Comrades 2018

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Comments

  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭
    Max - that's simply incredible. 

    Carmen - as to run what distance from now on, i would say stick to your plan you have been following, don't cherry pick from other people as everyone is different. Believe in your own ability and you will go well.

    Suppose i should pop out for a run now. had grand plans about getting out early but when the alarm went off went back to sleep. Guess my body need the rest. Can't wait till i start tapering next weekend :)
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    He said it! he said it!

  • Thanks for the positive comments! I try not to think too deeply about it, but I've been incredibly lucky to come back and even manage to get faster. In answer to your question lowrez, yes I would have said I was 'fit' certainly in terms of the average man in the street, running 2 or 3 times a week doing maybe 20 - 25 miles/week. Family history was bleak, and my diet very bad and that combination did for me I think. What's people's opinion on headwear on race day? I can't face wearing a cap, so ran for the first time today with a buff. Had it 'French foreign legion' sty-lee, with a big flap over the shoulders. Felt quite good. I'm thinking keep it as wet as possible with water so acts as a coolant and keeps the sun off bald patch/neck??
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Onward and upward Max - for all of us :)

    In your race pack (picked up at the expo) you will get a Comrades cap - I didn't wear head gear until I started running Comrades and it did feel strange to start with, but now I love the cap. You will need something - I have used buffs in the past what you describe should work well too. 

  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭
    Max - that's exactly how i wear my buff, helps the sun stop beating down on your neck. i also wear a peak cap to protect face from sun. Has worked well for me in the past.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Don't forget to test a good quality high factor sun cream before you go too - the odd person has had a nasty reaction to some slapping them on for the first time on the big day.
  • Peter RPeter R ✭✭✭
    Long time since I have been on here and I see a few old names popping up! I did Shakespeare Marathon yesterday, which I tried to pace to a sub 4 as a good training run and managed 3.57.  I have had a nightmare year with injuries but will be on the start line for a second attempt at number 9.
  • jkissanejkissane ✭✭✭
    Did that medical survey as well today, definitely changing any question to yes brings up quite the array of new questions but I decided to come clean about the two times I taken painkillers before an event in the last 8 years!

    Got some practice at early starts on Sat morning at a 5k charity event called Darkness into Light that kicks off at 4:15am, huge crowd of ~5000 people there so lovely atmosphere.

    One last marathon to go now on May 26th, bit close to Comrades but will be taking it very easy as it's a nice hilly traily one. 

    Btw I'll have a spare wristband for the international tent in case anyone needs one.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Hi Peter, I am smiling to myself, wish I could run sub4, well done in surviving the year and getting to the start. My last marathon before Comrades is on Sunday. I'm looking to just cruise it and see how close I am to 5 hours. The ensuing taper is going to be strange. Are you looking for a time on the big day or simply to finish?
  • Carmen23Carmen23 ✭✭✭
    No more marathons for me - going to concentrate on shorter and maybe faster (who am I kidding!) and will do a 20 this weekend coming. Also means I save paying another entry fee which will definitely help my financial situation - got a wedding abroad right before Comrades which is costing a painfully high amount of cash! Then add on vets fees and my shower leaking into my neighbours... :neutral:
    Well done everyone else on your runs! It'll all be over in less than a month!!
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    JK I'd forgotten the cocktail of pseudoephedrine, ibuprofen and paracetamol I was on running Manchester last year! I did have manful, so good proper reason :) Echo your thoughts on that last marathon - take it real easy - its really close to the big day. Are you aiming for a time on June 10th? They say this in the schpeel, but, don't forget to put your international arm band on before the run, they won't let you in the international area without it, even if you are wearing an international number.

    Carmen, over-claim on the shower and get everything else paid for too - oops I never said that! Now then, you know wishing for it to be over is not the right attitude :) this is a glorious occasion we are all looking forward to :):):) 

  • lowrez, I've run on paracetamol - but for a head cold, not muscle stuff. And once on ibuprofen because I'd pulled a muscle NOT related to running but didn't want it to affect my gait and leave me with worse problems.

    jk: Good luck on that trail marathon. I have a 6-hour challenge on 28th - but it's with SVN (Spring Cakeathon) and I intend to trot round and enjoy it, not push it, but reach my 50th marathon/ultra. Besides, I seem to recover pretty quickly nowadays.

    Carmen, sympathies for all those extra expenses.

    Peter R - good luck!
  • jkissanejkissane ✭✭✭
    Just want to finish it lowrez as had to drop out just after halfway last year so don't want a repeat of that! I'm cautiously optimistic this time round but you never know. 

    Thanks for the good wishes Debra, I'm doing a half-marathon the weekend before Comrades as well to support a friend but it will be a very easy one as he's struggling with various injuries.

    The spare band has been snapped up by Terry48, that didn't take long!
  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭
    Peter - nice to have you back on board.

    I've got one more marathon this weekend at Worcester. Again, running with a friend but i shall be setting the very slow pace, but might have a bit of fun in the later miles...Hoping for some HOT weather..
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    I never worked this out before, for my own satisfaction, but finally looked at the numbers as I was setting a charity target. Everybody says 26.2 miles for a marathon, although I have some shorts with 26.16 on? But are either of those exactly correct:-

    A marathon is 26 miles and 385 yards

    There are 1,760 yards in a mile

    So the decimal part of that mile is 385/1760 = 0.21875 exactly

    So a marathon is 26.21875 miles

    So my charity target is £262.19 :)

    If anyone wants any other arbitrary calculations done my services are available :)

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    The feeder has brought in biscuits and magnums this affy, he actually walked the magnums around the office forcing them upon people, when I kindly turned down his offer he jokily threw one on my desk; I have just sneaked it back in the freezer.

    I also haven't eaten anything so far today - read up on this zonal eating thing - so planning to eat when I get home today - not really hungry (having pigged out so much last night) - thinking I might try and adopt this for the next stage in weight reduction. But will I remain strong like today?

  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    Impressive will power there lowrez.  Regarding exact measurements, I've run a half marathon in Germany where the distance was expressed to three decimal places.

    Welcome back Peter R and fingers crossed for a successful no. 9.

    Good luck for your 5k, jk.  I ran a midweek 5k race at the more civilised hour of 5:30 a couple of years ago and felt wrecked for the rest of the day.  Funny that I don't let the early start bother me at Comrades, largely because it wouldn't be a good night of sleep before Comrades anyway.

    Good luck for Worcester marty.

    Shorter and faster for me too, hopefully, Carmen.

    I ran Bosworth half this weekend which ended up being both warm and undulating, so not as good a prep race as Debra's Three Forts Marathon, still good.  I was happy with my third 1.51 of the year and will be looking to run a little faster in Leiden at the end of the month.  The plan this week has 2 hours on Saturday and 3 on Sunday.
  • Is zonal the same as 8:16 Lowrez (eat within 8 hrs a day - fast for 16 hrs)?   if so I tried it and I felt great although i didn't see the weight falling off me as I'd hoped.  

  • and....whats this about psuedoephidrine???    I'm sure that must be banned for sports.... 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    That's it JAR although the one I stumbled over is fast-5 - note I haven't actually seen what they do on that or joined any groups or anything but it is obvious from the stuff around it that it is 5:19. The bloke at the top of that tree did a "TED Talk" not explaining it in any great detail, but he did say he stumbled upon the idea by missing breakfast (which I don't typically eat) and then extended that into not partaking of lunch, etc. My problem is getting home after being relatively good all day and then losing control with the fridge etc, so I thought I would try and see what missing the meager lunch did for me as well... I fear knocking those few calories on the head won't reap much, but its worth a try. He did say to "only" expect losing a pound per week on it, maybe I need to get the scales out for this last push, I need to figure what is working don't I, no use doing this if it has no effect.

    Yes, I think if I had been drugs tested after Manchester last year I would have received a life ban, but you know what a fix I was in, did I end up doing 5:12 or so? Nothing worth testing for and not a Comrades qualifier. Pseudoephidrine is "just" a decongestant aimed at clearing the sinuses which kinda helped, my main problem though was sinus pain, hence the double pain killer cocktail - so it wasn't anything to do with muscles - I also visited a pharmacy advice centre prior to loading up on all these things and was given a green light to consume them and run as long as I took sufficient fluids onboard. Ibuprofen use is somewhat dangerous if regularly taken during exercise and can induce kidney failure I believe, so don't get into that habit kids, a once-off to help overcome something is OK though.   

  • lowrez: use of ibuprofen (or any other NSAID) during endurance events (marathon etc.) does not have to be habitual to be dangerous - on-off use can be not-good, hence I try to avoid.. I can provide the citations, but in brief adverse renal (kidney), gastrointestinal and cardiovascular (heart) events are more likely to occur if you use a NSAID during a marathon, Ironman etc. - for example exercise-related hyponatraemia (water overload) is more likely, and more likely to be serious, if you've taken a NSAID.
  • In my brief but eventful trip to the medical tent in 2015 the very first thing they asked me was whether I’d taken ibuprofen (I hadn’t, it was an electrolyte issue). Apparently it’s one of the commonest reasons for ending up in there.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Hmm, seems my chemist was trying to murder me? Come to think of it he's the one who told me to start eating normally again after 5 days of fasting and still not feeling right after 2O last year and it started the whole bowel emptying saga again. I better use Boots instead, as a chemist I mean, not as food a la Charlie Chaplin.

    You have to drink a lot, and I mean a lot, lot, lot of water to get that there hpertraumameatlofia don't you? I can understand if you've knocked back some ibuprofen it would complicate matters, but how would ibuprofen fog your brain into "making" you drinking far too much when you know its not a good idea in the first place? Its an anti-inflammatory-pain-killing-thingy isn't it? Not a water-drinking-inducing-psychotropic? Or is that listed in the side-effects nobody reads?

    I agree in the principle that knocking back any drugs is not a good idea, that's why I took (seemingly bad) medical advice on the one occasion I have stepped over this line. Don't do drugs kids! I work on the principle that if something is going to break whilst running I want to know about it when it happens, not pop something to mask it so I'm totally unaware of it. The last 30 miles of LLCR130 were effing hell but I still didn't take anything other than non-Escobar coke.

  • The 8:16 worked for me in terms of becoming more mindful about food intake once I got used to the fasting,  it felt better and more natural to eat later in the day.  
    I started eating at 1pm, then had my last meal around 9 ( so biscuits with my tea and coffee were included in my 8 hrs) but I timed it for the same reason as you - I couldn’t resist the fridge in the evening especially when I was training. 
    It became less important when training ramped up but when I’m back from Comrades I’ll re-introduce the regime because I felt better for it.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Well yesterday didn't conform to a 5 hour window - I think I ate my first morsel around 7pm and I was probably snacking on new potatoes whilst typing the above reply around 2am but I am sticking to the no food part OK so far today as lunch approaches. I did a 5 miler around 9pm and was never really hungry all day, found myself eating because I should, definitely to make sure the run went OK.

  • Hi Lowrez, your water (fluid) and electrolyte balance is mainly regulated by your kidneys and they do an amazing job most of the time. Hyponatraemia occurs when someone takes on much too much water and not enough electrolytes. The ability of the kidney to deal with this situation is reduced by NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen. I can give you more detail if you want it!
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    edited May 2018
    Hi Debra, I know all that :) I knew it prior to seeing my pharmacist too and quizzed him on it, as he quizzed me about numerous other health factors. I hear socks can be dangerous too I still run in them though :)
  •  I think it's more dangerous to be over hydrated than dehydrated.

    Jar - I think the whole fasting thing is meant to be good for your general health and blood markers but I guess it matters what you're eating the rest of the time!! 

    I eat keto/low carb which keeps me full, tastes delicious and stops me eating junk. Keeps the weight stable too.

    Lowrez - apparently washing baskets are dangerous too. I think I need a woman what does!!

    jkissane - I'm a good few weeks behind on Marathon Talk podcast but just heard your name mentioned on the podium :)
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Yesterday a giraffe fell on my head; I had purchased this stylish thin tower of wood for Mrs lowrez many moons ago and she keeps it on top of the wardrobe. An over enthusiastic closing of the door prompted it to vault from its perch and stab me in the head, actual blood left my body and my first thought was; "that's going to play havoc with Katy Perry's wig" - fortunately it was only a minor scrape and all is good - heads bleed a lot from the merest suggestion of broken skin I believe.

    SS please list some actual grub that you consume, this keto, it's not that bloke from the Pink Panther films is it.

    What did JK do. What? What?

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