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Today was a tough day at the running office but also a satisfying one. Legs are tired but that is ok.
Got up and had porridge, honey and banana. Got an email last night from the organisers advising that we should be wearing trail shoes as the exceptionally wet weather had made the course slippy and muddy. As I do not own a pair, I decided that i would wear an old pair and come back via the house after the race and change into my current road shoes.
The 10k was due to start at 9am so I headed out just after 8.15am and got 3.2 miles in at 8:17 min miling pace and finishing at the start area near the running track at the Parliament Hill end of Hampstead Heath.
The route was all off the tarmac paths. Grass and trails in the woods.
From the start it went straight uphill through grass that was nearly up to my knees. I was in the first wave and positioned myself not too far from the front.
It effectively climbed for the first 2 miles, then dropped back to the start/finish area and then back around on lap 2.
I found myself going faster than I intended and then decided to stick with it. There were some steep climbs, tree roots to navigate, muddy puddles to be careful in and some very uneven ground through parkland.
The second lap was tough as the lungs were working hard and the legs feeling the uneven ground.
I had overtaken a few runners during mile 2 and 3 and they were close as we went round lap 2. We were all running single file and the hills the second time round were not easy and were energy sapping for sure. I was following the runner in front and he missed one turn during mile 5. This cost me 20-30 seconds and all the runners I had passed in lap 1 ended up ahead of me. I was not happy but as we were still climbing it was a case of just keeping going at my pace. I knew I could not catch them as I had lost about 150 metres to them and that was too big a gap to close at this stage of the race.
Again running to the finish line involved ploughing through knee height grass.
Finish time according to my garmin was 49:16 and 6.38 miles. A little longer than expected. By the time I got home I had a text with the exact same time. No places out yet.
My splits were :
Lap 1 - 7:52 ; 8:02 ; 7:23
Lap 2 - 7:53 ; 8:17 ; 7:24
0.38 (6:27)
Collected my medal, t-shirt, goody bag and made my way back home as it is not far.
Changed shoes, socks and t-shirt as they were soaking wet for different reasons. Picked up my water bottle, gels and set off towards Regents Park.
11 miles later I was back home running at 8:44 min miling.
In total I ran 20.6 miles today. Slightly unconventional long run and I was worried about getting going on the 11 mile run after a hard 10k.
This is my longest run of the training campaign and now that I have got a 20 miler in I will ease back next weekend.
So while the legs and body are tired, there is a warm glow of satisfaction that I managed a really tough day well.
Will do 6 easy miles tomorrow to round off this week. 3 weeks to go.
washwood - best of luck with your race in the morning. You will be fine. As you say just run your own race and use it as part of your training. Look forward to the race report.
How did everyone get on with their races today ?
Heading out for a gentle 6 miles once the footie is over. Legs need a shakedown after yesterday's effort.
And PS, hope your run to Grand Central was as good for you today as the last time you did it. Was it easier this time round ?
Robert- no, did London before and didn't love it... toooo big for me. I will keep researching... Did you have a good long run today?
PS- hope you've had a good running weekend? Abs eh.... jealous! No sign of those bad boys here sadly!
washwood- look forward to hearing how you got on with your 10 miler. I liked the distance a lot after doing my first 10 miler last week.
Carl- wow. Can't believe you did 20 miles including that race. Really tough work. That's amazing. Your race sounded tough but really good. Well done.
My race today was tough, slightly disappointing, but I had a nice day out regardless of the running part.
Last night I was out at my club's curry night. Not a good idea before a race I hear you say. You're so right. Anyway I was hoping my tummy would be all fine but last night I was up from 3am with awful stomach pains and some ehhhh... other issues. Anyway... I didn't sleep any more and felt pretty rotten right up until the start of the race at 2.30pm. I felt pretty sick and miserable. But the legs themselves felt fine. Just had to get on with it!
Race started and first few kms are very up and down. I had set off fairly fast but by 3k I felt terrible. Stitch, churning stomach. I slowed down and got to 4k but was feeling like I'd have to drop out, that was how awful I was feeling. However, I knew that I was close enough to half way, and I might as well keep going... there are a couple of kms of fairly flat respite after a challenging start to the race. It goes around Linlithgow Loch, and whilst it's tough running on muddy trail and very narrow so hard to overtake, it is at least a break from the hills.
So I was slower than I wanted to be, but managing to keep going. Stitch was going as well. Got round to the end of the loch, and I knew that coming up ahead was a steep hill. It kills me every time. You can see in my splits exactly where it falls. I focused on keeping effort even, even though pace was slowing again. By the time we reached 7k I knew I could push it to the end. I was still feeling terrible but found a man to keep up with and we pushed it hard with the last 2 kms being pretty fast, so that was a good effort.
The final 200m is great with loads of crowd support and I could see my mum. I hadn't even looked at my watch from about 6k because I was finding the whole thing so bloody difficult that I couldn't face knowing the time. So only got a clue of my final time on crossing the line.
48:34. I was bent over thinking I was going to be sick at the end. There was a time only a few months ago when I would have been delighted with this, but it is a good bit slower than I have been running recently. I knew it was a tough course so had set my goal at 47-47:30, so another minute slower than this was a bit disappointing. However, I finished, and earlier in the race I didn't even know if I would do that. Splits 4:29, 4:36, 5:01, 5:01, 4:51, 4:55, 5:18, 4:57, 4:42, 4:41.
Can't work out how to post the profile but here it is on a link http://www.goodrunguide.co.uk/ElevationGraph.asp?HillEmphasis=True&RunID=82102&RunType=S&DistUnits=1&EleUnits=3.2808399&Smoothing=3
I came 39th out of 185 ladies so not too bad position wise for a tough race. Onwards and upwards!
Hi All, hope you have all had a good weekend.
So todays race ..... I was feeling rather nervous as I havent raced over 4 miles since frst week in June and havent done a 10 mile race since 2008 ....
The race was out in the Cotswolds and was undulating although the garmin profile makes it look flat... The start is pretty tricky, around a field and we are discouraged from over taking for the first half mile for safety... I got positioned a bit too far back and felt a bit frustrated but figured it was a longer race so a steady start wouldnt hurt .
A steady climb took us up for the first 5 miles, nothing massively noticable until I felt tired and someone told me we had further to climb. Im not sure about pace but somewhere between 7.30 and 8 mn mile I think (Strava not connecting to garmoin at mo)
Miles 5 to 7 were a pleasant downhill/flat section and I had a little chat with another runner before I realised I needed to kick on, but to be honest it probably did me a favour so i didnt blow up !
The last 3 miles consisted of some short sharp ups and downs and a slog around the field to the finish.... By the end the I was pretty broken and found a tree to sit under and eat some choc from the race pack ....
So my garmin read ... 10.1 miles in 1:15:21 ave pace of 7.27 not too bad
be inerested to see the splits when strava lets me upload. Also think myself and 2 teammates won county champ silver 
They messed up the results but going on the photos at 7m we should have as I was 3rd runner in team and I didnt let another female past me after that point 
......
Wow some epic running efforts this weekend.
Carl you have bounced back into tip top shape after your brief injury woes. Now it's all about getting ourselves to that start line injury free.
Washwood that average pace for 10 miles is fantastic. Both you and Ali have some real speed In your legs that I just don't. Plus the ability to push yourself on when things are tough. Sounds like it didn't have much potential for a PB.
Ali how on earth you got through today I'll never know. I'd have packed it in at 4 km. Was it a spot of food poisoning do you think? Make sure you're taking on plenty of fluids for the next couple of days. Have you got some dioralyte? It's great stuff. Right I will come out of mum mode now!
Had a great run today to Grand Central. I'm completely confused about the time though as one of the guys said we averaged 9 min miles over 20 miles but my Strava said 8:33 over 20.9. I'm now hobbling though not due to my legs but the blister on my other foot has now gone the same way as blister 1 and I have a large open wound on the bottom of my foot. I bought some more blister plasters yesterday and thought they would do the trick as it wasn't actually that long but it came off in my sock. Ouch ouch ouch. Thank heavens it is still flip flop weather here.
I looked on Strava earlier and looked like Sean ran an amazingly fast HM and Rob had a good long run. We need to hear about Carter's 25 miler too.
Robert – great race report from Brighton, was that this year and is that your PB ? Great battling when things got tough, it can be very easy to give in when it starts hurting. Have you considered Immodeum to assist in reducing the amount of time you need to stop ? Like you, I suffer with both ITBs and it normally seems to rear its ugly head after doing intervals, hence my despise of them !
Carl – sounds like the back injury is well behind you now, if you pardon the pun ! You continue to do some cracking training runs, this Hansons plan certainly seems to suit you as we have seen you increase the number of runs you do each week, more miles and higher intensity. Overall, I can see that your consistency has improved so you will get to the start line in good shape. I’m convinced you will absolutely smash 3:30 in a few weeks’ time. Great split times in your race as well and then you go and run another 11 miles, brilliant stuff. Were you at Twickers for the rugger ?
Ali – Brighton is sold out but they are opening up for some additional places in the next few weeks. A schoolboy error with the pre-race curry !! But again, another admirable performance considering the issues ! And 39th lady is great stuff. It’s getting rather boring telling you how brilliantly you have run again J
PS – have you tried Strappal tape ? I use it and fins it is really good and doesn’t shift at all during a run, in fact it’s so good you need to soak in the bath to get it off (http://www.amazon.co.uk/BSN-Medical-Strappal-Tape/dp/B00B5A0DSI). A lovely last long run from you yesterday. Maybe Strava was out a bit but I wouldn’t have thought by that much. If I were you I would be taking plenty of confidence from that run and enjoying my taper !
Washwood – that is rather a speedy 10 miler you did yesterday, including the incline in the early miles you were worried about where you maintained a decent pace.
Friday morning was my long run day. A good, healthy week of eating so I decided this was going to be a fasted run. I set of from Chatsworth Park at 7:00. It was a clear day but quite chilly at that time of the morning. The first couple of miles are nice and flat but I had to stop and put my gloves on. Then I made my way through the first village and up on to the first trail. Plenty of cows around here so had to proceed with caution ! The legs were already starting to grumble as I made my way up the first climb. It was quite cold in the woods but as the climb got steeper I started to warm up. I got to the top of the climb and found the first stunning view of the day, I was above the mist on one side and the other side it was clear views as far as I could see. I was using my watch to navigate but this time had it on a different setting so it was only taking a gps reading every 5 seconds. There were a couple of occasions where it looked like I had gone off route so I doubled back to find the watch was taking another reading and I was in fact on the right path in the first place. Something to learn for future runs when the watch is on this setting. A long decent into the lovely village of Stanton in Peak and after about 10 miles it had turned into a lovely morning. The next few miles were going through lots of farmers’ fields which meant cows, sheep, lots of styles and loads of sh#t !! The fields were longish grass which felt like hard work on the old legs so I was really starting to get tired. I took some food and gels with me but decided against taking anything yet. Another climb followed by a long decent and more lovely views over Haddon Hall. 18 miles done and I was shattered but still decided not to take on any fuel and keep the fat adapting going as long as possible. Next came a road section for about 1.5 miles; normally I would have welcomed the change from trail to road, to break things up, but the legs weren’t happy. Next came the steep climb back into the Chatsworth estate. I had little energy as I walked up the climbs which peaked at 26 per cent, no chance of running. I was in the woods so it was nice and cool now as the temperature had increased as the morning passed. The next decent was hard going as well and I was now thinking about getting back to the car rather than adding on any extra miles to the route. The last 3 miles or so were in Chatsworth Park itself so they were fairly flat. At one stage I was heading away from the car just to make sure I hit the 25 miles. Eventually finished in Baslow village and I was absolutely done in. I fell into the car and started scoffing on some settled peanuts and chocolate. I didn’t feel too bad after finishing but I found it a tough old run. I wasn’t particularly happy that I had struggles so much but after a bit of thought it was a decent enough run considering it was fasted and I didn’t eat anything all the way round. Although I had eaten well during the week I am struggling to maintain this at the weekends. I need to decide once and for all which way of eating is best for me and just get on with it. I’m sure it can’t help my running that I keep switching between lchf and a normal diet. Anyway, I’m to plan my runs for the rest of the week. Oh and get some work done…
PS: yeah I 2nd carters recommendation of the strappel tape after he advised me to use it before Manchester marathon. It does the job for me.
Washwood. Great 10 miles. Its a tricky distance to pace right. Just short enough to go guns blazing, but just long enough to blow-up spectacularly if you go out too fast. Id love to run in the Cotswalds one day also. Tis a lovely part of the world.
Rob: 4:00.02 OMG you must be killing. Still you know you will smash that next time.
Carl: Great way to make a long run more interesting is to throw in an actual race in the middle of it. Jeez I can imagine a 10k at parliament hill must be bloody tough, so to tun another 11 miles after. Well done sir.
So yeah as PS mentioned I had a pretty decent crack at my half marathon yesterday. The Vale of York HM will definitely become a classic on the Yorkshire race circuit as its such a good and flat course.
first two miles in 6.29's each, that pace was way faster then the 6:50 I was planning but hey ho it felt good. Went through 5k in 19:45 and had to make a decision. Do I slow down and run my pace or do I stick with it and risk blowing up at 9 miles like I did last year. Me being me I kept my foot down.
I latched onto the back of a couple of runners from another club who Ive raced before and knew they would carry me round in good time.
The course is basically a long out and back with a 3 mile loop in the middle. When you get onto the loop you're quite exposed and lose the trees that had been shielding you from the pretty hot sun at this point. I passed 6 miles in about 39.55 and knew this pace couldnt be sustainable so decided to hold out for as long as I could and bank some time for when I slowed down later on.
Water became a key strategy in the heat and I forced myself to drink at least half a bottle at each stop even though it was making me unwell. I hit 9 miles and the wall started to hit me. Same bloody place as last year. However as one of my club-mates went by me he shouted 'dig in deep Sean, you're on a flyer here'. That really helped me and gave me exactly the mental lift I needed to keep going.
I boshed my 2nd and last gel and pushed on for the final few miles. I went through 10 miles in 67.35 and if this had been a 10 ile race I would have been celebrating a 3 minute pb.
Right. Down to the last 3 miles and into the business end of the race. I did my last 6 minute mile on mile 11 (6.49) and as mile 12 started my legs were really aching badly. The engine was still good so I just kept telling myself 14 more minutes of pain, but all the glory, you can do this. (7.03)
Mile 13 began and I was hurting so bad. I just wanted it to be over but as the mile began at 1.20 I knew the glory was worth the pain. Crossed the line in 1:28.50 and i've just smashed my HM PB by 6 minutes!!! I gambled big time by changing my race strategy mid race and boy did it pay off. Other days its come crashing down for me but yesterday it all just clicked.
6.29, 6.29, 6.35, 6.45, 6.37, 6.41, 6.39, 6.42, 6.54, 6.57, 6.49, 7.03, 7.09 average pace 6.45
So I guess that's a bit of an anti-climax now as I was aiming to break the sub 90 HM at the Royal Parks HM , but at least I can probably relax a bit now at that race and really have a go. If I can lose a few more lb's before the race then I reckon 1.25 - 1.27 is a definite possibility.
Carl hope you enjoyed the egg chasing... that's a brill 20 mile effort especially with a tough 10k race in the 1st half.... must have taken a lot of mental strength to think you had to do another 11 miles after that run!!!
Ali if I woke up not feeling great I'd probably binned the race well done for sticking with it! If you thought London was too big you will love Brighton fingers crossed they open up some more spaces. Did this one last year http://www.kentroadrunner.com/ and doing it again 2016!!! Bloody nuts 20 laps (was 17 longer laps last year) have a read of reviews on runners world!
Washwood nice race, shame they mucked up the results takes the shine off it a bit personally but you know you did well!
PS if you went 8.33 that's bloody impressive if you went 9 mins well done, very careful not to leave your race on the training track as I found out with my run. You've done really well with your training recently wasn't that long ago you seemed you wouldn't be ready for Chicago with the in laws round. You must be feeling good for 3 weeks time
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Carter May look into Imodium as you'll ready in a bit ITB strikes again!!! Brighton is my PB Another great long run again, you're definatly disciplining your body well these last few couple of weeks, do you think you've done enough for the 50miler? Good luck choosing the correct diet, I just find a normal diet hard enough work.
Sean congratulations that's a massive PB dug in deep when it mattered.... have to push yourself harder now at royal parks.
Saturday was impressed with Mrs R, I went to work at about 7.45am and left Mrs R in bed where I thought she'd be for a couple of hours.... next time I hear from her I got a email from her forwarded with a parkrun result. More than a minute faster than last week
No persuasion needed, we hadn't even mentioned it at all.... I've shown her the runbrittan rankings site and set her up a profile, looking forward to this sunday have her a place in Finsbury park 10k (womens only) althou she may swap to the 5k.
Went for my long run yesterday planned 20-22 miles depending on time and feel.... didn;t look at my watch until I hit 3 miles and saw I was going out at 8.20 pace a good 30 secs per mile too fast... what made it worse didn;t really slow down either. Managed to get to 18.5 miles in about 2.41 (8.40 min miles) and blew up started walking and then felt my ITB flare up... was about 2.5-3 miles from home at this point with no phone so had to get back... had a few stops to laydown stretch ITB before running the last couple of miles back. After the run legs were tired but ITB were okay. Defiantly a lesson I needed to watch my pace, don't get carried away. On the plus side on the scales again and another lb loss in the right direction this week. 42 miles and 2 spin sessions in total.
This week my long run will be 18 miles this week not sure when I'll do it yet as Sunday am volunteering at the 10k in Finsbury Park, Saturday have to work again, my best plan is do to it Friday although we have our 125th anniversary work function but will probably give it a miss and get the long run instead. Will probably put an 6x mile interval session in tues, 10 mile run Wednesday and some kinda session on Sunday afternoon
Sean - that is absolutely smoking, flippin brilliant mate. As you know, I love the 'let's go for it' approach and think it can yield big results as you have proved. Rest well now until Royal Parks and then have another bash at a fast one. How much weight have you lost now ?
Robert - slow down on your long runs !! Don't get me wrong, it was a great run, but we don't want you burning yourself out before the big day. Very impressive stuff from Mrs R, will she be joining you on the Chiltern wonderland ultra ??
Just for a change, it was absolutely chucking it down at lunchtime when I went out for a run. I trundled off down to the canal and decided to put my foot down a bit, bot by Sean's standards of course. A total of 6 miles at an average of 7:27 with 3 of those at tempo pace of 7:00. It felt quite comfortable really which was a pleasant surprise
Carl: I ran with headtorch not on the heath but on the railway track to fins park. Got some funny looks! But it did really help actually seeing where I was going! Excellent 20 miler on Sunday, must have been tough after the 10k race!!
Ali: great 10 mile race and wow on that last mile at dead on 7 min mile, great work.. I’m in for Brighton.. go on you know you want to! Think they have actually just released increased allocation (they emailed me about it) so you shld check asap on the website. Sorry your race didn’t pan out as hoped – sounds like a toughie though so don’t beat yourself up about it.. I’ve been there with the curry tummy on a run day and it’s grim…
PS: I’d take your wildlife over the, ahem, ‘wildlife’ in Finsbury Park! Great 20 miler at 8’33 ish pace – well done. Not sure what to say re the blistering – Carter’s suggestion sounds good, why not give it a go?
Carter: Great West Run is in Exeter. 21 mile run with 2,400 ft of ascent – brutal! Well done for getting it done. Fair play on the double run days as well – I’ve got injured when I briefly tried this a while back so be careful! Re your comment on interval training I think I’m going to bin it from next year’s brighton marathon training schedule… am thinking probably an MP paced run building from 9 to 18 miles (add a mile per wk) and a long run at 9 min mile pace building to 22 or 23 miles. Drop mileage down every third or fourth wk. think I shld be running 4 times a week but not sure what the other two runs shld be?! Am going to design my own schedule though and probably 13 weeks this time round… any thoughts from all much appreciated! Re your 25 miler, that is an awesome effort! 25% is some serious hillage… I think the fat adapting perhaps may be difficult whilst also increasing training load?? Just a thought though, I know nothing about it really..
Sean: You are on amazing form! Sub 19 min 5k and sub 1’30 half. Just brilliant, really well done. Inspiring stuff although I would just take a sub 21 min 5k and sub 1’40 half myself ;o)
Rob: you in the taper now?? Wow, love your brighton write-up. Thanks for sharing. I can only imagine how gutting it must have been to miss out on sub 4 by 3 seconds. Argh. That’s the only appropriate word I can think of. I can empathise re the cramping. I got terrible quad cramps at Edinburgh this year and ran the last 10k at a much slower pace than the rest of the race. I think it was down to lack of electrolyte infused water.. in fact I really didn’t drink enough full stop… lesson painfully learnt for sure, won’t be making that mistake again
Washwood: jeez, 10 miles at sub 7’30 pace on an undulating course. That’s some really good going right there! Well done, fantastic stuff
Bad running week last wk. was under the weather and just made it home on a supposed 14 miler after work last Monday that ended up with multiple stops and chocolate ingest. Kept at it and did 12 miles but felt terrible. Must learn when to give in and get on the tube! Intervals weren’t much better last Thursday – just did a 3k at pace in the end but again felt awful.. Thankfully yesterday’s 8 mile tempo was completed without incident and feeling fairly normal again which was a relief! Happy running everyone – some big races coming up eh…
Carter I know I have to slow down the long runs... just get carried away!!! Have 18 miles this weekend hope to slow down esp getting closer to the race. Still not convinced myself to do an ultra so soon, theres a big part of me wanting to spend next year focusing on shorter stuff and one or two marathons.
Will think you must be following me, I did Brighton in 2014! I wasn't marathon fit and walked alot from mile 18. One of my mates ran in 2011 and my sis ran in 2012 both suffered with cramps, my sis reckons it was due to the 1st 10k being downhill? Taper kinda starts this week/ next week... my long run this weekend is down to 18 miles, think cramps at Brighton were more down to not having the training in my legs although dehydration may have played a part too. Nothing wrong with a crap week from time to time sometimes need a break.
After Sundays long run had a rest day yesterday legs felt a bit crap today but still went out. 5x1mile @ 10k pace with 400m recoveries did the 5 miles in 7.37, 7.11, 7.15, 7.19, 7.46 the final mile had 32m elevation didn't know what pace I ran any of them till I finished the session. Tomorrow may run home from work about 12 miles I'm not a fan of the route so wont be racing!
Will - yeah, when you switch to a low carb diet it can take a few weeks for your body to adapt. It's used to looking for carbs but there aren't any so it decides it doesn't want to work, and then you bonk. Over time it understands it should look to your body fats for fuel and as you have been keeping the supply of fat plentiful your body it fueled and you carry on running. I'd go into the science of it all, well my understanding anyway, but I bored everyone else on here at the beginning of the year with all that. If you're ill and you can't run that's not a bad week of running, that's just life getting in the way. Just forget all about it, as you have, and move on. Next week will be a great week !
Robert - quite right to keep looking at the faster stuff for now. When you reach a certain age your speed will start to disappear, just ask PS. That's the time you could then switch your focus to ultras. Nice 1 mile intervals there too.
Hurrah. I went out for a run at lunchtime and it didn't rain. An easy 4ish miles at 8:48 and everything felt fine and dandy. Contemplating going for another few miles tonight. I need to remember what it's like running in the dark, in the woods, with a headtorch before I do my race. That said I could just as easily lay on the sofa all night and do nothing
Rob: nice 5 x1 miles there. take it easy with your 18 miler if you're into the taper..
Carter: How long does it take to adapt to the fat burning way of life? Best of both worlds - stay in on the sofa with the lights off and a headtorch on?! acclimatise in comfort!
Put in a key run at lunch today 3.5 wks out from the race so pretty happy. Was hard going today on tired legs following 35 miles on the bike sunday, 8 mile decent pace run Monday and 25 miles on the bike yday in total. Managed 7.6 miles at lunch at quicker than target half marathon pace (7'21 min miles ave pace). wasn't quite on form but stuck with it so happy with that. felt hard - had to lie down at the end for a minute..!! onwards - one more key run to go in 2 weeks like that one - 9 miles at the same sort of pace...
happy running everyone and hope you're having good weeks generally speaking
I wish I could blame my lack of speed on my age but unfortunately I never had any speed in the first place!
First day of autumn here and it's 26 degrees and we're on the beach. I'm debating venturing into the sea as salt water is supposed to be good for blisters and also the ice cold water would be good for the quads. I can't remember if I said that I'd been for a sports massage the other day. It was good but the place smelt slightly strange and it was all a bit creepy. Still only $35 on an Amazon local deal. I shan't be returning though.
6 miles of fartleks yesterday at an average pace of 7:53 which was comfortable. Then an easy 7 mile run at 8:23 average pace. The slightly cooler morning temperatures are certainly helping.
Will that's a great half marathon pace. Considering you say you've not been running as much the biking has obviously been good for the fitness levels.
Carter have you made a decision about your run tonight. May it rain on you and heavily too
Rob nice pace for your run and pretty consistent too. How are the legs feeling now?
So have a HM on Saturday. of course I'm asking for thoughts on strategy but imagine it will be a case of running it as fast as possible without wrecking myself. Of course I never wreck myself anyway as I walk when it hurts too much.
Hi everyone hope you are all having a good week.
Sean - reading that race report has left me inspired for my next half ! an awesoome and well deserved result !! (I wall be aiming for sub 1.38 .... a 1.37.59 will do)
Carter: I am in awe of all your running ! Wish I had the stamina for it !
PS : I think you are doing so well ! 20 great miles on blistered feet ! I cant even imagine that id do 2 miles , well done !
Rob: Your Brighton experience was similar to my London one as I mentioned before. VLM was my first marathon and I think I will be more ready mentally for the next one, however I too need to slow down my long runs ....
So not much to report from me, recovery run Monday with a friend so 5 miles (yes a bit long for recovery but we had alot to chat about) at 8.30 pace
Last night was pace session 14 x 400m @ 6.05 ave
happy with that, today is a rest day.
I have also been talked into doing Woodstock 12 on Saturday .... 3 hilly laps round the grounds of Blenheim Palace. I know the course as Ive trained there but only doing 2 loops ..... Its going to HURT ! I am using it as my last long training session before Ox half, I wont be racing it !............. (famous last words).
washwood- a fabulous 10 mile race. Great time! Great result too, you are a proper competitive club runner!
PS- yes I think I had a spot of food poisoning over the weekend. I never felt better till today really, four days after the curry blunder! Feeling OK now but it's been a dodgy few days. Great run from you for your long one. Shame about your blisters- it really sounds like they are causing a lot of trouble... did you take those shoes back and get new ones and if so, how have they been? What is your HM on Saturday and what are the goals from it? Do NOT worry if it is tough... taper runs CAN be!
Carter- fabulous long run. The eating thing I can understand is an issue to resolve. What eating choices make you FEEL best whilst running?
Sean- fantastic HM PB. Well done. Super speedy. Not TOO bad of a fade in splits... and your tactics paid off. You must be delighted!!!
Robert- great running but as Carter says watch that pace. And maybe listen to your body re: cross training- you're working pretty hard just now so cross training may have to take a back seat.
Will- don't worry...that's life... we all have bad running days, sounds like you picked up for your next run and got yourself sorted. Just chalk the bad ones up to experience and get to the next one. Nice to have you around here and hope your running picks up this week!
For me I took two rest days after Sunday's 10k, not really to rest the legs as such but the stomach, it has been really in a bad way ever since Saturday night.
Today I got back to running and did a 3.2 mile interval sesh then a small spinning workout at the gym. Felt good. 8 miles tomorrow with the club.
Will - they say it can take 6-8 weeks before you feel the benefit of the fat adaptation. However, I think I'm getting there a bit quicker this time due to doing the same thing at the beginning of the year. It's hard to describe but it feels as though my body has remembered what it should and is speeding up the process. I guess being able to run a fasted 25 mile run is indication of that. That's a tasty tempo run you did yesterday considering you are getting towards the end of a training plan. You should be tired after a run like that too after putting in the amount of training you have. It will soon be taper time though.
PS - my thoughts about your race at the weekend are that you should pick a pace and stick to it. Don't run on feel as you may well ending up running too fast and overdoing it. Don't forget this is not an all out attempt at a PB so you need to save yourself for the marathon. Decide on a challenging pace that will push you and keep checking your watch to make sure you are there or thereabouts.
Washwood - cheers, although if you did the required training I'm sure you could complete an ultra too. That was rather a quick interval session you did the other night, you are becoming the thread's speedy female version of Sean !
Ali - one thing I won't be eating during my run is a curry !! You've been running well lately so a short enforced rest won't do you any harm, in fact it will reinvigorate you for the next few weeks. Will you be doing any XC races with your club over winter ?
So, the sofa won last night and my only movement was to take the mutts for a walk in the woods and park. Mrs C wasn't feeling too well either so I thought I would sit by her side while she whinged all night !! She has got a date for operation which is next Thursday; she will be having the whole gall bladder removed so it's going to be a painful experience for her. That will leave me to run the house while she recovers, a man's work is never done...Hope her recovery doesn't interfere with my running..ahem....Rest day today for me. A short run tomorrow morning and 22 miles on Saturday is planned for me
Carter I had speed 5 years ago just didn't realise it, if I could get close to my 10k pb (40.48) i'd be chuffed. hope to knock at least 2.30 off my last time in 2016 to go sub 43. Hope Mrs C is feeling better hopefully the operation goes well and she recovers quick, it's not going to be easy for you again.
PS don't believe you never had any speed! age takes its toll on all of us! I'm relatively young at 32 but some days I wake up and feel old and crippled. Good luck with the half at the weekend, I know myself I wouldn't be able to trust myself and would try for a pb I'm sure you've got better head on you than me, as carter says pick a pace and stick to it is the best tactic.
Will whats your upcoming race? is it a half? are you aiming for pb?
Washwood 6.05 pace at 400m how did you find that? something I'm looking forward back end of this year and early next year is some short speed work going to be a wake up for my body until recently only ever plodded at the same pace for all my runs. Good luck on Saturday go steady don't leave your legs there.
Ali cross training has taken a backseat this week just wasn't feeling it, hope your deli belly has recovered now you still not put me off having a curry night shortly after Abingdon.
After my 5x1 miles Tues my legs were a bit stiff come wednesday so put the run off till this evening 11 miles @ 8.38 pretty steady wanted to go marathon pace was a bit too quick but fairly comfortable. Longish 18 mile run on Saturday I need to focus on my pace need to slow it down. I hate this time just a few weeks before a marathon its tough mentally all I usually want to do is rest and when I rest I get bored and eat ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
Quick post as its mental today. Garghhh. works do on Saturday so reckon I wont be up to doing much on Sunday. 17 miles Saturday morning incorporating a parkrun.
Weekly mileage will be 35 mile. My plan says 52. whoops.
Rob at school I was always the slowest and smallest and didn't start running properly until I was 35 so maybe I had speed in the intervening years but just didn't know it.
Just found out that the race tomorrow is 1 hr 50 away. So that means leaving at 6am to get there by 8, get lost (they are incapable in this country of giving you a proper address for the satnav - the address is the junction of 2 roads with no number/landmark etc), get my number, go to the loo 5 times and start at 9. Plan for the race is to run it at around 8:10 min miles and then see how I feel at about mile 9. my PB is 1:45 but anything below 1:50 is where I want to be. I've got bit of a cold, pain in the backside (literally) and still struggling with the blisters so should be happy with that.
Sean 35 miles is still fine mileage for the week. Get a few miles in on Sunday and sweat out the hangover!
Carter is gall bladder surgery key hole? I've no idea how big the gall bladder is! Will Mrs C be able to eat normally after or is your diet restricted? I've heard the pain with a bad gall bladder is terrible so she'll be better off without it I'm sure.
Carter- yes I will be doing a good bit of XC! There are also club road relay races near by, with the first of the winter season being tomorrow. It's a short one, only 2.7 miles, but I'm looking forward to it. My club are brining 3 ladies teams hopefully. I think I'll be in the middleish one. Poor Mrs C, she's had a tough time. Her surgery will help her big time in the long run though and you'll help her through her recovery. But yes it better not impact your running too much....
Robert- glad I've not put you off the curry! I could manage another one myself now a week later... so it's not put me off for life either, phew. Good luck for this week's long run.
Sean- sometimes you have to readjust the goals. 35 miles is still plenty. Hardly a duffer of a week.
PS- good luck for your race. Really sensible goals- 1:50 at this late stage of your marathon training would be just perfect and would indicate you're in good shape. But you might smash it, knowing you.
Let us know how you get on.
6.65 miles last night with the club for me. Progressive run so started out with a 9 minute mile and ended them up at 7:30ish. Average pace 8:04 min/mile and it was tough! Hilly long with long, gradual uphills, and long gradual downhill stretches too.
Today not feeling amazing and don't know if I'll run or not. Tomorrow I'm doing a road relay race with the club, 2.7 miles as part of a ladies team of 3. Sunday I'm doing the East Neuk 10k in Fife. Neither of these are 'target' races as such, just going out to enjoy giving it my best.
Not been able to get on here this week. Been a bit hectic. Will be back on later to read the weeks activities and catch up with you all. Have managed to get my runs in this week. 3 done so far. Have started tapering. 14 miles tomorrow and 6 on Sunday. 2 weeks to go. Yikes !!!
Eeeeeek only 2 weeks.......please don't tell me that!
Really must get that flight booked!
Today I have eaten cake and then a sandwich thinking the carbs would be good for me. Now I feel rubbish as I barely eat that kind of stuff anymore.
Sean nothing wrong with 35 miles as a hectic week can't train all the,time, although I missed a work fun last night but I'm bored of work so glad I missed it.
Ps great effort today, gonna be a busy couple of weeks on here loads of great races and reports to be created. I been bad I have eaten loads of cake recently diet went out the window I can't say no to food.
carl hope your runs go well! Those 2 weeks will fly by.
last run run today stayed slow (for me) 8.55 miles until mile 16 then last two miles went 8.37 and 8.29 felt pretty good however nearly gave in at mile 13. Did 18 miles in 2.40.
off marshalling womens running 10k tomorrow in Finsbury Park Mrs r is running and she seems quite keen on me marshalling think she wants the hoodie I get.
haven't really given much thought to training next few weeks planning 14 miles and 10 miles as my long run and wil probably pop a couple of other runs/sessions in.
hope everyone else's weekends going well
So have eventually caught up with everyone's running from the past week and Roberts epic race report from before.
Ali - your race last Sunday sounded tough especially having been out on the curry the night before which just made it even tougher. Not ideal race prep. Great report as always. So detailed. You have been on fire so much lately that despite the curry you still bagged a good time. Might not have been a PB and not as close to your PB as you wanted but still a great effort.
Good overall position too and as you say look forward to the next race.
Robert - that race report from Brighton is just epic. What an effort and it shows that you have got great mental strength as most people would have packed it all in when it got really tough. You can use that next time round to smash your PB.
washwood - absolutely cracking 10 mile race last weekend. That is some pace over 10 miles and shows that you are in fine fettle at the moment despite you worrying about the race beforehand.
hey hope you all had a good week
Ali : hope you are feeling better, great progressive club run !
Sean : I hope you have recovered from Swan escapades...
PS : Nice half for you this weekend
So todays impromptu 12 miler race with a few hills ... (some of you will have seen on strava)
It was a 3 loop race
lap 1 feeling good holding the start at a sensible pace a small incline at start of mile 2 leading to a steeper longer drag at mile 2.5 before a downhill section and a few more undulations..... all good around the 7.30/35 pace
Lap 2 : Still feeling good, taking all those who went off too quick and I held back knowing Id catch them.... long drag this time started to burn ....
Lap 3 still feeling ok athough bogh thumbs down and frown for photographer as Iknew ' THAT' hill was coming again.... caught a few people on it and then over took a few more on final incline
Measured distance was 12.1 which I fnished in 1.33.43 on Garmin (aim was sub 1.40). Not sure on official gun time or place yet but 2 team mates and I were firat ladies team so I gained a bottle of nice white for my effort.
Next up Oxford half.... nice fast and flat so looking good for a sub 1.38 time ...???