mr b's latest comeback

[mr brightside]

Sod that, I'm not going down there again. It started badly just getting onto the towpath, literally piles of glass under the flyover. Cobbled sections rattling my teeth out, smack heads on Emmelle Argos bikes weaving around, it turned into a dirt track for a mile or so and i missed my turn off. I ended up at the foot of the dreaded newlaithes bridge climb, but being fit I smashed it and made my sports massage appointment with time to spare.

[mr brightside]

Just made it in under 21m at Bramley this morning. I could feel the tightness in my left leg very early on.

[Llani Boy]

Just made it in under 21m at Bramley this morning. I could feel the tightness in my left leg very early on.

Nice one. That's sounds like progress.

[mr brightside]

Nice one. That's sounds like progress.

It's actually not. My recent results reflect stagnation:
20:55
21:13
20:46
21:09
21:26
20:54
21:09
20:58

61m on the bike yesterday, and a thorough drenching with torrential conditions and flooding of the lanes anywhere north of Barden. I only had a partial beer jacket from my visit to the craven arms, but plenty of chips and gravy. On the way up embsay fell i saw a hare and a dead sheep on its side in a field. There was a pause to be shouted at near the airport by a young lady who didn't like the way i glared at her when someone from behind blew a horn; i de-escalated it in case she decided to use the car as a weapon. Some stupid old fool tried to overtake me in the traffic lights in the centre of ilkley and nearly stuffed me into the kerb, i'm sure he thought he was perfectly justified in doing so.

[Travs]

It's actually not. My recent results reflect stagnation:
20:55
21:13
20:46
21:09
21:26
20:54
21:09
20:58

61m on the bike yesterday, and a thorough drenching with torrential conditions and flooding of the lanes anywhere north of Barden. I only had a partial beer jacket from my visit to the craven arms, but plenty of chips and gravy. On the way up embsay fell i saw a hare and a dead sheep on its side in a field. There was a pause to be shouted at near the airport by a young lady who didn't like the way i glared at her when someone from behind blew a horn; i de-escalated it in case she decided to use the car as a weapon. Some stupid old fool tried to overtake me in the traffic lights in the centre of ilkley and nearly stuffed me into the kerb, i'm sure he thought he was perfectly justified in doing so.

I'm sure you don't want/need my advice, but i'd recommend dropping the parkruns for a few weeks to concentrate on training.... people who knock out parkruns week-in-week-out rarely get quicker (unless they are relatively new to running and are getting "beginner gains")....... if it becomes the focus of the week, every week, you're going to struggle to do the training between which is necessary to see improvements.

[mr brightside]

I'm sure you don't want/need my advice, but i'd recommend dropping the parkruns for a few weeks to concentrate on training.... people who knock out parkruns week-in-week-out rarely get quicker (unless they are relatively new to running and are getting "beginner gains")....... if it becomes the focus of the week, every week, you're going to struggle to do the training between which is necessary to see improvements.

It's good advice, but i help them flag the course. I also put in enough bike miles per week to make a fast session like this viable...in theory, using the 60/30/10 split method. I'm very doubtful whether switches to slow miles actually work for people on very few miles.

[Travs]

There's some examples of elite athletes doing low but intense mileage, and filling the rest of their training out with cross-training, with great success....

Elliot Giles (one of the top 800mtr and 1500mtr UK runners over the past decade) is well known for it, and drops down to only about 30 miles per week in the winter, and does a whole stack of cycling/cross training.

There's another high-profile UK middle distance runner who does similar, although i forget his name.

For mere mortals like us, however, i remain a little unconvinced. From personal experience, my biggest jump in performance was around 2018, when i went from doing 20-30 miles a week with lots of cross-training, to aiming for a solid 40 miles/10,000ft per week running.

[anthonykay]

At my peak, my race performances were at around the level that Travs is now, but I was never running much above 30 miles per week; however, most of this was fairly intense. My bike rides (on days when I wasn't running) were usually at a speed where it would be pretentious to call them "cross-training".

[Travs]

At my peak, my race performances were at around the level that Travs is now, but I was never running much above 30 miles per week; however, most of this was fairly intense. My bike rides (on days when I wasn't running) were usually at a speed where it would be pretentious to call them "cross-training".

I think you're being a little modest there....

Perhaps we are finishing in similar positions, however i expect your times on the likes of Black Mountains, Snowdon, and the Shropshire races, wipe the floor with mine.....

Those examples i mentioned above of elite athletes using cross-training, they are absolutely hammering those non-running sessions, in order to maximise cardio workout whilst not giving the body as much "wear and tear"

[mr brightside]

There's some examples of elite athletes doing low but intense mileage, and filling the rest of their training out with cross-training, with great success....

Elliot Giles (one of the top 800mtr and 1500mtr UK runners over the past decade) is well known for it, and drops down to only about 30 miles per week in the winter, and does a whole stack of cycling/cross training.

There's another high-profile UK middle distance runner who does similar, although i forget his name.

For mere mortals like us, however, i remain a little unconvinced. From personal experience, my biggest jump in performance was around 2018, when i went from doing 20-30 miles a week with lots of cross-training, to aiming for a solid 40 miles/10,000ft per week running.

My weekly running mileage varies, but can top out at 5 easy, 10 easy/harder, 4 hard and 80 bike miles. My injuries that i carry permanently just dictate everything, i can't commit to any structure.