Printable View
I think that triple has only been topped by Dave Spedding in the 2006 Borrowdale when he won prizes for being 13th overall, 4th V40, First V50, First V60 and a counter for Keswick as 2nd team.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
I was 2nd V60 and I just watched in awe!
Congratulations on your famous victory Llani Boy...!
68 miles, 11,600ft this week. An encouraging week, with a very good hard session, a pleasing 5km effort yesterday, and a 1hr45 decent runout today.
Next week expecting the mileage to go up again, not sure exactly what else i'll pan for the week, but will have a club solo session to do. And at some point in the next fortnight i hope to go for an all-out attack at a 5km pb.
Ran an impromptu marathon on the road yesterday. Never run one before, though have done further off-road. Do most of my mid-week running on the roads, so wasn't too bad, but my legs/feet were definitely feeling the pounding in the last 10km so. A shade under 3h30m, which I was pretty happy with given it was a lumpy route, 50+km in the week and carrying some kit with me. Hoping to tune that up a bit as base for e.g. 3 Peaks and longer off-road stuff next year (fingers crossed).
69.4 miles for the week, 19,580 feet, but dead slow at 17 hours 40 minutes. It helps if you are retired so you can choose when to run!Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Club session... 2 x 2 mile tempo efforts, with 4 minutes rest.
Feeling full of enthusiasm and confidence at the moment, i did three efforts, although probably ran the first one a little too easily.
9 miles.
Great to see this thread prospering during difficult times... Hank casually knocking out a road marathon without a second thought, and MikeT that is some amount of climbing in a week!!
A rather slow run up Beacon Hill, and back via Windmill Hill. Didn't feel very energetic, but managed to keep running* all the way up Beacon Hill. Later in the run I was slowed to a walk on the recently harvested maize field, where the machinery had made deep ruts across the footpath in the slippery mud.
It's amazing how one can find an extra turn of speed on passing through a path junction and seeing an attractive female ten yards ahead on the next path. Lechery doesn't decline with age.:)
* As mentioned previously on this forum, I define "running" as any gait that would get me disqualified in a race walk. It would be interesting to time myself "running" up some of the steeper hills in this area, and also time myself walking up the same hills.
A solo headtorch bash up Whernside last night from Station Inn. Mega hill fog higher up with added drizzle all added extra ‘atmosphere’ to the experience. And lots and lots of mud and rubble of course. A grand run out all the same - 6.8 miles and 1,555 feet in 1hr 21 :)
I still remember the race when an English Champion "walked" past me as I was "running" up a hill.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
It was a Eureka moment. "If that's the way Champions do it then so should I" :)
The intention this morning had been to go down to Warwick Racecourse and run the very fast parkrun course there, in an all-out attempt at taking a chunk out of my 5km pb.
But waking up and seeing the rain and standing water, i decided it probably wasn't a day for gaining an optimum time. So stayed local.
12 x 2mins hard/2mins easy.
10 miles including warm up and warm down. Training has been a little patchy over the latter part of the week due to work, but still hoping to clear 60 miles by the time the weekend is done.
Was it a 2 lap race?Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
A decent 30+ mile haul this weekend bought the week up to a respectable total... 67 miles 10,800ft.
Nothing too spectacular this week, just steady miles and a couple of good sessions.
Next weekend possibly revive my attempt at a 5km pb. And throwing around the thought of doing the Coventry Way Footpath in the next few weeks... a 40 mile, mainly off road, circuit of Cov at a radius of about 5 miles from the city centre. Won't be ideal conditions underfoot this time of year (it rarely is in summer), but would be a decent day out.
Still trying to get back on it so a steady 4 mile run with my son on the High Peak Trail in 35mins. Blue sky and sun but a very gusty wind.
After last Sundays run my groins were a bit tender so I missed Tuesdays run but did 3 miles on Thursday.
Overall this week I've run only 7 miles but have done 70 miles and 6'500 feet on the bike and 25 miles walking with the dogs so the legs are getting slowly back into it.
Onwards and upwards!
Rest week last week, so just a few short and easy runs. Back to it this week, so the usual Monday-Friday on the road averaging 11k/200m, then something longer on Saturday, most likely in the Dales.
Something a little different today, a rep session on the treadmill. I don't mind steady treadmill runs, and i obviously use them for the vast majority of climbing, but prefer to keep speed sessions road/track based.
But busy with work so there wasn't really time. The session was to be 6 x 1km with 2mins rest. Which i adapted to 6 x 4mins, then did a 6 minute blowout at the end.
Obviously it doesn't take quite so much toll on the legs, but can certainly really push the lungs and cardio system hard. Was absolutely drenched when i came back out of the garage an hour later.
I'm a bit hesitant to call this 'training' but my running weeks right now tend to be all off road, and with lockdown, mostly from home or nearby. My week goes something like this:
Monday - recovery/rest day run - 3 miles with the dogs around Brants Gill Head and back along the Ribble Way with say 300feet of climb
Tuesday - solo race night - these I try and push hard as if in a race, usually endeavouring to attack my pb's on various different routes around and about near home. Anything between 4 and 10 miles in length with at least 1,000 feet of climb but usually more. These are tending to slow down a bit at the moment given the need for a head torch, the weather and dodgy ground conditions but, from a solo adventure point of view, they're definitely getting spicy
Wednesday - prior to lockdown this was often our run with friends evening followed by a beer and a big bowl of what we call slop (veggie stew, chilli or chunky soup). At the minute its usually me, Hester and the dogs running somewhere relatively low level in the hills for 4 or 5 miles
Thursday - now with the gym shut, this has become my two run day. I've been running up Penyghent at the crack of dawn on my tod (medium paced on the up and either fast or slow on the down depending how I feel). 4 to 6 miles and 1,600 feet. Then usually a 2 or 3 miler in the evening with the dogs
Friday - depends a bit how I feel but often a 4 or 5 miler with dogs up the Pennine Way one way and back the other, with some good low level hills thrown in
Saturday and Sunday - two good, middling to epic, runs out in the hills with Hester and the dog squad. These runs can be long and often (pre lockdown) in the Lakes and other Dales adventure spots further from home. They do however involve plenty of hill/mountain running and adventuring, with often a strava segment time attack on a particular climb or descent thrown in.
Mileage and climb depend a lot on the time of year but, right now, its 40 plus miles a week with say 8,000 to 9,000 feet of climb, with say half done in the week (now in the dark before or after work) and half done in daylight at the weekend
Went over to Warwick Racecourse for a 5km attempt this morning. A much more consistently flat course than the ones round by me... albeit with still a reasonable hill in it, which must be scaled twice, but in my opinion a fast course.
Unfortunately with it being around a very flat and open racecourse, it was incredibly windy today... which is today's excuse for not reaching the time i feel capable of!
Managed 18:50... i feel the wind may have cost 20-30secs.... i think that on a 5km, someone like me with good stamina, but perhaps a slight lack of basic speed, needs to start hard and maintain it. This wasn't really an option today as the first 800-1km were into a very strong headwind, so i felt i was always fighting a losing battle... knew at halfway i was a little way off the pace.
Still it was a nice bit of hard work. My plan had been to forget the 5km after today and get into some long stuff at the weekends... but i think a couple more weeks of hard work can see me picking up a much better time than i registered today.
Another week over and this weeks scores were a steady 68 miles and 11,100ft. Slight disappointment with my 5km time yesterday but not a major disaster in an otherwise decent week.
Next week... "club" session which i'll do tuesday or wednesday, probably another bash at 5km next weekend. Fingers crossed it's only 4 weeks to the Skirrid Fell Race, everything permitting!
Really enjoyed my run in the Goyt Valley this morning with my "cool" friend.
You'll be pleased to know Moley that he passed the dress code test by not wearing anything too gaudy or gimmicky. He was shod in More Mile trail shoes which he rates and I must say that they looked pretty stable on the muddy ascents/descents. He was, however, much tidier dressed than me, in my old black smelly helly lifa, t shirt and shorts.
8 miles and 1'062 feet over a mix of terrain in 1hr 15min. Pleased with that, my longest run in 3 months. Calves a bit tender now, a short steep downhill tarmac section, in Mudclaws, to blame. Easy again midweek.
Hopefully slowly getting there with a weekly total of 16 miles and 1'600 feet running, 77 miles and 6'500 feet cycling and 20 miles walking with dogs.
Watch out Trav's, I'm after you:)
34k/1200m yesterday. Cracking loop from Austwick to Feizor, Helwith Bridge, up over Penyghent, down through Horton, Ingleborough and back via Trow Gill and Thwaite Lane. Decent conditions, though some proper slop underfoot around Sulber Nick. Currently pondering over a rest day today or a run at lunchtime.
Great route that. As a local though I'm a little worried that at the start you missed out going up through Wharfe/Oxenber woods (sidestepping Feizor) and also didn't visit Smearsett Scar before heading for Helwith Bridge and the climb up Pyg :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank
There is so much gloop between the top of Sulber Nick and Nick Pot right now - fantastic eh?
18:50 sounds really good to me. Living in the hills and not being a fan of hard, fast and short running (and not doing park runs) means that I’ve never really bothered with a 5K. I just checked Strava and ironically my best 5K ever was during the London Marathon in 2014 (21:25). I really need to put on my man pants and have a blast at a flat 5K I thinkQuote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fellbeast
I'm sure 18:50 is, all things considered, a fair time.
But i'm sure i'm capable of more. I ran a 3km track race in just over 10:30 in the summer, which is equivalent to just over 17:30 pace for 5km. So surely i've got potential to sneak under 18mins for 5km.
Obviously race conditions make such a difference, and i perhaps shouldn't beat myself up too much about a time which is after all a time-trial.
My ex-girlfriend had two ambitions in running, to run a sub 20min 5km and a sub 40min 10km... she hasn't quite got there yet... so i do sometimes feel a little bit selfish moaning about "only" scraping under 19mins on a windy day!
Yeah, I've done the woods up there before, but feels a bit fiddly for a longer run. Not been up to Smearsett before though, could add that in and drop down to Stainforth. Will give that a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fellbeast
From Smearsett you can take a line down through the fields to the lane, much closer to Helwith Bridge. Not a marked path but after the descent and crossing one ladder style it’s an easy wall line to follow to a gateQuote:
Originally Posted by Hank
Not run since July, trying to keep some flab on for the winter hibernation
This week's club session was to be 20 x 200mtrs. But to make it a little more fell-specific i went off-road. So off to the old mine "pit" and ran the hard reps downhill, recovering on the way back up.
170 metres of downhill, with a nice grassy start, then an incredibly muddy/wet steep bank, then a slippy muddy track that wasn't steep enough to free-wheel, but enough to build up an unnerving rate of speed.
Could only manage 12 decent reps before the legs started to feel the effort, and to do any more would have served little purpose. Although i did manage to find some confidence/recklessness, my first couple being around the 36 second mark, but my final couple of reps being sub-32 seconds.
6 miles total. Hopefully a useful technical session, with the (hopefully) impending Skirrid race coming up next month.
A day of no running today, meant my weekly total was a bit down... 49 miles... but a stonking 15,050ft of climb.
As for next week,,, well club training to resume later in the week. I had hoped to squeeze in a 5km fast effort before then, but a few little niggles have made that less of a priority... will see how i feel in the coming 48hrs.
32k/900m from the house yesterday, out in to the western edge of Bowland. Absolutely filthy underfoot, some of the worst peat bog/mud/swamp I've had the pleasure of negotiating. Legs felt pretty stiff back on the roads this morning.
With continuous heavy rain, and the temperature only just high enough to prevent it falling as snow, I took out a very old waterproof fell suit for today's jaunt up to the Outwoods. It has been worn very little, although it must have done many miles in my bumbag in races in the 80's and 90's. It was rather poignant when I noticed the PB logo on the label; I think it was one of Pete Bland's own designs. But it hasn't got taped seams, so hasn't been taken out recently.
The freshly ploughed fields mentioned in a recent post have now been harrowed, but with the soil sodden, the going was even slower than before. 45 minutes for a route that I did in under 39 minutes a few weeks ago (and under 37 in Summer 2019).
We had an internal cross-country handicap today. A surpsisingly energy-sapping 6km over grass and slop.
Managed 24:26 which doesn't sound any great shakes, but finished 5th (out of around 20) and was up with a couple of the 16-17min/5km boys, and had put a good 90secs into those i expected to be around me... (i expect i had a good day, and most of them struggled a little through lack of recent race opportunities).
Still it was very enjoyable, and nice to be back on a start line again.
This week's scores 58.5 miles, 10,200ft.
After a good XC handicap race yesterday, i was full of enthusiasm for the coming week. Yet a pull/strain whilst bench-pressing this morning has left me in a little pain, curtailed today's mileage somewhat, and have no idea if i'll be back all-guns-blazing tomorrow morning, or if i'll be off for a few days.
Club session last night in rather miserable driving rain.
4 x 200mtrs
3 x 1 mile (1 minute rest)
4 x 200mtrs
The mile reps were supposed to be at 10 mile race pace. Having never done a 10 mile race i was a little unsure, but i'd imagine 62-63 minutes would be the aim. However 6:12-6:18/mile is a little too slow for reps for me, and my miles were 6:00, 5:53, 5:51... so possibly overcooked it (if i ever got near 60mins for 10 miles i'd be ecstatic!), but quite pleasing that i could run a reasonable pace without really turning on the gas.
Sadly i seem to have done something to my hip, so no running at least this morning, perhaps longer.
I'm assuming that in the last week the resumption of hard gym work, a tough XC run, and a club session, are the reasons behind a worrying rash of niggles...
Why the gym work? I notice you said bench pressing in your last post. Is that general strength fitness or something intended to be relevant to running?
I'm not against gym work, but I've never considered bench presses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noel
I've always done general weight work, alongside more specific leg and core strength work. I do feel it helps on the longer races, ability to keep a reasonable posture etc. It's generally lower weights and higher reps, i'm not looking to build muscle. A fairly basic full body circuit with core work is no more than half hours work in the gym. If i'm already there to use the treadmill for uphill work it's a no-brainer really.
Also i like to maintain a bit of the strength/endurance in the core and upper body that i built up from my Thai Kickboxing days.
With regards to leg strength work, i'm a great fan of squats and leg presses... and will use other isolation exercises (hamstring curls etc) to work on any weaknesses.
Overall i find it's an asset rather than a hindrance to my training... particularly living without regular access to the fells and rough ground.
Marco whilst i bow to your experience, there are one or two items there i wouldn't mind commenting on...
You can do as many weights as you like, but to "build muscle" you need to be consuming a surplus of calories.
Bench pressing is primarily a chest exercise, with secondary benefits elsewhere (indeed as you say to the arms).
Muscle does indeed consume more fuel and oxygen... but if we go to those lengths of analysis, that could also be seen as a training benefit, as you are working yourself harder in training, burning more calories, and therefore excess fat (that is if you are indeed consuming excess calories and putting on excess muscle :D)
All things considered, i'll likely continue to weight-train despite your friendly concerns...!!
Considering my weight could hardly be seen as excessive (i am perhaps heavy for a runner at 79-80kg, 6ft2"... but when i was competing in kickboxing my "fight weight" was 78kg so i haven't got a great deal to lose!)
My weight when i started fellrunning was low-mid 80's, and i'm now currently 79-80kg but a great deal stronger due to increased mileage, and yes weight work. I could perhaps drop a kg or two from abandoning upper body weights... but as you say there are other factors, and it was noticeable that when the summer lockdown ended and i was back in the gym multiple times a week, i neither gained nor lost weight (but felt significantly better for being back there!)
About 50 years ago the flat I shared in my first year at uni was directly opposite the university gym. I was taught to find a weight I could move/lift between 8 and 12 times - less than 8 times, reduce the weight, more than 12 times, increase the weight. Do 4 sets of each exercise, in rotation. It was knackering but effective.
From my reading, very little has changed - the 8 - 12 rule seems as good as any. For hypertrophy, rather than just strength, it seems to be especially important to train to failure, whether using light or heavy weights. And get that protein in, at least 1.5 grams/kg/day, spread over the day.
Many feel that so called open chain exercises are more beneficial as they involve the body's musculature in a more global way, but others disagree and are happy to recommend/use single movement machines.
As has been said many times, the exercise that works is the one that you do.
Marco I certainly didn't think you were being critical and I hope my response didn't give that impression.
Also on Mike's post, yes the wisdom seems to suggest that compound movements are best... Squats, pulls (pullups, chinups, rows), pushes (bench and military presses).
Im not much of a fan of traditional situps either... Much prefer rollouts and planks for building a strong core.
Think I mentioned above but I only tend to use single muscle exercises if I feel I have a particular weakness (example when I first started doing track sessions my hamstrings weren't strong enough and I would suffer significant DOMS after track work). Increased mileage and some targeted strength work eventually got me over that. Whether the strength work or mileage was the most helpful is open to debate...
But of course that goes back to your point that everyone has different routines which work!
I certainly feel very strongly against doing Calf isolation work, for example.
Managed to get a very slow, rainy, 4 mile headtorch run in this evening over local fields which were spectacularly muddy, especially in gateways and the approaches to stiles, which were also very slippery.
Overall, the conditions and my lack of fitness resulted in me just breaking 40 mins.
I think my Mudclaws enjoyed the run out even more than me!
An hours fairly hard work on the climber today, 4550ft.... some may scoff, but our mutual forumite Corniceman would no doubt testify that this is not an easy way to spend an hour!
Finished off with lots of squats.
Brings the weekly total to a below-par 41.5 miles, but a whopping 20,100ft.
Possibly mentioned earlier in the week that i'd strained my hip during tuesday's club session... it has put me out of any hard running since, although i've still been doing some easy miles, and obviously a lot more slower paced uphill work.
Next week..... well, supposed to have a track session on tuesday, but likely to miss it out, given current issues, and concentrate on slow and steady this week, ready for whatever i can get in the way of fast running/racing over xmas/new year.
Are you periodising your training Travs? If so, where are you now?
I know a lot of people try to build base mileage in the winter, then sharpen up early spring.