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Awesome monthly mileage from Leslie as well.
GM - the dentist was fine thanks; it was just an appointment with the hygienist rather than anything more drastic.
Congrats to Birch Jnr - that's an impressive time on an undulating course.
G-Dawg - don't despair just yet; there are still a fair few games to go and the Stones aren't clear of things at the moment.
ssc - I quite like doing a parkrun the weekend before a marathon. Stops you going stir crazy, makes sure that you've still got some speed but without too much pressure.
I see that everyone is on 3 stars on here - who'll be first to get their 4th star? And what do you need to do to get it? And does anyone really care about the stars?!
5 March: Warwick Half Marathon - SBD - Sub 1:25
5 March: Milton Keynes Half Marathon - Knight Rider - Sub 1:27
12 March: Surrey Half Marathon - G-Dawg - Sub 1:27 - Result - 1.26.34
18 March: Larne half marathon- Leslie H- Sub 1:25- Result 1:25:08
19 March: Fleet Half Marathon - Lorenzo - Sub 1:26 - Result 1:28:26
19 March: Reading Half Marathon - PMJ - Sub 1:30 for a start result 1:28 and small change
1 April Omagh half marathon- Leslie H- 1:27
2 April: Manchester Marathon - Knight Rider - Sub 3:10 (being realistic on a 4 day training plan)
2 April Jersey Spring 10k - GM - 38:xx
9 April: Brighton Marathon - SBD - 2:59
9 April: Brighton Marathon - Abbers - A. 3:20 B. PB (3:27) C. Don't fall over and enjoy it more than London
9 April: Brighton Marathon - ssc - all out for 3:15 both glory or crash and burn possible!
17 April: Boston Marathon - G-Dawg - Sub 3:09 (PB unlikely as it gets lumpy there)
23 April: London Marathon - G-Dawg - Sub 3:09 (will most likely defer, will be knackered!)
23 April: London Marathon - Lorenzo - 3:04:59 (re-calibrated target!)
14 May: Staines 10k - G-Dawg - Sub 40
4 June: Walled city marathon-Leslie H- As close to 3:00:00 as possible
4 June: Dorking 10 mile - G-Dawg - 1.06
10 June: Great Strides 65 Ultra - Lorenzo - sub 6:15
15 October Amsterdam Marathon - GM - Closer to 3 than 4!
8.4 progressive for me this morning: plan was 2 miles easy, followed by 2@MP+20s (av. 7:17), 2@MP+10s (av. 7:09) and 2.4@MP (av. 6:49) which at face value looks OK for a steady 7 min/mile MP at London. Took me up to 219 for the month which considering the niggly knee isn't too bad.
Still debating whether to do a parkrun or the Battersea Park 10K tomorrow morning, but will probably opt for the former as it gives me more of a lie-in and won't be so knackering before Sunday's 22 miler.
Oh, and I'm now the Chairman of our athletics club after the AGM yesterday. No-one else stood against me though.
Parkrun for me as well but decided to try a new one - Homewood near Chertsey. It's only been going for 6 months but the course looked pleasant and it turned out to be a very enjoyable 3 laps through the woods with a few hundred metres round a playing field at the start and finish.
I wasn't planning on going mad but having got myself in the lead group of 3 who pulled away at the start, I decided to pick up the pace at the top of an incline about halfway round and found myself running on my own for the second half before ending up as first finisher - only the second time I've managed to do that! The time was only about 21 mins but I reckon it was a good 60-90s slower than a flat, tarmac based parkrun and I wasn't going all out so I'm pretty happy with that.
23 miles on the schedule for tomorrow.
Hope Leslie has gone well today, and good luck to GM and KR for tomorrow.
Lorenzo nice progression run and enjoy the promotion to Chairman and I hope it won't affect your running and nice parkrun podium too !
0054 pulling a pb from nowhere again well done.
Thanks for the good wishes I did go well.
21m for the day !
5.5m steady warmup with strides then Omagh half marathon in 1:26:26 then out the gate and straight into another 2.5 cooldown ,pleased with that with no cutback in I'm hoping an 80m week.
Hope everyone is well.
Leslie - monster mileage. And cracking HM with no mini-taper.
Badbark - even more monster mileage! Must be something in the Irish air!
Lorenzo - good work. Hope your long run goes well today - last one before the taper?
OO - wow, that is just amazing. You are on a roll!
Jools - good to hear from you, but not such good news on the achilles (I presume that's what it was!) At least things seems to be improving now.
Rest day yesterday due to an early start to visit some friends in Nottingham. And 10 easy miles this morning. 178 miles for March, so things are heading in the right direction slowly.
Lorenzo - that park run isn't too far from me, I ran close to it on Friday.
I ran on Friday evening just before a night out with friends. This week's longer run was supposed to be a 15 but to squeeze things into a tight diary, I ditched the 15 and did a 10 over a lumpy route to simulate Boston hills and followed up with a 7 yesterday at a very controlled 7.20 pace. Both runs would also hopefully be less stressful on the sore glute/hamstring.
The 10 went quite well, 6.48 pace as I stayed strong on the hills and experimented with form and technique on the descents. I could certainly feel the session in my 7 miler yesterday but good quality all round and hopefully more useful than just trudging another 15.
My GPS is a really old Garmin 410. I decided yesterday to upgrade to a 235. Found a deal, same day delivery and will test it out on a recovery 4 miler today as well as put the first miles on the new trainers to be used in Boston
Jools hope you can get back on it and have a good race, 6:35 mara pace would still be impressive !
GUL Good to see things are moving the right way again.
Gdawg nice to get a new Garmin.
12m this morn on very tired legs but picked it up to 7:45's on the way back for an 8:08 average.
80 miles for the week.
I hope the other racers are having a good day.
Impressive weekly miles Leslie, nice!
Just a cheeky 4 miler at 6.43 pace to test the new Asics GT2000 v5 shoes having ditched Mizuno due to them feeling too hard on longer runs. Moved from Asics couple of years back as the new models were poor but the V5s are a welcome return to form.
It was also a test for my new Garmin. How have I done without so many stats for so long!!!
GM - don't be too hard on yourself. That's still a jolly decent time
G-Dawg - 10@6:48 on hills shows how good a shape you're in. You may not have gone sub-40 for 10K yet, but with your current speed and level of fitness it'll be a breeze for you at Staines
PMJ - I've been reprimanded on here before (by KR I think!) for claiming "a win" in a parkrun so I was being careful this time. Looking at the times from previous runs it seems that all the usual fast crew had stayed away yesterday.
Ended up with 21.5 miles this morning in very pleasant weather. Mostly on the road but a new stretch along the tow path and through the woods at the end/ The first 20 were very well controlled and all within a few seconds of 8 min/mile before picking the pace up a bit in the last mile and a half. Brings me up to 60 for the week
Lorenzo – Congrats Chairman! Nice Parkun win and good 21.5 completed.
OO – Holy smoke, that’s an awesome 5k time. Well done!
Les – Great running in Omagh, especially with an 80 mile week.
Jools – Sorry to read about your woes, but you’re coming back well.
Gul – Great to read things are going in the right direction.
GD – Excellent bumpy running.
GM – That’s a solid 10k on tired legs
I ran the Holywood Exchange Half Marathon today. After my PB and 17:59 5k on Wednesday, I went into the race full of confidence. Although being my peak week before London, I was breaking the 100 mile barrier for the week and had run 400 in March, so I wasn’t exactly fresh!
The course is fast and flat on reclaimed land but exposed to any wind. Today the wind was about 10-15 mph so enough to lose a few seconds per mile, but not bad.
There was a 10k at the same time so I hoped to get into a group for the first lap and shelter from the wind as much as possible. Unfortunately, this didn’t pan out and I ran about 80% of the race totally on my own. I was running 24 miles today so did 5.5 before and after the HM.
I felt really good at the start and with the wind at my back ran it in 5:56. I knew this was a bit too fast but decided then to really have a go at the illusive 80 minute barrier. Just to note, my Garmin measured the course as 13:17, so my splits are a few seconds slower than I recorded. Mile 2 took 5:59 before turning into the wind. I managed to stay in a small group for a bit and ticked off the next miles in 6:07 and 6:02 before pulling away from group running 6:01 and 6:03 with the wind at my back.
I was working hard and went through the 10k marker in under 38 minutes and feeling strong. The next mile was into the wind at 6:13 before a 5:59 wind assisted. My average pace was hovering around 6:03 and 6:04 and I needed 6:06 to break 1:20. I knew not to entirely trust the Garmin so was trying to keep it at no slower than 6:04 average. Mile 9 took 6:04 and then a tough 6:13 into the wind.
I was right at my limit and giving it everything I had, gurning like a mad man. I was pumping my arms hard with my fingers all spread like a sprinter! The next two miles were wind assisted and completed in 6:04 and 6:00 before the last full mile straight into the wind.
I was huffing and puffing and growling a bit too and ran 6:12 with the finish in sight. However, I could see it was more than 0.1 mile away and was just about holding it together. I turned into the car park close to the finish, noting the time as 1:19:30 with the line about 30 seconds away!
I absolutely buried myself over the last few hundred meters determined to leave it all out there. I saw 1:19:5x on the clock as I went around the final bend and nearly collapsed as I crossed the line. It took a good 10 seconds before I could open my eyes and see 1:19:55 on my Garmin!
Yes! The elation was instant as I finally had broken 80 minutes after 8 years of running. After a few minutes recovery I then ran another 5.5 miles to complete my 24 miles for the day. The taper for London now begins with a mere 74 miles next week including a 10k race next Sunday.
I tracked KR today and am delighted for him on his minimal training. (Just think what you could do with free rein to train properly!)
Congrats to Lorenzo on a first at parkrun and a decent LR. I think you are looking solid for London.
Gerard - solid sub-40. I know you can go much faster but it is hard when legs are carrying lactate still. We live and we learn.
GDawg - great stuff on the downhill focused sessions. Are you dialled into race pace now?
Glad to see Gul and Jools back on track.
Apologies if I have missed anyone. I am still in the Alps having fun skiing with the other half, the MsEttes and MsEsq. All are picking up skiing super quickly doing parallel turns now. The boy is snowboarding and seems to have taken it up like a pro. I treated myself to an instructor and wish I had done it ages ago. I have only skied on several occasions and mostly weekends with massive gaps in between. All after a late start (I was 26 when I first saw snow!). The instructor, Sebastien (aahhhh such blue eyes!) taught me loads and it was well worth the investment. Last day tomorrow before we fly back and I can get back into a bit of running and seeing the ankle man.
Now, where is KR's race report.....?
I've taken a break from here due to work, travel, and trying to become a cyclist without ending up in A&E again. However the planned divorce from the mara is proving difficult as she keeps luring me back with life-in-the-old-dog-yet moments.
Bike question: the summer sportive is going to take 12 - 15 hours - any recommendations for quality shorts which will decrease the pain? Or even a better saddle.
Poacher you beast that's amazing of limited training at Manchester. I had better buy a bike!
Fantastic mileage and half Leslie- all looking good.
Welcome back Jools we missed you. ve climbed the mountain for VLM
Lorenzo 235 is the way to go I've been blown away with the capabilities of mine.
BB that is really fantastic. It's been a lot of years since I ran a sub 80 but I remember what a big deal it was, especially after your mileage regime.
20 miles for me at 8:32 pace, hips a bit sore on a 64 mile week. Feel like I've climber the mountain for VLM, time to gradually start the descent.
Badbark - That's some run that and as PMJ said more to come for sure. Amazing stuff, 2 pb's in a massive week, well done!
G-Dawg - You'll break 40 for sure on current form and I'd say you might well skip 39 and run 38. Your legs will hopefully have recovered in time from Boston.
Lorenzo - Well done on the parkrun win. A win is a win and I don't care what anyone says it is a race, maybe not for everyone but it's a race against the clock and you came first and I bet the guys who you beat would have liked the win too.
MsE - Sounds like your having fun on the white stuff. I've never skied before. I always go for sunshine and beaches in winter when I can get away.
Gul - Things are looking up for you, that's great.
Leslie - Well done on another very good performance. You are consistently knocking out great runs and very controlled races. You are looking very strong!
Looking forward to hearing from KR and Birch re his daughter. I hope they both had good runs in Manc.
Jersey Spring 10k race report
In the build up to this race I was struggling to fit in key sessions to sharpen up for the distance. As you all know 10k's can be hard to get spot on and I've had my fair share of disappointments over the years at this distance. I took a bit of a gamble by doing a
hard 3 x 2 mile rep session on Wednesday only a few days out from the race. I took two days off before today to see if the legs would recover and knowing my slow powers of recovery it was a risk. I arrived at the start and was hoping for light wind as the course is an out back route along the horseshoe of the bay. It was sunny and they forecast a northerly F3 wind. It was a very high tide at the time of the race so it was much windier (16mph) than the forecast but at least it wasn't a westerly or even worse an easterly. Anyway I planned to go out quite steady for the 1st 3 miles or so running 6:20mm and hoped to be able to pick up the pace with about 2.5 miles to go. The first 2 miles ticked off ok but there was a group ahead of 5 runners who I was becoming detached from and it seemed like I was having to work too hard to stay with. I didn't opt to get caught up in a race scenario at that stage and stuck to my plan. Got through halfway in 19:30 and felt ok if a little sluggish in the legs, my breathing was fine and I felt very relaxed. I felt like I was working hard on the 4th mile as we ran into the wind, trying to stay relaxed I was starting to close on 3 runners who had about 15 seconds on me after the 1st two miles. I looked at my watch and could see a slow mile for 4 and was now running with very little bounce at all. A friend of mine who was supporting said when I passed him at 2 miles and then 4 he said I looked like I wasn't even trying but my form wasn't right. He was spot on. Anyhow I managed to pass the 3 runners but only by holding a steady pace and I tried to pick it up at 5 miles but my legs were gone. I managed to speed up a bit for the last 300 as I knew 38:5x was gone but wanted to be as close to 39 as possible. The splits were 6:19/6:19/6:20/6:24/6:21/6:19 and 75 seconds for the last 320 metres or so. I was targetting 38:5x so wasn't too far off and off fresh legs I know I could have run maybe 30/40 seconds quicker but I'm happy enough as it shows I'm heading in the right direction.
Nice run GM
GD - there are always a few who do Boston and London in the same week - you can spot them larging it at the VLM expo in their Boston shirts. Unless you want to defer for a better run next year, why not do both?
Should have added that the starters at today's race were Ron Hill and Mara Yamauchi - I had a chat with Ms Yamauchi afterwards and can report that she is articulate and charming with no airs and graces.
Lorenzo - did you say you are green GFA? See you there.
9 April: Brighton Marathon - SBD - 2:59
9 April: Brighton Marathon - Abbers - A. 3:20 B. PB (3:27) C. Don't fall over and enjoy it more than London
9 April: Brighton Marathon - ssc - all out for 3:15 both glory or crash and burn possible!
17 April: Boston Marathon - G-Dawg - Sub 3:09 (PB unlikely as it gets lumpy there)
23 April: London Marathon - G-Dawg - Sub 3:09 (will most likely defer, will be knackered!)
23 April: London Marathon - Lorenzo - 2:59:59 (hugely optimistic target!)
14 May: Staines 10k - G-Dawg - Sub 40
4 June: Walled city marathon-Leslie H- As close to 3:00:00 as possible
4 June: Dorking 10 mile - G-Dawg - 1.06
10 June: Great Strides 65 Ultra - Lorenzo - sub 6:15
15 October Amsterdam Marathon - GM - Closer to 3 than 4!
PMJ - Thanks too and sorry, I posted the time earlier but omitted to put in the report.
Finishing time was 39:17.
Apologies not been on here much recently as busy at home etc. Some great running going on and I'll have a read back in the next few days.
Training has been quite hit and miss recently and only keeping to a max of 4 days a week, with some weeks 45 ish then others 33. I didn't do the MK half last month as planned as I felt crap in the days before. So felt quite down and at a loss with the running. It got to the point 2 weeks ago I'd decided to scrap Manchester too and it was only talking to Martin H that gave me a bit more incentive to do it.
So anyway, managed to get to the start on time this year and decided to go out at 7.10 pace and see what happened. Managed to hang on ok and bang out the miles @ 7.02 - 7.09 paced miles with a couple just under 7, even did a 6.47 at mile 15? I was waiting for some cramp or blowing up, but luckily it didn't come. I knew my endurance was way down and I felt it in the last 10k. Even though I'd done 6 x20 milers + a 22 miler in training, it was the 'extra' mid week long runs I'd not done. The last 4 miles were tough with the last 2 being 7.30 & 7.34. But I came home in 3.08.15 and not sure how I managed that, but pleased with the final outcome.
Don't be so hard on yourself, GM: that's a really solid 10k performance.
24 miles for me yesterday (because I got lost: it was meant to be 20-22). If I hadn't walked another 2 miles home I could have done a marathon, but there was no way I was running uphill to get home after 24 miles: that would be asking for my AT to grumble!