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Moraghan Training - Stevie G
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Went over to Bedford last night just as the missus had to go over there anyhow. With the 10k tomorrow I thought I would just do some minute efforts round on the field behind the track. As this field was locked and the bit round the track was a bit slippy I went on the track.
Did 8 x 400 but gave myself a generous 90 secs recovery. They came out at 74,71,70,68,70,68,68,65 so feel happy with that on achy legs after the half. Nice rest today, but will try and sort legs out somehow.
Keep your tinder dry Simon, and good luck for the race tomorrow. Nice reps.
Sounds like a good week Bus. It's been years since I went to the lakes and my family have never been. We will visit one day.
Every day since the op is a day closer to a run Scotty. Think positive.
Day off today and only 8km run to do. Tomorrow is the exam/practical day for my L2 coaching course so plenty of revision and paperwork today. At times I think I am doing a qualification in administration such is the workload of 'evidence' based qualifications.
10mi TT on the bike last night and a course PB by 30s on my season opener. Something is working but I don't know whether it is training or aerodynamic kit improvements
That's impressive climbing stats Bus!
SC2 - good luck with the race.
IC - good luck with the exam!
After feeling pretty good this week, I was going to have a try of this session this morning: 10 mins easy / 10 @ 6:30 / 10 @ 6:15 / 10 @ 6:00. No recoveries.
That's on an undulating loop that I run threshold reps on.
As soon as I got going, I could feel my quads were quite tired so I reined it in a bit and did 10 easy (7:30), 10 @ 6:29, 10 @ 6:10 and then jogged back. This week was always going to potentially be an easier week after 3 weeks of racing, so happy to have got the 5x 1k reps in at a decent pace and this one. Hopefully get a decent long run and a shorter run at the weekend and then back into it properly next week
Good set of training from you chaps from a quick squiz,
Iron, I'm intrigued by what training quals consist of. Its interests me a fair bit, as I'm not sure the Moz had any formal stuff, I certainly don't, yet I'd be infinitely more sure one of us would improve a newbie than a lot of the people I've seen talking about "level 1" and "level 2" running stuff before. May well be different with your stuff, as you actually have a history of proper training too.
As for me, had a week off, and as always found those runs harder to do. Most likely because I try and go from lounging around to out at short notice, and that was never good in the PBP (pre breathing problems) days, let alone now.
Got a 3.5m MP run off at 6.02 pace. Was aiming for 4miles, but ran round a bend, and it was windy as heck, and I thought the effort to maintain pace would be ridiculous versus the benefit of doing so.
Back to work for a day today, 6&4 came off a lot easier. At work I'm occupied, so barely remember about the breathing at my desk. Sitting here writing now, it's a little laboured again. Bizarre.
Tuesday's the next heart specialist thing, so we'll see if we get anywhere nearer.
Needless to say I'd like to get back to having a reason for all this training again, regain some identity, and become a "face" on the local scene again. All feels a bit hollow at the moment.
Dachs made me laugh though, moaning about only being able to do a 1.15 half at Reading on Sunday. I did force myself not to pen something acerbic. Something along the lines of moaning about what's in your sandwiches when someone next to you is starving, but I thought better of it, and instead will say I've been 3rd last "elite" man at Reading in 1.17.03...(heck knows what the two behind me were doing blagging into that area!), so a 1.15 will probably have a fair few behind you.
have to do my "Long" run tomorrow if any of the racing cru are around?
ps 6 years anniversary of the thread (well 2 days ago)
thanks for all your contributions all.
6 years....just about still standing...
pps Scotty, I hope your arsehole is less of pain soon.
Good luck tomorrow Simon. Nice 400s too!
Well done on the TT course PB Iron! Good luck tomorrow.
CC - that was always going to be a tough session, so a good recovery on tired legs...
SG - know what you mean about finding it hard to train when out of the routine. Happy thread anniversary too
Back home today - boo hoo! Quick (actually slow!) 3.5M run before packing and the long drive back today (nor prizes for guessing it was all hills!). Day off tomorrow...
Anyway....the 10k today. Not ideal having to get up at 5.30am but the conditions were ok, albeit a bit breezy. The course was 3 laps and each lap was up, down, up, down, up between the stadium and the aquatics centre (basically up and down the river. There were a few undulations too and they add up, plus one stretch was gravelly too. Basically felt a bit achy on the first lap, second lap better and dug in on the 3rd to win the little group of three I was in most of the 3rd lap. Ended up with 34.10 I think which is OK I suppose. Stamina not too bad, and track speed ok at the mo, but the crossover at 10k type distances needs some work, need 90 secs off before the night of the 10,000m at Highgate.
Considering where you are in your training that's a decent race simon...
cc...and a good race the other day.
agree about the honesty and self awareness. I mean where do you draw the line...if i or Dachs ran 1.20, a time the majority of the country would be happy with should we expect a round of applause? Or say wtf went wrong there?
I have always had direct praise or criticism pretty much since I was u10 football...honest appraisal is the quickest way to improve. i have had coaches be critical of my weight and I responded by losing weight. Didn't offend me as they want the best for me.
Happy with that Simon? I'm sure you'll get there, you never seem scared of hard work.
Coaching levels are now aligned across all sports SG. Level1 is an assistant or session coach - can't write plans and can only deliver pre-written plans under supervision. Can give 1 session out of every 4 unsupervised. Very limited in terms of coaching numbers. 2 days of classroom/practical time, 5-10hrs home study and then an exam & practical on day3.
Level 2 is more middle management - can coach unsupervised, write macro-plans and day to day session plans. L2 is GCSE level and we went in to some depth with nutrition and sports science (at least for this engineer it was deep).
4 days of classroom/practical time. 40-60 hours of home study and coaching practicals, planning and write-up.Day#5 is exam and practical and review.
At this point there is still no ability to coach 1 on 1. That needs a L3 to have NGB insurance cover.
It's a huge weight off my mind now, pending exam result...
I'd say the process has helped my understanding of me as an athlete as well as the obvious coaching gains. As a competitor my existing knowledge helps when it comes to laws & rules and how the coaching fits in to the big picture.
Good session Dean via Strava
Decent running around by Bus decent elevations gained
Hope the result is good IC, seems a lot of work!
SG, you'll get there with racing, and you'll have a huge base to work with. I do not rule out a wealth of PBs i am certain m
CC - I can er up early to run no problem but sessions early! No thanks! Nice one!
For me suffering more problems, in hospital yesterday suffering an anal rupture, was left bleeding heavily after going to the toilet so spent all morning a good 5 hours in hospital after rushing up there with Dad. Stemmed and built up from pain progressing Wednesday into Thursday getting worse and worse then Friday I pop, over coming me leaving me not able to do anything at all and I was on the floor with the pain
I have been told to expect some permanent negative reactions from the operation now on sight from the doctor yesterday, however she was optimistic as she of course didn't know what state I was in pre op and the rupture could be the fissure I had before, she cannot tell if it was the exsisting one or new one. Part of the op was to stop any bleeding so it's a bit of a disappointment. Today I was bleeding going to the toilet but not as much. Pain much less too. A PR rectal scan and examination due Monday now which I was going to see surgeon anyway because I'm having this problem pain after going to the toilet
I was tested again for infection and still present, been given two more antibiotics one of which is disgustingly strong and had me in bed all day today with massive sickness, headaches, face ache really..
The swelling is still very prominent and I have some prolapsing which is uncomfortable. That can and hopefully will sort itself out, however on discussion with the doctor as I said I have to be prepared it won't go away. One of the risks with the op I signed up for I guess
Not counting when I think I'll be getting back to running, 5 weeks pretty much now
Not even like I can do any other exercise to help either
My body hates itself
Bloody hell Scott!
Scott. Cripes! You are going through some serious issues at the moment...keep the faith you will be back and all the best getting through this.
Heck Scott that is some intense stuff. This is the bit where some guys on a forum writing "hope it sorts itself out", feels so pathetically useless, but as far as those words can do it justice, I'm sure it's sentiments we all share for you on here.
You have to believe you're in good hands, and although it might take a frustrating long time, you'll be back to better days at some stage. I suppose the trick is to realise when these "better days" are, and enjoy them at that time!
And Dean/Simon, of course we jest with Dachs. And I'm sure he appreciates us keeping it a little lighter, as I thought I was an intense bastad, but he makes me feel like Jimmy Casual these days in all areas. I hope Reading's half can be a satisfying one for the lad tomorrow - good luck son.
Things are all about balance they tell me. (One day I'll apply some). But even in this frustrating period, I can still cruise a 13 out nicely under 7min miling (like today!) So hopefully I'm not finished just yet. Saw a local pal Gaz on the run, which is very rare, as I very rarely do the long run on a Sat anyway, and generally not at a time that'd clash with his runs. Was good to run with someone for a bit, even for just a mile and a half. I can chat, but he chatted me under the table! I'm pretty certain he didn't take in a word of my current tribulations, and probably a good thing, as going over all that again is old news. That or he's so confident for me getting back soon he thought it didn't need more than a "right".
Iron, hopefully the "Man" doesn't come and stop me running a little training class shortly, for some of the girls at work then!
The group will be a fair mix, from 10min milers who have completed marathons, 9min milers, who run casually, to some gym bunnies, to those who probably haven't run for years. So the challenge is to pick a good flow of drills to keep everyone involved, not get anyone too dispirited, and most of all knacker anyone!
Simon, good little race under your belt there, sounds a horrible early start, and an awkward course. Very respectable time in the circumstances, albeit it clearly a notch down from what your norm is! However, you still came through your group well, so made it a race rather than a time trial, so can be happy with that!
I think I miss that situation in a race. You bed yourself in, and tick some miles off, then there's always that one distinct time you know for certain it's on, between you and one or more others.
I can remember summers where I'd have one real rival, and you'd turn up thinking, "bloody hell it's this guy again", but you think, i'll get off sharp, and it might not pan out like usual. And most likely you'd get off fast, they'd catch you up, and it'd be a real 50-50 for the rest of the race, depending on who fancied it slightly more that day.
Jeez Scoot - you poor bugger. Thoughts with you for as speedy a recovery as possible. Dark days now, but it'll all be forgotten when you are back running and breaking PBs again. It'll come.
Scott, that sounds horrific, you've got a lot on your plate there, hope it gets better soon.
I was going to come on here moaning about how ill I have been the last 10 days but maybe I shouldn't. I have been ill though. Virus has had me bed ridden with sweats, migraines and a horrid cough. I managed a few miles today but my HR is still pretty high for the pace.
Reading HM tomorrow and I plan to just cruise around in the 1:25-1:30 range but even that may be too much at the moment.
Nice 10k Simon. Well done on the TT Iron. I hope to get out there post Marathon, need to purchase some wheels and I am all set.
I find Scott's up beat manner in the face of adversity quite humbling. Really, he deserves a break from all this sort of thing.
I'm not sure if I could have coped myself, I sure wouldn't be running under the circumstances.
Where upon I come to someone who shouldn't be running under the current circumstances, and to add quote..
I've been ill for a week now so not done much running. Managed to get out the last three days with an easy 22 today along the Thames today. Some atrocious weather was endured.
And today...
I was going to come on here moaning about how ill I have been the last 10 days but maybe I shouldn't. I have been ill though. Virus has had me bed ridden with sweats, migraines and a horrid cough. I managed a few miles today but my HR is still pretty high for the pace.
Reading HM tomorrow and I plan to just cruise around in the 1:25-1:30 range but even that may be too much at the moment.
Well I'm all for people choosing the time and place of their death, but I'd rather not hear about them planning the process without me suggesting that maybe they shouldn't.
Andrew. Stop running. Now!
🙂
I'm sure I'm still heading in the right direction despite this setback. I've been looked after very well by the NHS and when I've called the helplines gone upto AnE etc I'm always straight in no bother, of course the nature of what's going on might warrant it but I feel like I've been looked after.
Hoping tomorrow is good news, in a sense that the rupture is from the exsisting fissure I had not anything new. I feel much better today with no real headache / side effects from the tablets. Yet to go to the toilet but I usually have much better results pain wise in the afternoon when I go so that's a bit of a god send
Ha AG moan all you want I won't care
SG - noice 13 miler for sure!
Good luck to everyone running / racing HM today. I'm sure we will hear Dachs running 75:xx quicker than most of us in good shape and he'll be disappointed
Good advice, Ric. In the end I decided to run it. The heart rate is still very high so I ran to it and kept it out of the danger zone.
Pace came out at MP (1:22:15) so at least it was sort of a marathon specific workout. The effort level was a bit higher though, due to the illness.
At least you survived AG! Can be very dangerous running hard with a virus, but I guess using a heart rate monitor at least helps mitigate the risk. Respectable enough time as well.
Another nice paced long run SG....
LSR for me today. The week's hills took their toll and the second half was a bit messy and very sluggish Still, 14.4M and 1800ft done to make an OCD pleasing tad over 40M and 11,000ft for the week. I always compare this years runs and total to previous years. Slightly disappointingly the 11,000 ft still didn't beat last year's total of 11,700 l!!!
Where's Dachs?
Andrew, you're fortunate if nothing untoward manifests itself from your exertions, but well done on a decent time off the sick bed.
The willingness of those on the thread to run through illness has me thinking as to why I'm personally reluctant to. The reason is simple, I'm just not used to feeling anything but good all the time. I've been lucky to the extent I can list all sickness and illness since 1975, where I had the craps after drinking from a river.
This is: Flu + infection (2 weeks in 1989), dodgy food (1 day in 2000) and maybe a mild cold/sore throat once every couple of years.
That's it.
I've been hospitalised for operations and examinations/procedures on a number of occasions which is something the medics tell me is required. I take their word for it since I've never actually felt ill.
I imagine growing up playing around muck and filth had some effect.
🙂
Morning all
So the plan yesterday was to do the half marathon as the last bit of a 20 miler. This involved a complex logistical operation. Firstly, it meant doing the kids race, the Green Park Challenge, with my youngest (who had a storming race, 4 minutes quicker than last year!). This started an hour and a half before the half marathon.
Then it meant jogging around for another 5-ish miles in the intervening time leading up to the start, and then do the race. I was a little worried about being the last of the ‘elite’ numbers, but didn’t really have a choice to downgrade to yellow start, because the approach of keeping running right up until the start meant I needed the luxury of being able to walk straight into the pen right before the gun.
In the end, the start was delayed by 15 minutes. This meant that, even though it was slow and I’d only covered just over 7 miles, I’d essentially been running around on and off for around 1h 40 mins by the time the race started. Didn’t realise how much I’d pay for that later.
Set off about 1:15 pace, and felt comfortable for the first couple of miles, but the hill at 3 miles pushed me down to a much slower average. The fourth mile of about 5:34 got me back on track for a low 1:15, but I could feel the effort was greater than it should be, so didn’t push on from there. Got to 10K feeling OK, but from there it was all a bit of a struggle, and I had clubmates coming past I really didn’t want to lose to even if it wasn’t a full on race.
Second half of the race was a bit of a mess. A brief second wind at about 10 miles meant upping the tempo, but it didn’t last long, killed by the breeze coming down the dual carriageway, and I struggled home in 1:16:32.
As a training run, that’s fine. As I say, I think I paid for (a) the sheer amount of time I was jogging about for beforehand – a total time of about 2h 55m from when I first started running to when I finished the race – and (b) this being the end of a 100 mile (ish) week. A 1:15 was probably overly ambitious in those circumstances. I mean, I don’t like finishing where I did, and I was a bit embarrassed about being the only male around me with my name on my chest, but it is approximate marathon pace, so it’s not a disaster.
However, the hip was sore again afterwards, so that’s something I need to keep my eye on.
That brought me up to 98 miles for the week. However, my legs were pretty done, so I’m afraid being sensible won out over the OCD approach of an evening 2 mile jog, which would have just been stupid.
Taking stock, I think a 2:33 marathon is too ambitious. I think I’m looking at a top-end of 2:35. Kind of tempted to aim even lower, for a round 6 minute miles and 2:37.
All in all a nice run given the circumstances, didn't realise the start was delayed! I think you can come away happy with that, didn't know it was the end of a 100miler week which puts what you were saying in the last post in better light. I think 2:37 is too slow.. 2:33-2:35 reasonable then if you fair, maybe you don't want to bust hitting 2:30 but I bet you'd run close to 2:37 next weekend solo if you had too
Anal examination at 4pm. Looking forward to the rummage
That's a good training run, Dachs. I did a couple of miles beforehand and found I got down there too early. I was about to run off and do another 4-5 miles when I bumped into some clubmates and it never happened, thankfully.
I'd actually been running with some guy the whole way which was unusual as I ran a negative split. He knew who I was when I came onto his shoulder in the stadium and we had a great sprint finish. To be fair to him he forced me up a few gears but if there's one thing I know, it's that I can outkick most people in a sprint. Normally I am against sprint finishes in a half marathon, unless there's a meaningful reason but I couldn't resist it yesterday.
The best bit is turning around afterwards for the obligatory handshake.
I usually preface my race reports by responding to everyone else, but there seemed a clamour for mine, so did it t’other way round this time.
Firstly, Scott, really sorry to hear about your issues, it is incredibly unjust that you’ve had another setback, but your optimism and philosophical approach to it is a great example to us all. We all know how badly I react to even the slightest issue, so in your shoes I wouldn’t be coping nearly as well. Hardly surprising you have the odd low moment, but things will improve and you will reap the rewards from your patience.
I do have to say that your posts should probably come with some kind of 18-rating though, they do conjure up some exceedingly graphic mental images.
SG, good luck with the specialist tomorrow. You must have a bigger base than the Rebel Alliance these days, so hopefully you get the chance to use it soon.
Simon, well raced. Track season is coming round again, so hold tight and times more in line with your ability will flow again soon enough.
AG, good run in the circumstances. I bet the Bus is delighted that you’ve shown up to take some of the heat off him for running injured or ill. I like to imagine Ric sitting there in front of his screen clutching his head in exasperation whenever he reads a post by either of the two of you. Or maybe by me as well.
About a quarter of all my half marathons were run after being ill, with wildly different results. The first time, I ran a 10 minute PB. The second time, I definitely shouldn’t have run, and ended up walking four times in a hot, hilly race (still broke 1:20 and came 3rd though…
). More bad experiences than good, so I’ve resolved not to run halfs after being ill any more, but I guess it’s a bit different when it’s a sub-maximal effort.
Good coaching work Iron, hope to see you let loose on some guinea pigs soon.
Dean, agree with those comments. If I was the kind of bloke who was easily satisfied with my performances, I’d still be running 40 minutes for 10K. I need to kick myself up the arse (a rare non-Scott arse reference there) to push myself on, and am more than happy to have others tell me I was crap if I was crap. Having said that, I’m also happy to have some excuses suggested that I hadn’t thought of yet.
Scott, by the way, I love your confidence in me, but 2:29:xx is definitely not happening.
nice training races AG and Dachs.
Dachs - i think i would be tempted with 2.35 and accept a slide to 2.37 during the race if it wasnt my day. if you start out at 2.37 its difficult to accelerate up 2 mins in the 2nd half of the race. mind you i know little about marathons and was cursing how long i was out on sundays long run (it was only an hour!)
Hello. I've not had much to contribute recently (except immense sympathy for Scott - hope things improve soon!), but I am just popping in to say I agree with Dean, Dachs. Indeed, that is what I did last year at London, but with 2:50 and 2:52. Early training had been going well and I'd thought I might have a shot at 2:50, but then I started feeling less healthy generally, my training was suddenly shit and so were most of my tune-up races. Two weeks before I told my then-future coach that I thought I would run 2:52. Just so as not to have any regrets, I decided to set out at 2:50 pace anyway, faded in the second half and finished in exactly 2:52. Which is what I was expecting: I reckon pacing for two minutes faster than you think you can manage is just within the boundaries of 'optimistic' rather than 'suicidal' and you can still hang on. You just have to be honest with yourself about the fact that the slower time is still the real (& realistic) target and promise yourself you will not be pissed off when that's what you run.