Moraghan Training - Stevie G

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  • SG, the Garmin 235 needs data uploading as well as downloading as it caches the satellite positions over the coming week or so to enable it to find them faster. How do you transfer data to and from it? If you don't upload the satellite data it can take minutes as the old models did. 

    https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/forerunner230/EN-US/GUID-8F933BDD-AE3F-447F-9A06-64C4A3257DA5.html

    Normal wave of silly parkrun PCness over the last few days. Saturday was "new world record" then Sunday it was "parkrun record" and by yesterday it was downgraded to "best time". It is starting to become a bit irksome. The whole idea of parkrun is simple and I embrace it but it is getting hijacked a bit by people with agendas.

    Have to agree with SG that if he doesn't want to do a marathon then he shouldn't do one. The marathon is maybe the event where mental strength comes in as much as physical and if SG is not mentally up to it then there is no point doing one. He surely could run a decent one and his training shows great mental strength (how else could he run so much on so uninspiring routes) but unless you want to it won't happen.




  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ric - I dare say. The big problem, is if i trundled my way round, and did xxx (i won't put a certain time, as that'd sound disrespectful!), then I'd without doubt then think I could have another go to beat it. Then you're a marathon runner, and it's your whole year every year, and I'd be one of those :)

    Phil - i have no idea how to do any of that. I click a button at start and end, then it auto loads to garmin connect on my phone, which then pushes it through to strava. That's the depth of my understanding.

    ps, good save, for one ugly moment i thought you were questioning my mental strength :)

    Which bearing in mind i just started a run in pitch black for a warmup, then did 6miles (24 laps and 18secs ish) with decent level of wind every lap, I would possibly argue ;)

    1.31 average, which is 6.06 average which is fine. I have done it sub 1.30. but not into wind.
    I did at stages weigh up, just doing 3miles, 3.5, 4,4.5, 5 etc, but I was always doing 6. In fact as i got near 6 i weighed up doing 6.5, but 6 was plenty!

    37.01 for 6miles then. 
    Probably do some sort of 10k type effort reps later in the week.
  • Nothing wrong with being a marathon runner SG! That looks a good tempo, do you run to effort or just decide on what roughly should be tempo pace?
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Don't start that debate again who-man 😄😄😘😘

    I have a zone in my mind in but if factors affect it then i understand that. Rather than work too high a level to rectify. Like today would have needed
  • Sounds the right pace then SG. Similar in that I know my tempo pace should be 6.15-6.20 but im not fit enough at the moment so 6.30s it is!

    50/50 whether to run tonight or not. Calf is a lot better but there is still a bit of tightness. Been doing so googling (bad idea I know) and sounds like its something I'm going to have to manage while I get used to the new form.

    Feeling a bit behind the 8 ball in regards to Manchester but I'm sure it will be fine.

  • Stevie G said:

    Phil - i have no idea how to do any of that. I click a button at start and end, then it auto loads to garmin connect on my phone, which then pushes it through to strava. That's the depth of my understanding.
    OK, so you have a smartphone and Bluetooth and Garmin connect so that should do it all for you. 

    Stevie G said:
    ps, good save, for one ugly moment i thought you were questioning my mental strength :)

    Not questioning your mental strength, just where you apply it. If you were to apply it to a marathon you'd do well, but as you have no intention of doing so then you are best to stay well clear. Too many people feel pressured into running a marathon ("Have you done a marathon? No? My mate ran London in five and a half hours and that makes him a better runner than you.") and people should recognise other distances as valid.

    It is hard for your casual follower to understand, so throwing numbers at random, a 17 minute 5k translates to a 2:40 marathon but a 20 minute 5k becomes 3:07. People cannot see the difference between 20 and 17 minutes for 5k, but can tell a 2:40 marathon is much harder than a 3:07.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    It was interesting to do the club 20 ending with 5miles steady but i got a taste of what it can do to you by missing 3 days ill later that week(though a 5k time trial 2 days after was stupid!)

    I see a lot of runners do them and then spend months either injured, demoralised and struggling to get back to where they were.
    I can obvs see that it must feel a great release and achievement but i get that from the half.

    The idea of regular 20milers sounds a bind too
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ps surprised at the parkrun comment phil. It was already vaguely irritating refusing to call it a race and the fussyname over the name.
    I don't get peoples' obsession with doing them every week either.
    I've seen people do them the same day as an actual relay/race!
  • PeteMPeteM ✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Depends how you view pr SG. Lots of reasons different people do them nearly every week. Examples invlude 1) doing it as a social as it's where you meet your friends for a catch up and maybe coffee after 2) to vary your running venues by touring around lots of pr's 3) to ensure at least 1 fast paced run a week 4) to measure current form and progress 5) to boost up your Po10 and lower your RB handicap/improve your ranking and 6) to get the kudos of decent finishing positions. I also think many don't really care about relays so they don't affect doing pr. Take the Runnymede one; I would always do pr before that as a) our team were never going to win or even be competitive and b) it was even marketed as a bit of a team social; tea and cakes on the lawn type affair. 

    I started pr for reason 1) above but got bored of the same course/people within a year or two. I still do them for all the other reasons though. I get some don't like them, think they are for newbies/slow runners or just a bit 'nicey nicey' (all inclusive, run not race, same time, right spelling etc.). However you can't deny their immense popularity and exponential growth, which is undoubtedly good societally. 

    Changing tack, I do agree with you and Philip about marathons. You should feel no pressure and only do one if you want to. Some people are just not made for them either mentally or physically (or both) and I am one of them. I only ever did 1 FLM as London was back then. Time was rubbish and I hated most of 'the experience'. So much for Phil's 20 min to 3'07 conversion; mine was 18'20 (and about 1'26 half) to 3'18! Then you get the injuries and psychological impacts you referred to and the prospect looks distinctly unappealing. Probably like you I would still love a decent marathon on my CV, but so far have not been tempted for all these reasons. 
  • Stevie G said:
    Ps surprised at the parkrun comment phil. It was already vaguely irritating refusing to call it a race and the fussyname over the name.
    I don't get peoples' obsession with doing them every week either.
    I've seen people do them the same day as an actual relay/race!
    In my opinion, from the outset when it was called Bushy Park time trial, parkrun was about two things:
    1) running a timed 5k with the intent of doing it as fast as you can, hence time trial
    2) getting as many people to participate as possible

    I don't think the two go counter to each other. If your fastest is 15 minutes or 50 minutes then it is still your fastest. If you turn up with a few friends with the intention of walking round the park for an hour or so then that is really not parkrun. 

    Now, the emphasis has changed. They have just got a £3 million investment from Sport England

    https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-features/news/2018/december/12/sport-england-partner-with-parkrun-for-three-years-with-3-million-investment/

    and now they have to tread a bit more cautiously to satisfy the paymaster.

    In terms of obsession, I don't think parkrun attracts more than any other activity. There are people who watch every home and away game for their chosen football team. There is a vocal minority who attract a lot of media attention but most parkrunners have a regular parkrun where they met up with a few friends most weekends and it is all nice and sociable.  





  • Decent tempo session SG. Wading into the parkrun chat, I do them most weeks, sometimes as part of a longer run, sometimes flat out, sometimes just running around with a mate. Horrifyingly, I've even done them the morning of XC races. I just really enjoy the social side of it, seeing new places and meeting new people. I think it's an awesome thing, one of the best things that's happened to this country. 

    Reg - good and bad news. Good news is, I've sorted myself a job, starting Monday. Bad news is I now need to sort my life out before then, so doubt will be able to make it over for a bike ride. Be good to do something at some point though.

    Decent days training in the bag by lunchtime. 25 miles with 12x1min hard on the bike this morning and 10 miles on foot just now. Starting to feel the mojo coming back.

    If anyone wants to get in a decent 20 mile catered training run for spring marathons, I'm the RD of our club one. Thames Riverside 20, down in Fulham. 
  • Sounds very Picture-skew Joe. But perhaps 15 miles, not 20! Sounds like you are getting fitter then.

    Marathons - you should really just do one to 'tick it off' - which I did in London 2004, didn't enjoy it. But then got so fed up of my mates swanning off around Europe racing them that I entered Berlin 2015, which was a much better experience.

    Parkrun - Great idea, in fact been mates with one of the PR bigwigs, Glen, who has just moved to be the head of Parkrun in NSW, Australia, where he originates from. He has set up loads of the PR's in the South East, especially our area, he was over here for about 10 years. I do have a gripe about club runners doing it instead of big championship races or relays. I do them, or we have a training group outing to one when we have no races on. Its why I wanted to do the Aylesbury 5k, as these sort of races are at risk from PR - although competition to keep prices down is a good thing.

    Anyway - as I did Bushy pk in 2007, my PR number is 3926..anyone got a lower number?

  • Anyway - as I did Bushy pk in 2007, my PR number is 3926..anyone got a lower number?

    I guess 3925 people have lower numbers ;-0
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    A Dasher clubmate has some parkruns logged mid 16s from years back, but hasn't got within a million miles since.
     One event is down as "short", but he has a mid 16 at Bushy.
    Chances quite likely it was short at some stage in the early days? Or an absolutely once (or twice) in a lifetime peak so early in?

    That was half of the attraction when I picked Dulwich years ago, it was one of the few "certified" 5ks, that were flat. It originally even classed as a 5k road race. Obviously 2 weeks after I went and did my pb there, they decided to lump all MT/uncertified/any old iron not even vaguely measured right, into a "parkrun" category :D
  • ... but seriously in Datchet, we have Chris Bradfield 347 and Barbara Allen 207. Barbara was the 15th to join the 500 club and second lady ( I think).
  • Not sure how, and when, parkrun numbers were issued. Of the original 13 Bushy Runners only three have numbers under 1000. 
    Progress is rarely a straight line. There are always bumps in the road, but you can make the choice to keep looking ahead.
  • DeanR7DeanR7 ✭✭✭
    i hadnt even started running in 2007 Simon, in fact it would be another 3 yrs before i put a pair of trainers ....so im sure my number is higher than yours.

  • Reg WandReg Wand ✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    I hadn't even heard of Parkrun until I did one in 2013, I finished second,behind Dachs. I like Parkrun a lot. It's always there when I need it, which isn't very often. I don't really care about the ethos or whatever as long as it's convenient and free.

    Joe, congrats on the new job, any Ironman bosses this time? Is this your third job in twelve months? If so must be something about the combination of finance and Ironman. A girl who I worked with in my last company, also in finance got made redundant and she did IM Hamburg. I have an interview for a contract role tomorrow, I am hoping nothing comes of it as I am not ready to start working yet. Beginning of March would be nice, after Wokey and a weekend in New York.

    12 miles @ 7:09 today, was a lovely day for a run in the countryside with a few little hills around Wargrave, basically the uphill part of the Wargrave 10k but down a different way.

  • alehouse said:
    Not sure how, and when, parkrun numbers were issued. Of the original 13 Bushy Runners only three have numbers under 1000. 
    I believe once numbers were issued they allocated them alphabetically to the xxxx runners who were registered. I was scanning at Bevendean Down on the 29th & there was a chap with barcode 10xx. He first ran at Bushy in 2006 but then had 2 years off then another 5! Think it was him who told me this.
  • The BusThe Bus ✭✭✭
    Busy on here today.

    Personally I like parkruns, even if I don't do many.  There's the inclusivity, nationwide improvement in health and the feeling of belonging to a community that people get from it. Mostly though, I like the fact that all my neighbour's wives have run them, so know what they are and consequently think I'm great as I've won one (sorry, first finished one!) :smiley:

    My brother in-law said something odd though after the Boxing Day Cabbage Patch race - he implied that anyone fast/serious shouldn't be running them! So much for inclusivity! Personally, I tend to agree with Philip - it should be about trying to do a time trial and, given the name, probably should at least involve an attempt to run at some point if you are physically able to do so!

    Nice tempo SG by the way.

    Double for me today. 7.5 + 5.5. All ok, though this evening felt a bit like running on empty. Much better than lead legs and niggles though!
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    13 is a sturdy double day in a 50mile week so that's a tidy part of the week complete bus.

    Im trying to usher along our 12 stage squad so very probably ill need a parkrun turn out to qualify

    Fastest 12 5ks sounds a reasonable criteria. Though obviously measured against whether we have at least 12 up for it😀
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ps jooligan. Stick around. I've read the odd post of yours on sub3 and you sound like you love a mental race trip.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ps reg good 12. Turning over well. Long may it continue.


  • Cheers, SG. I can testify from the P&D thread that Jooligan makes Joe look like a slacker and is completely bonkers.
  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭
    Doing a parkrun every week isn't any more extreme than guys who play golf every week. 

    But what would happen if 'parkrun' changed it's distance run? or the day it was run on?
    or that you had to pay for it? 

    The predictable nature of the event suits many people. An island of stability amidst the chaos of daily life.

    🙂

  • Matthew HeadMatthew Head ✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    I must admit, I'm an advocate of parkrun - whether you're running it for a time, to win, to pace a friend or just as a social run. The majority of my Po10 is parkruns when I lived in Southampton and wasn't too lazy to get up :) most of which were done at a tempo effort ;) shame there's no parkrun within easy striking distance now
    However, what does grind my gears is the attempted fully-inclusive nature that has been mentioned - the idea of tail walkers, first finisher, the downgrading of a record time, removal of the old points system etc. and the attitude at some parkruns I've done about being overtaken...
    My Dad is a run director for a parkrun local to him, and aside from standard lack-of-volunteer issues, the biggest problem for them is parking - the amount of people who turn up in half-empty cars for a parkrun with very limited available parking is insane, even though a message about carsharing is communicated each week, with numerous 'regulars' coming from the same place! Same obviously could be said for many races.


    Thinking of setting out for a session this afternoon - something along the lines of 5 x 5mins (3mins) in the 6:30ish region.
  • Good luck with the session!

    I do think folk just need to treat Parkrun for what it is - a decent chance to do a bit of speedwork. But for club runners it should just fill a gap when there are no club races - it should never take precedence.

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    That's the problem for loads of scenarios in life though isn't it Matt. People just love their own independence and wanting to do it on their own.
    You can't beat having your own stuff with you. That's why generally i like to drive, with a few exceptions like say the relays in a team car, or Bus driving us to Wokingham :), or Phil driving us somewhere fiddly in London :)

    10 today, pretty darn cold. Had to stop mid way to dig some thorn out of my shoe which didn't help.
    One of those runs so cold that you couldn't feel your cheeks for 10mins after, despite gloves and 2 layers.
    Romeo Dunn for today though.
  • 3rd in 12 months Reg, but the foray into marketing only lasted 4 weeks and was more of a trial than proper employment. Glad I did it, but wasn't for me. Will be back in central London now (Covent Garden), which will be good for getting to club sessions etc. Solid plan re; work, don't rush back. It's more fun being at home.

    13 this morning, finally starting to feel like a runner again after months of floating around with not much purpose. Little swim and maybe bike later.
  • Joe - That's your missus in your bio pic yeah? Its just you could easily pass off as brother and sister! That's not a slight on her obviously ;)
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