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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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SC - well done to Jr. Well done on the double races whilst lurgified. Steady this week sounds sensible.
SG - I didn't realise there were 12 stage issues. I don't think we're putting a team out as I think it clashes with Reading HM if I remember rightly.
I got the long run monkey off of my back today. Bar the first and last 3m it was all run on a loop of ~2.85m - only 2 road crossings (and usually trouble free ones), with 2 small drops and 2 small climbs each lap.
Ended up with 20.37m as: 3m moderate (7:47), 4 x 5km off of 5mins moderate (7:54 average), and then a 3m jog (8:54) home to finish.
The first 3 x 5km were at 80% effort (cMP + 30-40s per mile), and the last was 85% effort (cMP + 15-25s per mile). Paces were 6:57, 6:54, 6:53, and 6:44. Puts MP @ around 6:23m/m at the moment I guess.
But Cabbage Patch 10 and Great South run clashed last year too.
Understand you can't avoid everything, but there should be some sort of overall planning.
ps 20+ with similar loops is certainly a decent shift. You must be a mental machine.
I'm weighing up some 3x2m HMP action tomorrow, with the conundrum of track v road.
Both have major pros and cons
Track - safe, easier running, but 30min round trip. Bit more mental drudge.
Local loop - can leave later, change/pitstop after a warm up. No drive.
Mentally easier in one way, but obviously harder physically to hit the same paces
Reasonably decent response time, they're going ahead with it...same venue same day!
No problem having a 60,000 game on right next to a relay apparently!
My take on rep locations is: if it's important to hit the pace do it on track, otherwise if it's just about the effort, then do it wherever is logistically easier.
Not to mention the day ending very close to the game ending, meaning a nightmare trip back! Joy!
In fairness TT, I'm no stranger to a loop. I used to do a 0.9mile loop round my old school. It had a slight up and a slight down in different places to break it up, and i'd often do a 7 or 8 lapper.
Similarly, have done many a 6mile tempo on the track!
Took your last line as my mentality today. I think for reps up to about 600m track is probably essential, as you'll simply not hit it otherwise.
Anything from half a mile up there's other benefits from a road route.
3x10mins for me today off 2mins then (change of plan from the original 3x2m HMP as that tends to be a close to race day sesh).
Varying route, with first rep half mile on grass for instance. The rest a mix of very slightly undulating roads and turns.
Always forget to turn the mile splits off, meaning I have to do a bit more maths after (!), but essentially averages of
6.06, 6.01, 6.01
I'd like to be sub 6, but on road I suspect that's alright. And a step up from the 6.11 for 6mile continuous I did last Tuesday, as it should be really!
Those tempo paces have improved quite considerably, SG.
TT/SG – I do like the Worcester racecourse loop – 2M on the nose, flat, traffic free and only two sharp turns. I agree that having ‘stuff’ in a longer run can really help, although I do like the ability to travel further and see more. Well done on the first long one in a while, TT.
The kill or cure worked out well for you, SC. Less so for a mere mortal like myself!
Enjoyed the report, Reg. And very well run in the ridiculously competitive V40 division. I am trying to be mindful of your ups and downs and realise that there can still be a very strong end product even when there are bumps in road throughout training.
Looked a cracking trip to Anglesey, Jools. Did you go up twice during half term? Over Farm XC this weekend?
Quick report on Bourton 10k:
The Saturday afternoon XC race/Sunday morning 24M hilly long run on the previous weekend left me pretty wiped out. I had planned only short runs during the half term break, but to be honest, I couldn’t have managed more even if I’d wanted. Disrupted sleep and quite a few lengthy car journeys left the body in a pretty sorry state by Saturday (although I did manage a first parkbuggyrun of the year which was lovely). On Saturday evening I considered sacking off Bourton 10k, but wasn’t quite brave enough to make that call.
Felt ok during the usual warm up, but had a nagging doubt and lingering sense of a cold that were all signs to make some sort of adjustment to the race plan. Obviously I didn’t, and went out at 5:50 pace anyway. Through 5k in just under 18:20, but all the while knowing it was far too hard. As soon as there was a very slight incline before the turnaround, I blew to pieces. 3:40 km splits turned into a 4:22. Whilst I rallied slightly, my head and body were gone and I coasted in. A weird experience to be overtaken quite so much and also not to be absolutely burying myself in the latter half of a race.
Finished in 39:13 and felt appalling for the rest of the day. Went to bed at 1930 and haven’t felt much better since. A day off yesterday and rest and recovery must be a focus for a while. A shame as I was building very nicely, but got to (eventually) listen to the body.
But seriously though, a mix of an absolutely brutal mix of race/long run, driving and feeling a bit ill quite comfortably explains that drop.
All about testing limits, and some have none - like the guy at my club who did a sub 2hour 20miler 2 weeks ago, 23miler last weekend, then tempo reps Tuesday, and then pumped a 1.12 half out!
Whereas another local guy claimed a 1.22 solo HM, 12 days out, reps on the Tuesday then ran 1.21 on the day!
I just can't fathom going anywhere near all in for that distance solo in training.
I was in Anglesey for the first weekend then Conwy Valley the weekend just gone. Lots of hill climbing: walking & running.
SG - good tempo reps. I think my longest continuous tempo on track might have been 20km. A 1:22 solo to a 1:21 race implies he left his race in his TT. Was your clubmate RF?
Yesterday was a 12m moderate/4m jog double, and today started with 3m as c25k with my wife, and 8mins of Lydiard style hill exercises. The overall average of over 12m/m for the run, which shows that sometimes pace is unimportant. Will be at track tonight and considering doing my own thing and avoiding the group for a bit as I need strength work rather than speed work at the moment.
Will probably drop the jog on Tuesdays to make it just a single run MLR for the time being until I get some consistency in too, to leave just two double days normally (my commute days).
1.22/1.21 is well known for rinsing it in training. He's early 30s now so won't change for anyone.
Different route for my Wednesday 8. Keep it fresh from the usual.
Track last night. Just 3 reps, but almost double the volume of the previous week's 8 x 400m cruises. Still being cautious post covid with volume of quicker stuff so resisted the urge to carry on. All @ ~10m effort - 1600m (6:05), 2000m (7:38), 2400m (9:05). Calves and feet were very aware of yesterday's hill exercises on this morning's jog commute!
But he's also a guy who did the Marlow HM route solo a week or 10 days before the race once, and only took 60-90secs off!
One of the paces must be the wrong level
Hopefully you'll see a decent staggered recovery bears fruit at the right level.
I spoke of hamstring tightness after a couple of miles at Wokingham and it's been very sore this week. I managed a 6 mile trot on Monday but after that I could feel the damage I'd done in the race. No running Tue/Wed and although it felt quite a bit better this morning a possibly ill advised 6 mile recovery jog early doors has flared it up a bit.
I'll see tomorrow, if it's better than before this morning's run I'll go again, otherwise it'll be the bike instead.
Good to get a session in TT.
SQ - Sounds like you needed a nice rest!
Another solid session SG, I wonder if I had your measured approach whether I'd have more success or if the risk taking is actually worth it.
Obviously those words can mean different things to different people.
You're able to come in from niggles, or doing mad stuff and hit good times, but last spring showed that you're no different really, as a great consistent block had your best times, pure and simple.
What do you hill exercises incorporate, TT?
Enjoyed your first sentence, Reg
Feeling 90% better illness wise, although still appallingly stiff glutes. The driving has wrecked me!
Easy running only so far, although did go slightly further today. Not completely sold on the XC this Sunday, although in some ways going there and putting a limit on effort – strictly tempo etc – would probably be quite a satisfying but low risk way of doing things.
I listened to a phone in on Radio 5 which was about people (women) feeling uncomfortable when exercising in public. To be clear, I have 3 daughters and know that they get a lot of unsolicited verbal abuse while out running and that is totally unacceptable. However, one lady rang in and said she felt unsafe running out in the countryside on her own and felt unsafe in the town when there are other runners who passed by her and tried to exchange pleasantries. I am just not clear what she wanted: if I am passing other runners as I find that if you pass by unannounced they often get shocked as they are in a world of their own with headphones in. How is anyone expected to know that a "Nice day for the time of the year" is going to upset someone?
I do see some dogs with hi-viz vests with instructions on. Some of those are fine but if it says "nervous, please keep 2 metres away" then what am I expected to do?
3.37
3.33
3.32
3.35
3.38
3.34
Slight range as you often get on different road sections. Probably averaging in the 3.34xx mixer.
Threw in 5x30secs "hard" off 30secs after, off the clock.
Had entertained the idea of trying out my unused Alphas, sat in the box since the "cheap" deal a year or so ago, but in the end stuck with milking the value out of these clattered 4%s.
396miles so far.
Can't say they're as bouncy as they were! But still fine for tempos.
Eventually it'll be long runs, get that value back!
I do find a lot of women runners to be a bit rude when it comes to pleasantries. Personally I think it's more about being self-conscious than scared as you don't get the same level of ignorance with female walkers. A lot of women runners keep their head down and most wear headphones, probably in an attempt blinker themselves from the world around.
As far as what you're supposed to do about the lady mentioned, nothing is the answer. There's a lot of these people who seem to expect their environment to change to suit them, rather than adapting. If you're scared then buy a treadmill, don't go out running or just get over it. I figure I do my bit to make the world safer for women as I am always out running and I am never attacking them! Also I am there to help protect them should any other male runners out there decide to mix up their jogging with a bit of raping
Leg felt better this morning so another easy 40 minutes, still a touch sore but not as bad as yesterday.
To feel unsafe if a fellow runner says hello is a bit ridiculous though, especially in a town in the daytime.
PMJ - Aylesbury is a decent course, sensible training TT, hope you feel better soon SQ. Good K's for the road and all that brings SG.
Relays wise - email out today saying it's the Sunday 2nd April at the Olympic stadium
Anyway, annoyingly my nose won't stop running - no sinus pain and no more green snot/infection stuff, but still blowing the bloody thing. So just done 5 miles the last 3 mornings plus a little segment blast this morning, legs feel fine and no coughing, so not too bad.
Arsenal away tomorrow, so that's going to be a pasting. At least the pre match pub is good.
I assume laps are a given? How the heck I'm still ending up not just on a long leg, but well up the ranks I do not know
Not an appetising game for you. You need to lobby West Brom and a few clubs like that and set up a middle division in between!
I was up on the same path on Wednesday and different woman was there with many dogs and she was shouting out for one. She had some tracker on him and said he wasn't far away. I found him and he was happily chewing on the carcass of some dead animal.
I was up in the woods above Adam's Park yesterday and someone has screwed poems to the finger posts on the public footpaths. I am not sure what the pros and cons of that are: seems like a lot of effort to go to and a very limited audience.
Interesting weekend for me, I did a couple of hours on the bike and then during my daughter's gymnastics an hour or so later a 10km run but the hamstring tightened sooner than in previous runs and was pretty sore afterwards. So come Sunday I was planning on the bike again but by lunchtime the leg didn't feel too bad so I chanced a run. I had been hoping it would have improved enough to tackle the week's planned 22 mile long run but it seemed fanciful upon first setting out. I decided on doing local loops in case I had to walk it in. I stopped a couple of times to stretch and check for soreness but apart from the initial flare up it didn't get any worse so I just kept going, changing the loop every now and then when I got bored. Eventually got to the 22 miles in a little over three hours! So it was a very slow run but I was delighted to get it done.
It made me curious as to what the difference is in training benefit to say doing a long slow run like this one and maybe doing it over a minute a mile faster with some MP near the end i.e. what I'd like to have done. Whilst it felt like a dawdle out there, today I do feel a little tired.
My mood improved even more when I saw the football scores
And I've seen Wycombe battered 6-0 a couple of times at home.
Only positive is whether you lose 1-0 or 73-0, it's just 3 points up for grabs.
An awkward weekend, with Wycombe throwing points away, and SC's mob, against all odds being 2-0 up to Arsenal, but still managing to lose in about the 100th minute. Garhh.
Reggie - no doubt at first it's a case of simply getting the mileage in and then as it feels more natural, ramp a bit of effort in.
There's no surprise that the people who can sustain these long runs with a bit of quality see benefits throughout their other races.
Set off yesterday wondering about doing a bit less mileage but maybe a couple of steady miles thrown in.
Did a route up to Beaconsfield, into the town a bit, then back to Holtspur. Along to Wash Hill in Wooburn which is a real steep down, and at the bottom of that entertained slightly ramping up a bit. Only was seeing about 6.50 and came out about 6.55, so just decided to step back to standard effort level and do 15.
7.15 in the end, for a 7th week in a row of that distance or above.
Would have to check, but that's got to be up there with my longest sequence of longer than standard long runs.
Did some hills before I sent down to London - and did about 12 yesterday. 9 this morning and I will do about 4k with the lad later.
Nose still running but it seems to be drying up very slowly!
Reg- good man. Those time on feet slower runs are good for time on feet and run economy. The faster finish P and D long runs prepare you for the later stages of a mara. A mix of both is good.
Struggled to get moving again after CV19, but a bit like Reg i managed to keep tagging on extras until id done 20m saturday, and backed it up with 15m Sunday. Well timed with 4 wks to go and having not done a long run for a few weeks.
I planned a recovery 6+4 double yesterday but after the morning 6 miler I was up getting stuff out of the loft and stepped on what I expected to be the edge of the loft hatch but it turned out to be the centre of the loft hatch also known as thin air! Hence I plummeted to the landing floor like a stone, just falling into the narrow gap between the bottom of the ladder and the balustrade opposite. It's at times like this you appreciate being fit, light and doing a bit of yoga as I landed on my feet and absorbed the fall finishing in a deep squat. Apart from a few scratches on my elbow and friction burns on one hand, all was well. My achilles was a bit sore later so I judged a 4 mile run wasn't worth the risk.
I can't seem to go through a sustained period of time without some sort of accident or near miss.
4x1mile, 2x0.5m, 2x30secs for me today. Each rep off 90secs.
Set off with the mile reps as a given, and sort of banged the other bits on afterwards.
5.58, 5.53, 5.57, 5.54
2.55, 2.54 (both 5.42 pace as 2.54xx's and 0.51mile)
5.16 & 5.30 for the 30sec bits.
Felt like I was battling to get those miles under 6 during, but actually they're a bit further under than I realised.
Similar for the "half miles". I'd seen 2.54xx pop up so assumed around 5.48.
But having only programed the 4x1mile in, I was taking the half miles manually, and they were actually 0.01m more, hence a much more pleasing 5.42 average there too.
Amazing how comfortable half miles a good chunk quicker feel after a number of 1mile reps isn't it!
Yes Pete Mack did 2.27 in Tokyo, PB. Jo from our training group ran 2.56 too.
Reg - going to be a tight title race now. I read your fall story through my fingers. Certainly got away with one there.
SG - Decent reps. When I was a bit younger and faster doing 68-69 400 reps felt nice after having to blast 28 second 200m reps
No Luton tonight. Weather grim, coach not there either. Might do the 10 x 400 with 8 min tempo each side.