RW Forum SIx – 3.30 – 4.00

Carl - I too watched a ice hockey match in a jet lagged, half drunk daze and having t-shirts fired at you from a cannon by a 9ft duck does nothing for your sanity and frankly the fights were the only times I really understood what was going on.

Carter - I think we'd have to time travel back about 30 years for anyone else to give a sod about our boys. Oh those were the days 

I did a bit of a speed session today doing intervals, of course you would on the hottest day of the year so far wouldn't you? 

7.58 miles avg 8.20 pace.

1.3 mile warm up @ 9:17 followed by 10x 500m with 400m recovery and 1 mile home @ 9:01

I really do need to get myself sorted with a Garmin for better break down of the splits, I was a junior county 400m runner way back in the mists of time so would be interested in those splits. 

Carter - I've just followed you on Strava  .... that was a tough run  -  last half all uphill! Yes I would say looking at all that mileage you need to ease off for a few days. Rest is as important as the training as they say.

Hannah - nice running, hopefully the feet thing is on the mend.

Carl - I agree 100% re: treadmill ..... there's no shirking from the pace/nowhere to hide unless u wimp out and hit the minus button. It is warm work - I did an interval session tonight on mine and couldn't believe it is possible to perspire as much as I did... and that was running barechested with shorts only!

Anyway I did 8 x 0.5ml @ 7.04 pace with 0.2ml recoveries @ 10 m/ml pace. Warm up of 0.25 ml at start with 0.5ml cool down at end.  Just over 6 miles in total in around 50 mins.
Very tough session although I think I could have pushed through for another 2 reps but ran out of time - Dad's taxi duties. But you're right Carl - it feels harder than the same pace feels out on the road for some reason.

Carter - well done on getting the 20 miler done. Shorten the MLR to around and hour at easy pace and let's see how you feel in a few days.

Tis I indeed Carter.... I have only just started using it recently and usually only once a week on my long run when I carry my phone with the app running.
Do you upload after your run or bring your phone with you on the run? One thing I don't like about strava is there doesn't seem to be a delay function prior to start (i.e. to give you time to get phone wrapped up in plastic bag and zipped away before it starts)... maybe I'm missing something?
Just the Mighty Gunners left in the CL .... ...well until we meet Bayern again that is.. ahem *glass half full"

Carter- By all accounts both red cards were well deserved so we only have ourselves to blame, he says through gritted teeth.

Carl - That is the thing about America the media coverage is so insular you might as well be at the North pole as far as keeping in touch with the world is concerned. I've been in the arse end of India for 6 months and had more of a clue what was going on. 

Today was suppossed to be a steady 8 miles today for me but ended up with the last 4 being  3 @ MP and 1 @ 8:00 at the end. A bit of a mixed bag session as it was meant to be a 8 mile steady at about 9:20 avg pace but I ran the first half with Mrs O and friend at a snails bloody pace so decided to knockout the last few miles as I was bored silly. I even managed to chuck in a few decent hills in to the mix, I had that lovely euphoric feeling in the last mile when everything is smooth and flowing, I could of happily of carried on and on. Running is a pure joy at moments like that 

Oirish - I too have been to India.  It was only for a couple of weeks for work, but you're right about their news coverage.  Also, I knew the Indians were mad for cricket, but when I actually visited it was like nothing I've seen before.  Sachin Tendulkar is almost some kind of god...think David Beckham times 100 and you'll be on the right lines.

I've only been to the USA once...I spent a long weekend in New York.  I'm an F1 fan, and although I didn't want to watch the race I wanted to know who had won.  I couldn't find anything on TV at all.  However, there were endless repeats of the New York Knicks game which we had seen at Madison Square Garden anyway!  That was a strange experience....the team hadn't had a great season, and it was the last home game.  To help get the crowd on side they were giving/hurling out icecream/crisps/drinks to anyone who wanted them throughout the game.

I have a club session tonight, which I know will hurt....they always do 

The Americans treat every sporting event like a full days entertainment, the actual sport is almost secondary to the big day out. Look at American football, 4 hours long with action delivered in 10 seconds bursts and the single most tedious experience of my life.

I was in L.A. when the Rosebowl was being played there, it is College football FFS and it got a 80,000 crowd. It was nuts. Try getting that for UCL vs Open University at Wembley. The University of Texas has a 100,000 seater stadium that is sold out years in advance season tickets get passed down through generations. 

As for Indians and cricket..... bonkers truly bonkers. Cities of millions and millions of people go from 100 mph mayhem and unimagineable  noise overload to post apocalptic eerie quiet simply because a test match is on. It's like something out of  "28 days later". IMO Sachin Tendulkar is the biggest sports star in the world. 1 billion people worshipping you like a deity? No one else even comes close to that kind of  reverential fanbase.

Ricky - I fancy Arsenal to go down in glourious failure tonight, I reckon it'll be a case of close but no cigar.

Wenger will have an excuse already planned for when they do !

Is anyone racing this weekend ? I've got the South Yorkshire half on 17 March - I guess you Irish boys wont be racing that day !!

Carter - I have the Colchester Half Marathon that morning, shouldn't be hard to spot running in an irish flag vest and a couple of cans of Guinness in my bag for post race refuelling  Should be home and hosed in time for the pub opening. 

Oirish - the thing that surprised me about the one and only basketball game I have been to was that even though there was a lot of analysis and fanfare over lots of the game, there was virtually nothing over the "tip off".  So much so, that I nearly missed it!  I think the ref started the game, the tip off happened and that was it.

Had a tough day at work today and a run wasn't the first thing I fancied after a 2 hr journey home, but I feel so much better having gone out. Again, I was just running without undue time/distance/speed pressures, because I think I've been stressing a bit too much of late about those. Lovely 45 min run which took me along the sea wall, looking out over the Isle of Wight, with just the birds and the noise of the water for company.

Well done for getting out Hannah. You never regret going for a run but you often regret not going for a run....

Totally agree, Spoons. Hope all is going well for you!