Great North Run 2014

The short version: I had a great time, think I was smiling most of the time, and the atmosphere was amazing. It was well organised, and the volunteers, support staff, crowds, and other runners were great. Lots of overtaking people, high five'ing kids stood by the roadside, and some impressive sights like the Red Arrows over the Tyne bridge... and massive crowds. Also, my first half-marathon for several years, having been plagued by persistent issues which it appears I may have now finally overcome! =)

Now, if you are not afraid of walls of text, and really do want the details, read on...

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Background: Prior to today I had completed 4x Bristol half marathons {2008, 2009, 2010, 2011}. My PB from this was 1.41.26, i.e. 7.40 min/mile pace [2010]. My worst time was 1.50.00, i.e. 8.16 min/mile pace [2011]. I registered for both the 2012 and 2013 half-marathons, but in both cases during training I ran into persistent issues with my right foot which prevented  a particularly high mileage of training for any given week (even just 15 miles in a week), and ultimately prevented race entry for those years. Things didn't look positive for my running at all!

Last year I switched to the Merrell Trail Glove, a barefoot type minimalist running shoe, based on the flexible Vibram rubber sole. It took a couple of months to adjust to the changed form (my calves had to get more flexible, among other things, as these shoes are not heel strike), but encouragingly the issues from before was no longer present in the same way. However since then I have had to make repeated adjustments to improve my form and overcome new issues. Some of these adjustments were only possible due to the increased feedback and control re: using minimalist shoes.

In brief, the three problems I subsequently had to overcome with form issues were again right foot issues (though less severe than previously), left hip issues, and then right anterior ankle strain issues. None of these were ever serious enough to affect normal living (i.e. walking). These were overcome mainly through adjusting the angle and landing of my right foot, and more recently changing the emphasis on how firmly I plant my heel before each new forward stride (exciting stuff I know!). The crux of this is it was only August 7th that that I made the final 'breakthrough', so my training has had distinct mileage limitations until only a month ago.

Training: Although I had been keeping in decent shape, I hadn't been able to push the pace or the distance of the 'long run' particularly far, until August. Over August I had to focus on increasing the distance, which went fairly well, but at the expense of race tempo training. I also did a fast 5K, which was maybe a little silly, but great fun! August 28th I completed the final 'long run'; a 13.3 mile training run (at a very slow 9.29 minute mile average pace - which compares to 6.58 minute mile average pace in the 5K). I really wasn't sure what sort of time to target or expect for the Great North Run. I hoped I might beat my PB of 1.41, but thought that 1.45 might be more realistic.

Pre-event: I was awake from 6.30 to eat and drink as early as possible. I left for the metro at 8.40, which I had thought was early, considering my assemble point didn't close until 10.30. The metro service on my line however was not particularly frequent, and the carriages were packed like sardines. I was lucky to have made it on before it became too full however, people at some later platforms were less fortunate and could not get on. The journey took quite a lot longer than it normally would, leading to me having to rush around upon arrival, and then join my wave assembly point from the very back.

I was in wave C (it goes; Elite Athletes, Wave B, Wave C... D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K), with wave allocation being based upon PB's and target times. Considering there were so many people behind me, I had thought that the back of Wave C would be fine, as I could just make steady progress, and maybe target a negative split for the second half, when the runners would have thinned out.

The air temperature was 13-14C, but as it was sunny for most of the race it was a little hot.

The Race:
Mile 1-2: My early pace was 7.45 minute mile, which was pretty much of target. I had thought I might be a bit slower initially, but that section was slightly downhill for the most part.

Mile 3-4: My pace had dropped, and was closer to 8 minute mile. By this point I was pretty sure that setting a PB was out of the question, the running field had not thinned at all, and the people in front of me were slower than I had anticipated. If I had matched pace with those in front of me it would have been at ~8.40 minute mile pace.

Mile 5-6: By now it was clear that crowding in front of me was upsetting my race. I got to overtake lots of people, which can be satisfying in its own way, but I was constantly having to change my pace, and move side to side to find gaps. At mile 6 I took my carbohydrate gel with some water.

Mile 7-8: The gel gave me something of a boost here. However by the time I reached mile 8 it was clear that I needed to settle into a regular sustained rhythm, and that my new goal was to keep the finish time below 1.50. Though that seemed quite achievable.

Mile 9-10: Probably the hardest miles. I was slightly disappointed at the pace I was having to go with, while the distance was also starting to have a bit of an effect.

Mile 11-12: With the end in sight, and crowds once more around us, I was having fun. I had accepted that my time wasn't going to be anything special to me on paper.

The final stretch: I found renewed energy near the end, and seeing the sea was nice. But I also started to become aware that I was going to have to be careful to not go over 1.50. I picked up my pace, but again the crowded field made it difficult. Still, I thought I had done enough to make it... but I hadn't! 1.50.17! (8.21 minute mile average pace).

Aftermath: Cue warm clothes, 1.2 litres of fluids, and various snacks...

I had the expected thirst, aches and tiredness afterwards, but nothing too bad. Presuming no issues crop up over the next few days, then it is a great positive, considering for a couple of years it wasn't clear I would be able to continue with distance running. Now it looks like there can be a next time!

In terms of my finishing time, I don't think I had the fitness to beat my old 1.41 PB. But I do think if the field in front hadn't been crowded and relatively slow that I could have set at least a 1.45. Frequent acceleration, slowing, and direction changes, for mile after mile, really upset your rhythm and ability to follow your fastest sustainable race pace. It's also wasted energy.

I would definitely recommend the Great North Run to someone who hadn't tried it before, and wouldn't be surprised if I come back for it one day. But if I do, then if I want to set a time that is competitive for myself, I will make sure I am either at the front of Wave C, or preferably in Wave B. The course isn't too tough, though I think perhaps a little harder than Bristol. The crowded field is the main issue.

But a great day! And as expected, I look 'absurdly cheerful' in pretty much all the photos.

Progress with the Merrells

During early July I had another go at running barefoot, but frankly some of the pavements in my area just feel too sharp and abrasive. During mid July I also ran a timed mile at maximum pace while out on the Bristol Downs, managing 6.30 pace which wasn't too bad for my first timed mile in many months, but which then left me with the usual right foot problems the next day. I had been vaguely considering that in future I would be using typical running shoes about half the time, but in view of this I'm now thinking about a complete transition if possible.

So for the most part I have been focusing on using the Merrells and trying to find a good technique. This has meant my total mileage has been fairly low as I'm still not in a position to be putting in high mileage or run consecutive days.

My next attempt at a different barefoot type technique in the Merrells involved kicking my feet quite high behind me, and stepping down through the forefoot from quite a high angle. This would mean the toal descent time between when the forefoot touches the ground, and when the foot is flat to the ground, would be maximised. Maybe this would cushion the landing better? The pace was reasonable, but the strain on the foot was far too high. Kicking your feet high behind you might be fine, but it definately felt like the wrong approach for landing!

Since then I have been trying to run with a shallower profile of forefoot landing, with my toes held slightly up between steps (something mentioned in the barefoot running book). This seems to have been working much better, as I have pushed on to distances of up to 4 miles at a time, with an average pace of 8.30 or so over hilly terrain. The after effects have tended to be some soreness and stiffness in the muscles (esp. calfs), as opposed to strain within the foot, so that is also encouraging.

Hopefully by the end of this month I will be up to 5 miles distance runs with a reasonable level of comfort. If this goes smoothly it would suggest my transition from normal shoes to Merrell barefoot type shoes took somewhere in the region of 7-8 weeks to achieve a reasonable minimum distance.

There are other technique adjustments I still have to make however, such as running downhill leading to unexpectedly rapid pace. For example a fairly modest downward incline on grass left me running at sub 5.30 pace and wondering if I could get my feet in front of me in time for the next step!  

Barefoot type running continued

The barefoot type running hasn't been going quite as smoothly as I might have hoped. After a run in the Merrell's on the 14th I ended up taking a break from using them until the 26th. Somehow on the 14th I put a lot of strain on my feet. I think this may have been due to running up and down a fairly constant hill, trying to push for pace, and making the technique mistake as a result of this of running 'on my toes'.

i - Forefoot landing - try to keep this light, with knees a bit bent
ii - Heel comes down
iii - 'Stepping up and forward' - I think here it is important to 'roll forward' from the heel, rather as you would in typical running shoes. 'Stepping up' from your forefoot puts a lot of strain on the foot, and isn't sustainably over any significant distance.

Since being able to return to barefoot type running I have been making sure that I'm no longer worrying about pace, which was definately premature. Just managing 1-1.5 miles most days in the Merrell's is the goal for the time being. I often prefer to do this after a short (e.g. 3.5 mile) normal run, which serves as a good warm up and means my fitness shouldn't drop away quite so much.

On a semi related note, I now think that my foot problem was definitely not helped by letting my normal day shoes grow rather old, with a sole that had worn unevenly.

Barefoot Style Running - Now at day 10

I have now read Barefoot Running Step By Step by Ken Bob, but before it had even arrived I had given in to temptation and ordered some Merrell Trail Glove running shoes. I had initially planned to go for some Vibram Five Finger shoes, however the sole of the Vibram interested me more than the 'toe glove' style. Seeing as the Merrell shoe utilises the Vibram sole it seemed ideal. I really like the look of them, though they are a huge change from my Saucony Pro Grid Ride 3 shoes. Even more so when you add in the additional Neonene insole and Superfeet insole I have been using in the past 6-9 months the Saucony in an attempt to deal with this foot issue.

From...

  to...

When I first unboxed the Merrell I feared they had sent a size or two below what I had ordered, as the shoe looked so small. But it fits very well ...the depth of the sole at the heel is almost 2 inches less in the Merrell! It is also much more flexible (you can bend it double so that the toe touches above the laces), and weighs half as much as the Saucony.

It won't be an instant switch from one to the other of course, and who knows, it may not work out. But after reading the book by Ken (which I would highly recommend) I have been pretty optimistic about this transition. And I'm always motivated re: running, which is what has made this foot issue such a pain. Recent training log as follows (pace/distance based upon Garmin Forerunner GPS Watch)

27-5-13: Approx. 0.1 mile barefoot, felt very awkward and slow.
28-5-13: Approx 0.3 mile barefoot, as above. [11.3 min/mile average pace]
29-5-13: Calfs suffering aches and stiffness
30-5-13: 0.5 miles barefoot. Focus on keeping knees slightly bent as per book instructions, which helped. But still very awkward. [9.24 min/mile average pace]
31-5-13 Calfs very tight and sore (I guess I was actually doing it right the previous day!).
01-6-13 Calfs still quite tight and sore when barefoot
02-6-13 0.6 mile run in the new Merrells. [10.07 min/mile average pace]. The shoes feel a good fit, but the running was quite awkward. I keep catching my legs switching to a heel strike landing rather than a forefoot landing with heel drop.
03-6-13 0.6 mile run barefoot. [10.16 min/mile average pace] Slightly less awkward sensation.
04-6-13 Calfs quite tight and sore.
05-6-13 1.2 mile run in Merrells [8.26 min/mile average pace]. Now this is the first barefoot type run that felt good! I was trying to bear in mind the "fall forward while cycling" type advice for this running style, and also had only a few accidental 'heel first' strikes. The running didn't feel particularly awkward, and at peak pace I was managing 6.41 min/mile pace.

In the above I didn't mention my normal running, which is typically two 5 mile runs every 3-4 days. I found I could sometime carry this out quite normally even when my calfs felt tight and sore when barefoot - that sensation just vanished when wearing my old running shoes. Which goes to show just how different the style of movement is.

From here I need to make sure I don't overdo it I think, and keep the transition gradual. Ken recommends spending several months running entirely barefoot, but I don't feel able to follow that. However I do plan to continue 'vanilla' barefoot running a minority of the time for better form feedback.   

A New Experiment: Barefoot Running

In August/September 2011, and my fourth Bristol Half Marathon, I picked up some kind of running injury in my right foot. In the 18 months since, including some extended periods of rest, it has not fully resolved. More recent assessment has indicated that the arch is fallen in my right foot. I have been wearing Superfeet supportive insoles since then to reasonably good effect, however the issue remains, and has reemerged when training volume or exercise intensity has been high. I may go into more detail at a later time.

During an unplanned conversation with a physiotherapist who specialises in running he mentioned that I should consider barefoot running, which he was very enthusiastic about. He suggested that barefoot running may strengthen my feet, and pointed to a lower incidence of injuries among barefoot runners. I had previously thought that my flat foot issue meant that barefoot running was ruled out due to a need for more support...but now it will be my new experiment!

Reading sources on the internet suggested that, rather than diving straight in with a pair of barefoot type running shoes, you should build up very gradually due to the very different running style and demands placed upon the feet. Yesterday I ordered 'Barefoot Running Step by Step' by Ken Bob, which appeared well reviewed and authoritative. My plan at present is to very gradually and safely build practice and mileage barefoot, and then perhaps a month from now, if all seems to be going well, to buy a pair of barefoot shoes. In the mean time that means running outright barefoot, though I'll be sticking to the pavement of my street for safety (and so I don't have far to limp home if things go wrong!).

Yesterday I tried running barefoot pavement running for the first time... but it wasn't really a run, but more of a strange hobble. Perhaps 80 meters up and down the street, with a strong feeling that my calfs were no where near flexible enough for this!

Today I tried again, this time immediately after the warm up of my usual 5 mile run. It went a bit better, 2x up and down the street, at what my Garmin Forerunner informed me was 11 minute mile pace. Rather slow considering I can be quite comfortable running at sub 7.30 minute mile pace range in shoes (1.41 half marathon pb), and again evidence that this transition will have to be very gradual. I'll report how it goes from here!

A strange draw and a fortunate win

Since my last entry I've got back to running a little bit, having ordered extra insoles to help protect my feet. I also ordered new shoes, but they sent the wrong size. The extra insole plus tightening the shoe serves to brace the foot a bit better when running, and I think there has also been a little more progress with the healing. However on the few 3.5 mile runs I have done I still find myself counting the (semi) 'clicks' from my right foot. They usually start from mile 2 - what fun! Quite subjective as well. It would almost be better if there was actual pain/discomfort, because then I would have a better idea when to stop, whether there is progress with healing etc.

I've played two more league games, which can be found below. Game 1 I played a terrible opening move (4.b3??) against the Benko gambit. My opponent didn't take full advantage of that mistake, but I still found myself with a distinctly uncomfortable position. My opponent played well, and it looked like I was heading for a loss. Surprisingly enough however on move 24 he offered a draw. I had thought about offering a draw as my position became increasingly unpleasant those last few moves, but thought it would be a bit insulting to do so, because black is up a pawn, and has a better position with good prospects of picking up a second pawn. Luckily for me my opponent felt a draw was a good result here because they had seen my grade... and because their grade was 68! Wait, what? It was a division 1 game for the B team as well, so completely unexpected. Bizarre.

Play chess online

In my second league game I was playing the black side of a symmetrical English opening (exactly what I hated to come up against back when I played 1.c4 myself). My choice of plan out of the opening (13...a6 14...b5) soon proved a mistake after the c file became very weak, and my position became a bit of a mess. Soon after this the game became very tactical. Fortunately for me I came through the complications with some advantage, eventually leading to a fairly simple queen and pawn ending. I dislike queen and pawn endings because of the amount of your opponents checks you have to calculate, but I had enough pawns around my king to avoid any headaches. This game really deserves some detailed (computer assisted!) annotation, which I hope to add at a later date.

Play online chess

Having mentioned getting back to taking some chess lessons again, I finally got around to it today, taking my first lesson from Woman International Master Vita Chulivska (ICC 'kvitka'). I say my first lesson, but what she wanted to do was to play two 15 minute games, with brief post-game analysis, so as to assess my 'level'. Privately I was a bit reluctant, both because of the pressure and also because I don't play rapid chess much, and thought maybe it would be more instructive to just look through this seasons club games to make an assessment. But mostly it was the pressure of playing rapid against someone of that strength in that situation. But I'm sure she has good reasons to start this way.

WIM Vita Chulivska, UKR, 2335 (Chessbase, 2009)

Game 1 appeared to confirm my worst misgivings, as by move 8 it was clear I was getting into trouble. My moves up to that point weren't book exactly, but I had played them with reasonable results in the past. I was lucky to hang in there and not just get checkmated, and from move 8 until at least move 22 my choices were mainly defensive, reactive type moves, without great prospects. Eventually I reached a quite playable endgame (move 33), but by then was down to 20 seconds vs my opponents 9 minutes! I lost on time, but the moves blitzed out during those final 20 seconds had weakened my position to something that was probably losing again anyway.

Play chess online

Game 2, also 15 minutes per player, but this time I had the white pieces. I played an opening move (3.a3!?) which I have never tried before, but had seen in a couple of older games (probably either Capablanca or Lasker). I think it served its purpose quite well, avoiding my opponents opening knowlege (maybe) and giving me a fairly safe, playable position with good play on the queenside. I actually made good progress and liked my position right up until the tricky 26...Bxd4 tactic. I hadn't realised that my back rank was weak. Fortunately I found a way through this (though sadly missing 28.fxe3! in the process), and the endgame was simplified and equal. Vita offered a draw on move 36 which I was very happy to accept. Probably my best result against a very strong opponent, even if she likely wasn't trying her very best!

Play online chess

After the game Vita was slightly critical of my choice of opening, but mainly agreed with the moves I had used to carry out my plan on the queenside. With this trial out of the way I have my second session - and hopefully first proper lesson - this coming Sunday.

0-1, 1-0, 3.2ghz, 0-1

I've now played another couple of league games. In the first I played the white side of a Grunfeld. From the opening I kept my centre, but due to the pressure on it couldn't see a way to make progress particularly. It seemed equal to me up until after the heavy pieces had come off the board, at which point I became aware that if the minor pieces came off then the K&P endgame would be totally lost. Trading off the bishops was a mistake, and in the end his outside passed pawn was a strength and I lost. He played well. I may update the game viewer with some annotation at a later date, but I am basically now looking at anti-grunfeld set ups - I don't like playing against it.

Play chess online

I left Bristol for a few days to visit my parents, which was nice. I'm finding not running a bit annoying however, and am unsure whether the foot has improved any with the resting. Perhaps a little. While away I took part in a simul against IM Jack Rudd. I played the Albin Counter-Gambit, and actually had some advantage for a time (up the exchange and a pawn, but a somewhat weakened king), but lost in the end. At least I made him think for longer than some of his other games.

Returning to Bristol, I had a go at overclocking my computer, getting my Q6600 from stock 2.4ghz to 3.2ghz and giving a great performance boost. However I found that it runs hot even at stock, so I need to look at improving ventillation (leaving a desk fan on full blast into the side of an open case is not a long term solution).

My second league game I again played the Albin. It was a close game where the advantage went back and forth, with blunders from both sides. Going into the endgame it all got a bit crazy, with us both also under time pressure. It should probably have been a draw right up until he lost his queenside pawns, after which it was clearly won for black. We did play some more moves, but due to time pressure I stopped recording them towards the end, and can't accurately recall them now (though I remember the end position was my 2xP & B against his 1xP, with his K getting pushed back). We analysed after the game. During it I had thought that he was quite nervous and anxious, but after the game he was very confident and fluent with his analysis, so I guess he was just giving it his all. I have added annotations to the game viewer.

Play chess online

I didn't realise it at the time, but it turns out I had played this opponent last year. I won that game in an unexpected 17 moves due to a pin tactic with his knight - see Sam vs 133.

With 2x win and 2x loss my performance rating so far this season is pretty comparable to last season, but it's very early days. I've started analysing Capablanca and Lasker games more, including with friends on ICC. Good fun, and hopefully it will help my play!

Disappointment

Last week they announced that were was going to be a Bristol Marathon late this year, which got me interested, however on the same day that I learned of it they cancelled it. Hopefully they will plan one for the coming year as they had a lot of applicants for this one.

I had been thinking it would be good to do the Swindon Half-Marathon, which would be the 9th of October, however the recovery process from the Bristol Half is taking longer than I had hoped. I had read somewhere that recovery from a running event is roughly a day for every mile of the distance, which in this case would be almost two weeks. I hadn't thought it would take that long, seeing as I recovered from a high tempo nine mile training run in just a few days previous to the event, and also the twelve mile distance run in a similar time frame, but it seems that those last few miles at race pace - and running on a hard surface - really do make all the difference.

General aches and pains went away within a couple of days, but when I have been out for easy runs recently I still got muscle fatigue a lot earlier. When running this morning this was a bit better, but my movements didn't seem to have any fluencey, so I guess I still have a few more days to get back to normal. I say all this, but since the Half I do seem to have acquired a very specific (though not particularly painful) issue with walking barefoot, and am now wondering whether I've given myself a stress fracture. I'll see what my GP says this afternoon...

Last night I had my second game of the chess season. I played a fine game and achieved an excellent position (you can guess what's coming, right?), then blew it in a single move. I guess I got careless, certainly for some of my moves in retrospect I wasn't properly considering all my opponents forcing reply moves, which should be a minimum. Win at strategy + lose at tactics = lose the game. You can find it analysed below.

Play chess online

The team score ended up at 3-3, but our losses were i - my stupid one move loss, ii - a default loss due to not having a 6th player, iii - one of our players mobile phones going off when they were in a piece up won position.

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Since writing the above entry I have seen my GP. They didn't think it was likely to be a stress fracture due to a lack of inflammation (and thought a strain, e.g. to a ligament, was more likely), but said I should avoid any running/racquet sports etc. for at least a couple of weeks, and come back if the problem persisted. So that's good news (I had started to get images of x-rays, toe splints, special hard soled shoes, not being able to run for many months...etc!), but I think I can rule out the Devils Aquathlon and Swindon Half-Marathon. Hopefully it will have resolved in the next few weeks, in which case my next event could be the Bath Hilly Half Marathon in late November, or possibly the Christmas Cracker 10k run in mid December.

Bristol Half Marathon

On Sunday I completed the Bristol Half Marathon for the 4th time. The organisation and atmosphere was excellent, with pleasant if slightly warm running conditions. Unfortunately however I won't be able to remember it as fondly as I had hoped due to poor performance on the day, and other issues.

Leading up to the event I became slightly OCD about pre-race diet, sleeping quite lightly the night before. I headed down to the city centre with a Sid, who is quite new to distance running, but very committed to competing in events for charity over the coming year. We arrived at the assembly point quite early, and by the time the event started I felt in good shape.

I had planned to run the first half of the event at approx 7.50 minute mile speed, and then adjust accordingly for the latter half, with a target time of approx 1.44 (I had managed 9 miles at slightly sub 8 minute mile pace in a training run on the Downs, for example). I lost track of Sid near a drink station around mile 3 (we were choosing our own pace, so I didn't wait around), and up until approx. mile 8 I felt my running form was good (average pace 7.53 at this point). During this time I also ate a bag of 'Carobohydrate Energy Jelly Beans' while running, which was new to me - they're not easy to eat at all!


Barely had I started entertaining thoughts of a good finish time (surely I could sustain something near 8 minute mile pace for the remainder?) than my legs started to feel increasingly punished by the road. Mile 9 was uncomfortable, and slower. By mile 11 it was pretty dire, and I was probably averaging approx. 9.20 pace. And getting overtaken a lot. Ugly.

When I reached approx mile 13, almost in sight of the finish line, I became aware that there was someone on the ground just off the race course, and they were having CPR. The news has since reported that the 33 year old runner had a suspected heart attack, and died at the trackside. Very sad news, and the likelihood of this was certainly in my mind as I finished the race.

My final (chip) time was 1.50.00, my worst ever time for the Bristol Half Marathon, and almost 9 minutes slower than last year. After collecting my bag I learned that unfortunately Sid had dropped out with a leg injury at mile 3, so not a great event in several ways. It seems that all my 'event friends' have injurys one way or another!

I think my poor performance during the latter part of the race is attributable to not having done enough race distance runs. I still had reasonable energy, and although a couple of kg heavier than last year I could still sustain a reasonable pace until my legs gave out, which was basically at the point where most of my training runs had ended - mile 9. My training had also involved running on grass or dirt where possible, and I may have underestimated the punishment that the paved Bristol route deals.

Looking at training plans online my weekly milage in the months preceding the event was pretty amateur for the most part, which is definitely something I need to improve on - especially if I want to be able to seriously consider doing a marathon (without any walking). In retrospect it almost looks like I was training for a fast 10k, and not a 13.1 mile endurance event at all.

Stert Island 2.4k Swim

Last weekend I entered the Stert Island Swim at Burnham-On-Sea, which was 2.4km in open water. On the day the conditions were quite good, but I was told that the water was slightly choppier than usual. Below shows the crowd pre-event, me scowling out towards the sea front right.



Visibility in the water was terrible, probably about an inch. In the previous swim event I had tried (the 2010 Tenby Wales Swim - 3km), you could at least see your outstretched hand underwater. On the plus side here however, due to the nature of the course and the number of participants, the risk of getting kicked in the face was a lot less as there was less crowding (in fact, this only happened once, although I did swim collide with other swimmers 4-5 times one way or another).

There was more of a current than Tenby, and again I had some difficulty navigating. Finish time of 53 minutes, which as a stand alone value I am fine with, though I finished a few minutes behind the friends I had entered the event with (so essentially my time was entirely unsatisfactory!). I'm glad I did the event, though as with last time I seemed to spend more time and effort on navigation than I did actually testing my limits physically.

Tomorrow is the Bristol Half-Marathon, which I've been looking forward to. I weigh a couple more kilo's than last year, so I don't think I'll be setting a PB (+1kg fat adds +2 minutes over that distance course, on average). I'm targeting a time of around 1.44 (PB 2010 = 1.41). My habit of getting in shape for autumn events only to lose it over the winter is something I'd like to break this year - running is more fun when you're fit! I'm thinking of entering at least one other half later this year, and then perhaps a full marathon early next year.

The 2011-2012 Bristol Chess League has recently resumed, though due to work I couldn't attend the first club game. I am now playing for Clifton C regularly, and up for B as requested - sadly I cannot 'play down' for Clifton D due to some regulation. Tougher competition this year, I need to get back to playing/studying more seriously. I may look into getting lessons again.