The athletics/running thread

[Harry Genshaw]

I wondered what Martin Petrov was up to these days

[KeyserSoze]

because it would be nice if he tracked his man back!

I wasn't clear ... I meant "why does he not leave that area" ?

Does he belief his job is to stay in that zone and convinced he's doing a great job, or is he lazy ?

Ah sorry, thought you meant why shouldn't he be there.

To be fair he said he hadn't played 11s in a few years, and given it's the first friendly of the year there were definitely fitness issues around the park...but that doesn't really excuse it as other people were in the same boat. He knew it wasn't what he should be doing as the captain told him to come back, as he would have to go over from defensive midfield and cover, leaving holes in the middle, and i had been shouting at him the whole game for doing it. But he kept doing it anyway. He went to left back after about an hour (only one sub so shifted around a lot of people) and he did the same thing...defensive line from right back to centre halves was good, then he'd be about ten or twenty yards higher all the time. Insane.

I just don't think he knows where he should be on the pitch when he's in a given position. He did a couple of decent runs though, and to be honest i could probably have been a bit more encouraging to him (though it is hard after i win the ball back in midfield, pass it to him and he back heels it first time to their midfielders).

I just shout a lot and make it look like i know what to do, rather than pretend to be sage, though people seem to equate organising people with wisdom. The captain is good though. Clearly knows how to play and what people should be doing. Given my earlier rants about the standard (turns out i was actually in the 8s team they use for new players and ringers and that) it was good to see the 11s team actually know how to play in the main. Helps having a striker from nottingham so we can confide in each other about how terrible most americans are at footsoccer.

[Burnden Paddock]

How many of you have Garmin watches and what do you think of them? Is it worth spending the money vs a free app for someone who is basically a parkrun plodder? I was thinking of purchasing the one below, should I take the plunge.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Forerunn ... erunner+15

[Harry Genshaw]

How many of you have Garmin watches and what do you think of them? Is it worth spending the money vs a free app for someone who is basically a parkrun plodder? I was thinking of purchasing the one below, should I take the plunge.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Forerunn ... erunner+15

I've got something similar BP and had a lot of use out of it. If you're planning on upping your mileage or mixing up your training then I say go for it. Personally, i wouldn't bother with a heart rate monitor though. If you plan on just sticking to park run and making breakfast on time - get yourself a wristwatch!

[LeverEnd]

I can't be arsed with them. Never bothered, just trained off perceived effort. When I've trained with people wearing them, they usually just tell me that I'm not running as fast or far as I thought I was!
I've been challenged by a friend to shift my gut in 3 months and replace it with a 6-pack. I'm going to get it like a washboard then smear it with fake tan, oil it up and send her a pic a month early. This will have to start after my 3 day bender in Ireland and trip to the Colne Rhythm and blues festival, so Sept 1st then. No silly wagers have been made.

[Bruce Rioja]

Missed last Saturday's Parkrun as I had to wait in for a new sofa, so did 5K round Longsight Park instead.

Anyway, a couple of things.

Thing one - Please can one of you London types have a look on here http://www.parkrun.org.uk/events/events/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and let me now which is the nearest Parkrun to Chiswick?

Thing two - I'm watching the World Championship Athletics (Absolutely riveting) and my curiosity is aroused. How the fecking hell does someone start out in pole vaulting?

[Prufrock]

1) Looks like Gunnersbury/ Old Deer Park/ Richmond Park, depending where exactly you end up.

2) Not a scooby!

[Bruce Rioja]

1) Looks like Gunnersbury/ Old Deer Park/ Richmond Park, depending where exactly you end up.

2) Not a scooby!

Ta mate. Was thinking Richmond Park as we usually end up there anyway.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Depending on where in Chiswick, but when I lived there I used to go to Gunnersbury Park as it was easy to get to.

[Bruce Rioja]

Depending on where in Chiswick, but when I lived there I used to go to Gunnersbury Park as it was easy to get to.

Sutton Court. Is there much in it, AT?

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Depending on where in Chiswick, but when I lived there I used to go to Gunnersbury Park as it was easy to get to.

Sutton Court. Is there much in it, AT?

Yeah, not a lot in it. Either should work well enough.

[Burnden Paddock]

Had another crack at 10k this evening, allowing a margin of error for Nike+.

Decided in my wisdom to run the 6.25 miles home from work (Bradshaw to Bury). Took a slight detour up Hough Fold Way (Sorry Bruce, I was on a mission) to guarantee I hit 10k. feck me! I seriously under estimated that bastard of a hill and the heat. Almost wiped me out before I got started. Ended up doing some walking along the way, but I finally cracked it. Walking pushed my time up to 1.12 but i'm reasonably pleased with that after doing just 2 runs in the last 2 weeks.

Think i'll stick to 5k for the time being and increase my distances steadily!

[Harry Genshaw]

^ nice one BP. I think you should get that Garmin. It might save you going up daft hills!

This personal training I took up to try and prevent future injury is interesting. It seems a lot of it is based on the mantra what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Some of the stretching and exercising has been ridiculous and leaves you damn sore the day after but so far....

[Burnden Paddock]

^ nice one BP. I think you should get that Garmin. It might save you going up daft hills!

I don't have any option if I'm going to run from work to home. There's stupidly massive hills no matter which route I take. I think I need to choose a different route.

[Bruce Rioja]

Took a slight detour up Hough Fold Way (Sorry Bruce, I was on a mission)

"I ran past your house last night".

"Did you? Thank you".

Well done, mate. HFW is a proper beast.

I seem to be only running once a week at the moment and need to step it back up.

We still haven't done mine-war memorial-Asda-Tom Ashton's 10K yet either.

[CAPSLOCK]

Took a slight detour up Hough Fold Way (Sorry Bruce, I was on a mission)

"I ran past your house last night".

"Did you? Thank you".

Well done, mate. HFW is a proper beast.

I seem to be only running once a week at the moment and need to step it back up.

We still haven't done mine-war memorial-Asda-Tom Ashton's 10K yet either.

I did one 10k

Took in SML, Winchester Way, down Crompton Way all the way back up to Bradley Fold Road

Up to Ainsworth, round by Arthur Lane to home

Never, ever again

[thebish]

Today is the 111th anniversary of the 1904 St Louis Olympic Marathon race... a BIZARRE race!!

Thirty-two athletes representing four nations competed, but only 14 managed to finish

Instead of having the marathon begin early in the morning, St. Louis organizers started it in the afternoon, and temperatures during the marathon reached 32 ℃ (90 ℉). The race began and ended in the stadium, but the rest of the course was on dusty country roads with race officials riding in vehicles ahead of and behind the runners, creating dust clouds. The only source of water for the competitors was a well at about the 11-mile mark.

The first to arrive at the finish line was American runner Fred Lorz, who had actually dropped out of the race after nine miles and hitched a ride back to the stadium in a car, waving at spectators and runners alike during the ride. When the car broke down at the 19th mile, Lorz re-entered the race and jogged across the finish line. Hailed as the winner, he had his photograph taken with Alice Roosevelt, daughter of then-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, and was about to be awarded the gold medal when his subterfuge was revealed. Lorz immediately admitted what he'd done and said he had only been joking; the AAU responded by banning him from competition for life (although they reconsidered and lifted the ban a year later).

British-born Thomas Hicks of the United States ended up the winner of the event, although he was aided by measures that would not have been permitted in later years. Ten miles from the finish Hicks led the race by a mile and a half, but he had to be restrained from stopping and lying down by his trainers. From then until the end of the race, Hicks received several doses of strychnine sulfate (a common rat poison, which stimulates the nervous system in small doses) mixed with brandy. He was supported by his trainers when he crossed the finish, but was still considered the winner. Hicks had to be carried off the track, and might have died in the stadium had he not been treated by several doctors.

Another near-fatality during the event was William Garcia of San Francisco. He was found lying in the road along the marathon course with severe internal injuries caused by breathing the clouds of dust kicked up by the race officials' cars.

A Cuban postman named Andarín Carvajal joined the marathon, arriving at the last minute. After losing all of his money in New Orleans, Louisiana, he hitchhiked to St. Louis and had to run in street clothes for the event that he cut around the legs to make them look like shorts. Not having eaten in 40 hours, he stopped off in an orchard en route to have a snack on some apples, which turned out to be rotten. The rotten apples caused him to have strong stomach cramps. Despite falling ill from the apples he finished in fourth place.

The marathon included the first two black Africans to compete in the Olympics: two Tswana tribesmen named Len Tau (real name: Len Taunyane) and Yamasani (real name: Jan Mashiani). They were not in St. Louis to compete in the Olympics, however; they were actually part of the sideshow. They had been brought over by the exposition as part of the Boer War exhibit (both were really students from Orange Free State in South Africa, but this fact was not made known to the public). Len Tau finished ninth and Yamasani came in twelfth. This was a disappointment, as many observers were sure Len Tau could have done better if he had not been chased nearly a mile off course by aggressive dogs.

(info from Wiki)

WTF???

[Hoboh]

I can't be arsed with them. Never bothered, just trained off perceived effort. When I've trained with people wearing them, they usually just tell me that I'm not running as fast or far as I thought I was!
I've been challenged by a friend to shift my gut in 3 months and replace it with a 6-pack. I'm going to get it like a washboard then smear it with fake tan, oil it up and send her a pic a month early. This will have to start after my 3 day bender in Ireland and trip to the Colne Rhythm and blues festival, so Sept 1st then. No silly wagers have been made.

I try to stay out of this thread, I usually end up in trouble but surely man you ain't that blind to a woman wishing you had a washboard belly?
If she's worth it get on with it man!

[LeverEnd]

I can't be arsed with them. Never bothered, just trained off perceived effort. When I've trained with people wearing them, they usually just tell me that I'm not running as fast or far as I thought I was!
I've been challenged by a friend to shift my gut in 3 months and replace it with a 6-pack. I'm going to get it like a washboard then smear it with fake tan, oil it up and send her a pic a month early. This will have to start after my 3 day bender in Ireland and trip to the Colne Rhythm and blues festival, so Sept 1st then. No silly wagers have been made.

I try to stay out of this thread, I usually end up in trouble but surely man you ain't that blind to a woman wishing you had a washboard belly?
If she's worth it get on with it man!

She's the wife of my former training partner and I was best man at their wedding. Best not then!

[Gary the Enfield]

Just had confirmation that my application for Ironman 2016 has been successful.

See you all on July 17th next year then.