Comrades 2019

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  • Southern SnailSouthern Snail ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018
    Slow Duck - just listened to your interview. What an epic journey and some amazing races to get there. Do you now need to qualify again to go into ballot or do you automatically go into the ballot?

    The barefoot stuff is going well. My trainers were 8mm drop and I've now done a couple of runs in the zero drops. Might buy some 4mm drop shoes to do my longer runs in but at the moment I'd better stick with what I've got as I bought 2 pairs earlier in the year. Not sure if Mr SS is aware quite how many I've bought :) Oh where have those days gone where I used to spend my money on more glamorous things :/

    Mac3 - It's a good reminder about the intervals and threshold runs as my speed is rubbish at the moment but it will have to wait til its cooler I think. Did an extremely slow run with my dogs this morning, in the woods, stopping 5x for water and felt so bad at the end that I thought I was going to throw up :'(
  • SD: sympathies for Hardrock - good luck for when you try it again. Not sure I'll ever try any of the big 100s in the US - but I do want to work up to the Centurion 100s and the Lakeland 100 over the next couple of years. (Back in 2013 I was expecting to try my first 100 in 2014 - that was before my set of major injuries).

    Mac3: Interesting to hear about your experiences with reduced-drop shoes. I love the lightness and flexibility of minimalist shoes, and the fact that they give room for my toes to spread out (I find conventional running shoes too narrow in the forefoot). Just got my first pair of Fivefingers trail shoes, and I'm looking forward to trying them out - but not this Sunday as I have the Vanguard Way trail marathon to run.

    Mac3: re speed, I know I need to do interval and threshold training, but I've not been very good at actually doing it. Must try harder - but this hot weather isn't helping: it's been hard enough to run to work and back in the heat without trying to include any speed sections (which is what I've done previously).

    lowrez: how are the toes doing?
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Spent a heap of time in the garden today wielding my new friend the pole hedge trimmer, plenty of climbing ladders and reaching out into the great beyond to lop branches that thought they were beyond my reach - ha ha - every one of them has been felled - toe has held out against all contortions and is mightily bendable - time to give it a trial run tomorrow I think. It was great cross training if only I hadn't eaten all that chocolate and drank all that beer in celebration of becoming yet another year older!

    Slow Duck spoiler coming, go and listen before reading this quote if you want to hear the full story "I'd already fallen over more than I'd done in any other race before, I had a bump on the head, my shorts were all ripped to shreds, my arms were bloody, and I was drifting off whilst I was running...I am really, really keen to have another go" - can you tell he loves running - what an adventure - and all that happened in the first half! He is amazing!

     

  • Lowrez - Birthday greetings and congratulations on not chopping any bodily parts off :/
    No excuse to not go out running now if you're feet are working.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    I'm adopting you as my new coach SS - well I suppose I don't have a coach so the position is free if you want it - currently it pays in Turkish delight and Guinness but I am working my way through that pretty fast - thanks for the birthday wishes - so I will be top of the Strava tables today with 1.11 test miles having been run at a 10:10 pace - I can report all is well with the toe but I am not going to push it any harder today - time to go and warm down with a listen to some Tame Impala 
  • Lowrez - I'm not sure you'd want me as a coach. I'm a stickler for doing what you're told!! Ask Mr SS (actually, I'm not really that bad)

    Mr SS has just had his acceptance email for London Marathon. Very jealous. Maybe it will be 9th time lucky for me :|

    We've just had 3 grandchildren for a week which means I've not run for a while. Had a lovely run this morning and felt very enthusiastic.
  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    Well done to Mr SS.  I got my acceptance too.  Hope you get in, Snail.

    While doing strength and conditioning two weeks ago I managed to overdo things, resulting in a very unhappy hip flexor and much tightness of other muscles.  I've not been doing much running but hopefully, I'm coming to the end of this.  I might be under-trained for my autumn marathon in Bremen though. 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    I need that discipline SS - I have watched the deadline for the C2C approach and done no strength at all - call my self a runner - well I don't actually.

    Ooo London! Well done those in so far! I have checked my e-mails and there is only a likkle spider hanging in one corner, even the junk is an empty trunk :(

    Got out on the C2C last weekend and ran 9 miles out of Penrith and back looking up at the looming Pennines and laughing in their faces. 

  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    That sounds a lot like training, lowrez, and that can only be a good thing.  
  • Becca - hope the resting clears the problems. Whens Bremen?

    I'm unfortunately just going for a qualifying time again for mine. which is a shame because I had wanted to train and go faster. But better to run slow than not run at all :)

    Lowrez - you must surely be tapering now and isn't lifting your arms to eat Turkish delights and drink Guinness some form of strength training
     ;) 
  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    7 October so there’s a bit of time yet. 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Sorry you are not 100% Becca, but as you say, it looks like you have time to recover. Will you be racing against the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster?

    SS I am indeed into a short taper now, really needed that 18 miler last Saturday though to complete the shorter (13 mile) longer (18 mile) alternation my mind needed to satisfy itself that I had "done all I could" to temper myself for C2C - I've had my running time disrupted for several weekends (including episodes with Guinness and Turkish Delights :)). I ran the Capenhurst 5k tonight in sub 27 starting from the back of the pack and slowly working my way through the field to a crescendo of a sprint, felt really good and did a heap of stretching afterwards - hip flexors indeed! I'm heading up to the C2C course again this weekend, really only planning to walk as I try to understand the course directions and the transitions from open road to bike only paths. Sunday was all about that from Consett onwards last weekend. Its really boosting my confidence becoming familiar with the sections I have visited. Still plan a little run sometime Saturday or Sunday too. Then it'll be the final approach to the big day. I have Friday off work to travel up to Whitehaven and the start :)

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
     Still only tumbleweed rolling through my in-box so I have applied via a charity to get into London; this appears to be more demanding and potentially less likely to be successful than the open ballot! I've had to write War & Peace on how worthy I am to run for them. So now I am waiting the results of a scrutinising panel :# Maybe I should apply to lots more?
  • Lowrez - was looking at the C2C website earlier which reminded me just how mad you are :) A 100 mile race done just in order to qualify :o How many crew do you have? Are you good at running whilst sleeping :)
    Did you have a good for age entry in for London? It was only those people that heard yesterday. The rest of us have to wait a while before we get our commiserations magazine!! Ha, surely the charities should be grateful to anyone running for them.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Ha ha - SS - the madness is strong in me :) two crew in a campervan who in theory will take shifts to sleep but in reality are so pumped about the event like me that they will not sleep a wink I think. If you have never run through a night from dusk till dawn I recommend you give it a go. My qualifier was the only time I've ever done that and a thunderstorm passed directly overhead - absolutely fantastic - and terrifying - the land was pretty flat and I was scared at getting struck - but a handy bridge to duck under wasn't far off...

    Aha! So I'm still in with a chance of running without signing my life and kids over to the charity slavers? They reckoned it was a prudent move to apply irrespective of whether I had a place or not; if I do get a place my oath of allegiance is cancelled, although as usual I did not actually read the T&C  committed to :*

  • Debra BourneDebra Bourne ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018
    Becca, sympathies; hope it's sorted soon.

    lowrez, blimy! Good luck with that, and don't go stubbing any more toes between now and then. On the plus side, it helps me put my jaunt along the Ridgeway the same weekend into perspective. :-) A mere 86 miles - should be fine...

    Re. dusk to dawn, it was amazing when I ran the Viking 100, hearing the dawn chorus, particularly on one section along a hedge. Fantastic. Trying to stay awake when I had been sleep-deprived during the previous week was less fantastic...
  • I sincerely hope all this madness isn’t catching ?
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Its a pandemic!
  • Southern Snail, you've already completed a 59-mile race, so I'd say you've already caught the bug???

    Thinking about getting an MP3 player and an audiobook to help me stay awake during the night hours. The SanDisk clip Sport looks reasonable and only £24.99. Anyone got any experience with these, or a stong recommendation for a different one (not too pricy)? I don't normally listen to anything while running, but if I get an MP3 player I suppose I might end up listening to podcasts occasionally.
  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    Those little mp3 players are good value.  I had one like the SanDisk that lasted daily usage for a couple of hours a day for years and I know others who have had similar usage.  The Sansa Clip version I had wasn't compatible when I switched to an Apple computer though, so I took to using my phone instead.

    It comes to something when a back to back Comrades medallist is describing other races as madness.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    I've been given a couple of stats on how to be successful in life; first 40 miles need to be rattled off Comrades style in 8.5 to 9 hours. It then gets a bit hilly but as long as I can get to 100 miles within 27 hours the likelihood is that I will successfully transition to the end within the 38 hours for the event medal. I am sure there will be some 1owrez style finessing outside of those parameters just to keep you on your toes, if you bother to watch of course. There is a link on the website to monitor the run and they will attach a tracker to me just before the off. At the moment that link doesn't do much so I wont paste it here in case some other thing is used on the big day(s) :) 

    I have discussed with my team what happens if the 38 run out and I'm not there yet, of course I expect to carry on to complete what I started, the tracker has to be given back after 38 hours though, so if I disappear from screens it doesn't necessarily mean I have given up. They tried to lock me down to what would be a reasonable continuation strategy; mainly an attempt at reassurance from me that if I was too far off the end I would stop anyway - I didn't want to get that black and white about it though - I will be reasonable on the Sunday though if it is looking like a rather tall ask; I don't want my support team to go down the pan even if I am prepared to go that way.    

  • Southern SnailSouthern Snail ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018
    Anything longer than comrades seems crazy but never say never!! I actually quite like the idea of telling my family and friends that I’m doing something out of the ordinary :) so maybe I should just decide what!!!

    debra - I have run listening to a book before but if you’re not totally focused the whole time you miss bits and can’t turn the page back. I listen to podcasts when I run from my phone.

    lowrez - I’m sure you’ll keep us on our toes next weekend!! 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    This London thing appears to have a chicken and an egg involved with it - if you wait to discover your ballot entry was unsuccessful in October all the charity places will have been hard allocated by then. To get a charity place you need to pay an up front non-returnable registration fee (given the charity accepts you) prior to the end of August. If you consequently get in through the open ballot that registration fee is still lost but the burden of collecting the big amount you committed to for the charity is removed... but hang on then... doesn't the charity place you just released become available for someone else to use?

    Anyway - I didn't think it was worth the risk - so when the charity I picked saw my collecting prowess they bit my arm off at the neck and made a place available to me. I've just stumped up the registration fee and can declare I am running London :)

  • Southern Snail: Thanks for the tip. I've been trying to download episodes of Marathon Talk and Talk Ultra, but can only get them to play, not download - any info on how to manage this?

    lowrez: not surprised they want you with your fundraising background. I just scraped £1000 fundraising for Mission Rabies with my 10-in-10 plus the Viking 100 - I really don't know how you manage it!
  • Debra - I have both of those. On the iPhone (think you have samsung?) there is now an app called "Podcasts" it's purple. Think it just comes with the phone but if not go to the app store and download. Then when you go into the app just use the search button for whatever you want and subscribe. Good luck.

    Lowrez - They're not silly these charities!! Anyway, congratulations on your London place

    I have decided that I'm not going to specifically draw up a schedule for Comrades but I want to run more marathons in the lead up and do some speedwork (as Mac3 reminded us we needed to do but I don't think I've done for the past 2 years!!)The problem is I can never find marathons when and where I want them. I've obviously looked at loads of websites. Where does everyone else look up races?
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018

    SS - Ta :) - I was thinking that if I did get a successful ballot place then I could defer it so next year would be plain sailing. Unless VLM can somehow detect that you are holding both types of entry concurrently and do something about that.

    Debra - I am dead lucky that my company now double matches a lot of charity donations, every £1 I bring in they will add £2.

    SS - depends where you want to run, there are a lot here:-
    https://marathons.ahotu.com/

  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    For UK marathons I use Fetcheveryone.com and the 100 Marathon Club site. 
  • Southern Snail: I have a Windows phone *sigh* - and anyway I want to download to my computer and then transfer to an MP3 player - I need to make sure I don't drain the phone battery during the race.

  • Lowrez - that definitely sounds like a plan for London. Am sure I’ve looked at that website but will look again when I have more time. It’s just that there’s lots of marathons that people on this thread do and I’ve never heard of them. Phoenix do a few along the Thames near me but it’s a bit mind numbing!!
  • Debra - that all sounds way too technical for me. I think Lowrez is your man!!

    becca - haven’t heard of either of those so will have a look. Thanks
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