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Sub 3:15 - FLM 2009
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SBD - I still think you should def do Abo. You never know how it might go on the day with different weather/terrain etc. Plus good practice doing a mara under proper race conditions. Why not set a semi conservative target then treat it as an exercise in pacing and ebdurance for first half and trying to pass as many folk as you can in the closing few miles.
GE/Lorenzo - 5 hours constant aerobic effort .....NUTTERS !!! Fantastic efforts chaps. Puts you on a proper pedestal in my book
Jools - will you still try and squeeze that 24 in at some point - or getting a bit late now
BB - nice controlled racing Sir.
Ant- good to see you're getting gently back into your inimitable groove
Did a long hot 22 yesterday lunchtime in Ghent then 6 steady tonight in Maastricht. Very slight little tweak in my left calf but nothing too concerning.
SBD - I agree, don't be too hard on yourself, that's a pretty good time on a tough course. You have to do Abo, and there's still plenty of time for you to feel better about your prospects.
BB - Good racing and pacing from you - well done.
Fraser - Good inter-city mileage there.
GE - Not out for a 10m loosener, then?
Get well soon CC2, BOF and Jools.
Ant, your come back goes from strength to strength. Nice one!
Nice 92 min HM there Barry. I would be happy with that. What’s the target time for Abo? So far just B&B and me in the 3.20 train. You are welcome to be our driver, although you might be better off following SBD or RJ!
Nice effort Lorenzo (and GE). Where did you make the 7 mins ahead of schedule? Presumably you had planned for a faster run. Was the bike / run transition the hardest part? Did you do many BRICs in training. I ask as my brother in law has challenged me to a mountain bike duathlon on December.
SBD – That’s bloody good running. Your target was 1.28? and you missed it by less than 1 minute? I think running the HM at M pace as part of a LSR is really difficult. I went harder than intended last weekend and like you was a bit disappointed to go so slow for the effort. But we are currently at the peak mileage / fatigue point of training. Another long run, a bit more speed work and a taper and surely a sub 3 attempt is on. Chippenham isn’t exactly flat and I am sure your endurance is all there.
Nice mileage at a good pace there Fraser. I know it’s pretty flat out there, but the landscape is SO boring. It must be like putting the running machine in the garden and spending 3 hrs on it! Awaiting MMs Nottingham HM report.
edited for formatting
I've been a bit quiet the last few days. Lot of work coming up this week, so getting ahead. Also family down for my sons 4th birthday party of Sat.
I managed 12 instead of 10 miles on friday night in the dark, with some M pace. Taking a tip from Windy I dug out the head torch, although I had to leave it behind due to flat batteries
.
5 miles easy Sat morning. Still find I hobble a bit when running easy. Tight calves caused by a dodgy ortthotic. It is away being adjusted and the tightness is slowly going.
I had planned my 4th of 5 20milers this morning. However my wife was knackered and not feeling well, so I took the opportunity to earn some brownie points and looked after the boys till she emerged around 11. Really nice day and got a bit sunburnt gardening and paddling in the local stream. All meant I was really lacking motivation to go out. However I had my trainners on at 4.30 and made a deal to myself to keep the pace easy all the way. Partly due to having a bowl of museli 1 hr before hand, which meant that the turtle was pushing against his shell for many miles (sorry for lowering the tone to MMs SSX thread level
) Ran non-stop apart from at the 16 mile point when a really good looking woman drove past and meant I lost concentration and had to walk for 200 yards 
. As a 'punishment' I ran an extra mile, making 21. in 3hrs 2 mins. Not quite Fraser or Race Jase pace, but pretty pleased considering it makes a total of 38 miles within 48 hrs.
Thanks everyone for the advice on the Half in 2 wks time. I think I will certainly go for a pb as I have only ever run 3, the 1 this year was part of a LSR and 1 min slower than my pb. However whether KINAVIT or not to go for sub 1.30 I will decide on the day.
Lorenzo - x post - well done again. I think your numbers don't quite add up .. I reckon you must have gone (much) quicker on run 2 and the bike.
SBD - another x post - Good running. I think you're right. You're not quite in the shape you were for Brighton and sub 3 looks unlikely. Nevertheless you may have a shot at a PB at Abo given Brighton was your 1st Marathon. It's surprising that simply having the experience of a marathon behind you can give you a few minutes just from knowing a bit better how to race it. Even if not it woould not be a wast of time as FW points out. I've had a few few doubts about doing it too but decided to go ahead - I think I will be in better going in to VLM traiing if I do Abingdon than if I don't - even that it will be frustrating to fail to PB in a marathon for the first time.
Ant - certainly not! In fact my last post was written in the bath!
Kier - I might be looking at 3:20 ish at Abingdon too depending on how things go from here.
Barry B - I'm not a cyclist so that's the problem really. This was my 3rd Duathlon. Ive done the "Ballbuster", a slightly shorter and hillier race on Box Hill in Surrey, twice. I like the novelty of trying something different from time to time.
GE - you're right. Over estimated my time on a couple of the legs. In summary:
20K run: 1:32:42 (pleased with that and definitely helped having someone to run with for the last 12K)
Transition: 2:13
Bike: 2:37:08 (first 4 laps at good pace, but final 3 was where I lost a bit of time)
Transition: 2:42
10K run: 52:58 ('nuff said)
TOTAL: 5:07:40
Keir - I was planning on / hoping for 2:45 on the bike leg so made up the time there, but suspect that was down to the fact that it ended up being closer to 47 miles than 50 so I guess that's what's made the difference. Didn't expect to take quite so long on the 10K leg, but under the circumstances, I'm pretty pleased. Transitions weren't too bad although I reckon I could shave some time off there with a bit of practice and also deciding not to change tops as well. I didn't feel as bad coming out of the bike-to-run transition as I had done in some of my training, so I guess I got that right.
However, I managed to suffer from cramp even earlier than GE as my right calf seized up completely about 3 miles into the bike leg and I thought I'd have to bail out as it was going to be a bit of a challenge cycling with one leg but a bit of stretching saw me through and although my left hamstring tightened up towards the end, I wan't too bad. Like GE, once I got into the 10K run I just wanted it to be over.
Would I do it again? Not sure. It was pretty pricey ( £99 + £7.50 for a car parking space) and the whole event, while well organised, lacked atmosphere. Having said that, I'm hoping to get a new bike next year so I might have to show it off in public and see if it makes any difference.
Next up, the Ballbuster!
Good 5 hours of effort there Lorenzo. I don't think I could have lasted that long without collapsing.
Was watching the womens World Triathlon from Budapest today and was amazed at the winners lead at the end of the run. Emma Snowsill won by quite a margin with her 10k split being 33.08.
Lorenzo - will you be getting one of those pointy helmets too?
Ant van Oviedo wrote (see)
... and more than just a bottle of water at the end.GE - not sure about a pointy helmet as well. Might look a bit strange cycling through Surrey on my way to work!
Welcome back OO - I don't think I'll be reaching 30mpw for several months yet. Hoping to do about 3 miles next week.
Well done to Barry and SBD at Chippenham and to Lorenzo and GE too.
Jools - hope that everything is back to normal very soon.
We enjoyed ourselves in Cardiff on Saturday, except seeing all the signs for the Cardiff 10k which were a bit like torture to me.
I abandonned my usual field this morning and opted for a more dog-friendly one i.e. not right next to a main road. Just 5 mins very slowly; reps start later in the week
GD - It's nice to have a choice of fields. Sounds like you are making progress.
Lorenzo/GE - Impressive performances in the duathlon. Sounds like it was very hard work. From my memory, Richmond Park is far from flat, so the cycling and running must have been fairly challenging at times. The fact that you achieved those times without the go-faster bikes and pointy helmets makes it even more impressive.
FW - Another good LSR. You must have a good collection of 20+ runs by now.
Keir - Very good 21 miler there. Much more important than a fast HM
GE - don't know about you, but my legs are pretty stiff this morning. Felt strange getting on my folding bike after over 2 and a half hours in the saddle yesterday!
Did you both wear fancy bike shoes, GE & Lorenzo? If not, 3 minutes for transition seems rather a lot, no? Sounds like a great result from you both though. Sub 5 next time? And changing your top in transition, Lorenzo? What the heck's that all about?
Barry B - You're recovering from a recent injury, right? In which case, 1:32 sounds hunky-dandy.
You're probably right about sub 3 at Abingdon being a non-starter, SBD. But a decent run there could serve as good preparation for London, don't you think?
Some good racing over the weekend chaps. Enjoyed reading the reports.
GE/Lorenzo - Have to admit I was feeling a little jealous of you. That was until I heard the cost and the lack of generosity from the organisers. I'd expect a new pair of trainers in the goody bag for that price. Well done to both of you on good times and for attacking the first 20k.
BarryB - All looks spot on and being pleased with yourself works wonders doesn't it?! Also, I think you mentioned a 3:20 train - that'll be a long'un cos I'm running Loch Ness! And certainly not in 3:20.
SBD - That's still a good time (which I'd love to get near), especially with a few miles stuck on the front of it. Don't be disappointed, be determined!
Keir - A great run bagged, you dirty fecker!
FW - Still running long and very well. Looking forward to your LN more than mine!
Not sure that my bike shoes are particularly fancy, but I did have to change shoes in the transition. The cycling shoes have a velcro strap but a learning for next time is to invest in a pair of those laces that are held together via a plastic toggle rather than have to mess around untying and tying laces.
As for the change of top, that's another learning point! I don't have a special duathlon top so decided to do the running legs in a running vest and swap into a cycling top (with gels stashed in the pockets at the back) for the bike leg. I don' t think it cost too much time but I'd go for the "one top option" next time around. Luckily for my fellow competitors I had invested in a pair of triathlon shorts so didn't have to swap those over.
B&B - the cost and lack of generosity did leave a rather bitter taste, especially when you compare the costs with other events.
great to see a lot of good running going on from SBD's long run/HM at MP to Keir's 21miler and GD running round fields and duathlons being raced. All v impressive.
Sadly I had a bad day at Nott HM yesterday. It turns out that sporadic training for 10 weeks does NOT make you go quick for a HM and i've had a bit of a slap around the chops thinking I could fake it. I listened to the voice in my head too much at just before 10 miles and pulled out
W/up was a mile at 7m24s pace from the car park to the start. Felt fine.
Splits were:
6m50s
7m01s
6m42s
6m50s
6m45s
7m31s (!)
6m43s
7m04s
7m03s
8m15s (jog/walk)
I reckon I got to the 10mile marker in just outside 70mins and if I hadn't have stopped i was doing 6m55s pace overall but my head wasn't in it.
I need to heed my own advice and get some "consistent consistency" in over the next 6 weeks before Birmingham HM!
MM - commiserations on the DNF, What was the problem? your splits are all very consistent (bar one, which may just be a Garmin error), your not showing great signs of slowing or other distress. Did you record any HR data for this race or was it done by "feel"?
A lot of good running going on and alternative cross training as well, sadly not enough time to mention. Good to see familiar names returning.
Have done three runs since my marathon "failure", two were of the struggling to turn the legs over/painful variety, then with the third things clicked. The legs felt good and there was a spring in the stride, so let the legs go and had a pleasantly fast 3.4 miles over a hilly course at an av. HR of 174 with a pace of 6:29mm. Infuriating though as a week ago at the marathon a HR of 172 would only yield a pace of 7:05, and even that was on the flat section.
Editted for grammar & spelling.
MM - what was the voice saying? Was it telling you you weren't fit enough, or that you weren't going to PB? Weren't you tempted to finish, even if it meant slowing down for a couple of miles to save yourself for a stunning sprint finish?
B&B - I think it was Keir who was in the planned train with you.
Keir - I'm hoping for sub 3:15 at Abo.
Rest day for me after yesterday's exertions, a bit of stretching and a lot of icing sore achilles.
Sorry about the HM MM. Despite the base, I guess the top end is hard to fake. Still, you know what you need to do over the next few weeks. Perhaps you could try to shout or sing to yourself whilst running to drown out those voices.
I spent the weekend on a series of trains going to Winchester and back for a family wedding so no exercise and lots of beer. Dragged my sorry arse out for 5m tonight at 7:36 pace with a HR pleasingly down near 130 and no pain from my calves (although old righty seems to have a tiny sore spot half way up now). Spending the rest of the week having meetings with the same people in Newcastle, then London then Manchester (where I'm staying in the venue of young Mr Rooney's indiscretions). Probably won't run again now before Sunday's GNR but will hopefully manage a blast on the bike some time.
Speaking of which it's nearly time to get the old winter steed out - bye bye carbon ultralightness, hello mudguards and heaviness...
Interested to see the price of the Helwith Bridge duathlon - £15. Surely the "cost of secure transition" isn't that much more in London as it is in Helwith Bridge?! Clearly it's not too grim oop north when it comes to doing multi sport events.
Trying to convince my legs that they fancy a little run out tomorrow morning.