Comrades 2020

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  • SS - would hopefully be qualifying in December or January. By end of September should start to cool down here. Dubai marathon is a flat fast course, however I'm working that weekend and waiting to see if I can get off. 
  • SS - Thanks for keeping an eye on me - I was not ultra (snigger) consistent at the outset, but I have been very good these last few days, to the point now where I am realising the depth to which these movements are, "helping" is not the right word, "awakening" might be closer, the erm "things", are they muscles, or tendons, or ligaments? There is this mildly fiery, in a chilli sense, area over the top of the back of my left hip and into the sinews above towards the spine that just doesn't give any indication of the turmoil it is in during normal day to day or even Comrades levels of exercise. But latch into this stretching regime and ahhhhh, stuff gets stretched and the fire comes out in a very healing kind of way. Initially there didn't seem to be anything other than the good pain, but several days into this things start to ebb off. And now, other stretches that seemed to be initially worthless are becoming new beds of extension and glow heading towards releasing good pain too. I recall the physio wanted to get my hips moving, or rotating, to a greater extent, I think the magic is beginning. With all this going on there is no danger of me not doing these exercises now, I am seeing the benefit and could well be getting addicted to the soothing developing smooth uncomfortableness of the evolving journey...

    The Strava group will be betraying my lack of running at the moment. Nothing to do with the exercises, I must admit to being lazy... the dawn of September has me worried though... I will start to address this shortly.

    Dubai, Strava is not mandatory, but I find it does help seeing what others are getting up to, running for me is not a chore, so I don't really need the gusto of others to push me on, it is nice occasionally wiping the floor with everyone else though when you hit the top of any of the 3 table categories after a mega event.  
  • Hi all!  Been a bit quiet for me since comrades.. after a bit of a rest I started running again, then got a shocker of a cold which knocked me out for three / four weeks.  Started ramping it up again recently but now I’ve done my back in doing house renovations!  I’m looking to go back for the back to back, but haven’t signed up for a qualifier or booked any flights/accommodation yet.  Will join the Strava group to try and give myself a bit of motivation for the coming months..
  • Thanks Lowrez, I have just added the club to strava. I also booked booked ONOMO hotel on Monday so things are getting real.
  • Two new members added to Strava, I better get running, Peter I recommend you get your skates on with accommodation, the reasonable places are booking out fast.
  • lowrez, Strava request sent.  
  • Must update strava profile as both my sons are the same height as me 
  • Ran twice yesterday, 3.67 miles in 47 degrees and later 2.73 miles in 42 degrees. Just need the summer to end to increase distance. 

  • Thanks for the tip Lowrez, I’m going to look into this in the coming days!
  • OK Dubai, you are in :)
    Love that 7 miler Peter, 10ft of ascent... you do know a down run still has a lot of climbing in it don't you :D
  • Ha Lowrez! That’s actually my longest run since comrades!  Re: hills - I’m going to be more prepared this time.. got a treadmill at home to help with that!
  • Thanks lowerz, I see my last run on Strava was July 2018

  • Update from me if anyone is interested.

    Running has not been a thing for me since Comrades. I’ve just been super fatigued. Waiting for blood results as we speak.

    Thay said, the past ten days I have felt great and have thus.. of course.. overdone it.

    The plan is/was to focus on Comrades 2020 only this year. I’m going to see how things progress coming up to the entry release and judge based on that what to do.

    I am absolutely a sucker for the back to back medal but if I’ve learned anything from 2019 it’s to be a little humble. I don’t want to get to the start line without any passion, hunger or energy so would rather come back in 2021 if I feel it is going that way.

    Either way I’ll be playing close attention and wish everyone the best of luck training etc.
  • Mac - Just came to say good luck for the Jung Frau marathon today only to find it was yesterday!! How did it go? Is your achilles injury fully recovered now?
  • Thomas - glad you're starting to feel a bit better and getting your running mojo back
  • Hope you are Ok Thomas, sometimes people just get a virus that takes ages to come back from so perhaps nothing more than that. Fingers crossed.

    AFAIK I am just, well, old and carrying some extra weight. We did manage 15 miles walk/run today though the original plan had been 18/19 but we were both so tired we didn't get up early enough for that.

    In other news I have had shorter cranks and a granny gear put on my bike and have bought replacement handlebars from eBay and shims for the brake levers so next week will be busy fitting all that. It's already more comfortable since the bike fit and new cranks.

    Basically my recovery just seems much worse than it used to be BUT I was talking to a guy just turned 70 yesterday and he's run 4 times this year so I'm not ungrateful for what I do have :)
  • Mac3Mac3 ✭✭✭
    SS - The Jung Frau was tough for me this year!  I clocked 6:20 which was a long time out there.  Conditions were quite cool with 2C at the finish at 2,100m (peaking at 41k @ 2,300m).  Interlaken is at 500m and probably around 10C at the start. Rain was forecast and snow at the finish but luckily it held off, it came the following day.  With no elevation training at all (@ Lowrez 10 feet is hilly for Netherlands!) since Comrades and still some way off regular mileage I was just glad to finish.  I had not realised the cut-off was 6:30 (probably a good thing), I was going as quickly as I could but from 30k to finish it's more of a hike.  I did this in 2016 for the first time in 4:32 and got a Comrades qualification from it, not so this year.  But the achilles held up and I'm finding by stressing it more the blood flow and recovery is improving.  I might have been a bit too conservative these past months.  Focusing on NYC now but it looks like I'll be in Munich at the time of the marathon there and if so, will do that too. 
  • Mac3. Great to hear about Jungfrau, it’s on my bucket list and an seriously thinking I’ll do it next year. Any advice on logistics? Places to stay? Etc
  • Great to hear that the Achilles held up Mac.  Well done on beating the cut off, the last 5km of that race is insane.  Fingers crossed for continued improvement. 

    I hope you will be back to 100% soon, Thomas. 
  • Well done on the Jungfrau Mac3. Great result after your Achilles issues - looks like you're shaping up well for Comrades. Hope the Achilles is soon completely a thing of the past.
  • Mac3Mac3 ✭✭✭
    Thanks all.  It is quite a unique race and I hope to do it again in the future.  There are plenty of hotels in Interlaken but I like the peace and quiet of Wengen with no cars, just the sound of cow bells. You get a train to the start and from the finish.  As for getting to Interlaken, we drove down this year via Luxembourg but I flew back from Zurich.  Basel would probably be the best bet with a train from there.
    Fido, Peter and Thomas, hope you all recover soon. 
    A rare Park Run for me this weekend with a trip back to the UK.
  • I’ve seen the news today that parkrun is coming to the Netherlands in 2020 so we might get to do them more often soon Mac3!
  • Am I the only person who's never run a parkrun? 
  • Probably, Dubai. I imagine it's too hot there. I looked for one in Egypt recently on holiday, without success, same reason I imagine. 
  • Peter, that's great to know!
  • Terry, seem to be all the rage in the UK, don't think they had them when I left. But seems like a great idea to get people moving.
  • Dubai, I have never run parked either; we need to set up a subversive counter-culture website I will look to design a logo :D
  • Dubai, parkrun is great. I've seen it have so many positive effects on so many people
  • ...and Bruce Fordyce considers parkrun South Africa to be his legacy, something amazing that he, with his wife Gill, and with others, has built for all South Africans.

    You have to get registered and come run North Beach parkrun (or another one if you prefer) the day before Comrades.
  • Debra, I've nothing against park run, u didn't even know what it was until a year ago, it got my sister in law running.

    Just don't have them where I live and in the last 2 years I've spent 3 days in the UK!
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