The Running Thread
Discussion
After many years of trying I finally have a place in the London Marathon. Now I best start training for it properly, I have found a training plan that I'm going to stick with. Im not overly fit so hopefully this will spur me on to get fit.
Need to invest in a GPS watch
Thinking one of the Tom Toms ? any recommendations.
Need to invest in a GPS watch
Thinking one of the Tom Toms ? any recommendations.
Does anyone take amino acid supplements?
Its been suggested I take them for my knee aches, so have started but id never heard of them before and don't know what they actually do. From the bits ive read I shouldn't have to take them as I eat plenty of protein, but they seem to be working, my knees are less achy my thighs ache though after my spin class, as usual.
Today is the first day in months without knee ache.
Its been suggested I take them for my knee aches, so have started but id never heard of them before and don't know what they actually do. From the bits ive read I shouldn't have to take them as I eat plenty of protein, but they seem to be working, my knees are less achy my thighs ache though after my spin class, as usual.
Today is the first day in months without knee ache.
An absolutely fantastic time yesterday on the Glencoe Marathon; highly recommended - a great trail with some of the best views in Britain- we were very lucky with the crystal clear weather to make the most of it; hard ascents and difficult ground - smashing.
First 10k was steady ascent across trail and bog up to the rocky & steep Devils Staircase, blasted down into Kinlochleven and then another pull up to Lairigmor (the Great Pass) before a sharp descent into the Nevis event centre.
My pal had cramps and took a nasty tumble so the second half was solo, but despite being under prepared (as usual) I still felt nimble at the end so a good day for me.
Time was a mid-field (probably/hopefully!) 5:44; my closest comparison is a 33 miler (also with lift. albeit far less) that I did in 6:00 dead, so happy with that.
What amazes me is the winner did it in 3:18. And what amazes me more is that this route is the last 25 miles of the 95 mile West Highland Way race - brutal!
First 10k was steady ascent across trail and bog up to the rocky & steep Devils Staircase, blasted down into Kinlochleven and then another pull up to Lairigmor (the Great Pass) before a sharp descent into the Nevis event centre.
My pal had cramps and took a nasty tumble so the second half was solo, but despite being under prepared (as usual) I still felt nimble at the end so a good day for me.
Time was a mid-field (probably/hopefully!) 5:44; my closest comparison is a 33 miler (also with lift. albeit far less) that I did in 6:00 dead, so happy with that.
What amazes me is the winner did it in 3:18. And what amazes me more is that this route is the last 25 miles of the 95 mile West Highland Way race - brutal!
andy_s said:
An absolutely fantastic time yesterday on the Glencoe Marathon; highly recommended - a great trail with some of the best views in Britain- we were very lucky with the crystal clear weather to make the most of it; hard ascents and difficult ground - smashing.
First 10k was steady ascent across trail and bog up to the rocky & steep Devils Staircase, blasted down into Kinlochleven and then another pull up to Lairigmor (the Great Pass) before a sharp descent into the Nevis event centre.
My pal had cramps and took a nasty tumble so the second half was solo, but despite being under prepared (as usual) I still felt nimble at the end so a good day for me.
Time was a mid-field (probably/hopefully!) 5:44; my closest comparison is a 33 miler (also with lift. albeit far less) that I did in 6:00 dead, so happy with that.
What amazes me is the winner did it in 3:18. And what amazes me more is that this route is the last 25 miles of the 95 mile West Highland Way race - brutal!
Superb. Well done. Having ridden (and pushed) a mountain bike along the WHW, I know what the terrain is like. Running the 95 miles would be some undertaking!First 10k was steady ascent across trail and bog up to the rocky & steep Devils Staircase, blasted down into Kinlochleven and then another pull up to Lairigmor (the Great Pass) before a sharp descent into the Nevis event centre.
My pal had cramps and took a nasty tumble so the second half was solo, but despite being under prepared (as usual) I still felt nimble at the end so a good day for me.
Time was a mid-field (probably/hopefully!) 5:44; my closest comparison is a 33 miler (also with lift. albeit far less) that I did in 6:00 dead, so happy with that.
What amazes me is the winner did it in 3:18. And what amazes me more is that this route is the last 25 miles of the 95 mile West Highland Way race - brutal!
andy_s said:
An absolutely fantastic time yesterday on the Glencoe Marathon; highly recommended - a great trail with some of the best views in Britain- we were very lucky with the crystal clear weather to make the most of it; hard ascents and difficult ground - smashing.
First 10k was steady ascent across trail and bog up to the rocky & steep Devils Staircase, blasted down into Kinlochleven and then another pull up to Lairigmor (the Great Pass) before a sharp descent into the Nevis event centre.
My pal had cramps and took a nasty tumble so the second half was solo, but despite being under prepared (as usual) I still felt nimble at the end so a good day for me.
Time was a mid-field (probably/hopefully!) 5:44; my closest comparison is a 33 miler (also with lift. albeit far less) that I did in 6:00 dead, so happy with that.
What amazes me is the winner did it in 3:18. And what amazes me more is that this route is the last 25 miles of the 95 mile West Highland Way race - brutal!
Well done First 10k was steady ascent across trail and bog up to the rocky & steep Devils Staircase, blasted down into Kinlochleven and then another pull up to Lairigmor (the Great Pass) before a sharp descent into the Nevis event centre.
My pal had cramps and took a nasty tumble so the second half was solo, but despite being under prepared (as usual) I still felt nimble at the end so a good day for me.
Time was a mid-field (probably/hopefully!) 5:44; my closest comparison is a 33 miler (also with lift. albeit far less) that I did in 6:00 dead, so happy with that.
What amazes me is the winner did it in 3:18. And what amazes me more is that this route is the last 25 miles of the 95 mile West Highland Way race - brutal!
It's something else that Glencoe Marathon! A lady from the running group I go to did it also, think she was 4.25 or around there but has said she is now broken and taking a week off running!! haha!!My effort over the weekend was 19k in 1hr 30mins! Happy enough with that pace and some good winter training should knock it down a bit (hopefully)!!
Please to have done my last long run prior to the Bristol-Bath Marathon and the culmination of a hard few weeks training. I've done a half mara time trial, solo, in the dark, in 1.45, then a 21 mile hilly charity "walk", run in a pleasing 3.59.59.
I finished this block off with a five mile gentle run, then some hanging about, then the Cardiff Half. Got a total of 30km done yesterday and boy am I feeling it! I was pretty tired by the finish, so the idea of doing another 12km was emotional - and about right as to my idea of the step up to a full marathon. However, I have to concede the half was run at faster than target marathon pace and at the end of a block of pretty tiring training, so with three weeks of taper, I should be raring to go! Now to contain the enthusiasm of fresh legs after a lush easy week and some restorative physio.
As for the actual half, I couldn't recommend it enough. Given it's size, it was really well organised, and a few pinch points aside, which would been avoided if I hadn't seeded myself way back in the mass of masses, a fast course. I would council however, that fast course and flat course are not the same thing! Cardiff is fast. It is not flat. There are four rises of note, one at Penarth before the barrage, a long drag up the east side of Roath Park, a short sharp shock at 12 miles and an inconsequential rise at 12.9 miles. Or at least it would be inconsequential at any other point, but that close to the finish, it's a bugger! But of course, all of these are offset by the descents, with time to be made up in lots of places, and a negative split a pretty sure thing as the last couple of miles are predominantly downhill!
I had hoped to push my lad round in his racing buggy, but a last-minute read of the official rules made it very clear this wasn't to be. As I needed the run for my training and I didn't want to risk starting, but then having a power-crazed official DQ me miles from the car, he stayed with his Mam. More's the pity as the guy I started next to in my pen had a buggy and was even interviewed by the Christian Malcolm! It was the only one I saw though.
At least I had the buggy adequately prepared...
Top running by Cybertronian - I can only dream of sub 90 minutes right now. One hundred and fifteen minutes doesn't have the same ring to it!
I finished this block off with a five mile gentle run, then some hanging about, then the Cardiff Half. Got a total of 30km done yesterday and boy am I feeling it! I was pretty tired by the finish, so the idea of doing another 12km was emotional - and about right as to my idea of the step up to a full marathon. However, I have to concede the half was run at faster than target marathon pace and at the end of a block of pretty tiring training, so with three weeks of taper, I should be raring to go! Now to contain the enthusiasm of fresh legs after a lush easy week and some restorative physio.
As for the actual half, I couldn't recommend it enough. Given it's size, it was really well organised, and a few pinch points aside, which would been avoided if I hadn't seeded myself way back in the mass of masses, a fast course. I would council however, that fast course and flat course are not the same thing! Cardiff is fast. It is not flat. There are four rises of note, one at Penarth before the barrage, a long drag up the east side of Roath Park, a short sharp shock at 12 miles and an inconsequential rise at 12.9 miles. Or at least it would be inconsequential at any other point, but that close to the finish, it's a bugger! But of course, all of these are offset by the descents, with time to be made up in lots of places, and a negative split a pretty sure thing as the last couple of miles are predominantly downhill!
I had hoped to push my lad round in his racing buggy, but a last-minute read of the official rules made it very clear this wasn't to be. As I needed the run for my training and I didn't want to risk starting, but then having a power-crazed official DQ me miles from the car, he stayed with his Mam. More's the pity as the guy I started next to in my pen had a buggy and was even interviewed by the Christian Malcolm! It was the only one I saw though.
At least I had the buggy adequately prepared...
Top running by Cybertronian - I can only dream of sub 90 minutes right now. One hundred and fifteen minutes doesn't have the same ring to it!
Nice write-up there, Smitters! Glad you got your long run in and gutted you didn't run with the buggy. I watched the TV coverage last night and even saw somebody running with a dog on a lead (not a guide dog), so reckon you'd have been fine. My quads are destroyed today and stairs are proving tricky...
To the person that asked about etiquette when running with others: I would just agree with the other two before the run on what it is you want to get from it to avoid any ambiguity. If you organise the run and invite them along, my opinion is the onus should be on you to stay with them and only to leave them if they say to go on without them. If they invite you along, the onus is on them to keep up with you / not get bent out of shape if you press on without them. Don't ignore solo training - I almost exclusively train on my own and firmly believe it develops mental strength and discipline!
To the person that asked about etiquette when running with others: I would just agree with the other two before the run on what it is you want to get from it to avoid any ambiguity. If you organise the run and invite them along, my opinion is the onus should be on you to stay with them and only to leave them if they say to go on without them. If they invite you along, the onus is on them to keep up with you / not get bent out of shape if you press on without them. Don't ignore solo training - I almost exclusively train on my own and firmly believe it develops mental strength and discipline!
cwis said:
A question about runner's etiquette and to see if there any tricks we've not thought of:
I pootled round the park again this weekend with the chap I started running with and his other half, what 6 weeks or so ago. He's been busy at work and hasn't put many miles in. I've been doing the couch 2 5K faithfully, and been getting steadily fitter.
I kept running away from them and had to keep knocking my pace right back. We both had to double back at one point because his other half vanished behind us.
Is there a course of action we should follow in this circumstance? Should I put in an extra loop so as not to slow down or should I just run slower and stay with them? Or should I just carry on (at the same, slow pace) once they stop and put some extra miles in?
I don't want to drag them along too fast so they stop, but I also want to get some benefit from the running. But we want to run together.
I was comfortable with a 6.45 pace (over a km - stop laughing fast people!) but they were more like a 7:30 (which was killing me a few weeks ago so I'm chuffed at one level!).
We want to lengthen this run as we get faster and make it a regular part of our regime, so any techniques to level out the paces would be welcome - we joked about making me carry a rucksack and weighting it, for example.
Any ideas? Is a very slow run doing me good anyway so we should stop worrying about it? I was all zone 2 and 3 according to the HRM.
They'll probably get faster quickly as they train more so you may not have an issue in a few weeks!I pootled round the park again this weekend with the chap I started running with and his other half, what 6 weeks or so ago. He's been busy at work and hasn't put many miles in. I've been doing the couch 2 5K faithfully, and been getting steadily fitter.
I kept running away from them and had to keep knocking my pace right back. We both had to double back at one point because his other half vanished behind us.
Is there a course of action we should follow in this circumstance? Should I put in an extra loop so as not to slow down or should I just run slower and stay with them? Or should I just carry on (at the same, slow pace) once they stop and put some extra miles in?
I don't want to drag them along too fast so they stop, but I also want to get some benefit from the running. But we want to run together.
I was comfortable with a 6.45 pace (over a km - stop laughing fast people!) but they were more like a 7:30 (which was killing me a few weeks ago so I'm chuffed at one level!).
We want to lengthen this run as we get faster and make it a regular part of our regime, so any techniques to level out the paces would be welcome - we joked about making me carry a rucksack and weighting it, for example.
Any ideas? Is a very slow run doing me good anyway so we should stop worrying about it? I was all zone 2 and 3 according to the HRM.
I think in the meantime I'd either just accept it as a slow run (can be good-I enjoy running with m girlfriend at a slower pace than my usual) or add extra on after they've finished.
The quad pain that halted my race the other week *appears* to have been resolved.
The Physio gave my leg, hips and lower back a good pummelling last week which seems to have loosened things up. He also recommended doing more eccentric leg exercises and downhill running.
Foam rolling was quite painful at first, but has now eased. I had probably neglected my quads a bit recently.
The plantar fasciitis has been eased a lot by taping. Let's hope it's not long term.
The Physio gave my leg, hips and lower back a good pummelling last week which seems to have loosened things up. He also recommended doing more eccentric leg exercises and downhill running.
Foam rolling was quite painful at first, but has now eased. I had probably neglected my quads a bit recently.
The plantar fasciitis has been eased a lot by taping. Let's hope it's not long term.
cookie118 said:
They'll probably get faster quickly as they train more so you may not have an issue in a few weeks!
I think in the meantime I'd either just accept it as a slow run (can be good-I enjoy running with m girlfriend at a slower pace than my usual) or add extra on after they've finished.
I'm doing more training than them unfortunately. Work pressures, parenting etc - completely understand.I think in the meantime I'd either just accept it as a slow run (can be good-I enjoy running with m girlfriend at a slower pace than my usual) or add extra on after they've finished.
We had a chat about what to do, and this Sunday I did 5K with them and then sped up slightly to get in to zone 4 and did another 3K. Cup of tea was waiting for me at the cafe, and we all retired happy with our efforts.
I'm going to try and stretch out to 10K next week.
I think I'm creeping back into going too hard on many of my runs (and rides). I need to rein myself in a bit and work out a better schedule for incorporating strength work without overdoing it.
On a good point, my gluteus muscles are getting tired/stiff these days, so I must be using them.
On a good point, my gluteus muscles are getting tired/stiff these days, so I must be using them.
Had a run on the treadmill today. First time for around 14 years and I have forgotten just how odd it feels.
I tried doing 1k at 4 mintue pace and it felt good so I will be looking at going for a sub 20 5k before the end of the year. I did around 9k overall at 5min/km and felt like I good have kept the pace going for a good while. Still do not feel as fit as I did for the marathon I did at the end of May but I will just try to enjoy the day and see what happens.
I tried doing 1k at 4 mintue pace and it felt good so I will be looking at going for a sub 20 5k before the end of the year. I did around 9k overall at 5min/km and felt like I good have kept the pace going for a good while. Still do not feel as fit as I did for the marathon I did at the end of May but I will just try to enjoy the day and see what happens.
I'm toying with the idea of a go at the Berlin Marathon ballot (98EURO with no guarantee!) but before I do so, I was wondering if any the seasoned marathon runners could share some anecdotes about whether they found training for a spring marathon or an autumn marathon easier.
I've only ever trained for spring marathons, so only know cold winter mornings and dark winter evenings for marathon training runs. Traditionally for me, the summer has always been about shorter, faster stuff. I anticipate having to do summer long runs much earlier in the morning to avoid the warmer temperatures, but is there anything else that comes into play?
I've only ever trained for spring marathons, so only know cold winter mornings and dark winter evenings for marathon training runs. Traditionally for me, the summer has always been about shorter, faster stuff. I anticipate having to do summer long runs much earlier in the morning to avoid the warmer temperatures, but is there anything else that comes into play?
Cybertronian said:
I'm toying with the idea of a go at the Berlin Marathon ballot (98EURO with no guarantee!) but before I do so, I was wondering if any the seasoned marathon runners could share some anecdotes about whether they found training for a spring marathon or an autumn marathon easier.
I've only ever trained for spring marathons, so only know cold winter mornings and dark winter evenings for marathon training runs. Traditionally for me, the summer has always been about shorter, faster stuff. I anticipate having to do summer long runs much earlier in the morning to avoid the warmer temperatures, but is there anything else that comes into play?
Unless they've changed it. The ballot is free to enter and you only pay if you get a place. So far only NYC have you had to pay to enter the ballot. And even then it was £7 or so.I've only ever trained for spring marathons, so only know cold winter mornings and dark winter evenings for marathon training runs. Traditionally for me, the summer has always been about shorter, faster stuff. I anticipate having to do summer long runs much earlier in the morning to avoid the warmer temperatures, but is there anything else that comes into play?
Cybertronian said:
I'm toying with the idea of a go at the Berlin Marathon ballot (98EURO with no guarantee!) but before I do so, I was wondering if any the seasoned marathon runners could share some anecdotes about whether they found training for a spring marathon or an autumn marathon easier.
I've only ever trained for spring marathons, so only know cold winter mornings and dark winter evenings for marathon training runs. Traditionally for me, the summer has always been about shorter, faster stuff. I anticipate having to do summer long runs much earlier in the morning to avoid the warmer temperatures, but is there anything else that comes into play?
Speaking from recent experience, I'd say Autumn is easiest, dependent on how much training you plan to do. I've only ever trained for spring marathons, so only know cold winter mornings and dark winter evenings for marathon training runs. Traditionally for me, the summer has always been about shorter, faster stuff. I anticipate having to do summer long runs much earlier in the morning to avoid the warmer temperatures, but is there anything else that comes into play?
I started training in Jan this year for Brighton in April, but dropped out injured (for 4 months) at end of Feb.
At that time I was training 5 times a week, around 6hrs a week. I found it that rather than running for something I wanted to do, it was something I had to do. The fun started to ebb out of it and getting motivated to do evenings during the week was hard, 2 of them I did at the club, but the Wednesday session was dark, cold, often wet and always me on my own.
Fast forward to July and I started training again. Sure it's hotter, but you can run early or later in the evening after work, it's lighter, generally drier and just much more enjoyable, especially the Wednesday evening 10 milers I was doing on my own out in the countryside.
I never long run after 9am at weekends but typically due to childcare juggling, my 22 miler took place in unbroken sunshine at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. Sure it was tougher than it would have been in March, but I think training in warmer conditions makes it easier to run when it's cooler, hopefully, on race day.
In hindsight, I'm glad I'm running my first marathon (Abingdon) this weekend having trained during late summer. It's been tough at times keeping motivated, especially on the days I've ran 4 days back to back. Having to do that in winter would have been even tougher.
I'll find out how it goes at the weekend, but I'll no doubt try a spring one next year, but at least I'll be going into it eyes open, but also should be able to hook up with other club runners trying for London, which will help with motivation.
Edited by MattS3 on Wednesday 14th October 20:09
Rich_W said:
Unless they've changed it. The ballot is free to enter and you only pay if you get a place. So far only NYC have you had to pay to enter the ballot. And even then it was £7 or so.
Ahh, you're absolutely right. Jumped to conclusions based on the scant info on the current registration page.MattS3 said:
Speaking from recent experience, I'd say Autumn is easiest, dependent on how much training you plan to do.
I started training in Jan this year for Brighton in April, but dropped out injured (for 4 months) at end of Feb.
At that time I was training 5 times a week, around 6hrs a week. I found it that rather than running for something I wanted to do, it was something I had to do. The fun started to ebb out of it and getting motivated to do evenings during the week was hard, 2 of them I did at the club, but the Wednesday session was dark, cold, often wet and always me on my own.
Fast forward to July and I started training again. Sure it's hotter, but you can run early or later in the evening after work, it's lighter, generally drier and just much more enjoyable, especially the Wednesday evening 10 milers I was doing on my own out in the countryside.
I never long run after 9am at weekends but typically due to childcare juggling, my 22 miler took place in unbroken sunshine at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. Sure it was tougher than it would have been in March, but I think training in warmer conditions makes it easier to run when it's cooler, hopefully, on race day.
In hindsight, I'm glad I'm running my first marathon (Abingdon) this weekend having trained during late summer. It's been tough at times keeping motivated, especially on the days I've ran 4 days back to back. Having to do that in winter would have been even tougher.
I'll find out how it goes at the weekend, but I'll no doubt try a spring one next year, but at least I'll be going into it eyes open, but also should be able to hook up with other club runners trying for London, which will help with motivation.
Thanks for your feedback. Racing when it's cooler after a warm summer is incredibly appealing - I always find my autumn half marathons to be more successful than my spring ones. I melted during my previous two spring marathons after chilly months of winter training.I started training in Jan this year for Brighton in April, but dropped out injured (for 4 months) at end of Feb.
At that time I was training 5 times a week, around 6hrs a week. I found it that rather than running for something I wanted to do, it was something I had to do. The fun started to ebb out of it and getting motivated to do evenings during the week was hard, 2 of them I did at the club, but the Wednesday session was dark, cold, often wet and always me on my own.
Fast forward to July and I started training again. Sure it's hotter, but you can run early or later in the evening after work, it's lighter, generally drier and just much more enjoyable, especially the Wednesday evening 10 milers I was doing on my own out in the countryside.
I never long run after 9am at weekends but typically due to childcare juggling, my 22 miler took place in unbroken sunshine at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. Sure it was tougher than it would have been in March, but I think training in warmer conditions makes it easier to run when it's cooler, hopefully, on race day.
In hindsight, I'm glad I'm running my first marathon (Abingdon) this weekend having trained during late summer. It's been tough at times keeping motivated, especially on the days I've ran 4 days back to back. Having to do that in winter would have been even tougher.
I'll find out how it goes at the weekend, but I'll no doubt try a spring one next year, but at least I'll be going into it eyes open, but also should be able to hook up with other club runners trying for London, which will help with motivation.
Edited by MattS3 on Wednesday 14th October 20:09
The odds of getting into Berlin don't look too bad.
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