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RW Forum SIx – 3.30 – 4.00

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    Ali sounds like you've banked some great training, feeling confident???

    Washwood were you there? couldn't see you but I was fully coherent come 22 miles

    Dadagain i'm sure the landscape can;t be worse than ours! Enjoy some speed work!!!

    Nick, I would recommend MK, if you can deal with very little support (for a big race) and an uninspiring course then sign up, great bling, fairly flat with gentle undulations, organisation from start to finish was top draw. 

    Soreness is alot less than usual, yesterday normally I am unable to walk down stairs, I was nearly dancing down them!!!

    Being so close to my PB is frustrating however I'm still delighted as I truly believed i was going to fall to pieced.  I had a fantastic March training but the rest weren't great and my recent half was poor.

    Things that need to change is my weight (i struggle with this) salts.... i am very crusty after marathons so need to find a way of getting salts in me, i will probably try the high 5 zero tabs or be on the look out for some salt supplements as I can not be cramping in the later stages of marathons again.  Cross training needs to make an appearance again, I've neglected it as have been short on time and focused on running. 



     

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    Mrs R ran the half at MK the course was even less pleasant on the eye.  She needed the loo around mile 6 and had a 7 minute wait which not only added time on but was a struggle to get going again.  She got a PB  3.02 (Silverstone last year 3.07) and will now take some time out of running before training for events later in the year.

    What races have peeps got booked?
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    AliBali123AliBali123 ✭✭✭
    Sorry all- been absent but... by the looks of things, so has everyone else!  Where are you all?!

    Nick- that's a great 5 miler time.  Well done.  I really like 5 miles as a race distance.  Just a bit less than a 10k so you don't feel you're hitting that last tortuous mile.

    Rob- I really love your blog!  You did so well at MK.  I'd be delighted with that performance.  I am indeed feeling fairly confident for my marathon but just not being complacent as I know anything can happen.

    DA- can we come join you for the gold coast HM?!  1:35 sounds good indeed- what's your current PB?

    So since my last post...

    Last week was a good week and I did over 40 miles which I've done quite a few times during this training cycle (more than I've often done.) However it was made up of just a few runs.  I ran a midweek 10k in 45:14 which I was really happy with because it's a tough course for me and last year I did it in 47:31, so I was over 2 minutes quicker!  Not a PB but I was delighted anyway.

    I did some easier miles during the week.  Then at the weekend I attended the Edinburgh to North Berwick 20 mile race.  It's a famous coastal point to point race which does what it says on the tin.

    I had entered it ages ago knowing it was 3 weeks out from marathon.  I was advised by many at my club not to race it but to treat it as a training run doing a maximum of 10 miles at marathon pace.

    I decided to run the first 10 miles at 9:30 min/mile pace and then do the last 10 at MP.  I pretty much managed this exactly!  Reached the halfway point in 1:34:35 so almost exactly paced to plan.  I ran the second half (or second 10.12 miles according to my watch!) in 1:28:50 so almost a 7 minute negative split. :) In the second half, I ran every mile at around 8:40-8:50 pace except 2 which were just over 9 minute miles at uphill sections.

    The race was a difficult one as it was into a headwind all the way, a pretty ferocious one.  And as it was point to point this was unrelenting.  However, I was proud of managing to stick pretty much exactly to the pace plan I set out beforehand, not going out fast, and managing a big negative split!

    The race has pretty strict cut off checkpoints at 5, 10, 15 miles.  For the first 5.5 miles I was the last runner in the WHOLE RACE!  Shows what a competitive field it was.  Even though I was deliberately taking it slowly, I wasn't THAT slow! 6 people DNF'd the race and from mile 5.5 to the end I now know I passed 41 people and was passed by no one!

    This week I've been starting the taper.  Some fairly unnotable sessions through the week. A parkrun today in 21:33.  A bit away from my over all 5k/parkrun PB but a course PB at the course I was at by a huge 1 second.  I'll take it.

    Tomorrow, running 12 miles.  The last double digit run!  Waaaah!
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    DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    AliBali - My half PB currently stands at 1:38:20, but that was more than a year ago and I know I'm fitter now. That being said, my post-marathon motivation slump appears to be ending and I'm giving serious consideration to not doing the GoldCoast half and stepping up to the full distance for another crack at 3:30.

    GC gives me lots of control over all the variables (pre race diet, in race nutrition, travel to start line, familiarity with course) and because of the familiarity there's a chance I won't be awash with adrenaline and go out too quick like a foolish greyhound! 

    Seems kinda crazy to hit up another 42.2km race so soon after London, but the idea is eating away at me now!


    Of course if anyone else fancies a trip to Queensland in July I'm happy to play host and show off our marathon. It's a cracking event and a fantastic place to visit! 
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    carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭

    Hi everyone, I hope everyone is ok. This full time working malarkey is certainly making it difficult for me to get online and catch up with you all !

    Nick – I think that last time I was here, you were training for a 1 mile race ? How’s it going/gone ?

    Washwood – what’s up next for you ?

    Dad Again – I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with you before. What brings you here and what races have you got lined up ? Oh, I see you are in Australia and running the Gold Coast, that must be hard for you !

    Carl – how are things with you ? Are you going for an autumn marathon ?

    IBB – if I remember correctly, you were running London ? How did it go ?

    Rob – MK seemed to go ok as far as I could see on Strava, was it a PB ?

    Ali – you must be tapering for Edinburgh now ? Will you be going for a PB ?

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    carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    edited May 2017
    So, I have actually done some running the last couple of weeks. 3 runs a week for 3 weeks and built up to a 'long' run of 8 miles on Saturday. I am starting to enjoy it again and managed to get on the trails/hills at the weekend and planning my next routes. It feels very tough going still; I can only manage about 10:00 miles on the flat roads but I can feel myself getting stronger already. It's obviously going to take time but at least I've made a start. The knees are fine, at the moment. Despite the long break from running the shins still don't feel right but I'm going to push on and see what happens. I've shortened my stride in the hope of reducing the impact but time will tell. I've got my eye on a race in October but I won't be entering it until I get some long, pain free (ish) runs in. 
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    DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    Carterusm: I came on here in my lead up to London this year for some local 'flavour' - and found a vibrant community, so why not stay?

    yes I'm in Brisbane - which is great for running this time of year. Plenty of running paths around the city, cool and clear conditions through winter and a couple of good races including Gold Coast Marathon which is arguably Australias foremost event (Melbourne might disagree - but it'd be a close contest between the 2).

    I had planned to skip Gold Coast this year and target Melbourne in October putting in few half marathons for fun in between, but as you can see above I'm now wanting to have another crack at 3:30 on Gold Coast and have been invited to pace another smaller local marathon as a free warm up event before then - so my timetable seems to be filling up with 42.2km races!!

    itll be interesting to see how that goes and whether my body holds up! 
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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    DA - hope the half training is going well. 1:35 is a nice target! Though I see you're now maybe thinking about going longer haha

    Rob - will think about MK. Not sure I will do a marathon next year, so probably a fair way off! I know what you mean about the weight, I keep thinking to myself "I really shouldn't be eating this, but it tastes really nice"...my wife pointed out that I ate 7 slices of cake on Saturday...which while I'm not running lots isn't that great! Some of my club mates swear by those jelly like cubes for fuelling, are they called shot bloks (or is that something else?). Might help you, I need to think about salts as well next time I do a long race.

    Although it's always frustrating when you are close to your PB, you should be proud, as you said you did much better than you expected on the day and that's always a great feeling. How do you feel you've recovered - I saw on Strava you did a hill session?

    Ali - the middle part of the 5 mile race was really tough - I think I prefer 5k lol. But probably because I haven't done any tempo type runs for a couple of months now. Course was first 2 miles up a gradual hill, then half a mile up a steep hill, then gradually down to 4 and a bit miles, up another small hill and then quite steep down last half a mile to the finish. I paced it reasonably well but lost a few positions in the 4th mile (gradual downhill) as the steep uphill had taken too much out of me so I had to back off a little. Dug in for the last mile and then did a good sprint finish though.

    Great 10k from you, over 2 mins improvement is huge for that distance! And a really great 20 miler, into a headwind as well! I did a similar thing in a 20 mile race (did middle 10 at MP) and found it was a massive confidence booster for my marathon. It's a great feeling passing people like that too. Hope you are tapering well.

    carter - my mile race is a week on Wednesday. See below for details. Sounds like you are building up again nicely, though a bit worrying about your shins. Have you seen anyone about them? I'm sure the speed will come back easily if you can get some consistent running back in your legs.

    I haven't done too much the last couple of weeks. Partly because I've been fairly busy preparing for the new arrival (less than 6 weeks till due date now!) and also I have picked up an injury/niggle. My left knee and the outside of my left foot have been hurting a little on and off since I did the parkrun a couple of weeks ago. Initially I thought it was just stiffness as I drove 2 hours in the evening after parkrun, but it's not gone away. It's annoyingly random, sometimes will ache for hours and other times will disappear. Normally worst first thing when I get out of bed. My best guess from Googling is that it's an overuse injury and something to do with the peroneal tendon, advice seems to basically be don't do much/any speed work and it should settle down. So the last 2 weeks I've only done about 20 miles in total across 3 runs, all easy. It generally doesn't hurt while running but then is worse the next day after I run. So other than this mile race coming up I will just take it fairly easy and try to keep ticking over, aiming for 10-15 easy miles per week across a couple of runs. My wife only has 2 weeks left of work after which I'll be cycling to the train station every day which will hopefully keep me in some sort of fitness even if I'm not running much.
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    AliBali123AliBali123 ✭✭✭
    DA- if your current HM PB is 1:38, knocking 3 minutes off is a good goal as you are a lot fitter.  Good luck.  Or if you decide to go for the Full... good luck!

    Carter- good to see you!  Tapering now indeed.  Yes please to a PB for me.  Below 3:59 would be great.  Even more below would be even greater. :smiley:   Really glad you're running again.  What's the potential race in October?  For those who don't know Carter he's our fastest marathoner and a bit of a hero. :)

    Nick- 5 miler sounds a tough wee course!  You must be getting really excited for the arrival of the wee one now.  Careful on that injury.  Sounds like you're being wise taking it a wee bit easier.  You're right- cycling is better than nothing and will keep you fit.

    Did my last double digit run yesterday at 12 miles.  12 hilly miles through Glasgow and it didn't feel easy but didn't feel too tough either.  Certainly didn't feel that dreaded 'everything is heavy' feeling that sometimes comes with the taper.  Last week I did a good few gym sessions but this week I'll ease off on those.

    This week I plan to do speed sesh at club tomorrow, another shortish mid week run, a parkrun on Saturday, and 8 miles on Sunday.  Any recommendations for how fast the parkrun should be?  Do I get in a last fast run (slower than usual 5k race pace but still fast)?  Or do I use it as a steady effort?  Or do I just go round it slowly?  


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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Ali, I'd do the parkrun as fast as you feel like on the day. If you feel good then go for a fast one, if you don't then do it at MP or something? I know some people do a fair bit of fast stuff in the taper, personally I didn't do anything faster than MP (as that's what my plan said).
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    Ali  know how you mean about getting complacent over your marathon, so much comes down to the day too, when i ran it 2014 i had pretty decent weather and somehow managed to dodge all the heavy downpours scattered over Edinburgh an East Lothian.  Its a cracking course to pb on, I remember the crowd in the final mile, bloody amazing stuff.  I did a fast 5k 2 weeks out, wish i didn;t bother took me a few days to recovery but then i haven't done much speed work for a while unlike your good self.  Nothing wrong with a feel good tempo run to get the good vibes going.

    DA be careful not to overdo the marathon distance... each one takes it toll on us all in many ways.  Would love to get back to Australia and have a crack at a marathon but no plans for that, think if I ever do a destination race it will be Comrades in South Africa.

    Carter saw you had been increasing the running on Strava, well done and hopefully you're on the road back.  MK was agonisingly close to my PB of 3.44 dead jut 66 seconds. On another day I wouldn't cramp at 24 but these things happen I was delighted as I felt it was going to be a 3.50 at best or even worse a blow up and a painful finish.

    Nick 7 slices of cake is okay as long as you went out for a long run haha.  I've tried those jelly shot block things didnt like them.  Mrs R uses zero tabs which i may look into again.

    Running has been ticking over nicely and 2 weeks almost on the weight loss with a couple of cheat days in the mix with my birthday last week and half a stone off.  2 weeks is quite a while for my normal attempts so hope to stick with it.  I am constantly thinking how much easier it will be to drag my arse around on ACC in Oct, Manchester marathon (most probable) in April and NWD 50 miler in May.  With those 3 events I see the next 12 months the biggest yet.

    Won another competition on twitter won a pair of Aftershoz bone conducter earphones! I don't use them but Mrs R will so she had a result. 

       


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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Rob you are very good at winning free stuff will have to share your secret!

    10 miles last night with the club at just under 8 min miling average. Relatively easy effort but if I'm honest a bit faster than proper easy pace and probably into "junk miles" territory. Knee and foot a bit better than last week and not too bad today - feels like they are improving which is good.
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    haha just like, comment and share/ retweet a few competitions on facebook or twitter.  Won a free nike shirt yesterday too.
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    DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    Brilliant week of running for me

    Had a tough speed session of 8 x 1km on Tuesday where my pace just dropped off far too soon. That got me starting to worry that perhaps I wasnt as recovered from London as I thought.
    Wednesday afternoon though I stepped out for a 10km gentle trot. It all felt nice and easy and I ended up with my middle 8km at a good marathon race pace without even trying.
    Thursday evening I went out again and had agreed to schedule my run to finish as a friends gym session did - was a great plan, but my chosen route ended up being through some very dark wooded areas and I got lost and added an extra km meaning I had to keep the speed up a bit. I made it just as the gym session finished and got my lift home - but the run was brilliant, so much fun and it ended up being 11km averaging BQ pace!
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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    8x1km - wow that's a tough session if you are going for it. What sort of pace/recovery were you aiming for on them?
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    DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    NickW2 - Initially coach suggested running them off 5 minutes, i.e 4:30ish for the km then 30 seconds rest. But after 2 of those it was clear that was unsustainable so we moved to 5:15 (tried to keep rep pace to 4:30). 

    I fell off the pace and ended up with one 5:30km followed by 45s recovery before I got back in the swing and followed with another 4:30km to finish.
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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Ok that's interesting. Certainly not much recovery! That's somewhere around half marathon race pace for you isn't it?

    I think my most beneficial sessions in my last marathon training block were doing 8 miles continuous at around HM pace (built up from 5 miles). They were hard!
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    AliBali123AliBali123 ✭✭✭
    Rob- you hit the nail on the head when you said so much comes down to the day.  That's what scares me about marathons.  I know I've trained really well for this.  I know I'm fit.  But there's an unpredictability that exists.  Well done on your weight loss.  You are doing well!

    DA- I like speed sessions like that.  Although 1km reps are at the upper end of what I enjoy.  I dread my club nights when we do mile reps or two-mile reps.  Painful!!!

    Nick- back to good training from you and lots on the horizon, new family member most importantly!!!  Great stuff.

    This week I did a club speed sesh on Tuesday.  7 x 800m plus the warm up and cool down.  Other week days did sod all.  Saturday I paced a slower clubmate round parkrun in just under 28 minutes then did another 5 miles on my own very slow.  And today 8 miles too.  Weekly total just over 23 miles- and that's the final taper week done!  So now it's just a couple of little runs myself and then the marathon a week today.

    I was out watching Stirling marathon today with a friend and we were cheering on loads of our clubmates.  I found it really inspirational and it put me in a good frame of mind for next week.  I am hopeful and nervous all at the same time.
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    Ali you have done everything you can for next week! Believe in your training, you know the course and distance well enough now.  Very sensible taper, all about getting to the start line feeling fresh. Whats your race number?

    Nick those hmp running sessions sound horrible, probably means they are beneficial. Nothing wrong with 'junk' miles when just ticking over. Always make up and excuse and call the run something to make yourself feel good about it.

    DA sounds like you're going well after London, part of me is happy I don't have a fast marathon this year as the training is intense but missing my pb by a minute recently wants me to have a crack.

    Pretty decent week of training for me, 2x s&c gym sessions (this never happens and done it for 2 weeks now), 5 runs with a good mix of speeds and terrain and 45 miles.  Legs feeling a tad tired today so back in the gym and probably look at an easy run tomorrow.

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    DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    Had a lovely 32km (20 mile) run last weekend with a couple of friends who are stepping up to their first marathon and covered off 37km (I started 30 minutes after them and met them at a pre-arranged spot). It was great to tack along nice and slowly and ease myself back into distance after the break. It was all beautifully comfortable and great conversation as firstly in the dark of the morning the huge fruit bats flapped overhead and then the sun rose over the majestic Brisbane river reflecting off the water and the glass of the city high rise buildings. We weren't going any quicker than 5:50/km (9:20/mile?) and the girls were discussing what times they might be hoping for. They are both very pessimistic and were talking about 4:15+ times. I told them for the level of comfort they were displaying that <4hr finish on race day was definitely there for the taking if they want to have a crack. Time will tell - but I predict great things from those 2!

    This morning we had a speed session: 800m reps. It wasnt exactly a "Yasso 800" set (google it if you need to) - I only got 9 done and the recovery was 100m walk for about 90 seconds rather than about 3 minutes light jogging, but if we say those details are minor enough not to count then the idea of breaking 3:30 is definitely given legs. Rep times were as follows:

    #1 - 3:31
    #2 - 3:17 (oops a little carried away there!)
    #3 - 3:17
    #4 - 3:36 (paying for the early enthusiasm)
    #5 - 3:29
    #6 - 3:28
    #7 - 3:27
    #8 - 3:28
    #9 - 3:27 

    Really pleased that I started to get into some consistency after the somewhat overkeen early reps!
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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Ali - you have done some great training, try not to go too taper-mad this week lol, good luck for Sunday I am sure you will enjoy it and have a great race. Is there any way we can track you?

    Rob - good week from you, well done keeping up the s&c and dieting. Careful not to overdo the running as it's not too long since your marathon.

    DA - nice running. Lots of 800s is a hard session, and like you said nice and consistent for the last few.

    I did 5k easy yesterday evening, knee hurt a bit at the start but settled down, I threw in a couple of strides to see how it responded to pace and it wasn't too bad, is certainly improving. I have been trying to do more stretches on days when I don't run which seems to be helping as well. Mile race tomorrow evening, think it will hurt and possibly set back my knee a bit, on the other hand I really want to do it and don't have another race I'm targeting for at least a couple of months so that wouldn't be the end of the world.
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    AliBali123AliBali123 ✭✭✭
    Hi guys

    Rob- my race number is 5059.  There doesn't seem to be tracking.  But you can look me up after the event.  Hopefully all will go to plan.  Thanks for all your support.  You've done a lot the last couple of weeks.  Impressive.

    DA- wow, back to long running for you!  Well done.  Sounds fab.  The girls you ran with sound set to do well at their marathons.  I like 800s but I do find the whole yasso theory to be wildly over optimistic.

    Nick- doesn't seem to be a tracker :(  Number is 5059 and I hope if the race starts at 10am to be done by shortly after 1pm accounting for taking a while to get over the start... so feel free to check results later.  Hope you've enjoyed your mile race.  Would love an update.  Curious as to how it feels to race a mile.  Let us know!

    Last night I did a 5k run easy, and a spin class, also taking it quite easy.  No more gym/cross training now.  Today just rested.  Will fit in one or two more short runs before Sunday.  

    Feeling excited and nervous in equal measure.  So nervous because I REALLY want to do well this time.  I desperately want to get under 3:59 and I would LOVE to get even faster than that but I just feel always an element of uncertainty.  I am trying to be really positive and look back at all my training.  

    I've done 5 x 20 milers.  That's more than ever before I think.  I've done most of these with some real quality parts.  e.g. 10 miles at MP (8:30-8:45 min/mile).  Or sections at faster pace interspersed throughout the run.

    I've also had some great shorter distance races.  No PBs- but that's OK- however, I have come fairly close to my PB times for 5k and 10k during training, and it's not always easy with heavy tired legs from marathon training.

    I CAN do it.  Waaaah.
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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Ali - presume you mean 2pm unless you're planning a 3 hr marathon ;) good luck, I am confident you will have a good race. Your long runs with faster bits in, in particular, have looked really good.

    My mile race went amazingly well tonight, much better than I expected. As I mentioned my knee has been playing up the last few weeks but wasn't too bad on Monday, and this morning was the first one in ages when I didn't feel it getting out of bed. So that was a good sign.

    Arrived about 30 mins before to register, did about a 10 min jog warm up and a couple of strides and loosening up things. We were chatting about target times and I was telling people 5:35, secretly hoping to dip under 5:30 if my knee behaved. Although it had been much better today I was still a little apprehensive about it. The route was the first mile of our local Parkrun, which is basically about half a mile straight and very slightly downhill, then a sharp turn and back slightly uphill along a parallel path. Obviously it's not closed off to the public so we went off in heats of about 5 or 6 every 30s, with faster ones first. I was in the 2nd heat and expected to be one of the faster ones, though there was 1 other guy I thought would prob beat me and another I thought might do.

    We started off and the fastest guy went to the front, I sat in behind him intending to sit there if it felt ok. At about 300m we passed the first marshal and the pace felt really hard but I decided to try and hang on. Someone else was level with the leader on the other side of the path too which surprised me as I though I'd be about 10s ahead of him over a mile. We got to the turn point and they had opened up a small gap on me, maybe 5-10m, but I had started feeling a bit better. Psychologically being over half way gave me a bit of a boost and I told myself it's not that hard only 800m to go. Just after the turn is the steepest uphill bit (not steep at all but feels it when you're on the limit) and the surprise leading guy started coming back to me. I passed him with prob about 400m to go, could see the leader not that far ahead and was trying to decide if I was too far out to kick for home and try to chase him down. Then the guy I thought I'd be close to came past which surprised me as I hadn't seen him all race so I kicked and managed to drop him. Still prob 200-300m out here. I was gaining on the leader and pushed really hard but didn't quite catch him, crossing the line 1s behind in 5:11!

    So I was about 15 secs faster than what I thought on the start line was best case, over the moon with that! My 2nd mile race and a 38s PB from a track race in September. Need to figure out how to convert that to other distances now lol. I think it really helped having people to chase too.
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    Ali stick to your race plan early doors and you'll be flying!!!! Stay hydrated looks like it will be warm and cloudy for you.  Don't worry about lack of PB's I didn't get close in my half or 5k and was near enough my pb the other day.

    Nick that's an amazing mile.  I did enter Sundays Westminster mile event in the runners world 1st ever mile by mistake, don't think i'll bother.  Always worth keeping your eye out on the Westminster mile (may bank holiday) and City of London mile (usually june but cancelled this year).  I'm sure you'll see your other times improve.

    Monday rest day, Tuesday intervals 5x1k on treadmill, Wednesday 6.5 miles stead thurs 5 miles with middle 3 at hmp (7.30 pace)

    Have a new watch Suunto Ambit Sport 3, battery life will be long enough for my bigger races planned, also an element of navigation is on the watch too.  Will prob give it a run out over the weekend.

    Tomorrow 12 miles flat slow along river to parkrun then poodle round at whatever pace I can manage.

    sunday 14-16 miles slow off road


    Happy weekend peeps.




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    Hope everyone had a good weekend!

    Running went pretty much as planned, woke up early ran down to parkrun (12 miles) went round in 23.43ish which was a course record for me, think I'd go a minute or so faster without the 12 miles before hand, had a spot of breakfast then a mile run to the train station, followed by some gardening and watched the football, beers and a bonfire left me feeling tired, achey and hungover on Sunday managed 12 miles but very slow off road.

    Yesterday 16x 200m intervals on treadmill with 200m recovery (14kpm on treadmill) and 8 miles steady today.

    Ali congratulations on another marathon, looked you were on target at 30k? Hope you're not too disappointed its such a hard distance and we can't just suck it up and race again next week!

    Struggling with weight loss but not gaining so can't complain! Feel I am doing some good training too so hopefully improving strength work which will help with my off road stuff this year. 

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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Ali - well done for finishing, a shame you didn't reach your target. Like Rob said, hope you're not too down.

    Rob - big miles from you, looks like you are running well just be careful not to overdo it.

    On Saturday I ran the 4 miles to parkrun, but wasn't feeling great so did it as a tempo effort. Saw a mate from squash at the start who was doing his 1st one and started further back than usual so I wasn't tempted to push for a PB. Mentally found it really hard to keep the effort high when not going for a specific time and pace dropped off a little in the 2nd half. Still came out at 21:30 though and was able to ease the pace up for the finish so clearly had something left in the tank. It certainly felt like hard work considering over 2 mins off my recent PB but that probably just underlines that a PB wasn't possible even if I had gone for it. It was pretty hot too. Stood around chatting for about 10 mins then ran the 4 miles home. Tried to keep it at easy effort, was 10 min mile pace but to be honest felt at the upper end of easy range, would have been hard work going any quicker.

    8ish mile club run tonight, can't decide whether to do easy pace or go with the fast group and do a tempo run. Depends who is there and how I feel (plus how warm/humid it is). Knee/foot niggles have been behaving, only felt the odd twinge once or twice since running on Saturday so think they are healed. If I feel them hurting in the warm up then I will do an easy run today though.
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    NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭
    Did the club run as a harder effort on Wednesday, was around 7.5 miles at 7:30 average though first 3 were under 7:15 pace then backed off a bit as well as going off road at that point. Squash thursday, calves felt a bit tight but didn't get any worse and felt generally fairly "squash fit" - I have been struggling a bit the last few games as I've not played much so my movement has been rubbish, more to do with anticipation than fitness I think.

    Saturday I did my parkrun with jog there and back, fancied going for a PB as possibly my last chance for a while but about 500m in my legs felt really heavy and I knew it wasn't happening. Was on PB pace after 1km and still thereabouts at 2km but knew I couldn't keep it up. Backed off a little and tried to hold on for a sub 20 time but didn't quite make it, 20:16 in the end so over a minute off PB pace. Not really sure why legs were so heavy, I guess either from the combination of hard Wednesday run and Thursday squash or that I've done a lot more cycling this week than usual. My wife is now off work so I cycle to the train station and back every day which is just under 4 miles each way. Wouldn't think that would have much effect on running as it's not exactly big cycling miles but never know I suppose - it is more than I usually do.

    Hope everyone is well.
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    AliBali123AliBali123 ✭✭✭
    Hey guys

    Bad time at the marathon for me.  To save me writing a really long race report when I've already kind of done one, I'm going to copy and paste my Facebook update from after the race so you can get a gist of it (Carter already seen this!!!):

    'So eh almost a personal worst at the marathon today.

    Paced it exactly as planned 5k, 10k, HM. Though I did say to my angel Kara when I saw her at mile 10 giving me Lucozade and providing me with the most wonderful of encouragement that I was 'Fine, but hot.' And so the theme of the day continued. Btw amazing to have Kara on the course twice with Lucozade as I literally would undoubtedly be dead without it.

    Just after half way I started to feel the heat was too much and there just wasn't anywhere to hide/shade.

    By mile 17 I can't describe how I felt. Wooly, fuzzy, like head and body weren't quite connected. Was suffering badly. Started to feel like I wasn't really sweating any more despite feeling so hot, obviously my body was like out of salt or just couldn't be bothered making any more or whatever. Who cares. Was pouring bottles upon bottles of water over my head including half empty discarded ones from the roadside- nice!

    Walked all of mile 19-20. Thought I was walking soooo slowly but on Garmin analysis actually relatively proud of a 14 minute split for a walked mile- that's marching! Saw Kara again and this time gave a typically British understated update on the fact that I 'wasn't feeling very well'.

    Knew that I was spent, just spent, but had over 10k left to go so adopted a methodical run/walk strategy ('run' is a very subjective term right?) just to keep my head moving forwards and be pragmatic about finishing. Could only run short stretches as was getting horrendous calf cramps I think from all that salt I didn't have (genuinely never had that before, always thought it was an excuse runners made up so they could stop for a stretch at the side of the road).

    Had stopped looking at my watch MILES ago so in my mind was anywhere between a 4:15 and 6:00 finish. Had nae idea.

    Knew I wanted to run the last mile however shite it felt, so did. Finished in 4:22 to the roars of my mum and dad. Love how my family and friends make me feel like a rockstar instead of a mediocre runner.

    Previously I might have been pissed off or absolutely gutted to have had such a great training build up then a shit race. But you know what? It's only a f**king race. People are dealing with their lives being torn apart by all the stuff we've seen on the news and I am so lucky I can run marathons for 'pleasure'. Also I have a great sun tan.'


    So that is that!!!!!  :D  I can't say much more about it!!!!


    Nick- hugely impressed with your mile time!  Really awesome.  Turns out you're quite a speedy runner. ;)  When is the baby due?  Your wife on mat leave now?

    Rob- enjoy the new watch- I think my friend has one of those- is it the one with a wee 'map' kind of thing on the screen so you can get an idea where you're going?  You've sure got stuck back into the longer runs- ultra coming up?


    This weekend I got back into a wee bit of running as my club had an away weekend doing runs on the West Highland Way.  I did some verrrrry slow running with a couple of clubmates and it felt totally fine.  Just so so so relaxed.  Ran 13 miles in total over the weekend all at 10-11 minute miles and so I think after a week of pretty much rest/very easy, this week I'll step it up ever so slightly.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still resting really, but I might run more than twice.

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    Ali, great response, we do this for fun, yes it is disappointing when we don't meet our A targets. One of my mates went to SA for comrades DNF at 33km 

    Nick being disappointed with a 20.16 parkrun goes to show how far you have come over the last couple of years!  have either gone backwards or standstill over shorter distances but not to bother bout them at the moment.

    6 weeks away from my next race, 50k last year 5.35 and we get to run the course in reverse, would like to run 5.15ish.  last 4 weeks I have averaged 42 miles a week and been doing s&c.  Hope to keep things ticking over next month or so.  All good prep for ACC.

    17 miles on Friday off road, a wrong turning, then got lost was only planning 14 miles took took a fall, nothing serious. 14 miles on Saturday and legs were tired.  Rest day sunday and s&c at the gym today and ready to go again tomorrow.


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    DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    Ali - sounds like a tough day at the office, but still 4:22 is pretty good given your description of how you felt at mile 17! It pays to not underestimate the effect heat and humidity can have on your body. I may deal with it week after week here in the Brisbane summertime, but you guys in UK get far less time to adjust and acclimatize to it. 

    Worth remembering for all of you - if its a HOT day, just ease back a bit on the pace goals and make sure you pay attention to hydration and fuel even more than usual. It takes a massive toll on your body. In our summertime a weekend long run done at gentle pace will often see me drop 3kg in weight, even with me guzzling water from a tap every 2 or 3km along the way! Take care out there!!!!!

    My week has been awesome, had a great tempo run last wednesday smashing my marathon pace for over 10km of a 20km run, put in another 37km(23 mile) run at the weekend and felt super-comfortable and thrown in a few other gentle recovery jogs too. This morning was a speed session with 3km/2k/1km/500km reps off a 500m jog recovery. It was the coldest morning we've had yet this year (12C) and I really struggled to warm up at all and felt tired all the way through, but dug in deep and got it all done at a suitable quick and consistent pace.

    Time for a couple of light days now before this weekends warm up marathon pacing 4hr15m - which I'm really looking forward to now.
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