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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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Odd that the show starts at 8.30, the race is at 12.15, but the major officially opens it at 1.30!
Assume leaving is doable at any time?
I clicked on one of the video links, and it's hard to get much perspective on it, except near the end, when you can see the guy taking footage from his lofty perch looking down on the field!
The age range looks fairly wide, so am hoping it'll be a case of ease in, get to the peak, then enjoy a bit of scenery and follow whoever is in front! Hopefully it doesn't get so stripped out you lose the route and have to freestyle it down a mountain
Hills yesterday as windy and not doing a normal session in that weather. Doing the LBAC social run tonight, not done one for a while - but need to go to the pub after to pick up the Commonwealth tickets for Sunday night.
Considering doing the Bearbrook 10k Sunday morning before Brum, LBAC have a team going. Not done a 10k in ages.
https://www.llanthonyshow.org/order-of-events.html
First session in a month: 5x4’ off 2’ as part of an undulating 10K. Doing it at midday didn’t make it any easier 😆
10m easy Tuesday was followed by a controlled track last night. as though the ear infection has gone I still can't quite shift the vertigo. Pleased to see the 400s coming out at pretty much the same pace I was busting a gut for 2 weeks ago, but feeling a lot easier and smoother this time.
Ended up with 1600 (5:35), 800 (2:45), 6 x 400 (80, 77, 77, 78, 77, 77), 1600 (5:30) & 800 (2:40).
I put in a few 400m reps in my run this morning, back is still sore and tight so nothing crazy, just getting the legs turning over a bit (84, 80,80,77,79,79,80). I thought I'd done 8 but I obviously counted the first one where I was just measuring out the distance.
Nice to hear SQ has a choice of kids races to enter
Sort of dreading the 10k a little bit, hopefully it goes ok. Obviously the distance means a shoe decision between the Vaporfly or Takumi Sen8 - think as my legs are a bit achy at the moment I will go for the VF.
Going to the track tonight in Luton, think I might not go eyeballs out.
Casually speedy reps Reg. Good that you’re able to run reasonably again already.
VF have got to be your best bet for a speedy 10K SC, so long as you can condone the mechanical doping.
Classic pre-race prep today: a lumpy 14.4M at lunch. Very disrupted as I chose to explore a bunch of footpaths. Many of which disappeared into dense crops forcing me to circumnavigate the overgrown field boundary.
Simon - hope the 10k goes well, might surprise yourself.
Jools - good going on the mlr.
Did a progressive 10m tues, then seeing as SQ had planted the BAC seed i did 9x5min yday (the full 10 reps would have nade the session longer than the 10m limit i'd set for this week). Easy 7m today. 10m trail race sunday, the a few weeks of longer runs.
Will be good to see you in Abo TR and Jools. And yes, Reg, can’t believe that was five years ago. You were very strong that day, and unlucky to miss out on the sub 2h45 by so little.
Thank you for the Llanthony heads up SG and Jools. It isn’t that far from where I took my daughter last week in the Black Mountains last week. Such a beautiful part of the world. Unfortunately it will probably clash with various kids’ activities.
Good return to speed, TT.
After a summer of speed led to no actual increase in speed, thought I’d return to my relative strength and squeeze this week’s long run into gymnastics drop off. Not ideal only 36 hours after Tuesday morning’s session, but not too much of a problem for a long steady one without any attempt at quality.
Enjoyably foray around the lanes to the south if Worcester. Quite a tough first 5M up hill, then undulating from then. 19.8M, 640ft ascent and average pace of 7:37. That’ll do in 26-24C and good to get a first 2h30 run done.
The upcoming 2 hour drive probably adds to the effect too!
But look forward to getting back there, meeting the legend Jools, and seeing how race number 300 goes, in one of those rare pressure free races.
Although tomorrow's one is probably even more of one, and if it was a straight half up, half down, the elevation wouldn't be much less than the Murder Mile, but hopefully it somehow works that it's more consistent, as the MM is much steeper from half way than before.
I'll take that one steadily, and try and keep sight of someone ahead as I dare say the route may not be as obvious as I'm used to on roads.
The one thing that keeps my little double of races doable is the relative short distance! I can't imagine 20milers with a lot of climbing - must be bleak!
Have a good one TR - assume that's decent trail, not scaling heights?
Good luck with the race TR
Jools - Most of the competitors will be mechanically doping, got no choice
SG - Good luck!
Just did 10 x 400 last night, I think the reps were 73,73,72,72,71,71,72,71,71,69. Still really hard, heavy legs and hard to get the air in.
Steady 5m this morning. Really nice clean air.
Good session simon, will do you good
Enjoy yourself SG
My trail race is on the South Downs, its a brutal 10m, probably the closest i get to a fell race (as well as the recent 5m trail in similar area). Got the m50 trophy to defend (from 2019 - hasnt taken place since).
Worked out who i needed to beat in the first couple of miles and then picked my way through a few places. M50 trophy and £15 for the AG win. Always reminds me that its such a hard race, bit like a marathon. 66.4X compared to 65.3X last time out in 2019, difficult to compare though as its not a race for time, and it was scorchio, 2m wu and 2m wd, so 14m for the day. IoW 1/2 in 2 wks will give a better result for comparison with previous years.
I best try and do justice to the weekend's races myself, and try and keep it (borderline) concise (ED - Yeah we'll believe that when we see it!)
Had F OFF work, with the loose plan to get to the hotel and have a couple of hours relaxing there, before a 20 min drive to the Murder Mile venue.
After a leisurely first half of the day I eventually got going at 2pm.
Slightly concerned that the mileage said 135miles when I got in the car, and that the ast nav was trying to take me up the M40, when I'd assumed it was a straight M4 most of the way job.
A bit more concerned when the mileage re-calibrated to 155miles (!) so i stopped briefly in Little Marlow to make sure nothing ridiculous was going on.
But nope, it was just slightly further away than I'd remembered and staying in Pontypool, the sat nav decided the quickest way was to bypass the Bristol sort of M4 route over the Severnbridge and instead keep showing me a sign that mentioned Cheltenham, Gloucester, Forest of Dean for seemingly forever, M50 and then eventually get there.
I'll admit there were certainly times I was wondering if I'd get there, as the safe 4.50 sort of arrival had suddenly crept well into the 5s and eventually up to 6.
Peaking for stress sitting utterly stationary gridlocked in one utterly random location for seemingly forever.
I'd even stopped at a service station to smash a banana down, having set off at 2pm and realising at 5ish I needed some sort of fuel.
While stopped I did just check whether just going direct to the Murder Mile might be a better plan, but as the route took me spark past the hotel, I stuck to that.
Into the hotel, staff member is taking ages sorting 2 randoms out, and the worrying words "the system has gone down", literally left me bouncing around like some kind of loon.
Thankfully no problem for pre bookers like me, quick in and out, and back on track.
To the Murder Mile, the higher route way, meaning you don't have to kill your car going up the steep hill, and a few very tight roads and reverses aside, a very nice trip in for 6.30.
Still not out the woods, as 30mins to the start, needed to sign in, change, and get down the hill!
The organiser had given me the number 1 again which was a nice touch to recognise the effort to get here, and shared a brief tale with him and other marshals about such an insane 4 hour plus journey to get here, and then it was the tiny matter of the race!
They seemed to have resurfaced most of the mile route which was nice, although probably not any easier running up, but running down felt less daunting this year.
Maybe because of 3 years of forgetting what it was like, and the relief of getting here again!
Trotted down the hill exchanging banter with a local, and then nicely to the bottom with 15 to go.
This race has definitely jumped up in number. I'm sure before my time it was as low as 50s then probably around double that, and now it's around 180.
It was split into 2 in 2019, but felt even busier this year.
Met the legend of Jools 10 mins before the race, and swapped some nervous excited chat, then it was almost time for the off.
The organiser always wheels down in his car, and that's when it gets real.
Am definitely in better shape than 2019 so looked forward to it.
I had the plan of getting to 0.6miles running, and then some sort of tbc power walk/run method after.
I'd misremembered the farm house as being 0.5m, when it was actually 0.25m, but no harm done.
The course is a decent climb to start with, with a brief flat lull, under a bridge climbing more, up to this farmhouse, after another brief lull, and then you're really into the crux of the race.
I was behind a few sharp runners, and then in a little gang with 4 youngish looking teens.
This won't look great in the photos I thought
Although they're locals, and they'll be used to such climbs in fairness.
I knew a couple wouldn't sustain it either.
Got to 0.6miles as planned, as I think in 2019 it was 0.5miles I'd succumbed a bit to the power walking.
If you do that it's hard to force yourself to get going again to a run, but this year I worked to a decent 0.05m powerwalk, 0.05m run, and that worked ideally, passing a couple stubbornly trying to run it all.
My watch was slightly under estimating the distance, but i'd seen 8mins for 0.8m, so i thought I've got a decent sub 10 chance here, especially as there's some sort of flat run in.
On seeing the crowd at the top, I knew it was definitely on, and the flat bit was longer than I thought, and even had a small dip straight after.
Romped over the line, and awarded 9.40 :)
7th place, and 2nd of my 4 here felt a brilliant result, after the less than superb pre race too.
Enjoyable post race with Jools and all the randoms I'd chatted with pre race.
Got a couple of snaps.
One with the big man himself, and one playing havoc with my spelling OCD.
Last couple of runners hanging about in the field at the end, and Jools apparently just about out before the farmer said he was about to send a monster pack of cows back in there.
To which I was wondering of the carnage if any of those cows started going down that hill
Surprisingly drama fee drive back to the hotel, and glad I'd made the choice not to combine with a parkrun and have to get up early the next day.
I was slightly complacent at the first half being on a lovely fast A road, but this quickly turned to pure concentration seeing how tight some of the road to the venue was.
Glad to be safety in numbers heading in I thought, and the occasional coming the other way must have felt the stress.
More on this later!
Drove in to the field, £5 in coins ready to secure entry to what is a big country show type event, but the stewards seemed to be ignoring some cars, charging full price for others, and for me it was only £2 because I "look like a fell runner" apparently
Easy park job, and then the alarm kicked in, seeing these sort of hills in all directions
Signed up to the race at the princely cost of another £2!
A few chats with random runners who looked like they knew what they were doing, and plenty of disclaimers dispensed to everyone about how far back I'd be etc.
The vague scoping of the route was pointless, as 10mins before the start they changed the route, through another gate!
The start is on the flat in a narrow funnel, so with about 65 or so runners, I thought I'd set off 20 or more back and ease in. I made sure I stood well back from Jools who this sort of event would suit.
I definitely didn't want to be that fool who storms off, and is done by half a mile
I'd heard the race was 1100 feet and 3.5miles.
I'd naively assumed that it would be that elevation over 1.75miles, or even further and then a steeper down, but that was clearly totally misunderstanding what fell running is.
After about 10mins of the organiser painstakingly explaining an intricate route, that I'll be honest I didn't listen to a word of, knowing I'd have loads to follow, we finally got going.
The cast is madly varied, loads of oldies, a few really younguns.
You just know you'll lose to a few you'd be miles ahead of on the road, but just a different sport almost.
Flat first 100m, jogged this bit out, then you start climbing up the field past the cars.
Temporary rest bite for 50m towards a gate, then a decent climb diagonally across a field.
I passed Jools here and a few other keen starters, but I certainly didn't think that was any sort of finish to any battles.
I'm behind a young girl and old woman wondering what the heck is going on, but we get to the left and it's back to a gradual run again.
I get a decent snap here, where you can see people in the background doing the hands on knees stagger, plus the field with vehicles in the background to show the height already climbed.
It's best described as a super narrow trail that goes on about a mile, exceptionally steep, bracken, crops and stingers and stuff in amongst you but also boxing you in, leaving always one thin path, but sometimes you have a choice of a stoney bit you can clamber up too.
It's exceptionally hard to force yourself to run here as it's just too damn steep.
It just goes on for ages and ages, and at once point I thought I was hallucinating, seeing some random horses up in the sky
But no, just some wild horses trotting along on a sky high ledge!
I was glad to see they were just about 10metres out of the path, as didn't fancy moving past them.
Jools had come past at some point, and I was wondering if I'd see him again.
I thought i might go back past, but then didn't have a clue what sort of shape I'd be at the top.
The top is 1.2miles in, so you've done 1100 feet in 1.2miles, making the Murder Mile 680 feet seem short.
i think I actually took 840 feet as mile 1, but if you took the 0.2m to 1.2m I'd imagine it must be a 1,000 feet.
15xx for mile 1 in a race was incredible! Especially as I'm probably top 25% in the field here.
Elevation chart here
I saw Jools perhaps 50-80m ahead, but I wasn't closing. There were 2 in front of me to him first.
The course then starts dropping, and the flooring is decent, as long as you're concentrating on miscellaneous bits of hard rock and gaps in the floor.
I'm past one guy who looks a good 20 years older than me, and I'm narrowing down on another.
The down is becoming more extreme, but runnable still, so I think I could probably make up some positions here.
However, there's just 1 more to come, as the terrain suddenly switches to bloody dangerous, real hard stoney flooring, on the side of a cliff almost, and I almost stacked it a couple of times.
To take a position from here over this next half mile I think you'd have to be pretty skilled.
I am still caught in this strange mode of being half racing, but half just wanting to get round, such as the odd style of race this in.
As the down gets more severe I've lost sight of Jools and someone he was battling with, but the course has swept to the right too.
It's back to thin trail, and you hope there's nothing untoward on the ground.
Past a couple of people who've badly timed their walk, as they have to stand in the bushes and await 65 people to come past
I hear some footsteps behind, so let whoever it is by
"Well done mate" I shout...presumptuously, only to see a lady come past
"or erm, whatever the correct word is" I try and backtrack.
She lasts about 100metres and then the terrain has turned back to favouring pace, so she then lets me back past.
Some marshal earlier had shouted "ignore the map, go through the gate", which I'd not really taken in, as I'd not looked at any map anyway.
Flew round a bend, only to hear a marshal shout "this way, follow the arrow", as she's stood INSIDE the field that I now realise has a gate as it's open.
Why she didn't stand blocking the wrong way and pointing the correct way I do not know.
I have to quickly decelerate and the lady has snuck in front.
We have a right old battle through this next field, which I assume is the reverse of earlier, but I'm not quite sure!
I'm struggling to stay on the proper marked bit as it's on a camber, and I'm flailing like a bastad. We've gone through 3.5miles a while before, which is a headscratcher, bearing in mind that's the distance quoted. My Fell race naivety again!
I almost carry on straight and miss that the route is a right hand turn (seemingly unmarked unless I missed it), and I'm lucky I see Jools' shirtless frame at the bottom of that little section.
This woman I'm battling is getting bloody annoying now, as she's an absolute master of descent on this really tricky steep hay ridden field. I'm trying to go fast but not stack it, and I'm just behind, she's through a gate.
I still think my greater top speed will see me through, and as we go back in the field with the cars, I turn some pace on to storm past.
That'll do it.
But I'm looking for these quite hard to see blue ropes for the run in straight.
And I've missed them, mistaking something else as the route.
I got 10metres past, she goes 3 metres past, and we quickly turn, and she's snuck under a rope, that I follow.
Put an absolutely ridiculous surge on, and storm past to finish, whilst being aware the finish "line" that isn't actually in existence, is about 1metre from a tent behind it
Manage to see it out, not smash the tent, and give the false impression I'm some sort of quality fell runner.
Apparently the top 6 managed to trim half a mile off the route, so that 14th may become 8th
All in all a very unusual experience, powerwalking the best part of a mile felt surreal.
Experience of this course is probably golden as well.
If i were to do it again, I'd probably get out harder for the first 0.25m, and then try and run a little more of a certain hill before power walking.
And then you'll be higher up the field for the single track almost non overtake mile.
Then probably boot the flat half mile a lot harder.
But, good experience nonetheless.
Binned the foolish idea of trying to do a 5k tomorrow night, and took today as a rest day, legs are utterly clattered.
Won't push anything, and will see how quickly the recovery is. Is a Wednesday 5k, but could be 28 degrees.
Might be better to try and get 100% for Sunday's 10k.
A few hours with Jools enjoyed chatting all things running, watching numerous kids and an adults 1mile race, plus some dog races (!).
There were a few horses milling around, and a good time had by all.
The sinking feeling of being on a narrow country lane and seeing loads still trying to come into the venue, and utter gridlock for ages. My word.
Finally got home at about 7.30 to enjoy a lovely rest and feed up!
What a trip though.
I was 20th (1st MV50+) at Murder Mile stubbornly running the whole way 😆
When the 2 races (M & F) get combined I’m down to 22nd (of 181) as the first 2 ladies were a few seconds quicker than me (but not SG)
The woman he was battling in the fell race came 3rd at MM
I had a storming run at Llanthony Show Fell Race with my best ascent & descent in 3 races (according to the Strava segments). My time was 15-20s slower than the other 2 however the course was about 400m longer this year so a faster pace. I was 7th(13th)
Clearly enjoying myself too much from this pic at 3.5M
I’d also done 10K in the morning as wu/parkrun in 19:45/cd
Looks like a decent and thrifty time had by both in Wales, even hot and sunny there!
I finished with 36 miles for the week, which is better than nothing last week. Also did a long and very hilly ride today, 90 miles with 2,000m of elevation. Not only did I see the wallaby again, this time bounding down the road but I also hit a pheasant at 45mph coming downhill (obviously), it was a young one so probably only cat sized but still made quite the impact. Thankfully I managed to stay square on to it and braced myself and didn't panic, it would have been a very messy fall at that speed!
I think it is nice gesture by the organisers to let you have race bib 1. I wish there were local races for a couple of quid as with fuel being close to £2 a litre driving to find such is a false economy. I used to try and find local races while on holiday but it is way harder to do that than plan a holiday round a race.
Also great to see a few faces such as Laura Muir.
A couple of odd thoughts from my Sunday 10 mile run up and down the Thames apart from the obvious "what a beautiful part of the world we live in and aren't we lucky to have such?"
I was coming up to Temple Lock and saw a young couple and he was shirtless an dshe was jogging in circles and I thought "posers, bet I'm faster!" but as I got closer I saw she was Pippa Woolvern who I used to train with and has a 15:49 5,000 PB and he was her boyfriend who was an NCAA champion and faster than her, so no, I'm not faster!
On the way back at the wooden footbridge I bumped into an old Handy Cross running friend and we exchanged names and memories and it seemed that almost every other name was "but he has now died". I ran a lot with Handy Cross in the mid-90s when I was about 30 so the "old uns" would have been mid-50s which is what I am now so you start to feel your mortality.