Moraghan Training - Stevie G

Crazy week at work with year end stuff meaning long days so haven't had a chance to read the thread all work. A quick skim back and there's just to much to try and catch up on. Some really good 2012 summaries though. Really enjoyed reading them and I think Dean has a lot of pressure on him with just about everyone touting him as the best performer of 2013.

Crack XC yesterday by Ric, Dean Johnas and Matt. Sounds like it was quite difficult stuff with all the mud and the extra length on the courses compared to the normal league matches. I sidestepped the Surrey champs as XC as I'm not much good at XC.

Great 10km time by PC2 at Serpentine. Nice way to start 2013. My racing gets underway next week at the next XC league match and then Gloucester marathon the following weekend. Happy with my effort on my 8km time trial route yesterday. 26:45 for the 8km so a good chunk off my quickest over that route. Interesting to see what that converts to marathon wise in 2 weeks time.

SG - one comment I did pick out from earlier was on the teetotalling. I thought I'd let you know that you're not alone on that one. I gave up the booze when my kids came along. I just couldn't handle the hangover combined with crazy kids.

Crispy, marvellous 10k. Simple as.  From the time I met you at some xc years back, I realised you had some monster potential, and you're starting to smash through it now!

ps how darn cool is the PC2 man? Most of us froth at the mouth to get our top results on here, this man can wait til a week on!

Dean,  fellow early bird, shame you don't live down here, we could be early morning sunday running pals! Especially as your "slow" is probably my normal long pace.

Having said that, today was one of the more respectable overall times, 7.19 for 14miles, including a couple of steep hills too.

Was a little worried how it'd go, as Wed was crunky after a very big Tue session, and the other runs since have been a little hippy. However after warming up, felt pretty good if I'm honest!

I think i'll tweak the rehab strengthening a little, and do more reps of stuff like lunges, the 3 main glute stretches and single leg squats, and perhaps cut out the ones where you lie on your side and jerk the leg across. See if that one does more harm than good....

Ric, I'd be delighted if you were doing 1:16, as long as it comes attached with some kind of formula of whatever you do I beat by a minute

The Bus wrote (see)

Wokingham then Ric!

Entries are full: http://wokinghamhalfmarathon.co.uk/html/entries.html so those who have delayed have done so too far (that incldues me but a half in 5 weeks time is not on as a race yet).

Yep Phil, they sent a mail out a couple of days passing that on.

One of those races that scaremongering suggests fills up very early, but 5weeks before the day sounds about right.

Shame you're not involved, but you're miles off that time where just turning out/getting round/social is enough, so probably wouldn't do a job.

If you or Bus fancy Chichester 10k the week before though, I'm driving down there, and that's still open. Meant to be an epic course and field, and in my experience these road trip days are usually a highlight of the year, especially if you have a buddy along.

Warren, we cross posted earlier, good xc yourself. You remind me a bit of UG in that you could be an absolute speed demon if you stopped messing about with the real long distance stuff

Another Sam/Bus battle!  Not sure if it's terrific, or annoying to have someone so close in pace turn up against you so often!

Would hate to be her coach...can you imagine? Oh I just want to do 2 or 3 races in this...2 week slot. I'm guessing her "coaching" arrangement is a lot looser than what I follow.

Must have been some tasty oldies there to keep you out of the mixer. Frankie involved? At least you've got until October when EOG becomes 40, and Chris at Datchet is the same in 2014 I think. Once those 2 get to that status, the offroad race V40 awards will be HOOVERED up

I'll certainly have to pick them more carefully when that happens or just do races with a V45 prize . Oh, and they've got to remain at the same level as well!

Must admit, I do sometimes get a bit fed up with hearing "come on Sam" and "first lady" at races, but on the plus side, I do get some nice race photos out of it by being a few steps behind or in front of her!  I was expecting her to pull ahead on the last downhill today as usual but focussed on trying to "relax and disengage the brain" which is apparently the way to deal with tricky downhills and helepd today.

Cliveden is the type of race that does attract the Vets (and the trophies for first 3 V40 must help!), but no shame today in being beaten by some oldies - Nigel Rackham (V50), Laurence Miles, Pete Summers and Owen Byrne, who all seem to specialise in tough, off-road courses.

Frank did the County XC yesterday and just missed out on a medal apparently.

Must be nice to turn up at a race and be a known "face" who people know will be in contention-ish.

Although having said that, sometimes you just want to be anonymous so people don't bring big performances out to hunt you down! Reminds me of past 5k and xcs in club colours where you'd see some rival who is only just slower and knowing you'll have to work optimumly!

Go on Sam! 1st lady! I had 6/7miles of that at Wokingham one year. They forget that a bloke doing that pace isn't doing badly either!

They were probably wondering why some old bloke with a bit of a pot belly was keeping up with her today! 

pot belly  So, not quite in the shape that you showed off to the world, shirtless after the CP 2011 race

ps Chichester 10k week before Wokingham, as a little warm up?

Third race in 6 days done, Oxford Mail XC,  until the results come up I dont know where I came but it was probably in the teens which is about right. Hard work today, it has proper mud and two laps consisting of pretty much just a massive uphill followed by the down. I seem to go downhill with far less caution than most and picked off loads - there was a few steps in the woods so I took full on leaps from those!

SG - I was keen to get it on, just didnt have the access! Also, knowing there is better times to come helped (getting cocky now).

The Bus wrote (see)

They were probably wondering why some old bloke with a bit of a pot belly was keeping up with her today! 

Bus, well done on today's race. But I'm not sure why you think you have a pot belly, 

 If you have, you must be holding it in.

Sorry! picture from 2011.

Chichester is pencilled in SG - need to work out the nuts and bolts and get a pass from the Mrs!

CP 2011's shirtless episode was a needs must situation - bleeding nips from some strategically placed stitching on my vest and only my brand new, white CP t-shirt to wear as an alternative - and I wasn't going to spoil that! Glad you thought I was in reasonable shape though  I'm hoping a regime of long runs and considerably less cheese, mince pies and quality street wll get me back in time for Wokingham! 

That's some raceilicious start to the new year PC2!!

Some thoughts on XC.

First: Surprised that Nigel R did a XC. As far as I know he's only run two before yesterday.

Second: That I wish I didn't have such mobile ankle joints. When I try to push off through mud my feet are going all over the place, whereas those with straight solid hinges just go forward. Costs me heaps of time.

Afternoon all - just returned after being away over Christmas and new year, so have done some brief catching up.  Will post my review, which I am sure you've all been awaiting with baited breath, in a sec, but pleasantries first....

Firstly, that's a storming start to the year for PC2 - a sub-34 10k is fine stuff indeed, and it must feel great to hit that kind of milestone on the first day of the year.  Excellent stuff on getting the Berkshire vest (I may have a stab next year) as well.

Well done SG on the 5k - having done two 17:29 parkruns in a row recently, I share your frustration at that particular figure.  Also, congrats to Bus on an archetypal Bus style race.

Been mostly in Germany with the in-laws in the last few days.  Have managed to get out for a fairly decent amount of training, but still down on usual.  Mostly easy stuff round the fairly hilly forests, but one session of note was doing hill reps on an approximately 1.2km long beast of a hill leading from the bottom of the valley to the top, which gets progressively steeper as you go up.  We don't have hills anything like that round my way, so thought I'd make the most of it and do 4 of them, but it was an absolute bastard of a session, and each rep seemed to be followed by a recovery period of bending over wheezing, which isn't the prescribed recovery in any of the training manuals as far as I know.

I note some kind words for my 2013 prospects in others' reviews, so thanks for that.  Don't feel particularly fast at the moment though.

So, my review...

Totals

• Miles - 2371
• Races - 13 (excluding 7 parkruns)
• Distances raced - 5K, 5 miles, 10K, half marathon, marathon
• Number of PBs - does this include if I've run multiple PBs at the same distance? If so, it's 11 (excluding the marathon, where it was my first stab at the distance).  If no it's 4.

Top 3 personal running highlights

To be honest, it's been a pretty phenomenal year for me, and I have massively exceeded all expectations - my aim on new years day 2012 was to maybe get my 10K down to 37:xx, and, at a stretch by the end of the year, 36:xx.  As it turned out, I achived that stretch target within 10 days on a very hilly course.  So it's all been a highlight.  But, the top bits were:

• Goring & Woodcote 10K (January) - as above.  My breakthrough race.  I surpassed all my expectations by a massive margin in terms of time, and ended up with my first top-3 finish.  A great feeling.
• Yateley 10K (July) - my best performance this year.  34:19, finishing in 2nd place ahead of some quality local runners (albeit no doubt not at their best) for a massive PB, and my first every prize winnings of monetary value. £15!
• Berlin Marathon (September) - more about the experience than anything else, as it probably wasn't one of my strongest performances.  But there is just a different atmosphere around a big city marathon, and I can see why people end up running tons of them.  Fantastic experience.

(also a special mention should go to breaking 35 for the first time at the Woodley 10K in May, finishing just in front of my house)

Top 3 disappointments

In the context of the above, it seems a bit churlish to talk about disappointments, but the top 3 would be:

• Wargrave 10K in June - I wasn't on form, but I was still angry at myself for not knuckling down and working hard when the going got tough.  I wouldn't have been quick, but I should have been quicker. 
• Missing Cabbage Patch 10 through injury - I was looking forward to that one.  It's also disappointing how that injury has made the end of the year a bit of a downer.
• Cancellation of New Forest 10.  Again, I'd been looking forward to it, it was a race we always used to attend as kids to watch my dad, and would have been a bit of a nostalgia trip.  Nothing the organisers could have done, but still disappointing.  Next year...

Part 2 to follow ...

Thread members

Best race performance - like others, I would have to say Phil's VLM, it was textbook stuff, made more impressive by the tribulations of others at that race, both from this thread and elsewhere.  However, a very special mention must go to DT2's unorthodox and obscene 10K race victory, which is my thread highlight of the year.  Lesser men might have preserved their modesty and forgone the victory, but not our DT2!

Thread poster of the year - you're all lovely.  Oh, OK then.  SG has given us a lesson in patience with his injury woes, but I will give it to the unsung hero of the thread, The Bus - the unnecessarily hilly 10K's, the frantic checking to see if other racers are also grizzled v40s, the seemingly lifelong battle with Sam A, and the inevitable retching towards the end all bring a splash of colour (in the latter case, quite literally), but also a welcome familiarity and reliability.

One to watch in 2013 -  Difficult.  Dean will run some great times this year, but we all know about him.  Stevie G and Stevie S will see their patience pay off this year with some fine times too.

However, I reckon it's Seb.  Some very strong performances on all surfaces, despite doing less miles than most on this thread and despite the odd crafty fag.  With the right training this year, watch him fly.

Race Results

• 5K - N/A (no PB previously) / 16:33
• 5 miles - 31:xx (I don't remember, it was when I was 16-ish!) / 27:38
• 10K - 39:47 / 34:19
• Half marathon - 1:29:45 / 1:16:36
• Marathon - N/A / 2:50:52

2013 Aims

• 5K - sub 16 (target races - various)
• 10K - sub 34 (target race - Eastleigh, others)
• Half marathon - sub 1:15 (target races - Wokingham, Reading, Maidenhead)
• Marathon - sub 2:45 (target race - probably Abingdon)

The 10K, HM and mara aims are eminently achievable.  I reckon I was in shape to do the 10K and Half times at points this year, given the right race at the right time, and the marathon time should come down with experience and better preparation.  The 5k target is a real stretch though, and will need some very specific speedwork and a lot of attempts. 

The Bus wrote (see)

Chichester is pencilled in SG - need to work out the nuts and bolts and get a pass from the Mrs!

No pass for me, Mrs PMJ is at an all day dance class so I am on kid duty.