The Running Thread Vol 2

[Cybertronian]

Thanks everyone for the advice on ultra vests. Dropped some cash on the Salonon S Lab Sense with the mesh back and 2 x 500ml bottles for a little over £70. Purchased it from Achilles Heel who have a good returns policy should it not fit or chafe me to bits.

Looking forward to using it, even if not for the hydration properties but simply to carry stuff when I'm medium-long run commuting and don't have enough to justify carrying a bag, but too much for a Flipbelt etc.

[tenohfive]

Cybertronian said:

Thanks everyone for the advice on ultra vests. Dropped some cash on the Salonon S Lab Sense with the mesh back and 2 x 500ml bottles for a little over £70. Purchased it from Achilles Heel who have a good returns policy should it not fit or chafe me to bits.

Looking forward to using it, even if not for the hydration properties but simply to carry stuff when I'm medium-long run commuting and don't have enough to justify carrying a bag, but too much for a Flipbelt etc.

Forgot to mention but Rat Race have some of the Montane Jaws 10 rucks in at £35 (plus about a fiver delivery.) Very, very cheap. If they'd been that price 6 months ago I'd have snapped one up, instead I ended up with a more conventional ruck (OMM Ultra 12 - perfectly good running rucksack and I'm very happy with it.)

[The jiffle king]

First 10k in 5 years this morning and it meant a 5:15 wake up for a 7am start due to the heat. The "race for hope" 5 and 10K are held close to the river in Roswell GA and from the start it was clear there were a group who were just a little ahead of me. Pleased to come 5th overall in 38:05 on what is a flat course here in the US, but would be considered undulating in the UK. A good starter 10k for me and I lost concentration in the middle with a 6:20 and 6:26 miles but brought it back and finished ok.

I was also glad I did not see a shame today as I've seen 4 in the last week including a Copperhead yesterday when I led a small group on "national Bike day". Most are not poisonous but the copperhead is one to avoid

2 weeks in the UK starting tomorrow so back to cooler running I hope

[anonymous-user]

I'm still injured with my bad ankle-Although swimming is keepin me very fit still.

We're just heading back from an amazing Birmingham diamond league with a sub 3:30 1500m, an 8 minute flat men's steeplechase and a 1:56 women's 800m, oh and the second fastest 600m ever was run by David rudisha, an amazing 400m by Kirani James and a super 100m hurdles by keni harrison. Plus farah wrapped it up with a new uk record in the 3k.

If anyone gets a chance to see athletics in the flesh-DO IT!! I can't recommend it enough!!
The pace and power of the athletes doesn't come across as well on the tv, seeing someone shifting at 8min pace over the steeple barriers is something else!!

[markh1973]

cookie118 said:

I'm still injured with my bad ankle-Although swimming is keepin me very fit still.

We're just heading back from an amazing Birmingham diamond league with a sub 3:30 1500m, an 8 minute flat men's steeplechase and a 1:56 women's 800m, oh and the second fastest 600m ever was run by David rudisha, an amazing 400m by Kirani James and a super 100m hurdles by keni harrison. Plus farah wrapped it up with a new uk record in the 3k.

If anyone gets a chance to see athletics in the flesh-DO IT!! I can't recommend it enough!!
The pace and power of the athletes doesn't come across as well on the tv, seeing someone shifting at 8min pace over the steeple barriers is something else!!

Live sport of all types is a fantastic experience. I was lucky enough to be in the Olympic Stadium on Super Saturday and it was an amazing experience.

I'm having to get away with no training and only race at the moment. I've done something to my foot - cuboid bone maybe. Doesn't particularly affect me when running but once I stop it stiffens up. Problem is my next aces are meant to be marathon, marathon, 30k and then Race to the Stones.

[Jordan210]

Managed to get my first few runs under my belt. First time iv been able to run in 7-8 months. Felt pretty good. Not the fastest iv been but i do need to lose a few pounds.

Thinking of doing a few park runs in the next few weeks as staying at GF's and one is about a 5 min walk away. But big question. Should I run it next to her or at my own pace. I am slightly faster then her. More to do with her wanting to stop every 5 mins for all manor of reasons ! But i don't want her to lose interest if I'm not there telling her to run !

Also London marathon injured entry email arrived today so need to get training for that !

[KTF]

If it was me I would run at my own pace as I find it frustrating to run slower than I normally would. Having someone to 'catch' may give her more motivation to not stop on the way round.

Mind you, my parkrun time from this week was 19:49 and my wife was 36:11 so I dont think I could even 'run' at her pace even if I wanted to.

I also found that no amount of 'encouraging' words will make her get round any quicker than she wants to get round in so its best to leave her to it

[RizzoTheRat]

Then again running with her and getting chatting to others of a similar speed is a good way to make a few friends that will run with her when you're not about. My Mrs now treats parkrun as more of a social than a quick run, last time her usual mates where there she was nearly a minute quicker as she wasn't talking all the way round

[onedsla]

cookie118 said:

If anyone gets a chance to see athletics in the flesh-DO IT!! I can't recommend it enough!!

At the other end of the spectrum I was at a Northern League athletics meet, participating in the 5000m.

It will probably be the first race that my 5.5 year old will remember (not much hope for the 4 month old, also in attendance), so pleased to reverse a 13s deficit from the the guy who won the first fixture with a 15s victory, pulling away over the past 4 laps to win in 16:01.8 (3rd occasion I've run this exact time). Heat at 4pm was brutal (seemed to have been absorbed by the blue track) and surprisingly windy on the home straight, so, along with a fast finishing 9:01 3000m in the recent County Champs, hopefully indiciative of something closer to 15:30 than 16:00 to come. Can then finally close the chapter on my broken foot!

Speaking of kids & athletics, has anybody successfully introduced their children into it? My daugher must have her mother's (D1 400/800m collegiate athlete) genes. She's seriously quick - up to the point where I have to put in some effort to keep up over shorter distances and well ahead of her classmates. She takes gymnastics, tennis and swimming classes and usually walks at least a mile per day. What's the best age to take her to the track? 8ish? She seems keen now!

[Jacobyte]

The jiffle king said:

First 10k in 5 years... Pleased to come 5th overall in 38:05 on what is a flat course here in the US, but would be considered undulating in the UK.

onedsla said:

... pulling away over the past 4 laps to win in 16:01.8

Those are speeds that most of us can only dream of, but do keep posting, as I like dreaming

[Jacobyte]

After last Monday's London 10K, I took a few days rest and did a gentle 30 minute run on Saturday to get the legs moving again.

Then yesterday I thought to myself "I've just done 3 months of hard training for that event and I'm as fit and fast as I've ever been. I'm not going to waste that".

With no races planned, I've realised I can now just go out into the woods and run. No pressure on speed, direction, distance, heart-rate, just no worries at all and enjoy the freedom and escapism of simply running.

And this morning that's exactly what I did. I woke up to bright sunshine, clear skies and fresh legs. For about an hour I was Forrest Gump. Running through the smell of trees, over soft pine needles, hearing a cuckoo across the heather, skipping over tree roots, seeing rabbits scurrying away and deer browsing through the bushes, big effort up a steep earthy hill then striding down the other side in great bounds. It really makes you feel alive. Who needs organised events when you have a morning like this?

When I reached home, I sprinted to the top of the steps in our garden and threw my arms in the air, Rocky-style

[KTF]

Anyone doing Endure 24 this weekend? Am running it as part of a team of 8 as usual.

[RizzoTheRat]

Yep, I'm in the slow team (50ish minutes) of 8, and we've got a quicker team of 7 and my Mrs soloing.

Forecast isn't looking as good as last year.

[KTF]

We will probably be lapping in about 40 minutes. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to go in a slower group as then you get more rest and dont have to run as often.

It looks like there may be a few showers about over the weekend. As long as it isnt as bad as it was two years ago then it should be OK. If it rains a lot then it wont be fun at all.

I hope the solo attempt goes well as some of them look a bit unwell when you seem them still going the next day... Does she have any target in mind?

[Gargamel]

Jacobyte said:

The jiffle king said:

First 10k in 5 years... Pleased to come 5th overall in 38:05 on what is a flat course here in the US, but would be considered undulating in the UK.

onedsla said:

... pulling away over the past 4 laps to win in 16:01.8

Those are speeds that most of us can only dream of, but do keep posting, as I like dreaming

The record is what, 12:37 or something.... 16:00 I can literally only dream about, but sub 13 is otherworldly.

Would love to think I could get back to a sub 20m 5k

[RizzoTheRat]

I think she's keeping quiet about any target in case she doesn't make it, but I reckon she'll be happy if she can do 10 laps. She's planning on walking more than running though. She's run a couple of marathons before so should find the first 10 easy enough at any rate.

She's doing the Gherkin challenge the week after which seems completely mental to me

[Foliage]

When running for over an hour how do you prefer to carry water?

[KTF]

RizzoTheRat said:

I think she's keeping quiet about any target in case she doesn't make it, but I reckon she'll be happy if she can do 10 laps. She's planning on walking more than running though. She's run a couple of marathons before so should find the first 10 easy enough at any rate.

She's doing the Gherkin challenge the week after which seems completely mental to me

The Gherkin challenge sounds really tough as going up stairs constantly is much harder than running on an undulating course.

Has she been to Endure 24 before? There is a gradual uphill from the start, then a downhill section then a right turn and a steep uphill before a downhill through the forest section so she may want to walk up the hills and save the energy for the downhill. Here is the steep hill from 2 years ago when it rained for most of the time - you really dont want it to rain:



There is a guy for our club running solo for the MNDA charity and is aiming for 100 miles. For his training he did a 6 hour event that was 3.3 miles per lap and did 10 laps in 5h43 for 35 miles total but that was on a flat course so this time he is aiming for a constant steady plod and walking up the hills to his the 100 target.

[KTF]

Foliage said:

When running for over an hour how do you prefer to carry water?

I have one of these. It doesnt move around and has space for gels, bars, etc.

http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-2-bottle-belt...

[RizzoTheRat]

Yeah, we both ran it last year (I buggerd my knee up and ended up walking 2 of my laps), and quite a few mates ran it the year it pissed it down and said that hill was just nasty. A mate solo'd it the year before that (when it was really hot) and I think did 90 miles, but he's in the slow team this year as his legs are still recovering from Comrades.