Moraghan Training - Stevie G

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  • Fancy having to plug your shoes in 😂 what absolute wankerteering shite!
  • I've always found Adidas on the snug side too, but just about wearable in my standard size. Not like these VJ Sports I bought - the overly snug fit has mean my little toe has burst out of the left one. So much for them being indestructible - mind you, the right one looks like new still!

    It's been interesting following Reg's mad hill repping this month. A few days left with a big target but no doubt he'll gird his loins and crack it! It actually inspired me to pack some extra hills into my own day-off run today, but still nowhere near Reg's ascent per mile (or Jools for that - he must have accidentally Everested a number of times and possibly in a week given his bonkers exploits!!!). Looking through my own training log, I've never quite made it through running alone, though lockdown has seen it come within the height of Snowdon a few times :
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    It's like the ultimate extension of the "moulding to your contours" type stuff that's been around for years in different areas.
    Imagine how precious you'd be about £620 shoes though. Any sign of rain or a puddle and you'd be worried to tears. Like those ponces with suede shoes years ago.

    Interesting on the tier stuff. Slough is the only Berkshire town in tier 3 and the only town in any county for miles flagged as so.
    It gives a quite weird situation where IN lockdown, Slough residents are actually more free then they'll be OUT of lockdown from Tuesday!
    So you get a bizarre scenario where Dashers will have to bar Slough based runners from the re-started training and Slough based runners won't be able to travel to any races. Even ones at Dorney Lake that is a couple of miles outside Slough.

    Bonkers really but if that's how it has to be!
  • YnnecYnnec ✭✭✭
    edited November 2020
    Stevie G said:
    It's like the ultimate extension of the "moulding to your contours" type stuff that's been around for years in different areas.
    Imagine how precious you'd be about £620 shoes though. Any sign of rain or a puddle and you'd be worried to tears. Like those ponces with suede shoes years ago.
    Pertinent article out today, SG:


  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    I'm still only about 65miles into my 4%. I'm still not totally convinced how they sit for me but I've probably not done enough races as a trial. Or something else has been going on.

    Like the wind at Wokingham this year. Or the extreme heat at Maidenhead 10 2 years back.
    Putting in a 4.55mile in them last summer when I didn't feel like I was in top form perhaps the highlight.

    Hopefully plenty of opportunities to test more in the spring. 
  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    As jools said i was well placed for 3660 miles this year (with no doubles), only needed 503 across November and December, but Covid has put paid to it, im just about going to scrape 100m for November as i creak back to it. Might make 3500 again though.

    I bought a pair of 4% for 120ish in the black friday sale this time last yr, they have 9m on them, 3m wu and Chichester 10k. They should last a while yet.
  • The November Strava climbing challenge has Reg ahead on 7,382m but I see Meep Meep at 6,112m isn't far behind and he just climbs for fun. My 3,418 will see me to close to double the challenge by the end of the mth but under half of Reg.
  • This climbing challenge hasn't been easy on the body for me with niggles to work through as I got used to it. As such weekly it's gone 727m, 1578m, 2448m and with a day to go this week 2,563. Elevation for the year now doubled for the year  though. Took today off as I fancied a ride instead and also I felt like something was going to break! 



  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭
    With the new modern variant of the Vaporfly 4% race shoe, Nike has certainly hit the jackpot. However, the cynical view of what they have achieved leads me to think they haven't drawn runners into the market for these shoes due to an altruistic wish to enhance pb's and thence mental wellness, but for a more insidious reason.

    Ok, insidious from my perspective, but the 'perfect definitive', example from the position of Nike.

    Here's a question to ponder. 'What does Nike predominately make'? What is your snap answer?
    Be honest now. Think of the swoosh logo and tick the box. Got it?

    If you have, then you'll have ticked shoes, maybe clothing or until recently, golf balls. And you'll be mistaken with all three.

    The correct answer is 'Nike predominately makes money'!

    And that is the only reason for those super - must now have - racers for wearing out as fast as they do. 
    It's to keep you buying them because they now know you cannot not have them if you wish to compete.

    I take one look at the soles of those items and Nike have very cleverly avoided given them an entire hardwearing veneer, which means of course the softer foam will be stripped away in short order. Odds on, Nike marketing have done research on how little use the shoe gets before the customer deems they have had their money's worth.

    Well, a few pb's help's to start with. After that, it's just fear of being thrashed by equal physical specimens which keeps one shelling out the sponduliks.


    No doubt Nike will claim that the only runners who'll buy these, run fast off their toes.
    Ffs, it's Nike!

    🙂

  • Which challenge is that Philip? I an only see the November Climbing challenge. I'm 58m behind Mee Meep at the moment in 5,198th place overall 😁  LSR to come though, so will overtake Mee Meep - but bet he goes out again tomorrow!
  • Not really looked at these challenges before. Absolutely love the stats of the guy at the top of the distance board!


  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2020
    That's a decent 4 week tally ;)
    Not sure what they've been up to the rest of 2020 though.

    Although I do know a guy who'll do 4-5months of extreme mileage - 100miles being low weeks 140-150 being usual fare. Then will drop off a cliff and barely run for 2months.

    13.5miles for me. Saw a footpath hidden near some some houses on the map opposite Tesco Loudwater and thought i'd follow that to the top of Penn. With 5 - 5.5miles or so on the clock by the time I got there was the plan.

    Back went a bit tight on 3miles with the odd twinge which was unwelcome. Haven't had that happen for about 5-6 years minimum and that was eased with some hamstring and back stretches back in the day.

    Followed the footpath and it took me to a field with tonnes of sheep blocking an exit. It was unclear if that was even a right of way or just a farm, so I bottled it and came back the way I'd come (bar 3-4 laps of a small field I'd got lost in :D

    A few stops while all this was going on to stretch the hamstring and work out where the frig I was.

    Back to another route up and the exceptionally steep over a short stretch on Derehams Lane (?) and surprisingly once it gets into the fields it barely feels a climb. Same as it hits the golf club and strangely, bar one 200m muddy climb you wonder how you've got as high as you have when you eventually reach Penn via Beacon Hill.
    Was half glad I now knew where I was but also could do with the run finishing to have a nice stretch and warm bath!

    Down Hammersley and found a footpath I'd strangely never noticed and a nice romp through what I now realise is the Gomm Valley and Nature reserve.
    Eventually back for 13.5miles at 7.55 pace. No doubt a fairly high "stopped" time due to a number of little stops to stretch, work out where I was and a couple of times I had to tiptoe through little woods bits to see if that was my way out. Ludicrously at one point inthe Gomm Valley standing on a little hill trying to see round a bend and then noticing some homeowner opposite probably thinking who's this clown :o

    So a bit of back tightness wasn't bad enough to stop arun of that length but will give it some attention now. Can't complain too much as I do generally boot out 60+ mile weeks year after year without much of a complaint. I dare say Like Reggie (albeit not quite as extreme!) the higher elevations on recent weeks have added a bit of tightness across the chain - but only felt properly today.
  • Good work - apart from being scared of sheep  :disappointed:

    Make the most of the Gomm Valley before they stick 800 house on it!

    With all this talk of hills, I added some in today to make 14.8M with 2017ft. The pleasure of cracking 2000ft for the run was tempered by ending up on 5943 for the week!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2020
    A couple of poshos on horses turned up in one field complete with their rabid pooches sprinting towards me.
    One mutt would make a good ventriloquist as he had a mouth crammed with a rubber ball yet still let off an almighty angry barking in my direction.

    I almost went through what looked like a classic footpath gate before realising it was someone's garden. So I was definitely cautious about bothering to usher a herd of sheep out the way of what could have been a farmer's land :)

    Later on there's this very narrow super muddy 300metre path through a field. Must admit I quickly got past this massive horse that had his head over it. Didn't want to risk coming back with half a face missing :D 

    So to conclude...flat road for a bit methinks ;)

    Must admit I'd never actually known how big the Gomm Valley was before.
    I thought it was just that big field at the bottom of Hammersley Lane!

    Probably quite a different prospect running the reverse and going upwards. Although surely easier than trying to go up Hammersley Lane itself!
  • The Bus said:
    Which challenge is that Philip? I an only see the November Climbing challenge. I'm 58m behind Mee Meep at the moment in 5,198th place overall 😁  LSR to come though, so will overtake Mee Meep - but bet he goes out again tomorrow!
    Strava climbing. I think it is definitely cheating to enter on the penultimate day of the month. 
  • Lol - didn't even realise it existed until you pointed it out Philip  :) I'm not going to catch Reg though!
  • Nike wanting to benefit their coffers rather than the populations’ mental health isn’t a cynical view but a logical business one. My 4% have lasted well and some keeno bought a pair that had 250M on the clock on eBay for £70. Astonishing. It’s also worth thinking about comparative costs to cycling. Minuscule. That said, I am boring myself - so bored of the discussion about this. Sorry team. 
    Bus - love that, 66 runs a week 😆. Very tidy run for you there. 
    I don’t know your history as well as most, SG. But I reckon this year has been good for you in terms of off road chill out explores. Good for the bod and soul ✌️. 
    Reg - genuine question: what kind of impact do you reckon this concerted period of running has had? Given a week’s taper what kind of 5k/10k impact do you reckon it might have had? You’ve done well to avoid niggles. Perhaps the way forward and we might see you at Wokingham again for a thread smack down. Although given even a quarter decent run in you’d be a mile down the road from me. 

    Three running days in a row: 8.5, 5, 8.3.
    Friday was with the buggy whilst WFH. A frosty longest run yet. Definitely got that endorphin hit from being out there for longer. About 9m/m.
    ‘Session’ Saturday: planned 5 x 3 mins, but rapidly reassessed and did 3. About a 3 min jog in between. Paces went 6:29, 24, 19. Nice to see some 6s in the clock but man did my HR show it. Still, good to do a session. Realised that I definitely need to do some short hill sprints - didn’t manage them let week. It feels like my neuromuscular system isn’t quite there, and certainly not from a range of movement perspective. 
    Felt stiff and clunky this morn but did a very welcome return to the buggy classic extension loop. 8.3 at 8:45 pace. HR in about the right place. loved it. A good loop with the buggy as so much of it is on very quiet rural road - no pavements, bumps or other hindrances for the chariot. 
    So a pleasing 33M and 2 hard bikes. Enjoyable to make some tangible progress. 
    Had a look (on Fetch) at my annual mileage. 280 required for the 2500 I set myself as a goal back in Jan. That definitely won’t happen, but better than I thought given the stress fracture. I set it lower than previous years given the arrival of the second little Tasmanian devil. But the buggy running that resumed at the beginning of the the first lockdown was a game changer. 
  • Crazy stats as you say Bus
    Could be the hillier off-road stuff SG. How’s the home office set-up? I know mine wasn’t great & with all my work being online during Lockdown 1.0 I had to be sure to do some yoga stretches regularly.
    Found (& joined) the SG Strava thread - can’t believe you’re not admin on it though 😅
    Big weekend for me to end the week on just over 100 miles. 
    Yesterday was 10K solo, including my local hilly parkrun in 21:12 then a short drive to join a mate for 11 muddy, hilly miles in the fog.
    Today was another hilly long run with a mix of muddy fields, forest tracks, roads, lanes & rocky descents. All easy effort but almost 19M & 2,000ft. Still only just over 60% of Bus’s monthly elevation.

  • SQ - Prior to the last 5 weeks my run volume has been very low averaging about 15 mpw, I don't think 4-5 weeks of running uphill at 40 mpw is going to make a huge difference. I have no idea what all these hills will do!

    I felt a bit too guilty heading out running today so stuck with the family until after dark and then did 10km of reps up a dead end road that goes into a footpath into the woods. It was so dark and foggy that I had about 5 metres of visibility and the downhills were a bit dodgy where the path/road was in poor condition.

    I was about to stop 6km in when some chap came up this path to nowhere on his bike with no lights at all. Had some bants with him so we both understood we weren't out to murder each other but I'd love to know where he was going what with his Eastern European accent! 

    Managed to scrape together 469 metres leaving 1,500 to do by Wednesday. 1,000 tomorrow would get me to 8,848 Everest in November including walks though, food for thought but I'll need a slow work day and a 2 hour lunch to manage that!
  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    just trying so hard not to bite and reply to Ric's post, so hard....

    massive mileage and climbing numbers there chaps. I'll admit that I did a bit of a double take on Bus' run of yesterday when he'd managed to get > 2000 ft of climbing in on a run down south. Impressive.

    The important question is this one though really: SG, did you really drive to Slough to run round the industrial estate and have a go at a few 'segs'? I'm really hoping you had to go to work as well. Really hoping else that would be a little bit concerning.

    Doing a bit of running and a little bit on Zwift as well now. Ran in my VF with 300+ miles on them yesterday (stop biting Paul). Got in to some strife with some friends of a friend when I was invited on to a private Zwift race that apparently wasn't a race and I wasn't supposed to have won. Hey ho, I'm sure there's a big book of cycling etiquette out there that I need to read!!

    I'm also a little bit scared of sheep BTW. And chickens. Nasty little peckers.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2020
    SQ - in some ways yes - but hard to see that when currently moving aches so much!

    Jools- I work to a check of am I hitting paces in quality sessions and am I getting niggled up. Normally the answers respectively are yes and no. As the latter is now a yes I'll look for the reason - and sudden increase in hillier runs has to be a contender! Potentially combined with letting the stretching get a little loose.

    I was spending hours sitting watching tv and footy on the laptop even when not working so don't think it's a sitting thing. But will work on the hamstrings and supporting areas more.

    I've tweaked my back a couple of times over the last decade. The day before the Gosport half in Nov 2012 was the most annoying. I was in top pb form and just pootling in the woods for a loosener the day before and it went similar to now. Luckily I still got the big and still lifetime pb on paper at Wokingham the next Feb.

    The other one was a bit earlier in 2011. I'd done Wokingham - pb and thought the tightness was the usual post half job. It didn't get better than suddenly the back went. I think I may have foolishly tried a 16miler that next Sunday as I had Reading half coming up in about 6 weeks.
    I ignored a fair few twinges then madly drove to Oxford for a second date. I think she thought I was putting on the pain of moving and hunching over to walk!
    I remember that day especially well as I racked up my only ever fine of any description (£60 bus lane job - reduced to £30 on swift payment) and also paid about £11 for 2hours parking.
    Ouch in every way that day :D 



  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    ps Wool - just pass it by pal. Like we all do.

    pps - yep in hindsight that Slough trip was not the field of dreams it first appeared ;)
  • There are no sheep in Slough.
  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭
    edited November 2020
    Stevie G said:
    ps Wool - just pass it by pal. Like we all do.

    pps - yep in hindsight that Slough trip was not the field of dreams it first appeared ;)
    Sorry about the football reference. 

    🙂

  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    I can't get rid of this bl**dy grey box thingy!
  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭
    Wool said:
    I can't get rid of this bl**dy grey box thingy!
    Just hit back space a couple of times.

    That'll delete the box and me with it.


    🙂

  • WoolWool ✭✭✭
    RicF said:
    Stevie G said:
    ps Wool - just pass it by pal. Like we all do.

    pps - yep in hindsight that Slough trip was not the field of dreams it first appeared ;)
    Like life has passed you by sonny.
    Didn't take long on this thread before I could see examples of your petty vindictiveness.
    I gave you a chance until you became a lost cause.
    Typical bloke formed by football.
    Ric - I can see that you've tried to moderate your input on here in recent months. I'm sure that you feel like your posts are insightful, that we all have something to learn from the full life you have led. Unfortunately, your insights too often form come in the form of some sort of snipe, the latest suggesting that you're the only one sanguine enough to truly understand nike's marketing approach. Others have been bright enough not to bite. Not only did I have the 'wool' pulled over my eyes by nike, but I was too daft not to bite a tiny little bit this time around.  

    TBH though I just like the pretty colours  B)

    Anyway, to be called 'sonny'. That's too much. Farewell.
  • This was Ric's breakfast back in 1918
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Imagine ranting that off, trying to edit it out and then still being quoted on it.  :D 
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