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VLM 2013 Outsiders Thread
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Paul Gunn 64 - advise anytime, I would gladly help.
My legs are in bits now though after a really hard week. Today was very tough as I had to do a 25 minute Tempo - 1M warm up then 4 miles 25 minutes and 1m warm down. I managed the warm up then 4 miles in 27:15 then warm down, My legs were aching and the widd (45mph gusts) didn't help me. Still only a brick session tomorrow and the four days off to work at the NEC which will be a much needed break. The only bad thing is that I miss my LSR this week
Reading this thread with interest
I have had to back off on my sub 3:15 programme as I was in peices after 4 weeks!!! Not able to recover properly in time for the next day, niggles were in danger of turning into full blown injuries, so I have popped myself a couple more days rest each week to recover.
Rest day yesterday and Physio last night and then did 10 miles after work today, nothing fast (avg 7:50 min miles) and it felt great, the most enjoyable run of my training so far, I now realise that I have to enjoy what I'm doing or what's the point???
Planning to coincide my long run on Sat with the local Park run, which is 12 miles away, figure I will steady run there, take part (albeit slowly!!!) and then let the wife pick me up and drive me home
That way I can have a rest day on Sunday, which means I can have a glass (or two) of wine on Sat night (have had a dry January to help the training!!!) Happy Days!!!
Roger - love the comment "Still only a brick session tomorrow" said so nonchalantly.... 30 mins hard bike followed by 19 min 5k... amazing!!! I can only dream of sub 19 min without doing the bike bit first
Matt76 - Good decission to back off a bit but from my last experience of the RW sub 3 plan which I done before Snowdon and Athens last year I struggled for the first four weeks and then it just seemed to click and become doable. I have to say that this time it is much easier even if some of the sessions are on my limit pace wise. The key for me is my recovery day when I do no exersise at all.
Done the brick session this morning but the bike was murder which slowed the run a bit. They had me ride at a cadence of 100 for 30 minutes and at 220w which I find borderline hard at the best of times. I then managed 5k in 19:43 and the funny thing is I felt like I could do 10k at that pace but I couldn't seem to up the pace to get down to 19 minutes which I done last week at a cadence of 90. I find it difficult to run fast on the treadmill and inside. My 5k pb is 17:58 and I don't think the brick sessions slow my running down, I think it is the treadmill....
Anyway I go away until next Wednesday so a good few days rest for me and I think I am a bit overdue so I will try and enjoy it.
Still no alcohol for the year, although free beer and wine with good food for the next few days will be the big test!
I hope you all have a good LSR this weekend.
I had a great 21 miles LSR this morning..was really amazed at how good i felt at the end. Kept pace fairly constant around 7:50 mins/mile..(apart from mile 14 when i saw a running club in the distance going at maybe 8:30-9:00 mins /mile and i obviously had to speed up and overtake them just to make myslef feel good)
Paul, i do my training runs on the southside of glasgow..and also run from home to work in Yorkhill, and back, at least once a week. I have been to a few parkruns at Pollok... but i am not a member of any club. Are you?? VLM will be my 3rd marathon and i still feel i am able to stay commited to my training and because i work different shifts i need to train at different times of the day.
Miggito, that is great what you are saying about the pens not being too busy. Does anyone know if, or when, you can try and change pens..at the expo?? I think i put in my expected time as between 3:30 and 3:45, but after finishing Dublin in October in 3:16:00 and knowing my training is gearing towards nearer 3 hours does anyone know if there is a chance to move up pens. I am doing Alloa half in March and would like to know what time to aim for as proof of my improved expected time.
Hope all the runs went well at the weekend - I missed my LSR, got a severe case of man flu at the minute! A little psychological dent in the training but should hopefully be back on track for next weekend. Maybe not a bad thing anyway as my Sesamoid issue has been flaring up again, which is more concerning for me!
Dave B - you're just showing off now with your run
I can't honestly remember if you can change pen at the expo,I would doubt it as they'll have it all allocated by then, probably best to phone them up if you really want to get the advantage. I was thinking about running Alloa too, have you done it before? It's a toss up at the minute between that or the Meadows 1/2 Marathon to incorporate into training plan?
Matt, if I can do 7:50 min/miles on the day for 26.2 I will be ecstatic! That's my tempo pace!
Treating myself to a sports massage on Wednesday, hopefully that will cure all my niggles!
PS. Come on you Bairns
Oh no, man flu! Nightmare...
Nice slow 10 miles for me at the weekend, hard work but felt OK at the end. I'd forgotten how hard it is when you get to that sort of mileage and you're as unfit as I am and... well... Not Built for Speed!
But I'm still managing to stick to my schedule... 12 mile LSR next weekend, scary!
Happy running everyone
Miggito - Hope the Man Flu is not too bad, not sure what a 'Sesamoid' is....? Sounds painful though, Sports Massage sounds like a good idea. I have seen the benefit over the past couple of months, our local Sports Therapy College provides a service every Wednesday where for £6 you can go along and have the 2nd/3rd year Sports Therapy Students 'practice' on you for an hour. Really is good value for money, prior to that I had a couple of appointments with a Private Therapist and paid £40 per hour for the privalige and made no improvement, two visits to the College and I was back up and running (no pun intended!) again. Since then it's a regular part of my weekly training plan
NBFS - sounds like you are doing great, if you felt OK at the end of your 10 miles then you will be fine with 12 at the weekend
I seem to be enjoying a bit of a purple patch with my running at the moment. I decided to combine my LSR with the Park Run on Saturday, so off I set just after 7 a.m. on Sat morning to cover the 12 miles into town, fantastic to see the sun rise across the fields as I ran through the countryside. Arrived 15 mins before the start of the Park Run, I wish I had run more slowly as I cooled down quite quickly while waiting for the start (think I will set off 10mins later next week) and then managed a reasonably respectable 40th place in 23:04. 10 miles post work run today was great as well, rest day tomorrow then letting the students loose on the knots in my calfs & Thighs on Wednesday!!!
Hope you all have a good week
Hi all.
I've never run in any events before. I've been a sporadic plodding runner for about 8 years. I have gone a couple of miles past 1/2 Marathon distance in the past, but not for a few years. I was going through a squash playing / not running phase last year and tore my hip ligaments badly. No hard exercise on my feet for ~6 months recovery. I have given up squash as a bad job for now, and very tentatively started going running again a couple of months ago without any specific goal in mind, just fitness/enjoyment.
Somehow I have managed to rope myself into the VLM as a last minute stand-in on a charity team today, so 8-9 weeks to get ready.
I did 9.5 miles on Saturday in 90 minutes, and a couple of runs last week - one interval session and one 5 mile run with the middle 5k as fast as possible (not very in my case!)
So, maybe I'm being optimistic, but I'm going to have a crack at it. I'm thinking I might do a local 1/2 marathon at the end of March so I have at least done an event before the big day.
My only goal is to run the course and finish without actually walking. I suppose I had better work out some kind of training plan now
Rob,
you sound like you're in pretty much the same place as me. 10 miles took me 1 hour 37. I've run a training plan off Runners World but it doesn't really involve enough runs, at the moment just 3 runs per week. So, I'm going to carry on doing what I've been doing, recovery run 4 miles Tuesday, speed session Wednesday, 5 miles. Easy run Friday, 6 miles and then long run on Sunday... this week 12 miles, next week 14. That combined with a gym session each week and 2 rest days seems to be working for me at the moment.
I don't think you're being over optimistic at all and if you can build the mileage no reason why you can't get 'round in a reasonable time, maybe 4 hours 20 ish...
Good luck!
Hi All,
I was offered a Golden Bond place for the Meningitis Trust back in October, and though i have done a few training runs since, my 'real' training started on Saturday with a 15 mile run which took me 2 1/4 hours. I have a few races booked, the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon next Sunday and the Cranleigh 15/21 at the end of March.
My problem is finding the time to train properly as i have my 3 year old daughter for a week at a time and struggle to find someone to look after her for me.
Heopfully i'm going to be able to squeeze in a LSR each weekend with perhaps a few interval sessions during the week but the run last Saturday made me realise just how hard this is going to be!
Yep, sounds like we are at about the same stage NBFS... I too am not built for speed - when I played rugby I was always in the pack - not exactly a racing snake build! Good luck to you as well!
I read a few training plans last night. I dislike and can't work with rigid routines as my working hours are erratic. I know I need to do the miles, but I'm also worried about injuries from over-training.
I'm aiming to do 4 runs a week; LSR, recovery, a tempo or fartlek type session running for a set time and targetting pace rather than distance, and an jog+interval session. It seems to help/suit me to give my legs 48hrs of rest each week, so I will be aiming to group my runs together a bit to make sure I get that too. I'm going to focus my distance gains mainly into the LSR for the remainder of Feb, then I'll take stock and plan accordingly.
Sharky - treadmill or a static bike in the house to get some endurance work done for the weeks with the little one perhaps?
Have a bike in the front room thats been sitting there pretty much idle for years, might be a good idea to use that! Cheers Rob
Getting busy in here now, good to see! Matt - Sesamoids, wee bones in your big toe joint - I fractured one in 2011, been having bother with it ever since!!! I''m very jealous of your £6 sports massage, after some serious googling there is noone in my local area that does that! Well done on the running, I do have to ask though - why do you have the Flumps as your Avatar?!?!
Rob, good on you mate for getting out there and doing it! Would definitely recommend doing a 10K & 1/2 before the Marathon if you can. Re training programs, do what feels best for you. I'm doing a 3 run per week schedule (interval/tempo/LSR) due to forementioned sesamoid issue and Xtrain on bike / elliptical once or twice a week and don't put myself under any pressure if I miss a run or two. You said it yourself though, don't over do it trying to cram the runs in, the LSR will probably be the most important one for you so would concentrate on building that up a mile a week up to 18 - 20 and then taper back, I know someone who was in a similar position and that approached worked for them.
Hi Sharky, I'm with Rob, the bike can be really good for those times when you can't get out running, it's different muscle groups blah blah blah but still cardio. For VLM2011 I had to stop training for about 6 weeks due to a bursa issue and the bike became my best friend. Although it's not ideal trying to emulate a long run on a stationary bike - if you do try it I would recommend a cushion
but seriously I find the interval sessions on the bike just as tough as the running!
Good on you for doing the Charity place, I got in this time in the ballot (2011 did Clic Sargent charity place) but going to raise some money for Yorkhill in Glasgow anyway - couldn't let an opportunity like this pass
Good on you miggito raising money for Yorkhill- great cause (although i might be a bit biased since i work there..lol
). I also got in with the ballot and have decided to raise money for a local group (HOPE for Autism) who have helped us with my oldest boy who has Aspergers...donations are starting to pick up now after the christmas lull.
By the way, i was definitely not showing off with my long run on Sunday. i was just trying to get across how positive i felt afterwards...and also say how lucky i feel that i have escaped any major injury and have,at the moment, a fairly good level of fitness. In October 2011 i was over 17 stone and when i started running then i was happy if my long run was about 6 miles ( and it took me well over an hour). So i know we are all at different levels, but when you are training (or indeed running the London marathon) i guess you are only dealing with yourself. I know in April there will be hundreds and hundreds of people ahead of me and others behind me, but all i am focusing on is beating my time of 3hours 16 mins.
I haven't done the Alloa half...but one of the girls in my work did it last year and said it is very well organised?!! If you decide on doing Alloa give us a shout.!!
NBFS- stick to your schedule and it WILL get easier. You don't have to be fit and ready this week...you have to be at your best on 21st April....keep focused.
I would back up what everyone else is saying about cycling as an alternative/ extra exercise whilst training. During my first marathon last April at mile 21 i felt great cardio wise but my Quad muscles at the front of my thighs were agony and i really struggled to finish. My next lot of training for Octobers' marathon i did increase my training to 6 days a week, but i feel more importantly i started cycling to work and home (16 miles a day) and felt the benefit.
Sharky 127- take care you don't overdo your training by doing too many long runs because you can't fit runs in because you are looking after your daughter...take it easy, build the miles up...you don't want be over-trained and risk injury.
Cheers Miggito, I'm running for the Meningits Trust as i collapsed with it just under 3 years ago and spent 3 weeks in hospital including 2 days in Intensive Care unconcious on a ventilator. I was lucky as i work in the hospital and was told that there was a high chance i would have died but for the very prompt diagnosis and treatment i received!
I pick my daughter up for another week tonight so the bike it will have to be...2hrs in front of England vs Brazil tonight doesn't sound so bad!
Dave b 74, thanks, the thought of picking up an injury just before the big day after all teh hard work i'll have put in doesn't bare thinking about!
Cheers Miggito
2 mile jog each way to warm up/down then 5x45 second sprint intervals for me last night. Stretched for several minutes before sprinting and more stretching than usual when I got home - legs feel good today, less stiff.
No more running planned until Saturday LSR now, I'm going to do some upper body strength work, might go out on the bike on friday if I feel really keen!
Sounds like a good session Rob, god it was cold last night! I did just over 6 miles but didn't really get warm at any point - under 10 minute mile pace which I was pleased with, felt more confident running last night - could have carried on further which is always a good sign.
Bit of a speed session Friday then 12 mile LSR Sunday.
Compression socks are brilliant, legs feel great, no calf cramps.
One concern I have is that I'm very one paced, apart from my speed session I tend to run 10 minute miles and feel as though maybe that's a bit quick for my LSR but I struggle to run any slower... should I be worried? I'm finishing OK and recovery is pretty quick so don't feel like I'm over doing things.
Sharky, that's scary stuff, sorry to hear about what happened and hopefully now you are fully recovered!?! Hope you enjoyed the football, good results all round, especially with new Starchan era up here! Was great just to win a game, even though it was only Estonia!
Dave B, I have decided to do Alloa now going to try and get under 1.40 (PB. 1.40.01)!!! so will keep in touch about that. Also, what do you do at Yorkhill? what a coincidence that you work there!
My foots still playing up though, which is not a good sign. Had sports massage so the rest of me feels fine apart from this continuing pain. I'm hoping I'm just being overly paranoid as the big day gets nearer though, going to do my LSR this weekend anyway, which I hope will be comfortable and have been busy tracking down and buying various magic ointments that I hope offer me some relief!
Time will tell, enjoy your long runs everyone - they're getting longer! (Except for Dave who's already banging out 21 miles
)
Ha ha Miggito..i am heading out for a 31 mile run on Sunday @ 6min/mile pace
( in my dreams...LOL). I work as a radiographer at Yorkhill..as my father-in-law says i only take black and white pictures!
Looking forward to Alloa. My half marathon PB is 1:39:43 (Great Scottish Run last year)...hoping to get a few minutes better in Alloa?!!
I spent this morning in Run 4 it in Glasgow getting new shoes as my 'new' pair i got for christmas (Asics Gel 1170) were causing problems with my left heel. I have gone for the Brooks Ghost-5 and they seem very comfortable walking about the house (it's my rest day today-so no running today)..can't wait to test them out.
Enjoy your weekend runs...i'm 10 miles saturday, and 15 miles sunday (12 @ marathon pace)
Hi Guys, it looks like people are putting in some good long runs at the moment, which is great to see
then 3 mile recovery jog, so just under 18 1/2 miles in total. felt great to get that all done by 10 am.
I combined my LSR yesterday with my local Park Run again. 12 miles there @ 7:45 pace then Park Run (20:45)
The only issue was when I took off my trainers when I got home and found 1 x small blister on my right foot (I am lucky enough to have never suffered blisters!) which was most probably due to soaking wet feet!!! but more worrying was the pain on the top of my left foot, which makes me hobble around a bit
Resting it today, but hoping to put in 10 miles on Monday... any opinions on what it could be????
Miggito - The Flumps as my Avatar... I really should change it, I put it on originally when I was out with a torn cruciate ligament and felt all 'Flumpy' and miserable. I remember an episode of the flumps when I was a kid where a cloud followed the little flump around because he was in a bad mood... well that was how I felt!!!
Hope everyone's training goes well this week
Back on it now after a week away with very little in the way of running done, mainly eating, but still no alcohol so at leat some progress.
Thursday 8.7M 1:00:01 which is 6:59 min/mi
Friday 7.5M @ 8 min/mi
Saturday parkrun jog with my sister 25:34
Sunday 15M race 1:40:18 which is 6:41 min/mi just below VLM target 6:51 min/mi
Today 4.6M recovery
I haven't had time to read all the posts whilst I was away so I will keep on top of it from now on. I hope everyones training is still going well.
Matt76 - make sure your laces are not too tight when you start off because you would not believe how much your feet swell during a long run. I have had this problem before and it normally goes away within a few days. I use elastic laces now and swear by them. To start with it feels like your trainers will fall off but once you have got used to this feeling it is fine. I hope it is this anyway because it is an easy solution for you and you will be back running quickly.
That's some impressive mileage Roger especially given the pace, if I were trying to put that in my legs would be in pieces!!!
I think you have hit it right on the button with the laces thing, I have recently changed to elastic laces and most probably had them pulled too tightly, it's not so bad today, so will hopefully try and get out for a few miles this evening all being well. Cheers
btw. was it the Folksworth 15 Race yesterday? a few of the guys and gals from my club went and said it was pretty tough due to the weather and the wind
Thanks for clearing that up Matt! Guess we've all been there at some point! Hope your foot gets better...
Roger, well done again for managing to stay off the booze, I'm going to go dry 4 weeks before, got some big days out lined up before then
. Pretty fast times as well, I'm a good bit off that but my ultimate aim is to get under 330 for the Marathon, maybe this year, maybe next year but someday! I did 15 miles at the weekend, I was fine up to 13 miles and then fell away at the last two but plenty time to get that sorted before April.....
Anyway, did about 16 miles on the bike this morning, legs felt fine so all going reasonably well. Got some intervals tomorrow morning to look forward to
, Champions League week though so happy days!
As I'm on compressed timescales to add miles, I pushed my LSR from 9.3 miles to 12.2 miles this weekend, pace down a little to 9.51. Had freezing cold bath on my legs for 3 minutes or so afterwards, as it's the first time my legs have felt really stiff after running since I started again in December. I ate a handful of jelly babies at half distance so I start getting used to taking on some sugar. I have less stiffness in my iffy hip this week despite the mileage increase, which is a relief. 4.6 miles recovery run yesterday at 9.15 pace, thorough stretch afterwards and not too stiff today, which is a rest day anyway, so all good so far.
How depressing is it when you're layed up with a virus and unable to run
I've been out for over a week but managed to go for a 11 mile run on Sunday [1:43:32 - 9.23 per mile] and was under my targetted time and felt heavy legged at the end but was glad to be out and running again. Legs are a bit sore/stiff today, tempted to buy a pair of compression leggings so might have to go overboard on Valentine's night with the wife and hopefully sweet talk her into letting me buy a pair 
Good shout out for the Alloa Half Marathon and might register for that one. Dave I'm southside aswell but not involved with a running club apart from the outdoor fitness sessions I do. They run a running session on a Thursday at Bellahouston but that's the same night of my football training so don't get to that until April when my team start playing 2 games a week.
I'm also going to be raisinig funds for Yorkhill at the marathon as it's one of our corporate charities and I've raised funds for them over the last 2 years and they do a great job looking after the kids.
Roger a week away from running and you can total that up, great going
Rob373 I might have to go back to the cold baths again after my legs are stiff today as they do help but I think I'd have to pre-plan it and have the bath waiting for when I get back as I couldn't be bothered waiting for it to fill up yesterday and just jumped in the shower
Only 70 days to go and looking forward to it......
I don't want to tempt fate, but I am enjoying my training at the moment and really getting excited about London. Might be the fact I got new running shoes (Brooks Ghost-5) and used them for the first time tonight on a 4 mile recovery run... loved them! !!!
Miggito... same here with me tomorrow. With the schools off I can use the running track for intervals. I really am amazed how running 800m repeats really gives you a good idea of your possible marathon time.. weird or what?
Have decided to vary my training a bit after starting to read "Run Less, Run Faster" as recommended by a friend.. I'm not 100% convinced on all aspects of the philosophy, however, the 3 (running) plus 2 (crosstraining) certainly makes sense, giving the muscles used for running time to recover whilst still exercising.
So yesterday did my usual Monday run, although I was wearing my Garmin to record the run, I decided to ignore it and aim for 'Perceived Exertion' and aim for an average 7:15 pace for 7 miles, when I checked I had actually managed average 7:23 pace which wasn't too far out, on a hilly course as well
Tonight was Crosstraining so put the Static Bike out infront of the TV (Celtic v Juve) and put in 25k. Not as enjoyable as running but nice to do something different. Hopefully will help to increase my Cardio with less impact... 'hopefully'!!!
Paul, I have been trying the Ice Bath thing after my long runs for a while, but instead of running the bath I have my shower and then once done I turn it to the coldest setting and douse my legs a couple of times with that... bloomin shocking but seems to do trhe trick (saves water as well!!!)
Dave cheers for the heads up and have now entered the Alloa half marathon I've also entered the Tom Scott Memorial 10m road race on the 7th April at Strathclyde Country Park.
Matt not sure about the shock treatment of the cold shower but will give it a go at the weekend
Got the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon on Sunday morning which i'm actually quite looking forwards too but a bit nervous as have not managed to get out for even a quick interval session since my last LSR last Saturday!
The ice baths are truely horrific but do find that they help, that and the regular glucosamine and Cod Liver Oil that i've started taking have massively reduced the knee swelling that i usually get!
Matt 76 - Glad you foot has recovered and yes it was Folksworth 15. It was quite windy and very cold, the worst was after the second hill where the wind was a strong cross / head wind. I felt strong and had a pace in mind of 6:51 which is sub 3hr so was pleased.
I done a 4.5m recovery on Monday which felt like hard work and then woke Tuesday morning to a bad stomach and sick feeling. I eventually got out of bed this morning after nearly 30 hours sleep in 36 hours. The other 6 hours was spent in the bog and the good news is that I am now back to race weight!!!
Probably won't run again until Friday if I feel fully recovered because I have a 30k hilly race on Sunday and although I am not racing it as such, I have agreed to pace someone @ 8 min/mi so I don't want to disapoint someone else by not being able to finish.
Miggito, glad your training is still going well and no pressure for a time. I have tried adding some cycling and feel that it works for me.
Paul Gunn 64, I have some calf guards which I wear after a LSR and they seem to help me recover faster. I have tried to run in them but felt uncomfortable, mind you if I run in leggins I am slower.