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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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I had a go across the top of Deangarden Wood today. There is a lovely historic old avenue of trees (on private land) that was the drive to Daws Hill House that has sadly long departed. A recent development has built houses in the area and covered up an old footpath but the drive has been opened up a new footpath is supposed to be installed to replace it. Looks nice so far, I only had to climb over 2 security fences, one to get on and another to get out.
On the running side, I did Rosliston parkrun in 22:20 compared to Wycombe Rye in 22:26 a few weeks ago. The former is a trial parkrun with a reasonable degree of climbing so I'd say it is worth sub-20 at Wycombe. It seems SG is sort of right; it is way easier to go hard on an unfamiliar route as opposed to the "same, same" of a familiar parkrun. Either that or the yappy dog that switched sides at will irritated me and there was no way once I had passed it (after several attempts) that I was going to let it pass me back.
Best of luck with the track mile.
Rolling 10M yesterday & a v.hilly multi-terrain 21M today. Left Achilles is very grumpy from the big mileage & hefty elevation this past week: 79M with over 11,000’ in the past 6 days!
I was wondering if i was feeling a little tired today or not, but I think the humidy/warmish weather probably adds up sometimes.
Went off for 12x0.25m off 60secs, usual road loop.
Quite a mixed batch, ranging from 1.17 - 1.22.
3 in the 1.17s, but technically 2 of those would round up, but probably as a rough estimate it might just average out into 1.19xx
I think the road loop probably works best for the next zone up through to threshold pace really, but it's just such a convenience versus getting to the track.
Probably benefits of doing your efforts on the sort of terrains you'd race on too?
That said, I might try and get to the track for the shorter/harder sessions, such as 200 or 300s, or where the 400 rep count is lower with long recoveries.
Big mileage there Jools, I briefly considered Abingdon but I am going to keep my powder dry until London next year, not least because I am not allowed to run at the moment.
Solid quarter miles SG but I just can't get my head round doing those, over 400m. I guess I prefer to reference to track times and you prefer being able to easily calculate the mile pace?
Went to see the physio today as the back is not improving, her first observation upon feeling my back was 'Oh that feels funny.' Turns out that I either have some ligament damage or possibly a very slight fracture in my spine, L4 to be precise, most likely from the bike crash. I don't have any referred pain or numbness so we're not doing an x-ray but I'll see her again in a week and can't do any impact exercise for now. I can carry on cycling though so not all bad.
SQ - nice long run, and nice reps session too; well done. Yeah, track took a bit of recovering from. It was good fun though. This week is 3 sets of 600, 400, 200 and I suspect Jr will fancy his chances against me over those distances.
SC - ouch. I've done that before too. Good that you're over it.
Nice mileage Jooligan.
Sounds like you're coming along well based on that parkrun Phil.
What's the relative effort for those quarters SG? I find it ok to do shorter stuff on road but longer stuff I benefit from track or a small grass loop as I lose attention.....
Finished off last week with a very easy 17m on Friday (ran any uphills strongly from about 45mins onwards but was still over 9.5m in before the average pace nudged under 8m/m), a hills+stuff on Saturday, and 7m Sunday to leave me in the 70s for the week.
Slower start this week (yesterday off due to an ear infection) but would hope for a similar mileage by the end of it.
If I'm doing a multi distance sesh and it needs programing through Connect, I'd probably do it as say 600-400-200s like last week, but when it's single distance, it's much easier to plug in 0.25m, as you'd have to go in and change miles to km to get 400s otherwise, when 400 means nothing when not on the track, whereas 0.25m feels a more sensible road metric.
Probably only a half second difference to it really, as I tend to think of the extra for a 1600 to a mile as 2seconds.
Not so good for your diagnosis - although as always everything seems cycle through doesn't it
TT - funny how that works for you, as I've probably found it the opposite. I'd find it hard to really drill the 200-400s on the road.
A couple of weeks ago I went to the track when I had a 5x400m sesh with long recoveries, and did 70/71s. I can't imagine I'd have got very close to those on the road, especially not on this loop.
It's tier 2 of my little 5k training plan, so it's actually billed as the "3k" zone.
Say they were 1.20 average, that's still 5.22 pace, which would be a 10.00 3k dead on.
The 3ks I've done were 9.44/46 in 2013 and 9.56 in 2015, so probably spot on for what I'd do a 3k in right now?
Doing a 12x400 (or 0.25m!) at current 5k pace is very hard to do, as they'd tend to come out quicker, so it sort of makes sense to be billed as 3k.
I dare say these would be 2secs a lap quicker or so on the track.
Having said all this, i actually just aimed to go out "decently hard" without smashing it!
But I think it sort of all adds up with the above
Well done on a summer 17.
I find I need to be in for a HM to want / need to be doing anything over 13, and often, especially in summer 13 feels a stretch, as much as we all know it's beneficial all year.
I need to say I want to get down to the track on Thursday as a way of making sure I do so. It is useful that the track is just beyond our local brewery. The August beer is The Bard so I can pretend to be well read.
Well done on the parkrun PMJ, that beer is a bit dark for me. I like golden ales or IPAs, or cold lager when its hot.
Reg - ouch, hope that heals soon. Good that it doesn't hurt whe you bike.
I did 5m yday as i was a bit smoked from recent training, but had a better day today with 8 and 6 double commute. Got a local summer xc race tomorrow.
SC - I suspect you'll enjoy comparing times with him
Double yesterday. 2nd run was 3 x { 5min @ HM-MP, 5min 'brisk' } with 2m either side. Came out as 5:58/6:55 so work to be done, but it's a reasonable marker to gauge where I am at the moment.
Relatively big week for me last week - 44 miles and a 12M LSR - boht biggest since 1st week of May! Couple of big SUP trips on the river near Simon's stomping ground over the weekend and a double day commute yesterday. Run home was dire!
TT - Mine's 12, so a bit of a way to go yet, but he's sub 20 for Parkrun now, last 1500 was 5.20, still a bit of work to do on the track. Bought some posh Adidas spikes for £90, but he'll share them with the missus and should be ok for next track season too.
The 3 x (5 x 300) session was ok - didn't check lap times. Managed about 45 secs between reps and 2 mins between sets. Back a bit stiff today though, wearing the old Asics on the tarmac track.
9.5 tired miles this morning.
Tarmac track certainly sounds like it could wreak havoc with the back and calves, SC. Great your son is enjoying it so much - as good as him temporarily having the same size feet as his mum!
Good stuff on the bigger week, Bus. You’ll be as stacked as TR with all this SUPing.
Strong ‘alternator’ session, TT. Interesting to read the crossover of paces with your son. As a boy my sprint speed was always poor, but happy enough chugging along even as a front row forward. Still back myself against my dad though 😆.
TR - good to see you building. Good luck with the XC. Getting increasingly tempted by Abo, especially with the bonus week. Could start a 12 week BAC plan next week. Even more tempted now SG has confirmed 😉.
You have inspired me, PMJ. Whilst there isn’t a convenient brewery for tonight, I plan to take a cold beer in a cool bag for post race. And I love the name of the farm on your map.
If your looking for a last minute half, SG, fancy Draycote Water this Saturday morn? Runthrough organised. Have a 20% discount if wanted which they emailed as they have taken over other companies (as reported by PMJ). I am there with a mate - strongly suspect it might be a case of the student becoming the master, but I’m going to do my bloody best to hold him off!
Sorry to hear about the injury, Reg. as you say, biking opportunities at least, especially in the summer. Any Zwift races still these days?
Off shortly for the C mile race. Hopefully seeded a little more successfully this time: lining up with U11 boys, U13 girls and a few oldies 😆. Quite nervous about the pain but eager to embrace it for once and really push myself.
SQ - lol. Was your Dad a runner? How did the mile go?
Track was a bit meh. I've had an ear infection that properly took hold Sunday/Monday. I can manage most running but it turns out that running hard completely messes with my balance. I managed 2 sets of 800, 400, 200 (2:38, 2:37, 76, 76, 34, 34) before having to bail during the 3rd set (ended up with 2 x 400 in 77 and 76 - got properly dizzy about 250m into both to add to the pain that had increased throughout the first two sets). Paced Jr for his mile hard (5:56), so not a complete waste, but a bit frustrating.
SC - as per comments on Strava, I didn't know there was so much going on just the other side of the riverbank! As TT says, sub 20 at 12 is impressive!
Good work on the mile SQ!
TT - Bugger about the ear infection. I HATE feeling giddy etc, luckily touch wood, not felt like it hardly ever, apart from screen use/eye strain stuff. Your lad sounds like he's progressing well.
Bus - Yes you started your bedford leg I presume by the bridge near Great Denham Parkrun. That's where we park to go across. Interesting smells at the festival then? LOL
5k this morning, Luton training this evening. Not going to be pleasant.
Apparently the track is in use 9:30 to noon and 1 till 3:30 and you can get on before or after or at lunch if you are known to the organisers. Seems I am a known face so was allowed but I got there quite into the hour lunch break so I did 3 reps but faster than usual. Fastest flat 800 since April 2021 so probably a good thing as that is the basic idea of the track session.
Just riding my bike here, missing the running but at least it's not a running injury.
SQ - I don't Zwift in the summer, I think only those real addictive types with some sort of personality disorder can keep it going when the weather is nice!
SQ - hope the mile and 1/2 go well. 12 weeks would be ideal, you need to enter soonish, as before you'll sell the place if you need to.
Well done at the track PMJ, good to see progress.
XC was actually a trail race at local country park on the south downs. Started off a bit slowly really and was making way through but lost control on a chalky downhill and decided to ease off a bit when required, chances of AG win drifted away then, similar on another couple of descents through the forest with marshall warnings of mind the tree roots, turned my ankle a bit, swore a bit and eased off. Good blast but ridiculously hilly. Decided coming out of it unscathed if possible was wise. 10m with wu and wd. Trophy and choccies for 2nd m50. Hips and ankles were sore, but surprisingly good during 6m commute in today.
As Scoob (or is it Shaggy) would say, "zoweeks".
Phil, good track inside knowledge. You've done very well to be allowed to run when kids are around, that's normally a huge panic to them.
Well done TR, always good to find races that dip into podiums for age gradings beyond a straight 1st place.
Marlow 5m did 2 V40s. Annoyingly my bumhead team mate robbed me of 2nd last time, coming 11th to my 12th!
Hard luck stories with V40 have been the gist so far, 8th at Staines 10k was 5th V40 for goodness sake, and the Gosport mile didn't award a V40, yet their sister race the 5k did. As 4th home I'd have won that, but obviously had come 3rd outright for a straight podium. Pure sod's law that way round
Was at work today, 6&4. Not sure if it's the slightly higher time pressure to get it all done, but I always find these Slough runs come out sharper pace. 7.03 for the 6, and 7.16 for the lunchtime 4.
Might be the smoother roads, and higher concentration to not get smashed crossing the trading estate roads or just the relative freshness of the routes compared to the same old round Wycombe.
As much as people were acting amazed I'd run in those high 30s temps, in some ways I found that easier. These runs at the moment seem to be so humid, and you end up utterly awash in sweat.
Aiming for 12x200m off 60secs tomorrow. See how that comes out.
Bit of a racing lull at the moment, but the Murder Mile potentially signals the start of a whole stash in a very short time period.
It only seems like yesterday we shared a nice little series of doing the same races.
Wokingham half had one a mere 3 or so miles in, and that's always stressy, trying to work out how far ahead of someone you know you are
Wycombe 5k in our summer series too, less a turnaround and more a ridiculous hairpin turn, where you have to slow to about 25% of moving speed to navigate it, and then catch whoever is behind you to your left for about a 20metre gauntlet.
About a decade ago someone asked if I was "under 40" in a 10k race we were in.
Yes I replied, thinking of course I am for the pace we're operating at, this far in.
It dawned on me later he'd meant age!
Being V40 I think he relaxed a little, and then subsequently lost V40 1st place to a Thame fella later on
I got a prize through the other day for a race back in May, it was with Human Race events, I think they've been going through some admin issues as I heard lots of complaints about them not responding to people. That's £70 voucher to use for one of their events. The best bit about it is this year's race was paid for from a previous prize voucher and the one before that was also paid for from the race before that
I’ll take that as a no then, SG 😆.
TR/SG - I hate a turnaround a cone. Slowing down and then accelerating definitely doesn’t play to my strengths.
I like the sequence of paid for events, Reg. Getting your money’s worth!
Well done at the trial race, TR. Good going coming 2nd V50.
Come on, PMJ. How fast was the 800?
SC - I love NB, so keen for some Rebel. But I don’t do nearly enough track racing to justify them. Do you use them in road workouts/races as well? Just saw your evening training on strava - rapid.
Hope that dizziness proves short lived, TT.
Another Wednesday night, another track race, returning for the final Cheltenham Midsummer track and field series.
Impressive to watch the 400m runners, especially the masters. Had a nice chat with a chap, Luke Carroll: have been very good friends with his parents for years and used to tutor him GCSE maths. He was a very talented junior runner and broke Seb Coe’s age group record for either 800 or 1500. I then tutored him for the maths element of his CAT for a US scholarship. He won a place at Illinois University, but decided after a couple of years that running wasn’t for him.
Anyway, after eight years he was returning to his first track race, loosely targeting sub 4:50 for the mile. As he was in the A race (and me the C race), we caught up again during the break. Whilst he ran 4:41, turns out he was disqualified not once, but twice 😆. He was wearing vaporfly - so on the start line they said he could run but he wouldn’t get a place or time. The when he crossed the line he retched and spit a small amount on the track, so disqualified a second time. Twice and you’re back in? He took it in good spirits and still seemed to enjoy himself anyhow.
Turning to my race, I was geed up, but probably had Monday and Tuesday’s walking in the Black Mountains in my legs. On the start line, I realised I was both the oldest and tallest in a field of about 12 😃. Several U13 girls, U11 boys, one adult wheelchair athlete and one similarly aged male runner who I loosely recognised from parkrun. Had the aforementioned ASICS Piranhas on. I have literally no idea how I ran 2018 Wokingham half in them, there really is nothing to them.
All the kids SHOT off, and I was off the back, other than the other adult and the wheelchair athlete. 1:15 first lap, reeling a few back in just before the clock (very impressive to have electronic timing and distance measuring for this final evening of the series). 800 in 2:40 if memory serves me, before things unravelled a little. Held on hard, trying to stay on the back of the wheelchair as he caught me in the final lap. Finishing in 5:35 for 7th. Good to at least be in amongst the middle of the field. So a way of my road PB in 2019 (5:22), but still my second fastest time - and I guess a track PB?!
The short stuff is definitely not my forte, but I do enjoy the experience of such events. Back to something longer!
Very tired yesterday after a couple of shocking nights’ sleep. Whole body achey - so perhaps used the upper body in the mile in ways I am not used to, or maybe coming down with something, but I suspect the former.
6M recovery yesterday. Might have today off. Quite nervous about racing the half tomorrow morning. Meeting my best mate (we ran the beginning of Manchester together), and he ran 5 x 1M off 90s on Monday. Final rep in 5:42! Genuinely pleased for his progression, but obviously want to try to keep up the winning streak 😆.
SQ: looks like a good track race: you definitely need to get a few in to get accustomed to track racing and that will be worth 10 seconds or more.
I'm less meaning the 17.20 sort of pace woman we had at our local summer series, that I had an even 1-1 result with, and more the one who turned up and won one of our TVXC races last year, and took 4mins out of me over 10k at the Marlow MT 10k
Fuelled by PJM's insider knowledge that the summer kids get on the track, I got going really early, fuelled off a drink and 1 banana, determined to be out the way by 8am.
16x200m off 60secs was my plan. It's one of the 2x 200m sessions on my plan, and they come straight after each other. The 12x200m is billed as 90secs, but I often do that as 60secs too.
But anyway, in top form, I'd consider 34xx for the 16x and 33xx for the 12x the right level.
I tend to only take the second for these, unlike other distances you probably round them.
Last couple of times I was doing these I was a bit off the pace. However, today it felt spot on.
I was obviously enjoying it too much, as managed to miscount the reps, probably because for ages I've done reps keyed into the watch, and they give you alerts that you're done, and realise I'd done 17. Threw an 18th in for evens!
4@ 33xx, 1@35.10 and the rest in the 34xx mixer.
It's the first time I've tried to run fast with one, and after that will be the last time!
Nice on the 800 PMJ!
Reg - I don't miss the days of holiday clubs. Luckily mine are old enough now that they either sleep in or want to be off with their mates. Same benefit without the cost!
SQ - nicely done on the mile and good luck for the HM.
SG - I've often miscounted with hillsprints. Good repping.
Bailed on a run yesterday as still felt out of sorts but back at it with a 40min Aussie style acceleration run today. Going to drop my mileage for a few weeks to try get some consistency back and build properly.