Paul Whittakerendurance athlete with olympic ambitionstraining, coaching and advice about all things running
- 28Apr2012
Luzerner Stadtlauf Elite Men-28th April
Road race in Switzerland… YES PLEASE!
I travelled to my friends flat in London where he lives during the racing season before I set off for my flight first thing Friday morning. My friend lives with some very good Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes that are staying in England while they are racing in Europe.
The race that I was running was an 8.71km (approx.) road race in Lucerne which is approximately a 1hour train journey from Zurich airport.
After arriving at the hotel it was all about resting before the race Saturday night and that’s what I did…nothing else except rest!
The Kenyan athlete that travelled with me was called Benson (also travelled with a UK runner called Justina) and I soon realised that he was an excellent runner, with a p.b of around 28.30 for 10km and 61mins for the half marathon I knew I was in good company!
After sitting around relaxing and keeping my legs loose most of the day Saturday I was looking forward to having a hard race in the evening. (race start time was 8:30pm)
It was a 10 lap course of around 900metres each time around, I was looking forward to the atmosphere that these kind of courses bring to road races abroad because usually there is lots of people around the route that are spectating. The race set off at a blistering pace and I tried my best to hang on to the back of the main group of Kenyans, knowing that really I am going off a little too hard! 10laps of a road loop felt long even though the race distance was just under 6miles. The atmosphere around each lap was very impressive and almost deafening with the noise of the spectators, as the laps went by I tried to stay relaxed and hold the pace together.
I came across the finish line in 11th place being beaten by mostly Kenyan athletes.
The whole experience of racing against the Africans really opened my eyes up to how I need to keep training hard and to keep improving, it will take time but if I keep training like I have been I will be beating some of them in the next few yearsJ ..well hopefully anyway!
Be the First to Comment and rate this post - 18Apr2012
Watford open 3000m-18th April
My first track opener of the season!
I have raced at Woodside stadium in Watford before and I always find that you can run fast on the track there mainly because of the fact it’s never usually too windy and the temperature always seems to be perfect!
I had a time target in mind of anywhere between 8:15-8.30 for 3000m, this would be a new personal best time that I would be going for so I knew I would have to be feeling really good during the race (previous best 8.32)
We set off the first few laps running 69-70secs which was a bit slow for a fast finishing time but luckily the field started to stretch out and I could latch on to the back of the leaders. We passed 1600m (1mile) in 4:29 so I knew if kept progressing each lap and wound up the pace I was on for something good!
With 2 laps to go I was feeling strong knowing I could hold the pace, (at this stage we was running 63-64secs per lap) sprinting down the home straight I was going all out and crossed the line in a new personal best time of 8:18.21… A 12 sec p.b! This confirmed that I am heading in the right direction, running that kind of time with only 1 track session behind me so far this year!
Be the First to Comment and rate this post - 18Mar2012
Home Countries International-18th March
I need to keep more consistent with these blog entries!
Anyways, I was happy to be picked to run for England in the Home Countries XC International in Ireland. I thought my last cross country race would have been the inter counties in Birmingham but I was happy to run just one more cross country race this season.
I won’t go into too much detail with this race because I was a little disappointed finishing in 11th place over a 10km course.
NOTE TO SELF- YOU RUN BAD IN HEAVY MUD!
I’ve come to realise 10k road speed doesn’t give you a huge benefit when running in mud, I think my running style suits smooth hard ground!
Be the First to Comment and rate this post - 10Mar2012
Inter Counties Championships- 10th March
The Inter counties cross country championships was my last planned XC race for the season so I was hoping to have a really good run!
I travelled up to Birmingham on the morning of the race and relaxed at my cousins uni flat for a few hours before I had to make my way over to the course, luckily the weather the last few days leading up the race was good which made the ground firm on the course.
I had an open mind on the start line believing that I could finish high up in the field as long as I ran at my best. I decided to run hard the first 1km to get myself into the leading group and try to relax as much as possible. I found myself in the top 3 for the majority of the race and I thought a top 10 finish was definitely on, with 2km to go I started to fade (that’s what I thought but the leader just picked the pace up considerably) and I tried my best to keep pushing on hard into the finishing straight realising that despite a few people passing me the 13th place finish was a good resultJ
Next year’s race is the trial for the world cross country championships so I need to finish in the top 6!
Be the First to Comment and rate this post - 05Feb2012
Chichester 10k Road Race
Chichester 10k road race- Feb 5th
I love this race!
The Chichester 10k is the road race early in the year that I suggest everyone to do if you’re looking for great atmosphere and fast course.
After a good performance two years ago and an average performance at Chichester last year I was determined to get the time I have been after for a while now.
As usual for big races I stayed overnight the day before the race to stay relaxed and recover from the journey up to the race. In the morning on the Sunday (race day) at 7am I got up and went for a nice 10minute jog from the hotel, after this I did some running drills, strides etc. before going back to the room to go on my Grid foam roller and foot and lower leg kit - part of the Trigger Point range - to loosen my legs and keep them supple for the race.
Race overview-
I set off on the new part of the 10k section of the course which was to my surprise slightly uphill for the first 1km, I stayed relaxed and got into the top 5 runners and tried to get a good pace going. We passed the first 1km in 3.05 and then started to slowly pick up the pace. Now coming up to the 5k marker on the course I was initially hoping for around 14.45 for the 5k but we actually did 15.10 for the first half.
This started to make me think that someone is really going to take this race on the second part of the race (wasn’t going to be me!) and I thought whoever does I’m going with them!
Ben Whitby who has recently got back from an altitude stay in Kenya training with Mo Farah took the lead and started to wind up the pace for the next few kilometres. I was hanging on in 3rd place and trying to stay relaxed as possible.
With 2km to go I realised the time for 8km was 23.59 so I knew if I ran the last 2km in 6 minutes I would run under 30minutes for 10k.
1km left and I moved into 2nd and I was really going after Ben to try and catch him. As we turned the bend into the finishing straight I was going flat out and was holding the pace. We approached the line and I got beaten by 1 second by Chris Powner from Winchester so I ended up coming 3rd place.
The fact that I came 3rd was great but as I came across the line I saw 29.39! (The official result being 29.40) With a 42 second personal best I was buzzing! Bring on the next race!Why not comment and rate this post?- Posted by Alan Turner on February 5th, 2012 7:57pmRating:5out of 5Hi Paul, i saw you had a massive breakthrough to the elites with a 29 40 10k at chichester today! Would you be able to elaborate a bit further on your training, for example a typical week, or is it top secret? Do you coach yourself? kind regards, Alan
- Posted by Paul on February 17th, 2012 10:37amRating:1out of 5Hi Alan, Thanks, yeah it was a big p.b but i have been due a fast run like that for a while now:) I suppose like most runners they wouldn't want to elaborate to much on there training because it can be copied. I run around 110-120miles a week most weeks in the winter and i really focus on getting as strong as possible in the winter months while adding in the odd race to keep some speed in my legs. The Chichester 10k was run off a big block off training, it was without any specific 10k work at all so i am really looking forward to how fast i can run this summer on the track when i start to do some specific race pace training sessions:) I've had some really good help from different coaches but the main type of advice on training and racing is from Jeremy Freeman at Chelmsford Ac. He has lots of experience and training knowledge that has really helped me over this winter. I think i have an outside chance this year of running the European A standard of 28.55 for 10,000m on the track but seeing as the selections take place in june its going to be difficult to find a good quality track race before then to get the time.
- 07Jan2012
Essex Cross Country Campionships
Essex Cross Country Championships 12k senior men’s- Gloucester Park
After having a pleasing run at Whitham I was hoping for another good run at the Essex XC champs, the distance of 12k wasn’t going to be too much of a problem so I thought I was in for a good chance of coming high up in the field. The course was 3 laps around Gloucester park incorporating some challenging hills and flat sections.
As we set off on the first lap I ran up to the front group and decided to sit in and relax on the first lap, I was in approximately 2-3rd place as we approached lap two. The pace seemed to slow and I was looking around thinking someone has got to take this race on because we weren’t running hard enough, next thing I know Adam went to the front and started to push the pace slightly. I knew I had to cover every move that he made to be in a good chance of winning the race, he seemed very fit and it was tough hanging onto him up the hills and round the corners on the 2nd lap. We came off the hills approaching the start of the last lap and I still felt that I wasn’t ‘all out’ and I had lots left, I went into the lead with one lap to go knowing I only had 3k left and I really pushed on hard saying to myself ‘don’t look back!’
I pushed the pace all the way until the last 100m when I glanced back knowing I had a lead and slowed up into the finish for the win!
See results on the Power of 10 website
After the race and looking back on my performance I ran a really good tactical race and felt really strong, if the race was 5-10k the result might have been different but who knows? I’m in good shape and training is paying off!Be the First to Comment and rate this post - 01Jan2012
Recent race performances
Racing update:
Hello again,
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and a happy new year!
I have been running a few races recently both road and cross country and I just thought I would update the blog with my thoughts throughout each race I have ran and how I got on
Ingatestone 5 (miles) 18th September 2011
Having ran the ingatestone 5 a few times before I was really looking forward to this run because it was on a new course. Apparently this time around it was going to be fast and flat with only a few undulations on the course… it wasn’t!
I set off on the first uphill with caution not really knowing how steep it was going to be and how much the hills would take out of me on the course; I did the first mile in 5.30 which was to slow for my liking so I went to the front and pushed the pace from there onwards. The next mile was slightly down hill and I checked my watch and saw 10.10 meaning I ran the next mile in 4.40! I’m usually pretty good with pacing and running at the right effort level but somehow the pace was up and down. After that I settled into a pace of approx. 5.05min per mile, which gave me an overall finishing time of 25.26 and 1st place. Overall I was pretty pleased with the performance but knowing I could run a quicker time on a really flat course.
Southend 10k 2nd October 2011
Since my form was good after winning the Ingatestone 5 two weeks ago I was confident that I could run really well at the Southend 10k, the hardest task I suppose was to beat a good friend of mine called Adam Hickey who I know is always in good racing shape throughout the year.
As we set of down the road on this 10k race we passed the 1st kilometre in around 2.55, I felt good and it felt easy, me and Adam pulled away from the pack and was running side by side the rest of the race. I reached around 4km already struggling! Feeling like I couldn’t handle the pace, we passed 5km in approximately 15.40ish and I was hanging on for dear life by this stage. It was an extremely hot day for a weekend in October and I felt really rough the last part of the race coming home in 2nd place in 32.19 a poor performance judging by how fit I ‘thought’ I was but that’s running for you!
Whitam 5 (miles) Boxing Day
Training has been good the last few months and I knew my preparation was good enough leading up to the race to have a possible breakthrough. I have ran the Whitham 5 once before and came in the top 5 so I was hoping for a good run, the weather was pretty good but it was slightly windy.
The course was a big loop around country lanes but started slightly uphill towards the first mile.
I set off hard and went straight to the front hoping to run a quick time, I passed the first mile in 4.48 and was pleased that I felt good and already had a small lead on the field and the man in second place. As we hit 2miles I slowed slightly (5 min mile) due to another small incline and I tried to keep my rhythm going between 2-4miles. I passed 4miles in 20.05 and there was a nice stretch that went downhill and around past the start line towards the finish. I ran the last mile in 4.48 and finished in a new p.b of 24.53 for 5miles. Coming off the race I was really pleased with the time but having done 90mile week and a 3mile time trial effort the Thursday before the race in 14.51 I know I can still run quicker! Always pleased with a first place finish but I’m always looking to improve my times.Be the First to Comment and rate this post
