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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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Then bus to Bedford as the kid was doing an 800 at the youth development leage, then was asked to help with the U13 girls javelin. Just thought I was fetching them, but ended up doing the registration/clipboard/you next!/horn thing!
Was good fun, loving the difference in them all - couple very sarcastic/funny above their age, couple of space cadets etc..good to see them having a go.
Not a lot going on here. Easy effort, probably not feeling as easy as it should as can still feel the chest ache.
Icing, ibuprofen etc.
Had enjoyed a faster sort of mile today on a slight down, but smile wiped off soon after.
Some genius was cycling down a steep hill on the pavement, round a blind bend into me
I sort of half caught him, made sure he didn't go over, and after dispensing some "tips" on how he shouldn't even be on the damn pavement, I went off ok.
Feels a bit tight there, but I'm not sure if it's how it usually feels that far in with this chest thing or it's a bit more on top.
Will be furious if it's put me back a while.
Oh well, can run for now which is no small mercy.
I had a bit of fun yesterday, for once I was the driver and the other guy was the runner! I was taking my family to a colour run and turning into a side road as a runner was approaching the same junction towards me, I briefly considered letting him cross first, even though I got there first but upon checking my rear view mirror, another car was close behind so I thought better of it so continued and went to raise a hand to the runner as a courtesy. I was met with a double middle finger salute, hands held tight at the waist, like he was trying to do it in a way that only I would see. Anyway my youngest child saw it so I decided to stop and get out to have a 'word'.
He was a fairly short and portly gentleman, decked in shorts & tights
He kind of stuttered something about 'I bet you don't even earn much money, probably not even thirty, I mean forty thousand (make your mind up son), I probably earn 2-3 times what you earn!' he insisted!
I pointed out this was a somewhat strange segway but since he had moved the conversation onto petty 'd**k measuring, and given he was out running, perhaps we should discuss running times and the fact that he was wearing shorts over his tights. He replied saying that he knew he was a 'fat f*ck' and needed to run more
That is until you hear of a kid being stabbed in Wycombe the other day. Just a lotto picking the wrong person, or being in the wrong place.
While shorts over tights in this weather must be a real sweatfest - though maybe that's the aim (?), it's never a great view seeing middle aged blokes with skintight lycra as the top level :O
And just in case anyone's wondering, no I'm not going to be following up this spell of clatterings with an almost flat out race, Reggie style
Got a problem Reggie?
I entered the Bracknell half, it was cheap actually £22.50 and if anyone fancies a run out I have a link for £10 off if it's your first event with let's do this. That would be £17.50.
https://www.letsdothis.com/r/ANDREW7108-AHHHGD
Once again I have given myself an injury that's not through running itself. Got a stiff back from diving back into floor exercises too readily, more especially double leg raises (lying on your back).
Did it Monday - I think the 30 x 200 I did on the close by tarmac track didn't help on Tuesday.
Eastern masters last night at MK - was non scoring 3,000 - so ran that uncomfortably in 9.56 to warm up for the 400m. Did that and was 2nd last in 62.8.
Getting up this morning, don't think it's helped my back much....
(not knocking that as I'm not sure i'd be beating that right now
Decided after that not to bother again.
I also found a £5 discount code, I didn't disclose that, hence your confusion
I definitely leave certain strains alone. 'Leave well alone' is quite a good mantra...
Nice race/long run combo, SC. Got to embrace these warmer days 😊. Great to hear about the youth development as well. These things simply don’t exist for youngsters without volunteers.
Haha Reg, enjoyed that. What a complicated small yet round man! Flipbelt on every training run for me – good for phone, key, dextrose etc without any bouncing round. Worth a dab of Vaseline on the small of your back though.
Ticking along here now nearly four weeks post-Manchester Marathon.
Did a 20M into work and then an 18 five days later, hitting 75M for a rolling seven day window – certainly knew about that. Have got back into hill reps with 6 x 2 mins hard up hill last week, up to 8 this week. Also dropping in the longer hills when possible.
As tomorrow will be exactly three weeks to the Dartmoor Discovery, I will do a final big long run. Plan to leave at 0545 for some road hills, up onto Cleeve Common, then dropping back down for parkrun. A three hour warm up for parkrun seems excessive, but needs must. Not really sure how far it will be, more concerned with time on feet and elevation.
Tomorrow I will make very rare use of a camelback for some electrolytes, a banana, some dried apricots and maybe a gel or two. Don’t really enjoy running round with so much stuff, but it serves a purpose on this occasion. At the race itself there are ten aid stations, nine of which you can leave your own supplies. So I am thinking I will leave, at the even numbered stations, small bottles of water with electrolyte in and either a banana or gel taped to them.
I have a flipbelt, it's not bad but still moves around a bit and if for whatever reason I need to take my phone out mid run, I really then notice it when I put it back in.
My last minute decision to do Bracknell half turned out to be a silly one! I thought it would be fun little run out and really convenient given my office is a short jog from the start. I also thought maybe I could pick up a few route ideas for lunchtime runs.
Got to the start and there was a fair size queue to pick up the number but it moved quickly enough and it was quite a relaxed and informal atmosphere. As we're called to the start, I waited right at the front as I expected the standard to be fairly low at the sharp end. There were a couple of local faces though, Neil K from Bracknell who'd just run 2:21 at London and Dachs was also there along with a couple of others whom I didn't know but they looked the part.
As we started it was clear that NK was not giving it full beans and there was a group of about 6 of us together for the first few miles and it felt pretty comfortable. I joked early on that this was like an assault course as we made our way through subways, tight turns and those weird staggered, offset metal railings you get at the beginning of footpaths.
First mile was 5:29 before an uphill second mile in 5:56 and then a nice long downhill on the Harvest ride which was 5:11. It was at this point that Dachs and I separated into a share of 2nd/3rd with 4th/5th dropping back and the leader slowly pulling away.
The plan was not really to be through 5km in 17:10 but I am here now and so is Dachs, so it would be rude not to run with him. And so for the next 4 miles we had a little thread party, pretty much in lockstep, albeit briefly and marginally separated by various bits of street furniture, sharp turns and gradient changes.
It was one such turning that created a larger gap, as a not very well marked sharp turn and a sprinkling of confusion, led to some distance between us, not wishing to take advantage of this, I looked round a few times to make sure he was working his way back. I suspect however that it was this running whilst turning round that contributed to my historically vulnerable hamstring pulling, as it was only moments later, once we were back together that I felt a pain. Given that I often only feel this tightness post race and this time I felt it immediately, I knew I was done, despite Dachs' insistence that I'd be fine
I ran on for another mile or so, gradually slowing down and gingerly making my way down another steep hill, before it tightened to a point where I knew it was futile. Thankfully I wasn't too far from the finish at this point of the course so walked it in from there, trying not to do that thing where you keep grabbing the back of your leg to tell everyone that you've injured yourself
Anyway well done to Dachs for a good run. I've had worse tears than this and got back very easy running within a week but given that it keeps happening, I might give it a bit longer than I have in the past.
Ah Reg, that’s a bummer of an outing. Still, fun being near the front for the first half at least. Hope the hammy follows its usual course and is right again soon. The DD is 32.6M and 4000ft elevation. Road. Going to have to be careful with a 13M descent to begin!
Got out early Saturday for the long training run. Good to meet a mate for the first 7M as we began the hills – four road hills (with Alex pulling off after two), then into a trail up to the highest point of the Cotswolds. Averaging about 8:40 miling, although the mile splits varied wildly. Really enjoyed how quiet it was, meeting hardly a sole for the first three hours.
Came off Cleeve Hill on the road, to be stopped by an old American lady in a Range Rover. Literally blocked the road and beckoned me to the window. Having finished dragging on her fag, she then pointed to the dead end at the top of the hill and said: “Tell me my fucking navigation system is wrong. Is that London Town?”
Into the Bel Air of Cheltenham to gawp at some ridiculous houses whilst doing a few smaller hills, before arriving at parkrun with 22M on the clock.
Timed it pretty well with a loop of the park and then just a couple of minutes standing around in the briefing. Legs felt shocking when we restarted, but it was a good way to knock off the final section. 25:46 and not much else on offer!
A mile or so jog before my wife picked me up on route the lido – thank god she did as I definitely wouldn’t have made the rendezvous on time. 25.9M with 3100 ft ascent at 8:35 average. A few mintues stopping here and there to fiddle with phone, toilet etc. A big morning and definitely good prep for DD. God knows how there is another 1000ft in the race itself
Unlucky Reggie, sounds unfortunate that you couldn't at least make it in with a run, but at least you still properly finished.
Ben MD somehow managed to carve off 1/3 or more of a mile and DQ'd himself.
Seems that around 9miles or so it was unclear where to go? What did you make of it?
Surprised me with Ben, 1, because he always does Staines 10k as it's one of the most generous vet prizes awards over 50 in the country, and 2, because he works and lives in Bracknell I believe, so assumed he knows it inside out?
Hope your hamstring is the usual. Always sounds strange to a lot of us, as we're used to the footballers, tweak it and out for 6 weeks. Yours seem to be minor in recovery, but enough to stop you dead.
Post that slip, which must have been a lot harder an impact than I'd given it credit for at the time, I saw out 2 weeks around 55/56miles at standard sort of effort. Weekly 13 in there.
Today put a light sesh in. Classic diagonals for 12mins on a footy pitch (hard effort corner to opposite corner, jog goal line).
Before and after I'd done assorted romps up and down the touchlines etc too.
No worries about paces or splits, but it felt good chest wise. Slight feel after when finished, but no, quite promising.
Will have to get proper sessions back on the agenda soon, then start thinking about getting a 5k on paper, to try and beat it later on!
Oh year, awards do on the Friday night. Picked up my 2 pots. Was there 3 1/2 hours but still only a bit beyond 10 when I left (got all dark, loug and dancey - have learnt over many years that's my cue to leave
Home for 11, and slept until midday the next day! Haven't slept in that long for about 15 years I think, and that'd have been off a much later finish.
Don't think i've ever done that even with a massive hangover!
As Reg says, thought I'd have a crack at the Bracknell Half, because I'm not really as quick as I would like to be at the moment so I'm just chalking off some local races whenever I fancy rather than going round the country chasing times. Glad Reg has the splits covered because I couldn't be arsed looking at my watch until the finish. After he dropped back I was basically on my own and just ran it in for 2nd in 1:14:30 ish, with the winner well ahead and third some way behind (or at least I assumed, in the end it was 1 minute). Fine on a lumpy, fussy course.
Most upsettingly, the whole way round I had the song "Too Many Broken Hearts in the World" by Jason Donovan stuck in my head. I have not heard this song for 30 years, and hated it at the time. Why on earth it cropped up in my head I have no idea.
SG, in that part of the course it was mostly arrows on lampposts. I managed to follow without problems, but I suppose the difference is that I knew I had no choice but to follow the signs whereas because Ben knows Bracknell well he might have slightly pre-empted the signs.
SG, saw your awards do photos. You scrub up reasonably well when you throw a suit on.
Sounds like quite a training run SQ. The chain smoking foul mouthed American lady sounds like it might be someone I work with. Not sure what the target is, but it must be a right bastard of a race.
Like you I wasn't really aware of the splits during the race, that's just a bit of poetic licence! I just had heart rate on my watch but I did notice the odd auto lap so had a rough idea on the pace. Not being a PB course is quite liberating in that regard.
I did not suspect you were quietly humming 1980s teeny bopper tunes.
SG - These recurrent hamstring issues are strange, the one time I did see a physio about it, she just said it was likely a small amount of fraying in the muscle fibres. It's mild grade 1 stuff but enough to need a few days off running and a few weeks off fast running. I never really stick to the rehab and strengthening, maybe this time I will learn.
It's recovering quite well, I managed to cycle yesterday but I could still feel it a little when doing forward rolls across my bed to UB40's 'rat in mi kitchen' with my children this morning. The things you have to do to get them out of bed for school. Thankfully giving them rides whilst on all fours and imitating a pig was only an issue for my back and knees.
Good fartlekking, SG. Nice to hear about the club awards. Always a bit easy to overlook these things but they are actually a great recognition of dedication to a sport we love. As for sleeping until midday – what a teenager!!
Haha Dachs, I will reassuringly point her towards the dead-end next time then. Nice going at Bracknell. I find it really stressful to be following arrows in a race when you can’t see the next person ahead – suspect this might happen a touch more frequently for you LOL
Awesome parenting, Reg. It’s all a good core workout.
11M yesterday afternoon with 10 x 2ish mins hard uphill, jog down recovery. A bit of a longer jog after the fifth. Still not quite hitting the times of a few months ago, but a bit of fatigue in the legs so never mind. 8m/m average pace for 800ft ascent. Had a shower at work where there isn’t a mirror you would necessarily look in; so when jumping in the shower this morning got quite the surprise to see vest sun burn marks.
Friday I put in a pyramid, but round grassy footy pitches close to home.
30seconds, 60,90, 120,150 then 3mins, then back down.
All off 90secs bar the 30sec romps, which were 1min.
Nothing too major pace wise, with 6.00 dead for the 3min the slowest, but some mid 5s in there, and the last 30secs a particularly enjoyable fast romp.
After 2 weeks limited to easy runs felt decent to get 2 sessions in, albeit grassy local stuff this week.
90% I'll sign up for a 50k for next month. Something different. Got to keep it fresh.
And just to be clear, it'll be a glorified day out in the sun, bit of fun, jog around, wave to the fans meander around a couple of fairly familiar (totally flat!) routes, with a decent local company I've raced 10ks with before.
9 hour 12 cut off.
There's no need for some intense training block or intricate fuelling plan here. I won't be trying to race and win it in sub 4hours!
Have borrowed the basic gear of a pal - so will have a couple of water bottles attached to me, and then there's pit stops every 10k, the 3rd and 4th ones being ones you can send your fuel/drinks etc to ahead of par.
Something a bit different. Might be horrible, but set me on a path to becoming one of those mad ultra people