Sub 3

Nice hilly run SL and decent intervals AW (despite feeling a bit rubbish), maybe the new luminious shoes were working their magic 

Dids - thanks for the extra Frankfurt info, got my finger hovering over the 'enter' button for 2013, just need to check with Mrs AL_p and friends out there and then I'm in...

CW - I've been eyeing up that Inov8 pack for a while, as I really would like to start doing a bit of run commuting (with a bit of train and bike too). How do you find the capacity? I'm not sure if I would be ok with the 22L one or better off going up to the 30L version.

Week to date for me - Monday rest (with gym session), Tuesday 7ml Fartlek (6:31/ml), Weds 10ml inc 4ml threshold (5:47/ml, 6:45/ml total average), Today early gym session and then a 4ml jog at lunchtime. planning a track session tomorrow, hopefully 3 x 800/3200m compound sets.

I dont like running with a rucksack on, I do my running commutes with a waist pack instead.

AW - dont push if if you dont fancy it, esp with intervals or a 25M.

AW - blimey thats a heay load of training

SL - heavy, heavy hills session then

Al P - nice race effort!

5.5 miles this evening and a crap run really. Chest felt tight, no groove but good to get out after a long day in the hospital. Feel good for it now even if it was a shit run. 10k race on sunday.

Al_P -- I find I can cram a good bit in the 22L one if I need to (sometimes I've brought home my chunky laptop from work in it, along with a bag of clothes and various other bits). It may have changed since I bought mine in ~2006?? but the water bladder thing is too awkward to fill easily, so I never use it. On mountain adventures I've just used 0.5L ex-sports drinks bottles in the outer pockets instead (one with a Steritab dissolving, the other ready for use). I also bought an Inov8 bum-bag but didn't get on nearly so well with it, because a) it bounced up and down too much for my liking and b) tended to twizzle round so that it ended up over one hip. So I use the rucksack even for modest loads.

Used it today: 12.6M en route to work with 20x ascents of the not-very-big hill available here, then a minimal 3.2M home. Feeling a bit sluggish (could barely manage 7m/M for the last 5M when I was supposed to be pushing) but not too bad considering the half last Sunday.

A.W. -- I'm with TR, if you're feeling off it maybe you just need a break.

Nice training guys. 11M for me this morning, mainly off-road as the daylight was arriving, my favourite time to be running. Got a new pair of trail shoes (Saucony Peregrine), so tried them out. Really like them - more cushioned on tarmac than my Inov8s, and decent grip off-road, so think I'll go with them for the ultra in January.

XC tomorrow afternoon, the higher standard league this week. Not even a C race though, so will probably cycle in the morning.

Al_P - Great effort, sounds like a tough race.

AW - That's a fair old weekend's running you've got lined up. Good excuse for eating loads I reckon.

I did my favourite pre-race final tune-up run last night, 6M w/ 3M tempo @ 5:36/m.  Felt reasonably fresh at the end and legs definitely feeling strong.  Even better news, the weather looks pretty tame for Sunday, so should be able to avoid hypothermia.

Good luck to RS and anyone else racing this weekend.

Very nicely done in tough conditions Al_P. There are many things that can affect Garmins, so don't worry about it and just take it as an official pb, especially as it's gone up on Pof10. That's some week for someone who has just raced a 10m.

Interesting with the drinks for sub-2:45 runners Dids. Worth remembering.

AW - you sound like you need to ease off a bit. Just chill out for a day or two and jog instead of doing anything more strenuous. I presume you haven't got a target race anytime soon so why pressure yourself?

SL - sounds fab. I've got no routes anything like that around here

I never managed the 20m on Wednesday - work issues; but did manage to fit in an easy paced 12m. Cold is pretty much gone now. A nice double yesterday with some 20s/40s strides in the pm was my first quicker running since last Monday week, and I'm planning on a bit of hillwork on the way home this evening. With a rest day tomorrow and a medium planned for Sunday, I should either be very close to, or just over the ton for the first time since pre-Berlin.

Some nice training going on folks

Cracking 10 miler from Al_P too - excellent time in those conditions.

Cheers for the info re Frankfurt LD - am very tempted, although I did REALLY enjoy Abingdon this year. Will see....

Not doing too much this end. Enjoying a drop in mileage post-Mara, so just running every other day it seems - but I am doing some quicker stuff and enjoying it. Had a club session Wed where I did 12 x 400m (on a rolling tarmac route) off 30 secs recovery as part of a 10 miler. Reps were all in the 77-80 sec range, so happy enough with that. I've targeted a 10 mile race at the start of December, so with that in mind I'm doing some mile reps ce soir at target 10 mile race pace (5'55-6'00) off about 60 secs jog recovery. See how that goes.

Bit of XC and then out for a curry 3 weekends on the trot before then though! The food of champions

I don't think my final tune-up this lunchtime is going to be that quick, pp!  My race strategy is to let you go and blow up on the first run, then hunt you down like a dog on the second run.  Or most likely I won't see you at all!  Weather looks good for sunday though.

Heh!  Excellent plan CD!  I think my strategy was to head out at something like MP (not that I've run one for over three years) and see what happens.  Does that sound about right?  Also I'm not familiar with the whole course, as I've only ever been up the zig-zag and Boxhill Road, then straight back up into town along Dorking Road.  There's obviously some downhill at some point, but is it all quite gradual and quick to run, or any more up and down involved? Will I knacker my quads or can I let rip a bit?

PP - I can't remember exactly but the first mile or so is fairly flat (you'll know this bit), then you take a very sharp left turn and there's a bit of a drag uphill for maybe half a mile. The next couple of miles are mainly downhill - generally not too steep but there are a couple of steeper bits (which hammer your quads nicely). There are some nice flat sections along the bottom road (can't remember the name), although it's a bit narrow so need to be careful of traffic on the bike, especially when you're lapping people. You'll knacker your quads whatever happens I'm afraid!

I would say MP is a bit conservative for the first run - I managed well under 6 min/mile fot the 2nd run (which was probably around MP at the time), and the first run was significantly quicker (about 4 mins IIRC). HMP is probably more like it. Although I accept no responsibility for blow-ups etc.

Good luck guys!

PP - its the ruined quads for the next week thats is more of a problem  !

.....and CW needs to have a word with you about your tapering strategy !

PP, from transition you go along Boxhill Road, which is flat/undulating, then once you're past the last shops (Dauphin Cycles being one) there's a nice easy descent to the sharp left padams mentions.  Short rise for 400m, then flat to Headley Village.  Just past the cricket pitch you turn left and there's a steep descent through the village.  Steep enough to kill quads, unfortunately.  Once through the village you turn left again (you're running steeply downhill so it's bad enough running, wait till you get there on the bike!) onto Headley Road which turns into Lodgebottom Lane.  Quite where they expect you to lodge your bottom I've never discovered.  Apart from a very short little lump halfway along, that's flat/easy downhill all the way to Mickleham, although as padams says it's narrow so watch for oncoming traffic.  That puts you at the bottom of the zigzag which you know about.

I've consistently done the first run between 44:30 and 45:50, depending on conditions, what groups form up etc.  That's just inside HM pace and may be a little quick as the second run usually sneaks over the 50 minute mark.  I also tend to hammer the last time up the hill on the bike because by then there's loads of people on it and it's bloody good fun (except when TR enters, when it's chucking it down and freezing).

Cheers guys. So ~HMP with the odd 5k comedy surge to keep LS21 happy! 

TR - taper strategy?  It's all about the munchies today!

PP - the smacking out 3M fast when you're tapering taper. That picture shows the snacks for the bike part of it, but you had best get scoffing, they say this race is marathon hard !

CD - weather will be ok as I wont be there, same applies to anyone doing Gosport 1/2. The following weekend should see plenty of wind and rain as I have the Hayling 10 and it has lots of seafront in it !

5M, 1.75k, 7M for the day. 7M is a long run for me nowadays too.

PP -- have a blast. I'd do 3M tempo alright -- but about 5 days out! Not quite up to TR's inverse taper standards though... (1.75 km sounds like a long lunchtime swim TR, not that I have a good feeling for such things.)

Good luck, PP and CD.

Gwent League for me tomorrow: Brecon this time.