Second time, Seconds Quicker

I started the week last week with a 5m lunchtime run with Jamie (mate from work training for his first London Marathon) and after the Matrix situation with my Garmin the previous week, I decided to run the mile circuit of Victoria Park again.  I managed the mile in 6:42 which was 21 Seconds Quicker than my previous attempt 2 weeks prior.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272353832

Tuesday I cycled to and from work again, so another 20 miles cross training

Thursday I did just over 4.5 miles with another mate Geoff who is also training for his first London Marathon.  As I was fortunate enough to be involved in Project 26.2 last year and learnt a lot, it is nice to be able to run with others and pass on some tips and advice.

Friday morning was a very early start as Myself, Mich and Max were flying to Barcelona as I was running in the Barcelona Half Marathon for the 2nd year running.  We were also being joined later in the day by friends Brian & Suzie and their boys.

We checked into our hotel and and had to immediately check out the roof terrace with swimming pool.  We were quite pleased with the view :-)

Brian is a fellow member of Petts Wood Runners and like me he has gently persuaded his wife to get into running and she is currently taking part in the PWR beginners running course.  So despite being away, Mich and Suzie went out Saturday morning to run along the sea front.  Very commendable!

Last year when I ran the Barca Half, I was on the wagon, but this year I thought it would be rude not to have a drink a two. The plan was to have a couple of drinks Friday night with a meal, abstain on Saturday and then maybe a celebratory drink Sunday afternoon.

However, Millwall were on the box Saturday lunchtime playing in the FA Cup.  So I did the traditional British thing, I went to an Irish pub in Spain, watched football and had a pint of Guinness.  Embracing the Spanish culture I think you will agree :-)  I did limit myself to just two pints though.

Sunday morning Brian and I met at 07:45 and had a 20min stroll to the start area.  The vibe is very relaxed, despite their being 12,000+ runners.  Music is being pumped out through the sound system and it just gives you a feel good factor.

Brian is a bit quicker than me (read as significantly).  He was in the yellow area (predicted sub 1:20) whilst I was in the green area (predicted 1:40-1:55).

We had pre-arranged a spot at about a mile where we knew our wives and the boys would be.  At 09:45 the gun went. However, there was a staggered start, with the green's being the next start.  So we got our own gun and an explosion of ticker tape, but over 6mins were already on the clock before I crossed the start line.  So I knew that Brian would have probably already passed the girls before I had even started!

If I am totally honest, I didn't have a race plan.  I set off and clocked the first mile in sub-8.  I thought it might be a bit fast, but I felt pretty good, so decided to keep at that rough pace and take stock after 4 or 5 miles.  I was still feeling OK, so consciously made the effort to try and maintain the pace.  I was trying Maxifuel gels for the first time (free samples kindly sent to me)  I really liked the berry flavour, but am not too keen on the citrus.

Prior to the race, I had been mentioning to Brian that I think I prefer the race measurements in kms and once again, I found this to be the case.  The distance markers appear quicker, plus you can break the race down into 5k segments which is a Parkrun.  So when I saw the 16k marker, I knew all I had left was a Parkrun!

What I have to do now is try and get my head round min/km pace rather than min/mile pace.

I managed to finish in 1:43:56 which was 6mins 29secs or 389 Seconds Quicker than my 2012 time.

click to see bigger version

So I was pretty pleased with my time and I was in the correct time zone. 

Barca Stats
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/275047780

I can also tell you that Brian was in the correct time zone and managed a sub 1:20 finishing in 1:19:13. A tremendous time, I think you will agree.  We both agreed that we made the course a bit long? After meeting up with the wives and boys afterwards, we had a couple of beers before going back to our hotels to have a shower and freshen up before going for something to eat.

The only chance I get to be close to Brian when wearing running gear

I took the opportunity to use the rooftop pool.  It was bloody freezing, in fact it was like having an ice bath.  I managed to stay in for 5 minutes, but then the cold was getting too painful.  I then donned my compression tights as well (under my trousers) and today as I type this, no DOMS!

Yes, it's lovely and warm, come on in!

Another successful trip to Barcelona and  I am pretty sure the Sievey's will be making the annual trip again next year.

Until next time
TJH