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Pammie - Good training! Do you find that the Garmin motivates you all the time, because its pipping at you when you run? I'd probably want to throw it at something...which is possibly the reason I don't have one
Sorry I've not been around or keeping up with the thread. I hope you're all staying injury-free and your running is going well.
Due to other stuff, I'm just concentrating on running for fun at the mo so I probably won't be around so much on this thread.
But I'll pop in every so often to see how you are all doing!!
Lots of Love
Sam x
Off to buy new running shoes today :0)
Oooo.... I have news! I raced last night! First of the transendence series in Cardiff - 2 miles. (sorry - this will be a long one...)
Odd distance, didn't have a clue how to approach it, but did manage to get boyfriend involved (and even signed him up to the 3 and 4 mile races too!).
Only about 40 people doing it, mostly club runners. I was trying to imagine what it would be like if I was wearing a club vest. I actually find it rather intimidating surrounded by people who run all the time. I was pleased to see one Islwyn runner there - that is the club I would join. Turns out he only went and won in 10:xx!!!! Very intimdated by the standards being set at Islwyn now....!
Just before the start we are told that top 7 finishers in all categories get medals. Since (having looked at last years results) I was hoping for top 5 over the whole series, I am thinking "hmm... 7 is a lot. And I was top 10 at Pensford...." But I couldn't really assess how many women there were and since most were in club strip I assumed they were all very good.
On your marks, set, go! I found myself starting at a fair pace and was saying to myself, "it isn't that far, you can keep this up" I felt a bit bad as I was probably going too fast for boyfriend to keep up. He was with me for the first 300yards or so but started dropping back. I told him not to kill himself, and he would be fine and then went off ahead.
Overtook maybe 10 people on the first straight and could just see the leading pack of 20 or so ahead. Couldn't see how many ladies were in the pack as they were probably 300-400m in front and when we started turning corners I hadn't a clue where anyone was.
The limited numbers of runners meant I was on my own for a fair bit which isn't inspiring. All I had was my HRM to tell me to keep working so that is what I did. Legs felt they were slowing a little but a quick glance at the garmin suggested I was doing 13.9kph. Decided not to look at the time and thought of Laura!! It beeped at 1 mile but it had lost signal. I know my first mile was a bit faster than 8:35!!
There was no way I was going to catch the person in front, but I turned onto the final stretch and could see people gathered at the finish line and it didn't look all that far away. I decided to have a glance at my watch to see if there was any motivation coming from the time side of things. 13:15 - Can I beat 14 minutes?!?!?!
No. The finish was still a very long way away. So I pretended my mum was cheering for me on the sidelines, trying to re-capture excitement from previous races (still no one near me - in front or behind - horrid!) and as I crossed I heard the timekeeper say 14:25. Absolutely shattered and I needed to jog on a little.
I went back to see if I could see Gareth and he was walking! I started cheering for him and clapping him on and sure enough he popped a sprint finish off. 15:30. He hasn't run for a year, never raced before, doesn't know how to pace or anything, and to get sub 8min/miles I think is amazing!!!
So we hung around as it seemed to be the thing to do and they started giving out the awards. First lady was in at 12 minutes something. Second, third... 13 minutes.... 14:25 looked more and more like a good time.
"5th, in 14:25, Jennifer Shepherd"
I GOT A MEDAL! WITH "2 MILES, 5TH LADY" ON IT!!!
So rather bashfully, in shock but with an excited spring in my step, I got my medal!!!!
Perhaps top 5 overall in the series is a possibility then.....!
No long run this morning, as I wanted to sleep. Maybe later this afternoon or tomorrow.
Hee hee!!! I got a medal!!
I never got to comment on some racing from last weekend and seem to remember that Dave had a pretty zippy 5K
Jen, well done on that 5th place
Fenscot, I did the FLM in Mizuno Wave Precision V's and I can't fault them at all. I got two pair at Xmas and have run one pair into the deck but I am so reluctant to throw them out. I keep the other pair for racing.
FA Cup time
Well done, that's fantastic
Races reports please boys......
Managed 13.5 miles this afternoon and hated every second. I think I must just be a morning runner. Perhaps also I was very tired and legs were aching a lot. Probably should have let my legs recover from yesterday a bit more.
Still I did it, thats the main thing.
((((((Sam))))))
Really struggled today, but somehow managed 13¼ miles in around 2hrs 20. So am treating it as time on feet, but guess come my half i'll not be doing 2 speed sessions on the tuesday and friday prior to the race. Legs felt tired so treated them to a cold bath on my return.
Very good time for training though. I think I managed to get my 13.5 over in 2 1/2 hours. The last two miles are on a consistent slope up though which is the only problem with that particular route - beautiful, but troublesome on the return!
Is this perhaps an indication that aerobic fitness is doing its thing, or would it be linked to fatigue from the race on Friday? (I assumed not the latter as I would have expecte HR to be through the roof as a result of being tired..?)
And if I don't feel able to keep up the pace for a long run, is it acceptable to stay slow and risk having an even lower HR for the long run? What I think I mean, is it possible to go too slow for the long slow run??
Fenscot - I hate buying trainers. I want to try new makes, I want to take advantage of online offers, but at the end of the day, I need someone to re-assure me that I am making the right choice and invariably I will feel far more comfortable in the same make.
(PS - above post "very good time" refers to Pammies time for 13+miles!!! Re-reading it looks a bit odd!)
Bear in mind as you read this that my plan on the morning of the race had been to start off at 8 mins per mile and see what happened in the second half.
The weather was forecast for sunny spells and showers, but no too warm. In the end we didn't end up getting a shower, which was nice but it did warm up as the race went on. The start was at 11 and the course followed former railway lines in the peak district which had been converted into long distance paths. The surface was not tarmac but compacted earth with some loose gravel on top so it was slightly harder to run on, but kinder on the feet!
Mile
1 - 7"21 - The hooter went and I tried to stay calm and not set of too fast. Only 40 seconds quicker than I wanted - that's ok 8oS
2 - 7"28 - Still too fast but it feels comfy, so hey! I was in about 20th at this point.
3 - 6"59 - Oops!
4 - 7"20 - Still still too fast. This mile and the next were slightly uphill as the path went through a cutting.
5 - 7"17 -
6 - 7"17 - Consistent at least
7 - 6"55 - I was on the shoulder of a guy who had his club-mate about 50 yards ahead of us so we decided to try and catch him.
8 - 6"48 - Still catching...
9 - 7"05 - I caught the bloke in front, but the other guy had dropped off. There was quite a large gap now in front of me but as my legs were still feeling fresh I thought that I'd push on and see what happened.
10 - 6"56 -
11 - 6"36 - I overtook a couple more people here and was feeling great. At the end of the mile we had to double back on ourselves and change to the other path. I turned round too fast and slipped on the gravel. I went down on hands-and-knees and felt quite stupid! It was about at this time that I realised that I had an outside chance of getting near to three hours if I ran hard. However, the gap to the next person was at least quarter of a mile, which was rather daunting. I thought that I'd keep pushing on and again, see what happened!
12 - 7"03 -
13 - 6"52 - Halfway in 1'32"34 so I was estimating that with a reasonable second half I'd finish in about 3'05.
14 - 6"45 - Someone told me I was in 13th.
15 - 6"51 - I ate my first energy gel at this point so I was working a bit harder than that time suggests. The sugar did me good though...
16 - 6"39 -
17 - 6"23 - wtf?!!
18 - 6"34 -
19 - 6"29 - If I do too many more miles like this the sub-3 is a possibility...
20 - 6"55 -
21 - 6"43 - Slowing a bit again, but I ate another gel and decided that I'd give it everything.
22 - 6"23 -
23 - )
24 - > 19"37. I missed the mile markers, but the pace was ok!
25 - )
26 - 6"06 - ow ow ow ow ow ouch ouch ow ow!
26.2 - 1"14
Total (wait for it) - 2'58"49!!!!!! And I overtook enough people to finish 7th!
Wahooo!!!
So that's good enough to get me a good for age entry to london next year if I want it!
Needless to say, I'm incredibly chuffed with that result. My hamstrings are quite stiff today but I think that it's worth it. The feeling of catching up and overtaking so many people in the last ten miles is what kept me going, I think. If I had to make a recommendation to anyone about marathon running it would definitely be to start steadily and 'see what happens...'!
I've not had time to read the other 30-odd posts from this weekend as I have a presentation to prepare for tomorrow, but if there were people racing then well done on your results.
Dave
8oD
Sub 7min miles when going for 26.2 miles is awe-inspiring. I couldn't even do that for two miles on Friday! You really are very fast indeed.
Makes me wonder if my self imposed target of a sub 3-hour marathon in 3 years time is possible though. It looks far too difficult to me!
Congrats Dave! You deserved that fantastic result!
I admit i would love a sub 3hour marathon one day. But reckon it might be a tad ambitious. Be proud you've done great.
Following Jen*'s advice, I set much simpler ambitions today - to run slow and long with out stopping for walks, which I've been doing to much of recently. Used HRM and kept within 150-159 as much as possible - still faster HR than possibly it should have been, but felt I would have been walking if any slower. Managed to do an 8 mile route without stopping in 1:13:47, but admit to letting loose on the speed in the last mile in about 7:50, which I was pleased with after that distance. New shoes felt good, and knees not so bad tonight.
When I first got my HRM I wasn't sure how much I would use it, or indeed what the heck I would do with it! But i have become pretty reliant on it to tell me how hard I am working and I have learnt to appreciate when I don't need to put the pressure on. Stick with the slower running and it will pay dividends, I am sure.
Dave - what can I say, except I can only dream of a marathon result like that but dream I will.
Well, a bit of running at the weekend for me - my usual 10 miles into work on Friday - didn't enjoy it much as I had a really early morning (4.45)with kids and was exhausted before I started it. Saturday was a day off and then 6-7 steady miles with a few inclines thrown in yesterday morning in the glorious sunshine.
happy running everyone - have a great holiday Ceal
Jen, good one for 2 miles! Funny distance?!?
Pammie, a lot of people don't like time trials - well, the way I see it, they might race every week or so, I don't! I do a time trial instead, what's the difference? What I like is the consistency (treadmill, exactly the same conditions every time) and a 'pb' gives you a nice boost.
Talking of time trials ;o) I did one on Friday, last 11k before Broad Oak (got numbers through this morning!) and was 18 secs faster than previously, averaged 13.97kph... yet to hit that magical, elusive 14kph for 11k though!!! However I can only hold 13.8kph (just), it's the last bit that ups the average!
Did 2 laps easy/steady (with uphill
sprints though:o) round the park yesterday and was absolutely stunned when hubby said it was in a similar time as before on a much harder effort! But it did feel a lot easier after those horrendous hills on club nights.
Race report is forthcoming from the weekend. Got nasty job interview tomorrow so I will do it after that. However did manage to find time to seriously consider entering another race which sounds like a great deal of fun
Hopefully this link will work:
Racin the Basin
Had a few 5ks now but my season's opener 10k should be next Monday at Hatfield Broadoak, recent 5ks suggest sub 35 is a possibility which would be a big step up from my previous 36:28 on probably a slightly short course
hope it's all going well for people!
Bryn, have you done Broad Oak before?