Moraghan Training - Stevie G

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  • Well done SG/PeteM - Good to be racing, mind you you'd expect me to say that! Talking of vets - Andrew Leach did 15.45 at Bedford (V55)

    So mine was a sort of unofficial Surrey road relays championship - 10 waves of 12-13 runners, one from each club, fastest in wave 1, slowest in wave 10 - I was in wave 9. Organised by Ben Noad and the runtrack guy was there also to oversee.

    Mentioned the course before (Joe knows it) , this was 5k rather than 2.9 miles. 300m on the track, up and onto the road, downhill past Wimbledon tennis club, then up a big hill for about 400m, then a flat bit before a big drop and a 200m flat bit that takes you into the park. You then have 1500 or so along the outside of the park (slightly uphill!), then onto the track again for 500m and finish.

    Felt quite good up the hill - but as usual the last 1500m became a bit of a bind. passed 3k on 10.00 mins, but waddled over the line in 16.50. Still a bit meh, but possibly into the heady 16.30's on a decent course. Came 2nd in my wave - the winner in my wave was a late sub, who had to slot in for whoever was taken out - he was 70m ahead of me by the tennis club, and beat everyone in wave 8 too :)

    We were 2nd club, beat Kent AC - always good.

  • Stevie G said:
    I suppose the flyby element is the slightly dodgy one.

    Some young woman could be out on runs, and someone dodgy could clock them on a run, and work out who they are, and what routes they do via it.
    It makes it easier but the fundamental thing is that you have to decide if you want to make your data public. If you go to Strava there are hundreds of ways to filter data especially if you subscribe. In normal life, if I say "Show me the fittest 20 to 29 year old women who have run past my house" it would be suspicious but if it is a Strava segment leaderboard then that is fine. 
  • Yesterday I was out near Chalfont St Giles running down a very quiet lane (Bottom House Farm Lane) and turned a corner and almost literally ran into a major HS2 construction site. There are a few around at the moment, very odd. 
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Glad of a short sharp sesh today, as miserable dark, wet and windy morning.

    6x600m off 2mins

    1.55-57 averaging in the middle for the 6.

    Glad to get in out of that.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Nice session  ;)

    9.5miler today, including a crippling climb midway, and a very tentative mile and a half or so finish down some woods in road shoes.

    All done until tomorrow - always good  :*
  • first sign of madness...talking to yourself..
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
     :p 
    Thought i would as a few of the chaps seem to have reverted to once week postings, or just disappeared into the shadows. Some much missed. Jools, Joe B, TR, you out there chaps? MH? SQ?
  • well In the interest of more posts, I entered Triathlon X today. Jools has done it, just about the hardest Ironman distance race to most people that aren’t Jools!
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Had a quick look, the X part down to extreme elevations then?

    Give me a nice smooth flat race anyday. Apart from that mile in Wales obvs. And that's only a mile!
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    Sounds tough !

    Im still ticking along, Dorney mara Nov 22nd, or Goodwood 2 weeks later if the weather is crap on 22nd Nov.

    SQ anf jools are on the bench.
  • Stevie G said:
    Had a quick look, the X part down to extreme elevations then?

    Give me a nice smooth flat race anyday. Apart from that mile in Wales obvs. And that's only a mile!
    Yes, 3,700m on the bike and 1,500 on the run. Which is up Scafell which from memory includes a fair bit of scrambling too 😄
  • I see that ratrace.com have redefined the word race.

    I saw a link that said:

    Rat Race announce Land’s End to John O’Groats ultra race

    I follow Joe Spraggins on Strava and saw he did the reverse on a bike recently: very impressive but it was downhill all the way so he took the easy option ;)

    OK, so it is an ultra race along a route that is just shy of 900 miles and if you want to make it more interesting and use paths then 1000 miles seems OK. The (contested) record for a runner is 9 days and a recent run by Dan Lawson in just under 10 days is a much more reliable benchmark.

    To convert that to a race you use stages and the big decision is how many? I'd say 20 stages at the most so half the record pace.

    RatRace say this:

    The schedule is somewhat more forgiving than the shade under 10 days it took Dan Lawson, but covering the 1000 miles over five weeks across hill, mountain, moor and valley will obviously push participants’ endurance to the limit.

    Yes, it is a marathon a day for 5 weeks but it isn't a race. I can understand people wanting to run with assistance (so you get up in the morning and leave your B&B and your luggage ends up in the next B&B and someone is there at lunchtime with a sandwich and a Coke) but let's be honest and call a running holiday a running holiday. 
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    Fleet half in March has cancelled totally. No new 2021 date.
  • Haha PMJ - Bit like the long ultras, basically a long Sunday walk....

    Reg - Yes Scafell Pike is a bit scrabbly, loved getting up there. walking downhill for 2.5 hours though..not so nice.

    Luton last night on the paths - 10 x 600 off 80. Averaged about 1.50, bit of a twisty course.


  • Lovely running terrain  :D 
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    At the moment, all races are a bit different in definition Phil - so not surprised a mad on foot land haul would be!
    Not many people can take 5 weeks off to trudge across the land. Must be costly to pay 5 weeks accomodation plus race fee and whatever else they bang in too.

    TR - that's not good news. Spring halfs are one of those fine traditions, but even in mid October eyes are already moving to next autumn

    Welcome back Jools. That looks the sort of stuff you have to be very careful on, or you risk waking up 3 days later being licked by some sort of wild animal.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    6&4 today, just standard runs with another turnout due at the weekend.

    I like to do one run a week that has a 200ft + climb up woods for mile 1 then another half mile in the woods before flat and steep down on road.
    Was just about light enough although dodgy in a couple of places but it was definitely ropey late on on the park and back into a woody bit.

    Next week I dare say totally off the cards, bar furnishing myself with some head light.
  • Certainly keeps you on your toes after 12hrs of hard exertion.
    Been reading along SG but not much to report.
    Had another torrid marathon on IoW during Storm Alex so a recovery week was called for. Since then been knackered from work & feeling a bit despondent. Injury woes which started as a minor twinge last Thursday progressed to abandoning a post-(not)parkrun cooldown after just 1M & limping back to the car on Saturday. Fortunately only 2 days off completely then eased back in with 5M Tuesday, 7M Wednesday & 5M/10K doubles the last 2 days. All easy/steady effort.
  • Reg WandReg Wand ✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    I'd certainly be happy with that weather Jools!

    My Saturday mornings involve going to gymnastics twice so I ran during both of them today, two easy 4+ milers taking me to 33 for the week. Ride tomorrow then next week off. First game of golf in a few years on Tuesday will remind me why it's been so long I expect.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    Right, we haven't had a turnout race report for...a week, so let's crank one out quickly.

    Knowing races might get pulled at any time, means it's probably worth getting a few in where there's an opportunity. Especially if you stick to the safety of entering in the week of the race, for something with refund/entry to another event as compensation.

    This week was another Dorney race then - this time organised by Purple Patch. They seem to be one of a few brands that come under "the Race organiser", alongside F3 - who put on that 3.2miler a number of weeks back.

    Dorney is a nice venue, fairly close, so even without being able to use a 25% discount code that was apparently dotting around, I got involved for another 5k.

    Double checked the route, as google/sat nav insist on taking me a convoluted way up to one junction of the M40 in Wycombe, only to take me back across town to the other junction. 6-7miles worth, instead of a 2mile drive direct!

    On top of that, it becomes a 20mile trip with their version, instead of the 12miler I'd take if doing Dorney for a tempo pre work.

    Anyway, the latter it would be, and nicely on course for an 815 arrival for a 9-9.15am window.
    Wool had warned me M4 junction closures would be in action, but my route wouldn't touch the M4...i thought (wrongly)

    Got to the road from Sainsburys off the Bath road that takes you straight to Dorney, and the damn road is shut off isn't it.

    Slight concern, so back towards my work to re-set the sat nav with roads to avoid.
    It takes me straight back the same way, up Huntercombe, and as I should have realised, this road takes you to the same closed road junction :D:open_mouth:

    Stress level is getting a bit elevated now. I start considering I might not actually get to this race. And i start having flashbacks to the 2009 or so TVXC race I got to Windsor and couldn't get to or find the XC start. Or my birthday (same year i think!) trip to some 5miler in Oxfordshire, where again, I couldn't find the start. Both pre sat nav days.

    Luckily a woman has stopped at the same place - is going where I'm going, so we agree to set the sat nav to "Eton (get's on my) Wick, and ignore it screaming at us to go back the way that's closed (even thought we've told it to ignore it :) )

    I sort of know where I'm going now, but think I best keep her in sight, for both of our re-assurance.
    She keeps getting to lights just as they start going amber though, so I'm skimping through just about fine, but suspect sod's law will catch me needing to stop at a red soon :)
    Amazingly it doesn't, and we're off to Chalvey for a really weird little tour for a classic commentary on the inbalances of society, as we see the super poor Chalvey types, and then move towards the Eton Wick/Dorney, Wool style fat cats living the dream from their corporate spoils.

    My sat nav did lead me a merry dance one quick time in Chalvey first. The lady took a left under a bridge, my sat nav insisted i go on 100metres, turn right, do a lap of some "friendly" looking estate, back out, and would you believe it, under that damn bridge! Amazing.

    Managed to catch her up, across Dorney Common...slowly, as a cow was on the verge of the road, and what's this, it's another ROAD CLOSED sign.

    Ultimate sting in the tail?
    No luckily, just notifying you you couldn't take a right.
    We took a left, and soared into the venue.

    Arrived at 8.50, and that was basically a great feeling.

    Thanks for reading..
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Oh hang on - the race! There was still the race!! Dammit!

    Quick minute of exasperating about the mad drive and inconvenience with my new random pal, and it was off for some sort of warmup.

    I remembered last time I'd set off 2 mins after my wave ended, so I was going to avoid that I told myself.

    1.5mile warm up, not fancying it at all. The wind is the opposite way round from last time, so it'd be on the inbound stretch. Worry about that later I thought.

    Up and ready, and despite going over the line at 9.10, 5mins before the end of my window, I'm the last to set off in the whole event again, by a cool 3mins.

    I'd had a look at the start lists and the whole event seemed a bit lowkey compared to last time.
    There's only 22 in the 5k, 40 odd in the 10k and 30s in the half. 107 between three events I believe. Noticed one kid whose last October Dorney was 1sec slower than my all time pb, and there were a couple of other 17xx's on the list. I then wondered why I was even doing this research and stopped :D 

    So I start just as I see a sweep of who I presume are the 10k lot coming round, even though I can see my girl pal from Dashers in there, whom I know is doing the HM!

    I'll obviously sweep past as I'm fresh into a 5k I think, yet I spot a kit that looks like one of Joe B's Clapham team mates on a fast moving young woman.
    I just about took a few metres back out of her the whole lap! Though I did see she did a 1.15.03 later!

    I'm not sure I like the Dorney course for a race. Especially not this bit round the back. Always feels a bit barren, and strangely up and down versus the massively flat bar bridges main loop.

    I'm slightly put off by the 3.36 first km that I see, and even more so by the 3.39 second km!!
    Bearing in mind I don't even have the disclaimer of the wind this way round today, I am starting to wonder how I'm going to dress this up on the internet later :D 
    Tempo (sketchy), Too much racing (hmm), Stress of the late arrival (possibly), but park that for a bit and strive to hit the turnaround point.

    Gone past a good 10 people or so on this stretch at least, but they must be doing the half - which is real fair play - 4 barren laps on today's overcast rainy day must have been miserable late on!

    Turnaround point then, and I'm pleased they've taken out a bit of the extra they added last time (F3 I mean).

    It does give it a ludicrous dead stop hairpin turn though - which I chuckled about with a chap as I passed him.

    Onto the "back stretch" then, and the wind kicks in, and I'm hoping I can get in sub 18 today!

    3rd km is up - I take the split.  2:52. What the absolute friggery?

    That plays absolute havoc with me, and I'm totally unsure now of whether the first 2km were massively long, this was massively short, and whether the whole distance will come out long or short :)

    Continue on, and it feels a bit slow. Clapham girl is perhaps a couple of metres closer to me than she'd been 3km back, so she must be going well for her distance.

    There is no 4th km marker, but I realised quite quickly after that it must have been the exact same spot as the 9k - doh.

    Instead a mile split then comes up. 5.54. That sounds slow for a 5k!

    However, i was delighted to see the 5km didn't register on the bridge this time, and even better to see the clock only in the 17:40s as I went over for 

    17:46 for the full correctly measured distance!
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    A superb feature (the same as Run through, but I only took advantage this week) is the instant updating of the website with your time. Never any issues when the chip is on your race number. Saves that inevitable messing with your laces pre-race where you lose the ability to do even the most simple of tasks.

    By the vagaries of how some organisers do race results, I've actually emerged as 1st senior man for that.
    The two ahead were a lady and a V40 man - who each win their categories.

    Their website does have a disclaimer about prizes for top 3 and top vet in each category if there's a "competitive" field.
    I'm hoping that is just a means of not having to dish prizes if there was only 1-2 in a race/category etc!
    Should get something, maybe a voucher off job for another of their races.

    Noticed the 1st and second lady (1st and 4th in the whole race) started within a second of each other. Different clubs, so I wonder if they technically are in a "bubble" together, or the 15sec gap was loosened a little. Must have helped having someone to at least pace or work off. The first lady did a very similar time to me last week and did well to only be 3secs slower today.
    I personally enjoyed last week's format more. Have 1 start time per race, then lineup. Rather than this window business. Especially when there's quite a low turnout.
    That way you get that "threat" of knowing someone behind you needs to be held off, and to try and catch someone ahead - ie close to a pro[per race.

    Checking my split distances, the first two km were long at 0.65m and 0.64m, and the third was 0.49m! However, the total distance was 100% on and that's all that really matters.

    But anyway, 5 turnouts for 2020, so that number is looking a lot better than it could have.


  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    Nice one SG aother good blow out, the first lady is south coast based and does the chichester, worthing races ive done. Are you goung to do the 1/2 in 4 weeks ? Im in for the mara then.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    TR said:
    Nice one SG aother good blow out, the first lady is south coast based and does the chichester, worthing races ive done. Are you goung to do the 1/2 in 4 weeks ? Im in for the mara then.
    Ta mate.
    She's definitely racking up the driving miles, doing Newbury then Dorney two weeks in a row.

    I've got an eye on Kempton Park (Runthrough) and Silverstone (not sure who) in 3weeks. Bit of a shame they're the same weekend sat & sun, but I may do both. Could be ok for two shortuns.

    If I get a voucher for today off Purple Patch I'll probably do another of their events, but will probably look away from Dorney to be honest otherwise.

    Really hope Runthrough are allowed to do Battersea Park again in 2020. That's the one I want to test myself on. Have a crack at getting that 17.25 given last week down a bit.

    May even look at theGosport Golden mile/5k combo now moved to December! Though that's obviously a bit of a stretch that time of year. Always put me off the Victory 5 until it had a spell being in September.
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    SG - agreed, she is driving a long way for 5ks.
    There is a runthrough day at Goodwood soon too.
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    SG, the format sounds shit to be honest. Almost as bad as your sense of direction. FFS!

    Spent last week down in Dorset and a lot of time running up and over the Purbeck hills,  loved it. Then spent this afternoon counting my cash with some other corporate big-wigs in a local boozer  B)
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
     :D  just keeping you honest  :*

    Having done 3 formats in these races, I actually think the runthrough one is the best. Even better than what sounds a "proper" race with the 12 off together as per MK

    I think it's the brilliance of still having that one start time, and the line up being a lot more natural than the artificial 15second limit, and casualness of the window to go off in. 
    It even worked better at runthrough with the other distance runners. Maybe as much down to having more runners in total though.
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    The runthrough event i did was 4 runners off every 10sec, so there were folks ahead and behind, you self seeded as per sub 2.40, 2.50 or 3 hrs etc with the fastest at the front. Works ok as a mara needs 18m of holding back. In a 5k you probably need folks to race, so id be tempted to go a bit sporty on my estimated finish time.
  • PeteMPeteM ✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    Well done on getting another race in SG and, as you say, another solid time given you were really racing a TT. I can't fathom a) how you have so many travel issues and b) why you would want to start anywhere except near the earliest time in your slot but maybe the two are linked :) Either way they add fun to your reports which, as ever are a great read. In terms of the format I think the Run Through one I did with Wool was very good and the Purple Patch one last week was rubbish (no effort, all start when you like, even 6 mins before the 10k window opens ;)). Which brings me onto my race today, which was Woodley 10k put on by Ellie Barnes and Ian Gosling of Barnes Fitness.

    They did amazingly well to get the race on as it was a proper road race and it was organised with great precision. You had to submit your expected time and started in waves of 6 every 15 secs in line with that. Naturally our erstwhile friend on here Dachs was in the first wave and I was in the 6th (had estimated 39 mins). Think there were about 75 waves altogether so would have taken them just under 20 mins to get everyone off. 

    Off bang on time at 8:31:15 ;) and for the first k or so our group was very evenly matched. Through a k in 3.39 which is too fast for me but never feels it, so I never learn! The group split up a bit after that and I started being passed by some from later waves and overtaking the odd one from earlier ones. The k markers all seemed out, which through me (and others) a bit, but went by my watch as it nearly always understates so assumed the k's would come into line later. Through 5k in 19'12 after a load of k's around 3'55, but starting to tire now and there are some small climbs near the end where, as usual, I lost ground to others around. Finished with crappy k's of 4'10 and 4'00 for a 39'34 which all in all is a bit disappointing, though it did measure 10'07k for me, so a bit long maybe. 

    Overall an excellent event; still 3rd in my cat and 37th of about 450 overall so only a bit behind my 'seeding'. Not really down about it as I have got to expect to slow a bit with age. Impressive to look at the results and see how closely they followed the self seeding, which goes to show even new era races can be very competitive when the organisers put the effort in. Hats of to Barnes Fitness for that. 
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Nice one Pete - just like the furlough seg spell I had, I think this spell right now, is just about grabbing the opportunity to get a turnout on the board where you can, before any tighter restrictions come in. Take it as a comfortable sub 40, in a proper race - it's something to beat next time out.

    Sounds a decent mix and match format there. The 6 in a gang, but not huge gaps before the next lot - much better than 1 individual every 15 seconds!

    I do intend to get going earlier, but arriving at 850 would have meant going off pretty cold at 9! It's tough to know for sure what to do in a window start, as say you go off first, then you're still not actually racing someone, and have the lotto of whether a 15min person bursts past you soon after, or anyone say 1745 and slower not getting near you. You really do need that like for like battle to put a sharper time in.

    This one had the twin issues of them bringing the 5k start time forward (originally quoted at 10am), mixed with the long description above :)
    If I do get back there I'll aim to arrive 80-90mins before the start! Newbury was perfectly timed...Dorney x2, and MK not so much :D  (and obvs the trip home from Newbury made that a ludicrous farce too)
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