cheers for the advice. think ill start slow and use the hr monitor to keep the effort down. its a bit of a hilly one so not looking forward to those bits. will lay off the booze sat eve and get up and have some brekky early. worried about my shins holding out more than my fitness.
https://flic.kr/p/2gmRSD A" alt="Barrathon start." />
Up in Barra;this year's Island half, this pic probably isn't displayed, but it shows the start from my hostel
Terry; you will be fine, it isn't as if you can quit half way and get picked up!
I could miss the bus home though 🙂
running Bags packed. Nutrition strategy sorted by torq.
Finish line bag packed if I get time for a scrub before the bus.
Kit bags packed for the morning.
Only thing left to do is get my self up to braemar.
Last time I was worried about my ability in a race was my first 24 solo .....and that was about 2006.
Hopefully the adventure show and meant a bunch of other dreamers have turned up 🙂
Good luck TR!
21st overall in a parkrun this morning - pretty chuffed with that 🙂 Bloody humid though and hard work
Best of luck Terry and Stuart!
I'm camped out above braemar on the side of glenshee in the bus.
It's dinging it down and thunder and lightening ....... Going to be moist underfoot / high water immorn - there's flood warnings out localy.
Anything I can do to preserve my wet feet ....I have a co-op at my disposal.
I think just go with the wet feet. I’ve always found that my feet feel best in wet trainers. 😀 In the dry they just swell up and the trainers don’t play ball with them. Best of luck anyway. I’m sure you’ll do well.
Finished. 5hr 20.
On reflection Went too hard for the first 30k but im not sure running slower would have helped. I pretty much ran well till I got to 35k which is my max training distance. The last 8k was a fight. Ran 5:15-5:45s into the boulder field through the boulder field at 14/km then down the other side was 8min/Kms which really hurt. The relentless downhill was brutal.
Got about 6blisters on the soles of my feet. Socks got wet crossing the lui burn
And I'm going to lose 2 toenails at least on my left foot.....one of which hasn't fully grown back from last time haha
managed my 10k today. first one ever and all good and could have kept going at the end. no records broken but managed it in 1hr17m despite over 220 m of climbing which was also a bit new to me (not many hills where I live...)
Well done burko. Great effort!!
Anyone got the part number for new knees.
Mine appear to have been smashed by thors hammer.
I guess 20k of relentless downhill will do that.
lol!
Never mind the knees, lost toenails are a badge of honour!
I guess 20k of relentless downhill will do that.
That descent looks like it was hard work given your pace compared to the climb 😮
Well done!
I also completed a 10k on Sunday (despite a big BBQ and beer session on Saturday LOL). Managed 58 minutes on a hilly course around Harrogate (approx 250ft of climbing so not as hilly as Burko's). Managed the whole distance in my peak HR zone averaging at 158 bpm (52 years old) and maxed out at 177 in the final very steep 1k. I feel remarkably sprightly today 🙂
Curious on the HR / speed thing. I pushed really hard on a parkrun on Saturday and i was dying on the last 2k but I was mainly in zone 3 (74% of the time), only 3% in zone 4 and nothing in zone 5. My legs felt strong but I was blowing like a train. It doesn't seem to add up to me??
@dashed - sounds more like your lungs are your limiting factor than your heart. Also depends on how accustomed you are to pushing hard (apologies if you have posted earlier in the thread). I find it easier to get my HR into the upper zones when running than when cycling and this is fairly typical as you have to support your weight as well as move forward whereas the bike supports your weight.
Spin - Sounds like you were doing the RR with a few guys from Westies? Ally, Joe, Alex...
TR - Very good work on what sounded like a tough day out.
Arrochar Alps Race (15.5 miles & 8,000ft climbing) for me on Saturday, which to be honest, was awesome. Felt great on all the climbs, despite thick clag made no nav errors (unlike Finlay! who was 20 seconds off the record) and even descended ok. Well, until the final section, where at 2 miles to go, coming through the trees where I went over on my ankle twice. This resulted in a small cry and a hobble to the finish. Total time 4:01...
A&E on Sunday with a suspected broken ankle, thankfully turned out to just be very sprained. Doc said 6 weeks no running. So that's less than ideal.
Still 19th in a Scottish Champs race i'm pretty happy with.
@whitestone - maybe it was a bit of an anomaly as it was my PB for 5k and I was pushing really hard. Felt pretty brutal at times 😉 So I was surprised to see such a low HR for the event. Really humid and hot morning though, so I wonder whether that had an impact on how hard I was breathing and how hard it felt. If I contrast it to the Hope Fell race I did earlier in the week, I was 26% in zone 3, 38% in zone 4 and 18% in zone 5.
Does make me think that if I can do a 5k PB whilst mainly in zone 3 that I've got a much faster time in me 😉
Just been looking back over my very limited number of parkruns and generally I'm mainly in the zone 3 to 4 area with nothing in zone 5. Also, the garmin app is telling me it's all aerobic effort and virtually zero anearobic.
If I look at my longer fell runs the spread is much wider with more in Z5.
I'm not sure what it means other than possibly I'm not warming up properly (at all!?) for a 5k parkrun? I can;t help but feel that if I can run a 5k without getting into zone 5 then there's a lot more to go at - I just don't know how to get at it!??
Spin – Sounds like you were doing the RR with a few guys from Westies? Ally, Joe, Alex…
Aye, they did leg three which I joined them on for the last 10k or so.
Dashed, are you using a chest hr strap? Optic wrist hr sensors are notoriously fickle.
Will, awesome running mate. 💪🏻
Just optical wrist sensor - but the same sensor for all activities, so if it was miles out on a 5k, surely it'd be miles out on a 10k?
Well done TR, Will, Dashed, Burko, Johndoe
I managed to make it along to a park run, a bit disappointed with a 19'32 on a day of good conditions (perhaps a bit hot). Not sure about zones but 140-160bpm which I imagine is mostly z4 with a bit of z5 towards the end. The only warm up I really do is cycle a few miles there at a brisk pace.
@whitestone re the PB you mentioned something about Pont Cae Gors being open and someone else said something to me about access issues there.
Do you know anything else about that? Is it just a case of going round up the hill side if the track is closed?
Ta.
Just optical wrist sensor – but the same sensor for all activities, so if it was miles out on a 5k, surely it’d be miles out on a 10k?
Na, their shit, I only use it for RHR, and a chest strap for running and biking.
Another hill race last night, stunning evening in the Kilpatrick hills (lots of really enticing looking singletrack btw!).
Beginning to become apparent I'm enjoying them too much, I need to bury myself more and not just get into my comfort zone on the climbs.
Finishing with loads in the tank, it's not right. My descending is getting better, but I still need to keep improving.
You sound like me, Nobeer. Except I'm not getting better on the downs. No problem burying myself on a big climb on the bike, but wary of doing so running, don't know why. A 20 min cycling climb I'll do at 185bpm, the same on foot and I'll start backing off when I get over 160.
Well, in under 24 hours, I’ll be on the bus to the start line for this:
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Weather is set fair - no higher than 20degC - not too windy. “Mandatory” kit just about fits in the running vest, thank **** I went for a 12litre pack!
It’ll be the furthest I’ve ever run. Hopefully the work we’ve put in will help us through. Running it as a trio so won’t be “racing”. That’ll be hard for me as despite possessing little ability, I’m generally pushing as hard as I can - more against myself than others. Really looking forward to that beer at the finish.
What race is that DD? Sometimes running to other peoples pace can be quite hard, even if it's much slower than you would be going when racing. Bizarrely I find myself more tired after a 12 mile easy run home from work than if I cane it 😮
I have the Highgate Night of the 10,000m PBs tomorrow afternoon. I'm in the E race, which is being paced to 30:30, a minute faster than my PB, so it'll be an attempt not to get lapped!
What race is that DD?
It’s ManVsCoast turbo. It’s a Rat Race event - one of my training partners is doing it to raise a few quid for BHF - he lost his dad earlier this year. I know what you mean about running to others’ pace. Thing is, I finished nearly 40min ahead of them in the three peaks race we did, which was 16.5m. So, I know I’m going to have to hold myself back a bit. But, look, they’re mates and I coach* them every week. And sometimes, some things are more important than getting your best place. (Well, that’s what everyone else tells me and I’ve just about come round to it 😔 ) I think they’d be gutted if I just set off at the beginning and left them. One has a knee that’ll go and the other has a calf that’ll go too. 🤪 I’ll just have to enjoy the scenery.
*When I say “coach”, I mean that it’s me that sets the sessions for our early morning weekday outings and paces intervals etc. The weekends are left up to us as individuals.
Well, in under 24 hours, I’ll be on the bus to the start line for this:
DD, looks ace.
👍
DD - ditto, that looks really good - enjoy 🙂
I've had a pretty easy week but got out a few times for a few 5-10k flat runs when I've been away with work. Planning a Parkrun Saturday morning (will try warming up properly this week and see if I can get my heartrate up!), longer run in the hills around Lyme Park on Sunday then I've a free evening next Weds for a run in the Lakes hills.
Any recommendations with easy access from A66? I'll be driving from Penrith to Cockermouth.
I've done Blencathra, Skiddaw and Great Dodd, most of the hills around Buttermere and most of the obvious ones. Thought about Helvelyn from Swirls car park, drop down Swirral, back up Striding and then return to Swirls? Never been up from that side before, usually do Glenridding.
After my 10k on Sunday I was out again last night to do my usual 4 mile circuit - took 1min 20secs off this year's previous best time and getting within 2 minutes of my previous best times (which I got when training for a half marathon over 15 years ago). I am really very happy about that - will see how I get on at the ParkRun this weekend...
so far ive done zero running since sunday .
Ive done easy zwift sessions every day to get the blood flowing in my legs but my Glutes and my left knee are just not up to running.
I tried a z2 endurance group ride on zwift last night and can see I'm still fatigued - power really dropped off after about 1hour i was struggling to hold z2 power.
Going to give it another week before i try anything daft like running 😀
Favorite event of the year this week, the Birmingham Black country Half, 13 miles along the canals from Wolvo to Birmingham.
Feels pretty under prepared and tired at the moment so hoping my legs will come good on race day.
My holiday read is the David Goggins book, "Can't hurt me". Wow. This guy takes fitness and ultra running to a whole new level.
Last minute entered a 20k/1000m local race on Saturday, as usual started too fast, blew up on the second climb at 13k, managed to finish Not Last. Need to start targeting weaknesses, noticed I always go backwards on anything technical, and by technical I mean something as innocuous as a level, narrow trod with loose stones under the grass. Foot rolls a bit, get paranoid and back off, repeat until 20 runners have gone past. Descending is just a disaster.
A recovery run would be nice but spent all today on planes and it's already in the 40s first thing in the morning so I'll not bother.
So next bunch of races will be in the lakes.
I thought that I had sabotaged my race when on Saturday morning was out for a very gentle jog with the boy in the buggy. Upon a request to go super fast and breaking into an easy stride, shooting pains from my left hamstring 😮 Didn't bode well for 25 laps of punishment around the track 6 hours later and I was dubious as to whether I'd start, let alone finish...
I was in the 2nd 10,000m race of the fantastic Highgate Night of the 10,000m PBs. They were using a new pacing system called wavelight with LED lights all around the inside rail of the track which would illuminate to a pre-determined pace. The green lights for my race were ticking over at 30:30 pace, the following red ones at 31:00. Given my 10k PB is 31:32, and I wasn't feeling on fire, I started fairly conservatively, sticking with the red lights. With 40 starters it was a bit crowded and apparently some without huge experience ducking and weaving without indicating. One of my friends got clipped and lost a shoe partway round...
I finished 6th in 31:14 which I was pretty pleased with, especially given how much I hate racing on track 😀
Chuffed with my half on Saturday.
I've been running pretty badly recently, a combination of stress at work and lack of real mileage, so was really worried about how it would go and what kind of performance I'd put in. I'd said to myself that if I got under 2 hours I wouldn't be unhappy.
Started a little quick, but then settled in, miles 3 - 9 were all paced with 5 seconds or each other. I know the last 4 miles of the event really well so as I felt fresh pushed on a little and finished a smidge under 1:45. Not a PB for the distance but I was really pleased with it, particularly with the pacing. It might just have got my running mojo back too.
Bugger - no running for me for a few days. 5 mins from home on a nice 10k loop in the hills and stepped in a rabbit hole. Total innocuous and just one of those minor stumbles but have tweaked my back and can hardly straighten up this morning. And that was minutes after I stood on a thick bramble and managed to trip myself up, shredding the inside on my left leg on the thorns! A great run all round...
lots of good stuff over the weekend guys.
I had an easy weekend. Went to a gig in Inverness and bouncing about on my forefoot has agrivated my arch- feels like I'm stood on a golfball at all times resulting in a hobble back to the car and being outpaced by my heavily pregnant wife. - i had made loose plans to do the parkrun as a recovery run but instead its time to get the spiky ball out and i bought a new foam roller.
I've been spinning out from the long run for the last week on Zwift on the turbo but i dared to ride to work this morning. Anything other than a light spin resulted in seriously sore knees again.
MY IT band is like a banjo string , my back and neck are only a little less tight.
Just set my phone up with the Yoga and stretching workout apps for lunch time to nip this in the bud.
Trail_rat, were you at the Proclaimers at Bught Park in Inverness? We had the finish line of the Great Glen Ultra right alongside in the athletics stadium and had some fun musical moments that evening.
A completely cracking weekend; the race started in Ft Bill at 0100 Saturday, official times are not yet posted but the winner arrived in Inverness at about 1230hrs after 72 miles and maybe 9000 feet of climbing. At the other end of the race, huge respect must go to newcomer Naomi Andrews, whose visibly very painful finish after around 21 hours on her feet brought our day to a close.
After the runners' briefing, I'd set off in front of the pack and biked the course overnight checking waymarking and chatting to the marshalling crews at the checkpoints. Highlights of a superb long trail ride were a close-up of a pine marten near Bridge of Oich about 0400 and shortly after, sunrise seen from the high trail between Fort Augustus and Invermoriston. There were a handful of minor medical challenges at the finish line but nothing we couldn't handle readily. Happy days.....
no i was at Skipinnish on friday.
then went to the start of the pan celtic on sunday.
Wife wasnt keen on hanging about on saturday night as we were staying up in culbokie.
Folks, has anyone entered an organised race in France and had to do a "fitness to run" (or whatever you want to call it) certificate? I've seen a nice looking trail race about an hour from our campsite when we're on holidays there in August. Internet folklore, being what it is, is giving me all sorts of answers as to what a UK resident would have to do...with a lot of forum posts on various sites saying they'd just faked one. I'd be interested in seeing what the score is/was from anyone here who's done it.
DD: do it properly; go and speak to your gp and expect to have to pay a small fee for the privilege.
While it's unlikely to be a problem, there are so many ways that his could go wrong for you if you are injured or become ill while at their event. Many thousands of Brits run in events across France every year and the vast majority will get their statement and do it by the book.
