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Jiffle King - regarding Barcelona, any hotel recommendations welcome. I haven't really looked into it yet; am planning to arrive early Saturday and come home Sunday evening after the race.
great news zaTTu
Thirsk website is saying update at 3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what I want the outcome to be now
LS21 is the race director!
I see the old `my marathon conversion time is rubbish' discussion has come up. How about the half full `my marathon to HM conversion is excellent'? The marathon is open to so many variables whereas there's less to go wrong on a HM / 10k so a truer test of the training and race execution.
Quite a bit of snow in Barnsley and I really don't fancy a 160 mile round trip to run on the ice tomorrow. WTGY - whatever the outcome the conditions won't be ideal. Although they might give it the go-ahead as cancelling it would be a headache for them.
Greetings.
Good break for me in Italy with my Dad. Nice to get away, some good food and culture. Did some running out there, ticking over but nothing too hectic. More importantly I feel refreshed from the marathon and recent flu and am ready to train again.
Had fun down at the photo shoot yesterday, good to meet DanA, Marigold and Marders. Certainly a first for me that was. Thankfully it was my turn in front of the camera when Marigold and Marders went out for a "quick run" altho I think it's fairly obvious what my answer would've been if they'd asked me to tag along, lol By the way Marigold like you she didn't ask me to go a "sexy face" haha, that was purely for Marders I reckon. See you both at Wokingham anyway.
I've had a brief read back there's almost too much for me to make notes. Safe to say I hope everyone is doing alright
Zatu - great that you've got the all clear to run again soon, thats fantastic news!
SL - hows your niggle/injury?
Selbs - thats a bugger that you're still injured. Annoying that its come after the marathon.
Been ticking over last few weeks post flu but finished this week strongly with 5miles at HMP last night with a 1m wu/cd and approx 16 miles this morning. Couple of weeks decent training then I've got the Bedford half on the 12th.
T-map Hotels in BCN. Assumption is within a mile of the start so you can walk easily.
Gran Torre Catalunya - 300m from the start and right next to Sants station so you can get a cheap train from/to the airport. Also very easy to get to the main drags. For a double/twin room is about 90 euro a night... and breakfast included. The hotel std rates are higher but there is always a deal on somewhere. If you want to stay here and cannot get a decent rate, mail me as my company has a preferential rate which is equivalent to this and we can "arrange a meeting"
Hotel Casanova - 80 euros for twin/double and again very easy to get to from the airport by train (saves you the €30 each way taxi fare)
I'll ask a few people at work as those are the ones I know about. There is also a hotel on Placa Espana itself at the bottom of Carrer Tarragona. I can't think what it's called.
I'll post some more over the coming days when I've spoken to my secretary who is just brilliant at finding these things. Closer to the race, I'll post a BCN guide on how to get from the airport and some good places to eat etc
Nice one Jiffle King! That's really helpful.
South of the Thames cross-country for me today on Wimbledon Common (second XC in 4 days!). Was over a minute quicker than the same course 6 weeks ago, despite a slow start, and 61st overall. Very pleased indeed - training is coming along very nicely. Felt especially strong on the second lap and kicked well in the straight, flat last mile.
Rich_W, 3:00:40 is a really impressive time off 25 mpw max. Blimey. What will you do off a few more miles?
Zatu, I usually learn something from your posts. Delighted to hear that you're so close to running again.
I should be in San Sebastian now. I'm entered for the marathon tomorrow and fancied myself for a PB. Just didn't recover from Toronto as quickly as I had hoped, so a couple of weeks ago decided to give it a miss. Finally feeling in good shape again now, so maybe I should have done it anyway. Oh well, at least I can aim for a long uninterrupted preparation for VLM. Got to go to Coventry tomorrow. I'd rather be in Spain...
Evening all, a little bit parky here but not cold enough to stop any running.
Zatu: great, hope it continues to improve.
Nice XCing by tmap and GN and am intrigued by details of sub-3 haute couture on the catwalk.
10M today, with a middle 6.55M at 6:08mm. Felt good and kept me warm
Well Thirsk is still on and unless conditions get severe overnight it seems it's going to happen.
Silkstone Shuffle MT race this morning in the snow, which was great. Lovely to meet up with Njord and Mrs Njord and RW-H again along with all those we see often. The race itself was wonderful to run in the snow and as I was leading the series for the women didn't have to worry about racing flat out in sometimes slippery conditions. Came away with series trophy, some wine, chocs and t-shirt, not bad for a race that costs just £4 to enter!
Jeez - I can't believe I shook your hand without even knowing it! Nice to meet you!
I was breathing very hard right from the start of that (same on Wednesday) but I seem to be fit enough to keep going despite that, oddly. I thought too that that whole group (including the first lady) had me beaten after the hill so I was quite surprised to be able to accelerate away on the wide straight.
Hilly - brilliant performance to take the Series Champion spot. Congratulations!
BR - looks like it may be coming back? That was a superb run under the circumstances.
Fab to meet up with both of you, and to meet Njord and Mrs Njord as well as LS21. Brilly you, literally, went the extra mile for me and I will reciprocate. Top people. I have long held Njord in awe so great to meet you. Loved that final few hundred metres!!
Silkstone Shuffle race report. Hope this doesn't break frediquette. Arrived in good time for a warm up, which was appropriate given the snow. It also meant we could see the Juniors going off. How brilliant to see so many youngsters turning out in the conditions to race cross-country. They make 'em tough up north!
At the start Brilly headed to the front, whilst I lurked near the back where Njord was. He had run a 8-ish miles to the start. Set off at a comfortable pace, steady uphill on a track with snow under foot. Stayed close to Njord but he pulled away. Absolutely beautiful. Felt quite strong so started pushing myself and overtook quite a few uphill. After a mile and half turned right for a short road section which looked slippy, then right for an exhilirating few miles properly cross-country, often downhill. Lots of styles to cross (or so it seemed). Don't think anyone passed me along here but I was beginning to notice the lack of training at about the 4 mile point. Conditions distinctly exciting at times with a bit of ice as well as the snow and hard-earth. Kicked though and found it was all there still which really pleased me. Nearly went for a nasty fall on one of the styles which held me up, but kicked and caught up Njord, who told me to go for it so pulled slightly away but I was feeling it in the legs by this point. Held him off to the last 50 metres coming in just behind. If I'd stayed on his shoulder I might have nipped it, but then as I say he had run 8+ miles already!! Loved the encouragement you gave me Njord - you'd be a fantastic pacer for someone trying to achieve their pb.
So came home 43rd in 34'17 for the 4.70 miles hilly x-country just behind the aforementioned. Very happy with that for comeback time.The run was so beautiful and it was fab to meet up with fred members, and to enjoy a shorter race. Definitley going to join Farnham Runners and do more racing. It's a great way to tune up, meet people and have fun with a purpose.
Top day. Only mega downside is that I didn't make it in time for the photo-shoot. Got to the relevant tube station just as the shoot was due to finish so called it a day. I am so sorry I couldn't make it in time DanA
The main train was delayed and then the underground to Old St so I wouldn't have got to you until past 5. Argh, sorry.
p.s. the Nike Pegasus were brilliant in the conditions: yet another superb thing about them. Counsel afterwards felt the slightly softer grip was better on the ice than some hard trail shoes.
p.p.s. Njord I notice that you just posted the same thing on my wall: I should have stuck in on your shoulder. As you say, schoolboy error!
Sounds like my kind of race that, RW-H/BR - well done.
RW-H - cross-country is what it's all about, and as you say a great way to tune up. Join now!
<shakes head>
Hopefully, hands were shaken in the finishing chute, not the finishing shoot (although that sounds quite exciting - a bit like spot prizes only more risky?) and I hope RWH was crossing stiles not styles!
<and breathe>
Man flu appears back with a vengeance. Have postponed run until the afternoon in the hope I improve miraculously but looking like I'd better swap the 24 week schedule for the 18 week schedule, as out of the first 4 weeks 3 have been utter sh!t* in terms of doing what the tin requires. Am trying to eat lots of iron rich foods and vitamin C (M&S obliging sell tins of grapefruit for those of us who find that taking the pith off is hard work).
Very jealous of all those feeling fit and strong and racing...
Great news for Zatu.
Ooops!
Definitely didn't win any prizes on the style front either. I don't like making spelling mistakes: must be slipping, and not just on the stiles.
Hope you get better soon Jools,
And good luck to everyone out. Am about to go myself in a bit. Is Thirsk really still happening?!
Well raced Tmap, Brilly, RWH & Njord(ette).
I've had a week of 'scheduled downtime' after my HM race last Sunday, in the hope of shaking the hip niggles. Certainly they're not niggling now -- and I've still been doing the exercises, stretches and massages. I'll probably crack tomorrow and run my commute to work to assess progress. It has to be said the niggles weren't that bad anyway, but I'd like to get back to a clean sheet.
Very lovely frosty sunny 16 miles this morning to clock up 55 for the week, and indeed to go over the 2,000 mark for the year.
Curry last night though, so was leaving noxious clouds of weapons-grade gas all around Richmond Park while people stumbled around fumbling for their gas masks.
Haha Tmap - brilliant!! Looks like I'll be popping down to Richmond Park before too long so I am duly warned
Great mileage.
Good luck to you CW.
75 mins c 9 miles easy for me on the North Downs Way. Utter bliss. If running has ever been more enjoyable than it is now for me then I can't remember it.
Just seen that Thirsk was cancelled.
RWH.. good to see you enjoying your running. Well done at Silkstone along with BR, Hilly & the Njords.
CW.. good luck with the fitness test.
Sorry to hear about Thirsk, though as today's forecast had temperatures not rising above freezing in the area I really think they should have cancelled it last night.
TMap.. good miles today, even I can't trump that.
Jools.. a virtual get wellness card to you.
Managed to pick my way along 15.5 miles of snow & ice covered country lanes in calm & clear conditions earlier. In a remarkable stroke of luck, within 2 minutes of getting home it was snowing heavily - must be a good omen!
Nice to see RWH in such a good mood and running with a number as well. And BR must be feeling good to have posted a decent performance. Congrats to Hilly on her series win and get well soon vibes to Jools.
Hail Hail
Nice racing and comeback-ing. Nice shooting to the (not-so) sexy mod-dels.
Offline for a couple of days. Lots of snow. Lovely when off-road and fresh. Not so when the traffic starts on it. Have enjoyed about 20M in the snow over the weekend, but today was treadmill cos the fag packet said something about running at HMP, and that was never going to happen in the snow.
Well done to all those who've managed to get a race in over the weekend. Sounds like some highly enjoyable running.
Headed over to Skye yesterday morning (interesting driving conditions!) for a run with a (club)mate. Didn't expect much more than a slow snow-bound plod, so was delighted with 14 snowy miles, the first 7 mostly uphill @ 6.40 ave pace, then the return 7 miles @ 5.59 ave pace. Absolutely stunning Winter scenery, running beneath The Old Man of Storr and with distant views to the mountains of Applecross and Torridon. Made the bowel-churning drive there and the completely numb face during the run completely worth it.
Out for an easy 5 miles this morning...the wind had really picked up, whipping spindrift all over the place, but still a perversely satisfying outing.
Hope the gritters get the job done overnight for our drive back to Glasgow tomorrow.
Hail Hail
Nice one scobos. Hugh doesnt do slow does he! Great fb pics, but conditions underfoot looked pretty good. FYI - GWR is hideous, the Skye roads have been treated much better.
You see what I mean about lack of stile (sic)?! And definitely still carrying some extra lard there. Mind you, not sure about this fella's headscarf:
Had you in my sights Njord!
Hail Hail
Sunglasses? Fucking sunglasses?? Who does he think he is? Dull?
Remarkably I have a race to report. I ran in the Basel Stadtlauflast night. A bit unusual- run in the evening, in an event spread over hours, and last night in snow and temps probably around -5C (it was -3 when I left home in early afternoon). The race is 5.5K, with two loops around the centre of the city. There is a series of events, starting with the weans running, including my 6 year old who did well over 1K in 6 ½ mins. (I think they use the young ones as a cheap form of snow plough- getting dozens of groups of increasingly large nippers to run round the course cleared it reasonably for us grown ups: when my laddie ran, there was a series of huge pile ups at the start as a fair few tripped up in the first five paces).
Given that I have been struggling to get back to any kind of ‘form’ in the last month since having man-flu, I am really delighted at my run, which was very comfortable, but it could have been better. I realised within 10 seconds of my wave of several hundred coffin dodgers starting at 19 23 (to the second!: this is Switzerland), I was in the wrong group, as I had somehow been placed to start with the slow brigade. Hence within 100m I was on my own, and within <500m I was into the back of the other half of the coffin dodger field who had started 3 mins ahead. As the course was very narrow in parts and slippy, this didn’t help. As I finished 32nd MV 40 (in 20 44) and there were over 900 on the course (MV40 and 45), split in two, I must have passed over 400 people in my two laps.Despite all of this, a really fantastic event. I think there were over 8000 runners in total, including a small field in an elite 10K, won in 29 something. I saw the leading three skimming over the road with about 300m to go, running three abreast and eyeing each up to see who was going to win: a thing to behold.
Bottom line is that I am very happy to have ‘competed’, and have a reasonable mark of where I am, having been ill, done a good load of miles in the last year, but no speed work in the last six months. Onwards and upwards!