VLM 2012 Outsiders Thread

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  • mitiogmitiog ✭✭✭
    Que Sera Sarah,

    Live in west Wales - coast ahead of me, mountains behind. It's beautiful!

    Did an easy 5 on Saturday to complete my first week of 10K training and felt good to be back runnin again.

    Hope the cold gets better image
  • Very jealous mitiog image

    One thing I will say about where I run (Northolt) is that there are plenty of choices for routes - hilly ones, flat ones, a bit of both, the canal towpath - so though it's not scenic it is great in that respect.

    Hope you are feeling better Que Sera, if you don't feel up for runnning perhaps a walk will do you good. I am going to be doing a lot of walking as cross training between now and April, I really like it - time on your feet, low impact and you can be a bit nosey at the same time, especially when people have put their Christmas decorations up imageimage

    Plodded 5 miles on Sunday - was yuk, I think I ran a bit too soon after breakfast , but I did it - it's the furthest Ive run since the beginning of May image

  • mitiogmitiog ✭✭✭
    I worked in London for 6 months recently and it was horrible trying to run through loads of traffic and pollution. Plus you'd think in a big city there'd be loads of running clubs, gyms, pools, etc but everything seemed so far away by the time I'd done my hour's commute home I didn't really feel like getting to the gym. So yes, it's lovely to be back in Wales and I'm very much enjoying the rather scenic views from my office window! Good to be back training with my old club too - we did 400's and 800's last night (ouch!) but it's good for me....honest!!!!

    How's the cold, Que Sera?
  • I'm bored. I want to go home, have a short plod and a shower and then eat for England image
  • ...So I didn't plod on Tuesday but I did go out and walk for 4 and a half miles. Last night I plodded 2.3 and it was lovely. 5 miles Sunday and that's the first month's training done.

    So far so good image

  • mitiogmitiog ✭✭✭
    Well done Screamy image I did 15mins easy and 15mins a bit faster last night so "long" run of the week today or tomorrow - just 6 miles and that's week 2 of 10K training done. Been training by heart-rate and I'm finding that I'm getting faster for the same heart rate compared to a few months ago.

    Wish the weight would shift then I'd be zipping a long. Fat chance. But I'v eaten well for 2 weeks now image
  • Good stuff mitiog image

    I keep telling myself that shifting a stone means I'll have less to carry around but it's sooo hard at this time of year - I just want to eat casseroles and cheese and chocolate and biccies....sigh!

    Hey that's a good idea - I could get a pacer to run just ahead of  me with a plate of sausage and mash - guaranteed PB! image 

  • hi guys hope u dont mind me joinin in...  finally after 4 years got a ballot place. will be my first marathon doin half tomorrow though.  had probs with hip bursitis so trainin gone to pot so tomorrow cud go badly!

    am a plodder in mid forties started running at forty , finding cant shift weight either think running makes me eat more....

    am gonna raise some money for charity because i want to not because i have to so feel quite relaxed about the fundraising side. am worried about the crowds on the day and the distance as only ever run up to half mara an that involves walk breaks!

  • You'll be fine Melmar! There are still five and ahalf months to go.

    I'm still snotty but am back running again - 8 miles this morning which I actually quite enjoyed although my legs felt tired in the last couple of miles.

    Mitiog - so jealous. I lived in Lampeter for 5 years and miss it terribly. I love west Wales. Not many flat training runs for you though I imagine.

  • Hi melmar and welcome image

    You've got plenty of time to build up your stamina and confidence. Don't worry about walk breaks, I take them too, the thing to do is to structure them so that you do them at at set intervals rather than just grinding to a halt when you're tired. Apart from being kind to your body I find they also help with the psychological side of running that sort of distance.

    And definitely don't worry about the crowds -  they are half the fun! image

    Glad to hear you were able to plod on Saturday Que Sera. I ran 5 again ysterday plus walking on Saturday - probably another 5 miles or so there - so am feeling quite virtuous image 

  • thanks scream did worksop half yesterday was dreadful think walked more than ran... was near the back and enjoyed the banter and words of encouragement among the other slowbies. am not disheartened though its motivating me to train more !  the thought of doin twice wat i did yesterday is scary but av got to do it......

    am gonna look at diet also...... must be doin something wrong am firming up but not lost a single pound in weight

    sounds like we all have some way to go to get to marathon level but we  all determined and dedicated  so probably better than we think....

  • Dare I ask you your finishing time melmar?

    (No obligation - it isn't that sort of thread) but I bet you weren't last....

  • Helloo, I'd like to crash this thread, seems I belong here too image

    Have done FLM twice, approx 4.54 and 4.44.  I should have a 4 hour marathon in me seeing as I've managed a 1.44 and a.149 half but the wheels seem to fall off at about 20 miles.  (Probably lack of training).

    I don't plan to run with a time in my head this year, just go along and enjoy it.

    image

  • Hi Iron Pingu and welcome image

    Some decent times there. It will be interesting to see what happens this time - maybe if you are more relaxed about the whole thing the pressure will be off and it will all "come together" by itself - it will be interesting to find out.

    I'd be dead chuffed to do 4.59 but I'm not getting any younger so I probably shouldn't get my hopes up about that one. image

  • I must admit I've been right off running this year, had lots of injuries and found trying constantly to improve times has put me off.  More recently I just go out and do what I feel like and enjoy it much more. 

    It was a right shock to get a place at VLM!

    Are you training yet Screamy?

  • What's the secret to ignoring other runners so that you can stick to a sensible pace? I'm worried that I'll blow up as I get swept along with much faster runners (ie, everybody else).
  • I've never had that problem Sacco, sticking to my own pace is probably the one thing I'm really good at - in fact I could be a pacer for dead slow runners image

    As long as you're in the right start pen for your predicted finish time you sould be surrounded by people running  at a similar pace. Ignore the ones that speed off, they are either a) late, b) had no idea of their pace but have discovered in training that they can go faster c) have been completely unrealistic about their  predicted finishing time - you can wave as you overtake them at mile 17 when they will have run out of steam image

    Pingu, I started training for the BUPA 10,000 in January and all was going well. Got up to 5 miles (so close!) then got a hip injury. Then got ill. Then pulled a muscle in my back  which was stupidly painful for about a month. Have been getting back into it gradually  since September - so far so good. I had a deferred place so I knew this was coming!

    Great idea about doing what you feel like now and then, it keeps you fresh. Sometimes I do just go out and run without a watch. Last week I went for a long walk instead of a short run - you have to mix it up to beat boredom. 

    I'm a bit less of a wuss about hills than I used to be too, so that gives me more variation when it comes to routes than the last time I trained for a marathon. It all helps image

  • Afternoon Outsiders!

    Yesterday was quite a good day: I walked for an hour at lunchtime and had planned to run 2 miles in the evening - in the event I ran three and a half!

    This weekend is a drop back week so I'll be doing 4 miles but I'm making it a hilly one. 

    Happy plodding image

  • Hope your run went well Screamy. I had a brilliant one yesterday - 10 miles and I ran it all - and quite fast (for me). The weather was gorgeous and I felt really cheerful. Still feel good today. All in all a really top weekend all round for me, and in consequence I can't settle down to my work. So I have entered the Ashby 20 on March 18th instead. Hurrah!

  • I managed a 10 miler yesterday too. image

    I ended up doing it faster than usual because of the number of "spectators" on my route. I need to get some blinkers or something, otherwise VLM will be a painful experience.

  • Well done people - 10 miles - phew! I don't have that pleasure for another month.

    LOL at Sacco runnning in blinkers image If spectators do really bother you then you probably need to get some races in before the VLM because there will be hundreds of thousands of them in London and they will all be very noisy, especially if the weather is good. Perhaps the Reading Half would be a good race to do as there are quite a few at certain points but not too many at others so it's not too overwhelming.

    The only other thing I can suggest is that you don't run with your name on your shirt and that you keep to the middle of the route so you have other runners around you, that way you'll be shielded from the worst of it.

    Then again, if it makes you run faster......

    I quite enjoyed my hilly 4 miler but I am feeeling a bit creaky today. I think that's probably got more to do with clearing out my study and building flat pack furniture though.

  • Had my first proper run in a week yesterday, a slow plod on some hills & mud. 16m, 1500 ft of ascent. My dogs loved it. One of these days I'm gonna take them on a run where they aren't still bouncing at the end. It'll be a tough ask. Did a 40m run/walk in May and that didn't faze them......image

    Doing Sodbury Slog at the weekend, 8m XC, Avebury 8 the following weekend. This month & next  is just about fun and plodding along. Training proper starts 1st Jan.

    Saco, sorry can't really give any advice. I'm quite happy to ignore the world around me, or interact at will. Tends to be more to do with how focused I am on what I'm doing. VLM isn't going to be a ' Focused ' event though so plan to have the craic with spectators, marshalls, fellow runners etc along the way.

    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • Having a laugh along the way sounds like a good plan.
  • Oh yeah - you gotta have a laugh image I tend to run along on the outside (out of the way) so I got to high five lots of little kids last time. Some of them were a bit sticky I seem to remember image

    Wow Chimney, you must be fit - I feel exhausted just reading that. Glad your dogs enjoyed it though. Hmm...would I run faster with 4 legs I wonder....image

  • Ah yes, the London supporters ... fantastic for the first 20 miles or so, then you just want to shout "Oh just F**k off...."  ... or maybe that was just me! image
  • I do wonder how long my good spirits might last.
  • I'm a Londoner, I'm used to zoning out crowds and noise when I want to. It is a good skill to have.

  • I'm a Londoner too, but I normally just run laps of Regent's Park so I'm quite sheltered from view. This time I decided to run around Hyde Park and I unconciously upped my pace while I was "on show".image

    I shouldn't let my ego get the better of me. I'm very excited about doing VLM though, I've only ever been a spectator before and the atmosphere has been great.

  • Don't worry Sacco - I think it will be quite easy to hide in the middle of 35,000 other runners image

    Unless you want to try and win  imageimage

  • image I'd have to be at least 10 times faster
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