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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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Nice park running Bus. nothing like a bit of speed to test the injury out.
Iron, well done on the XC. Arent ALL xc hard? Ha. Im certainly not looking forward to my xc debut in early Jan.
did a 3 x 2 mile session yesterday which went well then followed it with 9 hours on the ale. Woke up to a chicken kebab all over the living room floor. I don't know why but I then decided to try a marathon paced effort whilst slightly rough/still pissed.
Ended up running 13.2 miles at 6.05 pace. Found myself running loops of a part of town as it was flat. Chest pains, stomach ache, beer sweats, stitch, attacked by a swan too.
Going to enjoy my first day off in 23 days tomorrow. covered 203 miles in that time. Probably wise to have a rest otherwise something will go pop.
What is it with people on this thread: go on holiday and get engaged!
I think the Swan was trying to do you a favour Matt! Sounds both mad and bloody brutal mate, but nobody to blame but yourself
The Rye parkrun Iron. Big improvement on last year at HX there! Must have been a good day for that course. I was just down the road in Hughenden and the weather was lovely.
Iron, your progress is coming on loads, taking stacks off your finish position race by race! Good to see you today, along with a whole host of friendly faces. Makes up for a truly crap weekend, and I don't just mean the footy....can't get too upset about what you can't change after all.
Had told Phil I wasn't doing this one, in good faith, but I'd pencilled it and all the XC fixtures into my schedule for Moraghan to judge on, with me putting it was "very hilly" on there. And it took me 3 days of ruined legs 2 years ago to get over! So I presumed I wouldn't be allowed
However, I got the go ahead, and thought, oh heck, it's a really tough course, 3 big hills, and loads of other ups and downs. One saving grace was that it wasn't wet meaning half the course wasn't a squelch fest.
Got there and saw the usual Datchet gang, and their usual disclaimer that they "didn't have their full team out", which is like pointing out day follows night!
Jock Itch from fetch was there, bizarrely wearing normal trainers. He got away with conditions just about, but more on that later.
Massive cavalry charge at the start for about 3/4miles gradual downhill start. One of my club mates led for a really mental 400metres before falling back as quick as you've ever seen anyone do so. Then you turn right and find a very steep grassy bank to scale, which you get to the top of, and find it has another 400metres up into the woods.
You feel quite bad then, and it's about 1.2miles in, with a couple of other little ups, where you find yourself and those ahead very close in.
It then settles and spreads out, with a nice down, which brings you to a very steep and long section, starting with hard trail, and ending with some squelchy mud patches.
Myself and one of Phil's boys were going up so slowly I wondered if we were in the bottom few runners. He surprised me by stopping to a walk, and I carried on at a furious 9min a mile pace
Got to the top eventually, and this is a nice spell, a good chunk on decent ish woody route, awaiting one of the steepest descents in any race I've done. Frankie popped up to take my photo (which i'll post at the end), and buoyed by this I monstered by some Reading chap downhill.
Jock Itch was taking it pretty easily down the sheer fall, funnily enough! Even those of us with good grip were. You then look and see the finish, but the bums make you go up another steep hill, although I tend to find this one comfortable these days. In 06 I walked a bit.
Into the woods, and we all know it's all about jostling for position until the steep downhill grassy bank that we'd trawled up about 20mins ago.
Sitting about 2metres behind Jock for half a mile, he took one step out of place into a muddy patch and I just steamed past, knowing that was it, and it'd take a colossal effort to match the downhill speed.
Good 400metres or so down the grassy bank, then you panic a bit as you turn left, and face an inclining last 400metres or so on hard ground, with not much left
The chap I'd taken at the last min at the previous one was a few secs ahead, but I'll be honest and say I was happy enough to hold Jocky off here.
Over the line, 10th place, and top 10 here is a decent result. Noone above was someone I'd be too disappointed to lose to, and that's all you can ask.
Saw Phil, and about 15 others post race, to enjoy a real good race day experience.
ps the pic was too big to load, but it was a nice 2 thumbs up high point in a gruelling race
forgot to say it was about a min quicker than last time...just a slight key detail to miss out..
5.3mile length, 35.09 ish?
So the finish position I told SG at the time actually turned out to be the time! So 34, 35 were seconds past 38. D'Oh!
Echoing what SG said about this race. It's a mix of fell running and free-climbing.
NOOOO!
I temporarily thought the same when someone shouted "NINE", but luckily I looked at the watch the exact same time and saw 09...
Nice work SG and Iron on what sounds like an idiotic course. Good to see some big progress being made by Iron, and also good to see SG manage to keep a race under his hat beforehand for once.
I had earmarked it as my first TVXC race this year, but ended up on kid duty whilst my wife gallivanted round London. Instead I kicked off VLM training with a 20 at 7:08 pace. Plan is to run a lot of 20+ runs this campaign.
Yep.
Good sessions Matt, both on road and on ale. To paraphrase Orwell, All XCs are hard, but some are more hard than others.
Cheers Dachs! That was a 20km, right?
Sounds like a good day to restore your faith in the world SG. A min quicker is also a very big improvement.
A steady week for myself, 54 miles, 14 mile long run, track session and a hill session yesterday morning, which highlighted a major weakness! I use to be the boss on hills now I'm terrible! We did 3 hills one was like a big dipper over a 2min rep. Every rep I wanted to puke!
Matt, I feel your pain pal! I had an impromptu night of craft beers, followed by some strong Belgium stuff. Made for a tricky long run! But sometimes... you just need to get pie eyed!
Nice parkrun Bus, hopefully a sign that the groin is on the mend!
Read back a few pages!
SG, if you want the picture up tell me and I'll put it up, no size limit.
Iron Cat, that was a hell of a start. I announced a fast start in advance and was well up and then got a chance to look up and not have to keep an eye on feet and people in front and saw a pair of atrocious yellow socks below a familiar looking body and pleasantries were exchanged as I passed, although to be fair IC was able to shout out and all I could do was to raise a hand in acknowledgement.
SG has covered the course pretty well so I will spare you all a second full rendition. Fast start, get a good place, then dig in. Reading were all over the place like a rash and I was behind a bunch of four at one stage but got them all (two came back by the end). Nice bit round the back, sharp but short uphill and then a double back, steep down and up, mud, even steeper down and view of the finish, walk uphill then pitter patter through the woods before appearing in the clearing, long open downhill and short up to the finish.
Form seems to be coming back, 2011 was a good year and times are getting closer.
Datchet
2011 35:37
2013 36:02
+25 seconds
Sandhurst
2011 32:28
2013 32:55
+27 seconds
HX
2011 37:04
2013 37:16
+12 seconds
Damn, once again the race reports make me wish I'd done it - the past few years I've missed it for Andy Reading, but this year I should have taken the risk
Good racing guys.....
SG, I always count 4 hills and not 3:
There is the obvious one at the end of the starting downhill, the second is up to the path at about 1.5 miles, then the steep one up to the left after passing the start line for the second time and then the last one after the diagonal downhill. Which one don't you count?
If you are about over the Christmas break and fancy a slow one with me (and SG and bus and IC and any other locals) then shout out. I'd really like to do some of the Thames upstream of Henley and on towards Reading.
congrats to the parkruns & XC'ers this weekend. sounds like some fun was had out there. i must admit seeing that course profile it has Bus's name all over it. looks right up your alley.
I was thinking that, then looked at the profile - call those hills
I'd be happy to join you for run along the Thames Philip - just need to build up the miles well into double figures again!
Swim at lunchtime today complimented by doing the 22 flights of stairs to my desk three times as its quicker than the lift!
Phil - I'm up for that in theory. I shall have a look at what dates I am around. The Thames between Henley and Sonning is pretty much all tracks/fields (plus a healthy dose of goose shit), so it can get pretty messy after rain, but it should be OK at the moment.
Always up for a bit of goose shit. Guess who in the thread has a masters thesis (faeces) in goose shit?
Can't stand goose shit. It taints lakes
Definitely some progression there PMJ. I've run the Thames Path from Abingdon to Reading but not familiar with the other side of the trail.
Results are up from yesterday; 40th Male, 42nd overall. Not overly far from the 34, 35 I thought, but damn those women! 28 places higher than last year.
45 minutes on the turbo spinning the legs out from yesterday, even that was interesting. Luckily long run this week is only 8miles. Bad news is new PB = new training paces.
Dunno, but remind me not to shake hands with him.
Too late - you already have!
Dirty goose fondler!
11 featuring 4 @ MP and then 3 @ HMP. Quite tough, but I suppose I did a 20 yesterday.
slightly mad combo of runs back to back Dachs! Go easy son!
Phil, maybe I just didn't realise the second one was a hill somehow!
Damm, checked the results, and actually 11th, not the 10th I was greedily claiming, dam our rep!
She'd obviously taken out the obvious guest who came 1st, and given me a "counting" score. Though not realising 3rd was a guest too...
oh well! Still 353 there...highest ever at Handy Cross, at least 100+ more than the highest I've seen there in 6 races now.
As a comparison Jan 2012 to Jan 2013 in 5 races, my placings were 7,8,5,6,3 and this series so far is 2x11, despite doing each race faster and being quicker.
Numbers have gone up a lot.
SG, I have you down as 11th finished but 9th scorer: Eddie O and Roy Maddams counted as guests.
http://www.tvxc.org.uk/results/detail?race_id=43
Last year 318 runners and 353 this year. 248 in 2011.
Looks like the Datchet train came off the rails a bit and we came home first men but fourth ladies for 2nd overall behind Sandhurst who got brought home by their ladies: 15 poitns and 2nd place was 36! In an odd way that has not worked out too badly as Reading are fourth. When they get the scores from Sandhurst sorted out it should be Datchet leading with 2 points (1,1 discard 2) then Reading (2,2 discard 4) and Sandhurst (1,3 discard 4) even on 4 points.
Handy Cross Runners is a bit odd, just 2 runners, don't see why they do it at all. It is an odd rule they have about not running in events they organise (so we have the rule that everyone pitches in before and afterwards) but when they have that rule you would think people would stick to it.
Dachs, odd set of runs indeed but will do you some good. The 20 will deplete the glycogen a lot, what time did you do the runs and what fuelling between? Some people will do a 20 later one day and then run early the next with a high protein but low carb meal in-between and that teaches the body to fat burn nicely.
What's good for the goose...
Why the 20 Dachs? Just missing those long runs?
The explanation for the back to back runs is, rather than any scientific carb depletion strategy, that I could only do my 20 on Sunday, and Monday was the only day I could do a session this week due to various events, school nativity plays etc. The 20 was early Sunday, and the session was last night. The fuelling in between was just my normal food - didn't really give it any thought.
I stuck in a 20 as marathon training starts this week. I don't convert brilliantly up from 10K to half to marathon, so figured more 20s might be the answer. We shall see.
Phil, don't Datchet always lose interest a bit as the season progresses? Do your lot run in any other XC leagues?
dachs - you appear from a distance to be favouring the marathon nowadays. is that the PB you want more than any other or do you just prefer training/racing them?
It's kind of the opposite, to be honest. I'm intending to do VLM and then forget about marathons for a couple of years whilst I concentrate on the shorter stuff. So that means I want to really nail VLM so that I don't have an irritating marathon underperformance nagging at me when I'm trying to do something else.
Right, having managed to tear myself away from the Team GB thread and Dach's pure genius cartoon Scotch Egg, I went for a run!
Managed my first double figures run since before Abo. 10 miles, hilly off-road. I got round, but not without a fair amount of suffering in the last two miles. I'm not sure whether it being painful, but not quite painful enough to make me walk like the last 9 miler I did counts as progress?!! Probably should have stopped at 7 miles when I started to feel it, and I'm sure the hills didn't help but being sensible comes hard to me.