Sub 3h15

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  • Poacher: Melbourne Marathon is a great event. There are about 6,000 in the marathon which starts just outside the Rod Laver arena where the Australian Open tennis is held each year, you quickly the city and head down the slight downhill gradient towards St Kilda beaches. Along the way you do a lap of Albert Park (formula 1 track) going through the pit lane before continuing down to the beaches. There’s about 20km of our and back alongside the beaches and towards the Port of Melbourne before you climb back up St Kilda rd toward the city. At this point the marathoners merge with the back of the pack half marathoners which is simultaneously irritating (cos they get in the way) and inspiring (I’ve run twice a season far and am making you look like your standing still!!). Before finishing the marathoners peel away from the half again and do a lap of the botanic gardens with a couple of nasty little hills (just what you want at 40km!) and then the final push goes around the MCG stadium and finishes with half a lap in the stadium on the hallowed turf.  It’s a very well supported event and nicely organised. It’s also whereI smashed by PB last year and cracked a BQ - so I have a bit of a soft spot!

    MsE: Gold Coast Marathon is Australia’s *best* - it’s a little smaller than Melbourne (~5000), but the organisation is tighter, field more international (lots of Japanese visitors) and the course pancake flat. You start off a little too late in the day at 7:15 after the sun has risen and head south alongside the amazing beaches with rolling surf. There are often people trying to cross the course with surfboard in hand to get to the beach. At the 15km mark there’s a turnaround and you hear back north pretty much the way you’ve come and by now the crowds are growing.At Surfers Paradise (~25km) the crowds  are there thickest and you get a bit of a boost running past the cafe terraces. Soon you find yourself passing the race precinct again, being teased hearing the super-quick runner’s get called in on the PA system and heading north for the final 12km. The crowds thin a little, the shade disappears and all of a sudden the party seems to have ended and it’s a battle. You’ll swear it’s hotter than the surface of the sun and the drink stations seem to space out just when you reallly need them. Mentally this place is the 
    most challenging - and your running away from the finish line still! Eventually you find the final turnaround but exhaustion is kicking hard. The final 2km of the course however sees the streets lined with club tents and supporters cheering like crazy bringing everyone home. It’s impossible not to get a lift and even those crippled by cramp seem to dig a little deeper. The turn into the finishing shute is always a huge relief, but don’t be fooled. It’s a 400m Shute! A couple of times I’ve nearly come to blows with cramp killing me in those last 400m but the crowds are thick and yelling and I haven’t failed yet! After the post-race fruit and drinks it’s always worth going back and cheering some others home - but there’s the added option of going and sitting in the ocean to cool off weary legs. Brilliant event - this year will be my 4th in a row.
  • Another newbie, great! Welcome and stick around southwarkrunner

    Badbark - Unlucky and ouch! The same thing happened to a friend who was meant to be doing the Nationals. He's just coming back it now but that was early Jan. I kept hearing lots of horror stories in work most of my colleagues ski at least twice annually, personally I avoid it like the plague. Too much faff and far too risky. Much prefer the heat anyway for winter sun/training. 

    Easy parkrun for me today 21:24 followed by a 10k coastal cliff path run. Stunning scenery and no one around, just was well, as I fell over in some swampy marsh land, it was a soft squishy landing on my bum!! Some pics below. 


  • Leslie - sensible move.
    GD - yes, roll on spring.
    DT19  - enjoy the VO2 session ;) Okay, that's still a very decent pace.
    Birch - no, up a bit late for 17. Another good week from you.
    RunningGas - yes, just give it a few weeks.
    SBD - hope it's not too windy down south.
    Badbark - oh no! Terrible luck. At least you are okay to run if you can handle the pain. Hope it heals quickly.
    MsE - enjoy your long run today.
    Lorenzo - should be a fantastic experience.
    GM - nice pics. Lovely place to run.
    11 miles this morning, including the Ron Hill pyramid session as posted by Birch the other week, making 64 for the week.
  • MsEMsE ✭✭✭
    I’ve decided my ability to bounce back from adversity is below par having seen this. 
  • MsEMsE ✭✭✭
    That’s what makes some people Olympians! 
  • MsEMsE ✭✭✭
    Safe travels and enjoy your trip, Lorenzo!
  • OO54OO54 ✭✭✭
    Vary bad luck B.B. but we all know it will not stop you!
    very sorry to hear that Freemers, I think we all knew it was coming.
    Finally took your advise MSE and skipped a parkrun to concentrate on my first 20 miler this morning, and a 60 mile week. Nursing a few different issues at the mo so all just plod miles.
  • MsE - I stayed up until 3am watching the snowboarding. Incredible story. I thought he would win Gold tbh but that young Red Gerard pulled it out of the bag with that last run. Incredibly brave to be doing those air moves, but it's their passion hey. As an observer one can easily see how badly wrong it could go and be broken up into bits. 

    Hope SBD had a good run today. 
  • BirchBirch ✭✭✭
    OO - plod maybe, but good to get the first 20 bagged  . . .
     
    Gul - good week again - nice you included Ron's "number-stride fartlek" also  :) 
     
    Gerard - was a bit alarmed to read "landing on my bum!! Some pics below" , so relieved to see the landscape ;) 
     
    rest as planned today , so 44 for the week, yielding a satisfactory 270 in 6 weeks this year
  • SBD.SBD. ✭✭✭
    edited February 2018

    Good mile building Birch

    Great views on the trail run Gerard

    Good to get the first 20 miler under the belt OO.

    A very inspiring journey MsE.

    Good morning miles Gul.

    Worthing HM for me this morning. Quite a few Worthing & District Harriers runners wearing green and a number of Reading Road Runners.

    A nice HM, not too large and the course (lots of loops through residential roads) worked well in today's windy conditions. 

    The plan was for an 18 mile run with the last 13 at MP.  Not really sure what MP is at the moment but thought I'd try and run to Marathon HR (c. 165) and hope that might get me close to 1:30.

    Set off at a controlled pace and managed to find a nice group of 4-6 to run with which provided some vital shelter and help push me a little harder than otherwise.

    Splits came out pretty even between 6:35 and 6:50 and the heart rate stayed in the right zone.

    Chip time of 1:28:04 which is a lot lower than I was expecting.  Thanks to the group of fellow runners!

    And a couple of miles warm down to give me 20 miles for the day and 58 for the week.

  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭
    edited February 2018
    Badbark, sorry to hear about your injury. Sounds like it won't stop you. 

    oo- Well done on the 20.

    Lorenzo, enjoy your holiday.

    SBD- Sounds like a very positive morning! So, will you still satisfy yourself with 3.20 at Brighton? I appreciate your aim is a London GFA, but even if you went maximal and it went wrong and the last 10 miles were a sufferfest, you'd probably only drop 1 minute a mile. 

    MSE, The 800s were probably more just comfortably hard. Looking at hr data my maximum was a good 7bpm less than it usually hits. Additionally I took 15 seconds less recovery between rep 3 and 4 than the others. Usually the inclination when propery working vo2 is to take more. 

    Hope the family enjoyed the game. Despite the outcome I thought it was a good hard game, spoilt by a guy that was flown from New Zealand who was given one thing to do and he got it appallingly wrong!

    Gerard, good parkrunning and follow up trail. Nice pictures.

    Good long running Gul and g-dawg.

    So I followed up yesterday's 15 with a very easy 5 miler at recovery on the treadmill this morning. I felt like most of yesterday's beer was still swilling around inside me and it was pretty hard going at first but after couple of miles I settled.That gives me 40 for week and feel like I'm back in swing of things with 2 sessions and a long run. 
  • 19 mile long run today with a bit of a cold so pretty exhausted this evening.

    Running by the Thames today was very windy and the final 5k into a horrible headwind. 'Character building' is how I would describe it
  • Great running going on here guys! 

    SBD - Very good signs indeed, really well run! 

    XC training here today. 5.5 miles around the fields in decent enough conditions, dry, sunny but a bit windy. 6:4x pace with a few sharper intervals thrown in especially up the rise and back down on the other side. Didn't fall over today! :wink: Took me up to 46 for the week. My biggest month since late October. Hoping for similar here this week with the 2nd race in the trail race series on Sunday. Will ease back at bit the following week before Parly hill. 
  • Birch thanks looks you are on the up this year so far .
    Badbark rotten stroke of luck for you ,I think getting back too soon could delay recovery so take it easy for a while and see how you go.
    Gerard no damage done and nobody saw you so all good.
    Gul Ron hills sessions sound tough 
    MSE looks like a bad case of manflu ! All the best with the ongoing recovery . The tighness in my hammy eased a good bit when I stopped , no damage done, hills didn't really suit me but pace was easy.
    0054 60 mile in a bad week is doing great .
    SBD good half in a big week especially with 5 warmup .
    DT19 on the up by the sound of it.
    SWR nice 19 in the wind.



  • Wow lots going on here in the past few days; lots of posts to catch up on.

    @SBD. congrats on the half mara time

    @MsE yep, Mark McMorris, and the majority of winter sports athletes are absolute beasts and can make remarkable recoveries, or compete with injuries that would put most of us mortals on our asses.

    Had a moderate week; still on the comeback; managed some MP and 800s on the treadmill; with a slow 8 on the road and a very slow 17 today which really was a struggle - howling wind, a route that took me alongside the M5 and some snow flurries - legs were in pieces by the end despite the easy pace; no chance of upping it for the last few.

    Puts me around 35 for the week plus some PT and indoor bike sessions. Feeling I might be able to make it through to London if all goes well; but really need to up the mileage. Back at the physio on Tuesday so we'll see.

  • MsEMsE ✭✭✭
    @DadAgainThank you for that beautiful detailed description of The GC Marathon. You've definitely sold it to me.

    Nice weekly mileage from Gul and OO (good stuff getting the 20 in!) And a very pleasing number from Birch (how's the hamstring liking it?)  

    Your 1:28 does not surprise me in the slightest, SBD. You are finishing decent workouts and are pretty fit.  Well done.

    @DT19  - great to hear you are back on things now.  Fingers crossed you can string together the weeks to build a decent campaign to the start line.

    @nicko1981 - well done on the 17 yesterday.  It was a very blustery day. Make sure you build that volume with care.

    southwarkrunner Hope you shift the cold.  What do you do when you are battling a lurgy like that?  I tend to go for a three-pronged approach: First Defence nasal spray, Vic C and Zinc tablets and Echinacea. I must rattle. 

    GerardM Lovely photo, you are blessed where you live.  We are too. I feel so lucky every day when I run.  Yesterday I ran the longest since my surgery and was happy to run a very easy 16 miles along the Downslink.  I probably haven't run that long since I trained for Berlin in 2016 because my ankle was so problematic.  I took a lovely impromptu photo of two runners coming towards me as they were framed so nicely by the surroundings.  I don't usually have my phone with me but since my injury at Christmas (which, henceforth, shall be known as the "Minor Incident") have tried to be more cautious now when I venture off on longer runs.  I stopped to show them the photo and then sent it on to one of them so they came away from that run with a lovely running photo.  I aimed for 8:00/mi that run and was pleased to come in with an average at exactly that (although that included the stoppage time as I was running with the GPS hidden so didn't stop it when I stopped for the photo exchange).  Ended up with a nice round 40 miles for the week.  That marks my recovery week after a 3 week build up since the Minor Incident.  Hurrah!

    Happy Mondays folks!  Run long and run strong this week.


  • GerardM - that path run looks amazing, cool pics.

    SBD - nice 20 miler AND a 1:28 HM, great work!

    southwarkrunner - solid long run there. I had a similar experience today on mine and was cussing loudly as I battled against it! Can't wait for Spring!

    I did 18 miles yesterday. 10 in zone 2, a 6 mile progression with 3 miles @ MP (07:25) and then 2 miles cool down. Cold and windy but felt ok considering first week back form flu. Totalled +59 miles for the week.
  • MsE - quite amazing. That's not the guy who crashed into Badbark, is it?
    OO - good plodding. I could do with a few proper long runs myself.
    Birch - consistent consistency.
    SBD - excellent work; looks like your hard work is paying off.
    DT19 - good to hear you're getting back on track.
    southwarkrunner - well toughed out.
    GM - looking good for those XC races.
    Leslie - fortunately they don't involve hills or running at least one mile a day for over 50 years ;)
    nick - good work. Hope the physio visit goes well.
    MsE - good to hear you're progressing well. I feel very blessed to have a job I enjoy, so I don't have a problem with Mondays!
    RunningGas - great long run with some quality miles too - coming back strong.
    11 miles this morning (5 @ 8:27 and 6 @ 7:40).

  • MrSoftMrSoft ✭✭✭
    14 miles yesterday with 4 miles @MP in the middle.  I struggled to get the legs to do the MP as tired from a hard threshold session the day before, and running into a headwind.  

    47 miles for the week altogether.  Waiting to feel the benefits of the previous weeks training to kick in. 
  • MsE - I like that story. I never used to take my phone but do now when I'm out on my own off the beat and track. Yes, it's stunning here and I'm lucky I'm a runner, so I can really appreciate the natural beauty of my surroundings. Hardly anyone around either. Jersey has about 50 miles of breath-taking coastline. The route I ran on Sunday was in prep for this Sunday's trail race. The terrain is brutal in parts, with lots of loose rocks and some very narrow paths with big drops. One false move and it could be game over! I think it will be a very tactical race with positioning at the start before the big climb key, as it's not possible to over take someone on some of the trail sections and quite dangerous. Fantastic news re your 16 miler and great pace too, taking into account for the serendipitous photo shoot. ;)

    Gul - Good start to the week.

    RunningGas -  It sure is amazing and there are loads of them here, that particular one is on the west coast and only 10 mins drive from the parkrun course. Nice 18 miler!

    southwarkrunner - Well done on your 19. 

    nicko - That sounded like a tough run both physically and mentally. Still time to get ready for a decent stab at VLM.

    MrSoft - Good MLR with MP miles too.

    Not sure what to do today on lunch, might do some km reps depending on the wind. It's forecast to be very strong later so I might head inland and up hills if it is.


    Lorenzo/OO - We ought to discuss arranging to meet up at Parly Hill if you guys are keen? Is there anyone else doing it on here?


  • MsEMsE ✭✭✭
    GerardM I’m not running at nationals but will be heading up to Parliament Hill to cheer on my team plus any thread members wanting a boost! 
  • OO54OO54 ✭✭✭
    SBD, that doesn’t seem like a bad effort at all. 
    My first time at the XC- if anyone has a plan to meet up would be happy to. Is there a suitable meeting point?
  • Speed sesh planned for lunch today depending on the conditions. I do 1k reps along the promenade and believe me it's not fun when it's windy. There's usually a SW blowing and today was no different. Did a short warm up of about 1 mile and then 5 x 1km reps off 60s static recovery. Reps came out at 3:44/3:42/3:40/3:41 & 3:39. No's 2 & 4 were into the headwind (25mph) and felt hard and 1,3 & 5 felt moderately difficult but I held back a little bit. Roll on summer!

    MsE - That's cool! Would be lovely if we could meet up. I think I will need a boost, the course looks tough but obviously depends on the conditions as to the level of toughness on the day.

    OO - Me too. Would be great to meet up. Are you staying over night in London? I will be based near Tower Bridge.



  • 7 mile recovery run on some trails today, deliberately put the handbrake on and averaged 8:46/mile.
  • SBD.SBD. ✭✭✭
    DT19 said:

    SBD- Sounds like a very positive morning! So, will you still satisfy yourself with 3.20 at Brighton? I appreciate your aim is a London GFA, but even if you went maximal and it went wrong and the last 10 miles were a sufferfest, you'd probably only drop 1 minute a mile. 

    Early days to be honest.  Happy to be training with a chance to be on the marathon start line after a few lean years. 


  • SBD.SBD. ✭✭✭
    edited February 2018

    I'm sure I was cruising as I approached the finish line ...


  • OO54OO54 ✭✭✭

    SBD your running style hasn't changes from the one on your avatar!

    Gerard I'll go down Friday and stay at my daughters in Greenwich- will only be free on race day either before or after the race.

  • Great run and photo SBD - bodes well.

    OO, GM, MsE - definitely on for meeting up at Parliament Hill. On the day is better for me so let's try and arrange a rendezvous point beforehand. We normally congregate as a club somewhere between the start at the bottom of the hill and the finish area, from memory we've got the track area behind us. I'll be near the Dorking and Mole Valley flag and will message you with my mobile nearer the time. If we don't get together beforehand, let's make plans to catch up afterwards to swap stories of courageous running.

    Now in Jerusalem after a night in Tel Aviv - managed to get out this morning for 5.5 miles with some strides along the beach promenade. Warmer than the UK!
  • G-DawgG-Dawg ✭✭✭
    Nice overseas running there, Lorenzo. Have a great trip. 

    Good overseas running from GM too. ;) Nice work, boss, especially in that wind.

    Working the camera like a supermodel there, SBD;)

    Chest felt much better tonight, just a regular head cold now, so knocked out a 5 mile progression run. Was supposed to start at 7.1x and progress into the next 10 second band but I was cruising nicely and accidentally hit a 7.08 meaning that I had extra work to do at the back end of the run.

    Splits came out at 7.08, 6.55, 6.44, 6.39, 6.24

    A good execution of the session and a real confidence booster.
  • SBD, looks like a great run. I used to work near Worthing and ran for Worthing AC so know about the winds down there and definitely helpful to find a group on a windy day. I do agree that your target looks a bit soft but, as you say, it is hard to determine exactly what MP is. 13@MP seems easy, 20@MP a bit harder, 21, 22 ?
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