Moraghan Training - Stevie G

Dachs wrote (see)

SS - like I say, I couldn't be entirely sure what pace that is, 3K was just a guess at how long I could stretch that pace out for a full race.  I just ran them as quick as I felt I could manage consistently.

Re the XC, it's a strange one.  I remember running loads of XC races as a kid round the West Country, all of which I ran in spikes.  Occassionally a bit of tarmac would creep in, but I just ran on my heels like a pillock.  But compared to many (not all) of them, I would still class the XC I ran last weekend as quite tough, despite a long section of hard surface which prevented spike-wearing.  Maybe it's just that my memory of the toughness of those courses from my childhood has faded due to the passage of time (apart from one particularly hideous one at Weymouth).

Yes Dachs, Chesil Beach is a tad tougher than most courses.

SG, I note your reference to height. Takes me back to the Hillingdon half marathon where part of the course went under a line of trees for around 400m.

It was a blazing hot day and the only shade was right underneath them. However, anyone much taller than me 5' 5" had to run out in the open on account of the amount of low hanging branches.

Very handy respite from the heat. 

Today was certainly well timed as a rest day, very heavy snow, massively settled.

Only positive was getting a half day off work over it! Bargain!

Just makes tomorrow's planned 12miler medium quality session a bit tricky... It might be one of those sessions where I think, 4miles easy would be say 30ish mins, 4miles steady would be 26mins, 4miles MP would be 24.20ish, and just aim for the time at that intensity rather than the mileage as such.

Then you're getting the pro rata kind of workout.

Will be dull round a field tho..but we'll give it a go!

Hopefully wycombe's game won't be on..can't be assed getting over there to watch a dull game in the freezing cold!

Ric, occasionally being a lil fella helps

Although we're all moaning about the snow and weather now..give it a couple of months, and we'll have a 6month lotto about what dates will suddenly be very hot from no warning!

Dachs wrote (see)

The Imelda Marcos of the fell running community.

Hey, what do you mean? 15 pairs is not excessive . There's worse than me on FRA forum! Mind you, there's also plenty who have one pair of Walshes for everything  that they've been re-soling since about 1973

Wycombe's pitch has under grass heating doesn't it SG? The car park would be pretty dodgy though!

When I was out with SG last week Ric, he had to duck under a large branch I just cruised under!

Oh BTW, I'm not moaning about the snow - I love it (though will probably be fed up with it by Tuesday!!)

how can you love the snow Bus? It slows the running, and makes doing quality pretty difficult.

And that's before we go onto the subject of if you actually want to travel anywhere!

The game will be similar to the XC races situation we discussed earlier, the course/pitch will be useable, it'll be the areas surrounding/getting there!

I had an horrendous time at a game 2 years ago. Wore my XC shoes forgrip, but of course they are thin as paper, so even with 2 pairs of thick socks it was beyond freezing. Then i got a lift from a pal, who dropped me right in the centre of wycombe, in the iciest bit of the whole town...was the longest walk home ever...grrr

presume park runs are called off in the snow? Even though i'm not a fan, I vaguely have the idea of somehow timing my run tomorrow to coincide with it. Might be slightly more interesting than lap after lap on my own...

EDIT...not unsurprisingly it is cancelled

at least no 6am wakeup!!

Never been so happy to have an F-OFF! Think my school was the only one for miles that stayed open. But can't complain, that's what I'm paid to do! Quite a nice day to be honest work wise. Just got a massage stick in the post, to finally get into those sore calves and the inside of my knee. I find foam rolling the calf hard as you have all your weight on it and have to hold yourself up on your wrists, which can be a challenge in it's self.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/66fit-Trigger-Point-Massage-Stick-White/dp/B0087CLXOK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358532309&sr=8-2

Stevie, I find the foam roller quite limited really, as the 2 bits that I find I can really get good purchase on, the calves and quads, generally are fine for me.

You can't really get into the hamstrings, as it's not hard enough.

better this week then in 3/4weeks time I suppose Bus!

Tomorrow is going to be a strain, although I suppose by the time I get onto the faster paces I'll have run myself a little trail round the park!!

Bus, no one aknle over the other so all the pressure is on one. If I do two together there isn't enough pressure. It works well with the 'rumble roller' but that thing is pure evil and I literally can't hack any more than a minute at a time. First time I used it on my ITB it bruised both legs! Vile thing!  But I dod get the 33% firmer one, so it's my own fault!

Why don't you just go for a  XC run of about the same overall duration, varying the effort level to be about the same as the originally planned session? Not quite as effective, but less mind numbingly dull and it's actually a lot of fun running round the Chilterns in the snow!! 

Judging how tired my legs felt today, I think I'm going to have a rest day tomorrow (well, not exactly - taking the kids sledging at the golf course!) with an 8.5M of some form on Sunday to round up the week to 60.

x post Stevie..

Ouch - that thing looks damn painful (or rather obscene, or both!). My own foam roller is starting to collapse now, so I need to think about getting another one. The More Mile own brand looks good value. I tend to do boht calves togtehr, but you're right, probably not enough pressure that way.

Stevie, you're lucky to have legs if you rub over that!

Bus...exactly that is what I'm planning...the duration that the 4mile section would take on the road. Will come out less mileage, but pro rata training benefit. Probably! Much easier to think "25mins at this intensity", then 4miles...

Can't be doing with training and racing with niggles, strains and injuries.

It must be an age thing. The ability of being able to set aside the pain, race effectively and then go back to being crocked. I used to be able to do something similar myself once.

I noticed top runners such as Steve Jones and Ron Hill training like cripples, smashing out the mileage regardless. Then going off and nigh on breaking a world record. 

Then one day it happens. I read Ron Hills autobiography where you could sense the puzzlement that the training didn't seem to work anymore.

So for me under the current conditions, its all about looking after myself. It doesn't concern me that I'm only running every other day, because 50% is enough to keep things as they are.

Wokingham is only three weeks away. If the freeze up remains for the next two weeks, results may end up being just a measure of how skilled the runner was at self preservation during an ice age.

pre race training is more for confidence boosting and ticking over then trying to develop any new ability though isn't it.

Bizarrely apparently the Bracknell XC people say that if the race is off on sunday they'll try and reschedule...

Surely by this time in the series it's best just left cancelled....

Must say the stick thing is a must for sore calves. That thing is gonna' get some right hammer! Not sure if I'm looking forward to a very pretty and scenic countryside long run or dreading the constant wheel spins I'll be doing on the ice!

Good luck to anyone trying to push the pace tomorrow! Those 4MP miles might be a tad dicey SG!

Absolutely SG, sometimes we are forced to hold station a while. As mentioned before, I've knackered myself attempting to train in conditions when no one else would.

I think the reasoning behind that was that by training when others were not, I'd gain an advantage. Its another case of picking the right battles. 

Stevie/Ric, some days you have to simply accept it'll be a "pro rata" session.

There's no way I'm hitting 6.10 MP with this level of snow!

Instead, it'll have to be to effort and time.

Otherwise 12miles might take 20mins extra, and smash me up way beyond the idea of the session.

Therefore, 30mins easy, 26mins steady, 24.40 MP, and the mileage comes out as it does.

Unfortunately Wycombe have declared the game ON today. Meaning I have to get there! Haven't been on a bus since the last snow day! Is a hassle! I used to do that every game, getting there an hour before the game, nightmare...I like to roll in at kick off!

What do you mean? Buses are THE stress free way to travel 

I wish I'd taken the Bus last time, instead of getting a lift with a mate's deaf dad, who almost wiped a bunch of people out as my mate "signed" him directions, and then dumped me in some incredible dangerously iced up bit of the town that took over an hour to cover 2miles!

SG, you're clearly more than your average football supporter.

Never was too bothered myself. The first professional game I ever went to (1969) I saw George Best score. In fact the guy my cousin is married to, once mentioned that when he was a pro footballer; as a defender, it was his ambition to kick George Best.

An ambition fulfilled.

Running for me today was an easy 10 miles in the snow. The fellcross shoes kept the feet nice and dry and grip no problem. All dressed up (met a guy running in shorts) so carrying a lot of extra gear.

Average pace came out at 8:50 min miles, which is the sort of speed most guys on this thread could manage, but got me wondering.

What % of runners could average that pace for a 'parkrun' under ideal conditions in summer. Ans -  Just over half.

Aren't we brilliant!