Sunday’s run, in near perfect conditions for this time of year, was also three minutes quicker than my fastest Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon, and the first time I’ve placed in my age group in 8 attempts.

Not sure this crazy streak will continue much longer, but I’m hopeful of a good showing at the Marine Corps Marathon in just under 8 weeks time. Still plenty of work to do, but things are looking good!

[Thanks to Kim Smith for the photo, taken at Mile 11.4, which incidentally was the second fastest mile of my race.]

From the Running Etc. newsletter:

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned runner, we look forward to helping you meet your goals!

Training Program Includes:
~ Personalized 8 week training program developed by certified RRCA running coaches
~ Opportunity to train with like-minded individuals who will motivate & inspire
~ Organized weekday and weekend group runs
~ 15% discount at Running Etc. on non-sale items during training period
~ Brooks technical t-shirt

Cost: $75

If interested contact: Jonathan Harris or John Lomogda at (757) 627-1500

Training programs begin Sunday July 11, 2010

If you’re thinking of entering this great annual event, you can save $10 off the regular entry fee if you register in the next 14 days. As an added bonus you’ll receive a commemorative, limited edition 10th anniversary tee (pictured left) for free!

Just use online code FRIENDTEN when you sign up, and be sure to enter my email address [steve dot speirs at gmail dot com] in the “Referred by” field.

Limited time offer expires: 2/23/10. Don’t delay, sign up today!

PS If you have any problems with my email address, just leave a comment below and I’ll reply to you personally.

Despite having several good training sessions in the innovative Newton training shoes, last night I decided to stick with the tried and tested Brooks ST3 Racer. I figured a half marathon was probably not the best time to try out a new shoe style and it turned out to be a good decision.

To cut a long story short, I set a new personal record by over a minute and finished in 1:18:39. It still hasn’t sunk in to be honest. On my way to a great half marathon finish, I also set a new 10 mile personal best – crossing the timing mat in 59 minutes 53 seconds. This was the first time in my life I’d broken the magic hour for running 10 miles.

I also beat a guy I’ve never beaten in the 10 years I’ve been racing in the USA, finished 1st place Local Runner and 2nd place Masters Runner.

Days like today are very rare, very special and naturally don’t come along very often. The following is a bold statement, but today was probably the best race I’ve ever run.

I’d just like to take this opportunity to say thanks to Kale Running for putting on a great race, to all the runners out on the course who cheered for me and helped spur me on, to each and every one of my online friends for their support, encouragement and congratulations and most of all to my wife Ally for being there (as she always is) on this special day.

Not sure how I’m going to follow this up, but I’ll be doing my best to pull out something special at the Frederick Marathon in two weeks time. For now, I’m going to enjoy the traditional celebratory Samichlaus (technically I’m allowed two, seeing as though I set two PRs today!) and focus on the recovery.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the weekend….

The Cardiff Half Marathon web site is currently being revamped and they promise to have a new-improved site up soon. However, you can still register online or download an entry form, so no excuses for not signing up.

Naturally I’ll be wearing the Les Croupiers Running Club vest, and hope to place well against their top runners. Standards are a lot higher in the UK races though, so I’ll need to be at the top of my game come October. Speaking of Les Croupiers, I love the way they still post my race results even though I’m living in the USA. I send results to their web guy Dave Weeden every week and usually within hours he’s posted them to the club web site. More often than not there’s also a pertinent comment about my race. Here’s a couple of examples:

Tidewater Striders Distance Series 25K. Sunday, 25 January 2009. Virginia, USA. 1 Croups member ran. Steve Speirs 1:35:34 (3rd). “Another PB and a good indicator of progress towards Steve’s spring marathon.”

Virginia is for Lovers 14k. Saturday, 14 February 2009. Virginia, USA. 1308 people finished. 1 Croups member ran. Steve Speirs 49:52 (3rd). “Steve claims a new PB. He was only beaten by a 26 year old man and a 27 year old woman. Not bad for a vet!”

Tidewater Striders Distance Series 30k. Saturday, 21 February 2009. Virginia, USA. 1 Croups member ran. Steve Speirs 1:56:58 (2nd).
Colonial Half Marathon. Sunday, 22 February 2009. Virginia, USA. 1 Croups member ran. Steve Speirs 1:21:22 (21st). “A very consistent pair of races from Steve. A fast marathon looks likely. Sadly, he came down with food poisoning Sunday night, and has been recuperating since.”

Shamrock Marathon. Sunday, 22 March 2009. Virginia, USA. 1 Croups member ran. Steve Speirs 2:56:01 (25th). “Bit of a disappointment for Steve, but the best Croups marathon time of 2009 thus far.”

Thanks Dave for all the comments and the great work you do on the site. As a running club web site manager myself, I understand much of your work goes unnoticed.

Another deserved mention goes to Mick McGeoch. Mick has been described as “the rock the club is built on” and has achieved so much in the running world that I wouldn’t know where to begin writing about it. Mick and I occasionally trade emails and he’s always willing to pass on knowledge and advice from his years and years of experience. Mick reads out my race results on Thursday night club nights and apparently, many of the members think I’m a figment of his imagination or a made up character! It will be nice to finally show up at a local race and prove that I am in fact a real person.

So, good times and something else to look forward to later on in the year. The Cardiff Half will also be an ideal tune up race for the Richmond Marathon taking place in November. It’s great to have goals to work towards…

The Tidewater Striders Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday evening brought another unexpected surprise. I knew I’d placed 2nd overall in the Striders 2008 Grand Prix Series – a 12 race challenge spread over 12 months and taking in race distances from the mile to the marathon – but I was completely shocked to be awarded “Outstanding Male Performance of the Year”. I guess my hard work and never-say-die ethic counts for something after all? Anyway, the award really meant a lot and was a tremendous way to round off a successful 2008 – probably my most consistent year of running ever.

Thankfully it wasn’t too late a night as Sunday had another challenge in store – the Colonial Half Marathon in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. The race wasn’t due to start until 1pm so it was nice to stay in bed a little later than normal and take a leisurely drive along I-64 to the College of William & Mary Campus where the race would begin. This race was one of the reasons I held back a little in the first loop of Saturday’s 30k, but seeing as though I pushed the pace in the final 20k, I didn’t expect too much in terms of time and resigned myself to an enjoyable run along the scenic course.

Once again, however, I surprised myself, and found the miles ticking by at quite a pace. My legs were certainly sore from the 30k, but somehow I was able to keep the cadence going at a nice clip. Maybe it was the constant uphill/downhill that the Colonial course offers? I’ll spare you the details but with a few miles to go I realized I might be in with a shot of beating last year’s finish time of 1 hour 22 minutes. Luckily there was a younger guy (who I remembered just beating me in a 5k last year) to keep me going and I spent most of the last 2 or 3 miles trying to keep him in my sights. Finally we reached William & Mary Hall and it was just a couple of quick turns to the finish line where the clock read 1:21:22 – 38 seconds quicker than last year after a very solid 30k just 30 hours previous! Fantastic! For the record I finished 21st place overall and 2nd place Master in a very competitive race.

Highlight of the afternoon was meeting fellow Welshman Nigel Edwards from Northern Virginia who also ran the half. He spotted my Welsh Dragon hat as I walked to the start line and we immediately hit it off. I saw Nigel during the race and it was great to cheer on a fellow countryman for a change. We also hooked up at the post race area, exchanged email addresses and phone numbers, and I’m sure we’ll see each other one day soon – either at a race in the DC area, Virginia Beach area or at some random pub showing a Welsh rugby game one Saturday afternoon…

Here the weekend takes a turn for the worse. After hanging out for an hour or two after the race, Allyson and I decide to head for something to eat. By this time it’s about 4pm, snow is falling and we’re both starving. After a well-earned lunch, we spend some time with our daughter who was working an afternoon shift and finally head for home around 6pm. We hadn’t even made it to I-64 when I started to feel a little nauseous. Allyson was driving and as I sat in the passenger seat I just thought my food hadn’t digested properly. However, with each passing mile, I began to feel worse and worse and desperate to get back to Virginia Beach.

Finally we made it home. I grabbed my bags, got out of the car, and headed upstairs to lie down. The rest, as they say, is ugly. I’ll spare you the details, but the last 3 days have been none too pleasant and quite a blur; a nasty bout of food poisoning has left me six pounds lighter and weak as a kitten. Thankfully the worst is over, but I still have no appetite and need to put some of the lost weight back on.

Needless to say I haven’t run a mile since Sunday and am thinking the Mud in Your Eye XC on Saturday is out of the question. What a bizarre weekend – two tremendous races, a wonderful performance award followed by the worst case of food poisoning I’ve ever experienced. It’s a funny old world….

Elite Racing have announced some great changes for this year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA, which will be the 8th running of the hugely popular event. Full details over on my other blog cymru66.com.

Also, if you still haven’t entered “Rock ‘n’ Roll”, make sure you sign up before the $15 May 15th price increase. Actually, if you use discount code POCKET you can save an additional $10 – making a cool saving of $25! Better hurry though, as the code also expires May 15th…..

Registration will close when the magic 20,000 runner limit has been reached, so make sure you hurry as the race has traditionally filled up very early in previous years.

The eighth annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon will take over the Virginia Beach oceanfront on August 31, 2008. Over 20 local bands are set to play on 14 stages along the course. Some of the premier east coast bands will keep you groovin’ towards the finish line! You will be treated to everything from classic rock to R & B and reggae to disco.

MEN

Overall: 1. Ezkyas Sisay, Burke 1:06.24; 2. Jason Schoener, Richmond 1:06.46; 3. Michale Wardian, Arlington 1:08.34.
19-and-under: 1. Kyle W. Edwards, Haymarket 1:19.54; 2. Richard J. Barry, Harrisonburg 1:21.54; 3. Cash Dewitt, Forest 1:21.56.
20-24: 1. Patrick Boyle, Bensalem, Pa. 1:15.42; 2. David A. Frazier, Harrisonburg 1:22.18; 3. Jefferson C. Robertson, Herndon 1:24.44.
25-29: Daniel B. Williams, Durham, N.C. 1:20.35; 2. Daniel Yi, Alexandria 1:20.48; 3. Owen Speer, Blacksburg 1:22.06.
30-34: 1. Stephen Sinko, Hockessin, Del. 1:17.07; 2. Sam McFerran, Washington D.C. 1:21.35; 3. Nate Spong, Reston 1:21.42.
35-39: 1. Ross Debolt, Richmond 1:22.03; 2. Charles Schindler Jr., Virginia Beach 1:22.47; 3. David T. Hart, Studly 1:23.23.
40-44: 1. John Piggott, Williamsburg 1:17.55; 2. Herb L. Cratty, Ellwood City, Pa. 1:19.55; 3. Steve Speirs, Virginia Beach 1:22.00.
45-49: 1. Greg Cauller, York, Pa. 1:18.54; 2. Frank Row, North Reading, Mass. 1:21.49; 3. Hernan J. Garbini, Waynesboro 1:22.37.
50-54: 1. James Bates, Hampton 1:19.44; 2. Charles Pifer, Chesapeake 1:28.32; 3. Patrick M. Lafferty, Lancaster, Pa. 1:29.49.
55-59: 1. Rick Platt, Williamsburg 1:26.08; 2. Victor Barkoski, Northville, Mich. 1:32.11; 3. Allen Vaughan, Stafford 1:36.51.
60-64: 1. Langston Shelton, Grafton 1:35.43; 2. Bob Chase, Falls Church 1:36.10; 3. Michael Clark, Doylestown, Pa. 1:36.24.
65-69: John Churchman, Arlington 1:39.27; 2. James W. Morse, Blue Grass 2:03.14; 3. Dennis Faust, Mount Joy, Pa. 2:15.42.
70-and-over: 1. Duane Lougee, Norfolk 1:44.25; 2. Charles W. Crosson Jr., Harrisonburg 1:55.48.
Virtual participants in Afghanistan: 1. Tim Jacobs, Langley AFB 1:37.24; 2. Reid Watts, Ft. Bragg, N.C. 1:37.37.

WOMEN
Overall: 1. Anna Pichrtova, Boulder, Colo. 1:18.33; 2. Erin Moore, Woodbridge 1:28.53; 3. Laura Shannon, Williamsburg 1:30.10.
19-and-under: 1. Darcy Haye, Damascus Md. 1:41.34; 2. Sheila D. Wilson, Williamsburg 1:41.51; 3. Tina Dilegge, Harrisonburg 1:42.54.
20-24: 1. Danielle L. Sgro, Indiana, Pa. 1:35.57; 2. Beth Pecora, Richmond 1:37.58; 3. Caitlin Glass Fairfax Station 1:39.35.
25-29: 1. Amy Paxton, Chapel Hill, N.C. 1:36.19; 2. Rebecca S. Stamp, Lancaster, Pa. 1:36.30; 3. Sarah Stamps, Charlottesville 1:37.08.
30-34: 1. Charlotte S. Joelsson, Herndon 1:35.28; 2. Victoria Jasparro, Fredericksburg 1:35.39; 3. Laurie Zipper, Washington D.C. 1:40.11.
35-39: 1. Rachel Leier, Worthington, Ohio 1:35.24; 2. Elizabeth Ransom, Toano 1:36.50; 3. Kirsten Webb, Manakin Sabot 1:40.03.
40-44: 1. Nancy Delaney, Virginia Beach 1:38.21; 2. Teresa R. Steinfatt, Powhatan 1:38.42; 3. Michelle Hogge, Williamsburg 1:38.53.
45-49: 1. Linda Fournier 1:41.24; 2. Jennifer Lundeen, Port Republic, Md. 1:45.39; 3. Elizabeth O’Neil, Newport News 1:47.18.
50-54: 1. Linda G. Posey, Chesterfield 1:41.26; 2. Carol Talley, Williamsburg 1:46.46; 3. Sheila Jessen, Norfolk 1:48.15.
55-59: 1. Terry M. Miffleton, Richmond 1:47.06; 2. Margaret R. Davis, Vienna 1:50.58; 3. Freyda B. Greenberg, Falls Church 1:52.55.
60-64: 1. Jan Valade, Northville, Mich. 2:18.10; 2. Donna Wuelzer, Herndon 2:29.41.

Congrats to good friends Charles Schindler Jr. and Charles Pifer for placing in their respective age groups!

Looks like full results will be published on the Peninsula Track Club web site when available.