Comrades 2017

Southern Snail

Debra - I'm sure it's just your nutrition or you coming down with something. Good luck on the next run.

An 8 mile run for me today in the heat and humidity. It's truly exhausting. Think it's more the humidity than the heat so hopefully won't be as bad in Africa. Another 7 miles walking. It's hard work being on holiday 

seren nos

was good to see you Marty..
 My decision to try a little cycling didnt pay off as my hip is back to being very painful again.it was less sore after resting for a fortnight....almost going back to the crutches.......I have an appointment next week at the orthopaedic clinic so hopefully might get some answers..........
hope its a one off Debra 
glad to see everyone else running well.
just over 12 weeks now

Christoph Kent

Mr Zuvai - I have a CTS sussex ultra entry (34.1 miles) which is going spare if you would like to transfer? (Have contacted organisers and they said this is OK).

lowrez

Sorry to hear the hip has flared seren, fingers crossed it fixes quickly.

Blimey, only 12 to go? That's scary... I haven't managed to get out at all since Sunday, probably won't run until Sunday again now.

Good heat training Southern - that is dedication to the cause doing those runs whilst on hols!

I too reckon you blipped Debra - takes a lot out of us - well, those that do actually get out and run (tries adding blush smiley but it won't work)

lowrez

Aha! Manchester have extended my special offer on entry; it now expires after Wrexham so I have a plan B - not that I would want to have to put it into action though!

Currently, if the weather is good I will be running dressed like this at Wrexham:-

Bike It

Will you add an umbrella if the weather is bad Lowrez?

I'm up to a 6.5km run now, but still a little pain so I'll be staying at that level for a while yet.  I am hoping to be fully recovered by end March and then run/walk a slow qualifier in April.  

At least I am promoted to level 3.

Debra Bourne

Christoph Kent said:

Mr Zuvai - I have a CTS sussex ultra entry (34.1 miles) which is going spare if you would like to transfer? (Have contacted organisers and they said this is OK).

Christoph Kent: I'd be interested in that if it's still available!... Oh, it's on the Saturday isn't it. I've made plans for the Saturday. Oh well, It's the SVN Charity Challenge (6 hours) for me the following week instead.

Debra Bourne

So, I'm intending to run the SVN 6-hour challenge on Sunday 26th March, then I have Boston (Lincs) on 17th April to run easy, since I've qualified. Bill Rowan* training programme suggests a 50-55K on 30th April. Would a 6-hour challenge the following Sunday (7th May) be too late? That still gives me 4 weeks to taper.

*Training paces are a bit faster than I'm running but otherwise I'm sort-of following this!

Running Rodent

Hi Debra. I think you'd be fine, I'm sure I've done a 35 miler 4 weeks out.

Sorry to hear about the hip Seren, that sucks. Fingers crossed it clears up soon.

I'm in Lisbon for sone warm weather training this weekend. Custard tarts and sardines are rocket fuel, yes?

Debra Bourne

Hi RR. Thanks for that - think I will do it! I've entered the one on 26th March. Enjoy Lisbon.

Seren, I really hope that hip gets better soon.

Bike it, good luck to you as well.

lowrez, good luck at Wrexham.

lowrez

I think you would be OK too Debra - nice n slow training pace mind you!

Good to see the ks creeping up Bike It!

Becca7

Good luck at Wrexham lowrez.  

seren nos

Hope wrexham goes well

Southern Snail

Lowrez - good luck with Wrexham today.

seren - hope you get some answers from the doctors. Doesn't sound too good still having to use crutches.

RR - hope you're enjoying your warm weather training and custard tarts.

havent been able to face more running in this humidity. Bit of offbiking yesterday which was fun. Back to England tonight 

lowrez

Disastrous day; chip fell off; but I was over 5 hours anyway. Will have to try again at Manchester, don't want to leave it to 2O.

Debra Bourne

lowrez, my sympathies. Here's wishing you better luck at Manchester.

lowrez

Thanks Debra, I think I got my comeuppance really, overweight, under trained, and being daft in a suit that was rather hot - good conditioning for the Comrades climate though. It was a bit dicey out there at times too:-

Becca7

Blimey, lowrez, I thought you were joking about the Stormtrooper, or whatever that is.  Better luck at Manchester.

lowrez

Thanks Becca, a friend took that shot, around 8 miles to go I think, chip already missing from my right foot, not seen that type before, size of a credit card with two holes punched in attached by a cable tie. Even though I slogged home in about 5:10 it was still disappointing to see just the open cable tie still in my shoe at the end. Plus it looks like the event photographer left prior to us slowies finishing, no piccies Manchester entered with my discount code for the mismeasuremet a couple of years ago. Must take that really easy with no fancy dress and make sure; 2O is only a fortnight later.

Becca7

I've had those cable tie timing chips before.  Tried to attach the chip to my shoe whilst car park marshalling my club's 10 mile race and inevitably seem to have done a rubbish job as the chip went flying off into the undergrowth never to be seen again.  Sounds like Wrexham was a dull course and it's a shame about the pics.  The costume must have cost you well over 10 minutes, though, so fingers crossed for a safe qualifier at Manchester.  Then you can enjoy the scenery at Two Oceans.

lowrez

With it being held on by a cable tie I never imagined it would simply come undone. Lesson learned; I will thread laces through the holes if I encounter it again. Course was quite industrial estateish for the majority of the route, kept running out of pavement onto verges, which is why I was on the road above; didn't want to risk a twisted ankle on that grassy knoll. In training I have been clipping along OK, only just pitched up to 19 miles though, could do with a few more of those. 

Dannirr

lowrez - sorry about the chip.  Last year as I recall, one of our group (I forget who) left his timing chip off at Comrades.   I assume 2O is Two Oceans?

lowrez

Dannirr - that would be justanothrrnr, not sure of the spelling, or JAR for short, he hadn't got an official ruling last time I spoke to him.

I would have been most cut up had I beaten 5 hours yesterday, but seeing as I clocked 5:10 or more I haven't even knocked on their door to understand if they have a process to get me an official time. Also, despite having heard my watch ping as I crossed the start line, on looking at it a little while later I discovered I had just changed the function, not started the thing - ha ha how many things went wrong yesterday? So I don't have a time I could offer them to register for me anyway.

Yes, 2O, Two Oceans.

MDS must be close now too? How is your prep going?  

Dannirr

MdS prep is , essentially, done.  I've racked up lots of 50-70 mile weeks, one 95 mile week, and a lot of it with a fully loaded pack.  So now some heat training and trying to stay heathy.  Just under 4 weeks to go.

Two Oceans is so nice - you'll love that race.  Just save your legs for the later half.

Southern Snail

Congratulations Lowrez on running in that costume. Doesn't look easy. You'll be great in Manchester without it and I don't think you'll be sharing the roads there with 30 tonne lorries!!

how many runs of marathon distance and 50k runs are people doing? I know there was a discussion about it a while back but can't remember what everyone was doing

Becca7

Snail, for me this year three marathons and one ultra (50k that I might extend to 60k) from 1 January until Comrades, spaced about 3 or 4 weeks apart. 

Dannir - your training for MdS has looked super.  I hope that you are rewarded with a great race experience.

lowrez

SS - I was originally doing just one marathon and one 50k. My original plan was to get up to 20 miles in training and cruise on to a 16mile/20mile rotation weekend long run (I don't tend to do back to backs Sat/Sun so just either a 16 or a 20 on one of those days) Wrexham was simply a move up to 26 instead of 20 then back to the 16/20 week about. Now I have had to put Manchester in I'm doing a little more than my basic plan but it doesn't seem too much of a stress (although my lazy bones would have preferred just a 20!) On previous years I have done a lot more but burnt out earlier on and had to step back. Last year I eased off to around the level above and felt much fuller of beans on the big day.

Good to hear things are going well Dannir - what a heap of work you have put in. Hope all goes well!

Bike It

I've not been doing much running, but I've been playing with maps.

My goal is to make the Comrades route accessible through Google Maps.  This is so that runners can see the full route in detail, zoom in for details, see road names, find the start and end of hills, see the way points, use streetview to see the street scene, etc.

My plan is in its infancy at the moment with something I am ready to share.  You could see it at:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1A7TFZSEf668gux73LVEFqYgXxHs&usp=sharing

You can see the following by ticking on or off the 'tick box' on the left side:
- Comrades 2017 route (blue) - confirmed route
- Comrades 2015 route (yellow) - actual route
- Hills - start and finish of the hills (according to me)
- Timing points (cut-offs)
- Waypoints - significant points of the course

I appreciate any comment or suggestion to aid the development.  My intention is to make it fully available to everyone to search and view in a few weeks.
 

Becca7

This looks great, Bike It.  Very helpful.

I like looking at the route on Streetview but can't see how to do that on this map.  This will help in pinpointing the bits I need to look at, though.

Running Rodent

I'm doing the bronze traing plan from the Comrades site. I've done one marathon length training run so far, and I'll also be doing Paris and a 50-55km run in April (plus Portsmouth in December, but that wasn't really part of the plan). That's slightly fewer long runs than I've done before, but there are more back to back medium length runs.