Running (2 Viewers)

Travs · Apr 6, 2024

National Road Relays today at Sutton Park. 65 of the top clubs in the country toed the start line.

1st Leeds City
2nd Bristol & West
3rd Highgate Harriers

Not seen final results yet but Godiva were around 35th (and 7th or 8th Midlands club.... a massive improvement over our 16th at the Midlands Relays a fortnight ago).

Leamington AC were a couple of places in front of us. Nuneaton Harriers somewhere 55th-60th.

On a personal note, another pb, beating my performance from a fortnight ago by 11 seconds. Was still in the slowest 15-20% of runners there today though.

Today's showing confirms that i'm firmly in pb shape for the 5km, and possibly even an outside chance of going under 18mins..... however i'll not get the chance to find out, as today is my last "flat" race until October, its mountain running all the way now as i prepare for the world masters.

Travs · Apr 16, 2024

Big weekend coming up....

Friday afternoon is the uphill mountain running trial for the GB team for the mountain running world champs.... so off to Keswick in the Lake District to compete in that.... really i've got no chance of being competitive as just about everyone else there will have a realistic chance of grabbing a GB vest.... i'm just there to get an uphill race in on the build-up to World Masters Champs in September.

Then on sunday i was a travelling reserve for the inter-counties fell champs, also at Keswick.... however i have now been promoted into the team, so another appearance in the green/blue vest of the mighty Warwickshire.

First race is uphill only, but around 3000ft of climb in 4 miles. Second race is 10 miles with approx 3000ft of climb and descent.

There is a very distinct possibility that our scoring three runners for Warwickshire will all be over-40 veterans.... i bet that doesn't happen often.

Bosworth Blue · Apr 16, 2024

Have to admit seeing Martin Warren’s posts on Twitter has inspired me to start running properly again.

SkyBlueSoul · Apr 16, 2024

First proper run since August last night, stopped making excuses and got out for a gentle 5km

speedie87 · Apr 16, 2024

Anyone got experience of trying low heart rate training, Maffetone like stuff, to build up an endurance base?

Sick Boy · Apr 16, 2024

SkyBlueSoul said:
First proper run since August last night, stopped making excuses and got out for a gentle 5km

Aiming to do my first ‘proper’ run again within the next couple of months, dreading it already!

We'll_live_and_die · Apr 17, 2024

speedie87 said:
Anyone got experience of trying low heart rate training, Maffetone like stuff, to build up an endurance base?

Yep, I did plenty of trail runs at 10/11minutes per KM and my speed and general fitness improved no end.

Travs · Apr 17, 2024

speedie87 said:
Anyone got experience of trying low heart rate training, Maffetone like stuff, to build up an endurance base?

I'm not familiar with maffetone, but building up a solid base of endurance through "easy" cardio is basically the core principle behind all decent running.

Going out and trying to hit a 5km pb on every run is a fast lane to disappointment and most probably injury.

Sky_Blue_Daz · Apr 18, 2024

Have completely lost the passion for it , need to get out of the rut I’m in , literally wake up do a few jobs till evening then drink then bed and repeat

Haven’t ran for about 2 weeks thinking of a few gentle 5ks then get back up yon5 miles asap

Sick Boy · Apr 20, 2024

Sky_Blue_Daz said:
Have completely lost the passion for it , need to get out of the rut I’m in , literally wake up do a few jobs till evening then drink then bed and repeat

Haven’t ran for about 2 weeks thinking of a few gentle 5ks then get back up yon5 miles asap

It’s understandable with all that’s been going on recently mate. I think just getting a few short kms in would help you get back into it soon.

Travs · Apr 22, 2024

Big weekend of racing in the Lake District.

Friday afternoon was the trial race for the GB Uphill team for the upcoming world champs in Annecy, France.

I had no illusions of getting anywhere near selection, but just wanted a good test on an uphill-only race. Despite running as well as i've ever done before, i finished about 58th out of 79.... although i was one of the few people in the race over the age of 30, let alone 40.

Then on sunday it was the inter-counties fell champs, where myself, two Godiva clubmates, and one from Kenilworth, donned the green and blue vest of Warwickshire, up against the best the other counties had to offer..... in the ladies there was one from Godiva, one from Stratford On Avon AC, and one from Knowle & Dorridge.

The four of us in the men's race were quite evenly matched and it was a good battle... i was first to the summit after over an hour of racing, but succumbed to my weekend's efforts on the descent and had to settle for 2nd counter, 78th overall. We were 19th county in the final standings.

The ladies' race was started 15mins after ours so i obviously didn't get a close-up view of the action, but Julie Emmerson of Godiva finished a fantastic 13th overall despite suffering terribly on the descent... with Warwickshire 11th county.

Think i'll take it easy this week, before ramping up again ready for my next race in just under 6 weeks time.

SkyBlueSoul · Apr 24, 2024

Managed to get out again today. 5k back under 25 mins, will start to push a bit more now. End of the season should mean I can be more regular with weekends an option.

DawlishSkyBlue · Apr 24, 2024

Travs said:
Big weekend of racing in the Lake District.

Friday afternoon was the trial race for the GB Uphill team for the upcoming world champs in Annecy, France.

I had no illusions of getting anywhere near selection, but just wanted a good test on an uphill-only race. Despite running as well as i've ever done before, i finished about 58th out of 79.... although i was one of the few people in the race over the age of 30, let alone 40.

Then on sunday it was the inter-counties fell champs, where myself, two Godiva clubmates, and one from Kenilworth, donned the green and blue vest of Warwickshire, up against the best the other counties had to offer..... in the ladies there was one from Godiva, one from Stratford On Avon AC, and one from Knowle & Dorridge.

The four of us in the men's race were quite evenly matched and it was a good battle... i was first to the summit after over an hour of racing, but succumbed to my weekend's efforts on the descent and had to settle for 2nd counter, 78th overall. We were 19th county in the final standings.

The ladies' race was started 15mins after ours so i obviously didn't get a close-up view of the action, but Julie Emmerson of Godiva finished a fantastic 13th overall despite suffering terribly on the descent... with Warwickshire 11th county.

Think i'll take it easy this week, before ramping up again ready for my next race in just under 6 weeks time.

Good going, is that all English counties or just Midlands?

Travs · Apr 24, 2024

DawlishSkyBlue said:
Good going, is that all English counties or just Midlands?

That was all English/Scottish/Welsh counties.

Although "counties" in the loosest possible sense..... it is the counties as defined in UK Athletics..... so there was Northern Ireland, North Wales, East Wales, North Scotland, East Scotland, North-East, amongst others.

So it is a struggle for a "flat" county like Warwickshire to compete against what are effectively national and regional squads.... and thats before you even get to thinking about traditional mountain-running counties such as Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Shropshire (although we did beat Shropshire this year)

But even ourselves in Warwickshire benefit slightly... our county in Athletics is the "old" Warwickshire, containing a large part of Birmingham (Birmingham is divided up between Warks/Staffs/Worcs)

DawlishSkyBlue · Apr 24, 2024

Travs said:
That was all English/Scottish/Welsh counties.

Although "counties" in the loosest possible sense..... it is the counties as defined in UK Athletics..... so there was Northern Ireland, North Wales, East Wales, North Scotland, East Scotland, North-East, amongst others.

So it is a struggle for a "flat" county like Warwickshire to compete against what are effectively national and regional squads.... and thats before you even get to thinking about traditional mountain-running counties such as Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Shropshire (although we did beat Shropshire this year)

But even ourselves in Warwickshire benefit slightly... our county in Athletics is the "old" Warwickshire, containing a large part of Birmingham (Birmingham is divided up between Warks/Staffs/Worcs)

Ah OK. Is there a Devon team or just South West?

Travs · Apr 24, 2024

DawlishSkyBlue said:
Ah OK. Is there a Devon team or just South West?

Yes Devon did have a men's team, came 12th.... probably the strongest of the non-traditional fell counties (although Devon does have a small fell-racing scene centered around Dartmoor and a couple of races near the coast paths.

Their cause was helped by having one very strong runner (Jamie Parkinson) who finished inside the top 20 individually.

You can qualify for a county through birth, or having been a resident for i think 9 months. Some counties are easier to get in than others though.... Cornwall, Kent, etc, they might not have a full team, or may be weak, so a decent chance of a vest..... but Cumbria for example, unless you're top 10 in the country there's no chance.... i think at Warwickshire we're somewhere in between.... an elite runner would walk into our team, but our team on sunday was still fairly solid (our last finisher is a GB Veteran level triathlete)

DawlishSkyBlue · Apr 24, 2024

Travs said:
Yes Devon did have a men's team, came 12th.... probably the strongest of the non-traditional fell counties (although Devon does have a small fell-racing scene centered around Dartmoor and a couple of races near the coast paths.

Their cause was helped by having one very strong runner (Jamie Parkinson) who finished inside the top 20 individually.

You can qualify for a county through birth, or having been a resident for i think 9 months. Some counties are easier to get in than others though.... Cornwall, Kent, etc, they might not have a full team, or may be weak, so a decent chance of a vest..... but Cumbria for example, unless you're top 10 in the country there's no chance.... i think at Warwickshire we're somewhere in between.... an elite runner would walk into our team, but our team on sunday was still fairly solid (our last finisher is a GB Veteran level triathlete)

Yes there is a fell race series on Dartmoor. I've only ever done the Haytor one but hope to do some this year

Travs · Apr 27, 2024

I did Holbrooks Parkrun this morning. A new one for me.

Fancied this one because its predominantly an off-road course, and less numbers than Coventry or Warwick, so i'd be less focused on a particular time or pb, and less likely to get pulled into a race... just wanting a decent run out after last weekend's big efforts.

This was all well and good, but myself and the eventual winner soon pulled away, and neither of us were entirely sure where we were going on the 2nd half of the lap.... we got round the first lap in one piece.... this probably played into my hands as the winner is more than capable of putting 60-90secs into me over 5km, but we reached halfway dead level.

Now he knew the way on the 2nd lap and didn't need my assistance, he soon stretched away, finishing in 18:30 while i trailed in at 19:11

Paced it quite well as i looked at my watch about 1km in and i was bang on 19min pace, so i didn't really drop off despite the first lap mishaps. However my calves were extremely sore afterwards so i'm not yet recovered from last weekend.... it was a sorry trot back home afterwards.

A good course and a very friendly atmosphere due to the many helpers from Northbrook AC. I'd probably stay away from it in winter though, unless i really wanted a specific muddy cross-country workout. This time of year its absolutely fine.

Sky_Blue_Daz · Apr 28, 2024

Anyone do the cov half today ?

Skybluefaz · Apr 28, 2024

Sky_Blue_Daz said:
Anyone do the cov half today ?

Yes.

2 hours 29 minutes.

I'm over the moon considering I was running a 45 minute Parkrun just over a year ago!

Sky_Blue_Daz · Apr 28, 2024

Skybluefaz said:
Yes.

2 hours 29 minutes.

I'm over the moon considering I was running a 45 minute Parkrun just over a year ago!

Well done mate , I really need to get back into the habit of running

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon · Apr 28, 2024

Sky_Blue_Daz said:
Anyone do the cov half today ?

Yes, 1:47:53 which was about 7 minutes faster than i thought id manage. Started pretty slowly and absolutely hammered the last 5 miles. Really happy with how it went, had the traditional pissing rain for it too!

Sky_Blue_Daz · Apr 28, 2024

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon said:
Yes, 1:47:53 which was about 7 minutes faster than i thought id manage. Started pretty slowly and absolutely hammered the last 5 miles. Really happy with how it went, had the traditional pissing rain for it too!

Well done mate

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon · Apr 28, 2024

Sky_Blue_Daz said:
Well done mate

Thank you, i'm shattered now but very happy with how it went.

With your own struggles, just go when you feel like it, don't beat yourself up if you just cant face it sometimes but do go when you feel you can. I generally find it builds from there, you go and it helps mentally which in turn makes it more likely you'll go again. The key though is not piling pressure on when you make those deciaions to say "fuck this" on occasion when it just doesnt work for you.

Sick Boy · Apr 29, 2024

Congrats @Skybluefaz and @Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon!

My legs are still messed up from shin splints, so no idea yet when I’ll be able to start again properly.

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon · Apr 29, 2024

Sick Boy said:
Congrats @Skybluefaz and @Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon!

My legs are still messed up from shin splints, so no idea yet when I’ll be able to start again properly.

Have you been to see a physio? Mine didnt improve with rest but were sorted after 2 physio trips, one of which involved accupuncture. Fucking hurt but did the trick.

andy86 · Apr 29, 2024

Sky_Blue_Daz said:
Anyone do the cov half today ?

Yes. 2.04 for me.

Loads of sky blue on show, running and supporting this year.

Sky_Blue_Daz · Apr 29, 2024

andy86 said:
Yes. 2.04 for me.

Loads of sky blue on show, running and supporting this year.

Great time mate well done , I’m trying to convince a few of me mates to do it with me next year .

To be honest I’ve decided to give it a go anyway

Sick Boy · Apr 29, 2024

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon said:
Have you been to see a physio? Mine didnt improve with rest but were sorted after 2 physio trips, one of which involved accupuncture. Fucking hurt but did the trick.

Yeah been going to one for a couple of months now. I ran on them for a long time, and ran through the pain, including doing a half marathon, so am paying for it now!

Sky_Blue_Daz · May 1, 2024

Got out and did a 4 mile run today . Bit disappointed in the time just over 40 minutes but considering that’s me first run in ages

DawlishSkyBlue · May 13, 2024

Shite performance at Exeter marathon yesterday. Started badly with a marshal not being in place causing me and about 50 other runners to take a wrong turn and do and extra KM , added to the blazing heat and a shoulder injury I've been carrying caused me to pull out at 19 miles at Exeter Quay. If I'd had my cashcard or phone on me I'd have been straight into one of the boozers but alas not. Sat watching the runners for about 10 mins then saw a clubmate who was struggling, was feeling a bit better so I restarted and helped him get around the last 7 miles. Not great but better than a DNF I guess

Great_Expectations · May 16, 2024

DawlishSkyBlue said:
Shite performance at Exeter marathon yesterday. Started badly with a marshal not being in place causing me and about 50 other runners to take a wrong turn and do and extra KM , added to the blazing heat and a shoulder injury I've been carrying caused me to pull out at 19 miles at Exeter Quay. If I'd had my cashcard or phone on me I'd have been straight into one of the boozers but alas not. Sat watching the runners for about 10 mins then saw a clubmate who was struggling, was feeling a bit better so I restarted and helped him get around the last 7 miles. Not great but better than a DNF I guess

Regardless of time, finishing a marathon is always a massive achievement. 0.01% of the population and all that!

Great_Expectations · May 16, 2024

I have ran a few organised halves over the last few Sundays; Birmingham, Spires and Shires and I have Chester on Sunday.

Spires and Shires was by far the hilliest organised run I’ve done. But somehow I was really close to the prize places, if I hadn’t have been held up by cows blocking the bridal path (!) I think I would have placed.

I’m looking forward to Chester on Sunday, especially as we’re staying over that night (kid free!) so going to celebrate with a few pints around Chester post race!

DawlishSkyBlue · May 16, 2024

Great_Expectations said:
Regardless of time, finishing a marathon is always a massive achievement. 0.01% of the population and all that!

Thanks I'll no doubt keep doing them but for the rest of this year just gonna enjoy the shorter stuff. Next up 4x4km team relay event

DawlishSkyBlue · May 16, 2024

Great_Expectations said:
I have ran a few organised halves over the last few Sundays; Birmingham, Spires and Shires and I have Chester on Sunday.

Spires and Shires was by far the hilliest organised run I’ve done. But somehow I was really close to the prize places, if I hadn’t have been held up by cows blocking the bridal path (!) I think I would have placed.

I’m looking forward to Chester on Sunday, especially as we’re staying over that night (kid free!) so going to celebrate with a few pints around Chester post race!

Good luck for Sunday. Is that a road half? I've heard the marathon is fast and flat but don't know about the half

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