VOTE Shady_Ady

245

Comments

  • jenfjenf ✭✭✭
    I live on the coast n have a great cycle track on my doorstep , perfect to run on. it heads off into a country park/ forest/ beach. I have the best of all places to runimage

    constitution hill is mean! enjoy!
  • Variety is the spice of life!



    Constitution Hill is a mean little beast. I had to walk up the 2nd half last time I tried it. Hopefully I'll do better this time around.
  • Seafront running? Lucky you! Was very jealous of the sound of Jenf's lovely run this morning image I've got lots of lovely trails and miles of canal paths but I'm in the bellybutton of England so no beach for a long way!

  • Thanks for the response Ady.



    I agree that small goals are better, this is why right now I'm just trying to get into the habit of running. But I'm hoping to do a 10k in the spring/summer and then move forward from there. I live right outside London and I know you mentioned before you lived around that area too. Do you have any 10ks you can suggest to a beginner? I've thought about the British 10k in London, have you run that one?



    Right now I'm doing most of my running on treadmills until I get my fitness/confidence up. I'm intrigued at what injury you got from a treadmill that landed you in hospital (you mentioned in your post to Xyloid)? Fall off and break something?
  • Hey RRR.......I was very jealous of Jenf's run too. Just about to head to slumber-land now so I can hopefuly enjoy my seafront run tomorrow.

    I live right next to the Basingstoke Canal. It makes for a lovely run first thing in the morning. It also goes near my office in Farnborough, so when it was lighter in the evenings, I ran the 11 miles home along the canal once a week. The only problem with this was carrying a rucksack with my work clothes in. But I thought of this mentally as adding extra resistant to my mid week long run.

  • Hey Ace,

    Good luck with your 10k. I have ran the British 10k 3 times, but sadly, none have been enjoyable. I ran them early in my running career and found it to be extremely over-priced and poorly organised (it may be different now that Nike is involved).

    Once I found better 10k's I moved away from this. You should be able to find plenty cheaper and better 10ks around London. I'd recommend Bupa 10,000 in Hyde Park (great for first timers as it has several waves of  runners of varying speeds) and also London Barts 10k and London Pride 10k - these are both in Victoria Park on an extremely flat course, making it perfect for first timers.

    I'd definitely move away from treadmills, even if it means having to adapt a run/ walk philosophy outdoors to start with.

    Haha...I didn't break anything. I tore a muscle in my left groin. Unfortunately I made the mistake of typing 'swollen groin' into google, and before I knew it, I'd self diagnosed myself with a hernia, that if not treated could be life-threatening (I'm so stupid sometimes!).

    As this was while I was working in China, and because my Chinese isn't the greatest, my boss and his wife (who both spoke English) took me to the local hospital. I was living in a city that rarely saw foreigners, so before I knew it, I had 7 doctors lined up in front of me and was asked to drop my trousers and pants.

    As my boss and his wife looked on (staying in the room to 'translate'), the 7 doctors waited in turn to grab, twist and contort my balls and prod my groin. Obviously the message that the pain was ONLY in my groin had been lost in translation!

    Continuing to be a naive hypochondriac and because google had told me so, I still thought I was suffering from a hernia. The doctors couldn't feel a hernia, so I was taken to another room for more tests.

    My boss and his wife followed me into this room as well, and I was asked again to pull my pants and trousers down. This time they rubbed gel onto my nether regions and I now realised I was having an ultra sound around my genitalia to see what was causing me the pain.

    I'd like to say this was in the middle of winter in northern China and the outside temperature was -30 degrees C. Inside it was close to freezing. You can't blame my 'pride and joy' to be feeling extremely shy!

    By now, the news had gotten around that a foreigner was in the hospital. While I was having my groin ultrasound carried out, a never-ending supply of female nurses came into the room, apparently needing paperwork to be signed. Each time one entered, they made direct eye contact with me and started to giggle. All this, while the doctor was prodding my baby-making apparatus.

    10 minutes later, I found out it was a muscle tear.........although I personally blame the treadmill for this harrowing experience, I have also learnt never to type ailments into a google search!

  • Ady, that's a great story, made me smile!  How long were you in China for?

    As for the Heat Monitor helping my running, I am too new to all of this for it to have a before/after picture, but it has definitely slowed me down from what I initially started out at, so I guess that should help stop me overdoing it in these early stages and fend off injury

    I sooo much enjoy running outside more.  An hour on the treadmill is definitely 60 minutes long but an hour outside seems to fly by!

    I know you have been round the running block a few times, but cast your mind to when you were first starting out as I am, how long was it before you felt comfortable to go out and run with other people in an organised race?

  • Hi Xyloid. I was working in China for 15 months then travelled around the country afterwards for 6 wks. Running was always fun over there. I was in a small non-westernised city. No one ran. So when I'd go out on the streets for a jog it brought the city to a standstill. Could be fun, but tripping over and knowing a thousand eyes are watching you can be a little unnerving!



    I find running outside you can so much easily lose yourself in your own thoughts than on a treadmill. A few other people on the forums have been saying how useful the heart rate monitor is. I will definitely start using mine. I'll let you know how I get on.



    I can say with all certainty NOT to do what I did for my first organised race. My first was London Marathon in 2004. I had trained for a good 4 months beforehand but id only ever ran alone or with friends. This meant not only did I run my first marathon. But every single thing about an organised race environment was also new. This is possibly the worst way to do it and I realised how under prepared I was.



    Personally I would go out and run in an organised race as soon as you feel your able to run this distance comfortably........and I'd start from doing 5ks and working your way up rather than what I did. Have you heard about Park Runs? Do you have one of these near you? Whereabouts in the country do you run? You are almost guaranteed to find a 10k race of some kind near you. I wouldn't hold back from entering. The sooner the better.



    You'll find such a variety of runners and abilities that there's no reason to worry that you won't fit in or will be the slowest (I'm sure you're not worrying about this anyway!) I think this was what stopped me entering when I first ran - the feeling I was an imposter and didn't really belong and a little scared I'd be too slow and left myself. I couldn't have been more wrong.



    Do you gave a specific course you follow when running outside? Or do you have a variety of trails and paths you use?
  • I bet the 15 months was a great experience.  I once did 6 months in the States but that is not the same as immersing yourself in a totally foreign culture/language environment like you did.  There is a possibility that I might have to undertake a project in Japan next year, which I am really hoping comes off.  

    The way you described your reluctance to initially enter a race is exactly how I am feeling now!  I live in Newport Pagnell, so there is a Park run in Milton Keynes which is where I intend to lose my cherry, I just don't feel I am ready for it yet!  I want to give this base/HRM lower threshold running two months to try and build up some aerobic fitness initially so will probably look to do one late Jan/early Feb.

    How do you feel your fitness levels are at the moment?  Do you feel ready to start the Asics/RW training schedule should you get chosen?

    Still getting the de-bagging issue with my shorts on unfortunately1  I have shorts that have a brief liner type thing, so think maybe I should go with a cycling type short under normal shorts.  Clearly my thighs are too hench and they just end up working the fabric up in to my scrotal domain!

     

  • Hi, just realised that I havent yet been on your thread yet despite chatting to you on the asics 26.2 thread. 

    What was the great wall of China marathon like? Ive always wanted to walk it for charity (in addition to walking up kilimanjiro and walking the Inca Trainl....but my OH says no)!

    I dont know if I could eat the food in China, think I would be more like Karl Pilkinton with monster munch! 

  • From my experience, losing my running cherry was everything I hoped it would be and more. It left me feeling quite infatuated and obsessed. Totally different to popping my other cherry but that's not for this forum page!



    Giving yourself 2-3 months before your first Park Run should leave you in a very strong and confident position. I think I've said this already, but the first time you do it, don't worry about your time. Just enjoy the experience and you then have a time to beat next time!



    Have you tried the cycling shorts under your running shorts yet? That's what I was trying to say before. Sorry if I didn't say that clearly. Without my cycling shorts on I still get issues with the inner lining thingy as well.



    I wouldn't knock your American experience as not being in the same bracket as China (I'm not just saying that because I'm married to one!). I once accidentally started a bar brawl when singing karaoke as some of the crowd kicked off because I hadn't chosen a country song to sing! That's still a cultural experience in my eyes! Good luck with Japan!



    Sorry if this sounds a horrid cliche and big headed, but I feel extremely pleased with my current fitness levels, especially in terms of distance. I ran 3 marathons a half and an ultra in the 2nd half of this year and I used these to do my long runs in a race environment. I wanted to build up my fitness so the marathon distance no longer seems daunting. It doesnt feel daunting now and as I already have that base level of fitness it means I will be able to hopefully concentrate more on my speed. Win or lose I'm confident ill break my pb next Spring.



    It's going to be squeaky bum time the next three days until they announce the winners. I'm no even in a position to bad mouth any of my competitors as I don't have a single bad word against them. They have been all amazingly genuine and supportive. I've tried my best and that's all that matters!



    Around Milton Keynes is a nice place for running. I did my fastest half marathon there. Maybe if you enjoy your park runs and want to run further, you could go the half marathon there the following year?
  • Hey Sarah. No problem. I only started looking at all the threads yesterday as I've had more time over the weekend to do it. I still haven't voted so will check out everyone again this afternoon!



    Great Wall of China Marathon was both amazing and brutal. You only do about 10km on the wall itself but the steps are knee high. Not what you need when you do the 2nd section at 20miles(ish) in.



    I lived on the 31at floor so would run up and down my apartment building 5 times as practise but this still didn't prepare me.



    It was difficult to find safe food that I could trust the night before the race as I was worried about an upset stomach. I only ate rice. So when I hit the wall about 20 miles in, I really hit the wall (sorry for the pun, couldn't resist!). Monster Munch would have served me better!



    I was puking everywhere and was starting to think my race was over. So I rested under a tree for 20mins, sipped a bottle of coke kindly donated by another runner and slowly walked the rest of the race. It was 30 degrees C and a lot of runners were in the same position. Finished just over 6 hrs.



    If you do go to China, never ever eat boiled silkworms. EVER! image



    Why is your OH against Inca Trail and Kilamanjaro? Is it an altitude thing?
  • Hi Adrian

    I would say I'm a seasonal runner so I tend to stop in the winter months as I'm from a tropical country. However, this year I found a great couple of friends at work that have motivated me to keep on running. Specially one that has inspired me to enter my first ever half marathon. How on earth can I make myself find the right attitude to put the trainers on and go out in the cold and wind? What's your first thought when you see out of the window and it's all gray and dark? 

  • Hi Liliana



    Thanks for your post.



    I think I'm in a similar position. Where I work there are several people that run at lunch with and it helps immensely for me having other people doing the same thing. It's much harder then to talk yourself out of running. If your work friends are running through the winter months then I'd hope this would keep you running too.



    I also make sure I have a marathon to focus on in the Spring. This is the biggest motivator in keeping me running through the winter months. Enter one for the spring and see how much more guilt you feel when you miss out on a run!



    I don't like running in the dark. I do it if I have to, but I normally do my runs at lunch. It also helps to break up my working day too. If I do have to run in the rain or dark weather I just think of how I will feel if I make up some lame excuse and not go. This works every time for me.



    What half marathon have you entered? Is this in the Spring?
  • Evening Ady! Yes same here - lunchtime runs are great ... so long as you have a shower at work!image Definitely re-sets the day though if you have a run at lunchtime - feels like you're starting fresh again in the afternoon! image

  • So true....it's like you're doing two days of work in the same day. 

    The worst thing though is when you get back after a run and realise you forgot your towel.............the feeling of drying yourself with your wet running clothes is as dirty as I'd imagine the walk of shame is on a Sunday morning.

  • Hi Ady,



    Wow! lol that was a great story about China!



    You've got my vote and I definitely hope you get through as I have a feeling you might have a few more interesting experiences to share!



    I was wondering as well if you run with a Garmin or something similar and find this helpful. I'm rubbish at judging distances so when I have ran outside I've tried to use an app on my phone to record my distance but have had problems with it freezing mid-run. Although of course I didn't notice until I got back home and it can be very frustrating to look forward to seeing your time/distance and realise the app stopped after the first 10 minutes! Can you suggest any apps or do you think a Garmin is worth the expense for a beginner?
  • Just a photo to go with my Great Wall of China post earlier. This was in the early stages of the race before the vomitting started!

    /members/images/403074/gallery/20x30-GWAB0703-001.jpg

  • A nice white shirt to accentuate the vomit dribble too!  And with matching white long socks...oh no, my bad, they are just your legs!image

  • A great picture mate, looking in control at that point too
  • Hi Ace,

    Thanks for the message. The picture above is from the Great Wall of China Marathon....still fresh faced and bushey tailed! If only I knew!

    I do run with a Garmin (it's probably the best present my wife has bought me - I'm not sure if this comment would annoy her or not!). I'd be lost without it to be honest. I use Garmin Connect as well (http://connect.garmin.com/) to analyse and view my workouts. I have a morbid fascination for doing this and it's really good to see where I started to go slower and if I should have pushed harder when going up a hill, etc.

    If you're only just starting to run, then I'm not sure if it's a definite accessorie to have immediately. You could always use a website like www.mapmyrun.com to work out a route near you, and work out exactly how far you want to run. Then you could just use a stopwatch. (Garmins aren't the cheapest stocking filler to ask for image)

    I did use a similar phone app when my wife and I did our Lands End to John o'Groats walk, so we could keep a record of exactly how far we walked.....but like you, it kept freezing......plus it wasn't the best when going through parts of the country with poor signal. We just used mapmyhike (like mapmyrun) to figure out how far we'd gone.

    But yes, if you have the spare cash, Garmins are excellent pieces of equipment (and remember, you can use them for more than just timing yourself - you can measure your heart rate as well). I havent used mine for this, but reading comments on RW makes me realise how useful this is. 

    I hope this rambling has helped you. If not, some other Target 26.2 runners were talking about it at http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/spring-marathon/asics-target-262---2013/230129.html forum page image

     

  • HEY.........leave my legs out of it! I'd only just emerged from a harsh cold winter image

  • Thanks Paul.......and Xyloid......it's amazing what a coke spillage can cover up!

  • While I might have looked in control (thanks for those words Paul!) in the last picture.......this photo is probably the angriest I've ever looked. 

    I ran London 6 days after getting my PB in Boston (I never thought I'd get past the ballot stage of London, which is why I had already committed to Boston before I found out). As I like a challenge, I thought 'what the hell'....I certainly wasn't thinking that at this point!

    /members/images/403074/Gallery/London_Marathon_2.jpg

  • and this was Boston 6 days earlier....what a difference a marathon, lack of jet lag and rest can make!

    /members/images/403074/Gallery/Boston_Marathon_16.jpg

     

  • I like the last two pictures, they really made me laugh. They're almost like before and after pictures. Boston photo - "Before I ran 2 marathons in a week." London photo - "After I got a PB and ran another marathon 6 days later."



    Can't say the look on your face in the London photo is really inspiring me to run a marathon though...image



    Sorry if you've said this already and I missed it, but out of curiosity, what was your time at London?
  • Haha,......thanks Ace. The London photo isn't one of my best that's for sure, but I was absolutely shattered.

    My time in London wasn't anywhere near my best. I finished in 4hrs 30mins (give or take a minute or two). I suppose I had done my 3:44 PB only 6 days earlier. I wasn't feeling too bad for the first half of London. I passed halfwway in 1:52, but walked for most of the last 10 miles. 

    It was a good experience, as it helped me mentally for my first Ultra.

  • This was the reason I had a rest day on Saturday............

    /members/images/403074/Gallery/Niece.jpg

     ..........well a rest day from running. I swear, playing for 4 hours straight with my niece leaves me feeling more exhausted than any marathon I've ran........you can tell I don't have children yet!

  • Some fabulous photos, I love the one where your running down the steps of the great wall of China, although reading your experience of it has put me off ever wanting to run it...think I will stick with my aim of walking it for now.

    eek boiled silkworms....people actually eat those things, my stomachs doing summersaults just thinking about it!

    My OH says that he wants to go on holiday to rest and not to do the "crazy adventures" that I would love to do. He feels that we dont have enough annual leave to do both. We went to Kenya this autumn, the plan was to go on safari and then up kilamanjiro....on booking the holiday my OH and two friends that decided to come with us turned round and said the mountain climbing was out and that I wasnt allowed to go on my own image

    You would have been proud of my diner today!

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