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Happy birthday for tomorrow TR & well done for demonstrating empathy & compassion at today’s race. How were you doing until then?
Speedy parkruns DT & rjr.
Some weeks it’s like that Wardi & no amount of effort is going to salvage the anticipated time.
Late start today as I was out late for a mate’s birthday. Only had one pint myself so was able to chauffeur him home after - not sure any cabs would’ve risked taking him 😂
Finally got out about 2pm intending to do 17M but took a wrong turn about 5M in which extended the loop to 20! Absolutely cooked by the end as I’d taken nothing with me. Enjoyed a soaking & some wild lightning about 4M from the finish. Ironic that I’ve waited til after the marathon to run my first 20 in almost a year 😆 I guess I can call it Snowdonia training as there was over 1800’ of climbing too.
That 12m sounds tough in the heat after that booze up DT
Joe - shaping up well, hope the long run went well
Jools - nice one on the parkrun and 20m, maybe Newport has give you a boost
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
10m (3 easy, 6 stdy, 1 easy) and a rainy 5m today.
Jooligan . yes the beauty of Parkrun is you can nip back the next week if you've had a below par run. Shame we can't do that with marathons. Good effort getting the 20m done even if it wasn't intended!
RJR.. congrats on the sub 17 5k time, which one is your local/usual event?
The forecast last week was a wet day today but it turned out to be warm & sunny. As it is the last dry day forecast for a while I got out for 29m on the bike. A bit breezy but enjoyed a trundle around the country lanes.
Jooligan - Great to see your PR times trend faster as the piriformis hinderance disappear and your running is on the up!. A 20m adventure, you must have been parched!
TR - That's still a very decent 5K effort, importantly shows your in good shape. Sub 38.30 in my books is decent. Good 15m total. Hope the fallen runner was ok?
Wardi - Nice bike marathon and plus. I did a Kipchoge bike marathon on Saturday, 26.2 in the same time it takes him to run it! It was a hilly route mind you.
DT - Agree, find HM, tougher than Marathons as your always on the go/ limit, whereas with marathons you can ease back a touch.
Intervals with the running club last night 6*200m & 3*1200m, reminded me I am very much a one ot two gear runner, as lots overtaking me in the 200's but I got my revenge in the 1200's and was not running much slower. Think I've found a meaningful marathon target for 2024 which is to run 2.54.36 or faster to match the WAVA of my PB of 2.45.16 when I was 53. Not sure where as juggling lots of options. I do have the Malaga marathon in December.
I ran a 5k pb 3 weeks out from Newport (17.21) during a pretty big week so I'm hoping I can improve on that in a less heavy week. If you can convert that 5k upwards then sub 2.45 mara should be there. I've never got near sub 17 but hope too at some point.
Oo, Malaga sounds like a good target. Decent course and you've got 7 months to prep.
Tr, yes I was glad it was no further that's for sure. Sounds like you would have been up there in AG contention but for your good samaritan work.
Good work on the unplanned 20, Jools.
7m yesterday with various strides then spin. I've recently discovered that within the Stages app (the spin bikes we use) there are various club leaderboards for spin. This has introduced a whole new level of endeavour on my part. Currently top of tables for average watts per kg over 5, 20 and 30 mins and up there in others but they are largely based on regular attendance, such as miles covered for the month. I don't fo enough classes to top those.
8m over lunch with 3.5m of short intervals in there as a reintroduction to workouts.
Had the England masters race booklet through for Manchester next week. I was surprised to see the course profile and that they describe it as undulating. My expectation was it would be completely flat like every other race there!
OO - 200s is fast stuff, good for you. Malaga would be a good place to run that target time.
DT - those spin targets will keep the motivation up.
8m (inc hill reps and strides) this morning and the 5m back this evening.
TR - nice doubling. 10k will have acted like a session for you I suspect.
Wardi - bonus weather. well worth getting the bike out to explore a bit more. Brueton park in solihull is my local. normally won in around 17 minutes so nice to be at the sharp end now. hoping I'll get paced to something quicker in the summer.
OO - there were 1700 finishers last year. they've been banding about 11,000 as a number this year but I think that's for marathon, half and 10k combined. fortunately they've staggered the start times so I won't have to deal with any slower runners from the other races towards the finish. however, it will be probably be light on support. No harm in you being gear 1 or 2 but also no harm in jumping in these sessions to get the speed up. have seen a number of coaches recently getting marathon runners to go back to 5k/10k work before building up to the marathon get in order to run a faster time.
DT19 - yes I did finish first, 50 seconds or so in front. in fact after nearly 15 years since my last first finish I've managed 3 this year. each of them with a huge gap to second so I guess that says something about my ability to run solo. I think my 5k times indicate I should be able to go sub 2:45 but I don't think I've quite done enough in training either in mileage or number of weeks. I know it's there though if I stay injury free. Bad news on undulation. I think even Manchester marathon is sold as being a bit flatter than it actually is. Good work on the bike. I've never been able to generate enough power on the bike so even on the lighter side my Watts / kg wouldn't impress anyone.
20 miles done and dusted but it didn't feel great. I wanted it to be a nice relaxing end to the block but it proved pretty hard work. I did however manage 5 gels at a rate of every 25 mins so that was positive. my mantra for the next 3 weeks is "fresh legs" and that started with a rest day today.
I must have finished 2nd about 8 or 9 times usually to someone that doesn't usually go to that parkrun, much like Saturday in Worcester.
Solid days miles, TR.
TR.. yum, good job you run enough to burn it off - that's a very decent double today.
RJR.. well done getting the 20m done if it was a bit of a struggle. Good trial for the gel consumption too. My local Parkrun at York is normally won anywhere from 15.00 to
16.30, depends who shows up!
OO.. great effort in those intervals! No surprise to see you book Malaga again.
Short double 5.5m + 4m today, a wet run this morning but mostly dry for the 2nd run.
Looking on the bright side my SB in London was a higher AG% than that run.
Somehow I’ve managed 1st on 13 occasions too.
Great target OO: should definitely be achievable if the body survives the training. Good club session.
You were going well then TR. Let’s hope things go in your favour on the next hit out.
Bike commute, 7.3M w 4x3’/2’/1’ off 1’ & 2’ between sets followed 25 minutes later by an easy 3.5M.
Wardi - Agree with your local lad. At podium I wasn't in the best shape but got dragged round for a 16:48. Didn't have to think, just follow the people in front for as long as I could. Helped that the course didn't have tight bends. That's a quick parkrun so there must be good quality in the area. Nice doubling. Shame the rain has returned.
Jooligan - useful session there. I've felt so much better post runs this training block than any of the previous. Not sure whether that's down to gym work, fuelling or both. That said, there's presumably some benefit to running long without fuel to help the body adapt.
9 miles slower than usual today but quite warm and pleasant out.
OO/DT/Jooligan - good to see Newport have adjusted the finishing times for you. Hopefully no such mistakes in future from them.
Wardi - good to see you racking up some volume, and more good times coming out of your club!
rjr - nice parkrun time. Well done on that and the last long one.
DT - likewise with parkrun. Sounds like you've recovered well. I see lots of NHS stuff like that with the Fil. He is under investigation for a number of issues and he never knows which one he is being called in for, and it appears a lot of the time they're not too sure themselves.
Jooligan - good weekend with the parkrun and the unplanned 20m. And nice work with the fartlek yesterday also.
OO - nice target for the marathon. I must have a look at the wava tables and see what I'd need to run.
Weekend never worked out as planned running wise so ended up on 43m instead of the hoped for 60+. All triggered by a classic ADHD hyper-focus event on Saturday when I made the mistake of deciding to start work on laying a new patio before going for a run. As my wife said, once I started I was never going to stop until it was done. Ended up laying the full patio across Saturday and Sunday, with no runs, and then being a bit too broken and beat-up to get out for a run on Monday too.
Session #2 with the osteo yesterday saw a lot of work done. Some to continue with working on the weak areas and some to undo the battering I'd given my body laying the patio. I've been very sluggish and stiff since (really unsurprising as I had some big adjustments). A double 5m jog-very easy yesterday, and 5m jog-easy earlier. Supposed to be at track this evening but I can see that being a 'put my gear on, jog down, and see how I feel once it starts'.
Jools- not surprised you were achey after Sunday.
TT - good job you had the osteo after the patio work.
10m this morning (inc 6 steady), was feeling banged up during this, probably from decent early week miles and ydays hill reps, so i walked the return trip tonight. Few easier days, another 10k this Sunday.
Wardi, yes no doubt it makes a difference. At some point I'll need to get myself to one of these podium 5k events or similar. I ran Hereford in April in 17.21, which was a 5k/parkrun pb and it isn't a fast course in the same context RJR describes above, albeit it is flat.
TT, ha school boy error on not getting the run in first. I'd be in bits if I had spent all weekend doing that.
Tr, which 10k Sunday? Weather in these parts looks reasonable.
Rjr- I can see why AV parkrun is fast, however for me a lot of the time I go there I'm there for a social trot at mara pace or bit quicker. Mentally I don't therefore think I could suffer there. When I want to go hard I have to be invested in parkrun otherwise at 3k my head tells me I don't need to do this, this week. I go to Walsall or Worcester racecourse in those circumstances. Walsall has always been where the fastest guys around here have targeted and my two fastest times are there.
10m and strides yesterday and spin first thing. 8m tonight then cutting it back for Bristol 10k Sunday.
Weights this morning (A bit close to Sundays race?) and 5m easy home this evening.
DT19.. the Friday 5k series in York is held on the Uni/Heslington Parkrun course. 5 x 1k laps on a tarmac cycle loop. It is flat & fast though the middle to back runners do tend to get lapped!
TT. nice work getting the patio done though shame about the after effects. The osteo appointments were timely, good to see you got out for a few runs afterwards.
11m yesterday, my usual loop on the racecourse was off limits due to horses and lavishly dressed punters arriving! The Sustrans trail was a good alternative.
5m + 4m double today, dry day here
I set my all time 5K PB on the previous edition of that series off marathon training. April 2015 just 4 days before going sub 3:10 for the first time: Brighton mara.
I targeted the series in '22 post Manchester. Got faster each month, getting down to 19:02 by June . . . then I got my first dose of Covid in July '22 & it's been a struggle ever since.
This on June 12th from Bristol & West AC: South West PB Series it's the fastest 5K locally with 5 sub 15 & 52 sub 17 this time last year.
Hope you get a few stress-free miles in TT.
Good thing about 10K races - you can do several in succession. Go well TR & lets hope there aren't any medical emergencies or catastrophic weather events to derail you.
Solid miles Wardi - will you be having another crack at parkrun on Saturday? Best ease up tomorrow if you're after a time.
Decent training so far this week. Backed up Tuesday's session with 11.7 undulating miles Wednesday evening & a track 5K today. Ran the 5K progressively & threw in 100m strides up the home straight once I'd done 2K to wu. Best I've felt for a while so hopefully I can build on this over the summer.
I hate it when the races are on at worcester and I haven't noted that and turned up for a lap or two.
Tr, yes I've done my s and c earlier in week. Bristol 10k should be flat as it follows much of the route of the half which I did last year. It twists and turns a bit and you have to deal with cobbles in Queens Square. I ran it in in 2013 in 41.22 so a course pb would appear to be on!
Jools, yes Hereford series. I hadn't realised when I paid £23 in March I was paying for the series. I thought it was a bit costly gor a low key 5k. The May race was too close after Newport but as I've paid I just as well go in June. The April race was quite breezy and the start and finish of the loop in rougher terrain was dominated with mud and puddles so hoping for better in June.
I've seen those south west ones, possibly a bit far on a week night for me. Might look next year though.
Decent training thus week. I've been doing lots of strides in runs since my taper began.
RJR, I meant to say regarding fuelling, like TR I do like to use long runs to practice it also, largely because I've historically struggled. I take a gel in a mara every 5m but rarely end up taking one after 15m, particularly if going well still at 20 for fear of upsetting my stomach.
Rest day tomorrow so will pop to David Lloyd lunchtime for spa and good stretch.
Jooligan. yes the races finish today so clear for Parkrun tomorrow. A steady 6m with Mrs Wardi today, sunny and warm up here.
DT - sounds flat, but twisty might be a bit slow. We have loads of corners in Sunday's route, whilst its s slow course it's an opportunity to have a blast.
Wardi - good of the horses to give you your run route back.
5m nd strides this morning.
Still nothing exciting to report this end: still a fun runner, still getting out 3-4 times per week.
Tr, good luck tomorrow. It's a bit of a blast for me pre Manchester half.
Wardi, funny enough it was worctester races today. The parkrun reverts to its old route then, which is the inaugural route before they had permission run through the area that needs race course permission. It's a horseshoe loop with 3 u turns.
4m shakeout with strides this morning.
Joe - That's the last 20m ticked off, always a relief. Well done on the 5 gels (25g or 40g?). Cork, sounds a decent marathon, I was impressed by the prizes, very generous.
Jooligan - Good to see you continue on the up.
Wardi - Love a racecouse run, since won my only marathon which started and finished at Newton Abbott racecourse.
TT - Top work on the patio, I am impressed.
Paid the price for the speedwork on Monday, picking up an ankle niggle so limped home from Wednesdays club run. A few days off and OK for an 8m run today. Should never do speedwork!! Also tracking a mate of mine running the NDW50 and see Paul Adams, once of this forum, was in the top 12.
I lost interest a bit today as there was a lot more off-road than I remember, single track through woods which was real muddy and difficult to pass others on esp on laps 2 and 3, and some quicker road sections Spotted someone up ahead that i needed to finish ahead of to have an chance of the m55 prize, but struggled to close the gap due to the course and runners to pass, but managed to close the gap in the faster road section in the last mile and made the pass in the finishing straight, to take the trophy home. Bit naughty but it was a race after all.
Coughing well for a while afterwards so still not 100% annoyingly. Couple of weeks of solid training planned with next race the Worthing 10k in 3 weeks which should a chance to run a decent time if the wind plays ball.
Mixed outcome in Bristol today. 36.35 which is my 3rd fastest 10k, however I continue to run my best 10k times in longer races. I ran 36.03 through 10k in Chippenham 10m in March. I've been stuck in the 36.xx since late 2021 now.
The positive is it was an England masters qualifier and I finished in top 3 in AG. However the qualifying standard is 35.45. I do now have 10 months to run that time on any course! So in a sense I've eliminated the half of the job that is outside my control ie running a specific race and hoping you can make top 3, with no control over who might put name in hat.
So, I just need to work out how and when I can tackle this and train a bit more 10k specific. The next 2 months might be a shout as there's lots of low key mid week 10k races.
I'm sure the 10k time will come, DT19, but sorry that today wasn't your day for a super fast time. I don't reckon the Bristol course is super quick with all those twists and turns, plus a few short climbs (and I'm now starting to think that perhaps the 10k course only went out/back on the Portway as long ago as the 2000s: I can see the 2009 race is on my Po10 profile, and I may well have run it in earlier years, just not fast enough to make what were then minimum standards to get a result on Po10).
Jools, yes whilst it's largely flat those twists hurt momentum.
DT19.. a solid effort if you're running similar times to keep the standard. If it serves as any encouragement my clubmate has a 2.58 marathon and 79 min half to his name. He has clocked 35.42 & 36.20 for 10k in the last year so I definitely think you've got more to come.
Good to see Padams is still racing.
Jools.. great to see you're still ticking over, nice to run with no pressure sometimes.
OO.. one of the things that impress me at York racecourse.. the race meeting finished on Friday evening. On Saturday morning you could hardly tell the races had been on! Good news on your ankle recovery.
A mere 5 secs improvement from my last visit to Parkrun, limited by a strong breeze from 1-2k & 4-5k. Lovely morning for it though. 11m in all before and after, 7.8m today to bring up 56m plus a 29m bike ride for the week.
Good weekends activities there Wardi, great weather for biking.