Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
Moraghan Training - Stevie G
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
ps, I probably forgot one of main year highlights, first 5k in the summer series for ages, and getting 2nd after a 4 man scuffle in the last half mile. Was old school tactics, not thinking about anything, just smashing off, a bit too fast, being caught up, then having enough at the end, really enjoyed it, and hope I get the chance to do these races again.
2915.5 miles - down on the 3,000+ the last 2 years, but have to be pleased with an average of 56, including the first week of Jan ill - an 8day write off, and then the recovery from the Wyc half!
8 races, which when you think 4 were 3/5k, and one was a xc, only 3 proper road races. Shame.
Another year where I've spent the second half wondering if my lot is almost up as a local level competitive runner. But countered against that, I realised I can dig deep when it really needs it, and still have the desire and ability to put in nice mileage weeks without it being part of a plan for a pb, and when physically not feeling spot on.
Will definitely look to smack some races if I can ever feel 100% again. And I don't mean those little niggles and tightnesses. Cripes, last year I thought hamstring tightness was the worst I'd had, now I know that was jack squat compared to this year's things!
Personally, to be able to race, just once (keep it modest!) feeling 100%. If that isn't to be my lot, to carry on enjoying the weekly routine mileage I do now, and enjoy the memories of the racing, but not that horrible stressy build up! Won't mess that.
One for Dachs, to not be so hard on yourself and enjoy yourself along the way. Could I see you dealing with a year I've just had for example? Probably not. More driven, no doubt, but what happens when the well is dry? Remember why we run, the pure enjoyment rather than just times.
erm, yeah, something like that yeah?
Peace out!
Right at the start of the Moz training, I remember seeing the easy zone starting at 7.24 pace. As I was so conditioned to do what I fancied, running at that pace felt so slow I thought people would actually point at me and wonder why I was doddling.
Haven't had that feeling since, and I bet you never have.
Hope that pf sorts, had that for 2 days in my life, and the pain on just walking, difficult! Hope it goes for you as quick as it did for me.
I have been busy and thought I was coming back too late for the end of year summaries but obviously not, so here goes.
Stats say 2126.46 miles for the year and that is about all I want to do in terms of stats. I'm too old to PB at any distance and don't have the luxury of soft PBs or great gaps in my running history, so my sub 9 3,000 metres will stay untroubled as my sub 34 10k and sub 56 10 mile. My aim now is to tick along the WAVA curve and the best I got was 79.51% with a 62:56 at Maidenhead 10 mile in April. My plan was to count the number of 80% or better and that was 0 so not hard to count.
I turned 50 in September and though tI may pick up a few V50 prizes but none have yet shown up. Towards the end of last year I started to pick up a knee injury and it was diagnosed as ITB issues so middle class, middle age runners disease: I sit at a desk all morning and then launch out on a 10 mile lunch time run with no warm up and warm down and slowly but surely I lose mobility and eventually something has to go and the ITB it is for me. I am doing VLM in April but after that will need to sort out some new plans to enjoy running more and that may well mean less racing.
Dean gets performance of the year but Matt performer of the year for the marathon win. SG is younger than me but outwardly older and grumpier so has to get some award for that.
you don't even wanna see the inwardly!
Thanks for the pep talk SG. I had a think about why we run, and remembered that it was for the groupies.
Philip - didn't realise you had developed an ITB issue. Painful, but at least something that you can target with a good degree of certainty when diagnosed properly. I know what you mean about the sitting about stiffening up and then trying to run!
SG - it's certainly been a pretty dramatic year, but a big base to build on nonetheless. Given all the tests so far though, have the medical professionals given you any reason not to race or told you their thoughts on what the risks would be if you did? Could post Wycombe have just been one of those things that will remain unexplained?
As for the PF, It's only when I first wake up so not overly concerned yet. The adductor thing is more of an issue - 2 years of it coming then going completely then back again now!
But now you can run fast enough to get away from them when they start to chase you.
Dachs - gotta love the groupies
. Anyways I think you are more like me in that there isn't a love of running that is in your core....it's the competitive element that drives you. and that's no bad thing. One thing that stands out from your review is I only did 2 more track races than you this yr. but I dropped my mileage over the summer so it was periodised. Maybe that's why you ran out of juice later in the year as you kept the mileage high over the summer? But I'm sure as anything that this "slump" will be short lived and the fast times will roll again.
ag - I'm surprised at your low mileage and the good pb's you can still get. it has to be worth booting the bike stuff and focusing on running and seeing what you can achieve.
pete - man you love your parkruns. Plus some good times off lower mileage too.
SG - despite your health issues you still ran 700 miles more than me...maybe you are closer to being able to race than you think. none of us feel 100% so I wouldnot wait for that as it's never going to happen...a lot like us lot signing Gareth bale and muller
simon, scott and Matt. I think 2016 is going to be a good year.
After getting over my last niggle, I realised I only like running under one condition, and that is ache and pain free.
The problem would have been ignored out of hand by running addicts, so I guess that means I can take running or leave it. Does that mean I don't have a love of running at my core too? I think so.
There's plenty who if they didn't run or indulge in violent exercise would, after a few days, be bouncing off the walls going nuts. I don't. Never did.
Give the job (not run) a week and I have to remind myself I ever ran at all. Doesn't even register.
I reckon I have the better deal. One day the running will stop because one day I'll find I can't be bothered.
The poor sods are those who are so desperate to run that they do so on shattered knees.
🙂
Some great stuff over the last 2 pages boys!! love it.
Dean - Yes I hope so. Oh you and SG...No mention of the 2-1 then. Been very quiet on that one
I didn't either until physio told me so and 5 minutes later declared he had fixed it. To be fair, he has definitely done something to it, so today was 7 miles at 7:30 pace which is my goto midweek run and I got one or two twinges but that was all and a week ago I was doing 3 miles at 8:45 pace and getting shooting pains all the way. If we call that a fix, he has fixed me 2 out of 3 ties: the time he didn't was plantar fasciitis and that took a good spell off running to fix.
Good recovery to Mrs Iron.
Dean, spot on. Running is the sport I can be competitive in (at least of the ones I've tried), so that's the one I do. Whilst there are certainly times I enjoy training runs, it isn't the love of running itself or the kind of 'listen to the birdsong and sounds of nature' bullshit you sometimes see in the headphone discussions on here that drives me, it's the racing. I love to race. I'd still run if I couldn't be competitive, just to keep fit-ish, but probably no more than 2-3 times a week.
And the aforesaid groupies of course.
Went to do some cross-country mile reps at lunchtime. Well, my usual XC training course was a terrible quagmire. I've never run in such a disgusting mess. It's about a 2km lap, and of those 2km there was probably around 200m in total (not continuous) of merely very soft ground, the rest was waterlogged, feet-sinking-into-the-ground, Somme-style appallingness. Probably not ideal race preparation, because if I turn up to an XC and it looks like that, I'm getting back in the car and going home, but it's something I suppose. Needless to say, the pace was not quick.
When I got home, I appeared to be wearing some rather fetching nut-brown compression socks.
Great to see SG! I am sure you can and will race this year and run very well too, you are running well over 60MPW which isn't mucking about. I still think a shift in training would help with involving sessions and stuff.
Dachs, thankyou! Equalling my confidence in you for this year! I am really doing well staying healthy now, listening to myself, re introducing gym work and although taking a long time with sessions and fitness, I'd rather that then be injured!
PMJ - Shame about the injury but hoping you can attack that WAVA curve
Pete - Great running of that mileage! Same as AG below, you will run much faster than 1:24 with just a few more miles and some specific focus
AG - I think you can really come on with running this year and run very fast if you continue the consistency and focused on some specific stuff. It must be hard though with all the options and you don't want to feel like you're letting one go
I really think lot's of us can push onto to next level with running this year and hopefully achieve either some big PBs, high WAVA % or just those personal milestones in general!
For me, I've strung together some healthy few months of running, hitting 55ish MPW for a good few months, building miles or mainly consistency really and started sessions late October coming off the 10m PB.. Stayed pretty injury free all year since my Operation in April and really a slight PF niggle November hasn't hindered me too much and latley it's been a lot better. Otherwise pretty good
(Bus, roll and get the calfs supple, roll the foot at every opportunity, do some eccentric heel drops, get the fingers in there and really hold onto spots of pain and wiggle the toes get some release)
I am hopefully running Chichester in a few weeks so that'll be the 1st milestone and pointer for the year. I'm feeling in good shape now and have hit some good workouts. I need to race, and I'd like to sharpen up before Chichester but only the 1 parkrun is likely, I was saying to myself today if put in a 10KM my first thought would be, how do I race?
The two other "bigger" goals will be highgate night of the PBs.. I am probably driving up from Southampton (Well I'll be on the IOW to start with) but wondering if anyone else is considering this race?
So ultimately if I don't PB until then, It'll be a huge PB attempt but also combining it with trying to qualify for the world island games in Gotland 2017, with my ties from the IOW I should be in line for selection if I can run well. I will have to run 32:xx at least.
Plenty of time. On paper..
Scott, ta, although without being pedantic, it was 56miles a week average, and this last 15 weeks or so, a lot has been "exactly" 60, not well over. But take your point.
And in fairness, I dare say I could quite nicely knock out an 18.30 5k tomorrow (6min miling, top end MP zone), but when I should be knocking about sub 17, it'd not achieve anything...
Also to answer Bus, when I saw the specialist geezer, he vaguely made noises about "don't think you should be running",but that was before I had the 48hour ECG attached, and had the treadmill exercise test. I'd had the second Ecto, which apparently showed a "slightly leaking valve". After having the 2 aforementioned tests, the "technician" who was at pains to say he "wasn't a doctor", didn't say he saw anything too untoward, a few ups and downs of pulse, but who knows what I was doing at those points!
basically, I wasn't going to drop to zero running, until I get a firm "this is what's wrong, DO NOT RUN THIS IS SERIOUS" message. Obviously I'd heed my body strongly if anything was getting harder/any pain/any discomfort etc....
The "sensible" concession I have made, is not doing anything prolonged above steady (with the occasional MP every few weeks) until I have this MRI and get proper results...
If I'd just stopped, bearing in mind it's been 2months since the last tests, and still waiting even getting on the MRI list, then I'd have gone spare, and it would be mad to stop on a "yeah you probably should stop, even though we have no actual result to suggest that"
agreed? Or am I batting chollocks?
Looks good for your year coming up Scott. If I ever feeling right again, I'd love a little South coast fast race thread meet up. You're spoilt down there!
Be it Chichester "how is this a fast course with a 1/2km climb at the start, and climb later", Eastleigh with a "this feels a lot down hill" vibe, or the amazing Victory course with the small track start and end. Gosport I probably have unfinished business at too, especially with the changed course.
erm...let's calm this down...just teasing myself.
Simon, you cheeky rascal. Our only defence is that day we had a team so ravaged by injury, we had defenders who I'm probably better than playing.
Phil, I saw that physio a fair few times, and must be honest, I don't believe clicking your back is the best way to heal anything, and not suggesting any stretching. It sorts some low level stuff in the short term, but in no time the stuff that made you get to that state, will simply bring you back to that state, and you'll be back there. You need the targeted stretching to help your specific weaknesses. Not surprised clicking your back didn't fix the harder issue!
I was also slightly surprised at his "just run through it" advice with whatever I went in with...
as much as we think we want to hear that, you can feel it isn't sensible sometimes!
Get your point, but this isn't so much a "out of form, ego won't let me put a poor time on the board", if I was in that position I'd race a few random events. This is just a being cautious until the last tests and results are in.
ps 84 miles wow. I can guarantee Ric would haul me over the coals if I did that much, but I reckon you could probably do 84miles a day for months on end, and Ric would say it was fine for you
Ric, you love the running really, I remember that year you did 12miles for 321 days in a row. You love it! You wouldn't be chatting on running forums at 63 years old otherwise, like all of us (alter ages respectively)
ps Aley, hell of a sequence you have going there, 17 years without missing a day was it? Or something like that.
Wow, main question must be whathappens if you feel like poopee one day? You have to force yourself out? And how little counts as a run in a sequence? Is there a minimum? Is there a rulebook?
Ill prob do a couple of low key ones between now and then which will no doubt be hilly.
Good post that Scott.
SG - fair enough re the test. You need to push for a diagnosis ASAP though, with or without the MRI, just to get a steer on whether there is an issue or not that a race/eyeballs out effort etc would present a risk to your future health. I suspect you are anyway though!
2 x 6M easy off-road for me today. All very slow (as running through treacle is bound to be!). PF is OK (have been doing various bits to exercise it) and adductor is just about holding up, and I'm trying to get the right balance of stretching etc, but not overdoing it, so fingers crossed...
Evening!
Currently just finished day 521, SG! No real rules apart but my shortest run has been 2k. Dr. Hill's minimum is a mile, I believe. He phoned me the other day to say he had just completed 51 years. One of my previous streaks was 11+ years so a good way to go as yet. Suspect I won't catch Ron up as I would be rather a long way over a 100 even if he stopped tomorrow. Even when not feeling great you just put your kit on and run. Just another daily routine like brushing your teeth or going to the loo!
Matt: shame you Trafford 10k is a non-starter. Have been wondering whether to do it myself.
Have booked train tickets for the February Last Friday of the Month, Hyde Park.
Totally agree that miracle cures do not exist, but if you accept that most problems display symptoms and have causes then you need to fix the symptoms and address the causes and he addresses the symptoms and allows the educated user to address the causes. I now know I have ITB which I need to address via strengthening routines and I was thinking my kneecap was like a tatty beer mat at the end of a long night and needed surgery.
Yep Phil, you're right. I suppose I've always found him a little short on the addressing the causes bit, whereas others I've been to are red hot on that. I don't really like the idea of private healthcare to be honest, at least with the NHS you know you'll have what is absolutely necessary, and they'll do it for free until you don't need it no more! Just the wait is a million times longer.
feel cock a hoop today, after last week's "aim for steady see how it goes" sheepishness, today I thought sod it, i'll just aim for MP outright.
6miles, 6.02 average, across town too. I rarely did that sort of pace across town when in tip top shape, the 6s or subs came on a loop. Key to keep some sort of tempo in I think, as otherwise any return to "proper" training will feel ahorrific wakeup. One of he troubles, is that it's very hard to quantify physically whether it always felt this level of exertion or not - memory tends to have a habit of making you think it was easier in the past which may not be true!
I did some 200s the other week, just on a pavement, nice surface, but probably the most minimal slight slight incline one way.
Felt very hard work during, and I was thinking i'm definitely not in shape, but then on checking the stats, they were all over the place, from a couple of 30s, down to 34/35. On a track i'd expect consistent 32/33s. Clearly if you "overdo" a couple, you feel it later, especially on a pavement! So probably the same average as usual, or at least the same average as ever on a pavement, but badly inconsistent, as befitting someone who hasn't done flat out stuff for ages!
SG - i did 12*400 session last night. first like that for ages and target was 72 secs. thought it would be a doddle. but had to concentrate to hit 71/72s. defn feel out of sharp speed shape. but it comes back quickly enough.
i think if you can afford it , private healthcare is a must. when i had my heart issue a couple of yrs back. I went from being diagnosed with this issue, to having a top cardiologist review and then through an MRI scanner within a fortnight. And the only extra it cost me was the excess for the MRI which was a couple of hundred pounds.
SG - Hard to judge 200's sometimes. the 30 x 200 you have to aim for 35/36, but as you get a slightly increasing rest as you go, they can speed up a bit.
Yeah yeah, injuries - know the feeling..you do know we've had half a team out since virtually the start of the season
. Doubt the last match of the season will be 2-1 to us though!!
8 x 800 last night at Luton - and praise the lord..it wasn't too windy. did steadies up around the path (2.45-2.48) and efforts back down. The efforts were 2.31,2.27,2.27,2.20, - felt really sprightly too.
Got an email from Ben Pochee regarding the Highgate 10,000m, shouldn't be too many problems getting in. Just hoping there's no monsoon like in 2014...
Good sessions guys. As you say Dean, the sharpening will come back pronot and Simon, good to come out of a session like that feeling "sprightly"! That tempo looks very promising SG. Just at that pace you'd be competitive in many local 10ks....
Ten miles for me at lunch today. Only went out for 6, but felt OK, had a bit of time before my next meeting, so pushed on. Reasonable average of 7:11, given a first easy mile of 8:20. Felt much better than of late and the adductor was only mildly uncomfortable; so the zillion stretches and leg swings seem to be working! In other news, what I thought was PF has now revealed itself to be metatarsalgia, so using a foam pad to keep that one at bay...fingers crossed!
Oh, and I've got a place at Cliveden XC for Sunday, so that's good!