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Lit - I remember that race as well. I think it was of my highest ever WAVA performances but I also remember you beat me hands down the following April in London!
WDfDE - please don't suggest to Poacher that he wears something recognisable and memorable. You never know what he might turn up in!
Gul - hope things sort themselves out for MrsGD. Very frustrating that it hasn't been picked up before.
Vassos used to be on 5 Live as well - I recall him doing the sports update on the Breakfast Show.
Hope the scan goes OK GM - how quickly do you get the results? (If they're instantaneous, forgive my ignorance!)
G-Dawg - you are in red hot form at the moment. Are you manage to relax and rest well? Critical to don't try and do too much in the last few days.
Couple of decent midweek runs for me as I've been working from home for the last couple of days. 7.5 easy (albeit hilly) miles on Weds and 9.3 miles including an uphill stretch through the Surrey vineyards this morning, in both cases before it got too warm.
Have set myself a target of finishing off every run (with the exception of a reps session) with a faster mile or so.
Abbers - good to hear how you're getting on - if you want to do more training just give up sleep!
Leslie - don't remember any hip-clunking noises - just the knees occasionally! Hope the hammy is OK.
PMJ - did you arrange a smackdown with him then?
GD - nicely controlled pace, even it was a little faster than the coach asked for.
GM - hope the MRI goes okay and you get a sub 20 parkrun despite the course.
Lorenzo - hills noted.
8 miles inc. 13 x 0.2M efforts this morning.
I said "Hi I'm Philip" and he said "I'm Vassos." and I said "Vassos Alexander?" and he said "Yes."
Don't know why I assumed everyone called Vassos would be Vassos Alexander but I guess some deep down neural connections recalled his voice from the radio and the marathon talk podcast he did reminded me of the fact that he ran. Having then got brownie points, I immediately lost them by confusing him with George Riley (another Radio 5 presenter) who ran four marathons in eight weeks in 2015.
Hope the scan goes well, GM.
Welcome back, Lit.
GD: if 6.35s really felt like LSR then it may be closer to MP than you think.
6 x 1km for me last night with the club. I think the road km loop we used is a fraction short (Garmin thinks 0.6M instead of 0.62M), so the average of 3.30/km flatters a little, but felt strong and pacing was consistent.
Taking it fairly easy here with some biking and some lovely early morning swimrun sessions in the lakes.
Currently no races booked in (first time in 6 years) which feels a bit weird.
My hip makes a clunking noise Leslie, not that I want to alarm you.
Anyhow, just popped in to wish our racers luck this weekend - looking forward to the reports
Hull: turning up in civvies, just for fun/jog round, and certainly won't be anywhere near OO or WD. Just back from the Lakes, ran the circuit of Derwentwater then y'day did a few hours of hard core MTB at the back of Skiddaw. OO and SJ will know how rough it is up there. Cream crackered today but the joy of being between gigs is that one can head off and have outdoor fun at the drop of a hat.
That pic of OO is, err, unique. I am no 640, as ever the lanky baldy guy in the yellow Stockport vest.
WD that's a great series of races. The Ripon 35 is surprisingly hard for the (relatively short) distance. Navigation is tricky if you don't know the area, and the supplied maps are not that easy to use. I would seriously suggest looking out for and being nice to any local runners who know the way. The highlight was running through fields of maize which were considerably taller than any runner - visibility about 6 inches. The finish through the grounds of Fountains Abbey is lovely though.
Evening all and cheers all for the well wishes. My 2nd stint in the resonance generating contraption is done. Lorenzo, the radiologists examine the scan results and then send it to the consultant and this normally takes about 24hrs to reach him but it's the weekend so I am guessing I should hear back next week sometime.
Poacher - Nice to do stuff like that.
Gul - No hope of going sub 20 tomorrow as it's about 40 seconds or more slower than a flat road 5k. I'm thinking somewhere in the range of 20:30 - 20:45 but that's' not a given either considering the state of me at the mo.
Meant to say Jools, that's impressive training!
Poacher, why not come for the Derwentwater 10 in November, then we can have our 4th smack down.
Jools - still a good pace for 965m reps!
All the best to Poacher, OO, and WD (you're not aged 40 by chance, are you?) tomorrow (I presume!)
Not able to do parkrun today, so out early and did 17 slow miles just under 9m/m. Saw loads of people congregating at the local Sports Centre ready for the start of the Round Norfolk Relay.
Best of luck to those racing tomorrow, Poacher, OO53, and WD! Anyone laying bets?
Nice casual LR, Gul. Early for you must surely be around midnight?
I would love to do the Round Norfolk Relay one year if anyone needed a non-local runner to make up the numbers. Be a good chance to check out more of the county which shaped MrE in his youth.
GM - really hope you get some answers soon. You do sound as if you are pottering along nicely for now though.
Jools - looks as if it is coming together nicely for you with Chicago looming. I will keep fingers crossed the wind stays down for your race.
lit - good to see you are back on form and on the forum again.
GD - you are looking so sharp for Berlin! I will be trailing in your wake.
This tapering business is rubbish. A household full of children with colds to avoid, not much running, weight going on by the kilo (probably) and an inability to run well when you are doing the odd run. It all really messes with your mental perception of where you are at. Out for 12 with the dog this morning, meant to be a fast finish type run but i have given up on those as I haven't focused on speed this marathon cycle. Instead I put in some MP efforts which came out around 6:40-6:55/mi for a total of 12 @7:36/mi. I don't think I am in PB shape, however, and will play it safe next weekend. I want to focus on a fast spring marathon and stay in good shape for winter training.
Well I won the first smackdown of the w/e. Ron Hill turned up at the local park run, OK he is 79 and I didn't tell him I was going to call it a secret smackdown, but I did lumber home a few minutes ahead of him. Please tell me this really does count as a smackdown victory. It's pleasure to meet such a gent anyway.
MsE you just need to keep your nerve. Les jeux sont faits in the training sphere - it's now in your head.
Hull beckons, and it's not often you can say that
PMJ- nice celeb chasing,good to see some pavement burn ups .
Jools good reps ,had to convert to min/miles to see how good
Slokey- thanks but as long as it doesn't hurt and continues to clunk hopefully its ok, Physio did note last time my other hip had a bit less range of movement !
Gerard- sub 20 with raceday magic ?
Gul 17 before 7am impressive as usual .
MSE- just watch those lurgy carriers and everything else will sort itself out.
Poacher they all count ,is he still running every single day ?
2nd rest day here nothing to see ,goodluck to the smackdown gang tomorrow.
Good miles (again), Gul . .
Good luck at Hull, OO, WD, Poacher - my VoGit clubmate (curse him,
he narrowly holds club VoGit mara record) is running . . .
Ron Hill - yes, Poacher, a gent - was on our club's trip to Reims marathon in 1995 ; kindly signed my copy of his autobiography * - "please don't break my UK V40 marathon record of 2:15:46" !!!!! (I just missed it )
* "The Long Hard Road" (two volumes) - not sure if now available, but highly recommended . . .
unlike Ron, just had a 5 day streak of CNBA, ended with 13 this morn . . .
GM - given that you thought you'd be in the 20:30 - 20:40 range, you've got to feel good about 20:13 in your first parkrun in 6 months. Won't be long before you're back sub-20 again.
Poacher - of course it counts as a smack down victory(ish)
Another crazily early stat from Gul, but good to have the whole of the day free.
Keep the faith MsE - sounds like taper madness is taking hold.
After getting drenched on one of the commuting legs yesterday, I went for a run-bike combo this morning: 12.5 miles along the North Downs Way to the bike shop to pick my bike up after it's 6 week check up, then 10 miles or so home on it. If I count the puddles on the way there, can I claim an early morning triathlon?
Toying with the idea of doing a local trail/XC race tomorrow but will see how I feel after a combination of Ecuadorian food (thanks to the random country generator) and Moldovan wine (thanks to an impulse purchase) this evening.
Forgot to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to PMJ!!!
Happy birthday PMJ. I guess Poacher wins the bragging rights though of best celeb met on their run.
See you guys at Hull in the morning. I will have to collect my number (734) so will be around the start area from 8am.
Stay germ free MSE
Nice park running Gerard- nice day for it!
First and foremost, as Poacher said earlier....... Hull beckons!
Good luck lads and I hope you all have a good and uneventful run, as they are normally the best ones.
Happy birthday Phillip!
Birch - 5 day CNBA culled with a 13 miler, nice! I normally take about 4-5 days to reach that mileage!
Noted re the Long hard road, I'm always on the look out for stuff like that.
MsE - What Poacher said. Have you posted a target time? Sorry I can't recall but judging by your training and posts I'm thinking you would like to run sub 3. I can't recall your marathon pb?? You've had a lot going on in the past year or so and I'm sure that takes it's toll but you're mentally and physically strong and I'm certain you will have a very good run.
Lorenzo - Moldovan wine and Ecuadorian food! I love it. You guys travel without moving sometimes. Today was a start in terms of pushing the limits and I was pleased as I didn't think I could hold sub 6:35 for 5k let alone on that course, hence my predicted time. So 6:25mm average on that course puts me in the 19:3x ball park for a flat road 5k which is pleasing after only 5 weeks of running. Good luck tomorrow if you decide to do your trail/XC race. Please do let us know what Moldavian wine tastes like and the food too.
Gul - I'm intrigued to know if your body clock is set at Gul time or if you have an actual alarm? You must have been out the door by 4am, if not before?
Cheers OO and Poacher for the details and pic, will be looking out for you in a few hours from now. To confirm I'llbe damn happy with under 3.15 - a PB - and anything significantly lower would have to be a great day. Will go on feel though. I'm not sure marathons are a distance where fortune favours the brave
Poacher - Know what you mean re. back o skiddaw area. Been around there on BGR support once and its hard enough on foot, must be difficult to keep upright on a bike. A great memory of that day for me was the descent on halls fell ridge, Blencathra just after, a great half hour or so for any adventurous off road runner. I have some local knowledge of Ripon from time spent visiting family up there. And I've an ace in the hole in that my best running mate lives a few miles and knows the trails. Thing I've also battled the right honourable RH in early days about 10 years ago, I think he took it easy on me that day as a meer late 60's year old and handed me the scalp.
Birch - Will have to read RH book, read a few good uns re.runners but somehow not that one.
Leslie- Hope the niggle ok. 100m+ or similar hilly/mountainous off-roaders are hard, but slow, big mental game in fighting the quit demons which have had me a few times since first one in 2010. But since 2014 have a 100% hit rate now learned the trade a bit.
Lorenzo - Sounds a heady combo of food and drink, not sure I've knowlingly tried either.
Good running Gerrard, easy to get overoptimistic wth race times when building miles and get disapointed or risk the body. You knew your form well and came up good in that one which does sound some distance from a fast course.
Gul - Best of luck for the missus getting sorted now they know the issue.
G-D - Tape week is a killer, been right moody myself and hate the doing little running and trying not to eat too much. Sounds like your in a good place for a fast flat marathon.
Hull awaits, going to have a warm up jog into town - ~1.5m - soon, nice relaxed start as not a big event by road marathon standards. Though compared to some off-road events I've done is massive (last year I came 4th in a 125m+ race that about 12 started and 5 finished). Passes close to my house at 4m so some on course support from the missus and 3yr old (who will no doubt enjoy the inflatables and pop-up track at start/finish when they head into town after this).
Have a good day all
Hope the Hull lads are all going strong at the moment - it's a bit like Election Night sitting here on tenterhooks waiting for the first report to come through.
GM - TBH the Moldovan white was so-so. I'm a member of the Wine Society (a present from my father-in-law a while ago) and I'll probably be sticking to the NZ Sauvignon Blanc and the Chilean (Casablanca Valley) Chardonnay in future as far as whites go. WIll have to wait and see what the Moldovan red is like. On the other hand, the food turned out very well - fish in coconut sauce will certainly be reappearing on the menu.
Decided not to do the trail race and decided to head out on the bike for a couple of hours. Underestimated the distance and ended up doing 45 miles - as I'm something of a fairweather cyclist, this may have been the last ride until next spring.
Bit of a disappointment for me, getting r.leg hip pains in first half, triggered premature aches and stiffness in whole leg, still on pace into 2nd half but cramps and general slowdown meant a,3.15 not on cards so coasted to the end to not aggravate anything in 3.31. Bit disappointed but feel a bit better following panini and mountain waffles
Thanks for the birthday wishes: agree the great Ron Hill trumps most celebrities.
I had some x-rays on Monday and the results on Friday. Interesting headline is I have 6 lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual 5 so using that as an excuse for most things. Not so interesting headline is that my spine is not in great condition but can be cured for about £500 of private treatment over the next few months but probably a price worth paying seeing as my only expenditure in running is about 4 pairs of trainers a year plus the odd race entry.
My parent are on a long boat on the Thames so ran out to meet them this morning upstream a bit of my usual stomping ground. Saw a few house that took your breath away, truly how the other half lives. One massive house with a 10" gauge trainset in the garden that must have had a mile of track.
20 for me and now officially tapering
What a good day out in Hull. I entered the start area in a pen marked 3.30+, then spotted OO one pen ahead. Surprisingly, this turned out to the "elite" area, ha ha, and soon the announcer was introducing various fast runners to the cheering crowds. Funnily enough, our names were not called.
This was the day that shameless sandbagging was exposed
. I told OO I would be happy with 3.45 although the hope was more like 3.35 and 3.28 would have been a very happy day given that this was both the 5th LR & 5th mara of the year. It was also the completion of 3 x 50m weeks with too much short stuff on the crappy treadie and nothing long
Course: mostly flat, no steep hills. Weather: gorgeous, bit warm perhaps, but a decent autumn day. Crossing the Humber Bridge: fabulous, not just a river but a really huge waterway. Odd moment: some old fella saw my vest and flagged me down, yelling "STOCKPORT! - ARE YOU A MATE OF TONY AUDENSHAW". I stopped to say hallo and he demanded that I should pass on his good wishes to TA along with thanks for the entertainment value of Tony's Trials. Which I suppose I will do.
The knackered cruciate grumbled loudly for a while but the wheels stayed on and it was clear that sub 3.20 was in the bag. Stopped to talk to a few people and came home in 3.15.47 which was a genuine surprise, and while not where one would want to be, my fastest mara for 2 1/2 yrs.
OO was looking disgustingly fresh at the end, I lost the smackdown but a long way but it's a relief to be beaten for a change by only one member of the OO family.
So, mara/ultra no.67 and very impressed with the organisation, support etc. As northern city maras go, this was far better than the over-hyped York and the tragically disorganised Manchester.
Sorry to miss Woldsman, hope the body gets over it.
PMJ - was the house with the train set near Henley? It sounds like a place one passes towards the end of the Thames Trot 50
Lorenzo - nice cooking and wine bravery. Do they have Moldovan red which might be better? I was working in the Romanian part of Moldova in the early 90s and the locals used to start the day with "Rabbit's blood" which was a very rough home made red. Not ideal for breakfast. They moved on to vodka at lunchtime. Very hard core.
Is that "mountain waffles" or "a mountain of waffles". If the former, what are "mountain waffles"?
Enjoy the taper Joolska, and send calming thoughts to MsE...
Congrats to the Hull 3!!!
Feeling proper fat here in Surrey. Tired after 9 hours of driving yesterday taking eldest lad to uni in north Wales and then back.
Just 4.6 miles today at 7.07 pace. That feels OK, so I'll give that a go in Berlin next week. Good luck in taper week 3, MsE. The expo and start line are both easy walking distance from my hotel.
GD
Can't add much to what Poacher said, except the folks of Hull deserve a pat on the back for organizing a great race.
Just like the GNR my legs did not have the pace I hoped for so I settled into 7-7:15's which felt comfortable. I'm really pleased that I pretty much held this for the whole race, considering the limited mara training. Poacher is being humble of course, he likewise showed great consistency throughout the race. He certainly impressed me.
Sorry to hear that Woldsman- lets hope it's nothing serious.
Congrats to the Hull 3! Those results are to be applauded. It was surprisingly warm today and you all did well. I hope the Berlin 2 can do the thread justice.
Option to rest or run short and easy today and it appears I have caught the colds MsEtte1 and MsEsq have been carrying all week. It gives you the benefit of a stinking headache and shortness of breath too! Thankfully, minor sniffles (so far). I am mainlining veggies in the hope I can shake it off by next weekend but may have to run gently this week and hope the engine doesn't need any more fine-tuning.
I did do something useful today however: I took the Musettes to look at puppies in Nottingham.... So much fluffiness!