Talkback: ASICS Target 26.2 Team: Craig

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  • Reckon we should have a sweep on all three of our amigos.........last bet on the Friday before the race..... I tend to agree with Oscar you will do well to sub four but you are progressing amazingly. What was your five km time at Birmingham Craig?  But as SB says aim for the stars.   I want a start line initially with little injury then wish list goes sub 4.30 this year and anything else is a bonus.........even though I am training on the sub four and can do a 23 min 5km, 47minute 10km and 1.49 Half I still have the black cloud of blowing up at London in 2010 but there we go I shall eliminate it now from my brain and stay positive and never mention it again.

    Have a good evening Craig, enjoy your tea!!!image

  • mcs, mcs - that was just one race and you had a bad day.  You most certainly have a sub 4 in you with those times as they are very similar to mine - you just need a fair wind and a sprinkle of luck!  I obviously just got to the start line on the right day at the right time for where I was at, at that time! I have no doubt that you can and will do the same! It's just a question of when not if!

    Catch ya later all...

  • Just like mcs i have 22:30min 5K, 47min 10K and 1:45 half but have failed in quite a few attempts to get under 4hrs due to various reasons so a cautious approach may reap the benefits for Craig unless he has a "Sleepy" day where everything fits together perfectly - hope so, but wouldn't plan to do it, that's the only difference.
  • BoDukeBoDuke ✭✭✭

    Oh this is getting interesting.... Well folks, you all gonna have a sweepstake, nice... I'm not going to throw for the highest bidder either.  But might need some more cash from somewhere... You know how bad things come in threes? Well, first it was the oven, then the fridge/freezer and all the food and now, now I go and run into the back of someone this morning... Typical. Thom was in the car too... First ever accident in a car and my kid was in it. No one was hurt at all and both cars seem ok, but waiting on the personal injury claim... Nearly cried for the first time in years this morning, vvvvv close... 


    Thanks everyone for the congratulations, really appreciate it. Your support and encouragement means so much.


    Emma: Thank you. And you are not the slowy of the group, you are the wonderful star of the group. I'm in awe of your ability to juggle everything going on in your life and do this! wow woman, awesome


    KR: I'm already in for that one. My home town and some of it goes over my old xc course from school (where I would hide in the bush and wait with my mates). It's pancake flat, with the only inclines being a couple of underpasses.  The roads are also nice and wide, with only one real bottleneck.  They are changing the course this year, but not going to make any difference. Hope you come over, grab a post race snack (some v good pubs here a v close to the finish).


    MWW: LOL, read in Feet in the Clouds its 'Walk till you see the peak'. I get freaked out by the hills in Wales, almost like my eyes can't accept they are real. That sound strange?


    Susie: Yea! Goal beaten. Nice. Shame about the hat though . I used three maxifuel gels at the weekend 34g each (used them before in a race, pricey but work for me). One at each water stop so, 4, 7 and 9.5. The last one had caffeine too, should have used that at 7 to be honest. I also worked on carb loading, with 80% the days before.  Posing last days below.  Seemed to make a bit of a difference. Shame about the pain in the last two miles, but goal done now I'm really pleased for you. Nice


    Louisa: Good work on the long run. I'm deffo into the negative splits now (totally agreeing with anyone who says it's a good idea). Seems to leave the power to the end and easier to break through that psychological barrier of 'I want to stop now'. Sounds like your getting your fueling sorted too.  I've noticed how one week you x miles and it's really hard and then you do it again either the next week or whenever and it's just not as bad. Is it your brain doing that or is it physiological??? 'Does the body rule the mind or does the mind rule the body,  I donno' Name that tun... Know it's random, but ran into some poor woman today so....


    Kev/Sleepy/oscarr/mcs: I'm still smiling despite the crash... I was aiming for a 1:55 this weekend, that was in the plan and anything more was a bonus. Sub 1:50 was there as a oh.. Maybe next time... Looked at my Garmin at mile ten and discounted it out of hand and just thought "don't leave anything on the field, Craig, You'll be disappointed.' Make sense? Didn't believe the clock and had to check the results in the clubhouse... Three times....

  • BoDukeBoDuke ✭✭✭

    My 5k at bootcamp was... *opening new window and checking* 24:41... OK, sub 4:00 might be on the cards. But major problem might behaving put myself in the 4:15 pen... Oh dear... I do seem really like and thrive on pushing through the field though and find that a total boost (in my head). Come what may, I'm putting everything i've got into getting the best result that I can, already have a request in with the weather controller for a cool, overcast day on 15 April 2012 in the region of Paris...


    Ready meal is ready... Had to, no fridge to keep things in and no prerishable good in house till Friday... Some milk in freezer compartment with bags of slowely defristing ice... Back in a bit to post food for three days prior to Rodin.

  • Bo - you seem to be coping well with the trials that are hitting you at the mo with the fridge and car etc so well done - reckon you're in control of things mentally which is great - really pleased you are a convert to the negative split; its such a buzz to be strong in the final section of a race and passing folk.

  • Oh Craig! Glad everyone is ok.  On the bright side - you can now start looking forward to three good things happening. I'm not surprised you were upset  though and you'll still be a bit tired from Sunday, that always makes things a little more emotional.

    How does this week's training compare to last week? I see you're doing your sandwich today then long on Thursday - is that less than the first four days of the week before so you get a little rest? 

    p.s. Count me in on the sweep.  If I can do it Craig - you can - you've got Sam helping you get the very best out of yourself - I just did what I could and hoped for the best! I caught a lady that I'd been chasing in halves for the previous 2 years at about 22 miles - I can still remember telling myself just to have a go to see if I could close the gap to her; I did and then I went past her and I spent the rest of the race waiting for her to come back past me.  I'm sure that helped keep me going - she never did catch me! It's a great motivator eh?

    Intervals for me this morning - here I go - hope the rest of the day improves (for everyone)

  • Craig - stonking time in your HM race!!!!! Did you eat a Kenyan during your carb-loading? You seem to be lopping 15 minutes off your marathon target every few weeks! Well chuffed.

    Sorry for being AWOL. I've had a terrible time being laid-up with flu, and I'm still struggling with congestion and Sinus pain, plus a hacking cough that makes me sound like a hardened smoker. I've been struggling to keep up with work and getting some University assessments finished before the deadline, hence I've had no time to check in here. Thankfully, I just beat the deadline so I'm feeling pretty relieved.

    I haven't run at all for two weeks, which makes me feel downright miserable. I'll post a question for Sam soon, because I need a bit of advice what to do after this set-back.
  • Ten - if it's any consolation i have been fighting a low level virus for a few weeks now which keeps coming back, not seriously but you just know it's there - Choisty is also suffering and many others have been down with stuff so i think it's just the time of year - it should all be gone soon.
  • All the best Craig keep smiling its only metal glad to hear all safe!!! Still a pain but keep coping you are doing greatimage
  • Cheers Oscarr, there's hope if I can avoid any more calamities before the marathon.

    I ran an easy three miles tonight and if anything it helped the sinuses. Better still, I didn't suffer a coughing fit afterwards. What wasn't so great was that my heart rate was a solid 10bpm higher than normal - but this wasn't a great surprise. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to do another run tomorrow to see the heart rate come down.

    Craig - on a related subject to your recent bump... I had a pizza delivered on Sunday evening. Sixteen inches, beef, mushroom, onion - delicious. Comfort food at it's best. Anyway, the pizza delivery guy looked at me and said "you don't remember me, do you?". I was racking my brains and trying to think if I could bluff my way out of it. Now he mentioned it, he did look familiar. I just couldn't make the connection. "I'm the guy who ran into the back of your car last year."

    See? I told you it was a related subject. Though really, I just wanted to reminisce about the humungous pizza, because it will be a while before I can have another like that image
  • Ten - its good to have you back; you always did bring a good sense of humour !!
  • Ok all you experts, the term "recovery run" strikes me as a bit of an oxymoron!
    What is the thinking behind them, and in what way do they help you recover?
    If you have muscle fatigue and micro tears after a long run how can running help improve that? Prob a stupid question but my guess is you lot will know, think everyone on this forum seems to know more about running than me! image
    Susie

    P.S
    I'd prefer a tenjiso recovery pizza!
    Or a recovery glass of chablis!

    P.P.S just off for the run in question now but still quite stiff from Sunday and not convinced it will help, but hey ho!
  • BoDukeBoDuke ✭✭✭

    OK, I'm over the car and fridge thing now. Time to move on.... image three nice things would be good, I'm in credit now.

    SB: Discussed with Sam about long runs and all that. Had a bit of a shift round so we could get a long session in this week, so I've taken Thursday morning off work for it.  Got short fast session on Saturday, so need make sure we have the build up on distance.  Sandwich run??? Oh I see what you mean, not heard of that one before, what a newbie I am... Loving the story about the half lady, passed her in a marathon, how happy were you? How did the intervals go?

    oscarr: Totally the way forward. So impressed by the amount of juice still got for the last few miles.  I saw Chorsty's been ill too. Touch wood, but I seem to have gotten away with it thus far..*throws salt over shoulder etc*

    Ten: Great to have you back with us. Just wondering if you were OK, but hope you on the mend now. I tried to eat a Kenyan, but he kept running off... Re: pizza man, how strange would that be??? Free pizza?? There is some nasty stuff going round at the moment, people dropping all over the place. Mad. Good luck with everything and hope your Uni stuffs OK too. That is soooo stressful. 

    mcs: thanks mate. What's the quote for today? 

    susie: Think it's to do with working your muscles at very low intensity and enabling the fibers to heal, or something. Read it in one of Sam's books.. Has it worked?

    Sandwich run this morning, middle two were meant to be a 8:30 to 9:00:

    1    11:34.3    1.00    11:34
    2    8:37.2    1.00    8:37
    3    8:33.0    1.00    8:33
    4    8:27.4    1.00    8:27
    5    10:34.4    1.00    10:34
    6    :05.4    0.01    9:23

    Actually found it quite hard this morning. But might nae been over dressed.  BTW how do you train to cope with warmer conditions? image

  • Well done BoDuke, can't stop smiling so delighted for youimage

    LMDavies wrote (see)

    Hi Ruth & hi BoDuke, long time lurker,first time poster. Totally impressed & inspired by your efforts & dedication BoD. Question for Ruth, BoD & anyone else- I'm training for VLM & did Wokingham Half on Sunday. Suffered from stomach/intestinal pain most of the way round which I put down to Spaghetti Bol the night before made with beef mince instead of the usual turkey. Managed to finish but was v slow in part due to the discomfort (& partly as I'm just slow). Any chance of suggesting some good pre-race meals/recipes for the night before please ? 14 miles planned for Sunday and would like to experiment on Saturday night. Thanks guys x


    So sorry for not getting on here at weekend.

    LM- stick to what you know works and if you do stuggle with stomach on and off this becomes even more important; you need to ensure you eat and drink a well practised food intake the day before and morning of race. The spag bol will work for some and not others so it is really a case of trial and error but reduce protein at this meal and up the carbs and keep fat content down (red meat is high in fat ). If you know the turkey has caused you no problems in the past and you are at home I would stick to this when you can and perhaps when not staying at home before a race try just   plain  pasta with some tomato sauce.

  • BoDuke - forgot to say ..see you this weekend!
  • Bo - just come back from a talk by the sports presenter Steve Rider at a local theatre - one of the questions he was asked was what is the biggest common asset all the really great sportspersons he has interviewed have (e.g. coe, redgrave, senna, nicklaus etc) - his answer was something along the lines of "an unswerving and inpenetrable self-belief and ability to focus 100% on the task at hand" - food for thought !
  • Morning all

    Just a quickie from me today as have to jump in the car at lunchtime and want to squeeze a 10 miler in before I go!

    Not surprised you found today quite hard Bo - your legs will still be a bit tired from the weekend.  My intervals went really well yesterday thanks - I thought I'd be much sorer today as I really surprised myself and did all the reps at the fastest I've been for a looooooooooooong time.  Was really chuffed - not overly keen to go out just now but I too have had to wriggle my week around to do a 10k this weekend.

    Talking of racing - good luck at Droitwich oscarr and to all others racing .... best of British to you all - let us know how you get on!

    Right - better get a wriggle on - may see you up in Birmingham - still don't know much except that it's a loop near not on OUR track!

    Have a good un everyone image

  • Sleepy, have a great trip and tell us all about your racing and Ben's when you get back - will text you anything about the training day if it gets posted here.

  • Following my short run yesterday my sinuses feel about 70% better, my cough seems to be reduced and my low-level persistent headache (which I've had for the best part of a week) has completely gone! I had my best nights sleep for a fortnight.

    I'm wary of a relapse if I do too much, but I'm really hoping I will be able to run the half marathon this weekend.

    Sam - if you have any advice for coming back from flu/sinusitis, I'd welcome it. I ran 16 miles on 11/2, then 6.5m and 8m on 13th and 14th Feb, then nothing until yesterday when I did 3 miles. I've still got a cough, but I haven't got a chest infection, and I still have some congestion (much improved). Would I be pushing my luck to race the half marathon on Sunday? I'm planning on running 5 miles tonight, then 7 miles on Friday before racing on Sunday. I'll keep an eye on my heart rate during the training runs.

    Oh, and if that goes to plan, I'm hoping to get myself up to 18 miles the following week (leaving myself enough time to get a couple of 20 mile runs in before the taper).

    Finger's crossed...
  • Good to see you buzzing again Ten well done.............hope the sinus clear.......vick and boiling hot water in a bowel and a towel is a good shifter..........head sauna.image

    Did a nice slow run this morning but ended up still going abit quick at average 8.55 will go abit slower on the way home supposed to do 7 slow today at 10mm, 4.16 done this morning. Quite an emotional run as saw the wife of a chap I use to see every morning from our village walking their lovely collie on the Monsal Trail. He died suddenly of prostate cancer on the 14th of January and I hadn't seen her out with the dog. He was the dog walker morning and night so I saw sometimes twice a day. He featured on a BBC 4 programme before xmas on the issue of green lanes and their use in the Peak District. I gave her a wave and said good to see her out and about.  Life is short aint it!!

    The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart, head and hands.

  • Hello everyone

    Just snuck off to a spa on a '24-hour reviver' break image so catching up with things now.

    Recovery runs: the theory is that some gentle running can help to boost circulation, getting the waste products resulting from heavy exercise out of the muscle tissues faster. Definitely keep them slow and short to prevent doing further damage.

    Running post-illness: Be wary, Ten. If you've had a a proper flu (as opposed to man flu image, which is basically just a cold!) then you will have had aching joints and fever. If either of these remain then you must not race a half marathon. If you are confident that you just have blocked head/sinuses now, then you should be OK to run the race - though you might need to adjust your goal or be a bit kind to yourself after having some time out.  Glad to see you back!

    Some GREAT running going on everyone! Congrats on the PBs and newly-attained LSR distances.

    Craig, yep, you''re bound to be a bit tired this week. Hope long run goes OK. It's an easy one rememberimage We'll chat about goals at the weekend. But to respond to SB, Oscarr and mcs, I think I'm still a little reluctant to specifically set a sub 4 goal at this stage. Remember, Craig has never run further than 16 miles yet, and he only started running for the first time in May, so less than a year ago. Yes, he definitely has the POTENTIAL to run sub-4 but we don't always reach our potential straight away. But we'll have a good old chat about it on Saturday and report the results!

  • MCS - that's one method of making my eyes water. In fairness, it's probably the least painful method.

    Sam - that's brilliant, thanks. It was flu I tells ya, but I'm over the worst. I've got just under six weeks to get my mileage up before the taper.
  • Hello there. It was lovely to meet you Craig at the weekend, I've never met a famous person to talk to at a race before. I still think you are mad for camping but it didn't hamper your great finish time.

    I haven't worked out how to do the quote thing on here but you said

    "Actually found it quite hard this morning. But might nae been over dressed.  BTW how do you train to cope with warmer conditions? "

    After the cold start on Sunday and then finishing and feeling so hot I would also love to know if anyone has any advice on how to keep cool on the run?
  • My advice would be to slightly underdress rather than overdress. You can always stay warm on the start line and even the first mile or two by wearing old, unwanted clothing on top of your running gear, which you can discard as you warm up (this can even inlcude cheap gloves/hat) Your body temp will always go up when you start to race, so you need to cater for that when you choose your outfit.

    If you don't have any suuitable gear - try jumble sales/charity shops. For tops, cut a long the neck line with scissors to make a big wide opening for your head, so it's easy to get off when you're on the move. No tight sleeves either!

    Hope that helps. Speaking from experience as I am notorious for over dressing and then moaning about being too hot! image

  • Dont like heat hope Edi is not hot, GNR last year we had a couple of miles when the sun came out did me in lost my pb due to that, must learn to cope better and I was only wearing a vest. Need to go warm weather training I reckon, suggestion to mention to the lovely OH.......
  • Sam/Bo - regarding targets, there was a great discussion about this recently on Colin's thread and i think the majority agree that unless you've already banked a good time in a previous race (and can therefore take a risk) then its best to be conservative so as not to risk burnout in the last 6 - this may be applicable to Craig and suggests staying with the slower target for his first one - but it's up to you two to agree the plan of course.

    I can hear Sleepy shouting 'no, just aim for the stars' !!!!!!!!

  • BoDukeBoDuke ✭✭✭

    Hello Folks,

    Good to see a discussion about goals and all that. Note that I'm staying tight lipped about this one.  But am listening to both sides of the argument. Discussion gonna be had at the weekend, but liking this v much... Be conservative or risky... By nature I take calculated risks and will push boundaries, but this is something else.  Little experience and lots of optimism do not make for good decision making. image

    Can largely be summed up by oscarr and mcs: image and SB image(or maybe the other way round)... Who can tell???

    Getting my head around a mid week 18 miler and then work... Gonna be strange, but interesting. Had to resist attempting a run to work and then using a mate's shower before going to the office. 19.1 miles from my house... When I've got a 20 miler, could run home... That would be interesting. Tomorrow is going to be an easy one which is between 10:30 and 9:45, planning to stick to close to 10:30 for at least ten and see how we do, might increase to 10:15 or so for the last couple, but distance objective tomorrow.

    mcs: Very touched by that story and the quote is also amazingly true... One of the nice things about running is getting into the environment and interacting with it. Tonks' bit in RW was good this month 'cos I've had people get all weird when asking for directions or saying hello.  Good plan on the warm weather training... Week in Spain... 

    Ten: Fingers remain crossed for your recovery and health. Get it out of your system.You've got time to decide about the half. 

    SC23: It was great to meet you on Sunday, thanks for coming over and talking to me, I was getting a bit lonely there on my own. It was soooo cold at the start wasn't it? I couldn't feel my fingers... Famous? That would be Sam mate, I'm just some bloke. Did appear to be getting recognised though, which was a bit odd... Good to have you with us too. Good result on Sunday BTW, were you expecting the hills because I'm so not used to them... 

    BTW, got new shoes today. Asics sent me a pair of DS.  Had them recommended and not going to get the change to experiment with footwear again, so gonna try them on short quick runs and keep the heavy fellas for the long ones.  Will let you know how it goes with them.  Peps at work did think it a bit strange that I was sniffing them in the box going 'hummmm, box fresh running shoes' and then walking around the office in the... Comment's included 'prison whites' and 'wierdo'... Fair 'nuff really. 

  • BoDukeBoDuke ✭✭✭

    Right, carb loading, better late than never. Shame I can't copy and paste this direct from my phone *hummmm Iphone app for next years cohort of 26.2ers* image

    The numbers relate to carbs in g.

    Thursday
    Sis Rego - Recovery Formula, 50 g      31
    Starbucks - Luxury Fruit Bread, 2 slices toasted     84 
    Lunch
    Potatoes - White, flesh and skin, baked, 1 potato large (3" to 4-1/4" dia)    63    
    Heinz - Baked Beans Half Tin, 1/2 tin     26 
    Dinner
    Sainsbury's Taste the Difference - Quiche Lorraine With Smoked Bacon, 0.33 container (1 of a quiche ea.)   19  
    Sainsbury's - Poppy Seed Roll, 12 oz       60    
    Snacks
    Soreen - Malt Loaf  100 g    66 
    Jams and preserves, 1 tbsp     14   
    the Cooperative - High Juice Blackcurrant Fruit Squash, 250 ml      31     
    the Cooperative - High Juice Blackcurrant Fruit Squash, 250 ml       31     
    Pepsi - 330ml Can, 1 Can    36

    Friday

    Breakfast 
    Cereal - Shredded Wheat Original (Post), 2 biscuits      37   
    Sainsbury's - Fresh Milk, Semi Skimmed, 1 glass 200 ml      10
    Raw - Banana, 1 Medium      27  
    Tropicana Pure Premium - Orange Smooth, 300 ml       30    
    Lunch
    Hovis - Medium Soft White Bread, 4 Slice (40g)    71    
    Marmite - Yeast Extract, 0.13 container (250 gs ea.)    6  
    Dinner
    Dolmio - Stir In Smokey Bacon and Tomato Sauce, 1 container (150 gs ea.)      11    
    Cheese - Parmesan, shredded, 2 tbsp       0   
    Waitrose - Wholewheat Penne Pasta, 0.33 container (487.5 gs ea.)      102  
    Waitrose - Essential Mini Garlic Baguette, 52.5 grams       23    
    Snacks
    Soreen - Malt Loaf 133.33 g       88  
    Jordans - Original Crunchy Honey & Almonds, 1 bar     18 
    Pepsi - 330ml Can, 1 Can   36 
    Waitrose - 100% Pure Squeezed Pink Grapefruit Juice, 200 ml    15 
    Powerade Ion4 - Berry & Tropical Flavour, 500 ml    20  

    Saturday was similar, but cos in field, struggled to record, but included another load of pasta and an energy bar thing that tasted of banana, but was basically maltodextrose, sugers rubber, some plastic stuff and bottom of an old shoe that had been used in a stable or something... 

    Seemed to work with the carbs I took on board on the run.  Gonna try zipvit sport stuff too. Have high gel, but the zipvit stuff seems to be higher density and cheaper g for g over all. Lets see.   

  • Bo - for a first timer you've taken to all this like a duck to water, or is that salmon to river..who knows - grrrrr you've got me doing this 'think it-write it' thing!!!!!!
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