Moraghan Training - Stevie G

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  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    alehouse said:
    Well done, SG! On getting there I mean! 
    I imagine the Reading runner is TT  i.e. TippTop who is on a comeback, again, and largely posts on the sub 3 thread these days. A very good runner in his time: he posted that he was over three minutes down on the last time he ran today's course. 
    I'm pretty sure today's course was the same, or very similar to the last time I went in 2018, but before that I'm not sure, as the 2008-2012 versions were a bit shorter for sure.

    Looking at someone else who did 2016  and today, he was 2:30mins slower today too.
    So may have been a bit shorter in those days, so he's probably slightly harsh on himself there!
  • TippTopTippTop ✭✭✭
    SG - I just saw the results and realised it was you ahead of me so thought I'd pop in and say well done; you finished strongly. 
    Course wise it's exactly the same as it was in 2016 when I last ran it (though it was also boggier then too).
    My legs had nothing today (carrying an extra 8 or 9kg and early days back running will do that), but lungs were fine, hence the nattering! I've had some issues the last few years so am just trying to regain some fitness and learn to enjoy hurting again. Lol. 

    Hey alehouse; I hope you're keeping well. 
  • The BusThe Bus ✭✭✭
    And don’t forget, we all do a mile or two warmup for a half, so a long training run to finish not feeling overly stretched would need to be 15+, not even considering intensi
  • The BusThe Bus ✭✭✭
    Eh? Where the hell did that come from???? Weird!  Anyway - quick post, nice one Bradders - loks sub 90 is on the cards next time out!

    Quality XC and report SG!

    Welcome back TT :smiley:
  • Nice report and turnout there SG, funnily enough I did have a little look through the Strava feeds and came to the same conclusion about a possible missed opportunity, wasn't the right move for me today though. 



  • 1:30:57 - still a PB by about 2 mins 30 seconds but didn’t have it in the last 4/5 miles! Will write more detail after!
    A good result: make sure you enjoy it and you can look forward to cracking 90 minutes another day. 
  • SG, looks like a good result. I never understand why you don't like Handy Cross as it is your most local race: maybe the journey is too uneventful ;)

    I looked back and I see that you, Bus (as a guest) and I all turned out in 2012 and all 3 of us placed within the top 17! That was the year a load of motorbikes appeared and the marshalls had to cut a corner off the course for the second lap! 

    Looking at the Strava tracks, the course seems to still be the same apart from the start moved back a bit.


  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    I've only spreadsheets to go off with distances for anything pre March 2018, but yes, I'm sure the start was moved, so you now have this little loop before you get on the actual 2 lap bit.

    Handy Cross is just a slog isn't it. Only good thing is that it's a single lapper.

    A good gang turnout in 2012 that was. Shame we don't have many of those these days. Will have to find some random relay that is relaxed, but could see the 3 of us doing legs or something.


    TippTopp - good to hear from you, pop in every so often if you fancy it.
    Should have known it'd be fate we'd pop up together a few times on the course, after you gave me and a few teammates directions on the actual route pre race a few times!

    An interesting finish, as my body forced me to storm past my clubmate and who he was battling...immediate thoughts of, have I gone too early, knowing it's a fairly long slightly inclining finish bit, then you came into sight quickly, and it was as much fend the guys behind off if they were finishing strong, as much as getting ahead of you to be honest!

    Then that sudden thought of...hang on, how far round the bend is this finish! :D 


    3.5mile today. Felt fine, after a couple of slight feels when bending with my weight on one leg yesterday. Will take a few easy days post race as usual anyway though
  • PeteMPeteM ✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    Hi all; about time I got back on this forum now that I finally have something to talk about besides "ran another parkrun in pretty much same time as every other week".

    Firstly good to see you on here Bradders and big congrats on the HM pb. Like others have said sure your sub 1'30 will come soon. My confidence booster for HM's is always to run half the distance (or 10k if easier) at target race speed some time about 10 days before. If you can do that as a solo, and it doesn't feel too hard, you know you are in good shape. Then just boils down to have you done enough endurance training (usual answer "no" in my case ;)).

    Reg, you seem to be in the training form of your life. Must be exciting times running wise and if you can stave off any injuries or niggles you are in for a great Wokingham. I've just entered the race myself after deliberating about Farnborough this weekend (too soon and not trained for distance) and Fleet (too much can go wrong before then!).

    SG, really well done on the race yesterday and you passed and held off some stellar runners there. Shows you do have an XC talent and I agree with PMJ no reason you shouldn't go for the last one as Bradenham. Nice run Tipp Topp too and also good to have you on here.

    SQ, Jools, Simon and Bus you all seem to be training well, despite the usual niggles in Bus' case. Long may it continue (well not the niggles Bus!).

    As for me I had quite a long spell in the doldrums post Covid and was mainly doing just parkruns and not a lot more running. A string of parkruns in 20'xx, and even 21'xx once, didn't inspire. However the last few weeks were down into 19's again and a couple getting close to sub 19, albeit only at Woodley which seems the fastest local course currently. Woodley on the Saturday just gone was interesting, arrived to find the course like an ice rink and as I dashed back to the car to change shoes to some with a bit of grip, I  wondered how it was still on! RD announced in the briefing that runners should run on the grass not paths around it and they had also removed the tightest corner. The grass is all on the in inside of the paths so running on that shortened the course as did the other change. How much shorter depended on what liberties you took with where you turned onto grass and the kids at the front had few inhibitions ;). Anyway the long and short (pardon the pun) of it was exactly the same time to the second for me as my previous effort there 2 weeks earlier, so I suppose all evened out in the end.

    Onto TVXC yesterday as no excuse not to do the Bracknell one being pretty much on my doorstep. Huge club turnout of 75, or 15% of the entire 15 club field, but most of whom I either don't know or hadn't seen in months/years. Anyway little to add to SG's fine report (and transport dramas!). I was 57th overall in 42'28 which was exactly the same position as when I did the race 2 years ago and a very similar time (12 secs slower). Consistency at least at the moment eh! With such a strong club turnout I was only 8th home (only just ahead of 9th and 10th from WV too) and so didn't score. Bit annoying as would have scored for all bar the top 2 of the other clubs, but suppose scoring unlikely at my age for a decent club. 

    Anyway main priority now is to keep going, try and stay injury free and do some races. As mentioned entered the Wokingham Half (who else on here is in?) and Valentines 10k in Chessington which is a great race anyway, but an EA England Age Group qualifier this year too.
  • Thanks everyone!

    Race report -
    Background
    I had seen one of our fastest F club runners snatch a 1:25 at Brass Monkey a couple of years ago so it's been on my list, but I've never managed to get a place. This year I made a concerted effort to find out when it was on and get in the queue to get myself and my training partner a number. 600th position in the queue; 15 minutes later and we were in !

    December rolls round and I'm starting to get stuck in to marathon training. Having managed a 1:34:15 in Conwy in November (including two walk breaks because I was not enjoying the Great Orme ascent) I felt quite positive about knocking some time off my 1:33:35 PB.

    One of my PCR comes back positive in mid-December. Don't feel too bad, slight headache, but don't have access to a treadmill. Also was reluctant to throw myself into hard sessions straight away. So lose 15 days or so of training.

    Not an ideal build, only managing around 40 miles per week in November, losing 2 weeks of December. Managed the last 3 weeks at 50-55 miles including some good sessions so feel confident-ish, enough to stab the 1:30.

    Pre-Race
    Being in Liverpool the journey to York Racecourse is around 1 hour 40. Next time I think I would stay over. However we decided to drive over so we left at 7 am leave time. Easy to find, loads of parking, we get there for around 9 am with plenty of time to spare (or so we think...) because the car is 100 m from the start.

    We make our first toilet trip, then go for a sit in the car, warm up for 10 mins at 9:30 pace (expectations low...). 9.30 am rolls around and we make our second - pre-race - toilet trip - only to find both queues (both at the start and finish) absolutely rammed. Maybe 50+ people in each. We eventually make it back to the car for 9.50 am, but it made the start more stressful than it needed to be! I switch to my Christmas Alphas. I also slightly cut my gels because I struggle to open them in races.

    Race
    I decide to go with the 1:30 pacer, who advises he'll be aiming for around 6:50 pace or just under. Race sets off and the 1:30 pace is miles ahead, and my watch showing 6:45 pace! I sit back and decide to work my way back to the pacer, which I achieve at mile 4. Splits through miles 1 to 9 were around 6:45-6:55 (with mile 6 an erroneous 6:59 due to trees etc). Couse is flat as anything, no wind, it's metronomic. Pace group is nice, with some people clearly taking it easier. I feel like I'm working hard but not too hard, though it is on the edge.

    Mile 9 I feel the pace group surge a little, but its more me dropping off. How are they 10 m ahead already?! Further and further they go, and I'm passed by a few people. This was a lonely experience, with the 1:30 group the only real group ahead, but I had no enthusiasm or energy to catch them. The course is also bleak with only fields to keep me company. I know there's a slight uphill (and I mean slight, it's not even 20 ft!) at mile 12 and this worries me. I urge myself not to walk. Miles 9 to 13 pass and I lose quite a bit of time - 7:05; 7:05; 7:20(*ouch); 7:05; and around 6:25 pace for the finish. Watch records around 13.2 miles, so a bit over, but likely a combination of me weaving (which I need to stop doing) and GPS errors.

    Time: 1:30:57

    My training partner manages a 1:28:50, having gone ahead slightly of the pace group at mile 7 onwards. He's a better half runner than me, we're very similar 5 miles and below.

    Thoughts
    According to Strava, I set PBs from 10 miles onwards (10 mile, 15k, 20k and HM), and my 3rd best 10k time (my race PB standing at 41:50 from the summer; though I ran a time trial in 41:20 in 2020). I should probably be happy with it, knowing I was chancing a 1:30 and not blowing up massively. But I'm annoyed that I seem to run positive splits and would have been much happier with the splits the other way around. The drop off seems to be a combination of fuelling (should have taken a gel mile 8 rather than 9)/lack of speed endurance (this being the main one)/paying for working hard to catch the pace group earlier.

    The race itself is lightning fast - 1:30 placing me 47th female, which shows the quality of the field. At the end they give several chocolate bars out and yes! a long sleeved top!! Only minor criticism is water in cups - I have no idea how to drink from this while running!

    I'm not sure I will do it next year - there are a couple more local halves (though no where near as fast). Might go for Four Villages (Helsby) instead- much more difficult course, has 600 ft elevation gain! But free numbers given out galore as people realise that they haven't trained for it so nothing lost.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Nice one Bradders, don't be disappointed with quite a big pb. Gives you a new base level and sounds positive to pb next time out with a few tweaks. Seek out a 10k and 10m too, especially 10k if you're doing quicker solo! That should be a given. Trafford 10k is meant to be the top one up your way in March, I'm monitoring it and it has 50 entries left now.

    Your toilet experience is why I always have on eye on an "emergency" option as well as the official ones ;)
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    And good to see Pete back. Only took 23 or 24 pep talks from me to remind him he's a big deal on the local vet scene and quitting races would be more loonicidal than...my directions yesterday!!

    One note on the Bracknell XC length etc.
    My 2008-2012 times are all in the 36s and 37s. Apart from one late 2008 I remember showing up and going reasonably, and that was still a mid 38.

    Yesterday was mid 39. Now I can't imagine I was particularly faster than now at the start of that range, so that makes it likely it was say 1/3 of a mile shorter, and of course who knows what conditions were like versus yesterday.
  • brilliant. Typed for 15 mins and it's lost it all.

    Abridged version

    1. Well ran everyone
    2. Solid xc for me (results below)
    3. Did 17.5 miles yesterday

    Surrey League Cross-Country

    F**king technology
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Very odd, as it gave me 2 notifications and the first one is "comment not found". First time I've seen that.

    Big Sunday then!
  • Nice racing & report writing xbx SG.
     xbx: Congratulations on the HM PB - I ran a PB of 1:31 the year after joining a club then 1:28 the following year on the same course. Wrexham Village Bakery half is an excellent option up your way.
    SG: It's fortunate your navigational ineptitude when driving is not a problem when racing. Sounds like you got the most out of yourself at the XC.
    Bad luck on the report Simon but decent racing at least.

    Welcome back Pete.

    Saturday was another trip to my muddy, twisty trail home parkrun. I was 6th again & just 3s quicker than NYD. Daughter joined me again but was taking it easier than last week. Still beat her previous time on the course by almost a minute but it was 9 years ago when she was only 12!

    Sunday's LR was deliberately shorter as I was keeping a lid on the mileage so I decided to make it quicker. Went for an undulating 13.5M. Trending downhill for 5 miles then climbing for the next 5 before some undulations to mile 11 then a nice 2.5 mile drop to finish. Almost 1000' of climb all told so happy with 7:38 average pace. Just 54M for the week.

    Standard 4.5M along the canal at lunchtime - used to be 5M but I've gotten lazy :D 
  • Thanks everyone!

    But I'm annoyed that I seem to run positive splits and would have been much happier with the splits the other way around. The drop off seems to be a combination of fuelling (should have taken a gel mile 8 rather than 9)/lack of speed endurance (this being the main one)/paying for working hard to catch the pace group earlier.

    The race itself is lightning fast - 1:30 placing me 47th female, which shows the quality of the field. At the end they give several chocolate bars out and yes! a long sleeved top!! Only minor criticism is water in cups - I have no idea how to drink from this while running!


    A couple of thoughts: these are intended as positive criticism so please read them in that sense: I am told my writing style can irk and just want to set my stall out from the get-go.

    There is a lot written about negative splits and I can understand how, and why, top-level athletes race in that manner but most normal runners get tired and do the opposite. 

    A quick, totally unscientific study performed by me 17 seconds ago shows that. I reference the results of the London marathon, 2019, page 5 for women in the mass start (so positions 101 to 125 inclusive) with chip times of 02:58:45 to 03:00:23 

    https://results.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/2019/?page=5&event=MAS&pid=list&pidp=start&search[sex]=W&search[age_class]=%

    So, we have 25 women who are racing around 3 hours, so high standard athletes, and 2 of those 25 completed the first half in 1:30.xx (so ran the second half faster, negative split) and the other 23 were faster, so positive splits. The most common was pretty even, so 1:29/1:30. If you are elite and know what you are doing, then negative splits are a thing but for most of us, small positive splits are where it is at. 

    The other thing is that a half marathon is an odd distance to race: when you start running then it is a feat of endurance and once you get into the swing of things it is just something you do and some of the habits you picked up need to change: most regular club runners at your standard will do a half most Sundays and generally on fresh air (so no gels or fluids for the entire run). A gel at mile 8 (or 9) will have no physiological impact on you at all so it is all in the mind. On a cool day, you don't need water at all: if it is warmish then some water will help but that is reserved for the brief summer months.
     
  • TippTopTippTop ✭✭✭
    Cheers Bus/PeteM (nice consistency btw).

    SG - I stand corrected; the 2016 version was indeed 0.3m shorter (though I was not in the best of shape then). Incidentally if I hold any Strava segments on the Wycombe HM course it would only be because Mr Cooray couldn't have been using Strava as I remember running ok there to finish 6 or 7 minutes behind him - now he was different class. My legs were completely dead from about 2 miles in so the only chance I'd have had against you in a sprint finish would have been if it was on the downhill ;)
  • > @PhilipMJones said:
    > A couple of thoughts: these are intended as positive criticism so please read them in that sense: I am told my writing style can irk and just want to set my stall out from the get-go.
    >
    > There is a lot written about negative splits and I can understand how, and why, top-level athletes race in that manner but most normal runners get tired and do the opposite. 
    >
    > A quick, totally unscientific study performed by me 17 seconds ago shows that. I reference the results of the London marathon, 2019, page 5 for women in the mass start (so positions 101 to 125 inclusive) with chip times of 02:58:45 to 03:00:23 
    >
    > https://results.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/2019/?page=5&event=MAS&pid=list&pidp=start&search[sex]=W&search[age_class]=%
    >
    > So, we have 25 women who are racing around 3 hours, so high standard athletes, and 2 of those 25 completed the first half in 1:30.xx (so ran the second half faster, negative split) and the other 23 were faster, so positive splits. The most common was pretty even, so 1:29/1:30. If you are elite and know what you are doing, then negative splits are a thing but for most of us, small positive splits are where it is at. 
    >
    > The other thing is that a half marathon is an odd distance to race: when you start running then it is a feat of endurance and once you get into the swing of things it is just something you do and some of the habits you picked up need to change: most regular club runners at your standard will do a half most Sundays and generally on fresh air (so no gels or fluids for the entire run). A gel at mile 8 (or 9) will have no physiological impact on you at all so it is all in the mind. On a cool day, you don't need water at all: if it is warmish then some water will help but that is reserved for the brief summer months.
    >  

    @PMJ - Don't worry, no offence taken. I can be direct myself!

    Couple of answers to your points:

    I run my long runs better if I start slow and pick it up, and generally feel better afterwards about it. Perhaps I would be slower overall if I tried to negative split (or indeed, run evenly rather than positive split) but I would avoid the death march to the finish which I fear has become a common feature of my half marathon experience.

    I can run 12-14 miles no problem on a Sunday at low 8s with no gels (or even breakfast most of the time). However is it not different when you're running a bit faster in a race?! When would you recommend taking gels in a race for maximum benefit?
  • The BusThe Bus ✭✭✭
    Pete - don't let having nothing new to say put you off posting! I'd never post otherwise, and you have far more useful stuff to say than me! Good work on getting the pr times back down too!

    Bradders - although many won't, I totally agree with Philip about negative splits for many non-elite runners. I think there is a big difference between finishing a training run much stronger than the start pace, than heading out in a half at a controlled, but fast pace - though bearing in mind it is easy to overdo it as the first couple of miles always feels too easy!

    For halves and marathons I used to use a pace calculator that actually had a factor built in for a %age slowing each mile (though I can't seem to find it anymore). On the odd occasion where I have purposefully gone out to run a negative split, it has always ended badly! I've had a similar drop off in the last few miles, but without the commensurate benefit of a little bit of time in the bank from the early, 'easy' miles! I think, provided you are not putting yourself into lactate difficulty or really battering your legs from a fast start, it makes sense to make use of fresh legs.  If you have a race plan that allows for slowing miles to still hit a target time, all you have to do is stick to it! Psychologically, knowing you are actually intending to slow as you fatigue is really helpful (for some - not everyone!).

    I think gels are a very person specific thing. I've used them in halves before, but suspect only a mild psychological effect, as it takes probably longer to absorb them that it takes to run the last few miles and my best times have been without them.  Depending on how you get on with breakfast before a race, a caffeinated gel 20 mins or so before you start can help make sure your glycogen levels are topped up and that would be enough to run for 90 mins.




  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    Couldn't imagine taking a gel in a half. You can comfortably hold enough energy on board and like Phil suggests even water sometimes isn't needed. Having said that water has boosted me 10miles into a half amazingly before. 
    I think it's that thing you can't run hard and drink at the same time very easily and it can be upsetting.
    Hot days totally different rules though.

    And I was shocked when a clubmate whipped out a caffeine bullet in a half once!

    Jools,  I play it up but it's not really that bad, Sunday was just a ridiculous double directional screw up! And makes a better story. 

    And lazy as heck weekend for you ;)

    TT I was bemused when you came storming down a hill past me at one point :)

    A couple of the younger guys were either sprinting past or suddenly really struggling on different bits and that just looked tiring. I suppose I try and even effort it round these days but save some for some grabs late on.

    That finish actually got me a strava seg ridiculously.  Couldn't believe It.
    However just a joint one with someone ahead, so not mine to own.
    Then a clubmate had stolen it once his time loaded!!


    Ps I feared the worst when Phil started his post with sentimonies like "positive criticism" and "people tell me I post like a chief nobber"...but it panned out to be safe enough :)
    Good job, don't want to scare off the youngers.
  • Thanks everyone - interesting advice and definitely leaves me stuff to consider.

    I’m still trying to figure everything out in terms of what works for me - I only started running as an adult about 4 years ago (mostly rock climbing before then) and I I’ve been taking it seriously as my main sport for about 2. Saw a massive jump in my times first lockdown because I couldn’t climb and started running 50 mpw consistently.
  • Stevie G said:


    Ps I feared the worst when Phil started his post with sentimonies like "positive criticism" and "people tell me I post like a chief nobber"...but it panned out to be safe enough :)
    Good job, don't want to scare off the youngers.
    knobber has a k please!

    Bradders, for long training runs I definitely pick the pace up, so I'd do e.g. a 20 mile out and back on the Thames Path (so flat both ways) with the first 10 in 80 minutes (8:00 pace) and the second 10 in 76 (7:36 pace). That is, however, a training run and the idea is to get the legs used to working hard when they are tired. Other tactics are to do a long run on Monday morning after a XC race on Sunday and also do that after no food or drink after Sunday dinner.

    There is a fine line to walk and the death march definitely needs to be avoided: no point in going out guns blazing and then dropping a handful of minutes over the last few miles, but e.g. Wokingham half in 2012 with 10 miles in 60:14 and then 79:35 total so that really means dropping a minute over those last 3 miles which isn't a disaster. The other side of the argument says get to 10 in 62 and finish fast in 18 plus change and that leaves you outside 80. 
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Wokingham having the "climb" in the last 5k too..for Bradders non local knowledge of that one, so less of a fall then it might look.
  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    Ps heck was that 2012! Decade ago now!
  • Stevie G said:
    Ps heck was that 2012! Decade ago now!
    Yep, when I was a baby 46 years old. 

    There is the climb but at 8/9 miles I had SG and SamA about 100m ahead and they finished just inside 78 so the minute drop off is about right. 

    I was in marathon training then so had a true marathon pace with a plan of 1:25 per half at an even pace (no negative split). A lot of people "race" a half at marathon pace but I don't really understand that and Wokingham is 8 weeks ahead of London so you can do a full out effort and have a rest on either side and it doesn't kill the schedule. Getting a sub-80 is then a big boost as you know you can do an 85 for the first half and it will feel easy. 
  • Good to see you, TT!

    Great report Bradders

    To add to the negative split comments, in a busy race, eg the big city marathons, you can certainly get held up in the early stages by the volume of "traffic", which could explain a negative spilt . When I ran the Great North Run I started off far too far back and was literally passing clowns for the first four miles. The first 10k took the same time as the next 11! The very reason why I wouldn't do it again. 

    That was quite a long time ago and water wasn't invented, never mind gels. 
    Progress is rarely a straight line. There are always bumps in the road, but you can make the choice to keep looking ahead.
  • Negative split isn't for me, too easy to get comfortable and stay that way. I think the perfect pace is a very slight fade in the second half. Commit yourself to a certain level of discomfort early on but don't over do it. I haven't raced on the road in over two years so pacing Wokingham will be interesting.

    I did 7 miles at 8:47 pace this morning! Went out at 6:30 in the dark to do a road run but it was so icy I changed to trail shoes and ran around the local country park instead. I suspect it was the lowest HR I have ever recorded on a run. If I can call it a run as I was mainly just stumbling about in the dark icy mist!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    Aley - I saw an advert for the GNR recently as the ballot is open.
    It looked absolutely rammed, and it's hard to imagine the scale.

    Reading HM is a huge race as is GSR, but you're talking 15,000. GNR is 50,000 isn't it?! Madness.

    I've always been an out decently, bank a bit, then hold on. I couldn't imagine increasing pace later, exactly as Reg says. Just the inevitable increase when you see the line perhaps, but not a proper maintained increase.


    Reg - must have been freezing at that time, as even an hour later was so. It was my thickest base layer, thickest gloves, 2 layers and even thicker socks, and in a 6 miler I didn't ever warm up really. Big contrast to Sunday where even the warm up I was in a vest. Big difference from 7.30 to 11am though.

    Phil - it's encouraging how well you were racing deep into mid 40s. I still swear the only thing that actually slowed you was getting too into your WAVA figures and seeing how it allowed you a certain slow down each year! That marathon you did that year was like a master specimen on how to run one, and was certainly a big contrast to Chingo at the time, who was comfortably faster than you at the shorter distances, but hadn't trained or planned anywhere near as well as you did.

    I always wondered what happened to the poster Luvsapb. I stumbled across a post he made in 2011 (now deleted account) of 24miles in 3:06 on a Tuesday night! What a beast!! I suspect it was the multiple extreme distances per week that pushed him into injury?


  • Stevie G said:


    Phil - it's encouraging how well you were racing deep into mid 40s. I still swear the only thing that actually slowed you was getting too into your WAVA figures and seeing how it allowed you a certain slow down each year! 


    That is one view and the other view is that I was slowing down and using the WAVA tables to tell myself I wasn't. I freely admit that loss in pace towards the end of my 40s hit me hard. I loved to race: the whole adrenalin buzz you get when you line up at the front of the race, the gun going, heading out with the leading pack and seeing what shakes out. From time to time I made it into the mix and won (rarely) or got a category or team prize (not so rare). That all started to go away, I had to move back from the front and the leading group would go away and I'd be back in the "also-rans". Yes, WAVA was a useful crutch that said I was finishing halfway down the race but I was doing comparatively well but it is not the same. 

    I now have a new mindset, so my aim is to carry on and enjoy running for a few more years. My declared aim is to still be running in my 80s (I'm 56 now so that is another 24 years) but I'd take 75 and then a walk/run afterwards. That means a bit more listening to the body and a bit less listening to the ego. 
  • Stevie G said:

    I always wondered what happened to the poster Luvsapb. I stumbled across a post he made in 2011 (now deleted account) of 24miles in 3:06 on a Tuesday night! What a beast!! I suspect it was the multiple extreme distances per week that pushed him into injury?


    He just disappeared off the scene. My old stalking spreadsheet says he is this guy. 

    https://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=281270


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