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Oh and I love your choice of sarnies Big_G.....
Carter - on my way back home from the airport. Will get 3 runs in during the rest of this week but will depend on what I have time to do. Am probably going to try a GA run in the morning before I head into work as havinbrined out of the office for 2 weeks suspect tomorrow evening will be a late one.
The rest of the week will just have to look after itself and we will see where it gets to.
In terms of the Garmin I did nothing before as it seemed a one off and for the last few months was fine. Last week or two it has been a big problem
Nell - thanks for the advice. Am going to contact the Customer Support on Runners Need online tomorrow to see what they suggest. Hoping I don't have to send it to Garmin as that sounds a long process.
Carl - look after yourself fella and don't overdo it. I've heard other people say the turnaround when sent to garmin is just a matter of a few days. I don't know if that might be an option for you ?
Big_G - I can't say I've heard of him either to be honest. We have got 3 chickens and egg sarnies when freshly laid are hard to beat.
Nell - now laurie Cunningham was one quick chap and good score a goal or two. Didn't he do things like jumping over cars a la Duncan Mackenzie jumping over minis ??
Oirish - great call on the fish finger sarnies. With brown sauce I hope ?
Carter/Nell - I think he would probably say himself he wasn't especially "top level" but it was interesting talking to him a bit about his career. He says the players Union is still incredibly helpful to ex-players and help out with things like hernia operations, or if a player needs a qualification for a new career they help with the finding for that. He knows I'm a runner and talking a bit about his training was interesting too, which was very different to that of a runner. The main thing he mentioned was that it was very regimented. Not sure if it's the same these days.
****Another ex-professional footballer spotted alert*****
I have just been for a run and who was walking down the road by the 'legendry' Carlton Palmer. He is that tall that he walks nearly as quickly as I run !! One funny quote regarding Palmer but I dont recall who made it - "Carlton Palmer can trap the ball further than I can kick it". It made me laugh...
Hi all,
Carl don't wear yourself out. Worried you'll over tire yourself!
I feel very much the girl on this thread with all this football talk, of which I understand nothing.
Nothing exciting to report from me this week so far, just plodding along. Although I have found the 'autopause' feature on my RunKeeper app so I get an accurate pace/time for the runs I've been doing which is good to see when I've been doing routes that I haven't mapped/can't estimate very well. 3 miles in 25 minutes tonight along Aberdeen beach in gorgeous sunshine. Was meant to be a bit longer but other things got in way. Not too worried.
So it's now 3 weeks on Sunday till Loch Ness.
Been reflecting on how I feel a lot; how my training has been really hard, I've had some disappointing races, and how that makes me feel. Funny enough, it isn't making me feel too worried. I've realised of late that I put too much pressure on myself, and sometimes in the past have been so regimented about training regimes and mileage, and guess what... it didn't pay off.
Whereas, I had some of my best runs of my life when I had trained hard but been flexible, listened more to my body, and adapted to the other things in life that are thrown at you.
I am very very excited to go run a marathon in the most beautiful scenery I can imagine. I have had high hopes in the past of beating 4 hours by a long shot (well...10 mins) At the moment I'd be delighted to hit 3:59:59. And you know what? If I don't, I won't be devastated. 3 marathons under my belt is going to feel like a great achievement and what's the difference between 3:59:59 and 4:xx:xx, really. It's arbitary.
Kind of a tangent but...I follow this running blog, she's a local girl to the North East who writes a great blog about training and races. Does marathons/halfs/sometimes shorter. I see her about at some races. Anyway, my point. I've always kept an eye on her times whilst reading, and she's been behind me in all distances in terms of PBs. When I did Dundee HM recently (which I fared badly in, and finished in 1:54) she finished about a minute behind me, and that was a new half PB for her. Now, she has just done the Moray Marathon in 3:58:29- which is the first time that her PB for any distance is better than mine. Now, not that I'm competing against her or anything, but it did make me think...this sub 4 dream of mine- why NOT? I certainly am not going to beat myself up if I don't make it, but I feel more confident in myself that it's a possibility despite the tough times.
Hi Carl, My experience with Garmin has been good and usually a turnaround within a week if I recall.
Big_G/Carter, Don’t recall Laurie Cunningham jumping over cars although he was unfortunately killed in a car crash. He was one amazing player and yes fast, very fast. I also loved the way he took a corner with the outside of his boot. I think he had a couple of seasons at West Brom who then were a tremendous team. I was brought up in Birmingham on the south side and always admired the Albion as a kid although I could never admit it to my mates as we were all Blues fans…we had Trevor Francis anyway…lol!
I play with an ex pro footballer on a Thursday and we sometimes get young players from Dunfermline or Ross County play with us. It is a delight to watch these guys play and hard to get near them!
HI Ali, Good bit of contemplation there, I think if you relax you always get far more out of things as opposed to feeling tense. You seem to be in the right place. Enjoy the taper ;0)
oh and has to be ketchup on a fish finger sarnie...
Carlton Palmer Carter, yes he is tall isn't he? Played for Sheff Wed didn't he?
On the football theme. My 9 year old literally bumped into Peter Crouch late last week in the playground across from the house. He managed to get his photo taken with hi, He was very excited when he told me about it.
11 miles from me this morning before work. I am really impressed with myself for getting up and doing that.
It put me in a good mood for the day too.
Amyone out there ? No ruunning from me today. Got delayed at work. As I did not fuel up for a late run it would not have been pretty so easy decision really.
Morning all. A little 4.5 miles from me yesterday lunchtime. Woke up this morning and the weather has turned, it really is poo up here. Which is nice considering I was going to runs fell race tomorrow at the longshaw sheepdog trials
Hello all! Quiet few days. Not much to report from me but doing highland Perthshire HM tomorrow- a tad nervous! Otherwise a steady but unremarkable week of running.
Where are you all?!
Phew! Busy week workwise & have had a few internet problems after the switch to fibre optic!Anyway good to see everyone is still "up & at it"!
I have "just" managed to fit in my running this week:
Long day on Monday, forgot it was my wed anniversary - home 9pm , Mrs RickyW not happy so decided to disappear off again for my 7 mile recovery run wasn't the best idea
So did a "double" on Tues ... 6.30am 7ml recovery run followed by club session that evening which totalled another 6mls. We did 4 x 7mins with 90sec recoveries and covered a distance of 4.1 miles over the 4 reps so 6.50 avg pace.
Rested Wednesday.
Had an 11ml with 7 @ LT pace scheduled in for Thurs eve. Weather & darkness curtailed this to 10mls with 7 @ LT. Total run was 76mins for the 10 mls and the 7mls @ LT avgd 7.18pace.
Dropped the 12mlr due tonight in favour of a 3 mile easy run given my race on Sunday.
Ali have a great race tomorrow - what is your strategy? Even pace & hang on or out slow and build up for a negative split? What sort of time are you gunning for?
So who else is racing this weekend?
Evening ricky! What race you doing on Sunday? Best of luck.
hope your missus forgave you!
tomorrows strategy is negative split. The race is generally a very slight uphill till half way, one big hill at 8 miles, then steady gentle downhill from 9-13. Last year I did it and made fantastic pace the last 3 miles, which I hope to do again tomorrow. Last year I did 1:50:11 which was a new PB by 3 mins or so for me. I would love for it to go so well tomorrow. It is a stunning race and one of my favourite fixtures. Feel good atmosphere and really friendly.
timewise- I am not feeling most predictable right now. I mean I'd love to do a PB but I don't feel that's likely. So just aiming for similar time to LY and see how I get on.
September 8th - Langham 10K - Oirish
September 8th - Salford 10k - Rachel
September 8th - Bridgwater Half Marathon - Big_G
Good luck to those racing tomorrow.
Ali - I can't find which half your are racing tomorrow ? But good luck to you too.
Im just off to the longshaw sheep dog trials fell race, hopefully all the sheep will have been cleared from the starting field !
Just done the Highland Perthshire Half Marathon. Had a brilliant day, really enjoyed the race, and more importantly felt myself again after some crap races.
I did HPHM last year in 1:50:11 and despite having run faster times since I did not want to set my sights too high as I've had ups and downs with training. So went out aiming for just a similarish time, that's all. It really helped to take the pressure off myself.
This course is one of my favourite races ever, it is truly a beautiful scenic course in green, hilly countryside, it is a friendly race which is impeccably organised and has a great finish zone with events, stalls and plenty food and drink. Basically if you're looking to come to Scotland (go on!) and do a race you could NOT do better than this I firmly believe.
I took off aiming for roughly 8:30 minute miles and by and large kept this up, though miles 4-6.5 were a bit slower due to it being a long slow gradient as seen below on the elevation chart.
There is then an undulating couple of miles 6-8ish that takes you through a village called Kenmore and into the grounds of Taymouth Castle which is very nice. Then comes the killer hill- from just past mile 8 to mile 9 is a fairly short (less than a mile) but steep hill. I did find it very hard but kept running and still only did a 9 minute mile here so not too bad.
The last 4 miles are gently downhill on very windy country roads taking you back to the start of the race, which I very much enjoyed. Nice to have a race finish which doesn't exhaust you even further than you already are. I despair when I see a killer hill last mile or two of a race. I ran really strongly from mile 10-13 and overtook lots of runners which is always satisfying.
Time 1:51:58.
OK, not the speediest and no PB. But I am delighted.
12 minutes (yes, 12) faster than my last HM at Helensburgh which is supposed to be a totally flat PB guaranteed course. I now realise that during that time there was something not quite right with me- perhaps a virus or something hanging around but I feel delighted to be over it.
A touch slower than last year's time. However, the race course changed ever so slightly from last year- different start and finish point with less downhill in the last few miles than LY as there was a bit added to the end, so it felt a tad tougher to me.
But also I accept that last year when I did it, running the HM was my sole focus, I was training to beat my HM times, whereas just now during my marathon training I've done longer, slower distances, and naturally my legs are a bit more tired/less fresh because of this.
This was my 10th half marathon today and my 3rd fastest time I have done. I must pick some easier courses though- I'd truly love to fly round in 1:48 again soon.... Nell, if you have any recommendations for flat and fast HM courses in Scotland please throw them my way.
Best of luck to Oirish, Rachel, Big_G and Ricky who I believe are running tomorrow. Hope you all have fantastic races.
Very well done Ali! Great time on a tough old course going on that profile!
More importantly you enjoyed it and are really positive - great report & a fantastic confidence booster going into Loch Ness!
Celebratory drinkies this evening I hope?!
How are the legs feeling after it?
Thanks Ricky! Drinks tonight are a definite. Legs feeling fine if a bit stiff. Got a free massage after the race (another nice thing about it) and feel that helped. The mother ran 1:41 and got a F50 prize. Chuffed for her too.
course is not the easiest but not the hardest either. The small inclines that are in it are hardly noticeable most of the way because they are nice and gradual, and the scenery is so lovely it takes your mind off things.
i do feel its a confidence boost before Loch Ness. I am still hoping I can scrape sub 4. I'd have to run 9:09 min/mile pace on marathon day to do sub 4. I don't think that's too unrealistic. We will see!
And Ricky are you racing tomorrow?
Congrats to your Mum too - that's a ridiculously fast time for an F50 ... I would be very happy with a 1:41 tomorrow as an M40!
So yes - Waterside HM for me tomorrow in Londonderry/Derry (or stroke city as we affectionately refer to it as!). It is prob the flattest HM of the year in the NI race calendar.... few gradual inclines here & there just. However it is quite exposed and if its windy it can be tough.
This is an important race for me and is my final effort of the year to run a PB for HM and under 1:40 ..... I am a little way off with a 1:42 back in March being my seasons best (PB 1:41 back in 2006). Feel like I'm in good shape though and well up for it so 7:30 pace here we come!
Good luck ricky! A flat race will do you well! So you're going for a PB- what's the current one? I have loved following your club progress and have faith you've got a great time in you.
Quick check in :
1:36.37 - PB by over 5mins ... Delighted!
Long journey home - report later!
Ricky- delighted for you. Can't wait for report! Well done.
Well done Ricky & Ali. Ricky - that is a great time!! I'm looking forward to the report later!
Bridgwater Half done in 1:49:34 (that's from my Garmin; official results not out yet), which is 10mins slower than I was hoping for, so not a great day at the office today. On the positive, it's a good event, I'd do it again and I'm now off t'pub
If the event had been on Saturday AM instead of Sunday I would have been a DNS because I was having stomach issues that would have meant running would have been, erm, dangerous (if you get my drift). However, the issue cleared up late on Saturday and I had done my best to rehyrdate myself enough. I was up for the race come Sunday and was feeling relatively good at the start line.
The first 6 miles were fine and I was on target to sneak under 1hr40 for the first time (PB is 1hr42). I felt in control and felt I was going to be able to push on in the second half, but then at around 9 miles I had some stomach pain that unfortuantely just stopped me dead in my tracks and I just had to pull into the side of road. After a few seconds I started walking (in total I walked for nearly 3/4 of a mile) and from 10miles onwards I knew any time was out of the window so I was just doing what I could to finish. In the circumstances, those last 3 miles were tough but I'm also pleased I managed to complete the race. This running malarkey is funny because this time last year I would have been happy with sub-1hr50 but it wasn't what I hoping for at this event but I think in hindsight that even though I felt okay at the start line, it's clear I wasn't fully over my stomach issue. My mind was playing tricks on me as well (I was swearing to myself, not out loud I hasten to add!) and at that point I was beaten mentally as well, I'm afraid to say.
So in summary, Bridgwater is a good event which didn't come right for me personally on the day but I know I'm running relatively well so I'm hopeful this is a minor blip.
Hi Guys
Well done Ali and Ricky some positive running there and a good PB for yourself Ricky. You seem to be coming in strong mentally for the Loch Ness Marathon Ali, it is all sounding very positive from you now, I am glad to hear!
I must say well done Big_G as it seems as though you were up against it on your race and many a person would have just thrown in the towel. Obviously the stomach is ok now as you are off to the pub!!
Not too bad a week running, not getting a huge amount of miles in but the ones I do are feeling good!
I was out working last night at one of our customer sites who were performing some power work (yes on a Saturday night!). On my feet in and out of computer halls from 19:30 to 00:00 not the best preparation for a long run, so was a bit unsure how things would go on the long run today.
I managed to get 18 miles first fifteen not too taxing but unfortunately the disadvantage of living on a hill meant the way I came back, the last 3 miles were a bit of a climb and the last two I like to come across the field/ trails. I didn’t fight it as by then the legs were feeling it a bit after the night before.
Splits: 7:43,8:02,8:15,8:04,8:13,8:05,8:06,8:10,8:10,8:03,8:14,8:02,8:22,8:06,8:14,8:45,8:37,9:00 – Total:2:28
Forty miles in total for the week, I haven’t managed to get in any 20 milers as yet. I am hoping to get a few in over the following weeks before 27th Oct…
Cold bath later after I have cut the grass I think
Hi Ali, Put your name down for the Edinburgh EMF HM next May. I would say that is the flattest HM course in Scotland. I am torn between the HM and the marathon next May although I think I will go for the Marathon and try and improve on the 3:33. I am definitely going for that HM sometime soon though.
BigG - don't beat yourself up too much... as Nell says remarkable to start let along finish sub 1:50. I know that feeling - as recently as June this year I had a similar run... I too felt the course at beaten me and in fact said exactly that to a couple of spectators as I walked at mile11
ended up with a 1;47. You will however have a great run next time out I am sure and sub 1:40 is just around the corner.
A 6.30am start this morning as I had to pick up 3 other runners and then a 70mile journey to the race. Arrived at McDonalds (donned in our running gear) near the race just after 9am much to amusement of staff & customers as they couldn't imagine how an egg mcmuffin was a suitable breakfast for runners! We disappointed them however by ordering coffees only.
Off to registration & picked up packs.... numbers pinned on, chips on shoes, warm up jog, queue for toilets and then it was only 5 mins to the off.
Decent field (for an NI event) of approx. 1500 runners.... weather was bright & sunny and jut a gentle breeze.
Toed the line with my 16.5 stone white Kenyan training buddy and off we went. Stayed on his heels for the first 2 or 3 miles but, although I felt ok, felt the pace was a little hot at 7 mmls. Eased back a little and then at mile 4 I had a horrible realisation.......
I had forgotten to put my chip on my shoe!!!! I felt physically sick as I knew at that stage a PB was definitely on.... I considered momentarily pulling out but then thought what the heck I will push on and try and sort it out with the organisers after the event.
By this stage I had settled into a 7.15ish pace and felt good - the white Kenyan always in sight 100 yds or so ahead but creeping further away (picked a marker and made him 41 secs ahead after 6 mls). Mile 8 headed into some country lanes with some inclines and things started to get tougher - my pace then drifted down 7.35ish for the next 4 miles with mile 12 a continuously long incline. Still happy with this has I knew 7.35 was sub 1.40 and I had a lot of time in the bank from my first fast 7 miles.
I had a decent last 2 miles and nobody passed me... started picking runners off with a strongish last mile ..... last 0.1mile was on grass with lots of spectators cheering us on!
Stopped the watch at 1:36.37 and said immediately to the organisers about my dilemma (have also emailed the guy at championchip who is usually quite helpful) so fingers crossed he can get me on to the official results!
Delighted with the time & to knock over 5mins off my PB from 7 years ago BUT extremely frustrated by my chip FAUX PAS!
Splits:
6.53; 7.05; 7.10; 7.16; 7.17; 7.18; 7.17; 7.29; 7.37; 7.39; 7.36; 7.38; 7.24; 0.59 (garmin measure course at 13.16 so last 0.1/0.16 bit was 0.59 secs @ 6.08 pace)
A strange set of splits - almost progressively slower! However that said I consciously made a decision to slow the pace after 3 miles and the second half of the course was a little tougher (although I was tiring also) with a tough long incline at mile 11... managed to pick the pace up for the final mile though.
Never did catch the white Kenyan! - he had a stronger second half and did a 1:34 something beating me by 2 mins.
So an eventful day and a great result albeit slightly marred be me being a numpty
Disaster averted - now appearing in the official results as 1:36.37 and 183rd from 1400 finishers. 3rd runner home for my club.
I am a happy man again !!
Nell- great week's running! I am so envious of your speed! RE the Edinburgh HM idea... I actually have already entered the full marathon for next year, lol! Was desparate to give it another go after 2012's effort- it was my first marathon and I LOVED it. So maybe 2015 for the half?! But if you can think of any other flat halfs (halves?!) please let me know!
Ricky- loved the report. Delighted all worked out well with your timing too. I think I literally would have given up if I realised I didn't have my chip. Can't imagine feeling more sick.
How are you feeling now? Also- I am fascinated by the 'white Kenyan'...I think I need to know more about him?!