Overdone it?

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  • Tommy2DTommy2D ✭✭✭

    Nicely done Bob, sounds like a well judged race, again. Looks like your recent track racing has given you good tactical awareness (as well as some outright speed, obviously).

  • Cheers, Tommy. Really enjoyed it - was great to find myself racing a level or two further up the field, particularly as I wasn't flogging myself.

    Lit - Yes, Long Eaton do buy extra medals for all those who contributed. Not something we do unfortunately.

    P.S. And in my counter-defence, I did tempo rather than race most of the middle 4 miles - hence the change in pace for the final mile (despite it being uphill which I'm crap at anyway) from 7:00 for Mile 5 to 6:20 pace for the final 0.83m. image Anyway, fear not, you've moved miles on from where you were this time last year, as proven by another huge boost to your RB handicap from the Ceres race - 3.3 now - fantastic.

    DT - Your assessment of how the RB handicap does make sense, yes - and I agree with it. image

    As for NAD - it might be supposed to stand for Near As Dammit then, but in the case of both Worksop and Teversal, it's certainly not appropriate and Lit's NBL (Not Bloody Likely) would definitely be more like it!

  • Well, as you know, I think RB handicaps are silly, but it is looking quite healthy at the moment.

    I'm still not convinced that the Ceres 8 was really 8 miles long, and would be inclined to split the distance between the official distance and my stingy garmin, but Po10 thinks it was accurate so who am I to argue?

  • Photographic evidence of my brief encounter with our team bronze!

    https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10616103_10152635106823665_8599882734163730265_n.jpg?oh=187f1a04baaf25c0ff664338d9fc5d55&oe=545BE590

  • I would query Lit's ranking as only 656th best female in the country - I could look at the list and trawl down all the people and would probably better understand how 655 ladies are lower ranked than her but I can't be arsed.

    As she has a top 100 time for both marathon and 5k this year it seems a bit strange.

    [Lit apologies for referring to you indirectly]

    Nice run Bob. Yes you can have a team medal on the next table update which I'll do once Lou confirms his time seeing as there is a silver cell at stake.

  • Skinny, I think the answers are:

    1) I'm not, as the ranking list has not been updated with my new handicap, but also

    2) it's a big country and the list includes all the age groups and all the distances.

    Plenty of faster women than me with less good rankings, though, because they've raced alightly less recently (which is I think one of the things you want to query).

  • Lit - Yes, and yes again. On your final point, that might be true to a certain extent, but I could equally argue that you're improving more quickly than most, so those currently behind you probably never will catch you, and those in front...watch out.

    Speaking of those rankings, they have been updated since my weekend performances were reflected in my handicap, and I've now got less than 100 places to make up to hit another of my targets - to get into the V40 top 1000 before I go back into base training. I need to get to 4.0 as it stands. My 3000m if it ever gets updated on to my record (15 days and counting) should take me to 4.1 or 4.2, so almost there. Also now within a whisker of breaking into the top 10,000 blokes overall.

  • 1) Good point!

    2) Yes but your marathon time and 5k time are all women and all the country ranked top 100. Bearing in mind that is the two extremes of road running that only leaves track people to be ahead of you or as you quite rightly say, people who are not running at the moment.

    Maybe its easier to get your handicap down on the track - what do you think Bob?imageimage

  • But (2) fewer women are running road 5ks than, for example, parkruns, road 10ks etc., which are more frequent events, and also fewer women are running marathons than half marathons. Look at the times you'd have to get in those events to get the same ranking (I haven't bothered to check this, but I bet they're faster than my times).

    Plus, you can't just dismiss 'track people' like that (or xc for that matter) because if you consider that junior runners just don't do long distance, and that many runners in their 20s won't be racing long distance yet either, that is a huge amount of runners competing this year who are intrinsically more talented than someone like me but who are limited to shorter events.

  • Quite the opposite, Skinny. It's that the best runners all gravitate to the track obviously. image

    (Which joking apart, is actually true to a large extent when you think about it.)

  • Okay, so for example, I am currently ranked 49th for the marathon, but to get an equivalent ranking for the half I'd need to run sub 80 minutes, which (a) is not happening any time soon, and (b) is harder to do than a 2:56 marathon. That's because there are more half marathons than full marathons, and more women race them.

    (PS: okay, and I was wrong about parkruns, but that's cos parkruns are shit. image)

  • Yes you are both right and (just in case any other trackies are reading this and think I am dismissing them) I was just surprised at the number of track runners that must be better than Lit's standard.

    You are both right I had discounted XC and also that many of the best athletes will run track only, particularly the youngsters.

    EDIT:image X post - if you do the *2+15 in reverse you get to 1:20:30 so you just need to put in a bit more effort in training and you're there!imageimage

  • Skinny Fetish Fan wrote (see)

    I was just surprised at the number of track runners that must be better than Lit's standard.

    Steady on! I'm the sort of runner who wins home-made cakes in local random-distance races, not some sort of incredible running superstar.

  • There's not many that will run track only, Skinny. Lots / most of the top track athletes will run road and XC out of season, but they'll be doing them during their base training / endurance phase, and so will be well off the peak fitness they then build to during the track season which is when their best performances are produced.

  • Cake winner extraordinaire you may be for the moment, Lit. But I liked this bit, whether it was deliberate or not.

    literatin wrote (see)

    ...to get an equivalent ranking for the half I'd need to run sub 80 minutes, which (a) is not happening any time soon, and (b) is harder to do than a 2:56 marathon. 

    Not soon perhaps, but... image

  • literatin wrote (see)
    Skinny Fetish Fan wrote (see)

    I was just surprised at the number of track runners that must be better than Lit's standard.

    Steady on! I'm the sort of runner who wins home-made cakes in local random-distance races, not some sort of incredible running superstar.

    image Yes but with running that simply means you are outside the top 3 at any given distance. If you were a footballer and were 600th best across all positions and 50th best in one position (oo'er missus) then you would probably be getting paid 100s of thousands of pounds a year - so its all relative.

    Anyway stick with us and you can pretend you're a running superstar!

  • Here's me being a running superstar in a picture where you can see (a) that there were in fact other people in this race, and (b) some undulations.

    /members/images/699204/Gallery/Ceres.jpg

     

  • Yeah, but look how far behind you they all are.

    Clearly you're winning the entire race by miles...right?

  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭

    My first thought was...you look like you're winning.

    Got racing last night Bob, the fact you can turn it on and off on those paces shows the improvement you have made.

    If you were ranked 600th British footballer you would probably be  on a 'normal' decent wage in league 1 or 2 i'd guess.

  • Don't let the facts spoil it DT!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    Bobby took the words out of my mouth, looks like Lit's winning by miles.
    I'm glad no one was rude enough to mention the cheeky nip action either .

    As for the rankings, they are pure unadulterated pony. I'm a fan of taking the ranking for the individual event, rather than presuming some track kid is better even though they race completely different distances.

    Also, as Lit will no doubt end 2014, top 75 or so for both 5k and marathon , I'd like to put on paper that all requests for interview or sponsorship need to come direct to me imageimage

  • Could you sponsor me for my next 10k please SG? I'm raising money for a Guinea pig sanctuary run by my sister in law.
  • Well, it does tend to be a bit chilly north of the border, SG...

    On the rankings you probably have a point, though playing devil's advocate a track kid could just as easily turn his or her nose up at the comparison with a road grinder. It is also designed to reflect current form, rather than necessarily determine who maybe the outright better runner over a longer time frame. What I would say is that most of us refer back to comparison websites like McMillan to get an idea of how we should be converting one race time to another, and really this is just an (albeit far from perfect) extension of that, with an attempt to factor in conditions and taking into account the relative performance of other competitors. Precise comparison is impossible anyway, even in the rankings for an individual event, due to conditions, how competitive the field is and, if it's on road or MT, the profile of the course. Where I have found it useful however, is as a motivating tool to seek continual improvement since I started running - and I suspect that is largely the point.

    Gentle 4 mile recovery run last night to stretch the legs out, with the added bonus of some heckling from the gypsies who have taken up residence on the local playing field. Easy and recovery paces drifting into something a little swifter again now with the much cooler weather.

  • Tommy2DTommy2D ✭✭✭
    Big-Bad-Bob wrote (see)

    Gentle 4 mile recovery run last night to stretch the legs out, with the added bonus of some heckling from the gypsies who have taken up residence on the local playing field.

    I bet this has gone down a storm round you way, Bob.

  • First I knew about it was when I took the playing fields in as part of my run last night. Been there since Monday it seems having browsed t'interweb this morning, and they've apparently said they're due to move on again on Sunday. Not ideal, but other than the heckling and some yappy dogs, which were at least tied up, there was no obvious mess, and various sports clubs were still going about their training sessions unimpeded.

  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭

    Bob, I'm not sure we can use the G word anymore. Its apparently offensive!!

  • Is it? OK, 'travellers'. image

  • SG - I think I'm already slipping off the end of the top 100 for 5k, so no sponsorship deals just yet!

    I got up stupidly early to do this week's long run as the weekend is taken up with (a) a wedding on Saturday, to which I am going to wear a neon orange dress that would make Phil very envious, and (b) possibly a hangover on Sunday, or at least a lie-in before brunch, followed by an epic train journey. Anyway, the light up here is very, very beautiful in the early morning, which makes the early start feel totally worth it. I'm not sure what my motivation will be in the winter when it's dark all the time, but I'll think of something.

  • In the winter you could wear the neon orange dress to create your very own eerie early morning glow. Bearing in mind how cold it will be your 'cheeky nip action'image will be at its finest.

    Enjoy your weekend. Anyone racing?

  • marrowsmarrows ✭✭✭

    Not racing this weekend, but got a 10K next Thursday.  I hope there is some secret boingboing hiding in my legs.

    After that I've entered two half-marathons: 28 September (hilly, morning after a wedding) and 12 October (fast course, no wedding).  So, what quality sessions should I do over the next 8 weeks? Perhaps I'll draft a plan over the weekend and then post it for review..

    Winter early morning runs are beautiful and offer great opportunities for smugness.

    happy weekend all

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