Moraghan Training - Stevie G

Stevie G . wrote (see)

 

 personal highlights of the year

Black Park parkrun win (350 runners)

 It was a race that day though, right?

I get to choose when it is a race or not by who I beat . And double so when out training I pass a person (I beat them) and they pass me (I'm training).

Textbook runner behaviour Phil

This year I'm going to try and focus on what I do rather than worrying about what others do! That and not get irritated by stuff that doesn't matter!

Fell races. Probably called that because you're going to fall down.

Park runs. Only done Black Park but have gone off it since vast numbers caused a change of course. Checked on other venues and was considering Gladstone or Gunnersbury maybe tomorrow.

Gladstone had only 28 finishers last week so that was favourite until an SOS came in from the club after another runner for the Middlesex XC champs. So, Wormwood Scrubs for me then.

Park runs. Its a race. Even if its a time trial, the moment the man says go! I go!

Cycle TT. Pure blast. Tactics? none really, just go.

My club Metros used to do Duathlons (run and bike) and Biathlons (run and shoot). I used to win all of these. I was the fastest runner, fastest biker and best shot with an air gun. I stopped doing them to give someone else a chance.

5k on road or Park run? TBH the track is the place for this sort of thing. The first one I did on the track had my lungs exploding after one lap. But it didn't stop me. Did a sub 17 min that day.

It has to be the environment, I wouldn't have dared put that sort of effort in during a road race.

Deano, which course would you say is quicker Trafford or the Crewe 10k? I'm doing one of them in March but I never seem to get to grips with Trafford and haven't done Crewe.

I still need to decide between Alsager and the Northern XC, not sure which one to do.

Ric, enjoy your postings old son. You're my most improved poster of the last 6months.

With your obsessive, anecdote rich writings, with sprinkling of rage, you remind me of an older, quicker at peak version of myself 

I wonder what a track 5k would be like.  When do you "cut in"? Is it after 100metres or so?

Bus/Phil, maybe we should find one and enter for a hoot sometime.

Stevie, got to be Alsager. You're not Seb with his extreme bias to XC stuff, so why not go for what even I know is a fast as lightning 5miler? I drove past there once on the way to Manchester, and thought, ahh Alsager, fast 5miler there.

Cheers SG, I try my best. There's an element of the Rhetorical involved, but the rage has dispersed along with my youth. In 1988 I was incandescent.

I once posted years back but the forum seemed to be inhabited by types determined to get involved with, control and win every discussion. So stopped posting quick. The forum seems easier now, but then again, a certain skill is required to avoid putting yourself out on a limb.

I try to make some contribution somehow. Whether anyone will benefit determines when/what I post.

This forum has some quality training threads, but is littered with 100s of aimless witter threads on subjects nothing to do with the whole website, by people who never mention running.

The vast majority of the clubhouse area is just plain pointless witter.

IronCat5 in the Hat wrote (see)

So shamelessly stolen from every other thread in the Forum...

Totals
Highlights
Lowlights
Summary
2013

I'll kick it off...

 

 every other forum indeed...it was our genius format

Cheers Dean, I'll enter Trafford and ensure a proper taper (tapir ) the year. Will be looking for sub 36 again to consolidate what I did at Leeds (at least), but I have a nasty habit of running way off PB pace in that race. Although usually because I thunder off with everyone else.

SG, not sure about Alsager as to run under 29mins I need to hit the same pace as Leeds, but obviously I have my doubts as I had a 3 weeks spell of only 4 runs. My need a few weeks of sessions before I feel like I can hold the pace. I get paid on the 15th so will decide then.

Good piece Dean, although i'm not particularly hard core to ever follow someone above my limits!

Stevie, fair dos. sometimes one race becomes the stand out and can take a while to match over any distance, and other times it becomes the new minimum standard. Hopefully the latter!

5miles is a nice distance though. The maths is easy, a couple of miles to ease in,then you're half way, then it's less than 2miles to go, and then you're home. Lovely.

Dean, yes, control the control-ables. Reminds of the Cabbage Patch 10.

That was strangely my worst race of the year. Despite it being my highest ever age grade job. 

Several factors behind that. Parking the car was one, reading a book describing the decline of Ron Hill from top International to knackered fringe alcoholic didn't help visualise success either. So some controlled, some uncontrolled factors.

But probably it was thinking I was going to have chance to get one over on a club mate that did for me.

Now its not that I wish to gain an unfair advantage, but when you know someone hasn't run a yard in 6 months and 12 weeks before the race had their foot in plaster, you can't help but think its going to be your day.

What happened was that I blew up after a mile at a slower pace than my clubmate averaged for 10 miles. I felt ill most of the race, he ended up number 1 in the UK rankings. 

So, what others get up to shouldn't be a factor. But there's always the chance of some influence.

I stayed at my original club after all (7) the fast runners went elsewhere. One way to become the fastest runner in a club.

Tomorrow I'm doing the County XC Champs. Now I wasn't going to do this but the three V50's who were faster than me last year; and would have run, have all been compromised. One has left the club, one's been ill, one's injured. 

The club needed a 6th runner to score. So a chance to sneak in under the radar.

Stevie G . wrote (see)

Good piece Dean, although i'm not particularly hard core to ever follow someone above my limits!

Stevie, fair dos. sometimes one race becomes the stand out and can take a while to match over any distance, and other times it becomes the new minimum standard. Hopefully the latter!

5miles is a nice distance though. The maths is easy, a couple of miles to ease in,then you're half way, then it's less than 2miles to go, and then you're home. Lovely.

You sound like my mother. "Oh you're racing 5K, well that's OK then, it's only 3 miles, you ran 18 miles last week!" But yeah I know what you mean, but 5 miles has caught me out. You finish and then and think "How did I ever run another 1.25 miles at that pace!?"

Ric, ever heard the phrase pick your battles carefully! From what I've seen, top local runners seem to have amazing muscle memory type genes that sees them run very close to their on form level off jack all training.

That's why the battle in our club for xc is for 2nd place, with probably 3 of us having a chance depending on form and fitness. 1st is out of our league even if the top chap hasn't run for weeks.

Stevie, I've always found 5miles preferable over 10k. Probably mostly due to the pace zone being similar to both, with that annoying 1.2mile chunk added on. And also, something about the measurement in km rucking me up too. One min you're well on course, then the next you're struggling for it, even off no noticeable change in your condition.

ps Ric, i slighly panicked this year with the main carpark being shut at CP. For one thing I was looking forward to the secret toilets!

In the end where I actually parked was about 200metres from the start line, and loads of pubs had their swarthy facilities open anyway, so no problemo!

Intresting you say that as I was thinking about using KMs to monitor my pace rather than miles if I ran it. Personally, I think it allows you to respond quicker should the pace drop.

SG, yes I've heard that phrase.

Indeed, when I met the mentioned runner at the Maidenhead 10 (his wife was running) he was as miserable as sin since he'd never been injured and was worried he'd turn into a jogger. I told him he'd get his fitness back really quickly, that all those years training have long term effects.

Clearly he discovered I was right. And so did I. The audacity.

Yes the CarPk. I discovered it was a lock down job too but found another one about 2 seconds after the final space had been taken. Lucky for me I had someone to look after the car, but the hassle resulted in a warm up of almost nothing.

Might leave this race alone this year. Don't like the course now its been changed to avoid the main road. 

A mix of the GSR course, and the CP weather would probably be your perfect 10mile course. The epic nature of the field, and Live in Channel 5 status lives on with me.

Shame they're 1 week apart, not normally my style, but it worked well last year.

Let's worry about the spring racing first eh. Never wish time away, or miss the chance to pb when you can as otherwise it might not be there for long.

or some such gufff.

Stevie see wrote (see)

Intresting you say that as I was thinking about using KMs to monitor my pace rather than miles if I ran it. Personally, I think it allows you to respond quicker should the pace drop.

i used to make it a real brain messer by racing 10ks with the watch set on pace per mile, and distance in miles.

However, even monitoring it in kms doesn't seem to help.

Maybe it's the other factors of the weather that actually caused the drop offs rather than any time monitoring boobery in fairness.

A nice wall of tall fast guys to keep the wind away should do the trick at the next 10k, a mere 4 weeks away now

Stevie G . wrote (see)

 

IronCat5 in the Hat wrote (see)

So shamelessly stolen from every other thread in the Forum...

Totals
Highlights
Lowlights
Summary
2013

I'll kick it off...

 

 every other forum indeed...it was our genius format

I was hiding your light under a bushel. I shall update the thread with correct referencing.

I switched to km a few months back like SS says, to respond quicker. Especially for 5k races. Reading parkrun is currently uder water, and cancelled UFN. Frimley was a quagmire before Christmas, remeniscient of a proper XC. Haven't tried Woodley yet. I may be tempted with Black park. Is it a fast course, or a fast contingent?

Strange run this afternoon. I wasn't sure what it was going to be. Garmin got a little confused at one point and was showing silly paces. I think it ended up being sub-tempo.

My tri club also run in the TVXC league. They want me to run for them next season. Decisions decisions...