GLOUCESTER SPORTS BLOG

Long time no blog!

2011/10/26 at 09:25AM by Steve

It's been a long time since I last blogged, a lot has happened since then!

The big news is that I became a daddy 8 weeks ago, to a beautiful baby girl called Eve. She is absolutely gorgeous (of course) but it does mean that running has taken a back seat recently. I'm trying to get into a routine of running every other day and I'm starting to get fit again, but it's all unpredictable and is more a case of getting a run in when possible, rather than anything structured.

I'm currently trying out a few new shoes that some of the running brands have given me. Brooks have given me a pair of Ravenna shoes, and after the initial few runs which took a while for me to get used to the cushioning, I'm very impressed. I'm using the Puma Faas 300 for any speedwork I'm managing to fit in, love this shoe! Not entirely sure about the retro look of the shoe, but a great shoe for picking up the pace.

I've got a few cross-country races coming up soon so will let you know how I get on. I shall be "borrowing" a pair of Adidas XCS 2 cross-country spikes. A great fit, very comfortable so hoping I can run well!



End of the Season

2011/09/03 at 12:38PM by Pat

Well its the end of another athletics season again, targets have been hit, trainers have been well and truly worn out, and my legs are even worse! Thankfully I've been able to get hold of some of the new Canterbury Mercury Compression which have really helped after the hard track sessions.

Personally I had an average season, my main aim being to run under 2 minutes for 800m which I thankfully achieved a couple of times. However my highlights had to be getting out and trying some new events, namely some local 10 and 5k's. Whilst i was hardly challenging for the lead, i hit some respectable times but more importantly thoroughly enjoyed myself , even if I was helped slightly by the after race BBQ's and my new Adidas Tempo's (if you over-pronate and need a lightweight shoe, give these a go, enough cushioning for a half marathon but light enough for a 5k!)

I hope you all managed to achieve whatever goals you were aiming for this season, and more importantly have fun whilst you did it... Cross Country here we come!

 



Cranham Boundary Chase

2011/08/08 at 15:49PM by Steve

Ran the Cranham Boundary Chase on Saturday evening, a 5.8 mile road race near Gloucester, with a MASSIVE hill to finish the race! Wore my Brooks Green Silence

and had a really good race. There was a hard hill to take the field out of Cranham, through 1 mile in 5.28, then through mile 2 in 4.59 with a gentle bit of downhill. 5.09 for mile 3 before pulling away for a 5.20 mile for mile 4. Spent far too much time looking behind me but managed a 4.59 to mile 5 before coming to the bottom of a 1 in 4 hill climb which took us all the way up to the finish on the top of the common.

Really pleased with my time of 32.17, which was 20 seconds quicker than last year, fielt really strong throughout, getting up on my toes nicely.



2 PBs in 2 Days!

2011/07/26 at 15:43PM by Patrick Tarry

 Hi,

My name is Patrick Tarry and i am the new full time member of staff at Gloucester Sports. I train with Chris Frapwell at Stroud Athletics and have been running since i was 13, though I have decided to take it much more seriously this year after a winter out due to injury!

I predominantly run 800m, but will enter any race as long as it looks fun (if you can really call racing fun!). For the new athletics season i have purchased a pair of Nike Rival MD's, as they give me plenty of cushioning whilst still feeling as light as a good pair of spikes should feel. A mixture of these, some hard training and probably a bit of luck resulted in me running 1.59.4 on wednesday 20th of july, not quite a world record but i was on cloud nine about breaking 2 minutes!

This positivity towards running from breaking 2 obviously sent me slightly crazy as on thursday morning I decided to then enter the Cherington 10k! Whilst my old Asics Hyperspeeds had served me well, they were definitely worn out so after trying on pretty much every shoe in store I finally settled on some Mizuno Wave Nexus 5's. Whilst I have only used these a few times they feel great on anything from road to woodland paths, which is good as I need to get in shape for the Stroud Half Marathon!

Thanks for reading, and hope to see you soon!

Pat



Devil's Chimney Chase 10km

2011/07/22 at 12:08PM by Steve


Ran the Devil's Chimney Chase 10km, organised by Almost Athletes in Cheltenham on Saturday evening, a really enjoyable race. The race started off with a lap of the rugby fields before heading onto the roads briefly, then started the long and gradual climb up to the Devils Chimney on the top of Leckhampton Hill. I was expecting a really big climb to appear around every corner, but it was fairly gradual and before I knew it I was on the platform at the top after about 17 minutes of running. I started to pull away from the other runners in the group and once I realised there was no more climbing, I really started to stride out (see pic above!)

I hammered down the slope on the other side and headed back towards the rugby field for a final lap before crossing the line in 36.14 minutes, which was a course record by approx 90 seconds. Great race, well marshalled and I'm fairly certain I will be back next year to defend my title!

As you can see from the photo, I wore my Mizuno Wave Harrier 3 shoes which were superb. Great grip on the few sticky bits on the course, but plenty of cushioning for the road sections and harder ground

http://www.gloucestersports.com/shop-description.php?La=E&ID=1285889412

Happy running!



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