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Carter, had a cut back week last week (in the plan and worked out nicely as was the Windermere week) also the week I have the 10k race is also a cutback week. 6 weeks left of training before 3 week taper. Next 6 week long runs are 16,20, race, 20, 22, 20 then taper plus 3 sessions a week which I usually do 2 as x train twice a week.
PS the 1600 kcals was probably a bit of a knee jerk reaction but I do need to up it when training just need to skip the snacking and eating for the sake of boredom or habit. With the NYC runs do you think you'd go? from personal experience i'd probably plan on going then not as couldn't be bothered with the journey and end up not training.... buts that's just me.
Sean it was my 1st visit to Lake District and hopefully not my last.... shame I only got out once for a run.... I love a burger and a pizza too especially after a few beers.... defo knocking drink on the head for the next 9 weeks till Abingdon. Nice pace for the LSR love those days when it all just goes well good luck with nursing the knee.
Managed to stick to my guns decided to do a spot of gardening this morning which lasted all of 5 mins and was using the hedge trimmer and slipped and cut straight through the wire, did a decent 40 spin sess, this afternoon done 5 miles intervals (5 mins warm up warm down) then 16x 45 secs at 5k pace with 75 secs recover started to flag after 10/11 intervals which isn't a surprise as I tend to struggle with speed work and intervals.
Sorry everyone I've missed a lot, been super busy with the new job and just not had time to sit down on here for an extended period of time!!! Where to begin, where to begin... I shall catch up with your stories first.
Carl- hope your wee boy had a great time at the football thing. Your progressive run last week was a really strong one. The ziplining sounds fun/terrifying. I don't have much of a head for heights and have done that kind of thing before and found it too much on the terror side.
Robert- sorry about all the drama and hope it subsides. Perhaps all that stuff was weighing on your mind when you had your crap long run. Stress affects us physically too.
PS- so sorry to hear about your dad
do let us know how things progress and I hope he continues to recover well. Must be awful wanting to be there. You say you need to get on it this week but your training has looked pretty solid to me.
Carter- glad Mrs C knows how lucky she is.
I've had tonnes of trouble with my 1.5 year old Garmin. I love it but don't love it's flakiness. RE: the new job, it is a lot to get to grips with and a lot of work, but I feel I can manage it, and don't think it will be more stressful/time consuming than my old job, just totally different challenges. I am aiming to keep going to my club at least once every week when I'm busy or two times a week when I can manage, plus 3 other runs a week. Will keep you updated.
Sean- glad you enjoyed G Town. Yeah the summer has been miserable here but last few days has been as good as it's got. Fast long run from you. Taking the S out of LSR. Hope your leg's ok- listen to Carter.
I have been busy but kept up the running. Thursday night I did the Henderson Cup a XC race with my club, 6.4 miles of muddy hilly boggy XC. 3 laps of a twisty turny course It was great fun. I had no basis for knowing what would be a 'good' time as the course was so varied compared to a normal race but did 52:52 if that has any meaning. Came 30th out of 45, and 7th out of 14 women. Was a good race and I passed more than passed me which is always the aim.
Friday I had a rest day, and then Saturday I went to Strathclyde parkrun. Ran 22:32 which is an equal 5k PB to my last parkrun, where I did the exact same time but at a different course. I was exhausted from the Thursday night so felt my parkrun was a really strong run.
Sunday I ran 10 miles easy at 9:10 pace and felt great. Today a rest day but tomorrow doing our club's track championship. Racing 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500m races all in the one night. With heats for some of them first I think. Should be fun/a good workout. Never done anything like that before.
Robert – that really does sound like an excessive amount of long runs to me. I, personally, wouldn’t consider a race as a cut back week. Just be careful that you’re not overdoing it; it’s easy to think that everything is going really well but you could end up on the starting line feeling ok and then suddenly the legs decide that they don’t want to work properly. Also, as I’m sure you are aware, 1600kcals is nowhere near enough to keep you going during training. As long as you are eating the right types of food (which it sounds like you are and have cut out all the rubbish) then anywhere between 2000-2500 should be just fine for you. Keep working at those intervals and you will steadily improve and start to feel the benefit.
Ali – I’m eagerly tracking my watch being delivered. It’s gone from Brussels to Barking to Tamworth to Nottingham in the last 21 hours. All being well I should receive it this morning so will spend the rest of the day playing with it. I’m like a kid in a sweet shop !! I’m sure you will quickly settle into your new job and have things running like a well-oiled machine. I would imagine that if you are organized then things should run quite smoothly. Sounds like a fun night ahead at your club’s track championship. Have you got anymore HM lined up yet ? Or are you still thinking maybe an autumn marathon ??
Sean that comment about the weight watchers group did make me laugh.
Ali good to hear that you're surviving the job. Good luck with all of those races tonight. The thought of doing a 100m race takes me back to school sports days and brings me out In a cold sweat just thinking about it!
Carter has the watch arrived yet? I bought a bladder thingie yesterday which holds 1.5l plus has 2 bottles at the front. Set me back a fair bit so if it's useless I'll be having a right old moan ha ha.
Robert how did things go with your mother this weekend? You're dead right about planning on doing the runs and then ending up not going; that's exactly what I'm worried about doing.
So set off for my run this morning at 8.15, 2 hours later than usual as Mr PS had to do a conference call at 7am so there wasn't time for me to do 8 miles before that and then he was going to be at home as off to the airport. First 3 miles went fine then fell to pieces completely. Splits were 8:45, 8:19, 8:11, 8:40, 8:48, 8:59, 9:21, 9:21 with lots of breaks too after mile 3. Had to drag myself home. Who knows why it was so bad but it was hot and humid and the air quality is apparently very poor at the moment. I've got less than 8 weeks to Chicago and I'm starting to worry. I'm running so much worse than I was 6 months ago and it is all so hard. Nothing I can do but pull my big girl knickers up and keep going I guess.
Well so much going on since I last posted.
PS - zip wiring would not be everyone's cup of tea for sure. Not sure that it was mine either but the thrill when flying through the air at speed was great. It was hairy at times and there were one or two moments when I thought to myself that I was mad and could not go on. But then I looked at my kids along way down and told myself that I could not let them down.
The journey back was long. Stopped off at my brothers in Stockport (slight detour) for Sunday dinner. It was very nice and certainly beat a motorway fast food place. But got caught in traffic and roadworks and suffered two detours off the M^. So it was quite late when I got home and then had to unpack the car as living in London, leaving the car loaded overnight is not really an option.
It made for a challenging day at work on Monday !!
Shame about the 13m run. It must be hard not having the flexibility to run when you want.
It takes a few days to hear back about moving pens.
Sounds like you need a warm up race if only to give you confidence that you can still do this. Chicago is flat marathon. You know you can run 26 miles. You just need to find a way of getting the training in. If it is so hot during the day, is running on a trade at a gym an option ? I know it is not the same but would help you get some miles in. Mix this up with some road running and you will get there.
There is plenty of time left so stop worrying. At least you got 8 miles in today and most of them were ok pace for an easy run. You are probably overthinking this now and just need to get out when you can, get some miles in and stop stressing about everything you are stressing about.
Carter- I have decided not to go for autumn marathon but am keeping myself in good HM shape so I can run some when they come up without feeling like I need to 'specially' train. Haven't got anything else entered at the moment but certainly will enter some soon. I am going to aim for a fairly early spring marathon I think. Track championship was indeed fun. Hope you have got your watch and enjoy it!
PS- do not worry about your run. Your pace is FINE. Slow 'for you' but fine by the standards expected for your marathon time. Don't let it mentally disarm you. Bad runs happen to us all. Focus on the success of your long runs- you have run some good, long, consistently paced runs which signal you should be in good shape. You've had a stressful time and it's been hot- put today down to that!
Track championship tonight was fun but so so bloody hard. I am NOT a natural at this speed stuff. Not at all. Did not feel good and felt heavy from the start but at least it's all over 'quickly' with these types of races.
Order of races was 400m, 100m, 800m, 200m, 1500m.
Women were split for most of the races into two groups so there was a maximum of 6 people on the track at once, there were 11 of us and we all did all the races which we were proud of- the men were not so hardcore and a good deal of them only did a few. First group of 6 was faster women, some great athletes in there, second group 5 of us slightly slower than the first group. In most races I was either 3rd or 4th out of 5. I found the 100m very hard and do not have much power to get going straight away. For this race I think I was actually last though it was a photo finish between 3 of us.
In the 200m I did best for some reason, and was 2nd in my group. I think it's a good combination of having to have a good initial speed but bordering more into endurance. You need to pace yourself at 200m which I don't think I understood previously.
The 1500m the women and men ran together as a whole group. There were us 11 women but only 7 of the men chose to do this, they put in some big efforts earlier on and were obviously knackered!!!
I paced this race well and passed a couple of members of the field during it. So started at the back but finished with 3 people behind me. I know this all sounds wholly unimpressive but I ran my best tonight and enjoyed something different anyway.
Will be interesting to see times when they are published!
Carter - yes I did enjoy my mad session on the zip wire and most likely my dogged determination might have had something to do with it as you say. I am trying to be diligent about my training and by not having to strictly adhere to a plan and being flexible about which days I run, I am finding ways to fit it all in round everything else. And I have a very understanding OH this time for some reason. Maybe as it is summer and the kids are occupied it does not leave her doing everything with the kids like running during winter with the kids at home after school and all that.
Great that your long run of 12 miles at the weekend was good and great to hear that you have entered another race.
Sorry to hear about your garmin. I have my own issues where every so often it discharges its charge when it is sitting on the cradle. Really annoying. Also the watch no longer holds the up to date training data. It seems to have stopped recording / storing this on Feb 24th. It has it as it uploads it when linked to my computer.
Interested to hear how you get on with your new watch. I use a fitbit to record my steps during the day and am thinking about upgrading that to the fitbit running watch when the time is right and I can afford it.
Has your watch arrived yet ?
Robert - they are all saying it so I will not add my twopenny's worth. 4 lbs weight loss in one week is great on one front but concerning on another. While training for a marathon it is so important not to underfuel as it is likely to do more damage than good. You need to take on more particularly on days where you are doing long or hard runs.
Cutting out rubbish when training is a good idea but be sensible.
And listen to Carter re overtraining. We have all made silly mistakes along the way. And sometimes you have to make the mistake yourself to really understand it. But it is good advice ....
Sean - like you I have just been careful with what I eat to maintain the weight I want to be at. Every so often I have a great few days eating and need to be extra good to make up for it. Some people are lucky and they can eat and eat and their metabolism means that they do not put on weight. Others of us look at food and the weight goes up steadily. But no point carrying excessive around 26 miles so easier to control it than have to work harder when running.
Some good fast runs from you last week but as Carter says maybe stick to some slower runs for a while to gibe the knee time to mend. If it persists then maybe you will need to consider resting it for a few weeks. Tough call.
Ali - sounds like everything is full on for you at the moment. Glad the new job is going well even if it is different. Getting used to new surroundings / new teacher colleagues/ new pupils will be both exciting and daunting.
And amongst that you are still getting loads of good running. A great park run after a tough XC night. And the races tomorrow night sound great fun. You thrive with the club stuff you are doing and it has helped your form enormously.
I would love to join a club and there are some close by. All look a bit too serious to me and proper runners. I am not sure that I could commit to the time every week. I can usually get out the same night that they run but a little later.
As we are away on our proper holiday from this Saturday in the French Alps I have no idea what running i will be able to get in. So next week by default is a cut back week.
So this week needs to be a good week and I will be pushing myself a little as I need to get the long run in on Friday evening. We fly Saturday.
Last night I was going out for a 6 miler and decided to push it a little. 7:43 min miling over 6 miles.
Tonight the plan called for 6 x 800m intervals at 5k/10k pace. The legs were a tad heavy after last night so went a bit longer on the warm up. 3.25 miles.
Then hit the track at Regents Park. It was busy tonight with many groups being run by PT's. And some serious runners too.
Knocked out the 6 800m as follows :
3:15 ; 3:09 ; 3:08 ; 3:09 ; 3:07 and 3:00
2.25 miles could down back home.
No idea where I pulled that last 800m from. I think I told myself that as it was the last one I should put it all out there.
Tough session but it does make you feel good about yourself.
8 mile easy run planned for tomorrow and going to head out first thing Thursday for a tempo type run. This will give me the best part of 2 days to recover before my long run on Friday evening.
If I pull this off this week I will be well pleased with my training.
Carl you are a "serious runner" so you would fit in with that club very well. Holiday in the French Alps sounds very pleasant and at least you can call any running you do "altitude training". I have a feeling that you will be getting your scheduled runs in even if you are saying it's a cutback week. I grew up less than half an hour from Stockport. Did you go or attempt to go M56/M6/M40 or M1? No fun whatsoever on a Sunday afternoon.
Carter any sign of that watch yet?
Complete rest day today. Intervalss scheduled for tomorrow. Debating doing these on the treadmill rather than in the heat of the day. Mr PS back tomorrow night so weekend runs can go ahead as planned.
Have signed up for a couple of long runs wch are being put on by a club in NYC. They were $20 each or free to members. Membership is $30 so of course I signed up. They sound great but not sure if I can do both of them. The first one is scheduled for next Sunday and we might be away at Niagara. As places are limited I had to put my name down now though. The second one in mid September I can definitely do. I've also seen a half marathon that I can do 2 weeks before Chicago. It's 90 mins away but looks like a nice flat course. My parents are due to be visiting then but I'm not at all convinced that they will be able to come. My Dad is being moved to a rehab ward and no indication of how long he will be there for.
Carl- your 800s are pretty nifty... nice one. As PS says you are a 'serious runner'. Get to a club. I mean I'm slower at my club compared to loads of the great ladies but I see them as inspiration not competition.
PS- those longs runs sound a great idea, nice work on signing up! Are they races or just training runs with a group? Niagara would be amazing. If this is any consolation for your intervals sesh, I have always liked the treadmill for intervals... keeps it measured and helps you maintain speed... not a bad idea.
Results published from the track championship I was at the other night.
Despite the ladies running the events in two separate groups the results were amalgamated by time and ordered by rank in one over all group. In the championship I came 9th out of 11 ladies. I was happy with this. They are a very strong group. To not come last did me fine!
I came 9th out of 11 in each race, apart from the 100m which was my 'worst' race where I was ranked 10th out of 11, and the 200m which was my 'best' race where I was ranked 4 out of 11! Don't know where that one came from! Hahaha!
It was really interesting as some ladies who are much faster than me on road races were behind me during track events, and one lady who is a good bit slower than me in longer races was an absolute BEAST on the track and came 5th over all for the ladies events. My quads are still sore... no running today!
Ali The championships sounds like alot of fun and very rewarding however I'm with PS 100m races also brings me back to school sports day, I was utterly rubbish think my best time was around 16 seconds think I was even worse at the 200m. Good to hear you have decided to stay marathon free this Autumn seems you're enjoying running at the moment without the stress of the challenge of a marathon.
PS I like intervals on treadmill as I have a problem with pacing so I can control my speed easier. We all have bad runs from time to time and it can't be easy having to get your runs in at specific times, 8 miles is still 8 miles banked and still lot a fair bit of time before CHI. Whats your story with you in the US, why you out there? how long you been there? when you back home?
Carl I'm also bordering on joining a running club! The one I'd join is called Ware joggers its for all abilities and have friends at my level and better so wouldn't be a stranger there. I'd love to join my local club but I'll only manage a couple of the sessions every couple of weeks due to my shift pattern at work so for the time being I'll run on my own.
At home me and Mrs R are okay as can be and mum has dug her claws in as hard as possible, seemed to have subsided for now however I'm sure when the wedding photos and videos are ready to view there will be another airing of thoughts from mother. For the time being whilst there are raw emotions have to balance 2 lives one with Mrs R the other with my family.... will be tough when they both want to be at the finishing line at Abingdon.
Another 2lb weight loss this week, did a 10 mile run last night and felt pretty good averaged at 8.28 the fastest mile was my last mile 8.02 with 8 miles inbetween 8.21 and 8.31 pace. Rest day today and out for date night with Mrs R local theatre to see Sister Act and a meal before. Fitness Pal has exploded with the data I put in it.
17 mile long run tomorrow as have a day off n Elle's birthday Sunday, am going to help Elle round her 1st parkrun on Saturday hopefully under 40 mins.
PS – hopefully your dad will have recovered enough to pay you a visit. Summer seems to be over here now so that will make running easier; when does it cool down over there so it will be more comfortable for you ? I went to Niagra Falls a few years ago and it was pretty impressive, smaller than I was expecting but still well worth it. I came at it from the Canadian side though. As we were driving towards the Falls you could feel the water reverberating around the town. How are you finding the bladder, is it helping you ? One thing that’s worth considering is to apply some lube to your back where the bladder sits and leans against you. If you’re not used to it or you suffer with chaffing it can get quite uncomfortable. My new toy has indeed arrived !!
Carl – my friend has just come back from a few days in the Alps and he was based in Chamonix. Some of the photos he took were absolutely amazing. I would highly suggest you take your trotters with you and get out for some runs if you can. Those 800s that you are knocking out seem to be getting quicker all the time
Ali – impressive stuff at the track championships, it can only benefit your running all round. Will you be entering any xc races over winter ? And doing some nice, long trail runs ?
Robert - things will sort themselves out eventually. Until then, you just have to try and keep everyone happy if you can and then hope that they realize that it's better for you all to be one big happy family. Sounds like you are looking after Mrs O. If they all want to be there at the finishing line then let them, maybe it might help bring them all together. Stay strong and things will turn out ok. Well done on the weight loss, it's certainly heading in the right direction and you will definitely feel the benefit when you're running. Have a good long run tomorrow and try not to run it too fast !!
My new watch has arrived ! Early thoughts about it are that it's very impressive. It picks up a satellite signal indoors, something the garmin could never do. There is so much functionality on it that it will take me a while to get it set up to exactly how I want it but that's half the fun of a new toy. And the good news is that the battery life is so much better; I can set it up to record data every second, or 5 or 60 so depending on which setting it is using the battery could last for 10, 15 or 50 hours. Excellent for when I'm doing my long runs which is the main reason for buying this watch.
Went out for 12 miles last night which averaged 9:27 with 1000ft of elevation. The legs are still getting used to the lack of carbs but I didn't feel like I was going to bonk so heading in the right direction. I'm still struggling to fully commit to this way of eating again with the usual suspect causing me the most trouble i.e. alcohol ! It's so hard not to have a beer during the summer. Mrs C and I are off to York in the caravan for a long weekend tomorrow. During our trip I will be letting her know what date the big day will be on, should get me a few brownie points and be an ideal time to tell her I've enter another ultra in October !!
Great work on the races Ali! Looks like you have a future in the 200m then! Hope your legs are now recovered and you weren't hobbling around school too much. The run are just training runs but U.S. Style with baggage drop, pacing groups etc.
Robert hopefully things will have blown over with Mrs O'H and your mother by Abingdon time. Keeping them apart and letting things cool down seems to be the way to go. Having loyalties split is no fun at all. We've been in the U.S. (just outside NY) for 6 months now with Mr PS's job. Here at least another year but could be for longer or even permanent if we wanted it to be.
Carter I've not had the chance to use the bladder yet. Thanks for the tips on it. The plan on our Niagara trip is to stay on the Canadian side as the hotels are better there. I've been told it's pretty tacky these days but it's one of those places you have to see if you get the chance I think.
So it's currently 29 degrees so I'm going to do my intervals on the treadmill. Then a Pilates class. Had debated saving the Pilates class for tomorrow but I think better to get a full rest day in before 4 miles on Saturday and 20 on Sunday.
Not much time to post tonight. Have a big meeting in the morning and I need a very clear head so turning in early. Will catch up properly tomorrow.
Ali - great races. Sounds like a load of 'fun'.
Robert - well done on the weight loss front and good things are steadying down for now. Life is one hell of a complicated thing and it has many twists and turns. Stay strong and you will both be the better for it.
Carter - sounds like you have got a serious gadget there. Will be interested to learn more. My garmin is beginning to annoy me. Little things but then I suppose it is getting heavy use.
Am looking forward to getting some running in in the Alps. The scenery will be amazing and as PS says it is altitude training lol !
PS - good decision to run indoors. This way you get the runs in and whatever happens get that 20 miler in on Sunday. Will give you loads of confidence as we all know you can do it.
8 miles easy for me last night.
Then up early for a road intervals session. 11 miles with 6 x 1mile at 10sec faster than MP with 400m recoveries at its core.
Always knew this was going to be tough considering I ran last night and it was.
Had to dig really deep and was all a little stiff later in the day and knocked my miles out as follows :
7:23 ; 7:18 ; 7:22 ; 7:18 ; 7:21 ; 7:19
Hopefully I recover enough by tomorrow night to get 18 miles in.
Carl. A load of my running club have just got back from some races in the alps . i think they were called the Cortina Trails. They said it is the most spectacular place on earth to run scenery wise so im sure you'll be able to find a few cracking little trails.
RE a running club. You seem to do loads of training in Regents park, so surely there must be a running club who use that for their club runs. Get signed up. Like others have said on here, just doing so progresses your running to the next level as you are doing structured drills and a good mixture of speed, tempo, distance etc. I think the biggest club in London are serpentine but you also have smaller ones in North London like Queens Park, Barnet stags etc. Do it mate, you will not regret.
Rob. well done on the weight loss. keep it up and same advice for you RE a running club. Get joined.
PS: All the best with your Dad. fingers and toes crossed for a speedy recovery.
Ali: I love the track stuff. Its bloody hard and when you are full pelt it feels like your lungs are going to explode. Yet they seem to be my most productive sessions. I have a 'golden mile' track race next week and am looking for a sub 5:20 time. eek.
Carter: full report on the watch in a few weeks please as ill be looking for a new one at Xmas. Thinking of binning off garmin, not for the watch itself, but the garmin connect feature is rubbish. Most annoying thing for me is if you have two runners with 2 garmins using the same computer. garmin connect doesn't give you an option to ask what garmin account you want the run synced to. Its pretty basic and Ive fed it back to them so many times and always get the same answer. 'under development'. Pretty lame.
So Ive listened to good advice (thanks Carter and carl) and rested up this week. Seems like an eternity and fells really weird getting home from work and not jumping straight into my running togs, but ive done it. left knee which was giving me the gip feels fine now but ive woken up this morning and my right knee feels like its been punched and really bruised????
Eh, so random. It did this last week also when I was in Glasgow, my right knee just flared up overnight for no reason and was fine again the next day.
Ive got a recce run on Sunday for the Leeds Country Way relay im taking part in on Sept 6th so fingers crossed. As its a recce run we will be taking it plenty slow. Im gonna give it a run out at Parkrun tomorrow on one of the flatter ones in Leeds. Fingers crossed
Carter look forward to hearing more about the watch.... I'm currently looking at replacing mine although no problems with my forerunner 10 it is basic and does what I want it to do may look for something with a better battery life and better signal pick up as where i work and live takes a bit of time to get a signal. When on lunch break it means I can't use the gps as it takes too long to get signal.
PS wish is was 29c here as Carter said it looks like summer is pretty much over... think the weekend is gonna be warm thou. Well done on getting on the dreadmill, hope you get a long run this weekend.
Carl running in the Alps will be breathtaking I'm sure you'll love it. Some decent running this week too.
Sean, defo want to join my local club and sure it will happen soon. Do you think the right knee is where you have over compensated for the left knee?
Had nice night at local theatre and Prezzos stayed off the booze too! Today has been a weird day woke up to someone knocking on our door a lady holding a 2 yr old asking if we knew where she lived as she'd nearly ran over her as she was in the road. After walking round the block with the kid she finally recognised where she was and pointed to home the mum was unaware her 2 year old had escaped from home for at least 20 mins nor seemed too concerned. Followed by by 17 mile run then a walk down the river with Mrs R to receive a phone call to hear her friends boyfriend had been knocked off his motorbike and is dead. Defo puts recent events into perspective!
As for the run felt good again went out too fast and legs are a bit sore... went 17 mines in 2.25 (8.30) did miles 7 -10 off road which happened to be my local park run as wanted to see how wet it was as was planning to run with Elle tomorrow (don;t think that will happen now) problem I had was pacing forgot i was on a long run and went 8.21 and 8.04 miles in the middle of the course. managed to keep a decent pace to mile 16 when I decided to empty the tank and went 7.52 for the final mile. Either rest day tomorrow or very easy park run not sure if I'll get a run in Sunday as Elles birthday.
Park run didn't happen on Saturday due to Elles hangover. We both went out on our separate runs today, Elle's was cut short by more bad news it's defo a birthday to forget for her. Trying to make it as enjoyable as possible gonna go out for lunch maybe a shopping trip then come back and have some cake. I've not even mentioned about watching Chelsea on TV.....
Done a 7 mile alternating run sub 9 sub 8. Legs a tad tight from Fridays long run will prob have a couple of days on the spin bikes now. 39 miles for the week which is my biggest week of milage ever!!!!
8.47, 7.31, 8.41, 7.36, 8.42, 7.42, 8.59.
Sounds like Mrs R is having a rough time of it Robert. Hope things look up for her very soon.
Sean how is the knee doing after your weekend's running? Saw on Strava you did a good parkrun.
Carl don't know if you've got any internet connection but if so did you get the 18 miles in? Actually why am I asking that of course you will have done. Running on Wednesday night and then knocking out those intervals on Thursday morning is seriously impressive.
Today I ran 20 miles with a group of people from the running club that's close-ish to me. We ran to Grand Central Station and then got the train back. Nice to run a different route and with some company. Averaged a 9:04 pace which of course Carter will tell me is too fast but I was with a group so following their lead!
Sorry been away a few days guys, was away at the weekend on a training trip to Arran with my club and didn't have a computer. Hope you're all well.
Robert- sorry to hear about sad times with you and family... hope your mrs is OK and you are managing to keep her spirits up. Well done for your continued weight loss and running. Deffo get to a club. Has been a great thing for my running and my enjoyment.
Carter- yes lots of XC planned over winter and will carry on building my long runs. Glad your new watch is good! Sounds a good bit improved on your old garmin! RE the eating, have you maintained your initial weight loss? Are you going for more?
PS- those runs sound like a godsend for getting in a decent long training run. Wish there was stuff like that here! 9:04 pace for 20 miles wowee. Well done, great run. How you feeling now?
Carl- how was your long run? Hope it went well.
Sean- 5:20 would be a cracking mile time. I did the 1500 at the track champs but it was after the 100, 200, 400 and 800. So really it was pretty slow, but everyone was in the same boat so we were all knackered. My 1500 was 6:32 and I felt I could have run a lot faster if I hadn't done all the other stuff beforehand. But hey ho it's all good training. Hope your knee is OK soon!
Since I last posted last Wednesday I did an easy 6 miles on the Thursday, took my school XC group on the Friday though it hardly involved much running as they are beginners, then went to Arran with my club Friday night till Sunday for a training weekend.
Saturday was a morning session of pyramid intervals, warm up, then 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minute, 4 minute, and all the way back down 3, 2, 1, with either 1 or 2 minutes recovery jog in between each interval. Cool down at the end totalled 4.3 miles. In the afternoon there was a beach reps session with running on the sand on a loop, hard efforts but pretty tough/slow to run on sand. Did 3.1 miles in the afternoon so 7.4 for the day.
Sunday was a hill run of 10 miles. However me and another girl went out slightly earlier to do 4 miles beforehand as we both wanted a longer run. It was a brutal run and I was gasping, and much slower/less fit than the others who were out. Some of them were brilliant and made it look so easy going up steep, rocky inclines like mountain goats.
But I got it done. 14 miles total of very difficult terrain. Stunning views from the top though, really amazing. So a heavy weekend of running and lots of fun in between at the hostel we were staying at.
Hope you all had a good weekend and painless Monday!
PS – it was tacky when I went there 20 odd years ago; the ‘motel’ was just like out of a 70s American movie. 9:04 for a long run is absolutely fine for you now, bearing in mind I am setting your target as 3:45 !! Did you use your bladder ?
Carl – I keep hearing more bad reports about Garmins but I guess that the amount they must sell will mean you hear the negative things more. Hope the big meeting went well for you.
Sean – one of the benefits of the Suunto is that you can download your run from your watch to your iPhone (apparently the android app is not very good at the moment) via Bluetooth so there is no messing around with ant+ etc. Good news about your dodgy knee; you probably didn’t realise it but you will have been favouring your strong leg to take into account your dodgy one which means that that has had more strain on it than its use to. You shouldn’t have any issues now both legs are back to normal.
Robert – blimey, there’s a lot going off for you at the moment, I hope things are sorting themselves out. I can confirm that the Suunto Ambit3 has a better battery life than the ‘basic’ Garmins. You can have the GPS accuracy set at 1, 5 or 60 seconds and the battery will last 10, 15 or 50 hours depending on the setting. It also picks up the satellite signal more or less straight away outside work where the Garmin would struggle for a few minutes with the high buildings in the city centre; I can also get a signal inside.
Ali – no, I’ve put a few pounds back on as I’ve been really struggling. This week, I’ve decided to go back to a ‘normal’ diet for a while and just count the calories. That way I can incorporate some beers and junk food into my daily allowance if I want to and not feel as guilty. May go back to lchf in the future, may not. Glad to hear that you’re managing to get your runs in with your busy work schedule.
So, Mrs C and I went to York over the weekend. I gave her a wedding invitation and it took her a couple of minutes to realize that it was for her own wedding !! Plenty of brownie points earned when I told her to sit back and let me do all the organizing, hopefully it won't go horribly wrong.
I'm not doing the Hardmoors 60 in September now; I've come to realize that i realistically need at least 3 months between longer races which gives me time to recover, get back into some specific training for the next race and have a couple of weeks taper. So, I'm now running the Round Rotherham 50 in October, in 7 weeks time. It's flat with only 3000ft of climbing so a shorter training plan shouldn't prove to be detrimental to me finishing. And today, I took the plunge and entered next year's South Downs Way 100. It's in June so will give me plenty of time to get lots of training miles in. I'm a tad apprehensive bearing in mind I've only been running 'seriously' for a couple of years and that, as yet, I haven't even run a 50 miler. I need to do lots of strengthening of my dodgy knees as I don't know how they will react over such a distance. And at least I will be able to record all of the race on my new watch, woo hoo !!
No I haven't used my bladder. I decided it was too risky to use it for the first time on a 20 miler. I then filled it to use it today then changed my mind. I just find it really heavy and can't imagine running with it on. Chicago is not going to be anywhere near 3:45. I'm not in the form I was for NJ at all. Today I did 9 miles steady at 8:17 per mile. When I did the equivalent run for NJ I was doing sub 8 min miles easily.
So how does a 100 mile race work in practice? Do you keep going with no sleep? I guess you have to. That's an epic distance indeed.
Ali your weekend sounds great. Surely there must be some long run groups at your club? If not you can start one!
Will catch up later in the week.
Meant to run 18 miles last Friday night and 6 Saturday morning.
Friday became all too complicated and 18 was just an impossibility.
But I got 8 in and then forced myself out of bed at 6am Saturday to do 16. Then off to the airport at 10.30. Mad. But 58 miles for last week so a heavy week in anticipation if a cut back week this week.
Same mileage just different combination but quite close together.
Been a busy holiday with loads of walking and activities.
Have managed 2 runs so far. A gentle 5 miler last night with not too much elevation - well not much for being at 1000m elevation.
Then 9 miles before breakfast today from the hotel through the town, another village, some very rough paths alongside the raging mountain river up to Lake Montriand, a circuit of this and back home.
It was very cold as the sun was just coming up even if the daytime was very hot.
Going to try and repeat this run again on Saturday morning. Flying back late Saturday.
Amazing scenery and the activities on offer are incredible.
Can see that everyone is getting on with stuff so that's great.
Back on at the weekend.
Carl - sounds like you're having fun out there. I am very jealous that you are running in the Alps.
PS - 100 mile race has a cut off time of 30 hours so there is no time to lose by sleeping, sitting down or resting ! Fortunately, I am one of those people who have always survived on 5/6 hours sleep a night so that aspect of the race shouldn't bother me too much. There are plenty of logistical things to consider too like where you will sleep the night before the race, what time do you expect to finish the race and how do you get back to your car and when do you (can you) drive home. Drop bags - what do I want in them and at what point of the race e.g. the race starts at 6:00 so when will I need my head torch, at 60 miles or 80, that type of thing. Support crew - where will they stay, where do I want them to meet me on route with food, drink or a change of clothing. Pacers - you can have a pacer after 50 miles. There really is so much to plan but I'm really looking forward to it. Oh, and I might need to do some long training runs too !
It can take a bit of getting used to running with the bladder so the sooner you start with it the sooner you will be accustomed to wearing it. It will give you the comfort of knowing you wont run out of water and that you can carry all your bits and bobs too. Before you know it you won't realize you're wearing it, honestly. I know your mojo hasn't been the same since NJ but there is no reason why you still can't aim for a PB. I've looked at some of your runs on Strava and, while your latest run wasn't as quick as when training for NJ, you are still churning out some decent training runs. A lot of the battles will be in your head so if you remain positive I reckon you will get a new PB
Hi everyone !! Hope you are all doing well with your training and racing !! I am still alive and running..... Lost my mojo for a while and felt a bit flat about running so not been on here, but a holiday and some running out in spain has sorted me out a bit and Im beginning to enjoy it a bit more again.
Few races in the pipeline, short 4 miler next Thurs then hoping to do Cotswold Classic 10 miler on 20th, then Oxford half and possibly Benidorm half in November.
I shal endeavour to read as many posts as I can to catch up with you all
Hi Washwood! Great to hear from you. Hope you've had a good summer. When are you back to school?
Carl I didn't get my corral moved. I've emailed them to ask why. it said that the final corral placements were published on Tuesday so it's not that i could still be waiting.
Carter the logistics for that race sound nearly as much of a challenge as the race itself. I read quite a bit about people doing Endure 24 I think it was called but that was running in 5 mile laps so easier in terms of leacing all supplies in one place.
I'll aim for a PB at Chicago of course but I think it will be a big ask for it to be enough of a PB to give me a BQ time which is 3:50 but really you need to get a couple of minutes under that to get in. I've done 23 miles in the last 3 days and my legs feel fine which is a good sign. Unfortunately I'm suffering with a huge blister on my instep. Tried a compeed but it just rolled up. Have now got some new socks so will try them and a very big plaster.
When is Chicago PS ? I really need to sit down with a cuppa tomorrow and read all these posts !