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GAWD - sub 16 is rather tasty.
Tom - just for you.
3 laps of Richmond on my road bike took a rather hard 57.44 some 4 mins slower than on my TT bike last year.
Oh I also then ran to the start of the Richmond Parkrun which I then jogged(collector) and then ran back to the car to drink coffee with my cyclist friends.
Just looked at my mileage since VLM and I really have been a pillock. Weekly 11m; 50m; 25m (ITBS); 68m; 72m and now this week which is back to basics on 4 easy runs.
One of the hallmarks of my preceding 6 months was consistency. Since VLM I've returned to all the stupid mistakes I used to make in 2009. Feel a right prat quite frankly. Need to go back to Gobi basics.
Anyway - good to see some of the runs above. Well done GAWD - top performance. Good to see it's coming together Tom. Good luck to all other racers this weekend.
Great news Marigold - enjoy it!
Sorry to mentioned tri stuff again but half ironman yesterday (main build-up race for IM Austria).
Swim - visibility was awful due to silt (literally couldn't see hand in front of face) and lake was too shallow to take a proper stroke in some places due to lack of rain. Apart from that, good swim and got out in 28ish in the top 10.
Bike - marshal wouldn't let me take it for a quick spin before the race so couldn't check everything was working smoothly. Got on and rear wheel was rubbing so immediately got off and adjusted it. Very windy and felt like I was hardly moving on a long straight into the wind but tried to keep the cadence high and relax. One big hill per lap (3 laps) which was steeper than I was expecting but then fast all the way back with the wind. Felt OK for 2 laps, only passed by a couple of people and then at the start of the 3rd lap wheel started rubbing again. Jumped off and moved it, got back on, still rubbing. Repeated that several times getting more and more annoyed. Eventually got it sorted but must have lost a few minutes. Last lap was uneventful once getting it fixed! 2:19 including this for 47M, so might have done 2:15, which would have been acceptable for me (fast guys were 2:05ish).
Run - 4 out-and-backs, basically uphill out and downhill back. Had basically given up getting a good position due to the mechanical problems so just tried to run consistent lap times. All were 19:xx which felt hard but not flat out (could have done another lap or two at that pace I think), 78:03 total. Concensus is that it was slightly short, but only slightly, so maybe equivalent to about 79 mins.
4:10 total and 10th place, about 13 minutes behind the leader (who beat my by 15 minutes on the bike!). Not too bad overall - very pleased with swim and run but not sure about the bike. 5 weeks to go so going to focus on the bike (as I have been already!).
FR, GAWD -- well won in the parkruns, spectacular time for you GAWD.
LS21, RS, Joolska -- all training nicely there.
Marigold -- very many congrats on (another) national vest. Any target in mind yet?
Went for a little 10 min/M trundle with my elder daughter just now, but threw in a single 5 min/M quarter as a teeny tune-up for my 10k race tomorrow. My target is supposed to be sub-34 as my previous PB from last year is 34:12 -- but actually, given that I only managed a lamentable 16:52 in that track 5000m two weeks ago, I might be totally kidding myself. Whatever happens, I'll know better what my current state of fitness is once I've crossed the line... I have logged two successive 53M-ish weeks, so volume-wise I've gone back to marathon campaign levels somehow.
Congrats to all the park runners, and goof luck anyone racing today (and for those running the practice marathon tom morning!). And great to hear Tom getting a couple of 50+ weeks in - long may it continue. Hope the sciatica stays at bay MtR.
Stockholm marathon for me yesterday. Plan was to do it as a hard training run, with overall plan not to worry about time, and try and keep my HR average to about 140 (my normal marathon HR average is about 151) running it progressively.
Didn't quite go to plan, as of course i got a bit caught up in things but overal managed to keep it under control. Overal HR average in the end was 145bpm. The next few days/weeks will tell whether i gave it too much, but i think i may have got away with it!
Splits for any interested here, and for those that can't be ar&sed (dont blame u!) half way 1:30:35 and finish 2:57:42.
http://results.marathon.se/2011/?content=detail&fpid=list&id=9999991386F594000003DF20&lang=EN&event=STHM&ageclass=
Enjoyed the run (obviously much easier to enjoy it when running under control!!) but must say it's not a course to go for a PB on. Harder than NY i think, with wind and a few decent climbs to contend with, one bridge you go over twice is fairly tough, and then the final 4-5km is largely a gradual climb which must be really hard if you are on the edge pushing to get a time. Anyway, happy with a comfortable sub 3, and didn't think i would be this far along when i could barely walk back in March.
Unfortunately a bad day at the office for my mate who was hoping to break 3:15 and came in around 3:37.
The pre match carb load was only 3 beers and a glass of vino, the after match was lots more - good fun.
x-post - top stuff there Padams!
oh and Congrats Marigold - awesome, was that the one you wanted to get in the team for?
good luck with the 10km CW. I am sposed to do one next Sunday, which will tell me how i have receovered from yesterdays marathon i guess!
Good tri-ing, Padams. What a pain about the bike. Would that have been caused when you were transporting the bike to the venue?
Good luck with the 10k, Charlie.
7km easy for me to bring up 60km for the week. 6 consecutive days' running doesn't seem to have done the medial ligament any harm, which is a good sign. Looks like I can get back into proper training
JH1 - Bournemouth want me to rack the back on the Sat (for an Olympic - WTF !), shame cos I bet the swim is a nice one. Swanage is a good option, and I have Worthing near by too. Pretty tempted to do the 2nd Swashbuckler on 4th Sept and train for 2 races in one peak !
MtR - how did the ride with the Swashbuckler go ?
Tom - no park running at this end, theres none near me and its too much of a little dent in a Saturday morning training window.
Padams - sounds like you are rounding in to good form, nice one. You'll have time to check the bike set up in Austria. I'm with you on the bike approach for a while now.
Selbs - nice one, sounds very controlled and you've got yourself sub3 fit aagain pretty quickly. Hope that your hip holds up.
I ran about 6.5M y'day, which will give me about 75M for May.
TR - Think you'll find most Oly races have racking day before. You are closer than me to Dorset. Staying in B&B next Sat for Weymouth. Reckon that water will be cold but at least the weather will be warm.
Selbs - Controlled effort there fella. Nice to be back at it.
12m this morn mainly off road. Longest effort since London and toe still a bit sore so maybe back at clinic next week.
Had a few creaks from bike cranks recently so took bike apart, cranks, chainset and bottom bracket. Cleaned BB and greased all metal parts and its been quiet as a dickie bird since. Need to get the headset looked at on my race bike before next Sunday as the front end has some movement. Not a job for me so LBS will need to charge me lots of money to sort it out.
I shall talk running. 2nd place in a local 10km running through the field from 12th at 2kms. 1st was long gone from 2kms. Course is long and deliberate as well
http://www.bayer.co.uk/html/pdf/Bayer_Newbury_10k_2011_Route.pdf
Ran 35.32 @5.36 pace - 5.38 out and 5.34 back. Feeling very happy was sub 35 through 10km:¬)
Selbs: A decent sub-3 with a negative split as a hard training in a beautiful city - what more could you ask for?
Padams: Bike mechanicals are an a*se to be sure. But possibly it stopped you pushing too hard for a place on the run, so you'll recover quicker - it wasn't an A race after all.
TR: Just got back. 72 miles in just under 4 hours. It was very windy, and not always on fast roads - but I was pushing reasonably hard. He thanked me for the tow at the end! He finished a few minutes ahead of you last week due to a good swim - I think you pipped him on the bike and run. He did 2:26 last week, but felt I'd have no problems catching people on the bike, especially on a hilly course
CW - where is your 10k tomorrow?
TR - like you, I don't have a local parkrun....haven't even got a local park for that matter. I think my nearest parkrun is probably Charlie's down in Cambridge which is about 55 miles away. There's a couple of midweek 5k series possible - one in Lincoln (50 miles from home) and one in Peterborough (25 miles from home).
11 miles for me this morning at about 8min pace. Felt very comfortable for 7-8 miles, though got a bit heavy legs thereafter. Feeling even heavier now thanks to Sunday lunch of shepherds pie and syrup sponge.
JH1 - I havnt been the Solent yet this yr but its supposed to be about 14 degrees, they reckoned it was 16 at the Swash.
Gobi - nice one cyril
MtR - nice one, if he's 2:26 without a lay in a dtich then he's a little bit slower than me, but not much. I agree on the wind on a bike today.
tom - I wouldnt travel 50M for a 5k ! I only do my local midweeker cos I can run the 2M there and back.
Selbs that's great
Love the negative split. 2h57 done like that is most impressive. Can you remind me what your marathon pb is when you've really gone for it full-bore? And also, which race you are building towards?
Gobi great 10k+
Joolska great to see you are getting right back to it. You've been really sensible with the building back.
Padams rear wheel issue sounds a real pain. Forgive my ignorance but you're not supposed to get things like that with a high peformance steed are you? At the rate I'm going cycling might be the order of the day. Got a cyclist friend coming to stay this week for a couple of days so I might get inspired!
Another easy run today where I felt like an old man. Ah well. I have a very busy 12 months ahead so don't know how serious training will work anyway - will just run for fitness for a bit I think.
Gobi - nice 10k, not bad for a cyclist!
selbs - nice controlled run. Should recover relatively quickly I would have thought.
Jools - had to take the wheels off to transport it so just hadn't put it on in quite the right position. Probably could have been solved if I'd been able to go for a quick ride beforehand - at least I know I can do this in Austria.
MtR - that was my thought as I started the run - no point hammering it as a good position had gone and it was a B race. Good cycling, you've picked it back up very quickly.
HR - it's to do with the fact that the stays are a bit narrow for the wheel. The wheels were bought separately from the bike - I assumed they would be OK. It should be fine, just need to get it in the right place and make sure it's tight enough so it doesn't move.
Nicely paced 10+k Gobi.
Browsing on a 2G phone connection so haven't loaded prev page to hear selbs' story, but sounds nicely judged and I think his prev best was about 2:44 at Abingdon last year where he probably would have beaten me had he not had to grace a particular ditch for a minute :- )
Taking Rach out for dinner with my winnings - pizza hut :¬)
GAWD - impressive win park win tally total
Marigold - read your blog, congrats
Padams - good work in that tri
Selbs - excellent controlled effort in Stockholm. All sounds very comfortable but the main thing is that it was injury/pain free.
Gobi - well done in that 10k
CW - good luck in that 10k tomorrow.
20 miles for me this morning in 2.29. Was moving along nicely at about 7.15-7.20 for most of the first 15 miles but got very thirsty and dehydrated (maybe the football/house party/booze played a part a little) and was probably being a bit bravado really. Come 16.5 miles I was running seriously low on energy and it became a little bit of a struggle but grabbed a can of coke at about 18 miles, felt fine and ran home. Wind was annoying in parts.
Got a 10k next weekend in Beckenham so this run atleast tops up the endurance for St Albans half in two weeks.
CW - The HBO 10k is fast, I believe. It did used to have a reputation for being short, but it may have been remedied!
Nice 20m RS! After the HM what's your next marathon target?
Well I'm feeling like an old man at the moment but the spag bol, red wine and prospect of The King's Speech sure as heck makes up for my paltry 6.5m earlier.
Is it possible to wreck one's legs?! (Despite the exclamation mark, it's a serious question.)
CW/Tom It was eventually found to be short but that's been altered. It is (or was) a big net drop but tbh the course has enough hills it runs pretty much true to form. Wish I could be there (first race I broke 40 and 35 for 10k in - the latter sprinting away from GAWD after he caught me with a km to go!) as it's a great day. Just remember to work hard up the hill once you've gone back into the village CW - good luck!
35 minutes around the Common for me with 6 strides on the last lap. Felt pretty awful tbh but got around. Mileage for last few weeks has been pretty low, ~60, but it's been a useful break I think pre-marathon training. London 10,000 tomorrow and hopefully have a half decent run-out.
NIcely done Gobi! SEO has promised to take me there next Friday...
Thanks for the tip HH! The start and finish look pretty close to each other in the village now, so I don't think there can be too much overall altitude drop (unless the village has a steep hill). Wind prediction is now 15 mph avg 26mph gust, but from last year's results I see there should be plenty of people around me to share headwinds with...
HR -- I went through an overtrained phase as a student and my legs did indeed feel wrecked... strange aches and pains and just weren't delivering the goods when asked.
An 8-miler today kicking off my summer training after a very very lazy May (well, taken up with organising rather than competing).
Off fishing tomorrow though, with one of my Godsons. Have always promised him we'd catch a fish together and haven't managed it yet. Getting an early start to try and stay ahead of the rain. I fish better in rain, wind or anything else that muffles the whipcrack slap of the line on the water.
TIght linesTmap. Sounds great fun. Fly fishing then? Good conditions with the cloud cover.
Had a much better run this morning. Could have been the compression tights, or it could have been the three bottles of wine we polished off last night. To be fair half a bottle went into the bol sauce but I've still not drunk like that in a long while.
No idea at the moment how this autumn is going to pan out for me, even if my proper running legs do come back. Going to be a phenomenally busy next 12 months as on top of my regular job I'm going to be doing the book launch, will be part of at least one massive case which will hit the news, presenting the TV programme and spending most weekends doing up our family home in the country. Busy busy busy. Early days, but uncertain Berlin will be possible. Next marathon might end up being VLM2012.
Selbs - Great run - something to aspire to...
I took my new Vibram Bikila ls out for a few miles on Sat and am still feeling the calves today. I will persevere however as I feel there is some benefit to be had from running in them, although I can't see myself running a marathon in them just yet.
Apaprt from that, I am back on my indoor rower - 10k this morning in 39.24. It is one intense workout!
More congrats here to Marigold on the selection, fantastic.
Padams - lake too shallow to swim properly!?!? Is standing up and walking frowned upon in those circumstances? (Or am I just revealing how bad a swimmer I must be if I can walk faster than I can swim?) Well done on the top 10 despite the mechanical issues, all sounds positive for IM.
selbs - really impressed with that after being broken not too long ago. Hope all's OK in the recovery.
Nice 10k Gobi. Do you have a regular Sunday night table for eating (either of) your winnings?
RS - well done on grinding out the 20m. Sounds like I had a very similar 20m, for similar reasons too. Couldn't stop for the life-saving coke though (no money), had to wait 'til home. Sounds like Homer runs better with a hangover than we do.