Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
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
Good result Pete. I spoke to a few others today and the general feedback seemed to be that they did not enjoy Tadley.
Pete - fair enough, he ran very well, he should be pleased with it.
I think on another day I'd have quite liked that course, it was firm going for a lot of it, and I don't usually have an issue with hills, in fact I'm usually quite good at them. Never mind.
Nice racing by Dachs and IC.. I like your mindset Dachs - but think another race, another time!
RobT - Good "race"
Andrew - Could have been a lot worse though aswell, wouldn't have taken much to fall back and hit your head on a curb or something ridiculous. My wrist is still hurting from Tuesday's incident so I expect a cast tomorrow now!
SG - Time sure does fly! Last raced in August and feels like an age away! Itchy feet especially with Ryde 10m in 2 weeks times and I will be on the IOW then too.. However just don't think I could pull it off with that my longest run has been less than 8m since September and I only ran more than 5m 3 times from September too sp my aerobic base is pretty poor! Jesus that time went fast!!
This month has been better though and just aiming to build slowly and get a consistent amount of running in despite being small mileage (all relative).. I am sure it'll pay off later in the year and my flurry of races will comes - So your's will too..
Johnas - Mighty impressive long run there, an hour at mid 6s is bloody strong!!!!
CC8s - Equally solid run in the conditions up that part of the world!
6 @6:55s for me today with first half being uphill basically. Possibly plan a "full" parkrun effort at either RVCP or Southampton Saturday as I start to think about introducing some quality in around 2-3 weeks time and maybe 3 x1m tomorrow again as introduction.. Building miles in between though..
Just seen the TVXC results - and the reappearance of one Frankie F.
Some good racing in the xc, Dachs, you'll be fine in the intercounties! Hoping we don't have too much rain this week so Brighton isn't too muddy. Big weekend coming up, southern's at Brighton Saturday and Bournemouth at villa in the cup on Sunday! Not going to help the training as per usual..
Bus- no need to tell me about Ian Kimpton..I follow him about at training, usually well behind though! Nice guy too.
I then decided to run course by myself to see how bad it was so off I set in a pair if leggings, 2 tops and normal trainers
2 mile in sharp bend and ice was treacherous and then the realisation that the right decision had been made by that corner alone!
Ran around in just under 82 mins so good workout but very disappointed !!
IC Yes it was
Shame about the HM not going ahead Rob, but ice can be a real pain on the road. Good run despite that.
Had a race yesterday myself, which ‘did’ go ahead. At least I think it was a race, at times it was closer to farce.
The Bath Skyline 10k, no less. Not something I’d travel for, but since I was down that way to deliver supplies to the lad at Uni, I decided to take it in. Obviously I haven’t raced for a while so at worst I could treat it as a strong training run.
The race was part of a series which; by the time I joined, made me a kind of late entry.
Now normally a start position for me is fairly clear, I start near or on the front. However, due to the vast numbers in these races (100’s) the runners are allocated ‘waves’ in order to spread the field out. There were seven waves of 125 runners, spaced at 5 minute intervals and I had the handy position of being in wave 5! That’s the penalty of being a late entry. To be fair, after having a grizzle about the venue changing within a week of the start, I was offered a chance of wave 1 or 2, but decided in the spirit of the occasion to stay put. Surely it wouldn’t make much difference? That may have been a mistake.
After being dropped off at Bath racecourse, I went through the usual preamble pre race and acknowledged I hadn’t put in even as much as a tempo effort for a long time (10 weeks) so this would be a bit of a blow out, or a blow up!
Watched the first four waves set off and didn’t get the impression anyone was flying, so that was something.
When I set off, it was soon clear I wasn’t exactly flying either; but no matter, more than most, so in no time I was in 4th place, in my wave that is.
First mile on grass with some twists and turns came up in 6:19, and I’d already started running into the back of the previous wave. Good grief! They’d had a 5 minute head start. It was a sign of things to come.
At a mile and a quarter, I came to the edge of a hill. It went straight down, over 300 feet in about a third of a mile; I thought of members of the Fell Runners Association at this point. Anyway, I negotiated that part ok, but down at the bottom I could see a big problem; a large number of people, all queuing up to get over a stile.
Now I’m not normally like this, but I’d already imagined what I’d do if faced with this problem, so while the guys ahead of me; at least the one I could see, joined the pack. I simply shot through a gap down the side and pushed in. I was over and away so fast I can only describe it as pulling a stroke. Just as well I did get away fast, because what comes down goes up. A climb of 200 feet in only 400 yards, all mud and rocks and people, there’s masses of them. But like them, I was forced to walk, I wasn’t fit enough to run all the way up. Little did I know what lay ahead was even worse.
The second mile was 9:03 and after another gut buster climb or two, the third was a 9:54! It wasn’t all hills though. During this phase the runners were sent down a long path with a turn around at the bottom. I was reliably informed that the first runners down had reasonable conditions to run on, but by the time I arrived it had turned into mud soup and puddles the whole way. Added to this the problem of getting past the masses I was surprised to average under 9 min miles.
It was a dodgy phase and at least one runner (a very loose description) was pushed over, for the simple reason the path was just too narrow to allow plodders to slowly march along blocking the way. All I can say was it wasn’t me that did it.
Halfway and the watch says 26 minutes. 26 minutes! ‘struth, and it’s ‘still only halfway!
🙂
Top of the hill and ice everywhere. My legs are cold from the water and heavy from all the mud picked up, it’s quite difficult to get going. The fact that I’ve blown a gasket a couple of times too didn’t help the freshness rating.
A couple of other runners are now holding pace with me. It takes a while to work it out, but they must have been from my ‘wave’ start. Basically by this time, a runner that could catch me from wave 6 would have sprinted by, or if from wave 1, 2, 3 or 4, I would be sprinting (relatively) past them. I sprinted relatively past a lot.
At around 4 miles things became really tricky. We were all sent down into some woods down a path which was made up of over 100 wooden edged steps. It was treacherous. People were sliding around in the mud and generally blocking the way. Once again I had to bypass the masses. Thanks to the shoes I had on, this wasn’t too much of a problem as I hopped on and off the steps but there was never a clear space where I could ‘let go’, always someone I could knock flying if I tried.
On this descent I dropped one of the runners I was with and never saw him again. The other runner went by like he didn’t fear death so I let him go. It made no difference since every time he blew up, I caught him.
Once again it was going up time. It was a low point of sorts. Impossible to run, too steep, muddy and populated, I simply had to wait my chances. It took over 6 minutes to do half a mile. Doesn’t seem possible, but even with the ‘Fellcross’s on, there wasn’t the grip. Big studs are ok but being rubber they still slip. They also weighed about 1 kg apiece by now to add weight to the effort, which was considerable.
Out of the ravine my pace returned to sub seven min miles, which considering the mud attached wasn’t too bad. The 5th mile had taken me 11:17.
I was pretty tested by now so wasn’t overtaking as fast as before. Then again, I reckon I’d caught the vast majority of those ahead of me, even the ones with the twenty minute head start.
Finish time was a stunning 54:07. What a way to get racing again. By far and away the toughest course I’ve ever been on.
Sobering to discover the winner had broken 45 minutes. Wave ‘one’ of course so I’ll let him off.
No official results yet either. Too many runners had fallen over and ‘mudded out’ their race numbers, further complicated by the fact that a 5k loop was being held at the same time.
I’m curious to know how many other runners I passed during this event. Not sure if I’m curious enough to do it again. If I do, it’ll be ‘wave one’ and the full 15mm spikes.
Despite the ordeal, I was able to run around afterwards, fresh as you like. I’ve only had a handful of races like that. I suspect that DOMS may be lurking.
🙂
Rob, shame about the half, but it sounds like a pretty sensible decision. Pulling out an 82 on your own in those kind of conditions is pretty impressive, guess you must have been well and truly psyched up for it. I'd have gone home.
Ric, definitely my favourite of your race reports. A true epic. Sounds an absolute nightmare, battling against the elements and getting past other runners. The differences in your mile splits are hilarious. Since I come from near Bath and am often down that way, I'm glad I read your report so I know never to go anywhere near it.
Rob, what Dachs said!
Ric F, by sheer length, i can tell that's an epic, will catch up on it later when not on a minimised screen!
about as cold as it gets today, since i've been back from the ill spell i've noticed the hamstrings seem to have tightened back up a bit. Combo of the two made for a less than terrific 4miler, but sub 7, can still run quite comfortably, so can't really moan!
16 for me first thing this morning. Cut-back week but need to front load it so I can do the same next week (20 mile long run in a week of 55) and then try and structure some sort of mini-taper ahead of Wokingham Half.
OMG Ric, that race sounds absolutely shocking.
Nice report Ric, actually sounds like a good race, if you're in wave 1, kind of thing I enjoy. Simon three comfort breaks, I only go that much on a night out. Impressive HM RT, that would be a PB for me
. SG I can feel this building towards something, have you got a Spring race lined up?
Looks like a lot of us (maybe not me) are doing Wokingham?
Physio went well this morning, some thickness to the tendon, but its not too bad. The ankle is stiff, probably from years of football injuries. I can run if there's no pain but if I do the right things she reckons it should be ok in a couple of weeks. Eccentric loading is on the menu for rehab but with some specificity; I need to place my foot in a certain way, as I have some tightness on the inside. This goes to show the benefits of seeing a professional. Otherwise foam roller and bent leg calf stretches.
Managed two miles just now. The ankle started talking to me around halfway but not painful. Will try again, maybe Wednesday. I hope to build it up in time to maybe run Wokingham as a tempo and sneak a PB. Leave the all out for Reading.
Yes Andrew we'll have to do a Reading roll call soon! Yes Ric, great report but that race sounds like a nightmare! do enough cross countries to do all that sort of stuff. Just the easy to and from work 12 today..
Friend on Twitter is signed up to do the 'Runordye' 5k. She had a shock when I told her it's likely to be £30. She said in colourful language that she can do a Parkrun and get someone to throw some coloured paint at her! Funny how their website doesn't actually say how much the race costs..surely that recognising it's a rip off?
did the ill week, and the continued moans about tight hamstrings give it away?
Hope your comeback carries on. At least it sounds like it's something that'll be 100% better soon. It's those niggles that don't stop much but drag on for months that do my head in
Glad to here Andrew - slowly slowly though....
Rob - what a pain! Always annoying when the decision means a lot of hanging around , but always difficult for the RO.
Impressive last 5 that Simon!
Solid start to the week that Philip!
Ric - sounds like an absolute epic!!
Bloody foot - was super sore as soon as I put a shoe on to cycle to work this morning! Rest day today, but I'll be super pissed-off if such a silly injury stops me running tomorrow! Currently it's padded out with a scrunched up plastic bag inside my sock which means I can actually wear a shoe at work!
great stuff Ric...i think that race is my idea of hell
rob - unlucky as i fancied you might take the v50 course record or got very close to it. fancy wilmslow?
Dean, Andy Green and I had talked about the course record being on!! C'est la vie.
Wilmslow bad weekend for me going to watch Eng v France Rugby and staying over for a few beers!!
Great race report RicF sounds an epic!
Thanks for the comments everyone. Particularly like the word 'epic' being used.
I actually typed most of the report on 'word' between 2 and 4am this morning, edited it later and gasped at the length of it.
It's about time I fielded more than three lines about a race. All you guys seem to manage it.
No results until tomorrow evening. I would be surprised not be first V50. I'll brace myself for the shock if I'm not.
And DOMS is here
.
🙂
i'll be all over it later Ric. My main skill is being able to create a monster report however a race has gone...good to see others following suit
Ric - that race sounds like a nightmare! In a fun kind of way... All good training I'm sure.
3.8 miles @ 7:55 pace for me today.
Legs are feeling in good nick after the long run yesterday.
Heard that the Cabbage Patch 10 is being moved due to the rugby world cup., so the normal Sunday and the one after are days when matches are at Twickenham, so is put back 2 weeks until Nov 1.
finally had a chance to savour the report Ric, enjoyed that, more than most race reports.
I enjoyed how the knackeration was playing havoc with your normal good manners, and ideas of monstering people over came to play, but of course resisted
Sounds like the worst bits of some of the horrible offroad steep courses I've done, but more prolonged.
Nice choice of comeback race!
Or is there a difference between 'to monster' and 'to monster over'?
Thanks SG.
You'll have fun analysing the results of this race which are now in. Not yet on PO10, you'll find as I did that a 27 minute parkrun merchant somehow managed to take nearly six minutes out of me on that course. I think not. That goes for the 60 year old too
.
Officially 29th from 716 placers which includes several dodgy wave adjusted times, including a guy who apparently won in 39 minutes.
. Nooo way!
The organiser is hoping that anyone who knows they started in the wrong place owns up. I suspect that some simply cut 5k off the course and ran home crying.
🙂
the wave format surely means no one in any wave can be certain that they've actually won, even though in theory it was seeded (although the likes of you being in such a low wave showed that wasn't foolproof)
Did chuckle at the "27 min parkrun merchant". Doesn't get much more scathing!
Dachs, you can be monstered, monster someone, or monster people over.
These are all cromulent vernacular.