a thread for all new runners who're doing VLM 2013.

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Comments

  • mine started in june. although that was coming from not having run for 20 years and wanting to make a good show of it.

  • Are you planning on doing a few races inbetween or are you just going for the Biggie.

  • i've done a race a month since july but don't have any booked in now until the silverstone 1/2 in march.

  • I wont be doing many before but would like to get a couple in. We have a 20 miler not long before that I would like to do.

  • I've got a couple more HMs planned in the new year - Portsmouth in Feb and Reading in March - for me I need targets to try to keep focussed on my training and these will serve well as measures of where my training is at.

    @sofaboy, I'm taking my 2 young sons with me skiing, they're 5 and 6 - it could all go horribly wrong thoughimage - just need to avoid injuries.

    I'm still working out which plan to follow for the last 16 weeks. There are many around and I'm likely to go the RW sub 4 plan as this is downloaded to my Garmin. My work tales me away a bit, so I need some flexibility of program. The simpler this can be the better I feel. Maybe a weekly program of 2 x 4-6 milers, 1 x 6-10 miler, and 1 x LSR on a Sunday increasing from 14 - 22(ish)  miles across the 16 weeks (half mile increase per week)...

    I've gotta get used to getting up early again for the Sunday LSRs , that might be a greater challenge than the sub - 4hr  ;O

    I'd hope for a 4 hr, it's an aggressive target and I'll likely need to get my HM time down to sub 1.45 and know I've done lots of LSRs to ensure I have te endurance to make sub 9 min miles for all 26.2 of 'emimage

    @eckytump - what time is the teddy aiming for ??? image 

     

  • Oh and I forgot to add that I'll need some X-training sessions in there each week too, likely rowing or cycling in the gym...

  • that sounds like a good plan. i haven't really had a chance to take a proper look at them yet. i think i'll be on a sub 4 one as well.

    my x training is squash once a week. great fun.

    do i go running in the snow this morning? it will be a bit chillsome but the fields will be looking super pretty. hmmm....

  • Rattler, I reckon Teddy could do a sub 4 with the right training image  Oh and he's called Trev image

    I will make sure I get some speed sessions in at the track just to boost my enurance. I am not the fastest of runners but know that I will need to be fitter than usual to get round with Trev. He's only 7lb in weight but he is an awkward shape.

    Sofaboy, Im so jealous as we dont have snow yet. My kids are not impressed image

  • i think a gentle 15km finishing in time for a nice hot cuppa and a couple of digestives for dunking at 11 o'clock.

  • Sounds good Sofaboy, spesh the cuppa and biccies.

  • i think i'm going to need them. i was out last night and it was absolutely brass monkeys. i was quite surprised to see the snow this morning though as it was a beautifully starry night.

    i think i might have to stop off in the village on the way back and pick myself up a pie from the bakers for lunch. hmmm, pie and beans.....

  • chilly now. although i did buy a nice belgian bun for afters to go with my pie.

    looking forward to a nice hot carby lunch soon.

  • Mmmmmm, That sounds lovely Sofaboy. I love pies but they dont love me image

  • Hi people.

    New to this forum and new to running. I hope you don't mind but I brought raspberry cheesecake to go with the tea!

    So, I've signed up for the VLM2013 with St John's Ambulance. Got rejected via the public ballot and then harrassed SJA till they gave me a place. image I'm a trained SJA first aider (although I really do need to refresh and practice my bandaging skills) and in Islam we're told that saving one life is equivalent to saving all of humanity - hence SJA was the option for me. If I survive VLM2013 I'll consider running for another charity close to my heart; or rather my lungs - I'm an asthmatic.

    Not 100% sure why I'm doing this as I don't even like running. Having said that I went running in the rain a few weeks back and really enjoyed it. I love being out in the elements, feeling the wind and rain. It's quite exhilarating. image To be honest though, I only applied for it to get one up on my boss in our war of machismo and now he's backed out and I'm contractually obliged to train for and run a marathon. image Wonder who won the battle of wits on that one. image Blah. To further complicate things I'm going to sign up for the Ironman 70.3 in Wimbleball in June. Not a keen swimmer either, although I do love cycling. Again, it's my ego telling me I've got to prove how tough and amazing I am.  image I also love kebabs and cakes so it won't surprise you to learn that my body and my ego aren't the best of friends.

    Have sort of started training by doing a few runs in my local park on top of the daily cycling I do to and from work and college. I'm wondering how to measure and record my distances. I've got a Blackberry phone which is too heavy to carry around in my pockets when running around. Do you reckon I should just buy a sportswatch and manually record my times on a chart?

  • morning all.

    don't push it too hard Kamal, an Ironman 2 months after your first marathon sounds a bit mental.

    two quick personal experiences for you:

    first up is my mate who's also a first time VLMer next year. we started off all competetive but he went in way too hard. he upped his distances too quickly and ended up breaking his leg during the run in the park 1/2 in september. he won't be running again until the new year and might struggle to even do the marathon now.

    secondly, i play squash with a guy who's ex-army and a seasoned triathlete. he did his first ironman this summer after a year of pretty intensive training and he was seriously hurting by the end. he's also signed up for the wimbleball IM next summer and he's a tad worried about it. apparently the bike course is a real man killer.

    i don't want to pop your balloon but at the same time, i'd hate to see someone injure themselves trying to do too much.

    as far as recording runs goes, i use a run tracker on my smartphone which does it iall automatically. you can use a sports watch to record your times and use the website of any of the run trackers to plot a course so you know how far you're runnning. you can then enter times manually after each run to keep a record. it won't be able to tell you stuff like split times, max speed and all that stuff but at least you'll know who far you're going. and when you're starting out that's the most important thing.

    alternatively, buy a wrist GPS which will tell you how far you've run, times, heart rate etc.

  • been thinking about training plans for the new year and just put up a thread in the training section asking for advice.

    people might like to take a look once it's got some replies if they're as undecided as me.

     

  • I've been looking at plans for a while and have decided on Shades plan. Looks to have the right mix of training and options to add more as needed.



    I've got pace figures and targets to match my current / previous hm times and can adapt the pace as I get fitter.



    I think most recognised plans will do the job, the best approach is to decide which one, get it into a spreadsheet, print it out and stick it on your fridge to nag youimage

    Tim
  • you're the second person to recommend shades. i'll take a look.

  • hi good people -

    nice thread Sofaboy - hope ure ok

  • well i managed to pull a muscle in my chest during an arm wrestling competition in a chinese restaurant last night image (works christmas do). but apart from that i'm all good, thanks.

  • good - like i said, nice thread and excellant starter post

    the name Sofa boy - its good, is it self explanitory ?

     

  • thank you.

     

    it should be fairly self explanitory.

    i might be a slower runner than most people on here but i'd kick your arses on an Xbox. lol.....

  • yes as i thought - and well done

    were here if we can help -

    slower runner- i dont think so

  • Quote SofaBoy: "you're the second person to recommend shades. i'll take a look."

    Message Shades, she'll send you the plan, then tune this to your current speed to identify the pace for each of the run types, print, fridge it, Sorted image

     

  • shades level 2 marathon program up on the calendar.

    tuesday 5 mile easy, here i come!!!

  • Hi all, loving this thread, get to eat cakes and buns and drink endless pots of tea. Where do I sign up?

    Got my VLM place through a friend in a running club, been ko,d from the last four ballots and he suggested I join the club and apply for the place and well here I am.

    Training going well, building up the fitness up to end December and start proper marathon early January.

    Running the VLM for breast cancer care and that will be my motivation throughout these dark cold days and yes would love a low 4 hour time but the finish line will be good enough for me!
  • Managed a 15 miler today, kept a 10 min / mile pace as planned, so happy with that. Some temp work this week then off skiing over Xmas.

    Knees ache now thoughimage

  • i think i might struggle to maintain my paces on the shades plan. in my unorganised "get to a base level" running i've been doing since June, i've found running at about 8-8:30 mile pace for longer runs comfortable. i've been pushing around 6:45-7:00 for shorter runs.

    i've tried running slower, around 9:15 on 10km+ runs but just don't seem to be able to stick to it. the problem is that running 15-21km at 8-8:30 pace means i'm knackered for the next couple of days (even though it feels ok at the time) and i think this will obviously affect my training as the runs get longer.

    my paces based on the shades plan seem really slow. 9:30 for easy and 9:50 for long.

    i think i might need some mental disapline.

  • Morning

    Sofaboy, I would stick to a plan you are comfy with. Slower runs are so important to build up the distance. I do long runs at 11-12 min miles which feels like snails pace and tbh I dread them sometimes but I do my shorter runs faster.

  • well my "natural" pace at the mo seems to be around 8:15 min miles but i'm worried that not reining in that pace over longer runs will leave me too fatiqued to get in all the miles we need to do and make me much more prone to injury.

    christ, 12 minute miles? i'd be tempted to take a book. lol...

     

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