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Paris Marathon 2014
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TD - thanks for the advise I have seen those formulas before but find I can hit a much higher max than suggested for my age ! not quite that of DV but a fair bit higher than 220 less age. I also have a very low resting rate for my age... Think it's years of running and triathlons.
136 would put me between 70and 75% of MHR but need to test that a bit more to get a more accurate measure, think I will wait till after Paris To save the calf though
I don't even know what my weight is, never mind my BMI or any of that body fat index stuff.
I try not to Eggy
7 miles this afternoon, straight after work. I would love to say they were easy but it would be a lie! Overheating, then torrential rain, then too warm with coat on.... Grrrr. Legs really heavy after strength work last night. Who would of thought that 160 varying squats, 160 lunges plus the rest of the strength training would do that!
Hi all. I'm still loitering and following the thread. Felt a bit formal using my full name among names like Eggy and Jokey so I have re-branded. Still not quite down with the kids yet though.
Some reports on here of great running - well done
- and a few tales of woe - commiserations 
Had some real mixed results myself. Picked up a niggle a few weeks back and have ditched my original plan. Gone from 5 runs a week to 2-3 with only gentle running yet I managed a pb at Headcorn half in Kent (1:40) and ran my longest run (20 miles) at the weekend. Booked to see the physio on Thursday to see if I can be fixed. I will ask for whatever Stuchbury has.
Oh website!! I wrote a long reply and it's lost it. Sums up my day.
lloyd - sounds like you're training is going well.
Plus Eggy has been my nickname since primary school, so it's not something I put a lot of thought into when registering for this place.
Jokeybhoy: Sore after 10 and gradually worsened during the run. I'm resting until Thursday when I see the physio and I think rest is what I need. I figure if I can do 20 I can do Paris but will have to revise my finish time.
Getting lots of inspiration on here. Keep it up!
LloydR there's a lot of us in the same position ! I have been suffering with calf problems which seem to come and go now, it seems ok at slow pace but start to ramp it up to anything like 10k pace and I suffer. My aim is to get to the start And see whats possible on the day.
I did 9 miles last night and felt good, a bit dodge in the last mile again but definitely ok when slow but push too fast and I think I can feel a niggle. Did just over HM pace and didn't really want to go faster.
We'll get there, no risk taking now though! good luck at the physio Lloyd.
TinkerBEL set to work on my calves last night and I'm surprised our neighbour didn't complain with the amount of shrieking and whining I was making. It's not that I am soft...oh no.... she just has killer instinct for the sore spots and incredibly strong fingers. I guess I am appreciattive
LloydR - hope you get something resolved. Even some basic massage of tight spots/ trigger points in your legs is going to make a lot of difference at this stage of training.
Danni - really, you give up caffeine for blocks of time? That takes some discipline. I just have two coffees a day and I love chocolate. Body fat down to 7.2% today but my weight is a kilo or to higher than what it would normally be for such a low fat level. I think the extra cycling has been putting stuff on my legs. Blue skies this morning so I'm going out for a few hours to spin the wheels.
Keep the requests coming for joining the Strava BCRC!
Send me a PM with your email. Have a great day everyone!
I woke up with a massive surge of excitement today. Running a decent half last weekend has really plumped up my mojo after a crappy 6 weeks training. Its such a relief to feel well recovered already - I stormed up my local killer hill on a club run last night. Tomorrow I'm planning to take a bus to Devizes and leg it back home to Bath on the canal. My first (only?) 20m.
Coffee and more pancakes for breakfast this morning but I'm not asking for absolution
All the best to everyone getting over injury. All the best to everyone
Can someone explain why my legs are swollen plz? They've been like this for a few days And I feel like I have gained a stone of weight.
I know I should know why but.....
BenignM - great to hear that your mojo has had the boost it needed.
Stuchbury - great the calf is getting better. Don't push too hard now.
Hmmmm Kaz, don't have the answer to that one, but it sounds like it should be checked out. Water retention like that shouldn't be ignored. Probably a very simple explanation but....
Kaz - I agree with yer_maj it's worth getting that checked out. Might be a side affect of the medication you've been on, but better to seek proper attention to anything like that.
Have you still got the information sheet the antiobiotics came with? It's maybe listed on there as a side-effect
Keep on keeping on as they say. On the subject of food I have discovered the joys of 9bars. Usually found in the gluten-free section even though I think they should be alongside all the cereal bars etc. I got given one at the end of a race. It's just a perfect filling snack when you feel the need to reach for the choc as it has a thin layer of carob on the top which is just enough to fool my befuddled mind. And what's more they are made in North Wales. Yay!
Day two of a massive stonking headache which I could well do without. Is it normal to feel so rough at this stage?
It looks like everyone is starting to suffer
We are reaching the peaks of our plans - just need to tough it out, rest when our bodies say they need it and keep our eyes on the prize. The taper is just around the corner 
First coffee free day today. So far so good, but its only 10.15am
I hit the purple zone for my cadence last night
It was an interval session and according to my splits my average times for them were around 7m/m - very fast for me! Just need to keep that cadence consistently high.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/455179817
This brings me to a question though - TD oh wise one, can you help?
When running at an "Easy" or "Recovery" effort/pace, I am very much shuffling my feet along the ground. It feels so unnatural and must be ridiculous seeing a 6'4 15st bloke shuffling along like that.
I seem to be ok with the cadence in Steady State runs, Tempo Runs and Intervals though. So does this mean that my "Easy/Recovery" zones are too slow? Should I basically be faster all round/ Or is it ok to run these zones at a much lower cadence?
My worry is that by treating my "Easy" runs faster I may end up too tired or overtrain or something. But that's probably just a psychological thing as I'm used to just plodding along at the same old paces.
Kaz - could this be be linked to your 160-squats and lunges workout, followed by the next days run (rather then rest, which is maybe what you should have done)? If the workout was a really hard one for you (it would be the death of me) then some inflammatory response is normal. Just how swollen are your legs? Visibly swollen? Have you really gained weight or do you just feel heavy? If you're visibly swollen and have gained weight then I think you should get it checked out. If it's more a feeling then you could just rest and see if it goes away.
I found this link quite good to read, though its not 'proper science':
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-relationship-between-exercise-and-inflammation-and-what-it-means-for-your-workouts/#axzz2v5BCdhj5
Leggy - Yes I think it's normal to be feeling a bit battered by the training at this point. The plus side is that we're almost at the point of starting our taper, which while it can send the brain mad it does let the body rest and recover from the training to be fresh for the big day.
Matty - TD would be the best to answer your question and I'm sure there are HR zones for easy runs, but the old skool method for an easy run is the old could you hold a conversation while running at that pace. I've always found that if my fast run pace improves so does my easy pace, as I run faster but at what feels like no extra effort.
I think the main thing is not to start treating easy/recovery runs as fast workouts.
Hi everyone,
Glad to hear you're all feeling it now too. Nice to know others are in the same boat
I'm enjoying some barefoot runs on the beach at the moment. Thye are keeping me sane!
Quick Q - just been quoted £117 for the med cert
Is this normal? Seems excessive to me, but perhaps my error was to go via the receptionist rather than just making an appointment to see the GP. Help!
Z ;O)
Good point Eggy.
For me it seems to be a struggle reconciling cadence with pace with HR zone with perceived effort.
The cadence has clearly had a massive effect on my training. Its now trying to bring that in line with training paces.
It may be that its fine to continue my easy runs at a lower cadence, keeping high cadence stuff for speed and tempo work. But the voices of more experienced folk than I would ease my mind about it all
Zeena - that sounds like a lot. I asked for a non-urgent appointment but didn't mention what it was for until I saw the GP. I made sure I bounced in looking fit and healthy with shiny teeth and hair (only time ever), slapped the form on the table and got it signed for free. I did have an ECG with me, which most people don't have access to, but you could maybe print off some Garmin training or show them a list of previous races/running history.
Maybe research with of the Drs is a runner and get an appointment with them
Zeena -I did the same as Benignmurmuring. make the appointment and just get in and speak to the doc. Explain that the certificate isn't to tell you you are fit to run, its for the doctor to say there is no medical reason (Contraindications) that should prevent you taking part.
I explained that I'd run x half marathons and my training is consisting of y miles a week and that i'd lost z pounds in the process. She signed and stamped it for the much more reasonable £18.
Zeena - that's an awfully expensive quote... Mine was done for free. Can you see another doctor?
TD - 2 weeks coffee free is not fun, especially the first few days. But the research clearly shows a much more pronounced benefit to the caffeine in the race if done that way. Bu thou have to avoid all caffeine, not just cut down, else you will not desensitize your receptors.
Although I said no to Strava, I did peek a look...... and that pace analysis distribution is awfully nice...
Zeena - went to my local GP, paid £15, as did other people I know doing it. £100+ sounds ludicrous!
Matty - TD is far and away the best person to answer this, but cadence is one running stat that is going right for me.
Congratulations on the speed work! That's super quick. What advances you're making!
I know it feels awfully weird, but, yes, ideally you'll keep your cadence at 180 even on recovery runs. The idea is that your stride length will change with the different speeds - something it sounds as though you're discovering with the shuffling feeling. One thing I did/do to keep my feet fast at slower speeds is to transfer my weight to my forefeet (sadly, I'm not a natural forefoot runner) almost to the point of going up on tiptoes. You feel a bit less like you're shuffling.
It will start to feel natural. Promise.
Just by way of comparison for you:
I just did a tempo run at 5.29 min/km (that's pretty quick by my longer run standards, so no laughing!) - my cadence was bang on at 180 steps per minute with an average stride length of 1.01m.
My LSR last Saturday at 7.05 min/km (again, no sniggering please!) was at 178 steps per min with average stride length of 0.8m.
A recovery run I did last week at 6.20 min/km had 173 steps per min (not perfect but acceptable!) and a stride length of 0.91m.
I think the longer stride feels nicer - you feel more like a proper runner, but unfortunately, you need the recovery runs to, well, recover. The aim for recovery runs according to the genius of TD is that you should finish them feeling fresher than when you started. I would say focus on your heart rate to get an idea of the speed you should be going, and then you can think about adjusting your stride length to that speed.
Wouldn't possibly laugh, running for me is all about personal achievement and beating PBs which are just that - personal. Everyone has different goals
What you are saying does seem right. My natural gait is to heel strike with a relatively straight leg with little bend in the knee. However, when running at a tempo pace I seem to more naturally switch to mid/forefoot as my body is moving faster than my legs can to heelstrike!
Running more on the balls of my feet may help me avoid the shuffling feeling - a bit more like (And I think you mentioned this some pages back) a 'jogging on the spot' motion.
I am off for 5 easy miles after work so I will put this theory into practice!
I will get this cadence thing right in the end and stop asking questions about it soon, promise!