Sunday 23rd November 2008

Thanks for the good luck,

Good luck IM.

 what - Boscombe 10k
why - it's the final countdown

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Comments

  • Morning All

    IM: Go girl

    Hilly; Ditto

    SSING: welcome, who were you in 2005 / 2006?

    What: 3-4miles recovery in a moment
    Why: Legs are toast
    Last Hard: yesterday
    Last rest: 14 days.

  • mavamava ✭✭✭

    morning all.

    good lucks again to IM and Hilly 

    Welcome SSING

    I'm waiting to see what the weather is going to do here today.  It's snowing right now and there's snow on the ground.  It's a bit hilly round here to run on icy roads and pavements (scotty broke a finger in february attempting it).  

    Feeling rather grotty too - I think I've just had more sleep in 2 nights than my body is used to and now I feel groggy.

    So I'll be back a bit later to report on the what and why...

  • Good luck racers

    Welcome SSING

    Recovery day today - so light gym + stretch + swim + sports massage later.

  • mavamava ✭✭✭

    hello again

    OK, so I can post:

    What: 3.3 miles in the snow d&d
    Why: why not
    Last hard: yesterday?
    Last rest: 14 days

    The snow on the pavement forced me to take it very slowly today which was a good thing so I ran easy for a change.   I'm particularly pleased that the first uphill mile is getting faster/feeling easier depending on how I choose to approach it.

    Have a good day everyone. 

  • RFJRFJ ✭✭✭

    Greetings all,

    all the best to racers today

    Welcome SSing

    What - 9m (the 1st 4m with Jnr)
    Why - Base
    Last Hard - Getting out the door
    Last Rest - most the week (30.5m for the week - cut backs.......)

    Feel much better today and was great to run with Jnr even if the weather was terrible, wet and cold here in North Hmapshire......

    Take care

  • Snow???????????????  A balmy 28C in Dubai today.

    3-4 miles morphed into 7! Cos I realised that anything in excess of 5.5 was going to take me past the 100 miles in 14 days since I started the comeback. Being the anorak I am it had to be done!

  • TRTR ✭✭✭
    Go racers go

    Daley moment here today. Just over 2 hours of cyling in the cold and pissing rain, sat on a cold wet nappy. I usually see 10s of other cyclists on those roads on a Sunday - I only saw one other grinning fool today.
    Spent the first 30 mins wishing I wasnt there and the last 30 loving it. I knew my feet were still there cos the pedals were still going round, but changing gear started to become a problem.

    Just made a puddle in the kitchen !

    U12s footie later and then U13s and U9s Cricket nets.
  • Morning..

    Good luck Hilly and IM..and anyone else racing..

    Welcome SSING..you should have started todays thread posting at that time...looking forward to following your training..impressive targets..

    What: 14 wet , undulating, windy miserable miles..glad its over and done with..

    Why: LSR

    Last hard:..that was

    last rest : 12 days 

  • Lyrics - no
    Training - yes, 11 miles at 7.44s, ran out to Milford along the A6 and back, gently rolling - a couple of gentle  hills - gives me a bit of confidence that 1.40 should be doable at the Turkey Trotbut 1.35 might be a step too far.   Slowest half I've run (save one I ran with my partner) is about 1.36/7ish so I'll see if I can finish inside that.   I'm carrying a stone more than ideal racing weight but unlike when I first took up running the weight doesn't just seem to drop off now.

    Beautiful crisp cold morning here - well once it had stopped sleeting it was. 

    Off to see who SSing is

  • Afternoon

    Welcome SSing. I recognise the name from somewhere

    Hilly - Hope all went well today was thinking of you while in my race in my efforts getting up one of the hills

    What: 7.2k approx XC league race
    Why: Its for the team
    Last Hard: *laughs* today

    Back from my first Cross country race in quite a few years, it had snowed early this morning and there was still some about once the race started 2 twisty laps with some steep inclines and some steep declines muddy in places slippy in others. I was fighting most of the way with 2 lady thrift green trotters one  disappeared and it was a mad tussle to the end. Finished 44th lady. sounds impressive eh! Finished in 38:47 course was about 7.2km (according to the permit). We won of course. We won the last outing so things looking good as a team. Next one is Dec 14th

    Alas no HR stats as HRM had worked its way loose and no tme to fix it at the start but i worked hard couldn't talk at the finish. So just nodded head when team mate asked me a few questions

  • Good luck Hilly and IM..and anyone else racing..

    What : Still trying to decide.

  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭

    Well done Pammie on the xc.  If the weather was anything like it was here, wet and windy, then I bet the ground was a right mush.

    I didn't end up racing for the DRRL title as my rival didn't turn up, so I was able to run round knowing that I'd won.  I tried to race hard, but have to admit to losing a bit of drive in places.  It was cold, wet and windy and not at all enjoyable, but job done.  3rd lady finisher so nice M&S voucher and bottle of red wine.

    Finish time was 40:29 - not a fast course

  • Afternoon,

    Hilly - congratulations on the title!!!

    Race report: Swindon 10k

    It's about 20 mins drive for me to the start in Wroughton.  About 15 mins into that journey, the clouds closed in and the heavens opened.  I felt really sorry for the car park attendants stood in the freezing rain.  However - "car park attendants" is always a good sign on the organisation front, especially ones who are prepared to stand out in that kind of weather.

    Parked and looked out at the rain.  "Hang on - there's some blue sky over there - which way is the weather travelling?  Looks promising - think I'll sit here for 10 minutes".  Rain duly stopped (just at the time when the car park attendants could start to think about going inside!!), so I trekked over to race HQ.  Quietly busy here - short queue for online entrants to pick up their numbers, but efficiently done.  By the time I got outside, it was sunny!

    Bit of a warm up, weather improving all the time.  On the start line at 1055 for an 1100 start.  Crikey - for a first running of a local event, there's hundreds of us!  I see people with numbers up to 450, maybe beyond - I was expecting maybe 200.

    And we're off.  Bit crowded at the start and they didn't line us up in any kind of pace order (which is my only, very minor, criticism of the whole organisation).  So, I spent the first km picking my way round slower people.  I am now a confirmed fan of the "no MP3 players at races" idea - the number of times I got cut up by people with earphones suddenly changing direction when I was coming up behind them was crazy.

    Splits as follows - these are off my Garmin.  I got to the 1km marker on the course in 4.09, but there's no way I ran that quickly with the crowds.  I'm pretty sure this km was short and my Garmin registered the whole thing as 9.95km.  However, for reasons that will become apparent, I'm blaming that on the Garmin, not on the course!

    1km - 4.28 - flat start, feeling stronger than normal at the start
    2km - 4.21 - out of the crowds and settling in
    3km - 4.26 - this is feeling ok, actually
    4km - 4.36 - we turned a corner here and ran into the wind and slightly uphill
    5km - 4.39 - held up a bit here when the road narrowed and I caught some slower runners at just the wrong time
    6km - 4.26 - basically the same road as the 2nd km - seriously thinking about a PB by now
    7km - 4.29 - repeat of 3rd km and only slightly slower - PB looking a strong possibility
    8km - 4.45 - repeat of 4th km - again, into the wind and slightly uphill - struggling, but I think the PB is in the bag
    9km - 4.43 - repeat of 5th km, still only a little bit slower!
    10km- 4.22 - this was only 0.95km on my watch, however...

    ...that makes for a total time of 45.20.  Given that my PB before today was 46.18, that's got to be a very satisfactory morning's work.

    Nice touch at the end with jaffa cakes and jelly babies on offer by the finish line.

    Race HQ was inside Swindon Karting - it was thoughtful of the organisers to arrange some post race entertainment in the form of loads of youngsters racing round the karting track at speeds that scared me.  I did a race session there for a stag night a while ago and this lot were driving a lot more bravely than I did!

    By the time I had been to the loo and got myself a cup of coffee, the first few pages of the results were already posted on a noticeboard, including mine.  That's pretty efficient, I reckon.

    Very well organised.  Good course.  Friendly marshalls.  A big "well done" to Grass Roots Events.

    Oh, and did I mention - I got a PB!

  • I feel a lot better about being 48 in a couple of weeks after that...
  • Well done on the pb SGQ and the XC Pammie
  • mavamava ✭✭✭

    congrats Hilly.

    Well done on a shiny new PB SGQ.

    We've now had all kinds of weather today - snow, sunshine, torrential rain, wind.  The joys of November in Kent.

    Making flapjacks now to cheer me up.

  • Hilly brilliant, but I hope rival didn't not turn up cos she hadn't got a place

    SGQ well done on the PB

    What: 10.6 ml, mainly easy with a few faster bits
    Weather mainly sunny, with a few burst of heavy rain
    Why: last longish run

  • WardiWardi ✭✭✭
    Congrats on the title Hilly, sounds like your weather was worse down south than here up north.

    SGQ.. excellent PB and good pacing in the conditions too. Those jaffa cakes will make for one of your 5-a-day then {O:

    Pammie.. xc must have been tough today. Well done on the team prize.

    Leeds Abbey Dash 10k for me. Very fortunate with the weather, still raining/sleeting as we arrived in Leeds. By 9am the rain stopped, the winds dropped and the sun came out so conditions were almost perfect for the 9:30 start.

    I haven't raced 10k or very much else for that matter since July so a target of circa 40 mins was the aim. Nicely controlled to half way (19:44) then fairly even splits to finish in 39:27. Had a bit of a battle with Monique in the last k but just manged to pip the young Dewsburyite to the line. I do need to sharpen up over this sort of distance but at this point in the campaign this is quite promising.

    4 miles easy when I got home to ease out the stiffness.

    Those of you who remember Jon Pepper from this thread - he finished 3rd today in 29:42. Not bad for a 20 yr old!

    With this being an out & back course you get to see some of the leaders coming back as you approach half way. Fantastic to see those V55 evergreens Mike Hager & Martin Rees yards apart. Results show Rees was in first with a 31:60 chip time (I kid you not!) versus Hager's 32:27. Awesome stuff from the old guys! Yours truly was duly humbled by his 62 year old clubmate - 38:33 and he was only 2nd.


  • Hello again

    Thanks for the well dones

    Hilly - Brillant it was mushy in places and exposed, must get some proper shoes though as i feel i may be making this a regular thing

    SGQ - Well done on your new pb. An excellent mornings work.

  • mavamava ✭✭✭
    oops, sorry Pammie, missed your race. Well done!
  • TmR - apparently a place became available for her yesterday but she decided not to run for whatever reason.
  • Well done SGQ, Hilly and Pammie - hope I haven't missed anyone, doing all this one handed while feeding Munchette.

    Didn't make it to the start line of my XC - gutted as I love gnarly conditions.  And it was my comeback race.

    Did an easy run yesterday  - first run post-baby that I've felt like I'm getting my speed back. I was going along fine on flat, soft ground, feeling great - and  tore a calf muscle.

    Last time I did antthing like this was when doing high(ish) mileage mara training in 2004.  So no idea why it has happened today,

    Really looking forward to today so pretty devastated.  But I'll get over it. 

  • RFJRFJ ✭✭✭

    Greetings all,

    Well done Hilly, vouchers and wine, not bad at all.
    Pammie well done on the XC
    SGQ Great PB, well done
    Wardi, good outing for you too, well done.

    Our washing machine finally got delivered............... spent all afternoon staing in for it (with a specail delivery time... fat lot of use that was, and had to pay for it, so am already sorting that one out....) But Mrs RFJ now happy.

    Take care all

  • Well done on a great PB SGQ and some great performances by the others who raced.

    Are you guys still going through a bout of cold weather ? It's not cold in New Zealand at the moment, but wind and rain today.

    SSING is not one to hide, so this is what he looked like when he could knock off a sub 2h40 marathon

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/image_galleries/stratford_marathon_2005_finish_gallery.shtml

    What: 13 miles with my running club. Every minutes after an hour hurt. By far my longest run to date.

    Why: Weekly long run

  • Evening all,

    Bravo RFJ! Wardi, Pammie, Hilly, well done!

    Hope IM is doing ok.

    Hello SSING.

    Me? Sitting here in front of a nice fire, with son1 and gfriend reading, after decimating a lasagne and rice pud that should have fed twice our number. (Mr. S had to go out again, poor thing.)

    Why? Hereward relay, and team stickless makes it round again. Son1's gfriend took the first short leg (6+miles) in sleet that turned to driven hail. Mr. S followed on for the longest leg, 11+ miles, departing in hail that turned into thick snow. The fens are not the place to be in driven snow. Ask Tom. The roads were covered, and the car behind us slithered into a ditch. (A runner's car of course, nobody else daft enough to be out in that stuff). We stopped, nobody hurt, tow truck summoned, teammates on the way, so we carried on to March and the start of my patch.

    The snow happily had stopped, and the wind (even more importantly) was from behind, so I stumped off rather numbly in the company of a woman evidently my senior by some years. I watched her as she slowly shrank to a red dot in the distance.

    It wasn't going to be a good run from the start. The sciatica was there from the start. The night before a nerve in my groin had begun to twitch, the same that we nicknamed "the crumple button" when I was pregnant and the infants would occasionally kick in that direction, causing the leg to collapse. No, I am not pregnant.

    The first half of my patch was on tracks, often grassy and snow covered. The worst of the ruts were frozen hard, which helped. Happily the hard work was over by about 7 miles, which left only 3 on roads when I was really short on push.

    I was dead last, but I had got there. Even better, as a measure of avoiding hypothermia amongst the marshalls, all 4th leg runners were sent off at 1:15, whether or not their third leg runners had made it in, thus the pressure was off. I would not have been happy otherwise.

    I am content with the day. Last. Might not like it, but it beats the hades out of not running. I knew it was going to be tough. I met the senior woman in red at the end. She sounded very discouraged. I'm sorry about that. She is often around at the races I get to. I hope she feels better after getting warm and a good feed.

    It's not easy getting old. You have to learn to look at things in a special way to find the heart to go on.

    Lassie the whippet made his way through the Ultimate Mud (and had things to say about it too) in fine style.

    For a family day out, can't be beat.

    Take care all.
  • Well done Hilly, Pammie, SGQ and Wardi!

    Just like to say about stickless that to get around that course in those conditions was a truly awesome effort. I was racing there as well today and on leg two there were some of the worst conditions I have ever seen whilst racing and obviously the aftermath was still there for stage 3 so a huge congratulations.

    I ran Hereward and just wanted a bit of a stretch out so took first leg for the team. Also trying out some compression socks and my new NIke Vaporflys in luminous red!

    So got there early and was shuffling around like an old maid for my warm up before stripping off for the race. Pace set off and a FVS tri chap took the lead but clearly wouldn't keep it for long. COuple of tight loops and we were out on hte grass where no-one had a clue where we were going and we were lost but thankfully some people just behind shouted it out.

    Absolutely freezing cold wind coming in against us and in just a vest and singlet I could really feel it. Running along the river side on tarmack it was all reasonablly good underfoot and I very quickly found myself in a group of 4 including a chap that seemed to be going super hard to keep up (breathign like anything), a triathlete chap that seemed reasonably relaxed and a chap from Ryston who was probably a mix of hte two.

    Anyways I was running with them (plan was to run with the leaders most of the way) and was amazed to realize I was literally jogging. Pace felt so slow I couldn't quite believe it. I would say I had about 20 secs/mile in reserve as an absolute minimum. Other guys were all workin relatively hard whilst I was still absolutely in breath.

    Pace was kept constant along the tarmac section before abridge where I went for the non-white section to avoid the ice before realising that actually it was just hidden ice and almost went over badly but stopped running and managed to avoid going over and get onto the crunchy-white ice! Caught up again in a few seconds over the bridge.

    THe rhythm returned and I was still feeling easy, then decided to give it a little bit of a push, went clear in a matter of seconds and none of them were chasing me so eased back into the pack knowing I had the stage pretty much secure. Kept on going (no idea on time etc. as garmin battery had gone) and then when I reckoned there must be a mile or two left started accelerating a little bit. Dropped them all fairly quickly and went along the river bank and then could see the turnover point but wasn't sprinting yet as thought the turnover point was a lap around the field before finishing after going over the bridge. Went over the bridge and then immediately infront of me was the turnover point. Came in and switched over still in breath and over the last km without doing more than just going "uptempo" had dropped them all by at least 20 seconds.

    Just amazed that 6 weeks back and I'm in this sort of shape. Haven't felt this good racing in 3 years I'd say. Was just relaxed and not working in the slightest. Could easily have kept the pace up for I'd have thought twice as long.

    Got my horsebrass which is awesome! and also the first stage prize which was a glass mugh which I really like as never had anything practical like that as a prize!
  • Bravo HH - vvv impressive to run that and find it easy.  And a mug to keep the horsebrass company.  I've got a set of them now, and today's run completes the whole circuite for me. (5th go - done 4th leg, the old 4th leg twice.)  We in the later stages had it hugely easier than you did.

    How did the rest of your team fare?

  • mavamava ✭✭✭

    stickless, as always from you a fantastic post showing a state of mind I wish I could match.  Well run in terrible conditions

    Great stuff HH from you too. 

    Lizzy, sorry about your torn muscle.  Could it be an result of recent pregnancy and birth? Hope you recover quickly.

  • evening

    yesterday's lyrics for those of you who aren't AF - "Free Four" from Pink Floyd's 1972 album "Obscured by Clouds"

    LIzzyB - gutted for you. Is it definitely a tear & not a tweak?

    Hi to SSing - not sure I can guess your earlier incarnation....

    Goox XC effort Pammie

    Hereward relay sounded, to put it mildly, challenging. Two differing, but equally impressive runs well described by Stickless and HH

    SGQ - PB - well done -especially on a day like today 

    Congrats on the title Hilly - even if it did affect the motivation for today's performance

    Solid 10K Wardi

    my own session:
    what: 13.1 miles in 99:48, mean HR146
    why: getting familiar with running for more than 90 minutes

    Well it wasn't Hereward bad, but it was pretty unpleasant weatherwise. The 13.1 encompassed 2 circuits of a course that included both Hoylake and West Kirby proms - with wind blowing at force 7-8, across on the former prom, behind on the latter. With hail showers thrown in at regular intervals.
    Although I ran the course in a direction which ensured the wind was behind me as much as possible on the most exposed sections, I reckon I'd have been significantly faster on a calm day - felt pretty easy whenever I did get out of the wind.

  • Evening, sorry to hear about the torn muscle, LizzyB, a lass at the club where I used to run had several injury problems upon her return to running after her child. With good rest time she's started producing faster times than ever before, so give it some time to heal and you'll be back soon!

    Woke up this morning at 9ish and didn't envy anyone out racing in these chilly conditions! There was a time this year when I would have been out on the trail notching up the miles myself at that time. Now I'm content to just run when I feel the urge - which is about 3 times a week recently. I'm enjoying my life much better these days following my break from running!

    What: gym this afternoon, so 7M in an hour then stretching
    Why: tickover and base training (of a fashion)
    Last hard: tonsilitis for much of the week
    Weekly miles: 11M!

    Got my first race in absolutely ages next Saturday which should be amusing. My fastest for this race was 29.0x for the 4.55M multi-terrain course but I think I'll be closer to 40mins next weekend with my current level of fitness - oh, how the mighty have fallen!!

    Wardi - excellent result for Abbey Dash today, the oldies have it!

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