fetcheveryone

Hm. Difficult. Define accomplished.... my WAVAs, like yours, are better for shorter distances, but I feel better running at longer distances and feel like there's more improvement to be had there. Which I guess there is. Sorry thinking aloud....

Based on WAVA then my sweet spot is 5K/10K and I guess that's because I've run 100+ parkruns which does kind of help understand the distance.

5k. But that's the distance I've 'raced' the most.

I suppose by accomplished I mean "best at". I voted 5k, partially because it's my best WAVA, but also because it's the distance I feel as though I've mastered more than all the others (it's all relative, of course).

Can we have a 10 mile option?!

Have gone for half marathon, but in reality it's probably 10 miles.

Soz Hendoid, you'll have to pick 10k or half.

Indeed. 5k is my best WAVA also but I've hated the past couple of PB/near PBs I've run at that distance whereas I loved my other PBs. Will have a think.

Roger.

I'm interested to see whether we'll get an even spread between the distances, or whether it'll slope in a particular direction - and whether this matches the WAVA data. Just for fun, you know

my best ever wava is for 5k, which incidentally ive never trained for......but i feel half is my distance!

You are using "accomplished" in a really loose sense here ;-)? Split between 10K and half, but went for 10K as I've had more "good" races and more consistency at that. Said split definitely does not though, a la Hendo, mean 10 miles.

My 'best raced' race was a 10k, but I was always far more at home racing 10milers. Think if I hadn't put so much time into training for and running marathons I'd have got better results at Half marathons - if I was to start running again then I'd definitely only be looking to race 10 mile and Half distances as targets. I'm not sure this answers your question though... *rambles*

My wava is much better for 5k than any other distance (well, 57 compared to 51 or 50 for everything else). I feel I have some improvements to come at longer distances if I stay injury free long enough to get more races in!

I suspect a lot if people will be best at 5k because that's the distance they've done most, due to parkrun.

My best WAVA is for a parkrun which I think was a fluke as I've never got close to it again. Ignoring that result, my WAVA scores are fairly close across the distances. My preferred race distance is definitely the half.

Oooh tricky and dependent on your definition of "accomplished"
I have a very evenly spread highest WAVA across 5k, 10k, 10 miles and HM but, right now, I *feel* most accomplished at 50 miles as that is the distance where I am most competitive (in terms of my placing results)
I'm "competitive" across the board in terms of wanting to beat everyone - including snakes and ladders

I'm seeing some convergence in my WAVAs for my common distances - 5k, 10k and half all in the range 67-70%. But maras, a lowly 58%. I just don't seem to be able to train for / stay fit for / sustain pace for a decent mara time. So to completely unanswer your question, the distance I'm least accomplished at is full mara. Thanks for reading.

Highest WAVA now for the mile I think - best raced distance last year was definitely our track 3k (which isn't in my race portfolio).

Ten-miler's are complete b*st*rds. Hate them.

I'm with Hendo & JK. 10 Milers are my favourite and my bestest too.

It is probably something to do with my training, but 5k, I Like intervals, and short tempos, but don't really like long runs, although I think my best WAVA is now a 10k race, I have many more higher WAVAs at 5k, could be parkrun too....My mile time is super-pants though.

Best wava is 5k but I like halves and longer distances.

WAVAs should tell the tale and show that it's relatively rare to be a complete sprinter or a complete 'proper' long distance ie marathon - runner. I think on this site Vrap and I are the -rare - good examples of this. Given equal training for each event I'm pretty sure most people will be 'best' at 5-10k- 10 mile. This is still distance running - it doesn't mean they're sprinters - or marathoners come to that.

Of course personal preference comes into it too - but I'm pretty sure about the science.

WS - your results still make sense as a mile is close to 1500m which is the other real middle distance event. Middle distancers are another breed! I suspect Autumn Leaves is an MD runner at heart (at body perhaps I should say). Whether one WANTS to run the distance one is best suited to is quite another matter!

5k cos I've done more by, er, miles. I think 10 miles is a sensible distance and over in a reasonable time, but worth getting your teeth into. I definitely thought 10 miles would be a good distance for a race about 1hr53 into my half marathon on Sunday....

Within any period of time, my WAVA doesn't really vary too much regardless of distance. I appear to be the archetypal "one speed" (one-WAVA)? runner. I have rubbish runs, and good runs. And the distance over which I'm running them doesn't seem to make much difference, subjectively (i.e. I hated/loved it) or objectively (my WAVA is still only so-so).

What makes a difference is whether have run regularly and enough...

I would have thought my most accomplished would be marathon distance and according to my WAVA it is but only by a very small margin when compared to a 10k I did a few weeks before. ( does any of that actually make sense)

I go by WAVA. My best is 10K. This is quite nice for me, because it means that I believe I can get better at 5K and half (absolute PB and relative WAVA, obv). Mine is not linear, so tells me I have under achieved in some. Beyond half (i.e. marathon and beyond) I think good WAVA is much harder to achieve. The quantity of good training you have to do to achieve equivalent performance level is beyond most mortals in terms of time, commitment, avoiding injury etc.

Look forward to your big data analysis though, to see what you come up with. G

By the way, I took the question to be "Which distance do you think you have achieved your best result at so far..." rather than "Which distance do you think would be the one that you could do best at..." Actual to date, rather than potential in the future. Which should correlate with data, because you can't do data analysis on the future?! I think the best WAVA I *could* achieve would probably be at 5K or below, possibly mile or even 400-800m. But that's another life, cos I like plodding 10 miles in the hills too much to ever concentrate 5 days per week on track or other speed based training! Different question. G

It's only after half that my WAVA falls off (marathon, ouch). My 10k is 1% better than everything else, but I think that's partly because I was 50 instead of 49 when I ran that time, and it was partly a marathon bounce. I suspect that I'd probably do best at 10k if I trained focusing on that, because the times hold up well against halves which I do focus for.

[Completely off topic, but I find it interesting how many people both ^^^^ here and in conversation elsewhere rate a 10 mile race as their preferred distance. Why then are there relatively so few 10 mile races?]

Perhaps our WAVAs decline as the distance gets longer because most humans were simply not designed to run very long distances at a fast-ish pace? If you're chasing a mammoth or being chased by a wolf, 6 miles would be quite a chase. I think one or other of you would have given up well before 26 miles.

I m ight be an oddity, but my best WAVA has always been at HM over the years. 5k and 10k not far behind but even as I keep PBing at distances the HM remains the fastest and best. I drop off a bit at marathon which happens to be the distance of which I would say most of my proudest performances come at, but in theory its not my strength and I havent achieved potential. Neither to I have the out and out pace for shorter distances although off Marathon training I can post decent times.

Interesting stuff! My mile, 5k, 10k, 10 mile and HM PBs have a WAVA variance of just over 1%, I've gone with 5k as my most accomplished distance as it's the one at which I feel most in control and have the best overall age gradings.

Do you mean now or ever? Historically probably Marathon, currently 5k.

I'm in the plodding club with 10K WAVA a couple of percentage points better than 5K/parkrun. But what I can't fathom is why I consistently seem to run faster 5K segments in my 10K races than I do in stand-alone 5K events. I'm trying to address that with a series of 5K races over the next few weeks.

Like you, my best WAVA is 5k and I'm sure it tapers down (is there a graph for that?) but the distance I feel 'best' when doing is the marathon. I really don't like running fast over even short distances. Doesn't translate to better WAVA over long ones though

My best, WAVA WISE is 10K, but my favourite is HM because it is that much more of a challenge and, for the first 5 or so that I did I saw a consistent improvement.

Think I'm a natural 800m-mile man. It's all about the speed.

I love that Goofee who is in the 100 Marathon Club puts 5K as his most accomplished distance!!

Er my best wava ever was 89% at 60 metres, 100 metres 83% ... 5ks and 10ks 63% at best - everything else slots neatly in between. Conclusive, I think!

My best WAVA scores: 5K 64.21, 10K 61.70, HM 60.46 & mara 60.55 but still think HM is my best distance

My performances don't follow the line either. I either punch above my weight at the shorter distances or don't yet have the stamina to reach my full potential over the longer races. Best age-rated performance is at 800m.

Did a one-off 5k and found it a bit too quick for me; 10k I can do quite well at a good pace; half-marathons are consistent but I can have the occasional off day; marathons still need some work on. In short, I'm better at 10k or a half-marathon, but tend to only run marathons as they're a challenge!

That's a fancy costume you've got there. And that there sums up my knowledge of swimming I'm afraid.

I'd like to know more about the TomTom Bandit. Will you be doing a review?

Angus - I will definitely include loads of footage from it in my Club La Santa highlights vLog, and will try to put together some thoughts on the cam too.

Claypole - Katie filmed me from above the water too, and told me the simple fact that I wasn't keeping my fingers together. A year ago, I wasn't even able to swim continuously without getting into oxygen deficit; and was struggling to keep my face in the water. I'd agree - it's awesome seeing the progression

WW - thanks for the costume kudos

What a useful bit of video! I expect I'd look as if I'd fallen asleep mid-stroke but seeing it on film would be really helpful. Shame the Tomtom is so expensive

i thought it looked ok fetch , I wish I had more time to do swimming its v therapeutic

We should all have a plan

Good job, "lack of oxygen at the top of Mount Crazy" made me smile. From being at the fast end, most of us are already slathered in P20, it lasts *ages*, although I have occasionally accepted the odd slap of suncream or two in T2, always welcome

Welcome to your 5-year plan!

Can relate to that: spend some time each year helping in T1&2 at IMUK and yes it goes from awesome to quite emotional as you work down the field

An awesome blog 😀

The dark side.....

5 year plan, hmmm. I may or may not have a 2020 plan. It has a ring to it. But not up Mount Crazy.
Well done you two, that must have been a very fulfilling experience 😃

Nice plan.

Where did Stefan get the buff from?!

Enjoy the journey;-)

sounds like quite an experience

Great blog "couldn't imagine staying anywhere other than Club La Santa" you're not alone - I think the return rate was 70% last time I was there, with good reason. Enjoy implementing your five year plan

Sounds like it was great fun. Enjoy your five year plan

Great blog. Love Stefan!

I have a very similar 5 year plan. Race ya?
I'm also missing my black fetch buff. Have you got Stefan's phone number?!

Ooh, he's going all IronFetch! I love helping in all sorts of races. It's a great perspective on performance, effort and guts. G

Why would you wear a buff that is promoting or saying who know what?

~sigh~ Suppose you'll want a double suite at the hotel? We can put you in Paul Burton's old digs until we build you a new one...

sounds great! out of interest, what was the sun cream of choice for the ironmanners?

Most disappointed in the Monster Munch but then they did look a bit wishy washy.
Looking forward to seeing the swimming video. What a great piece of kit

What the heck is happening to your feet in that last shot? [no need to upload the video, the critique has already started ]

That's the monster munch pic.

I'm looking forward to tomrrow's blog. Have a fun day

CLS used to have a variety of morning runs at different paces, which were accessible to almost everyone. I miss that, especially now I'm way out of their league. I've spoken to them about this in the last few years with a view to creating options that are open to the more - ahem - 'mature' customer. I think it may need a bit more effort to achieve but I like the idea of a Parkrun style run.

What are you doing with that leg? It's cocked like you're weeing up against a lamppost.

On the basis of one picture, I'm already laughing at what you'll make of the vid

Was also worrying about leg.

Wintergreen is my fave.

Ah, I love morning gymnastics! Good idea about the parkrun, cls runs annoy me for their pacing.

Embrocation is a good word.

Fizz has an irritating habit of finding the cache whilst I'm wandering around looking at my Garmin GPS screen. Most annoying.

Those fake Monster Munch look more like ghosts
Sounds like you're having a brilliant time. I'm going to need pictures of the rubbing of the sun cream into the iron people.

LOL @ WW (I do)

Looks amazing there. I'm going to do stretch and relax every day

Ultimate abs :-o. Well, you'll probably be recovered in time for the suncreaming.

3 x 50m pools. That must mean at least 3 x 1000m before you come home. How else will you write a balanced report?!
Well cut along man, what are you waiting for..........

An interesting range of supplements there.

looks great......wondering how i could sneak off to club La Santa

50m pools seem horribly long...and are a nasty surprise when used to swimming in 25m pools.

Looks great. forget about the Garmin stuff - you're on holiday. Besides, I've got a TomTom now

Look out for the Pirate Massive on Saturday

My garmin has been fine, all runs are here, so enjoy your holiday

Perhaps the triathlon series is not based on metal but on Marvel comic book characters. A sprint triathlon is perhaps a Spiderman and an Olympic distance a Thor or Wolverine.

Or maybe household tasks? Washingupman? Hooverman?

That's a very weird downview. I'd think I'd be a bit self-conscious down there. A sprint tri might make you a ... Nickelman? Try-a-tri would be Magnesiuman. I did think of Zincman - but that would be someone who didn't swim very well.

I'd always assumed that ironmans are called ironmans because they are as hard as iron. A sprint tri is quick (or at least quicker) than other tri events so the name should be based on an "as quick as ..." simile. Greasedlightningman or Flashman or Weaselman?

Dvorak- yes maybe it would feel a bit strange to be in the lower apartments. i was trying to work out how many of the apartments would be overlooked like that. Ours is 3 flights of stairs up (no lift option for the 2nd and 3rd section) which is fine for us and I'd prefer over being overlooked. However if you have a buggy or are not able to do stairs you would need to be lower.

Have a great time

If there was a MaureenLipMan, you could get an ology. #oldschoolreference

lol @ hendo

Not sure I'd spend any time on those outdoor 'patios'...That doesn't constitute outside space to me. I'm intrigued to see how they are updating it.

*takes notes*

I'd do a John InMan but I'm probably never going to be fit enough for a Maureen LipMan.

Do swimming ironmen go rusty?

Have fun - sounds a bit energetic for a holiday!

Have a lovely time. x x

Its never anything but windy at la santa.

Those inside/outside patios are a bit weird. How does it feel to be back in the North after your last luxury visit to the South?

Helegant- no problem with being back over here as such, the accommodation is fine and I almost felt the luxury ones were a waste, for us anyway. I miss overlooking the lagoon and having afternoon sun more than anything. I do wonder if I'd miss the air con in high summer though.

Some mates of mine are out their for the Ironman - well, she's doing the Ironman and he's riding his bike to the pub/bar from what I can make out on Facebook Enjoy

Surely a sprint tri should be Mercuryman

Enjoy and please shout at Maria, my chum doing the Ironman Hope your tum stays sound x

Those ashtrays look great - any other retro souvenirs on offer? (Straw donkey/odd looking bottle with alcohol in it?)

straw donkeys yeah , I wondered who won the la santa trip in the advent calendar have a great time both

I've just founds myself looking at flights to Lanza. You're a bad influence (can you get us mates rates?)

Do you mean just affiliated clubs or are you including informal running groups in this?

FERC all the way, toot toot

Fetch, I saw your charter, and couple bits feedback (if I read it and understood correctly) : As an affiliated AC, I don't think we'd put up any charter or code other than our national body (Scottish Athletics) and our own individual club plans and rules. I don't think we'd recognise any other as having jurisdiction? If you're asking do we support the principles that you stated, then wholeheartedly "Yes" and try to implement them to best of our ability. But not sure we'd use a Fetch badge to attest to it? Just FYI. G

I'd agree with Mr G's comment re the charter. I don't think you'll get many clubs adopting them, although I'd hope that nearly all clubs already encompass the principles within their own charter/rules/whatever. Not sure where you are trying to go with the charter thing, other than getting some nice marketing exposure on club websites

Me? Market the site?

perish the thought.

I like it. I've just updated my school's parent council constitution. It's not so snappy

Hi, whilst they are all good goals, number 1 is hard to achieve in a small club. We have a small club (

less than 100 runners, with 20-30 on a club night) and whilst everyone is welcome, our club at the moment isn't suitable for all. we run 10K on a club night. I know that is too far for many but at this moment we don't have anyone who wants to lead a couch to 5K or beginners group. We had in the past had people join us at the mid-point of the run, which kind of works, and I'm a great advocate of parkrun which we recommend for people to get up to speed. We also recommend other local clubs who do have beginners group. So, in short, I'd love to meet your 8 goals, but we can't at the moment. I'd be interested in hearing how other small clubs cope with the wide variance in potential members speeds and distances.

CW - I've run with your club a couple of times before now, in a previous life, when I was working away from home in Berkshire. They seemed like a nice bunch at the time. I take your point - it's not always easy. But some creative route planning (coupled with the occasional loop back or lap) can help - and I think so long as there's some consideration made, it's all anyone can really ask for. I will see if I can tweak the wording a bit.

If you come again, let me know! We do try and think about these think and would really like to do better so we are open to ideas. We operate a loop back at half way to pick up the back markers and keep the group together and also we have added loops for the speedies so they can run 12K instead of 10K for example. If you vary the route, or provide short-cuts you need someone to run with new members so they don't get lost - we have a buddy system in operation but not everyone wants to reduce their run. We ask the committee members to help out but it really is difficult to cater for all speeds. We do think about this stuff, so I just wanted to highlight some of the challenges.

"wearing stepping up"? Otherwise I like it. No cliques.

I like it. There's a typo in the Open Source bit. Holds should be hold

CW - I've looked at the Finch Coasters website a few times since they're local. I've always got the impression (not necessarily correctly) that, even though it says that all are welcome, if you can't hack the distances or keep up you wouldn't be made to feel welcome for long.

If you are offering nothing to the beginner runner or those who are coming back from injury then it's far more likely that they will join one of the other clubs in the area that do.

The typo is in the newsletter

Both typos

Hi Molesy, thanks for the feedback. Whenever people enquire about the club we do let them know about the sessions and the range of abilities at the club and suggest they try us out for a few sessions to see if they fit in. If they feel it's not for them we suggest other clubs like Reading Roadrunners. It would be great to expand the depth of our membership and would love some more creative ideas to allow that.

But it's a circular argument. If you want to attract more members then people have to step up and run the C25K and beginner groups that will then feed into the main club sessions.

Exactly. 3 of our current committee started on C25K programmes with our club. We added almost 70 members last year due to our beginners groups which become self-supporting. I know that you have two very large clubs either side of you CW with RRR and us at Sandhurst, so there is competition. We run different activities every night for different levels, so there is always something for everyone each week and we work hard on helping people transition from one group to the next as they progress if that is what they want. TBH I see no issue with Finch being a club for faster/fitter runners only if that's what the club want to do.

I ended up with RRR when I lived in Wokingham after trying FC and RRR. I wasn't fast enough and that was abundantly clear. It's a shame as I know a number of lovely FCs (who weren't on the outrun I did). Also RRR has the track and coaches to bring people on. It does depend what you want from your club, and providing something for everyone is time consuming. But I think new members are often going to be new runners rather than folks moving into the area, and if you want to grow then that's where you'd need to target.

All good feedback, thanks. I'm going to see if we have any interest from any current members of starting up a beginners group and see if anyone comes forward.

I do a track session once a week where the intervals are chosen for me. But when I do my own I like to do either cruise intervals: 4 x 5mins @ threshold/10K pace (Jack Daniels idea), or 10 x 400m/quarter miles (Roger Bannister's lunchtime workout!)

I love them Weekly club sessions are very often interval based - I tend to do time rather than distance - and pyramid ones are good too.

Usually do them once a week at a club session, or otherwise a fartlek. Also try and do a hill session once a week to build up my stamina for a hilly half coming up - for this one, I do four sets of 5 mins continuous with a min recovery in between sets, up and down a moderate hill near home (which gets strangely less 'moderate' on each set ....)

Intervals are evil and should be outlawed.

Fav sessions - anything other than intervals.

ALL I do is ...intervals. Really.

We don't watch commercial television. Just the BBC

[Stealthily disappears to google 'intervals' ]

Not done any for years. And still maintain that for the average runner you'll get more benefit from race pace/tempo runs. If you're near the top of your potential they may give you those last few %, but for most of us there are far more beneficial sessions.

TRACK SESSIONS ARE THE BEST!

Anyone who doubts the benefits of intervals should read "Today We Die A Little." The new biography of Emil Zátopek by Richard Askwith (Feet in the Clouds). All he did was intervals. He once famously said, "Why should I practice running slowly?" And he became the greatest runner of his time. Arguably, of all time!

Intervals? That sounds dangerously like part of something I once heard of called a 'structured training plan' or somesuch. Alien concept to me. Probably why I'm less quick than I could be but still having more fun getting quicker.

I do them as part of a structured training program if I have a race due but probably don't do them often enough

Can I have one please I like the red ribbon one.

Could I have the purple one please? I couldn't bear the thought of Katie having to push you round in a wheelchair while your legs mend

I missed out last time so would love one and don't have any preference at all

I would love one. Don't mind which.

If she were to make any more, a red and white one would be snapped up quickly without need for a blog...

Green and purple with green wings if it's still available please.

Can I have the green and blue one with green wings please?

Missed again by the look of it

Oh no, missed out

Can she do some in Leicester kit. I expect Gooner would try to buy all of them.

I am also too slow but if there are any more going I'll have one.

I do like the blue and orange ones (although one in red and yellow Fetch colours would also keep me happy) so would be happy to save any further threats to your legs if she happens to do any more....

Could I be cheeky and ask if she could make me a black and yellow one - donation to charity obvs

If she could do a blue and white one (for my Sheffield Wednesday mad son), I would be happy to go on a waiting list

Ah, too slow, can I go on the wating list?!

Missed it again - too slow If any more were to be created, I would love to have one - don't mind what colours. If there's a waiting list, can I please go on it?