MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Woo hoo, just been offered a place at the Jura Fell Race having given up hope. It's a week on Saturday but I think I'm in better shape than last year so we'll see. Slightly shambolic under the new organiser. It seems lots of people were given places then pulled out, perhaps partly due to a typically sensational Red Bull web article about it (Top 10 UK trail races to do before you die or such like). Still, all's well that ends well.
Had my running technique analysed by a physio last night to try to track down the cause of my peroneal tendinopathy. I run 30-40 miles a week and he observed that I heel-strike, over-stride, have pathetic hip control, and my knees knock.
His recommendation was to focus on landing mid-foot. Seemed like a sensible plan and I ran back from the health centre last night (about six miles), trying not to clobber my heels.
Fast-forward 24 hours and I can barely walk. Has anyone here tried to go from heelstrike to midfoot strike? At the moment I can just about get between the kitchen and living room while mincing like Captain Jack Sparrow, and I have blisters on my toes for the first time in years. 🙁
I'm actually quite a fast runner for my age (18:00 5K) and these feel like big changes. Cadence already up there at 180-200 spm. Is there anything else I can do to make this an easier transition?
*hobbles slowly away from computer*
Ha! No flipping idea but feel your pain.
I just ran from the farm to Stainburn Forest (what’s left of it) around (what’s left of it) and back.. now my shins hurt 😜
Night night 🕺
So Ladies and Gents, as you probably aren't aware I turn 50 this year. Now I am sure you were all going to club together and buy me malt but I have a better,easier idea.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stuart-donald50
I'm nowhere near a proper runner compared to you 42 milers / 18 min 5K'ers and so on, but I'm steadily getting back into it (despite some overdoing it setbacks)
I only do a couple of runs a week, and I think I need to get to at least 3/week even if they are all only 5K give or take as a means of building up volume without overstretching my muscular capability for now, as it's then when i seem to pull stuff. One run is my weekly shop run, which is normally a choice between a 1-2 mile absolute beginners run, and a 5-8K usually longer one for improvers. I've been sticking to the shorter ones, or the longer one with my own short cut if the short is too short while I've been rehabbing, and so far so good.
But this week, instead of a normal run we went to the park and did some intervals. 'Crocodiles' - running in a line around a circuit with back sprinting to front on repeat, followed by hill sprint repeats. I'm really starting to get into it again now (albeit don't quite trust this calf on full-gas mode yet so my sprints were more like tempo+ with jogged recoveries)
What do the experts think? Just up the mileage (and does the 10% rule apply when volumes are as low as mine are current) or is it worth adding some faster stuff already, even if I don't have a particularly big base yet (but decent aerobic fitness from biking?)
Nice one Durhambiker - Some good mental strength to run round in circles for than long !
This is more my cup of tea, starting this weekend.- http://live.opentracking.co.uk/capewrath18/
If the weather is OK, they are in for a treat.
"But this week, instead of a normal run we went to the park and did some intervals. ‘Crocodiles’ – running in a line around a circuit with back sprinting to front on repeat, followed by hill sprint repeats. I’m really starting to get into it again now (albeit don’t quite trust this calf on full-gas mode yet so my sprints were more like tempo+ with jogged recoveries)"
This is "proper" training. Its is basically interval training which is still the most effective way of improving fitness. If you dont have confidence in your calf yet then just build them slowly. When you are confident they should really be close to flat out to get benefits and you should keep your recoveries short. Its all relative to the length but treat this as your quality session.
In terms of building up it depends what you want to achieve. If you want to get as fit as you can then you simply need to increase to around 6 days per week and 60+ mpw. This may not be for you, if not then try to run more days but lower intensity. You will start to develop fitness from this with a lower risk of injury.
I’d agree with surfer (not that he knows much) theotherjonv, little & often - I used to find, doing 2 per week, I felt a bit under pressure to put distance in I suppose. So I’d just do the “go out and run” (which in itself is not a bad thing - better than doing nothing) but find my body was just replying with “you can **** off if you think I’m doing this 15k faster than we did last week...”
So since January our little group of 2-then-3 have been doing little & often - better 30-45 minutes of intervals, pyramids or sprintervals than an hour of running. I’m not fast, just a good bit faster than I started.
Last weekend was a parkrun PB of 21.07 and this morning was an Ashton Court parkrun PB of 21.40 (I may have mentioned how it’s 2.5k uphill to start before...have I mentioned that?). But I ran my fastest mile this year this morning (6.05) and fastest 2 miles (13.21) - none of that is “fast” but it’s bloody fast for me.
Those parkrun times are down from 25.19 and 24.50 respectively. This has all been achieved with interval training (and a bit of weight loss - but that comes with interval training and a bit of dietary care anyway). So useful, little, often is the key.
12k in open Yorkshire farmland in the sunshine (and nettles)
😎😎😎🔥🔥🔥🔥
@spin - well done, Jura is one of the fell running classics and a great weekend. Those bucket lists are a right pain especially when there's limited places. The previous organiser of the Jura rang me once about a friend who'd asked for an entry as she didn't know his pedigree, it's annoying when places get taken up (and not used) by those who haven't done the groundwork.
cheers, will gradually up the number and duration without worrying much about speed, and then add maybe one more structured session of intervals or speed work in a few weeks time once I feel I'm over these niggles.
The previous organiser of the Jura rang me once about a friend who’d asked for an entry as she didn’t know his pedigree,
We had it pretty good under the last organiser as he's in the same club so I suspect just gave us all places!
Nice wee local hill race today the 'Fyrish 3 Monuments'. Most sociable with everyone just sitting around in the sun afterwards.
Its is basically interval training which is still the most effective way of improving fitness.
Seemingly very little conclusive scientific research available to support this:
A couple of studies for perusal:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772161
"Further examination of the biochemical and physiological adaptations which accompany different HIT programmes, as well as investigation into the optimal HIT programme for eliciting performance enhancements in highly trained athletes is required."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4657417/
"The results suggest that although HIIT protocols are time efficient, they are not superior to conventional exercise training in sedentary young adults."
For the record, I'm not saying [High intensity] interval training etc doesn't work - I just couldn't find any independent [i.e. not trying to sell something] statistically significant, peer reviewed, 'scientific' research to support it ... and I know how keen 'Surfer' is on having 'scientific' evidence to support an argument! 😉
Took my 7 years old lad to the local park run Saturday, but not the junior one... the full 5k.
He didn't have footy training and the weather was lovely so I thought why not? If we walk a few times no worries. But I purposely didn't say a thing about seeing how far we'd get or telling him don't worry if you want to walk... Didn't want to put him under any pressure.
Now bare in mind this park run isn't a 2 and a half laps of the local playing field.... it's a pretty damn hilly beast, with 78m of ascent, around a country park.
He didn't walk once !! ... in fact he didn't even look close to wanting to walk. He powered up the last "Heartbreak" hill and still had lots in the tank for a long sprint finish.... Coming in at 28:57.
But the time doesn't matter, it was his attitude that I was so proud of.... Determination and confidence.
Wish I could bottle it .. I'm sure in the future he 'll need a heavy dose of one or the other.
Oh and I had a decent "running" weekend as well ... result are still provisional but think I've qualified for (age group) OCR world champs.
That's a brilliant time for a 7 year old Ro5ey, bravo!.
Did my first ParkRun last Saturday in a time of 28.14. Went again on Saturday and did it in 26.21.
Aiming for <25mins next week now I am getting a grip on pacing it correctly.
Saturday’s Ashton Court parkrun was “won” by a JM11-14 in 17.45. 😮
Despite being on the reserve list I didn't get an entry to the Highgate Night of the 10,000m PBs, but did head up to spectate in the evening. Mens race was quite something, with Alex Yee, Andy Vernon and Chris Thompson battling it out to be top Brit. Yee had the edge at the end, having made a break with about 200 to go, but Vernon and Tommo were reeling him in at the end and all finished within about a second. First time 3 Brits have gone under 28 minutes in one race since 1983 I think I read. Nice little nocturnal jog home to Wimbledon after the racing meant I had clocked up my 100km for the week before Sunday so could take the day off 🙂
What are you training towards now TF?
Saturday’s Ashton Court parkrun was “won” by a JM11-14 in 17.45.
Yeah, last week I was overtaken at the end of my second (of three) laps in Harrogate by a kid going down the finishers tunnel - he couldn't have been more than 13 and there was only probably three or four other people ahead of him.
:-O
One week to go before the Millau Viaduc race . 23.7km , including running the viaduc both ways .
No running in 5 weeks but lots of MTBing ; should I go for a little run this week ?
I've got a vets league 3000m this evening, but not expecting to set any records even by my standards as I don't have the top end speed that I had a few years ago when the shorter stuff was more of a focus. Vitality 10k this coming bank holiday Monday where hopefully I'll dip into the 32:XX for the first time.
Bacchus marathon in September is always a fun one which I've run a few times - starts in Denbies vineyard, Dorking, 2 laps, hilly with optional wine every few miles. I set the course record a few years ago, but they've just changed the course, so I need to go back and repeat!
Bournemouth marathon in October, where they've stopped paying internationals to come and make the domestics look rubbish, but they've also slashed the prize money massively. Hoping to break even for the weekend 🙂
Cheers, Rich
Today’s two loops of Swinsty/Fewston reservoirs was....
That Millau race looks really good - have to remember that for next year.
As I posted a couple of pages back, I had my first trail race yesterday - the 18km Tour de Pic St Loup as part of this : https://www.festatrail.com/ It was quite an ambitious objective, as I've only been back to running for about 2 years and seven weeks ago I was only running once or twice a week, up to about 10k max. But then I had to give up climbing due to dodgy fingers, so thought I'd better find another sport fast. I've always wanted to run around Pic St Loup (I can see it from my village) so I planned seven weeks training - basically intervals on Tuesdays, tempo runs on Thursdays and long runs Saturday, building up to about 80% of race distance or time. The actual race had 800m of climbing and I had trouble finding close trails to do that kind of altitude gain.
The day started sunny, a relief as I didn't fancy the final downhill kms on worn rocky limestone in the wet. Photo taken during warmup - the route goes up to the castle that you can just see in the middle and then all around the big lump to the left.
I saw a colleague at the start - he's done a few of these so he was in the 2h-2h30 start wave. I was being conservative and was in 2h30-3h, but I was really aiming for 2h30.
The route hits steep singletrack after the first 1.5km, so the start waves are really spread out - by about 10 minutes! I didn't know, so finished warming upo then ended up stood around for 20 minutes before the start.
Despite that I started well. I'd told myself not to go to fast at the start, but quickly found myself near the start of the group. This actually really helped, as I didn't get held up on the first big climb, and had mostly clear trail until we started to catch up the slower runners from the previous wave on the first descent over the other side. I concentrated on pushing on the ups (but not too hard) recovering on the flat bits and not letting up on the descents. As planned I had a gel about half way, and felt pretty good.. right up until nearly the end - there's a long, long descent on a really rocky trail then a final 1.5km road descent. But as soon as I hit the road I lost all my energy, I had almost nothing left after concentrating furiously all the way down the singletrack. Fortunately I had a second emergency gel, which got me to the end. My colleague had arrived a couple of minutes before, and was on the finish straight waiting for a friend of his, but I was so cooked that I went straight to the water/food station then ended up sitting under a tree for about 10 minutes, unable to talk or move.. By the time I went back he'd gone!
I finished faster than I expected - 2h23. Feet and knees were OK, thighs are hurting today but I'm really, really pleased. I had a great time all the way round, felt like the training really worked and really enjoyed it.
Planning an easier week now, with a couple of easy runs.. then it'll be another seven weeks until the next one : Trail d'Ebron near Grenoble. Similar distance, slightly less climbing but should be less rocky trails.
Had an absolute shocker at the Three Peaks, was on pace for just under 3:30 but it all fell apart on Whernside. I set off with a far too optimistic pace for the training I had completed. Was disappointed to be 15 mins worse that my PR
However moved on from that now and me and a Friend are attempting the Bob Graham this Saturday 😀 Will have trackers so will post them up here
Corr blimey you too ☝️👍👍👍
That run timb did sounds awesome, one day when I grow up I’d like to do something like that 🤡😎😎
Good luck with your BG djglover. I'm probably going for it first week in July.
@djglover - good luck! If this weather continues it would be way too hot for me - I remember pacing leg 3 when it was 20C at 7am! I'd had enough with just that. Then again I've also paced leg 3 on a winter attempt when it was -14C.
"Official" or just doing it for the hell of it?
Official, will be running the whole thing with a mate, but we have pacers each from leg 3 to end
Forecast is for 19C in the valley, so worst case 14c with a breeze on tops should be OK. Key thing is, good visibility, dry underfoot and a nice weekend in prospect for support crew.
http://live.opentracking.co.uk/bg2018/?n=20
Did the Old County Tops on Saturday. Beautiful day if a little warm and my friend and I got the second MV100 prize. To say I'm chuffed doesn't come close since I nearly totalled myself in October 2015 and ended up having neck surgery and am lucky not to be quadriplegic. I was quite emotional at the finish although it was quite dry and dusty.
We've done this every year from 2004 to 2013. I missed 2006 with a cold and my pal struggled with the heat in 2010 so we didn't finish. Then in 2014 I broke my wrist, 2015 we were both ill or injured, 2016 was too soon and last year we got too cold. To finish this year and only 10mins off our 10 year old pb was brilliant and I'm managing the stairs today as if it was a Wednesday after, not a Monday.
Enough bragging. Now to focus on a couple of BGs I'm supporting then the Welsh 3000s in June.
Land o' Burns 10k in Ayr tonight, looks like it's gonna be a warm one. I'm really just doing it to pace Mrs Nobeer to a PB of sub 55 mins*, which I'm immensely proud of her for doing btw, she's just turned 40 and up until 8 months ago hadn't run the length of herself.
Good, local event too ran by local club, only 11 quid and you get a medal and a tech tee shirt for that, can't say fairer than that.
*I will however be champing at the bit when people I know I'm quicker than are overtaking me... 🙂
Well done Paul4 btw, great effort!
@Rosey
Its great to see kids running, not a huge fan of Parkrun (because its a race that gets special treatment) but that's not to say people running around the local park Saturday is not brilliant 🙂
Yes UK 10000m running has been in the toilet for decades. I mentioned this on Twitter and Tim Hutchings (Olympic 5000m 4th placer) took issue. between 2000 and 2017 we had 6 athletes under 28 mins. between 80-89 we had 12 (several closer to 27:30) UK 10000m running has regressed, sadly. Hopefully this initiative will give it a boost (stats excluding Farah)
@djglover what time you setting off? Schedule you looking at?
I am supporting leg 1 starting at 1am but taking enough food to keep going. Will def be doing 1,2 and most of 3 but if feeling good i'll carry on. May or may not stay with guy supporting me as its a bit of a wing it and see.
Got a proper date set for 14th July.
@spin Hows training going for it? Might be able to support a leg if you need it.
Anyone run on a treadmill?
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I'm away in America with work (not a regular thing TBH) and went for a run, it's hot and humid, and I thought I was going to collapse. So I tried the hotel treadmill, managed 20 seconds holding the handrail in a death grip, and gave up and went outside again. The idea of running in frosty Aircon is very appealing so how do I get the bastard machine to work?</span>
I use a treadmill quite regularly in the winter, just set the speed to something reasonable and jog along watching telly (iPad). Rarely try something fancy with speed and intervals etc.
The evidence around running is really interesting - I know there's no proven benefit to compression socks for example but i find they help my recovery. Anyway @digby I wouldn’t say there was no evidence around interval training. Not my area of expertise but:
Overspeed HIIT in Lower-Body Positive Pressure Treadmill Improves Running Performance https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25984891 CONCLUSIONS:A 4-wk HIIT protocol at 100% vVO2max improves field performance, vVO2max, VO2max and submaximal HR in trained runners.
Found a systematic review, so better levels of evidence than a single study
The impact of high-intensity interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training on vascular function: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25771785 CONCLUSION:
HIIT is more effective at improving brachial artery vascular function than MICT, perhaps due to its tendency to positively influence CRF, traditional CVD risk factors, oxidative stress, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity. However, the variability in the secondary outcome measures, coupled with the small sample sizes in these studies, limits this finding. Nonetheless, this review suggests that 4 × 4 HIIT, three times per week for at least 12 weeks, is a powerful form of exercise to enhance vascular function.
Cardiac rehabilitation, so not runners (but another systematic review)
High-intensity interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training within cardiac rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
<h4> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29416382 CONCLUSION:</h4>
HIIT is superior to MICT in improving cardiorespiratory fitness in participants of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness are significant for CR programs of >6-week duration. Programs of 7-12 weeks' duration resulted in the largest improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness for patients with coronary artery disease.
Oh, and click on similar papers links in PubMed on the 2 articles you posted to find contradictory papers including:
High-intensity interval training and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyric free acid improves aerobic power and metabolic thresholds.
<h4> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24782684 “CONCLUSIONS:</h4>
Our findings support the use of HIIT in combination with HMBFA to improve aerobic fitness”
A good topic for a systematic review focussing on runners. I’m rubbish at stats but could help with the searches if anyone’s interested?
Actually, thinking about it I've decided I'm not interested in the scientific evidence of running. It's probably a better bet to just go for a run.
@spin Hows training going for it? Might be able to support a leg if you need it.
I think I'm where I need to be, certainly fitter than at this point last year. Off to the Jura race this weekend and hoping to go sub 4hrs however it was a last minute place and I won't be too disappointed if I don't manage that. After that I'm just going for a few weeks of big back to back weekend runs to shape up for the Bob.
Thank you very much for the offer of support but I'm running solo with static support at the road crossings.
Interesting stuff Colonel, I will have a read later. There are many ways to skin a cat and I agree that just going for a run is rewarding in itself, we only have to add complexity if we want to, or if we want to develop competitively.
There are a number of theories around training and the opportunity cost of doing any one of them throws up its own analysis challenges. Many are also modified for convenience by lazy journalists pandering to lazy readers. Lydiard being a good example. Lydiard advocated long periods of "slow" running to develop aerobic fitness. What people choose to forget is that "slow" was still pretty fast (relative) and "long" was often upwards of 100Mpw. That period was then followed by intensive hill training and later periods of shorter high speed intervals/runs.
People like the thought of the first bit, hence the term LSD interpreted as "we can run as slow as we want and its still training" There are minor benefits to very slow running but they tend to bring more opportunity for injury and are certainly wasteful of time for a "competitive" athlete.
Thats not to say they are not fun or that people shouldn't do them, but they are not performance enhancing.
I know there’s no proven benefit to compression socks for example but I find they help my recovery
Agreed - I've found that compression socks etc have helped my recovery. I figured that they 'worked' in the same way as Flight Socks/Surgical Support Tights and aided 'venous return' but haven't looked into it in depth.
@Colonel wax - thanks for posting the research - there's some interesting stuff in those articles.
Clicking on the 'Similar articles' led me down a 'rabbit hole' reading about inflamation ... fascinating stuff and it strikes me that medical professionals etc have to wade through countless 'grey areas' of uncertainly and potentially conflicting research, whilst the general public have an expectation that everything can be neatly divided into 'black and white'! (which ties in quite nicely to last nights BBC program about temperature/fever and the use of paracetemol/Calpol in children)
Understandably much of the research I've just read seems to be in relation to making sedantary/ill people more active rather than active people faster/more efficient.
You can't put a price on enjoyment though can you? [whatever way you like your enjoyment!] and sometimes it's best not to over-think or over-complicate things.
I know there’s no proven benefit to compression socks for example but I find they help my recovery
Agreed – I’ve found that compression socks etc have helped my recovery. I figured that they ‘worked’ in the same way as Flight Socks/Surgical Support Tights and aided ‘venous return’ but haven’t looked into it in depth.
Ahh, the compression sock conundrum.
I bought some only based on my ultra runner mate wearing them occasionally. If you look at pics of races (trail running) you see a lot of folks wearing them... to be honest I think it’s more a comfort thing and not getting stung by nettles (I wear them if footpath over fields running because of nettles)
I have worn them post run to see if they do me any good and I can’t honestly feel any different.
Wear them if you like I reckon.
I've always been an avid runner and never found it difficult to motivate myself to get out year round .I enjoy parkrun for some added inspiration occasionally . Looking to add in a fun dimension to raise interest levels again .Does anyone have experience of orienteering and how to get into it? Can you just turn up to an event as in individual and crack on? Or do you need to be in a club? Gain the necessary skills as you go? What is this geo cache business? Is it running events? I know with the ban of fox hunting they now use human 'bait'. ie setting off early with the scent. That looks like fun to get some cross country miles in . Where/how do you volunteer for this. I remember seeing it on Country File.
Most local clubs will have low key races where you can just rock up and run. Done a fair few of the local club races and never been a member.
Lots of places also have permanent orienteering courses where you can just print the map and run it whenever. Have a google around see whats local. Where you based? I know a lot of the Yorkshire ones.
Geo Caching is wandering round with gps finding random stuff. Not really meant for running.
Fox hunting posse hunting me? Not a chance!
I'm in the Scottish Central belt .So there is orienteering courses that you just download and go do yourself? That sounds good for a wee change. What do I Google to find near me?
Got it. Just googled permanent orienteering courses in Scotland .Who would have thought eh. I'm going to do some .Great idea and looking forward to it already . Thanks for the heads up.
Wear them if you like looking like an eejit.
If you like listening to podcast interviews with so-called 'action-sports' people, then you might be interested in this interview with ultra runner Ryan Sandes:
His comments and thoughts about 'pain' are certainly 'interesting':
http://wearelookingsideways.com/podcasts/045-ryan-sandes
(also available in iTunes and includes loads of other interviews with people from snowboarding, skating, climbing, surfing & mtb (Tracey Moseley)
Lovely run this morning. 3 miles up to Parkrun, a respectable time at Parkrun then a lovely run home in the rain. Absolutely wonderful way to start the day.
Yomping over t’moors again for me today. All in I reckon 30ks of over the top/valley floor/up on top again. Some of it will be boggy and slow, some bits hard and fast, mostly it’ll be me on my own panting a large one.
Not done any running so far this weekend (and unlikely to fit any in, officiating at Rossendale Triathlon tomorrow and then planning on drinking beer...) but went down to Birmingham yesterday afternoon to spend the evening with some of the runners and support crews taking on the 145 mile Grand Union Canal Race, and then saw them head off from the start this morning. My better half is crewing for a guy with terminal liver cancer who's done it before as a "fun run" as he was having chemo when the actual race was on, stopping in hotels each night and doing it over 3 days, but he's attempting it properly within the 45 hour cut-off this weekend. Inspiring bunch of folk, and a good old laugh to be around as well.
Goid luck to anyone running edinburgh tomorrow. Looks lika scorcher,! I am doing tbe first relay with a bunch of workmates so a nice jog for a change!
Well done to @djglover for a sub 21 Bob Graham Round! Awesome running. I was the one you passed around Kirkfell.
I supported a guy on legs 1,2, and 3. Then finished off the Bob using one of his pacers and borrowing his support team so we could split up as I was slowing him slightly. 22.51 in total which is pretty okay for a wing it and see what happens round.
Cheers @ajf and nice to meet you and well done on an impromptu round, thats really impressive. You guys looked super tired on Pillar! Was a fantastic day for it, that came with the inevitable highs and lows of ultra running!
Superb effort both! Loving the ‘winging it’ approach, that was my thought but found to be way off the pace with my intended partner and would have been an anchor on his effort. Snowdon Horseshoe for me today, with a bivvi night out. Mixed bag of weather from bright sunshine to howling winds, mist, thunder, heavy rain. Top day.
In the interests of balance and not just posting about races that went well for me...
I had a bit of a howler at Jura. Just didn't get into a flow, got slower and slower and then decided just to trot it in rather than keep beating my head against a brick wall. 18 mins slower than last year rather than the 12 minutes quicker I was hoping for! Off days, we all have them and it's part of the game (just ask Simon Yates) but it's not fun.
Well done djglover on your Bob Graham, if the weather was anything like Jura it must've been awesome.
Parts of the day were awesome, parts were horrendous, wind was a major factor and so were the overnight conditions. I've got a write up on the strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/1599484480
Well finally got round to doing my first triathlon - just a short one - not even full “Sprint” but as my swimming is so shite I was too reluctant to enter the sprint event even though the cycle/run distances would have given me more of a chance to make things up.
Anyway, had a shit swim as predicted but at least came out of it in one piece. Cycle started off raining then we rode through a full on thunderstorm - full on cats and dogs. The run went well though - managed my 4 and a bit k in approx 4.30/k which I was happy enough with after the swim and run. Swim was 68th 😂, cycle 9th and run 2nd giving me a 5th overall our of a hundred entrants. Happy with my day’s work.
I’ve got a write up on the strava
Do I need to follow you to see that? It's not obvious where the write up is on the link as I see it.
I'm not sure Spin? There are three dots on the activity overview that reveal it for me.
Great write up! The wind omg the wind! Relentless and never seemed to be a tailwind.
Skiddaw was interesting for us too. Head torches down below waist so I could see my feet. Floundering around after the fence line to find the track down to Calva.
Well done mr Darcy!
Had a pretty exact experience as you doing a novice tri a few years back, got lapped twice by one of the swimmers! Out the pool last and nailed the bike n run, was ace. Never done it again though! 🤣
Cheers Nobeer. 👍
To be fair, the guy that won only swam 15 secs faster than me so nearly but not quite as shit but he was strong on the bike (and transitions) - I could have been stronger on that but just didn’t get time to get out. Nevertheless, I was delighted - aim was top 25%.
T2 caught me out badly - I’d planned out where to de-shoe and spin the legs but honestly, the rain at this stage was so heavy I could hardly even see - just following the big yellow and black arrows and then “Cyclists dismount here”. Shiiiiiiiittttte. I hardly even managed to brake (I did pull them - just nothing happened!) before sailing straight through. 😂
Good job DD!
I had a 31k trail race yesterday, can't say I did particularly well (Saturday night's beers with the match probably didn't help...) but I enjoyed myself, some great technical descents and some tough climbs made for a good event. Well run and decent feed stations also helped!
Nice one mogrim.
Ive entered a couple of trail races in June and July to broaden my horizons a little - only 10 &12k jobbies but need to make the best out of the summer and get off the hard surfaces (as much as I enjoy it) a bit. Also gives me an excuse to get a new pair of trainers. My road shoes just won’t cut the mustard on a dry trail will they?!
My road shoes just won’t cut the mustard on a dry trail will they?!
Serious answer? Depends entirely on the race. They wouldn't have cut the mustard on my race yesterday, it was very rocky... but on the local trails round my house they're overkill. But n+1 applies to shoes anyway as I'm sure you know. So go buy some 🙂
I’m sure you know.
‘Course not mate, course not. 😇
Despite not running, I headed up to the Highgate Night of the 10,000m PB's last weekend, and it was a cracker. Chris Thompson, Alex Yee and Andy Vernon all under 28 minutes - the last time we had 3 British athletes do this in a race was 1983! Hopefully we will see a bit of a resurgence.
Had a good run today at the Vitality 10k.
6 years ago The Swedish Chef said
Under 40, call yourself fit.
Under 36, call yourself a runner
Under 32, call yourself an athlete
Under 30, call yourself whatever you like
and now I'm delighted to be able to call myself an athlete with a 31:32 🙂
What about under Fifty & Under Sixty... what are the tags for those?? 🙏
Awesome TF - A true athlete.
I don't think I'll ever achieve athlete status - I'm happy with being a runner.
I can't imagine running that fast! Fortunately I'm happy just being a plodder (might aspire to be a punter one day).
Now - some basic training advice please. Just starting a second mini-cycle of training (7 weeks until next race - another 15km trail race). I'm pretty happy with 3 runs a week, and before the last race I was doing
Tuesday - longish intervals/hill repeats
Thursday - Tempo/Threshold sort of thing
Saturday - long trail run
Felt like it helped, but I think I'll swap round Tues and Thurs this time, so that I'm a bit fresher for the 5 or 6 km tempo runs and have a shorter workout before the long outing sat.
Sound sensible?
Aye, I've been musing the need for a getting a bit of effort into my routine, but tbh this hot weather is kinda making me not want to burst a gut!. What kinda interval lengths are you planning? I went out last friday and did a 'ladder session' which I actually kinda enjoyed, but I was burst at the end!
5 min warm up
5 min @ marathon pace
1 min easy
4 min @ half mara pace
1 min easy
3 min 10k pace
1 min easy
2 min 5k pace
1 min easy
1 min fast as you have left
5 min cool down
I'm keeping things simpler than that - mostly because I'm still working out what pace I can sustain over longer distances.
I tend to do reducing sets of 400m, 800m, 1200m, with pace being "flat out", "faster than comfortable", "can't quite talk but sustainable", so 3x400m, 2x800m, 1x1200m.
Not too many reps as I lose count.
I actually prefer doing hill reps, or 3 to 6 km tempo runs, as it's easier to set the level of effort, but I want to be doing some flatter faster running as well as going up or cruising along.
Just my opinion but that doesn't look like it has anywhere enough hard fast running in it. The short MP and HMP bits are barely a warm-up.
and now I’m delighted to be able to call myself an athlete with a 31:32
You were an athlete before TF. I think that list is BS (and not just because I am 20 secs outside being an athlete) but because anyone who is trying to improve is an "athlete" in my book 🙂
Well done BTW, great time.. hope you have got events lined up to smash your PB's, make the most of your purple patch.
I think that list is BS (and not just because I am 20 secs outside being an athlete) but because anyone who is trying to improve is an “athlete” in my book
+1 I’m currently dreaming of breaking 45 minutes for 10k this spring/summer. Sub 40 is beyond my wildest dreams but even if I did that I’d only just be a runner. That kind of arbitrary shit can **** off. How is somebody doing a C25K supposed to feel when they huff and puff through their first 3 minute continuous run and then read that kind of shite?
Well done to turboferret though - that’s a bloody awesome time. That’s beyond most mortals’ capabilities. You should be proud of yourself.
How is somebody doing a C25K supposed to feel when they huff and puff through their first 3 minute continuous run and then read that kind of shite?
It is quite hard to discuss such times without coming across as a bit of a nobber to be fair. It means nothing to a non-runner, but to someone who has just started, it's so far beyond their current ability to be incomprehensible.
I have been chipping away for a few years to get here though, I've run nearly 1800km so far this year, so it's quite a major part of my life. I was actually aiming for mid 32 yesterday, so be a whole minute quicker was a major surprise. I have been incorporating intervals into my 20km run to/from work recently, which seems to be paying dividends in top of the mileage. A good one is 1 minute hard, 2 minutes easy, repeat 15 times. The hard is pretty much balls-out, and the recovery is over in a flash. I turned it on it's head though the other day, 2 minute hard, 1 minute easy quickly became unsustainable and I was reduced to a wheezy mess after about 8 efforts!
but as I always say about doing exercise 'properly' ........ 1 min hard 2 mins easy and repeat is achievable for anyone (within reason) - it's just that your 1 min hard might see you do 400m while I'll only do 300m, but it's still a minute of hard. And if you're prepared to make that effort, whether you're a 32min runner aiming to get into the 29's, or a 45 min runner trying to get into the 40's, you're a proper runner in my book
(substitute running for cycling, or bootcamp, or whatever)
2 minutes hard, 1 minute rest :-0
Crikey - that sounds painful.
Did some 1 minute reps last Wednesday after having a break from that sort of thing following my marathon but think it's time to get back into the groove. It was bloody hard work in the humidity!
On a more sedate note, I, along with a group of like-minded 'friends' (perhaps should be nutters) decide to do the length of the Dearne way from source (Birds Edge) to end where Dearne meets Don (Mexborough/Denaby) approximately 30 miles.
What a great route and pretty much all offroad which was nice.
The hardest part was the logistics of getting to start and back from end, but that was organized for me
For those North West based I can recommend the Sandstone Trail. 34 miles and perfect for a summers morning 🙂