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OO - shame yr still not at it, hope Sunday isnt too tough.
Wardi - hope the chiro goes well, quick return to running.
Yday was heavy weights in the morning (and a rainy bike commute), 10m commute home later. Today was 10m inc the commute route 10x3min, pace was right at the very slow end of what id normally see.......we'll see what Sundays hilly 10m turns up. I get the feeling im in for a backside kicking, but i need to know where i am.
Firstly sorry I've not posted in so long. I do go through these periods of malaise where I just take myself completely offline (I really wish I didn't, or I could manage it a bit better) but I do seem to struggle sadly. Never mind, there we are.
Firstly well done to wardi - just to get round was a great achievement, and I'm sure you enjoyed the weekend all the more for doing so!
OO - really sorry to hear of your achilles woes. Hopefully you're able to get the half ok and just take it from there. Fingers crossed.
TR - sorry to read of your niggles as well, although it seems you've got them mostly under control. I wouldn't worry about missed bits and bats too - you've got a massive aerobic engine and you'll be good come the day, I have every faith.
rjr - well done on the Half PB at Wrexham!! (yes, it really is that long since I looked on here....) Sorry to read about the continued colds and bugs as well. No idea if it's worth you trying, but I take a pretty good multivit called 'Defense' by Awesome supplements. Not cheap but very research-based re optimal doses (a lot of stuff way higher than the RDA value). Seems to keep me on the right side of things.
jooligan - sorry to hear about the Covid again! Just as you seem to be getting back to it as well.
TT - hope you're able to find your proper mojo soon. Well done to Jnr too. One of my good friend's son was at Nottingham at the weekend, and also the schools (Pontefract?) soon. Good events!
That said I'm ok. The last 2 weeks I've done Haweswater Half (which went well), and then Trimpell 20 (which was so-so). I ran with SJ for a bit at Trimpell as he said. I had a deliberation re whether just to stick with him for the whole thing and I prob should have really, cos he had a much stronger run than I did. After our 5 together I planned to try and do 15 at about 6'45 pace. Largely managed it, but the last 2 drifted north of 7 which wasn't great. The worrying thing is it was my hammy that seemed to be the thing that slowed me down. I've got history there, and I'm not hugely confident it'll stand up to 26 at race pace. It wasn't great after Sun, so I've tried to be sensible this week. I dunno, maybe it'll just stop me from setting off too quick at London. I need to actually make the start line first though....
In other news. I've switched clubs. I now run for Keswick AC, so a change there. Think I took SJ by surprise a bit on Sunday, as he wasn't expecting me to be wearing a yellow vest! TBH they're predominantly a fell-based club as you'd expect, but they do a lot of road stuff, usually do the road relays etc and they have a set of road standards which I'm hopeful I could hit 'Gold Standard' on this year (for my age). Things like that help re motivation as I'm slowing down, so we'll see. It's a good group of lads as well - lots of good craic and mickey-taking which I like, but also incredibly supportive and helpful. So all good thus far.
Heavy weights and bike commute this morning, 10m run commute this evening.
TR - Good work. Keep at it. Nearly in taper time now.
Really looking forward to Sundays HM. Obviously with the injury training has not been great, but nearly all of the 20 or so miles I've run in the past 2 weeks have been c6.40 mm, so confident will be around 90 minutes. In other news, transferred my expensive Verbier marathon UTMB place in July, as no way was I was going to get into good enough shape for a 10 hour Swiss Alps high altitude marathon, spectacular but likely to have killed me. So the pressure is off. So will see how I emerge from the HM and decide if OK to do the Manchester Mara in April
Minimal 5m eaay today, achey from this weeks weights.
TR.. a good day of exercise with running, bike & weights. In some ways I don't enjoy the taper as the previous weeks are all about banging the miles out.
LS21.. a fine run at Trimpell, particularly after a tough half the week before. Hope the club change goes well. Aye Barca was a great weekend, found a cracking curry house for a Sunday night treat.
SJ.. one of my club's fast crew ran the Trafford 10k out your way a couple of Sunday's ago. 32.15 was only good enough for a modest 117th place - and he was beaten by 5 girls. He can't live with the shame.
A few easy runs for me this week, 4m today.
Tempted by a Parkrun outing tomorrow, a forecast of 3 mph winds is a rare thing indeed on the racecourse!
For Cork it has a habit of being hot (Waterford at a similar time of year has been caught a few times too), so it might be worthwhile including some heat acclimation between now and then just to be on the safe side.
TR - good luck with the hilly 10m tomorrow!
OO - good luck for the HM tomorrow! Sensible re: Verbier, even if sucky!
Jooligan - sorry to hear re: covid. You have no luck with it.
LS - I hope your mates son went well. Jr was 4th scorer for Berkshire. Happy with his run. 11s behind a clubmate (so significantly closing the gap to last season), 4 to the second scorer, and only another 11 to the first.
A 20m the week after a HM was always going to be a big ask. Chalk it up to experience and move on. Nice idea with the club standards. Can I find those online as that might be an idea for my club?
If you are of a sensitive disposition I'd recommend not reading the following........
I referenced things getting in the way last weekend. Well it turns out those things were the kind of things I shouldn't have put my blinkers on for and certainly shouldn't have tried a run on the Sunday at the one time I felt marginally ok. Today was the first time where I felt up to doing any form of exercise since, and even after a very gentle jog today it's very clear I'm still a long way away from being 100%.
Getting a GP appt here is nigh on impossible (even telling the receptionists the extent of it - let's just say it involved significant amounts of blood loss, not moving too far from a toilet, and imodium not being enough to stop things - was met with a 'nothing we can do' attitude).
I've been signed off work sick all week (I work from home so that gives an indication of the severity), but eventually got to see a GP on Wednesday. My suspicion is that I've either developed an IBD, or have had a severe bacterial infection developing over a considerable period of time, and it just peaked.
The GP is inclined to agree that that these are the most likely outcomes, and thankfully nothing more sinister is likely.
Long story short they're arranging a bunch of tests (some underway, and some in the pipeline), and I'm on a very restricted diet at the moment until things have fully cleared up.
About the only good thing that has come out of it is that I no longer need to worry about losing a few kg to get back to a reasonable training weight (3kg down in less than a week), and that it is strangely almost cathartic to know that all of the issues I've been having for the last prolonged period have a cause that can hopefully be addressed and managed and that they weren't in my head.
It has also led to a complete mental reset and I feel fresh and ready to go in that vein in a way I haven't in a very very long time.
After all that though, to finish on a very very positive note, the reason for asking rjr for a running buggy recommendation is that my stepdaughter is pregnant so our first grandchild is due in about 6 months time
Wardi - it's only the last week of a taper that gets a bit wtfp, as i still do 13 or 14 inc some mp the weekend before race day, which is the last proper run.
3m inc a few strides today. A tussle with the Wiltshire hills awaits.
TT.. that's a shocking state of health to be in, must be a relief to be getting some tests arranged. Not the best way to achieve weight loss!
Great news on the forthcoming Grandchild, many congrats.
Parkrun went better than expected, 40 secs quicker than my last outing in 23.20. Solid splits just under 7.30. 11m in all today, my old niggle is much reduced.
All the best for tomorrow OO!
Last did this 10m a good few years back and remember it being 60 to 90sec slower than a flat race. Was thinking Sub 65 would be solid today, most of the hilly bits were between 3 and 8m, with a roll down to the finish. 1/2 way in 32ish and was picking my way through a few, pushed on in the last few miles for 63:46. So decent enough, probably worth a low 62 on a fast route, so 82ish for a HM. Ankle and knee held up pretty well, so i might be able to ramp up the training now it's a bit late for that.
Good news Wardi - that's a decent improvement.
Hope you had a good day out TR
Falmouth Half Marathon 1.31.17 / 43 rd
A passable run earlier in sunny dry warm conditions - the shock!, over a hilly route (1300 ft of elevation) with some very scenic views as you ran along/ up the coast/ beaches. The ankle held-up and seems no worse than before the run, which is great. My daughter ran 2.02 and my niece 1.58 to mark their debuts.
Splits all over the place due to the course profile, ranging from 6.13 to 7.40 mm. More or less kept my position through the race and probably gave it 85% beans so maybe a 1.27/1.28 run on a flatter course. Far harder than I recalled from my run in Falmouth in 2020, but then ran 1.23 and had a bit of an eye of the tiger as running for position (and 4 years younger!). All in all really pleased with today, a really good occasion (we had supporters!) and will see how the leg feels over the next few days before deciding if will run Manchester or bypass it and just run Newport a few weeks later.
That 10M sounds especially strong & will hopefully settle your mind somewhat TR. From where we’re sat I’m not surprised given your relentless diet of mileage + the 3 min reps & regular steady sections in those runs.
That’s an impressive family performance on a tough sounding course. Well inside your 1:35 OO. Glad to see you got rid of the Verbier place OK - far too much risk given where you’ve been at.
TT really sorry to hear of your latest health issues, though it would explain why you were struggling recently. Fingers crossed you get sorted & come out the other side with a decent spell of good health ahead. Congratulations on the upcoming addition to your family.
Good to hear from LS21 & his encouraging race performances. Strong HM followed by racing a 20M a week later is a big ask. Seems like you held it together well enough.
Positive post from me: I’m over the worst of the Covid. Even managed a couple of runs this weekend: Parkrun yesterday (only a bit slower than recent weeks) & a slow 11 miles today. Felt about as hard as the 17 last week when I was coming down with it but at least I was out in the sunshine 🌞
OO.. that sounds like a decent run over a hilly course. Good news that your ankle stood up to the distance too. Hope your niece and daughter enjoyed their outings.
TR.. that's a great 10m time on an undulating course, cracking confidence boost. Sounds like you had reasonable conditions for it too.
Heavy drizzle most of the morning here. Had to get out in it as we had a family meal organised at lunchtime (the MIL is 90 on Tuesday!). Just had time for a soggy 5m which made it 31m for the post marathon week.
Of course the sun came out this afternoon.
Wardi - nice one on the parkrun. And the family meal.
TR - that sounds like a very positive 10m; well done!
OO - sounds like a good day out at Falmouth. Well done to your daughter and niece too.
Jooligan - good to see you moving again. Better weather seems to be coming which will help the feel-good vibes of just getting out there.
Had a very muddy welly walk with the wife and dog yesterday (about 80mins with a coffee break in the middle), before getting out in the garden for a bit of work in the sunshine (even got a bit of colour!). Finished that and figured that trying a jog would be daft as I was shattered, but a walk to and from the pub was manageable. Ended up with about 6.5m of walking all in as well as the gardening, which left me a bit wiped out.
I seem to be coming around quickly as a 45min jog this morning was 13s/m quicker for 5bpm less. I'll play everything by ear and see how I get on, but it would be nice if I managed to get around London in some form and I have that there as a carrot, but at the same time won't thrash myself to achieve it.
Wardi - good news from you too. Good return to parkrun and sounds like post marathon recovery has gone well. Benefits of taking it slightly easier I guess?
Jooligan - covid still a bit nasty i'm guessing but sounds like you've returned in a reasonable state. A slow 11 is still 11!
OO - Maybe I misestimate these things but i'd have thought that amount of climbing would do more than a few minutes damage to your time compared to a flat course. Cracking run that I reckon. Sounds like you actually managed to enjoy it which is half the battle.
TR - Good work on the 10. If it's 1:22 HM shape then that's a good place to be given the issues you've had.
LS21 - Thanks for the recommendation. I think I may join the multi-vitamin train especially when the little one goes to nursery. It's a bout of illnesses waiting to happen. Congrats on the club move, hope it works out. Funny how different a race outcome can feel depending on how you ran it. With Wrexham my emotions were mixed because I slowed and found the last 3 miles so tough, even though the time was as good as i possibly could have hoped for beforehand. Sounds like your 20 was somewhat similar. Hope the hammy plays ball over the coming weeks.
Mixed news here. After run last sunday and the following monday i've had a tight achilles. Not painful as such but just tight and know it's there. So no running from me tuesday-friday but I did get 2 gym sessions in (one strength, one cross-training). I had no expectation of being able to run the 5k saturday but with only really Cork marathon at risk (and no way of knowing how marathon training would go anyway) I thought i'd roll the dice and see if I could get something else to show for my current fitness. The result was a 16:48 for a 19 second PB which I was absolutely delighted with. It's an amazing event and such a performance boost to run with so many others around the same sort of time (the races are seeded and my race had 120ish with pbs from 16:40 to 18:00). The achilles has faired ok since and is now on ice til this saturday's Midland road relays.
In my head Cork is probably a goner or an attempted jog round off cross-training but I may be over-reacting a little as it's not as bad as the last time I had it (which kept me out for about 2 months). If it settles in the next few weeks there's still some hope of getting the required long runs in.
TR - That's a great performance, well done. Your in a good place.
Jooligan - Good news, you seem to have recovered quickly and very well.
TT - London, some carrot. Glad the walk to the pub was manageable - I find that too!
Legs a bit wibbly wobbly today, will run again tomorrow and pencil in a long run for next weekend.
Wardi - same here, sun came out after ydays race
Jools - good that you're on the mend, hopefully you recover quicker this time.
Joe - well done on the pb. If a flat out 5km hasnt set you back then I font see why you'd have to bin your marathon. Get on the rehab strength and mobility. Calf raises are really good for lower legs.
TT - probably a better idea to focus on getting healthy first, London is only 5 weeks, it sure you need hat pressure?
5m and 5m today, back and bum cakes a bit sore, probably from the downhills.
TT.. must be a relief to be out for a run again, fingers crossed your recovery continues.
OO. ditto, hope you can keep running without any further niggles.
TR.. nice double after yesterday's efforts.
Lovely day here so 5m with Mrs Wardi this morning. Chiro appointment is on Wednesday which I'm almost looking forward to!
Saw the results from Trafford Wardi - its always been a fast race that one. The depth in some of these local races is crazy. The shoes and people sticking at it far longer are driving up standards. Nice progress at parkrun. Good sign.
Blimey TT, as others have already said, glad you are getting some tests for what sounds like a very nasty issue. Hopefully you can get that diagnosis and get some plan in place to deal with it. Good to read some positivity has returned and you are on the up from a mental health perspective. Great news on the first grandchild!
That really was a mixed week RJR. I am currently nursing a sore Achilles myself so feel you pain. Glad it seems manageable at your end too and an impressive sub-17 5k is a great return on investment. You should be rightly delighted with that effort. Top bombing indeed. I can't over emphasize calf raises enough. They keep mine at bay. I swear by them. Great video too btw OO. I will certainly incorporate some of those self massage techniques.
Solid if unspectacular (last) week for me. That seems to be the theme of it this campaign. I guess unspectacular ticking of the boxes is no bad place to be in.
Rest day last Monday after Trimpell. Legs felt alright actually but had already pencilled in a full recovery day so stuck with the plan. The rest of the week went 6, 7 and 9 miles on Thur with an out and back effort. Legs fine.
Friday rest day followed by a relatively big Sat of 14.5 miles incl warm-up/down and 6x1 mile at the track with 400m jog recovery (2 mins). I wanted to run controlled so started out comfortably and built into the session. Splits were 6:10, 6:08, 6:03, 6:00, 5:59, 5:58. The last couple took some focusing on to split 800m steady and then increase the pace slightly. A tough old session that had me falling asleep in the afternoon.
I managed to back that up with an out and back 18 miles along the canal tow path. The path was filthy muddy and resembled a XC course in places. I ran in trail shoes which disagreed with my feet. Sore toes and achy arches from the lack of cushioning. A different stimulus but my feet are not happy. First 9 miles around 8:00/mi and came home steady averaging around 7:20/mi. I had to keep applying the handbrake on the back 9 miles which was encouraging but trying desperately to keep a lid on proceedings. Just a couple more weeks to get out of the way including Wilmslow half this weekend.
52.8 miles total
TR - You may be right and i'd certainly be in that mindset if I had some training banked already. But 8-10 weeks of training including 6-7 long runs on a tight achilles sounds like a recipe for disaster. That said, I don't have much to lose. Calf raises have been in my strength program for the last 2/3 years making it all doubly frustrating. Always scope for more though.
Wardi - you must be a glutton for punishment (with the chiro). Nice marital run.
SJ - Another great week from you. Love the saturday session especially running the quickest reps at the end. I recently invested in some new trail shoes which are almost certainly going to be comfier than my previous pair which i've had about 10 years. Even so they are pretty low on mileage as i'm very much a road guy. I think i'd be focusing on the half. Get a quality time and return for your undoubted current fitness. Can still tag on a bit of warm up/cool down?
It's my final busy week of the session so not much scope for exercise. Have a window of opportunity tomorrow where I could run a few miles. Will assess pain/tightness during/after and make sure i'm doing the right things with heat before and ice pack after.
Nothing much to report here: I've had a succession of colds and minor chest infections, so have barely exercised in the last 4 weeks. I bit the bullet and booked 5 days off, plus the intervening weekend, which does finally seem to be resetting my energy levels (I'm on day 6 of 7 doing as close to naff all as possible) - thank goodness!
OO - sounds like you came out of it in reasonable shape!
TR - totally agree on health first. I'm just bimbling at whatever pace for whatever time feels manageable at the moment. London is only there as a potential long run if I'm up to it at the time. I've already booked a show for the Saturday evening which I would never normally do pre-race, which indicates a) the likelihood of me doing it, and b) the 'seriousness' I'm applying to the possibility.
Mind that back and bumcakes!
sj - why not keep the possibility of the extra miles at Wilmslow on the end? That way you can have a good crack at it as you're thinking, but still the extra mileage if you're not too thrashed afterwards? Another very good week from you, and tasty Saturday session.
Joolska - sorry to read you've been poorly, but good that you're coming out the other side. I really struggled with sitting down doing nothing last week - it really isn't my forte!
Joe - you've just done a HM plan that ended well, you are well placed for a marathon build..........if you have weights access you need to build to heavy weight on calf raises, if no weights then one legged bodyweight raises.
SJ - good work on that session and long run double again. 2 or 3 wu and wd would add miles, or do what you did last year for a direct comparison........race day weather might help decide.....it was still very wet Sunday on the roads, SPO wondered why I was so clean afterwards compared to everyone else, but i was avoiding the puddles where possible, not exactly racing line......
TT - fair enough, if you sack it you can relax more.
12 and 6 today, ankle was more achey today, I had to avoid a collision with a bike and ended up on some rutted tarmac which my ankle didnt like, hopefully minor this time.......positive was the 9m steady this morning came in av 7.07 av 130 and felt a lot easier than lasts weeks 8 av 7.02 av 135.......legs were good which is a positive 2 days after a 10m race. Hopefully I've gained a bit of fitness/health, weights might be helping the legs too.
TR.. good endurance and powers of recovery with that double, bad luck with the near collision.
TT.. you sound similar to me when I was hoping to start at Barca. I wanted to do it but knew it would be a compromised effort. Good luck with the rest of the build up.
.
SJ.. that's another decent week of training with a big weekend. You should go well at Wilmslow.
RJR.. I've never seen a chiropractor before so don't know quite what to expect. I do have an obvious problem though which I'm keen to find the cause of. Good luck with your achilles recuperation.
My first modest double since Barca, 2 x 5m today. I can't feel my old hamstring niggle at all now which is encouraging - it first flared up in August!
You’re in great shape SJ as evidenced by running really strong back to back double digit runs. Gotta be worth a crack at Wilmslow if the weather’s favourable. You’ll still do 17 with minimal wu&cd. Plenty of time to recover from that before London if you have an easier week after.
Bad luck Joolska good to hear that rest is proving effective.
Obviously didn’t ruin your legs at the weekend then TR. Nice steady section in the MLR.
Definitely signs of improvement here. No running yesterday as legs were aching from the weekend & even my bike commute left me feeling shattered but today I did 5M at lunch along the canal. Even managed to pick the pace up throughout: 8:20s down to 7:50s & still felt ok on the cycle home.
Joolska - Naff All sounds magical! Hope it does the trick.
TR - Excellent stuff, I think your in better shape than you think. Saw my mate Steve yesterday, he is Brighton and sub-3 (hopefully) bound.
Joe - Tough call, see how the next few weeks go.
Wardi - Nice one on the double and great news your niggle free - I think that second double would have properly tested it.
Jooligan - Good progress and a nice pick-up in pace, great to see. So all good for Newport?
I abandoned my recovery run 250 metres in yesterday as a tight hip flexor pull has re-surfaced but will try later. Have decided to run Manchester on 17/4. Not going to even try and run sub-3 but aim to get around hopefully c3.30 and use as a long run for Newport 2 weeks later. My sub 3 streak will end, it had to end somewhere, so will end where it started in 2017.
Some cracking racing going on this past weekend!!
TR - that's a great time on a lumpy course, and bodes really well for the Marathon. Hope the niggles have settled a bit and you're able to push on.
rjr - hell of a run at the 5k! (was is that Podium thing at Leicester, where something like the top 15 all broke 14 mins!!) Belting time though mate, well done! I hope the achilles settles down a bit and you can at least make a start on Mara training properly.
OO - well done at the Half! Sounds like a really nice family day out. Sensible call re Manchester too. You put your own criteria on how you count streaks etc, but if you're going solely as a training run then there's no reason why you can't continue your sub 3 steak for Marathons you've raced. Your streak, your criteria, your call. Sedbergh is lovely too. Be a nice break if you can make it.
TT - goodness me, not sure what to say! I really hope you can finally get to the bottom of all this and just get healthy again. If you do that then the running great times again will follow. Big hugs etc mate and fingers crossed for you xx
wardi - great that you didn't even feel the niggle on your last run. Who knew? You just had to run a Marathon to sort it
jooligan - really pleased to hear you're over the worst of the COVID symptoms now, and you're back running again. Hopefully a strong block now before Newport.
joolska - glad you're feeling better!
SJ - I'd be going full beans at Wilmslow. Couple of miles before, and race it. If it goes well you'll get a huge boost psychologically. And if it doesn't make the call mid-race that it's a training run, back off and add miles at the end. You've done enough longish runs. Get stuck in lad!
I'm back home seeing my folks at the weekend and have got a 'guest' number for the Yorkshire Vets XC (that's for people over 40, not people who treat sick animals). Race is 10k, but I'm meeting a few mates first for a 10ish mile warm up type run. Couple after will give me another 18. I'd then like to get another 20+ the week after (3 weeks pre-race). Will see.
Final question too. 2 weeks pre-race there's a 10 mile race up here that I'm half thinking of doing (as an all out race). Good idea or a bit close to Mara day? Undecided!
http://keswickac.org.uk/club-standards/