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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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Fiddly crossing system, where they have to halt cars on a key A road, to let runners cross.
The 10k has come onto the 7 route, so added fun with storming past a few of them, giving a little "don't worry, diffo race" comment to their expaserations on who the heck is this.
The guy ahead of me is within shot, but it'd take an utter ruinous effort to pass someone this last 2miles I think. Especially if you've been behind them until now.
Over the road, lovely finish, last 500m or so is on a downward twisty road, and into familiar territory of the club.
Over the line for 44:38. 2secs a mile slower than last year, but will do
Initially told i'm 3rd, but quickly realise it's actually 4th, and thus V40 prize (Before Phil pipes up, 2nd was V40, but top 3 is straight position, and 1 prize only
Hang about, get a nice podium shot, £15 voucher and happy days.
You're just not going to as the last 2miles is a thunder in!
The guy i'd battled at 4.5miles is v60, though newly 60 this year, did a 1730ish 5k last year!
But Pete, obviously our in house V60 legend could be his much younger son, the "look" is so different
16secs to 5th behind me, which was a V40 who'd just nipped 5th off the V60 chap.
Fred won the MT 10K, but the biggest amazement, was Pricey, who joined our all conquering Endure winning team 2 years ago set this version of the HM's course record in 1:14xx
AFTER, 8miles at 6.30 pace and having run it to MP
Did a 2mile cd with him after, but he's some runner!
Finn won the 10k, about 6mins ahead of me, and probably about 4.30 ahead of 2nd. Ridiculous.
Him and Pricey would have been a race.
Hung about for hours after chatting everyone's ears off, cooling down then trudging what felt even further away than earlier to the car.
Great day out.
3mile dribble today and some sneezes
Well done Pete & TR for toughing it out.
50k on a track sounds dreadful Jools, good work. Your students must think you're mental. Sub 20 must be doable. I usually have the damper around 4-6, it depends on how much dust is in the machine but I am looking for around 130 drag factor for now. I'll give it more thought and experimentation at some point. It will depend on the stroke rate and effort desired too so I won't use the same setting all the time.
SQ - The thought of all that mud would normally appeal to me but not at the moment, good work.
SG - I am mid way through your report as I write this and I am wondering if the old-timer gets dropped, good luck!
4 x 2k on the rower this morning was quite tough as I was not really up for it at 6am. It didn't help that countdown was on the telly in front of me so my pace kept dropping as I attempted the word and number games! Having done swimming, running and cycling; I think it's fair to say that indoor rowing is the most consistently brutal training of all of them. I think it's partly the way you're sat down and breathing is not as easy. With running and cycling your cadence is much closer to your heart rate but rowing is so much slower, it doesn't offer you a natural breathing rhythm. There's probably a trick to it but for now I am stuck with noisy outbreaths.
I even had to apologise to the former PM on the weekend for the noise I was making
Reg - that's a tough session.
And I think we're both overdue a run of good health, so it's good to see you starting to run again.
TR - fingers crossed for that knee!
Ric - I've got some study under my belt in a wide variety of disciplines (some official, some just for fun - I like to read a lot, on pretty much anything I can get my hands on), so have a decent grasp (I think) on kinesiology/sports science. When I came back from Kenya after 4 weeks out there years back I was almost more interested in the effect it had on my blood readings than how quick I ran
Pete - sounds like you had as much 'fun' at Hayling as TR did. Nice 5km time.
SQ - I winced when I read the branch to the eye bit!! Well done on getting out there. I've avoided any thoughts of xc so far. Jr did put the idea of doing one on the weekend after next out there but I think at the moment I'd be asking for trouble (especially as we'd be in the same race!). I'm lucky on the kid front as my youngest is 13 (oldest is 25), so hanging around when I do go to races is not a problem if they come with me.
Jooligan - you're genuinely nuts doing a MT race like that so soon after a track 50km! Very impressive recovery.
SG - good turnout at Marlow. Did I read that right though that there was a 10km option as well as a 7m option???
Only a single easy 5m over the weekend, so was hoping to be ok to get back to training reasonably yesterday. Shifted things around and figured I'd start my week with my easy 'long'. 70% of volume is this week's target so my long was set at 14-16m. In the end my HR started spiking and it became increasingly difficult to get it back down, so my easy/zone 2 effort came out at 8:18 average for 14m (no point in trying to get the extra 2m as I'd have been reduced to a walk to stay within effort range).
Bit better today as 7m in the same zone came out at 7:52. Still some HR spikes but it was easier to get them back under control.
Will potentially try a HR controlled sub-threshold tomorrow (usually Monday, but figured I'd be better off starting back with my Tuesday/Wednesday easy running) which will be interesting to see what way that goes compared to 2 weeks ago. I suspect the pace/HR will be suitably crap as this has definitely been more than a normal cold (covid or flu is my guess). Still, at least I'm moving again.
In terms of 7mile position, I'd probably have lost to my pal Fred who was ahead of me at the 2m cut off, but like to think i'd have seen off 2nd (a V40), who started ferociously, but I'd passed up the first hill. As Fred is a mere 32, i'd have still claimed the V40
I don't have a great handle on the actual route, but could see it tailed off from the other races at 2miles, went side by side, (literally, metres away) from the 7mile route in the woods at around 4miles, as I was crawling up the last hill then.
Their route then crossed the 7mile route, which possibly could cause a bit of carnage midpack (!), and then disappeared off somewhere, only to turn back up midway down the hill, and suddenly plonk a few 10k runners in front of me for the romp home!
While the 7m route is a real jagged up and down section, the 10k route looks to a couple of long round climbs on the map and down.
Clearly the maddest part of the triple up, is that the HM winner can be storming home, with a lead car ahead, into mad traffic from lower mid packers in the other races, and the organisers, who have about a 80metre view of the turn to the finish can easily miss them come in!
Imagine storming a superb HM in and being missed on the commentary
A typical run had become a stop start affair due to oxygen debt, while doing nothing much. Nothing to be gained there. Nothing was working. Then, for an unrelated matter a blood test revealed a Hematocrit reading of 35%. That's low for anyone, let alone a runner. Iron pills were prescribed and I'm now around 46%. The difference is huge.
It was long term endurance training behind the depletion. Of that I'm sure. Worth checking out.
🙂
SQ - Too late for a Luton half marathon report - I did one but the site killed it! Hope the eye ok - sounded like a solid xc.
TR - Had a knee niggle myself. Sad it succumbed to the gales and extra shingle..
Jools - that's mental, my mate Rob did one at Luton recently too
SG - Great photos and that sounds like a chaotic set up. Good weather for it. Unlike.....
Saturday, Mansfield.
Weather wise - pissed down all day. Pretty muddy, worst it's been there, not surprisingly. Start and finish slightly higher up the field, which worked well.
So I got moved up to first leg, got myself higher up the start group than I normally do - realised why as I got dropped by the top 3 rows! This is the classic 2 laps to make up about 2.95 miles.
First half of first lap is down to the lake, around the back, along to the short sharp hill and through the top of the woods. Very 'breathy' real shock to the system and not fun. Then its a twisty section down to the bottom of the woods and slowly to the end of the woods and out into the field. Then it's a horrible drag up the grass, around the copse at the top, the back down past the finish funnel to start the 2nd lap. Went through in about 8.55 ish.
Already the start of the 2nd lap feels better than the first lap. start picking off a few people I know and generally keep the pace up through the 2nd lap and finish in 17.45, so quicker 2nd lap. Checking times it seems ok compared to a few I know and only 20 secs slower than the M50 super vet Tim Hartley. Lovely trip home listening to all the City goals going in
15 wet miles in MK again Sunday morning - the Propel v4 are crap in the wet, slowed me by 30 secs per mile, and got a knee twinge too, possibly with the sliding about too the day before. Will wear my Vaporfly in the future if it's wet.
8 Miles Monday morning
Luton last night, 8 x 800 off 80. 2.33/31/30/28/29/28/28/25, felt slightly tired.
I did a run yesterday, 8 miles at 7:45 pace. Nothing remarkable other than it's been a long time. Didn't feel too bad, despite carrying about 5 kgs more than during marathon training! Time to ban the treats again. Some of it is extra muscle but the majority is probably chocolate!
Did a hard 5k on the rower on Wednesday, 2k warm up, 18:07 for 5k and 3k cool down. Times are not far off running times which is quite nice. That session is the equivalent of a top end threshold run but I finished the last 1k at race effort. Heart rate in the 190s at the end. It's the sort of aerobic effort I can't replicate in running, I would just break something. Easy running and hard rowing will be a good combination I think.
Good rowing - in as much it looks impressive and I know it's tough. I remember (I think) that the 1500m Coxed 8 rowing race was about 4.10 or so - similar to my race pace.
Down to Mitcham Common tomorrow for the next Surrey league. Hoping for top 70 again, but bound to be muddier.
Although I tend to be lucky when I accidentally exit out of the whole net, rather than just this sesh, that it keeps my jabber
Bit better morning version, actually seeing what was up. 4.5miles then
Actually had an hour sleep when I got back pre track, and was surprisingly fresh there.
4x 2mins (2mins), 2mins(2mins), 30secs(30secs), 30secs(30secs)
then 4x1min(40secs).
Had a decent set of 4 of us, so I suggested we take turns to set the pace for each rep, and it sort of worked well, Myself and a Marlow guy leading the even reps, and the Handy Cross lads leading the even ones.
Kept it all very sensible rather than risk monstering of and having a bit of a solo sesh / meltdown.
Sat off, then a 14 today.
Came on slightly coldy/knackered late Sat and didn't feel fresh this morn, but was fine when out there.
Out to Marlow, through Marlow Bottom, up a super steep section into Wycombe, ploughed farmer's field, up a bit, then nice down back.
7.40 pace for a 53.5mile week.
No doubt a bit more mileage this week, but last week had the race recovery and away trip.
Met league XC race didn't happen. Stuck on the A40 when it started. A journey that I've done dozens of times to the place where I could see the course from last years hospital bed, was stuffed by HS2 work? Delays I was aware of, but not to that extent. So, hour and twenty minutes and not yet there, against twenty five minutes getting back. Yeah, a drive of two halves.
Results from the event seem to suggest a fast course. Sub five minute pace from the front. How that was I've no idea. Maybe it hadn't rained there recently🙄 No matter. Next time.
Shame really. A session I did a few days back indicted a result was on. Then again, a slightly suspect ankle could have scuppered the whole deal. I'll take not making things worse as a plus. The next Met XC is at Uxbridge. I have reservations about being sent through a small river though. By coincidence, this is the same river (Pinn) that flows within 50 yards of my house. I used to jump in it and wash all the mud off after a muddy off road run. Uxbridge is four miles further south. The river is bigger and deeper.
🙂
Shame about the XC Ric - I always get the train down for my Surrey leagues, saying that they often cock it up too.
Train was fine thankfully, bit busy with the protests, but got to Mitcham Common in good time for the 2pm start. Usual warm up with the 5 minute tempo in it.
Decent, quite hard, course. Start in field 1 with the tents, sharp right turn then about 400m through the woods and over the skinny road and onto field 2. straight up a short sharp hill, sharp downhill, then back up the main hillock - which is supposed to have a pile of wartime bricks under it. Left turn at the top, along and down the side. Then about 200m to the other end and a drag up the other side of the hillock, and down the other end, along to the small hill by the road, over the road and into field 3.
This is a flat field, probably about 800m, around the end and a small drop down back into field 1 - three laps making 8.4k.
Fast start as ever, seemed further back than last time, but slowly moved through the field and was 10th scorer and 70th scorer overall, but 82nd back, so I think there were some extra bodies in there. Few stomach issues on the lap 3 - all that sharp downhill stuff gives me a hurty tummy
Nice walk through my Streatham stomping ground to the pub, few pints of the black stuff went down nicely.
Bit delicate Sunday morning, only 11.5, half with the kid. Probably lay off it for 2 weeks before LFOTM/Sheff united away weekend LOL.
8 this morning, possibly 5 with the kid later.
Maybe not the sort of race SC is coming 70th in though, no-one wants that sort of standard in their lives
Woke up and as always stole a bit more sleep after eating, then put the customary sluggish warm up in, although I did notice mile 1 was a few secs sub 8 for once
Tempo Tuesday. I did consider 4x200m, 4m, 4x200m, and if it'd have been as windy as yesterday would have done that.
But instead stuck to the braed and butter 6mile.
I've replaced the 500mile clattered 4%s (now thrown away) with a 220mile pair of Vapors, that one shoe has lost the plastic bits on the bottom so is eating into the foam.
These are my tempo shoe now.
Lot closer range in the splits this week - no outlier up to say 6.23/6.24 like some weeks, mile 1 to 6 .15-6.20, then a 6.13 to finish.
6.16 then. Quickest tempo of the lot,...by 1 second
Is some the shoe? Not sure, but the about turn with the grace of a tanker at 3.5miles, and the feeling the right sole stick to the floor on a long turn stretch at 5miles were definitely not fast, so probably all levels up.
First of all I'm changing my 1st club allegiance to Harrow AC. Two minute job on-line costing a tenner.
Races:
Met league Uxbridge 🙄
Southern Masters Oxford,
Middx Champs, Perivale,
South of England, Kent, possible.
National - too far to go. Last and only National I ran in was won by the late John Nuttall. I had him sign my race number afterwards, which amused the gentlemen of her Majesties press.
A session today. 20 x 45 seconds/15 seconds rest. Executed across water logged football pitches, I averaged around 6:15 min/mile pace on the 45 seconds section. Added to the fun halfway was a squall of wind and rain. But if that slowed me down I couldn't care less. The speed was sustainable.
🙂
SG - Your VF's are the same as mine then. Hairy heel on my right foot
Decent session, first 3.57, then a 3.51 and the rest around 3.48 and a 3.45 to finish. Trying to get through the 800 sub 2.30 then hang on.
No, I'll be wearing a Harrow AC vest 😮😉
🙂
The first Hants xc was similar sounding to the first Met league xc - winner got around a little over 10km at an average of 4:53/m. Those spikes must be worth a bit of time! Lol
SC - good racing/training. Not exactly sold on xc after your report from Mansfield though
Reg - good to see a run in there. How did you feel afterwards?
SG - sounds like a good group going for the session. Your tempo consistency is remarkable.
I'd only gotten going last week when the covid after effects hit me like a brick. Wednesday and Thursday off. I slept 12 hours Wednesday night, got up for a couple of hours and went back to bed until dinner. Was able to slowly start doing a bit Friday-Sunday. All relaxed. By Sunday I was definitely much better, but even now still feel very tired.
Monday 8m, yesterday a very wet very easy 9m in the am, and then 2m run/walk with my wife and dog, before another 2m very easy solo. Will continue to play it by ear for now, as I have no other choice, and hope it all comes good soon enough to allow me to build some fitness and manage a xc race or two.
Clearly your 'new' VPs are a little quicker than the old ones, SG.
Good session that SC.
Not quite coming with the good news yet then TT! I have done a couple of runs as you mentioned. They have been fine if a little slow but no issues.
I've progressed with the hamstring strengthening and I am confident that they are at least back to pre latest injury level.
I have been having sports massages for a while now but yesterday I deviated and had a Thai massage. Jesus Christ it's not for the feint-hearted! Two minutes in and she climbed onto the bed, stood on my back and jumped down on me cracking my back like it had never been cracked before, three times. Amazing stuff. No idea if will help me but it was certainly an experience!
On Covid. Read up about the effects and dangers of training with Covid. The risks are under-estimated.
I got Covid back in January. My wife got it, but I didn't think I had since my HR was still low. However, I'd also cracked off a record power to weight ride the previous day. I may well have had it then. I suspect as much.
Though my HR was low, my legs felt a bit flat. So I stopped after two minutes. Ran the test and it came up positive. That was the sum total of anything different.
Despite feeling fine, I put a line straight through the next ten days. No exercise at all. When I started back I'd lost 25% power for a given HR. The long term effects were measurable (power meter)
Even now, I haven't matched the HR to power I booted out in the November and December before. Fortunately, some other changes have occurred since which means HR apart, power outputs that once got me blowing, are hardly noticed.
Reg should know what it means when I can now ride 4 Watts/kg in HR Zone 2.
Yes Reg, I gave one of my staff a couple of hours off.
🙂
Now I’ve gone & damaged something in the L glute area. Felt a twinge on starting Sunday’s LSR but it wasn’t debilitating so ran through it & felt no worse for it. Slow 10K along the canal Monday evening was harder work than it ought to have been. Left leg wasn’t quite right but nothing too concerning.
Tried a few efforts at track Tuesday but had to pull out after 3 as it was becoming more painful. I’m now struggling to walk & even hurts sitting down 🤬😭
Reg - positive all around between the issue free runs and hamstring improvements!
Ric - with you now. We had plenty of those by us too. I suspect I've still got a hangover from my first bout of covid in February, which, combined with the effects of fibro, was making me move towards a change in training habits (I'm not great with change/lack of structure, which has been responsible for it being a slow process!). This second bout has hastened the rest of those changes (for when I feel up to training properly again).
RIc - 4 w/kg in zone 2 is very impressive. How are you defining zone 2 though?
Jools - I'll give you the number of my Thai lady, she was stomping all over my sore glute!
🙂
>165 Anaerobic would indicate a max of 170 but zone 2 maxing out at 128 would normally be 80% which would imply a max of 160. Was your FTP of 300 set using the usual testing protocol?
Jools - Nightmare! Hope you can at least get comfortable soon!
In the office early today, got out for a 25 min run with a few efforts checked in. Did a route out and back via Caledonian Road, still untouched by gentrification!