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P&D Autumn Marathon 2019
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AWC - cracking stuff, what a great year, enjoy an easier time.
Blue H - well done.
Had to get my back worked by the fizz yday as itd got pretty sore, got a telling off for coming in so messed up so close to an A race, but he said i had a few days to get over the pain he inflicted.Hopefully it will ease up a bit now.
Jools...Nice 5k session, you're getting back into it rightly, and it's brilliant to see.
TR...I plan on racing a trail 10k in a few weeks for the experience/craic and to get enough eligible races in to enter a 10k series, i'm on 5 out of the 6 required at the minute. Then i've a 10k planned for the end of November, as its the fastest, strongest field/biggest race here every year, so will try and get carried round to a pb on that one. But other than that it'll be base building/run how i feel/quiet time (including the Dublin marathon as a long training run next week, swear im not racing
Hope the Physio has sorted you out, though i did chuckle at you getting a telling off
8 easy miles this morning, still debating having a go at parkrun tomorrow - the joys and trials of having no plan to follow
Jools - almost missed that, Snowdonia marathon iirc ? Good luck with the taper🤣
Hamo - sounds like a decent relaxed plan until London training starts, I like it. Dublin = LSR 🤣
TR - hope the fizz has worked his magic. A bit like Hamo, I did chuckle at the telling off, I get those for free and I don’t have to leave the house. I’m 1106 but I’ll have my name on my vest, or at least the first 5 letters.
John - I think I’m getting majors envy, looking forward to hearing about NY already.
AWC - great report of a well executed race. Last year it only rained on the last leg and even then there were bits I thought I just can’t be bothered to even try and run, those meadows seem to go on forever. You’ve had a great year of 100s, definitely earnt some rest.
I dug out the magic/cheat shoes for the first time in about 5 months for the classic 8w2@MP. I had forgotten how awkward they feel at first but then how good they feel at pace. I got completely carried away and ran the MP at closer to LT so no assistance in determining Sunday’s pace (as much as 2 miles can assist anyway). I’m tempted to head out at 6:30s with a low 2:50 in mind but hoping I can be honest with myself if it feels unsustainable early on, as it stands, conditions look too good to waste on a trot round.
I only have a moment in between work and twins to message, but just wanted to say I will be volunteering at the 'fruit station' for Abingdon on Sunday if anyone is running it this year! Let me know and I will look out for you.
Macca - free tellings off or free fizz ? It was in a"i can only do so much" way. White cap, blue t shirt, stubbly chops, no 22 (i was keen when entries opened to correct ladt yrs 3.01).
Fruit ? I'll put some Pimms, in my luco bottle.
TR - free telling offs ! I reckon I could have turned Mother Teresa into a plate thrower given the chance.
Was good to see TR and Macca at Abingdon, they can fill you in on their performances.
i did what I had to do and held on for a 2:55:xx to get my Comrades pen 1 qualifier. Thought 2:59 was doable but 6:40s felt good and held that for 25 miles and just lost a few seconds on the hill up to the finish. Wasn’t going to push it as I knew a sub 3 was nailed on if I just kept things steady. Going to have an easy week before planning the Comrades prep. Would like to have a go at a 10k PB in January as it’s the only distance I’ve not PB’d as this year. That will still give me 16 weeks to train for the big one.
Longest run of my Snowdonia campaign today 10.7M
By around 9 or 10m i remember being up with the 3m every 20min that 255 needs, but my legs were aching (not enough flat running? Not enough long tempos ?), but keep calm snd carry on was the pattern. Macca cruised past around 15m, gping really well. Was still spot on 255 pace at 18 (2hrs exactly), but legs were aching and hammys were moaning. I had kind of settled into a defensive get the sub3 and try to limit slowing, getting as far as i can before any cramps and id still go 256 or 257.
Wool turns up at 19ish tells me to keep my chin up, so i tell im im fine im just managing my legs. He pulls away.......hang on a minute, if i attach my elastic to wool i can still 255, i feel ok and maybe a change of pace/effort will help my legs,......so internal team talk, a few expletives and i tell wool we can fckn do this and take over the driving.......at around 24m wools mate pushes on, i follow but by 25m im on the stiff legged shuffle as the hammys are wibbling, i manage to fend it off by easing but he gets away, and so do another couple, its eased by the track and i got home in 2.55.12 so only lost 30 secs. Pushed hard in the last 6 but reminded myself of the 6m tempo runs id done. Millsy was yelling at me thats he was catching me on the track!
Took a drink which i thought was a stingy amount of strong squash, think it was undiluted, it made me throw up all my gels and lucu though, so probably did me a favour.
other highlights apart from Millsy were tick Tock (sub3 thread) accusing me of cramp of the wallet rather than hammys as i telll him i cant buy the magic shoes as i didnt go sub255........DanA (sub3 thread and a spectatoryday) telling me early on "to pull your finger out son".
Abo is a good race run for runners by runners, but there are a lot of up and down kerbs, a few gates and some track, which affects pace, so the sheep did very well.
Marathons are still a great challenge.
Millsy - great to see you today, all sub3s are happy days. See you at Gosport in a few weeks.
TR - sounds like you were physically and mentally strong for the 2nd half, must have finished quite high in the AG in whats quite a fast field.
Jools - if Kahoonas count for anything, I think you'll do ok.
Jools...Nice final long run
TR...Brilliant time, huge congrats and as much for the time as for winning the mental battle in what sounds a tough 2nd half of the race especially. Excellent. Your hard work has paid off and its great to see, now away and reward yourself with a pair of the magic shoes, you deserve them, never mind 12 seconds.
Macca...Class, if not an expected result, at Abo, knew you'd do well. Such a year you've had, just awesome. Enjoy the pizza and wine
Not quite on the scale of the Abo men above, but i decided to give the parkrun a smash on Saturday, and hopefully make it a clean sweep of pbs this year from 5k to Marathon. 7ish easy miles as a warm up, then down to the lakes for the parkrun. I ran 16.22, which was good enough for 1st place and a new pb, and turns out it was the 4th fastest parkrun in the whole of Ireland, north and south for the weekend ('fast running' compile the top 10 men and women every week at parkrun apparently), so cant be bad to that at all.
As I've only done 1 20+ mile run since May, i thought id better do another one before Dublin this weekend, taking after Jools with the prep
6 and 4 mile recoveries today is the plan...was froze this morning for the 6 though, winter's definitely here/close.
TR - Sounds like you really toughed it out for a great result. Top effort. I don't think you can read much into your legs aching after you've been suffering with those back issues. Same build up and no back problems I'm sure you'd smash it. I agree that Abingdon isn't the fastest course.
Macca - Great effort with limited specific marathon focus. You're just knocking out 2:50 for kicks nowadays.
Millsy - Great time considering you were thinking you would go just under 3. Looking forward to hearing about Comrades.
XC for me yesterday. 7th this time. I felt alright but a bit disappointed as I should've pushed harder and made up another position. I was pretty buggered but just settled for 7th rather than emptying the tank and trying to make up a few seconds to 6th. It crazy how fast some people go out - I think I was 30-40th at the first turn and passed heaps as they died within 2km.
HA77, must be a XC thing where everyone goes off like a rocket. I was surprised to see your league was on a Sunday. I’d always assumed it was Saturday afternoons. I am quite new to it though.
Having an easy week this week and will be looking at hotels on SA.
Jools, it’s a down run next year. I think neither is more favorable.
Macca - nice work, especially after such an exhausting year. Katie did comment last night, wondering if you'd be disappointed with those 2 secs, but I said you'd probably be alright considering you've run much faster already this year anyway.
Hamo - lightning parkrun. Are you going to give it beans if Dublin? I think if you do you'll really surprise yourself and might place rather highly..
HA - I always have to suppress laughter when watching people go out like lunatics. One guy at parkrun on saturday had at least a 100m lead after 1km, and ended up finishing 5th.. Keep the hard races coming and the fitness will race back.
Went to Queen Elizabeth Country Park parkrun (mouthful) this weekend. Had it pencilled in as a hard effort, but knew with over 100m of climb it was going to be about effort level rather than time. Was in joint lead after 3km but didn't have the gas to stay with the other guys, ended up 2nd in 19:45 - good blast around. We went for a 12 mile walk on the SDW in the afternoon and then 3 hours on the bike Sunday.
Frankfurt has certainly crept up. This one is all about Katie though, I'll just be happy to get around with her in one piece (which is definitely not a given!). Plan is we'll run together, really excited to see how she get's on, PB stands at 3:09 - hopefully should knock a good chunk off that..
BH - well done on Chicago! Saw it was quite windy so you did really well to hit your time. And being in the same race as a WR always makes for a good story!
Hamo - congrats on the full set of PBs, enjoy the victory lap at Dublin. Still time though to get some of those down even further with your hot form.
TR - great run and happy for you to pretty much hit your goal despite the niggles over the last week. Good to know you have deep mental reserves as well, will come in handy at the next one. Reward yourself with a well earned pair of Next%!
Millsy - congrats on the 2:55 and making the front at comrades. Will be following your buildup with interest and can’t wait to hear about the experience.
Macca - amazing time but maybe not a surprise given your powers of recovery. Shame about the 2s but just a minor blip on what’s been a fantastic year.
HA77 - nice XC, moving up the order with each race.
Jools - nice last minute prep and good luck at the weekend, heard it’s an amazing race.
Last hard workout yesterday and almost almost didn’t do it as I inexplicably could not sleep on Sat night. Weird as I’ve not had any sleep problems at all, must be something I ate. Finally got up at 4, had a coffee and peanut butter toast and out the door at 5:45. Session was 20k alternating MP+10s/MP-10s, started off feeling pretty comfortable, got hard at 10k, almost jacked it in at 13k, got a second wind at 15k and eventually completed it. Enjoyed it in hindsight, not so much before or during.
Hamo - Brilliant running, congrats on the 10 miler and 5k PB's!!
AWC/Millsy - Congrats on superb runs at A100.
BH - Congrats on Chicago.
Millsy - Superb running at Abo for your Comrades qualifier.
TR - Brilliant running, reward for all that consistent training.
Macca - Superb run from you also!
As for me, had a bit of an easy week down in Dorset. Missed the local parkrun as watched Kipchoge, which was incredible! Did some hills on Tuesday, about 5 miles in total but around 900 feet (8 * up and down one of the cliffs!!) 6 miles on Thursday including some of the coastal path (another 600 feet elevation). 11 miles on Saturday and 4 miles on Sunday. Managed to get some resistance training complete too from the workout the OH gave me, so all good.
Also got a surprise cheque in the post from my 3rd place at the 10k, which paid for a few holiday drinks!
Legs arnt too bad (thats a result of mileage not not trying imo), but are a bit sore, stomach, groin, back and hammys all ache.
I have two overriding thoughts.....one that i must take the physios advice and turn up healthy as well as fit, i had tight hammys and back before the off......and im not sure i got the ROI to justify my week off the beer.
Sounds like great fun Steve.
Great session John - you've certainly not been resting on your laurels after a brilliant year.
Well done on the XC improvements HA.
QEP is a tough bugger - I did it in the summer a few years back & it was bad enough then. I can only imagine how greasy & treacherous conditions were with our recent monsoon season. Top effort going sub 20 on that course JB. Unbelievable time from the guy in front too! Have fun in Frankfurt: good luck keeping up with KL
Usual bike commute & a 5M runch today as well. Went to the local hill for some grass hill reps 1K wu, 4x500m loops then a progressive 5K back to work.
Millsy...yea all the XC over here is a Saturday afternoon kick off too.
Jools...I split the 7 into a 4 and a 3 for logistical reasons, so easy missed. Good reps and runching...i like that word i must say
Joe...No full beans, strictly long run, endurance building only. I will run it steady enough i think, rather than just sauntering round, with a few sections of MP (hopefully the last 5-10k) but that's it. I only got a bib last week (its been sold out for months) so no point burying myself when i cant use the time. Very good parkrun from you. All the very best, especially to Katie, for Frankfurt.
John...That sounds a tough workout, really well done. Don't know how you get up at 4 and don't run for another 2 hours though...i need to get out of bed and straight out the door at that time of the morning, or else i'll jack the run in and go back to bed
Steve...That is some climbing in 5 miles, well done. Sounds like you had a good week all round. Class surprise with the cheque too, well done.
TR...Use the sub 2.55 to push you on over winter surely, but that is a cracking race you've put in at Abo too, so don't overlook it if you know what i mean. Regular physio mightn't be a bad idea at all...I've a cheek
8 easy miles this morning for me.
Well done hitting your target in Chicago BH.
10 mile longest run and 48 hour taper, really sticking to P&D principles Jooligan
Best of luck.
Great report AWC, and congratulations again. Particularly impressive given the conditions. I think if it was me, that slip in the last two miles would have had me crying, not laughing
Good to see you pop in JCG
Great result TR, already suffering at 3 miles must have been tough mentally, so well done for toughing it out so well.
Another superb race Macca, what a year you’ve had!
Great parkrun Hamo, that’s shifting! Have a good one at Dublin.
Well done on the XC HA.
Best of luck to you and Katie for Frankfurt Joe. Try not to pay too much attention to the Garmin in the early miles, as the start is around lots of tall buildings so GPS can’t be trusted. And watch out for the pinch point that occurs early on, something like 7 or 8k? I was briefly slowed to a walk but it soon clears.
Fantastic session John, all the best sessions are ones you fear before, hate during, but love afterwards
Well done on the 3rd place and prize money Steve
Still just easing back in to things with recovery and easy running. Usual post-marathon limbo where I feel like I’ve lost all fitness, and wonder how I was managing the training I was doing a few weeks ago. But I know I just need to remain patient and keep plugging away.
A few easy days, and a few beers before the trainers come back out. Said id see Millsy at Gosport.
AWC...Jealous, i love the North Coast, shame Barry's will be closed
TR...Enjoy the beers.
Went to the club last night for to try out the new place they've found for training. Its a horse show arena, but there is lights and a gravel track around the outside with is roughly 400 metres so is a good set up, better than the old place for winter training anyway, which was round a housing cul-de-sac where the residents regularly tried to run you over
14M MLR this morning. Kept the effort easy-ish, which made for a lovely peaceful run down the canal tow path, not a dog or a sound at that time of the morning, bliss.