in Stockport was one I’d rather have forgotten as soon as it was over, but of course that doesn’t happen, the results are out there for everybody to see. So instead I’ll embrace the fact that I sometimes have bad runs, after all it makes the good times more special. Of course mid-week that result got even worse as I was demoted to 72^nd position, as three runners appeared Mr. Benn like ahead of me in the final results.

It was always my intention to race again the following Saturday, and the fact that I’d had a bad run wasn’t going to reflect on that decision. My body felt weary from the race but I felt I had something to prove, if not to anybody else then at least to myself, my training had been going well so surely I was better than the results indicated. I had a decision to make, did I ease off my training to ensure I was fresh for the race or did I continue my hard training regime focusing on getting fit for future championships. It was an easy decision to make, nothing was going to make a dramatic improvement in one week but the hard work put in now would pay dividends later in the season. So I put myself through a tough week of training, made even tougher by the gale force winds on Thursday.

Saturday approached and it was a nice dry day, a bit chilly but it is November. I managed to persuade Carole to come with me, I won’t take her along if I think the course isn’t spectator friendly but it does make that little bit of a difference having somebody there rooting for you. We arrived at the course in plenty of time, I picked up my number and went for a walk around the course, with Carole. I used to run a lap before and after the race but these days it’s hard enough racing 6 miles I can’t be bothered to add an extra 4 miles to the total, I’m not a mileage junkie, and at least this way I could spend time with Carole, she was going to have to spend long enough on her own while I raced. The course was mainly firm going, with small pockets of mud, much more to my liking than last week.

As we got back towards the start the ladies were already on their way, only three from Salford but they were running prominently and took first team. Compared to last week it was a low key turn out for the men, only four of us, more supporters than runners. Not enough for a team, it takes six, and we didn’t think we had enough for a Masters team, we thought it was four to score and although we all qualify as Masters, nationally, in this league it’s M40+ and Billy’s a mere youngster. As it turned out we only needed three so we did finish a team, coming second in that category.

After a team pic, courtesy of Sid Sacks, we were off. Normally Billy’s a fast starter so I expected to see him ahead of me, along with Paul, who’s running so confidently at the moment. But I was surprised to find myself leading the Salford Harriers. Last year I briefly led the whole race but no chance of that today, running with dented confidence and the presence of Dave Norman in the field, I was back somewhere around 20^th position. All I was interested in was having a better race than last week, finishing closer to Paul (he was 51 seconds ahead of me last week) and finishing 2^nd Salford.

I put in a solid first lap, but even so I was surprised I was still the leading Salford runner, at the turnaround point, as you start the next lap, I had a quick look across the field and saw Paul not far behind, only a matter of time before he caught me, I was already starting to feel I little tired. Billy was a little further back, I hoped that was a big enough gap for me. My mindset was now fixed on retaining my position as Salford leader to the end of the second lap and I ran the lap as though it was my last, with the exception of my storming finish (I’m not that daft).

I managed it but as I started the third, and final, lap Paul had closed right up on me to within 5 seconds. Billy had fallen back further so it was all about Paul and me. Clearly Paul was going to beat me, I was feeling really tired and he looked fresh and determined, still I decided that the longer I could hold him off the closer I could finish behind him. I pushed down the hill for a breathing space and even ran confidently through the muddy patch. Then we hit the open field and the wind was hitting me hard. I pushed through it but I was really beginning to feel tired now. Onto the next field and I pushed hard, trying to hold off the inevitable. Further and further into the lap and still Paul hadn’t come past me. I was getting close to the end and pushing as hard as I thought I could. Then it was onto the tricky bit through the wood, I could hear somebody catching me but I thought it was probably the young runner I’d passed earlier. As we hit the mud I heard a voice and looked around to see Paul on my shoulder. I had position so took the best line, whilst being fair and leaving space for Paul to come around me, if he wanted to. It was a tricky place and I did accelerate so we emerged from the woods still in the positions we’d entered and now we didn’t have far to go to the end, two straights and a hill to the finish. I pushed and got a little gap, I pushed again and hitting the hill I put in my final effort at the start of the hill. It was a long hill but I could sense I was going to hold off Paul, with relief and thinking we didn’t have a team I allowed a Leigh Harrier to sprint past me at the end, only to find out later that had cost me 1^st M45 position. Numpty.

I was really tired afterwards, I felt quite weak on the way home, but I was much happier with my performance and I’m heading in the right direction. Plus that’s two cross country races on consecutive weekends and not a trace of a problem where my injuries had been. It was good to see my old fighting spirit showing itself and now I’ve remembered what it’s like to fight for position I’m hoping it will help me next time out.

The Four Salfordeers - Paul, me, Billy and Albert (or Andrew as known in some circles)

Running confidently through the woods

The following day I’d arranged to meet my mate Rob Tudor for a long run. I wasn’t sure if I’d be up to it but no harm in trying. We had a good run around Northwich and the woodlands, I was surprisingly springy for the first 5 miles, but I was tiring towards the end. Another week now and back to the hard work.

Written by Roger Alsop (with thanks to Sid Sacks for the pictures) 

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Rog’s Racing Return

22 September, the date of my last race. I wouldn’t call it a disaster but it was a pretty disappointing display. I couldn’t run at 100% effort because I was in pain, not the good pain that you get from knowing you’re giving everything but the bad pain from the ongoing injury and then the worry that you’re only making it worse. So poor run in the bag I called it a day, as far as racing was concerned.

I was clearly able to run, without too much discomfort, but I couldn’t run flat out, so I decided it was time to tick over and concentrate my efforts on helping my running clients and try to enjoy running rather than flogging the old body.

Following the success of the bioresonance treatment I was keen to see how my body would hold up to racing, but my early attempts were thwarted. I managed to find excuses not to race; taking Carole to the airport, picking Carole up from the airport, taking my mum out for a birthday lunch, but really I was just a bit nervous about over-committing myself so close after recovering from what has been my longest ever sustained period of injury. So I missed the 1^st Manchester Area Cross Country League fixture, I ignored the urge to do a parkrun and I threw away the opportunity to run a fast 5k on the Wirral.

But I had a plan, I was already booked on a trip to Spain, my usual pre championship tune up venue, booked when I thought I’d be back to my best by now, so I’d train hard over there and race the day after I returned, in the 2^nd Manchester Area Cross Country League fixture.

Training went well in Spain, good quality runs interspersed with long runs around the hilly interior, with some relaxing long walks along the beaches of the Costa Calida.

Sunday 10 November, Woodbank Park, the venue of my last cross country race, 9 months to the day previously. Although a little nervous, having completely knackered my achilles on that previous occasion, I was keen to put that behind me and show what I was capable of. I arrived in good time, despite all attempts by my sat nav to send me all over the place, and it was a lovely day with the sun shining. But beneath that wonderful sunshine my nemesis lurked, a waterlogged and muddy cross country course. Oh well, can’t have everything my own way and at least I’d finish better than my last visit, 53^rd, when I could hardly run at all.

At the start line I was surrounded by my Salford team mates, a good turnout for the club and this helped me to feel positive about the race. Then the gun went and I was immediately swamped by a mass of runners. No problem it was a wide enough start and I was sure I’d pick my way through the field. And then the next 40 minutes just seemed to meld into a blur of mud and I finished the race in my lowest ever Manchester League position, 69^th.

In trying to understand what went wrong I have no clear answer but lots of theories.

1.       It was muddy, I’ve never been a class cross country runner but constant mud just doesn’t suit my style of running. True I’ve won cross country championships and was even 2^nd in the British Masters Champs, but all achieved on firm courses.

2.       I’ve missed a lot of training throughout the year and whilst I’ve managed to run reasonably well over the occasional 5k a 10k is a different pair of training shoes, and if you’re lacking fitness cross country will find you out more than a road race.

3.       I’m lacking race practice.

4.       I train on my own or with clients that aren’t as fast as me, perhaps that has made my understanding of how hard I am training a little unreliable.

5.       I’m old and want a beer in front of a log fire while watching the TV, bring me my pipe and slippers.

Whatever the reason I know it’s only a matter of consistent training over time and getting back into the racing mode that will bring me on again to challenge my peers. I don’t give up that easy, the pint can wait. Two positives I can take from last Sunday’s race are; that I ran hard up the hill and, despite my hamstring throbbing on the 3^rd lap, I suffered no post race adverse reaction. I’m now awaiting my next cross country race with relish.

Incidentally Salford won the Men’s and the Men’s Masters races, my contribution was not needed in either team.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

The Scottish Period

It was an all too brief period of my life, but still remembered fondly, the years I resided and raced in, and for Scotland. It wasn’t all positive, but no point in dwelling on the bad aspects, much better to enjoy all the positivity I took from my running north of the border.

I’d been on holiday to Scotland on a few occasions, I loved the scenery and I was partial to the odd dram, but I never thought I would one day live there. I lived in a nice part of London, my job was there, most of my mates still resided in London and most importantly, my running club was just up the road, so why would I want to leave? I had actually visited Edinburgh with the Belgrave British League team, back in the 90’s, running my debut British League race, a 5000m in 1992 – I was 5^th in the B race with 15:32, a year later I was back – improving my time at Meadowbank to 15:12 but only finishing 6^th in the B string (still at least I wasn’t lapped this time).

After that season Edinburgh dropped out of the 1^st Division so the next time I raced in Scotland was 12 years later, in 2005. At this point I was working for RBS and spending a few days at a time in Edinburgh. I would stay at the Holyrood hotel, nicely located close to Holyrood park and I’d do a couple of laps around the park before going to dinner. Sometimes my Scottish pal, Jim Buick, would meet up with me and we’d run around the park together or Jim would take me on one of his scary runs around Edinburgh, not scary because of all the ghost tours but because Jim had a habit of running across roads in front of traffic. Sometimes he’d take me along to one of Martin Hyman’s sessions at the Meadows, they were great sessions and even at 40 I was holding my own against the youngsters from Edinburgh University.

A torn hamstring in the first half of 2005 held me back a little, it was a summer of little racing, but I managed to get to the last of the Self Transcendence 2 mile races at the Meadows. Still not back to fitness I could only manage a 10:24 for 8^th place. And then my life changed, RBS offered me a role based in Edinburgh and I agreed to take it. I moved up in November but the first 4 weeks were spent staying in various hotels, not the best when you’re working nightshifts, so as soon as a friend offered me a flat in Gorgie I took it, and that’s where I stayed, just around the corner from Hearts FC, until my own place was ready in March.

It was a great location for training, I had the canal close by in one direction and in the other I could get on a disused railway, converted into a path, which went all the way into Leith. I was training well, on my own, but because I hadn’t joined a Scottish club I hadn’t raced for a while. My next race in Scotland was on Boxing Day, a 14k handicap race at Beescraig. I was working Xmas day and when I returned home at 19:30 I wasn’t much in the mood for drinking on what had been my loneliest Xmas day ever, so a 14k blast seemed like a good idea. Jim picked me up and took me along to the race, I didn’t know anybody else there so it was a bit of an odd experience, over the years I’d got to know most of my opponents in London races. The race was (if I remember correctly) 3 laps of a country park route featuring a climb up and back down Cockleroy hill. So it was a bit of a trail come hill race, not something I was very experienced in, but it beat spending the day on my own. Jim had told the handicappers that I was a 30 minute 10k runner, based on the fact that I’d run under 31 minutes, once, 12 years earlier. This meant I was last off, a minute after the guy in front of me. So the lonely Xmas continued as I saw pretty much nobody for the entire race. As I descended Cockleroy the final time it was bonus time as I slipped over and managed to punch myself in the mouth (one of those punches that I could never have achieved with such accuracy or power if I’d planned it). Upon finishing, checking my hip and my teeth were still all there I found out I was 2^nd fastest, Mark Johnston – soon to be a team mate at EAC was fastest. With that I was glad to see the back of 2005.

2006 was to start much better. I wasn’t working over the New Year but still new to Scotland I wasn’t exactly on everybody’s party list, so it was an early night, though I was rudely awoken at midnight by somebody setting off fireworks in the Castle. The next morning I headed over to Portobello for the promenade run, a 4 mile race that went out for two miles and back for two miles. I had a good race, the winner, Mark Draper, was always in sight and I was less than a minute behind Darren Gauson. I finished 4^th after a great battle with Ross Arbuckle for 1^st Master prize.

I then went to Japan for a couple of weeks to celebrate my birthday, so my next race was late February. By now I’d been approached by EAC to join them but I was still mulling it over. This race was the KB5 (5 miles around a hilly course at the Braids), where I apparently still hold the M40 course record! It’s a lovely course and since I moved around the corner a month later a route I used fairly often in training, in fact it was the first place I took Carole for a run (which probably wasn’t the best idea). Because my job required that I work every other weekend, races were not so frequent at this stage in my life and my next two were down in England, on duty for my 1^st claim UK club, Herne Hill. My next race in Scotland was the Scottish Road Relays on 1^st April, which I’ve already written a whole blog about http://rogalsop.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/six-men-make-edinburghs-day.html

I followed this up with a run in the Jim Dingwall 10k, I could only managed 21^st in the race and was disappointed with my time of 33:15 (though it took me three years to better that time). The rot was setting in, stressed out by my work and probably over-training, due to loneliness, I got injured.

My comeback was a low key affair, the EAC 5k handicap, where I managed the fastest time, 16:20. Then onto the cross country season. I actually had a good cross country season, the courses suited me, I finished the season as first Master in the East District league and was selected to represent Scottish Masters in the International Cross Country event, where we took the silver medals.

2007 started almost identical to 2006, I ran at Portobello again, coming 4^th again and first master, running just one second slower than the previous year, how’s that for pacing. My next races were indoor, I’d decided I would use up some holiday competing at the European indoor old people’s championships. Because I’d never run indoor before I figured I’d better get some practice in so entered the Scottish Indoor champs and the Scottish Masters indoor champs, which took place at Kelvin Hall. I didn’t do so bad, I was 7^th in the Senior 1500m, 4:18.25, but found that a bit fast considering I hadn’t been near a track for about two years, the next day I was 4^th in the 3000m in 9:05.12 and a month later I took the Scottish Masters crown in the 3000m, 9:05.97.

It was Scotland where I did my first proper hill race, thought I ought to try it so I picked a short one, the Hunters Bog Trot. It was a strange affair, one of the hills was so steep I had to walk, I was feeling annoyed with myself until I looked up and saw the leaders, internationals, walking too. Well that was it, I’m a runner not a walker and I could have taken up race walking if I’d wanted to get a high ranking, I decided not to bother with hill running again. On the more normal hills I was doing great, passing people on every climb, only problem was on the steep descents I was being re-passed by those I’d taken and more. I remember one guy flying past me at the top of the hill but he was going so fast he couldn’t stop at the bottom and ended up diving headfirst into a gorse bush. As I passed him lying there I considered offering to help, but I was in a race. Thankfully he was ok and we enjoyed a few post race drinks together, during which he continued to remove gorse spikes from his forehead.

Over the next few years, despite getting older and slower I did quite well with EAC and represented Scotland every year in the international cross country. But I never quite ran my best, nightshifts put paid to that as I was living with a constant feeling of jet lag. During my last year there, at 44, I did start to regain some of my form as I prepared to leave RBS and nightshift behind, though I was quite shocked to win the Haddington 5 mile road race outright. My last race, living in Scotland was at Cumbernauld, one of my favourite cross country courses, in the Scottish cross country relays. A few weeks later I represented Scotland for the last time, having been told I would no longer be eligible when I moved back to England.

Four years on, May 2013, I ran my first race in Scotland, the Edinburgh parkrun, this being my first race since knackering my achilles was a slow affair and also my first parkrun in a fairy outfit. But despite being my slowest ever 5k it signalled the start of another Rog comeback that has so far resulted in a North of England bronze medal and a National Masters gold medal.

I don’t know when I’ll next be in Scotland, I have a different set of races to do with my Salford team mates, but next time I’m back I hope to coincide with a race.

One of my last races for EAC, East District relays at Prestonpans

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Bioresonance Therapy

What do you know about bioresonance therapy? A few weeks ago I’d never heard of it, but it’s been around for some time. The reason I came to find out about it is due to my ongoing injury issues, that seem to have dragged on throughout this year. Recently I was having a chat with one of my friends at Ronhill, during which I mentioned my frustration at not being able to get clear of injuries, and he suggested I tried this treatment, putting me in touch with therapist Mike Beaver, from Wilmslow.

I’ll tell you more about my treatment later but first a little about the therapy.

What is bioresonance therapy?

It falls into the category of empiric medicine, such as homeopathy, acupuncture and other natural healing methods, and has been used in human medicine for more than 25 years. One of the benefits of this therapy is that it is non invasive, i.e. no needles or drugs are used as part of the therapy, instead it uses frequency patterns, which are passed through the body. It can be used for skin diseases, allergies, intestinal problems, sports injuries, and many others (see the website for further information).

That’s my simple explanation of the therapy, to read about it in more depth visit www.reson8.uk.com which covers it in much greater detail.

Bioresonance in sports medicine

Whilst it’s an interesting subject for all ailments the bit that was most relevant to me was it’s use in sports medicine and Mike gave me the following information: It is being used by 13,000 therapists worldwide, including some top sporting institutions, such as The Moscow Centre of Sport Rehabilitation. Both new and old sports injuries can be treated very effectively with bioresonance therapy and injuries can be reduced in the first place by improving blood circulation, receptor and brain communication, strengthening heart, muscles, joints and ligaments.

A research group was set up in Slovenia, featuring two groups of 12 sportsmen with overstrain syndrome, one group using conventional treatment and one group using bioresonance therapy. The results of this research showed that bioresonance therapy can be used successfully on overstrain syndrome without difficulty or negative side effects and that better results were achieved in less time with fewer sessions than by using conventional therapy.

So you will understand why I decided to use the therapy; firstly it was recommended by somebody I trust, secondly looking at the information on the website it made sense, thirdly I was already receiving other treatment but the long term problems I was having were not clearing up.

My bioresonance experience

The piriformis problems were dragging on and I still wasn’t able to get full range of movement during my running, which meant I still couldn’t run fast, then I had one of those nasty back spasms. This was on Wednesday morning, two weeks ago. After the spasm I was practically incapable of doing anything, in a lot of pain and completely unable to run. I was due at the chiropractor that afternoon so, whilst a little concerned that the spasm’s were, perhaps, coming back to haunt me, I felt sure I would be sorted out. However a couple of days later I was still getting the spasms. It was at this point I was chatting to my friend at Ronhill. I read up a bit about bioresonance and thought it was worth a try so I gave Mike a call, had a discussion about it and booked in an initial session for the following Monday. We discussed costs, as there seemed a lot involved in the treatment, and I was wondering how much each treatment would be. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost to see Mike was no more than most physio sessions, and considerably less than some.

 

By Saturday morning I felt I could try running again, we were heading off to Blackpool later in the morning so it was only a short run, but it was a struggle, 30 minutes of shuffling along like a man in his 80’s. It wasn’t very pleasant, though I suspect when I’m in my 80’s I’ll feel a whole lot better about being able to run that fast. We stayed over in Blackpool, it was very illuminating, and the next morning was so nice, with the sun shining and, with us staying near the sea front, I just had to go for a run. Ok I started off with the intention of going for a run but it soon became evident I was going for a shuffle. At this point I was keen to see Mike but, I wasn’t exactly sure if it was going to help.

Monday dawned and I actually had a running client early on, thankfully she wasn’t one of my quicker clients but I did feel a bit more relaxed in my running. We ran for about 30 minutes and I loosened up so I left her and ran for a further 30 minutes on my own, then I went to see Mike.

Mike started the session by carrying out various tests to check out my internal organs, and to see if I had any viruses or was carrying any parasites, thankfully I was given a clean bill of health. Then it was onto my back and Mike used his machine to treat me. I had been told not to drink any tea, coffee or alcohol before the treatment and now Mike told me to steer clear of these until the next day, and off I trotted back home.

Despite drinking water on the way home I still felt a bit dehydrated when I arrived so continued to drink throughout the day, I also had a slight headache, which was probably due to the caffeine withdrawal, I also felt a little lacklustre and wasn’t really looking forward to the two running clients I had lined up for that evening.

Come the evening I felt more alive, the headache had disappeared and I had replenished my body with water. I did feel a little stiff setting off with my first client but I soon settled down, come my second client I was ready to fly, which was just as well as she was in the mood for a really hard session. Everything about that run felt good, I had no pain in my back and, despite this being the fastest I’d run I wasn’t getting any pulls in my hamstring, just a dull ache in the piriformis area. Surely this was too good to be true, I had thought it would take me some time still to recover but here I was running at a good pace with no pain. Early days yet and although I was running at a reasonable pace it wasn’t my race pace, my first session at my pace would be a better indicator of success.

The next day I was due to meet Ray for a tough hour long session in Tatton Park, but soon after I got out of bed I felt a twinge in my back, ‘oh dear’ I thought, ‘here we go again’. Thankfully it wasn’t a bad twinge and I was able to work with a client in the morning, which helped to loosen things up. Come Ray’s session I was once again running fast, virtually pain free, over the undulating grasslands of Tatton Park, not the best surface for someone with a back problem but I didn’t experience any pain in the back just the same dull ache in the piriformis.

With a further, but less intense, back twinge, the next day I rang Mike and asked for a further treatment on the Thursday, where I wanted him to also take a look at the piriformis. Then I went out for a run on my own and did one of my quality sessions, at my pace, for the first time in ages. I was quick, not as quick as I normally go as I was a little nervous about the hamstring pulling or the back going, but this was faster than the runs of the previous two days. It was a good training session but one I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing before Mike’s treatment. Come Thursday I decided I’d do another tough session before my session with Mike. At times I struggled, not surprising as it was the 4^th day on the trot I’d done some form of quality, plus there was a stiff, cold, wind in my face for the first 20 minutes. Clearly I was tired but the back and leg had come through well, then off to Mike’s for treatment.

Mike treated my back and piriformis and I decided to take Friday as a rest day to give myself a rest.

On Saturday I did another quality run, still not 100% but faster than the one on Wednesday, with no repercussions. Sunday morning was my long run, although I still like to do a long run on a Sunday it has been a while since I’d run for longer than an hour (hardly fits the description of long run really) but this time I felt good, after an initial slow 10 minutes to warm up. Once I hit the Northwich woodlands I was in full flow and running at a good pace. I was enjoying myself again and didn’t really want to stop, but you can’t go on forever. In the end I ran for an hour and 25 minutes, way longer than anything I’ve managed this year. I felt good and I felt positive. The only thing that bothered me was that I was reluctant to really push up hills, not the best attitude with a cross country season just starting.

The following day I decided to do a hill session (see how the paragraphs just glide into each other), just a short one as I had a running client in the evening and that was likely to be a tough session. This gave me some confidence to push up the hill but, because I was extending my leg further, I was getting a slight tug in the hamstring. Nowhere near as much as I had before starting treatments with Mike but it was still a concern. It’s been good progress but even I’m not optimistic enough to believe things will be sorted out in two sessions, so I booked a further session with Mike for this week. However, I do seem to be able to train hard in-between treatments.

It’s now Wednesday, exactly two weeks since the big back spasm and goodness knows how many weeks since I started experiencing the problem with my piriformis. Today is the first morning where I haven’t had any twinges in my back, since that first spasm. I also did another of my hard runs and couldn’t feel any pain in my piriformis or hamstring. I went to see Mike for the 3^rd time and he treated me again, also working on my achilles, which is still a little tender from the injury I received in February. I left Mike feeling good and full of confidence that I will be back racing soon and I can’t wait for my next run.

If you’re interested in finding out more about bioresonance therapy then take a look at the website www.reson8.uk.com or if you’re local to Wilmslow and want to get in touch with Mike, you can call him on 01625 531222.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk