Moraghan Training - Stevie G

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  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    Back to work as in wfh or actually back in the office SG ? If so that'll be good for you, after all that time on yr own.

    Good to see Simon too.

    Chichester 10k  which is Feb has been cancelled,, its a 2000 runners race, but some of it is on motor cct. Looks like it'll be a while for bigger races. That probably wipes out the likes of Reading, Fleet, Eastleigh too.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Wfh TR, with vague mention of they'd "like" to get people back in here and there.


    Cancelling February races is pretty shocking. That's 6 months off for goodness sake.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    Evening double. Thought id try a new approach to the local woods.
    Won't again!
    Dreadful tight dodgy footing footpaths and a huge steep grassy bank i had to walk the last 20metres of😂.
    9.20 pace without those 20m! Though didn't help it was around the site of an old ski slope so i took a few slow wrong turns into the bargain and bending under metal fences etc

    500+ feet climb in 4.5miles which surprised me. 75-80% of that must have been in the first 2miles.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ps they haven't even cancelled the Reading half postponed to 1st Dec yet. Can't be cancelling March anytime soon surely.
  • I had confirmation this week my Cheshire 10K (Farndon-Bartlett) is going ahead with wave starts. They asked for an up to date guesstimated finish time for seeding purposes. Good job I checked as mine was down as 85 minutes which was my Village Bakery Half-Marathon target :D This is in lieu of that as it fell victim to February's flooding!
    Standard 5M at lunch today followed by my lumpy 8M Forest fire trail route this evening.
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    I'm back in the office, 3 days a week for a while at least which suits me really well as we have been suffering to generate new ideas (and hence cash!) with us all being remote but still saves me 2 days of commute / having a wash etc. Have defo missed some day-2-day chat and it's been quite a relief to be there this week.

    I got details through for the 10k I'm running on Sunday. I've sneaked in to the faster wave (sub 60) and it looks like there are about 150 of us in there. It seems I'm seeded about 50th in that wave - I put 38 mins down as an estimated time - so looks like there should be a few to chase at least. It's going to be an interesting experience and one that'll influence me on races going forward in this period.

    I also deferred my London mara place until Oct'21. I still have a Manc place for April but per TR's comments above, I see races like these as pretty unlikely in that time range. 
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    Good to have some work normality wool.

    Reading is off, they have set an April date, and an end of year back up.

    Worthing 10k is going ahead on oct 4th (was june, then aug)  with 7 waves starts 10min apart. Ive deferred sadly as i have Goodwood.
  • Good stuff all - back in the swing of it SG and Wool eh!

    Decent reps SG - my mate said that my 600's must have been 1.51's as his were 1.55's and he was nowhere near 2 secs behind me, which is god to hear as I felt pretty good.

    5 X 1 mile tonight over Luton, interesting route of path, trail and grass. Pretty breezy so happy enough with the 5.32 odd average. Might do a 5K TT Saturday, but sticking to 3.20's religiously.

    Bed now - i'm done!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Surely you have them registered in your watch Simon to remove any doubt?!

    Anyway, just done my second turnout of 2020 so a race report will be forthcoming
    soon.
    ish.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    With my last turnout being a half marathon in Feb, I was determined not to let 2020 end with a "1" in the race count column.

    There's a few bits and pieces springing up and they seem to either be little similar paced gangs in waves, or individually set off runners.

    The Dorney Lake event today offered the latter, with 5 different distances.
    5k-10k-15k-HM-20m

    The 5k sounded like a good way back in, albeit quite pricey at £20.

    F3 organise the events, and they are notorious locally for being a bit loose on distances as well as organisation and price. Plus no PO10.
    However, for what I think might be the first time, the races were actually marked as certified and thus qualify for po10 and RB.

    So all in all, if there was ever a good moment to trial one of these F3 events at Dorney, this was the perfect opportunity. A few Dasher pals would be there too.

    You get a window for each race distance, so mine was 11 - 11.30.
    Turn up at any point, but the second you leave the carpark you have to go to the race start point. 
    15secs minimum in between runners.

    Set off driving at 10.15, when I was going to aim for pre 10, and the sat nav lead me a right merry dance, changing route due to traffic a couple of times, and then taking me in and out of random streets in Chalvey :)

    Oddest bit was a place I think called Dorney Reach, where you have a 60 zone road in the middle of a massive grassy park.
    There's some "stop people turning up and loitering on the land" small grassy mounds, but tonnes of cows in the fields.
    I'm pretty sure those cows could easily wander over these tiny mounds, which is why they have cattle grids at either end of the road (!)

    I wonder how often cows wander into the road and cause massive issues!

    (ed - enough about cows son)

    Anyway, eventually turned up, wondering why i hadn't just driven the way I go to work rather than this random route :D 

    Was also aware of the irony of not having driven to work for 5months, yet driving to a  similar area for a race!

    Marshal at the gate checks you are actually racing with your pack/email, and you're in

    1mile drive down the road behind the lake, and the carpark was pretty polished. 

    I did wonder about warm up, and did consider leaving the car in the layby near by and doing it outside the location, but in the end it worked fine, as the overflow carpark is basically a field you can do a 0.4mile or so loop round.

    Bit of chat with Satnam a Dashers pal,who'd told me it was windy, the course was long, and there was a "choice" of route on one side of the lake :open_mouth: and suddenly dawned on me it was already 11.15 and you're meant to start between 11-11.30

    I'd clocked Kevern, the local star runner on the scene. Probs a sub 15 5k type guy.
    It was clear this wouldn't be the usual low standard affair here - a lot of young fast looking characters milling around - who must be in the 5k as that would be the only race yet to start.

    1.5mile warm up would have to do, as it was already past 11.30, and I had to hurry to the start, and they were literally starting to pack it up :D
    However, no real risk, as the venue would be open another 3hours, and there were still people out doing distances as far as 20miles.

    Set off decently, looked at the watch and it laughably reckoned it was at 4.40 pace.
    Ignore that I thought.

    The bridge was coned off, as you come back that way, so it was round the "other" route round the back, which is usually totally closed off for some reason.

    Monstered past a few people, but I would do, as i'm a few hundred metres into a 5k, and they're probably late on in a 20miler just for one thing.

    The wind was already up, and it was clear it'd be the windy bit round the back, then hopefully still round the other side.

    Oddly the back way feels slightly more of a climb than any bit on the lake - negligible in the scheme of things but plenty of time to think on what is very close to a solo time trial.

    It was pretty clear I wouldn't be seeing anyone actually in my 5k race :)

    There were km markers, scribbled on tiny little sheets to the side, but there were also mile markers. Both for the 5-10-15k route, as well as the HM-20M route (different colours)

    I was pleased to see my watch went off very similarly to the 1mile marker.
    (Having had a mad2mins pre race trying to set my watch to km splits and failing - turns out there is actually a 5th button on this forerunner 235 I've never noticed - shamefully embarrasing :)


    5.36 first mile - mostly into wind, so that's a very decent/keen start!

    Gets harder after that, as despite going past a few people, the keeness is wearing off and reality kicking in. Wind isn't helping either, so am willing the change of direction on!!!

    Bit of a fiddle round a bend, doing this little dog leg around a corner or two at one end of the lake, and we're into the return leg, yes!

    Still - no wind, lovely! Can instantly feel the effort feeling easier.

    Second mile comes up at 5.52- that's ok, wind in there, and a faster mile left. Again the mile marker pretty bang on.






  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Splitting the route up via little bridges now - we're getting there. Breathing feels right level - very hard to judge if I'm at the right effort level though without anyone even vaguely in and around me.

    Past a few more probably doing about 8-9min miling, clearly on a longer race, but I'm ticking over 5.45 or so now - feels decent for the situation.

    Closing in on the bridge near the finish, and the 3mile split goes off, bang in line.

    5.46

    Hang on i think, this won't get me back to the finish in 0.1miles :)

    3.2miles on the clock, and I go over the line in 18.16
    I was after something in the 17xx, but it's clearly long today, and my watch quickly tells me I hit 5k in 17.50.
    Not normally something I'd do in taking a split like that, but today was clearly over.

    The 10k people got 6.4m, and two ladies I spoke to got over 20.5miles for their 20s :)

    They do say don't go off watches, but when everyone's well over - it's clearly the course.
    Kevern was mid 15s when he should be low 15s, and I saw Pete's mate at Windle, whose name I forget but he's a bit of a gurner did a 1.17 half, which must be a good 2mins off what he could do with the extra distance.

    Not sure how they got it so significantly wrong, as with the start and finish at different places, though level with each other (20metres apart the other side of the boat house), all they need to do is move the finish line forward 0.1mile!


    All in, it was a good loosener - I probably should have got out a bit quicker in my zone to at least have people ahead or behind to add pressure.
    The extra distance is an F3 hazard, but clearly long and worth something in the 17s which will do.
    Windy half of a route, and solo after so long without this intensity will affect things for sure.

    This will very likely be how racing will be for a good 3-6months, so It's this or nothing, so it's certainly better than nothing.
    Other races will probably favour the little gangs in a wave approach, which will probably add that little extra you can't find solo :)
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    12th in the 5k out of 50 odd.
    That says it all about today, often this race is very low standard, so for Kevern to be 3rd in mid 15s says it all.

    I did chuckle at someone topping the HM in 57mins though :D
    Bearing in mind he'll have done an extra 2mins or so, that's one hell of a world record ;)

    Or he was a 10 or 15k guy who went off in the wrong wave :)
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    Well done SG, good to see you getting out there. View it as a rust buster.

    Fwiw, Worthng 10k is now taking place on oct 4th, 7 waves 10 mins apart, so youd get more of a race. Ive had to defer my place as i have Goodwood the week before.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ta TR -  felt tough, but you really miss that simple joy of turning out. That post race drive is always great :)

    Will scout out other events on - any suggestions from anyone let a brother know. Probably something fairly local (hour ish) before any specific long trips (like Worthing) for now, but am all ears.
    Midweekers etc too - as I still have 29.5 day hol to take before end of March, so would work well.
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    Dorney Common, where the Commoners of Dorney graze their livestock. Lovely spot, run across there often. The cows often sh*t me up and yes, they often cause traffic chaos too.

    I've said it elsewhere SG but well done for just getting out there and getting a race in. For someone who I’d have placed on the meticulous end of the spectrum, I’m amazed that you weren’t down there earlier though. Get there more promptly and you’ll be under 18 next time!
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Looking around google a bit, it doesn't look a great set up, having a 60 limit zone, and cows millimetres from the road :disappointed:

    Cattle on Dorney Common Buckinghamshire stop traffic Editorial Stock Photo  - Stock Image  Shutterstock
  • Good turnout SG but whoever measured that course clearly needs to learn their metric/imperial conversion. Can’t believe it will actually have Po10 status.
    At least you got a multi-post report & hassle-free parking for your £20 :D 
    Actually had my 1st race today: 9.4M in the Brecon Beacons. Time trial format, only 30 runners & I was off 13th. Done the race twice before in 17 & 18. Always smashed a parkrun beforehand to warm-up but opted for a more casual morning. Arrived just in time to pick up my number, lose some ballast & get changed. No warm-up at all & no atmosphere to get myself hyped. Ended up 3:20 slower than my best to the summit, made up some time with a better line on the steep descent but still couldn’t get fired up with no-one to aim at after 10K. I’d overtaken 10 & been passed by 3 so with nobody left to chase/breathing down my neck it was a speedier training run tbh. The eventual winner passed me with 2M to go but he was in a different class altogether (3-8 mins ahead of 2nd-4th) so no chance of hanging on. Finished about 2 minutes behind my best but 8th overall. Lovely day out for only a fiver including post-race bruschetta & chips even if it did require a 130M round trip!
  • The BusThe Bus ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    Bruschetta and chips Jools? Weirdest line I've read on this thread  :disappointed: Good work in the TTFR though!

    Likewise SG - not only good to see you raising in a decent time, but have missed the reports (and especially the tangents!!!).  Why on Earth did you need to use a sat-nav to get there though, when you do half your tempos there?

    And those cows aren't mm from the road unless they can hover  :)

    (ps - it's not a "60" limit either. It's National Speed Limit, which is different depending on the class of vehicle you are driving. Have you not had to go on a speed awareness course??  B) )

    Not posted much recently, as my runs have been almost identical since March so bugger all to say really!


  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Made me look the rules up there Bus - luckily i wasn't towing anything, or in a goods delivery vehicle :D
    So 60 limit (not a target as my old driving instructor would say!) was fine for me, on such a single carriageway ;)

    But yes - ludicrous using the sat nav - i thought there might be a quicker way but ahem..not so.


    Jools - that's a hell of a drive effort for what could easily have been a total solo effort. 9.4miles and only 30 people! You were lucky you had some sort of turnover of positions and seeing people!
    Cheap price though.



    Going forward these sort of setups will get more usual - but no atmosphere is a big thing.
    You normally have that real buzz when you get close to the start time. These events just don't have it.

    I notice there's a good few options in October, but ideally will knock something else off soon.
    For one thing - all these events have the threat of short notice cancellation - so we need to grab them when we can!
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    In fairness to F3, they've just emailed admitting to the long course!!
    As below




    Some runners spoke to our team today about the course measuring longer than expected on running watches and apps.

    We debriefed carefully with the team today and checked over the sections that had been changed to ensure safe distancing - the turning points, start and finish areas. 

    We are required to remove or reduce potential for runners to merge or cross on courses, and be running in opposing directions on narrow sections of pathway. In assessing the risks whilst setting out the various run courses this morning, our team determined that the turning point at the top of the lake needed a slight adjustment to ensure we could safely managed the large numbers across the five distances.

    It wasn't possible to know or communicate with you any possible change to the overall distance this might have in the time we had available before you ran, which is why we couldn't give a clear answer on site today, but we can now see the small distance addition to the 5K lap.

    Although making this change was essential, of course we're sorry for the additional effort you had to make in your run, especially over multiple laps. We'll be making further improvements to the course before our next events at Dorney Lake to ensure both complete safety and accuracy.   

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Just a 12 today then, for a 7 day running week, and 63mile week.

    Went back to the little offroad section from a previous route, and stayed on the "footpath" this time.
    Footpath basically being a ploughed field you'd barely know led anywhere if you hadn't previously bungled it and checked the map.

    It emerges into no man's land onto a national speed limit road, with a minimum half a mile to the next actual pavement either side. Was ok at this time of day though, and there is a bank to leap onto.

    Will scout around for a couple of race options up soonish, and await Wool and Pete's BP summary today :)

    But focusing on 5k sessions and races and acting like this is May or June seems a decent plan right now!
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    Was a nice surprise to bump in to Pete this morning in the starting queue. I got it a bit wrong, and stayed chatting for too long and that meant I had to basically start last, over 4 mins after the 1st few went off and 2 mins behind Pete. No issues though, I remember being overtaken by 4 others over the 4 laps, including the winner who lapped me (!) and overtook oodles.

    Nothing else to report really. Didn’t catch Pete, didn’t get in a total mess and quite enjoyed that feeling of being just inside the limit for half and hour or so. 36:56 in the end. 30s or so outside of my PB off zero specific training. Mile splits in the range 5:58 -> 5:51, I do love even splits!

    Almost faultless organisation by runthrough, 1st couple of km markers were out but got back to about right after 4km. Parking, toilets, 35 mins from home. May we’ll go back in October. Maybe see some of you there.

    Pete had a strong run. I could see his red vest towards the end but it was always just out of touching range!!  

  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    SG - good they're looking at correcting the route distances, as per yday use it as a rust buster. Would be annoying if a 1/2 or full mara was long though, as you cant go do another one too soon.

    Wool - nice one, good to see you get the better of reluctance to get back out there. Decent time too, should encourage you to get back to it a bit more. Good work by Run Through, i hope they do as well at Goodwood.
  • PeteMPeteM ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    Yes good to see Wool at the Battersea 10k and a great run by him to go 36'xx after such a long time off racing. I echo all he said really; superb organisation and an excellent morning out. Plenty of pace in the race and felt like a proper event being off at 9.02am despite the social distancing. Wide off road locations are made for social distanced events and guess Goodwood should be like that for you TR. 

    As for me I was pretty happy with 38'51 and a very evenly paced race for once. I thought the k markers were ok for the first 4, then came too quick, so the reverse of Wool. However my Garmin almost always under-reprots distance so same old there.

    4 laps feels pretty hard as you have to keep motivating for more of the same, but they seemed to pass pretty quickly and the coolish weather helped too. Would definitely do more Run Through events like these and a big contrast to the stories from Dorney yesterday from SG and others (excellent run in the circs SG btw). 

    Not been posting much lately as my running had a) been nothing exciting and b) sub standard. Been doing (not) parkruns each week  but times were getting worse with a 19'4x on an easy flat Woking course 2 weeks ago the most disappointing. Then managed to pull out a 38'4x on the slightly short club 10k last Sunday so that gave me confidence to enter Battersea. 

    Good to see races starting again and congrats to Simon, Jools and Joe on getting going racing again and turning in decent efforts. 
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Well done chaps - sound good turnouts in a much better format and on target to expectations with no need to rely on splits on watches etc :)

    As you say Pete - 4 laps sounds a challenge. Some people love 10k, but I've always preferred 5mile in the "mid" range of events. Prefer 5k to both as well. Maybe it's a long way to go for just 5k I suppose, that never worries me though. Probably a feeling of you can do a 5k every week on your doorstep in normal climes too for free with parkrun.

    Do they start and finish similar to the Sri Chim events? Or do they start nearer that bandstand?

    I dare say we could put a little thread outing into the October BP?

    I'll put the tempos on hold for a bit, and look to do 2 sessions a week of 5k sessions. Helps with still integrating back into work with less time for the runs too, but to give it a good go you need a few weeks of these.

  • Good work Wool/Pete! Both cracking times and must have been nice to be racing again!

    15M hilly off-road today (for a change!) to make 50 for the week for the second week running. It felt much harder work than last week and, er, that's about it news wise from me :smiley:
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    bandstand SG. 

    Nice run Bus. 

    My old body will only allow one session a week nowadays. Tried to do 2 the other week and had to give up in the middle of the club session when I couldn’t hold 6 min miling for three minute reps! 

    Are we allowed to talk about the potential for future races SG or do you prefer the cloak of secrecy?
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    Well done pete, thanks a long way from a damaged calf and thoughts of packing it in.
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    Forgot to mention that as I drove home today I stopped at a zebra crossing In Fulham to allow Lord Coe to cross. All sorts of thoughts went through my mind.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    You can reveal your own races by all means Wool :)

    I'm looking at the array of options in mid to late October

    Hyde Park, Newbury, Bedford, Battersea Park.
    First 3 over one weekend in fairness. (17/18th, BP on the 24th)

    I may well have a couple of turnouts at a couple of these 4 though.

    Keeping an eye out on Nice Work's set of races, as they said they'll release their whole set  for 2020 this week.

    ps Wool I wouldn't worry too much about the Dasher sessions. The last one I went to i put in real couldn't be assed effort.
    The older I get the more I think I prefer setting my own sessions and doing them on my own watch.

    Start when you want, do it at your pace, not tempted to race xxx at silly mph, and obviously no waiting for ages in the evening for it to start etc,
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