Paula and I will be reprising our relay roles from last year, with me again taking on the first leg and she the second. We toyed with switching round, but I quite fancy a crack at improving my 2018 time and she really enjoys the second leg.
Using the Asics plan which would be a 1:50 on the flat, so I'd be delighted to get close to 2 hours for the MM half. Progress continues good - with week day speed and tempo sessions in Regents Park (8km each with combo of faster 750m and 1.5km sections) now a regular thing. Having found a non-car-clogged 1.5km route to get to and from the park is the real difference.
Speed sessions really do make a difference, since Saturday saw a post-Almeria group of us (all sporting our bright Spanish 2019 race tops) heading to try new East Brighton ParkRun. A curious little run with 3 loops of a park/football pitch - but cleverly using a series of grass terraces to demarcate each loop and to shuttle up and down the edge of the football pitch. This means you see and pass the whole field - which makes for a friendly run. Especially positive was presence of CharlieCat5 with Miriam doing just her second parkrun in her best ever pace for an outing.
With the speedy training in my legs, I went out too quickly - finding myself in a top 5 place in the first km - slipping back as folks passed me to finish 10th. But I had comfortably cracked 24, and coming in at 23:21 I'd done my second best parkrun PB ever (and only once faster, which was with pacer encouraging me every step of the way).
We then whizzed up to Sheffield for my sister's birthday for the weekend - and Sunday I looped up a quick 12km through the beautiful porter valley - and then back down the long 5km hill which will be going up on the Sheffield half in April ... it looked as ever long and tough. I missed the Twittens though - so looking forward to resuming that Sunday rite of passage this week.
So another good week on the training log ... I may try part of a reverse second half MM to cover 17km this Sunday.
Just about to write up "another good week" (which it has been) when I spot on twitter that Seaford Strider runner Kristy Sherry (who joined in the twitten run on Sunday) has gone and bust her ankle falling off a dance floor. So risk of injury is never far away ...
But it was, any way, another good week ...
Tuesday required just a gentle 5km round the streets of Lewes. But Thurs was a set of 1.5km tempo runs. And due to choosing to run round Lincolns Inn Fields I ended up hitting c 4:30 per km for each rep. This was because my Garmin got confused with the buildings around and cut around 150m per run lap of the square. But though I was knackered and frustrated at apparently doing 5:10km ... reality dawned when I checked the map.
That then set me up for a crack at a Peacehaven parkrun PB (which had been set a year or so ago at a shade over 24 mins). The sub-24 time at East Brighton made me entirely confident I could repeat that. But I was keen to also apply the lesson from that run and pace myself. Arriving, we found that there was a bigger crowd than usual - with the numbers swelled by a phalanx of Portslade Hedgehoppers. I realised that might mean there was quite a few up ahead of me - helping with targets to aim for if I needed them. We set off and I settled into a 4:30-4:35 pace, resisting temptation to push faster in the opening km.
With Paula not running after falling ill with a flu/cold on her Thursday run, I had her to cheer me on each loop - and I was able to smile and wave as I passed, running just inside myself. A few folks passed me in the early stages, but I then hauled a few in on the closing section. And targetting another PR50 shirt, I passed one and nearly caught another small group of Hoppers.
My time not only turned out to be a Peacehaven PB - but an overall PB, beating my 22:45 (which I had a friend help pace me to achieve in Oct 2017) by 20s to reach 22:23. Amazingly this makes me think that the 22 mins benchmark may now be a beatable margin. Amusingly I finished only 5th in my age category since the Hedgehoppers clearly had their faster more experienced contingent out in force.
Sunday saw a happy return to the Twittens - with a crowd of 10 and 2 newbies, plus some returning familiar faces. A group from Seaford Striders - including the now injured Kristy Sherry - turned out, and then ran over the hills a further 10+ miles back to Seaford in impressive style.
My Asics training plan had 21km down for the Sunday - so we set out again shortly after finishing the twittens, and headed up the first 7 miles of the Moyleman in glorious sunshine. With the loop back via Kingston into Lewes, we put in a solid 17K extra on top of the extended 6km Twittens (1km warm up).
So another 40Km+ week done - with a new PB and a twittens/downs combo, plus solid quality weekday run. This was a good week achieved. Just avoid those dance floors ....
I know consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds - thanks Ralph Waldo Emerson - but the consistency of my training is proving to be quite effective.
Two more tempo/speed workouts midweek around the streets of Lewes, with Paula doing just slightly slower per km sections. These continue to prove a key part of training for speed.
Saturday saw a visit to one of the flattest quickest park runs around - as we accompanied Tom Roper and colleagues from Seaford Striders in their visit to Hove Prom. In contrast to a fog bound Lewes, the Prom was clear, cool and still, meaning conditions were near perfect. I'd decided to go out at c 4:25 and see if I could break 22 mins ... just a week after setting 22:23 as my new overall PB.
A bunched start quickly thinned out as I hit my stride quite soon, and trundled along at 4:25 ... and as we looped around and back and the first and second kms past, I found this felt OK. Still (as last week) running just within myself. So a pushed a little bit to 4:20 ... and in the last km, vying with a chap in blue I found myself crossing in 21:23. A minute quicker! Notwithstanding the flatness of the course, I was pretty pleased.
Turning to await Paula, she was soon over the line too - and she'd set a PB at 23:46, taking her under 24 for the first time. She'd given it her all. Her age grading was again better than mine and in the top 20 for Hove Prom for the day.
And then it was Sweder and Tom across the line - hitting a sub-30 time in fine style.
All round an excellent outing - topped off with the find of a superb coffee/pastry and pie shop along the front at Hove - Sourdough - where we supped welcome coffee and shared some tasty cinammon pastries.
Sunday saw a return to Twittens and then a 17km romp around the central of the Moyleman - looping from Rodmell up to Cricketing Bottom and then loop over Itford Hill and down to the bottom and back up again. 375m of climb (plus 180m from the twittens) were a great pre-Moyleman prep.
Incidentally, in doing these loops we passed Monks House (long time and final home of Virginia Woolf), Furlongs (where C20th artist Eric Ravilious stayed and painted), back of what was Asham House (first place the Woolfs lived in the area) and also current home of opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kawana.
Plus, we have been blessed with amazing weather - closer to what we might hope for in May, than February.
All in all (Liverpool poor performance against Man U excepted) a great weekend. Now the Moyleman taper starts ...
Dame Kiri can often be found when we run a water point for the Jog Shop 20 next to her house. She used to seem afeared that the passing runners might molest her dogs, but I think we’ve reassured her on that point
χαιρέτε νικὠμεν
Next race(s):
In the lap of the gods
I did note the sign warning that there were "small dogs" on the property. I assumed this was ironic, but maybe it means "please don't step on them ..."
They are very small dogs. Papillons, perhaps? I don't know, I like dogs but I couldn't eat a whole one. Eastbourne is tomorrow, but I shall be staying away - insufficient training
χαιρέτε νικὠμεν
Next race(s):
In the lap of the gods
Not quite into the taper last week - as I wrongly thought! So the weekend had to have another 21K effort. This was accomplished Saturday with a 12k to get to the park run and a further 5k before hightailing to Lewes footie (about which the less said the better).
The midweek sessions were done around the streets of Lewes and then the hills - since I needed to take advantage of the last day of lovely sunshine to grab pics at mile intervals along the second half of the Moyleman. Due to my inability to read the map (?) I ended up doing 11k trot up to Firle beacon along the top to Bo-Beep Bostal and back to Firle village, instead of the planned 8k.
But the real highlight of the week was Saturday. Most exciting in my mind was the inaugural running of the Seaford Beach Park Run - organised by Seaford Striders, with Tom aka the Beast of Bevendean playing a starring organising/marshalling role.
We'd planned a 10K run to get there, starting from Southease railway station/YHA (the half way point of the Moyleman) - climbing up to Itford Hill and then, part way to Firle Beacon, plunging off south down a long downland spur to reach Bishopstone village just inland from the new park run start on the seafront at the Seaford Sailing club. Having never run this section before, it was going to be a fine new route to try out.
Having looked forward to magnificent views from the top, we were stymied by heavy fog which meant visibility was about 50 yards or so. So we rather had to guess just how magnificent they might be.
Up Itford was the usual slog - but we had it completely to ourselves at 7:30am. However once the downhill route started it proved an absolute delight - a gentle descent (with a couple a shallow climbs) over around 5k until we reached the valleys by Bishopstone. The last section was a lovely hidden tree-covered path into what we discovered from a sign was Poverty Bottom.
Then through the picture postcard village of Bishopstone - across the field and there was the short section of road to the new park run start. Getting there a little early, we trotted out and back adding on a couple of kilometres. The coast was happily fog free although mostly cloudy with flecks of sun out to sea.
The gathering and excitement was palpable - as what turned out to be 250 runners had gathered. We were en masse from Lewes/Brighton and distinctive in our bright Almeria 2019 shirts. The Moyleman got a shout out as one of the organisations which had given financial support to the creation of the Seaford Beach run. And with more thanks to others, we were then underway.
The route is a simple out of back - with the turn just after the Martello Tower (too much shingle at the start point prevents the tower itself being the turn, which would be elegant). Tom was stationed by the tower and hearty shouts greeted him from our dispersed crew.
There were clutch of Lewes AC runners ahead of us, and from our party Jen was on her way to being second woman home, and Brian and Will Courage getting into the top 30 too. With Ash, Duncan and Paula we trotted to a sub-30 - and finished with coffee overlooking the sea from the deck of the sailing club. Brian then set out to run back the route we had taken down (plus a finish into Lewes taking in Mt Caburn) - and we gratefully accepted a lift back from his better half.
With the magnificent run from Southease, the flat out and back and the fine location for post run coffee. This could become firm Saturday morning favourite
The week was then rounded off with Twittens and a final Moyleman Committee plan before the run is upon us.
And we're now into Moyleman week itself. The taper somehow has mysteriously turned into doing more mileage than previously ... but legs feel fine.
I have surrendered to the fact that my trusty Inov8 ParkClaw 275 running shoes need to be replaced, before the Moyleman. So I now have a brand new pair of Inov8 275 Parkclaws - but this time in red and black (which I can claim to be Lewes FC colours).
Having done my weekday runs (one 6km jog and one 8km speed rep run) - Friday dawned bright and clear so I seized the chance to grab pics over the last 2 miles or so of the Moyleman. We've been posting from Twitter a pic a day over the whole course - starting late Feb and ending on day of run. The amazing mid-Feb sunshine had meant we had grabbed most of the course with the exception of Mt Caburn.
So Friday saw me do an extra 8km up Chapel Hill, down into Southerham Nature Reserve, and up and down over Caburn almost to Glynde village and then same in reverse - kind of like two big twittens done twice.
Weather was glorious - so the full set of 26 shots of each mile (plus start and finish) look glorious. Who knows what the actual weather will be come Sunday?
Saturday saw a trip to Coventry for niece's wedding - and opportunity for some parkrun tourism meant we took in the Coventry parkrun at War Memorial Park. A classic large city park, with flowering trees, wide grassy areas and decent undulating paths. Unusually, this parkrun attracts massive numbers. 880 on the day we ran: which according to stats is 4th largest in UK on that day ("Saturday 10 March: Biggest UK parkruns: Bushy Park (1371), Southampton (1054), Cannon Hill (959), Coventry (880), Chelmsford Central (798), Cardiff (722), Heaton Park (695), Black Park (695), Nonsuch (663), Sheffield Hallam (657).")
So it was a) impossible to hear any tannoy at start and b) quite a jostle in opening km. But after it thinned out a bit we settled into our stride at a 5 min per km pace and nicely eased past the median runners to finish at around 25:30, but in positions 231 and 232!
As we finised the heavens opened - and we drove back in a deluge, which took an hour to pass, but left the skies sunny for a fine wedding!
Coventry turned out to exceed expectations in other ways - with a remarkably good craft beer brewery (Twisted Barrel) just a mile from the wedding venue. It's tap room was a haven of craft beer and indie music at just the right volume for chatting. And decent wine selection for Paula who appreciates decent beer by not drinking it.
Finally, on Sunday having missed the twittens (and Tom AKA Beast of B's 49th outing) - we wanted a gentle 13km - so we made our way to the Cuckoo Trail (a former railway line that runs from Polegate to Eridge) and had a very enjoyably flattish there and back trot through beautiful surrounding countryside to complete last long run before the Moyleman.
This week consists of short runs Tue/Thu/Sat before the full 21km on Sunday. I do first half, Paula the second.
Training plan is therefore effectively over! I shall report back to the Asics plan folks and share my experience in full
Monday 18 March - update on this year's Moyleman: Part 1!
So it is done - and what a day! Indeed, what a weekend. Short version: target of sub-2 hours for Moyleman Half - achieved!
Long version follows ... in parts, this is part 1
Taper week for the prep was a very effective taper since I did just the 2 mid-week runs (Tue and Thu) and instead on Sat I treated the walk over 5 miles plus of the Moyleman to mark out the course as the Sat outing.
Running short taper runs seems really odd and bit like cheating ... but I stuck religiously to the prescribed runs.
The weekend was also massively complicated by work - since a massive comms exercise relating to a long-running staff restructuring exercise had move inexorably back in the diary from late Jan, to mid-Feb, to early March, and then, yes, Monday 18 March.
This meant my planned day of post-Moyleman relaxation was replaced (today) with a pretty full-on 10 hours of drafting/amending/querying/emailing etc
And it meant that Friday, Saturday and Sunday were interspersed with all of that activity and more as we made final checks to 300 letters, 15 organograms, 11 change rationales, multiple FAQs .... oh and 120 revised job descriptions. All of which had to be checked and uploaded onto systems in readiness for announcements today.
How I then managed to mark out the course and run half the marathon - plus enjoy pre-run drinks in pub on Saturday and post-run meal in different pub on Sunday, now baffles me. But I did!
Our worries on Saturday were mild compared to 2018 - when the MM was threatened by the Beast from the East, and it was touch and go if it could even go ahead. Comms focus in 2018 was therefore on updates to runners and reassurances about us pulling out every stop to make it happen if we could safely.
This year - the gusting wind from the west, merely made us think that course records were probably safe from attack and marshalling would need to be spot on if signs were blown away from more exposed sections.
We gathered as is now traditional at 9am at Ground Coffee, the non-alcohol based spiritual home of the Twittens and Moyleman alike. (The Pelham takes the fortified prize as MM planning venue.)
We have settled into pretty well established sections to mark out - "mine" being A27 crossing, up the relentless bastard, down Castle Hill and back up to Kingston Ridge. I link into Brian Courage (more of whom anon) at start, and Sweder (who essays his section on e-mountain bike) where I finish.
Rather than jogging and wearing my legs out - I set off with Paula in the teeth of very strong winds to walk the 5 miles or so, and then beg lift back from below Kingston Ridge from our esteemed Race Director (CC5).
Sunday dawned extraordinarily clear, sunny and with winds seemingly much reduced. This felt a little like Noah post-flood.
I sat down to plan a race strategy, having found from Almeria that this actually worked well. Instead of pace however, I was looking to target times by key points on the route: turn after Black Cap (25 mins); bottom of the muddy slope prior to A27 (40 mins); top of Castle Hill (1hr 5mins); reaching Kingston Ridge (1 hr 25 mins); top of YBR (1 hr 30 mins). This was a rough and ready heuristic to tell me if I was on course for coming in under 2 hours ... they had to be rounded to allow me to remember them as I ran.
The HQ at Wallands was just building up as we arrived around 9am - we captured the impressive number of marshals assembled for briefing from Tom Roper (aka Beast of Bevendean) - and then Duncan's (final) race director's briefing for mass of runners at 9:45. V moving that he was able to announce large donation from MM to the Anthony Nolan stem cell charity, recognising core MM runner Naomi Ayers' fundraising efforts.
The main run goes off at 10am, so half runners see the main pack off and then await their own 10:15am start. Having twitter duties distracted me from the reality of running - and with hoodie offloaded, I was ready and suddenly we were away.
Conditions in the first half - aside from the wind at select points - were close to perfect. Cool, but clear and sunny, and ground soft but not slippy even on the two muddiest woodland uphill sections.
I hit Black Cap turn at 23 mins so 2 mins inside schedule ... the downhill section after that proved as fast as expected and we started to pass the very back markers from the marathon at the base of the first muddy sting before A27 crossing.
A cheery wave to ace snapper James McCauley in his usual location - and we were off over the pedestrian bridge, and the section which I had walked to mark the previous day. "What fine well place arrows" I thought as I caught up with a larger pack of full-marathoners.
As I passed I essayed an apologetic - I'm only doing the half ... but I am not sure that helped much
As a "running marshal" (purple arrow on my back) I had half an eye out for runners in difficulty. Half way up the Relentless Bastard, one chap was sat massaging his calves - "All OK?" I asked? He was fine and waved me on with a thumbs up.
The wind was as bad as it would get - and that was not too bad, since it was half the previous day's and at slightly different angle.
Marshals at top of RB and the turn off the SDW towards top of Castle Hill were there in force - which was especially important since new signs were up at the turn - meaning a key sign had indeed been blown away overnight.
Top of Castle Hill was just about 2 mins inside my 1:05 target, so I felt confident to press on down into the Valley of Death, with only one steep climb left.
The Valley was as beautiful as ever, and I continued gradually to pass marathoners - with a dog runner just ahead of me, marking out a potential target runner to follow in the closing sections.
The turn at base of Death Valley (more prosaically Falmer Bottom) had a cheery marshal who had written up the leading times - first runner through 13km in an astonishing 52 mins - and then I pushed on for the rise to Kingston Ridge.
I passed Brian Courage and Jen Keaneally (both Almeria and core MM runners) on the full - with the wind giving helpful shove up.
My turn at top was still just 1 min down on target and likewise at top of Yellow Brick Road, 1:31 with just over 5km to go. I knew that a good final section could deliver sub-2hours.
Those last 5km were a touch harder than I expected, a slight rub of the new shoes on my right foot was irritating. On the turn up from Cricketing Bottom I succumbed to a walk up the little slope to the C7 to recover a little.
And then over, giving wave to fine marshalling crew - I pushed for the river bridge and the finish at the YHA. Looking at my times, I see I was clocking 5:30+, which was just about as fast as I could make it at that point. I was I think at my limit.
The finish of the first leg is just a tad over halfway, so the run was 21.3km and my published time was 1:58:59. My Garmin suggests I was at 1:58:05 for the half at 21.1km.
So I had hit my target of sub-2. This was around 25 minutes faster than my time a year before (albeit that was in post-blizzard conditions and under-trained/over-stressed).
The Asics training plan which I had followed pretty closely - had done its stuff well enough. Looking at other's published half times for that first leg, they look to be 10-15 mins below their best HM times, so I can count this one as equivalent to sub-1:50 I think!
I handed over to my partner Paula - who was doing the second leg again this year. And I smiled happily at what I felt was a good outing!
Tremendous stuff, well done on a hugely impressive sub 2. Not sure I could manage that on the flat these days. And all the more impressive to bring it home having been behind schedule. My 2p'th is don't be ashamed of a race plan - don't even rely on your memory, write it on a wristband!
(20-03-2019, 11:36 PM)marathondan Wrote: Tremendous stuff, well done on a hugely impressive sub 2. Not sure I could manage that on the flat these days. And all the more impressive to bring it home having been behind schedule. My 2p'th is don't be ashamed of a race plan - don't even rely on your memory, write it on a wristband!
So... the full next year?
Thanks Dan!
Yes: writing down plans seems to be the approach from others who have them. Friend David Stacey's nephew clocked 1:44 for the first half. Not knowing the course, he had marked down where the peaks would be in kilometres. His race tactic was get to the top of each as well as he could, the run hard as he could downhill, and start again! Worked for him v successfully as he knocked 10 mins off 2018 time
As for the full, well ... I have yet to be persuaded that a full is what I want to do anywhere. But if any race could tempt me, it would be the MM of course. Wait and see is my best line at present!
(24-03-2019, 12:05 PM)OutAlongTheRiver Wrote: His race tactic was get to the top of each as well as he could, the run hard as he could downhill, and start again! Worked for him v successfully as he knocked 10 mins off 2018 time
Which reminds me of advice from UK elite trail marathoner Steve Way - the uphills should feel slightly too easy and the downhills slightly too hard. As a flatlander I am in no position to give such advice to you hill dwellers, but it sounds like there is some wisdom in it.
Congratulations, OATR, on that impressive under 2 hour tough half marathon and the fantastic race report! It was wonderful to be with all of you in that wonderful off-road race and in the pre and post race activities.
(24-03-2019, 09:59 PM)Antonio247 Wrote: Congratulations, OATR, on that impressive under 2 hour tough half marathon and the fantastic race report! It was wonderful to be with all of you in that wonderful off-road race and in the pre and post race activities.
Saludos desde Almería.
Thanks Antonio! It was so lovely to have you running the same course again!
The rest of this blog is not about my run, but the rest of the Moyleman day and a few reflections on next steps on half marathons.
Having waved off Paula for the second half, we had pics with fellow runners and then located a fellow first leg runner (who had sailed round in 1:44) and gave him lift back to Lewes.
I then arrived back at Harvey's Yard to find everything in final stage of prep awaiting for our first runners back. Time Team were in position. Duncan as Race Director in obligatory purple beret. Ash in purple high viz.
I was able to collect my half pint glass and order pizza and grab a beer without any delay. A few others of those who had run the first half of the relay were also there - but the speediest since they were awaiting equally speedy second leg runners.
Rumour was that our front runner was well ahead of 3hr target - indeed more than a rumour, since marshals at key points had been relaying back his astonishing progress.
And sure enough there was the cry of "Runner!" from end of North Court and there - at just a min or so past 12:50pm - the lithe figure of James Turner sporting his red Lewes AC top with yellow stripe hove into view and maintained a sprint for the line.
Lo - he had recorded an unbelievable time of 2:52:39 - taking a full 7 minutes of the record set in 2015 by Mike Ellicock (also of Lewes AC).
His family were there to celebrate - he smiled, posed for photos, and strolled off to grab a beer - looking as if he'd just trotted off the downs after a morning training run.
Soon there was the first of the relay teams - and they were close to the relay record. We wrongly thought they had just missed by 10 seconds or so - but check later showed they had in fact broken the record with a time of 3:00:01.
Clearly the conditions were pretty good out there!
Having snapped the first place runners I felt I could try out the physio - since I'd found this helpful before. And despite the pain, the evidence of the following days was this was the right thing to do.
I was just about to head out by car to try to be at Glynde ahead of Paula's expected arrival time there, before she tackled the final climb to Caburn, when the first woman finisher came in so more picture duty and then I was off.
Arriving at the water station at Glynde, seeing cheery faces of friends Joe and Louise who were marshalling, only to be told Paula had passed through 5 mins before.
I high-tailed it back to Lewes and trotted up Chapel Hill to catch her en route, and there at top she was coming through the gate. We jogged down together and at the base she accelerated for the last 400m, leaving me behind with my legs refusing to pick up speed!
She had clocked 2:11 - exactly the same time as I had done on the second leg 2 years before. An impressive run in any conditions - but with the wind over Caburn even more so.
Harveys Yard was now nicely full, so queues for pizza were longer - but definitely worth it for Paula's recovery. She had gone straight for massage, so I even got a couple of pizza for the physio team who had been working 2 hours straight by this time.
Duncan was also in fine form at the finish greeting every finisher and sharing hugs and providing immediate emotional support to some exhausted finishers. Such are the controlled numbers that there's time to greet every runner over the course of 4 hours, which makes for a pretty special finish.
We were both worn out but happy - and after brief rest, enjoyed meal at the Pelham, with our Spanish friends and fellow Moyleman organisers & volunteers. In further emotional scenes, Duncan (CC5) after 2 impressive years of being race director, handed over the purple beret to Brian Courage - who will lead us in 2020.
The next day had been planned as well earned day - but back up to work. That characterised the week which followed - no time even for a brief outing.
But I was able to help put out on social media the photos - with over 1,000 MM pics from our top team of togs - and the results. Responses from runners was as ever massively positive about all aspects - with our marshals coming in for particular praise this year.
Amazing stuff all round!
The prep for Sheffield half now had to start - and this was the challenge: how best to maintain HM readiness over the month ahead.
A Moyleman For All Seasons
