Sunday 1 January 2006

13

Comments

  • Happy New Year all!

    Well done all racers.

    What: Serpentine 10k. This was my first 10k race and was for looking for around 40 mins. Finished in 38:07 so really pleased :-)
    Why: Great way to start the year
    Last hard: Today
    Last rest: Friday

    Enjoy the rest of your day.
  • CP16 - Wow - that sort of improvement would be something to boast of even at the slow end of the pack, but taking of that much at your speed - double wow.

    Hilly, I'm delighted with you haul of pots and bottles. One of the great pleasures of being a regular on this thread is watching how, since MG took you under his wing as it were, you've risen to match your potential. Here's hoping that the coming year continues rewarding for you, in pots, bottles, and just plain running.

    TmR - sorry it didn't go your way. I remember you explaining to me much what Tom has just said, do the training for the time you hope for, and then use one of the halfs nearer to the big one on which to base the race plan. I suppose there is a danger though, that in trying to train for a slightly fast time, the easy runs might not be quite easy enough to allow you to run the hard runs hard enough, as it were. Anyhow, best of luck with the weight business. I have finally finished the last of the Christmas cake and other yummies, it's back to rice and lentils here for the same reasons. (Hitch is, I can pig out on rice and lentils, no problems!)
  • Well done all racers, particularly the ones celebrating with pbs. Chris - interesting to see your 10k time. Your endurance and speed are improving.

    Hilly - what happens to all these trophies? Sadly I'm only allowed to keep a couple out - the rest are in a box undery bed.

    Tim "BR, so the 3M am aren't junk?". Nope, they had a specific job to do in

    1. Getting metabolism working for the day
    2. Flushing out some of the bad stuff from yesterday
    3. Stimulating fat burning

    Micksta - not the miles that were the problem, as you will see from the new WEEKLY TRAINING THREAD:-)

    TmR - just do the training and do your best on the day. It's easy to beat yourself up over the current numbers, as today demonstrates...

    pm - 10 miles around Hull - about as flat as you can get. Was meant to be 70-75% HR but got annoyed about how slow this would have been so ran harder. Top of left hamstring and left groin causing discomfort all the way...

    Mile 1 - 6:56 (no it wasn't -slight blip) 140
    2 - 7:13 (152)
    3 - 7:06 (154)
    4 - 7:07 (154)
    5 - 7:00 (156)
    6 - 6:48 (157)
    7 - 6:59 (159)
    8 - 6:59 (162)
    9 - 7:13 (158)
    10 - 7:06 (160)

    7:03 ave - 155HR which is 77% MHR.

    So it's all there - HR drift and a poor HR / pace relationship.

    Assuming 20 secs / mile for every 10bpm, that would put pace at marathon HR at about 6:23, not 6:00.

    Something is happening here, and I don't know what it is...

    (apologies Dylan, 1965)

    Assuming
  • Hilly, Pammie, Tom, Stickless. Thanks for the comments. Pammie, loosing the wieght shouldn't be a problem; the question is will it be enough to achieve the desired result. Tom, I was hononoured to be bracketed alongside you! And yes, at the moment I don't have any real basis for my race expectations, and I suppose my marathon target is just a dream at the moment, though based on what would been realistic only one and a half years ago (never mind the 16yr old PB). I was only even hoping for goal marathon pace today, not even a recent best 5ml time, but as you say, I'll have to take one race at a time, and see what the March half marathon brings. Stickless, I don't think I'm training faster because of goal time - most of my speed work is on grass, and other runs are based on HR.

    (by the way Stickless, did you get my email - my server is behaving very oddly ?)

    pm: 6ml easy recovery run in the park with Tigger (aka hide and seek)
    - now, why did I enjoy this so much more than the race this morning (apart from when Tigger hid too effectively, and I panicked) ? My legs even felt better.
  • BR, as an expert on HR drift, (or anyone else) can you explain why my pace on my 2nd & 3rd miles (one lap) was very similar to the pace on the 4th & 5th miles (the same lap) but at lower HR, but the latter HR was much more what I would have expected over 5 ml. What would have happened if my HR had been higher earlier ? Would I have slowed down more as if drifted out of control for the distance ? And does not being able to keep the HR at 95% even for 5ml mean I should concentrate even more on base training, or that I need to get myself more used to running at 95% ?
  • BR, you can get

    1; working by eating breackfast!
    2; adding to it in the 10M run!
    3; do you have a fat problem then ;-)

    hilly, well done on the prizes!
  • Are you anti-doubles now, Tim?

    TmR...

    ml 1 7:29 av HR 144 (short lap)
    ml 2 7:40 151
    ml 3 7:52 153
    ml 4 7:36 157(96%) (3nd lap, as ml 2)
    ml 5 7:53 157 (3nd lap, as ml 3)

    I reckon had hr been 157 by mile 2 your pace would have slowed on lap 2. Yes I found base training was a way of stabilising this.

    I am able to run 10ks now at 188-190 HR (94-95%) all the way round without any slowdown in pace when racing well.
  • If I can run 70M in singles that is good enough to begin with.
    I do need to allow time to fit massage work in, so my schedule until April reflects this.
    My hardest period will come on MikeG & RW trip to Portugal, however I have to work for it.
    Free trip = massage lot of runners :-)
  • received no e-mails as yet TmR, try resending?
  • Just been catching up on the weekend's threads before adding my own, well done to all racers and Happy New Year!

    What: nothing run in the last two days due to driving down to Reading, then shopping, followed by tequila slammers, beer, an exclusive party in Wokingham, more beer with a few pints of water, karaoke, a quiz then 4hours of sleep. Then a 200M drive home this afternoon!
    Why: socialising
    Last hard: this afternoon
    Last rest: this weekend!

    I suppose I could have run this evening, but I feel tired from my night of debauchery and tequila (well, not so much debauchery,actually!) so won't attempt it! Tomorrow's another day...


    Stats for 2005: 1822M run
    180M for December.
  • Ran the Belper Hangover 5 mile race this morning. Very interesting race. Some said to me at the start that if you compress Eyam half marthon or Huddersfield 10k in to 5 miles that is what the race was going to be like.

    Well it was 3.5 miles up hill, some steep bits as well. Then a serious drop in 1.5 miles to the finish.

    Times were

    mile 1 - 9.28
    mile 2 - 10.01
    mile 3 - 9.15
    mile 4 - 8.40
    mile 5 - 7.45 approx. forgot to stop watch as soon as going over finish due to steepness at finish.

    Finsh time on website was 44:21.

    I'll read back now and see what everyone else has been doing today.

    Hope not to many hangovers. Happy New year to one and all
  • debbodebbo ✭✭✭
    Hilly - 6 trophies AND 3 bottles of wine! You are such a star!!

    I'm a bit whacked from my tri, so can't remember who has been racing today apart from Hilly, CP16 and Hyperlite... but well done all!

    What: edinburgh NYD triathlon
    Why: local club race and I've always wanted to do it
    Last hard: today
    Last rest: friday

    The race was great - I had a slight blip in the swim - haven't swum for nearly 4 months apart from twice in the last 2 weeks because of my shoulder problem. Had a bit of a panic with my breathing and did a couple of laps of back crawl which sorted me out. The cycle was hard - 3 laps of Arthur's seat - but a glorious day, apart from the low blinding sun on the steep downhill! The run was hard too, but strangely I managed to do the same time as I did on my 'training' run earlier in the week, despite much more walking on the uphill.

    Finished in 1.38.50 with nearly 100 people behind me and 11th female vet out of 20, so much better than I ever do in any running races!

    I'm knackered and delighted. Time for a glass of wine I think.
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Pammie, you won't need them, you'll do just fine!

    Dr AJH, sorry I missed that you'd raced today too-well done!

    Well done Hollywoodski and Miss H too.

    BTW, I don't intend to defend my title. I only ever wanted to win it once and now I have it's out of my system. Should it happen again though I wouldn't complain:o)

    Stickless, Mike G is great and I fully appreciate all his advice!

    BR, I have a pine glass fronted double door cabinet, which every one sits in nicely. It is getting rather full now though as I do share it with my boys football trophies. Being the lady of the house I'm not opposed to them being on show. They only need dusting maybe once a year as they're behind glass.


    6 miles recovery done.
  • TmR - "enjoying" hide and seek with Tigger - is it possible you have put your finger on one of the problems (not that it suggests any particularly obvious solutions).

    The really magic moments in running, ok, in my limited experience, are accompanied by a great fluidity and relaxation - nothing is getting in the way of the muscles working, muscles are not fighting other muscles. When you are fretting about lost form, about catching rivals, about losing ground, I think this relaxation is almost impossible to achieve. Reading through other folk's race reports, how many times have people scored well when they weren't really trying/expecting too, and which people are they that report thus?

    Son 1 has taught me a lot about sailing, in particular the importance of not tensing up when you make a mistake or sheer bad luck causes you to lose places. You tense up and you loose the feel of the boat, make bad decisions.

    I would have thought that was even more the case in running. There are those on the forum who seem able to stay totally focused on their own race, run calmly within themselves. There are others obviously distracted by surroundings who miss their targets, sometimes by a long way, except when they are running races as a training exercise only.

    I've seen you run a couple of times when you are racing hard. The effort is impressive but you do not look relaxed. I wonder if you could make some gains by looking in to that.
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Sounds tough SCS, well done!

    Debbo, I'm envious, I love tri's, but I love running more! Well done that's a really good position!

    I will do a couple of sprint ones in the summer for fun I think.
  • (At the other extreme, me, I have had the experience, at a time when I was on sticks, of becoming effectively paralysed by tension when I was trying to escape a drunk who was pursuing me. Definitely not relaxed then, and with near disastrous results!)
  • Thanks Hilly. Not that impressive but a decent start to the new year.
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Stickless, I think that you're definitely right about the running tense! I found that every 10k this year I was not relaxed because I wanted to perform and get under 40 mins. The last one as you know I decided to go without looking at my watch, run as I felt and enjoy it-I did and broke 40 mins!

    I found even today I didn't look at my Garmin until the finish. I'm better just running as hard as I can and not worrying about the watch as I just fret if the pace isn't right. Ok today the first couple of miles were too quick, but they would've been even if I'd looked at my watch.

    So this year I'm not going to focus on my watch, but how my body feels.
  • Of course - that doesn't work all the time. Was it BR who had a particularly bad race (marathon) when he ran it without his beloved HRM and blew up? Ok, a watch is not a HRM. I do understand there is a distinction.

    The watch or HRM might be at it's most useful in preventing people from running too fast and exploding.
  • well done debbo - sounds a lot nicer than the hail they had last year but still can't have been warm!!!

    well placed as well! fantastic.
  • Fantastic Debbo! great performance and well merited! - I looked at entering that tri actually (though it would have been my first!) but discovered it was already full.

    Settled for a near 7 miles run which took in Arthurs Seat but I made sure that my run was after the tri (though I did see one competitor still on the run section).

    Congratulations also to Hilly, CP16, SCS, Hyperlite and anyone else I've missed!

    If anyones interested, I've been doing some thinking and I've decided on my goal for next year - the marathon! All my running for this next year will be solely designed to get me ready for the starting line and hopefully in the best shape possible.

    At the moment I'm thinking probably a marathon in September as I reckon any sooner than that may be a bit too soon for me, so currently its looking likely to be the Loch Ness marathon.

    Key races before that - I've currently marked out 2.
    A local 10 miler in March. I've never actually run that distance so whatever I do will be a pb! The main objective of that race will be to guage how quickly I can recover from a hard 10 mile run, in the hope that I don't have to ease off my running weekly schedule. If I was going for the best pb possible I'd hope to go under 70mins but as I'm not I'll aim to run it in about 75.

    A local 20 miler in May. This one I want to run at my target marathon pace (I've yet to nail down what exactly that should be!). Anyway if my training has gone well enough by this point I'd want to sustain that same pace throughout the race, and it would give me a good benchmark as to how ready I am at that point to tackle my first marathon.

    I will probably enter a few other races too, perhaps a 10k later this month and a half-marathon sometime would be nice but I'm not going to tailor my training for any of those in the slightest (or chase pbs) - the marathon is my goal!

    My other thoughts on my training is that I'll be running a bit of a tightrope between the desire to train as much as possible to get me in the best shape versus the desire to keep myself injuryfree if possible. That means no speedwork (I tend to suffer with niggles after that), though some runs will be a touch harder than others. Haven't yet decided on a weekly mileage target either (I've never previously done more than 35 anyway).

    I'd welcome any comments on this - you're all far more knowledgeable people than I.
  • Congrats to everyone racing today, some great performances!

    Hilly - what a great day, can't wait to see the pics . I've been a regular on this thread for 3+ years, during which time I've seen you devleop as a runner and achieve great things - I think that the key is that you have learnt as you have gone along - you tend not to make the same training mistake twice, and are also good at making sound decisions based on prior experience. Not everyone has that hindsight! Wishing you luck for sub 3 at FLM this year, I'm sure you will acheive it.

    SCS - knowing Belper well, that would be one tough course - well done!

    Hectic day today - out visiting friends all day - but managed to squeeze in 17 hilly miles on the bike in 1 hour first thing. Was lovely to be out before everyone else - and in the rain with no hangover (polishes halo)

    Feeling a bit poorly (sore throat and sniffles) so no running today - does explain why my performance was a bit lacklustre yesterday

    Oh yes - Happy new year!
  • Debbo - sorry, missed your post earlier. What a great effort, well done! Sounds like you had a good hard race, with a well-deserved result!

    Oh yes, my tip on who to watch this year - Minks!
  • debbodebbo ✭✭✭
    Thanks guys! One of the things I love about this thread is that it doesn't matter how fast you are - your achievements are recognised as exactly that - your personal achievements.

    I had done 8 hours training this week including 2 hard hours on the bike yesterday and still felt good today.

    Julz - sorry you didn't enter in time - it fills up fast! The runner that was last on the course was actually the person who was next to me in the swim heat - apparently she had a terrible time on the cycle because she had her jacket round her waist and it got tangled in her rear brakes... I don't know if she fell off or just ground to a halt, but it took her a while to sort it apparently.

    M - yes, it was much nicer than last year - I was luckily only spectating then. It was chilly on the cycle, but I get so hot I was warm enough after the first lap.

    Lizzy - I think you're right about Minks!

  • Debbo - that's a v.impressive performance. You must be a natural racer!

    Julz - I'd whack the mileage up as high as you can over the next few months, but I would say that wouldn't I?:-)

    Interesting thoughts from Stickless. I ran without a HRM yesterday and look what happened. I did actually run FLM with HRM but deliberately ignored it when it read 181 (90%) as I was determined to run 6m/m. My best performances seem to come in XC races. I hate training on muddy paths but when it comes to racing on them I agree that not having mile splits etc. to worry about you just go out and have a good hard run. I often end up beating people I don't beat on the road. I'm enjoying the experience, rather than getting hung up on times.
  • Hey Debbo, quick question - did you say you were going to do the Jack Crawford 10k in a couple of weeks?
    If it wasn't you, I'll ask on the Scottish Runners thread.
  • Evening peeps.

    I promise to get back into regular training.

    I am a slob!!

    Hope you all enjoyed the New Year festivities.
  • BR - ideally I'd love to get to the point where I'm running everyday, I've currently got a great 4 mile run to my work (which on the odd day I could extend).
    That would be minimum 20mpw in the bag no problems!

    I'd rather run more often, and if it means slowly I'd rather do that than higher paced running which may lead to injuries - which may have been a mistake I've made in the past.
  • Evening folks

    Just been for a nice slow 11 miles
    lots of dodging of a Gazillion people taking their - once a year walk with the family, and dogs, and little people not being able to ride their He'll-Grow-Into-It bikes.

    New Improved Leg worked well and behaved reasonably.

    Oh - and saw Spans - twice

    :o)
  • Happy New Hogmanay to you all.

    Some very emotional and inspirational postings in amongst yesteryears analysis. Dark horses and dead certs eh? It sounds like a betting syndicate. Are you going to lay down the odds for us Tom?

    When I went out for my run this morning I was thinking that I was probably ahead of BR in the annual mileage tally for the first and very last time in 2006. We were at the house of some friends, but they have cats. After a few hours my eyes were raw, my nose was streaming, and my nasal passages were constricted. I have a cat allergy. That is why I went out at 00:30 for a 2 mile run!

    BT- good run - I'm jealous of 18M MP+/- 10%.
    Hilly - What can I add? You had your self doubts through the year, but you've ridden all the ups and downs. In the final analysis it's quite a respectable haul of silverware on your shelf. Put it alonside the Supermum Cup. A nice hard race too, to clear out the system. Well done.
    Sportaloo - I'm jealous of your 20M too.
    Stickless - Yucky dogs must rank as one grade worse than puky children. But someone else's yucky dog? Ugh.
    SiT- good news. You were due some after 2005.
    Speedie- another good long run
    Lady L- Excellent - a pb with which to start the year! And on your focus race as well. Smile and be happy.
    CPro16- Brilliant too- That reads like a carefully managed and well crafted race, monitoring your progress against the clock, and doing something about it at just the right point. Half the difficulty seems to be choosing the correct target time to aim for before the gun, I reckon.
    Tom - 18 miles at a nice pace. Is there no end to my jealousy?
    TmR- Take what you can from the race, as much as anything it is a defined line in the sand. Onwards and upwards.
    SCS- A hard run to clear a heavy head? Or just a virtuous blast to cleanse the seasonal gremlins? It sounds like the road version of a cross country race. Forget the watch and challenge the opposition.
    Debbo - a quality race, well done on the achievement.

    Tips for the year:
    SiT- providing he trains carefully and doesn't get that recurring stress fracture. [drink more milk? or is that an old wives tale?]
    BrynR - too easy to tip the favourite
    Hilly - Believe me, we are only just beginning to see the results delivered out of all that training.
    James Earl Jones- Clocked sub 3:00 in a very measured and ccarefully delivered marathon performance. 2:45 is within grasp, then where?
    Hippsy- Having jacked her job, she has changed the stress profile in her life. Watch for pbs to tumble, and the "plodding" adjective to become fraudulent. 2:15 HM and sub 5 marathon are there for the taking.
    BR- I don't know what or where, the pbs will be hard to come by, but there will be some!


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