The runners' thread...
- Thread starter windhoek
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johnhunt
pfm Member
Im not bothered by garmin gps watches, they just tell me how slow Im going. But new running gear is a great present , especially with the winter coming . So gloves, little breathable ones, hat, windproof jacket , tights. Tops , head light depending on where you go. List is endless....I love running when its realky cold
JTC
PFM Villager...
Just a wee update. Did my second marathon in Gent on Saturday past, and got my sub-four (just!) - 3:58:01. Started well, 1:55 to half way, but started to fade after 30K. Luckily they had excellent pace runners, so when the tell-tale balloon of the 3:59 pacer started to appear in my rear-view I knew I had no choice but to hang in there. Very pleased; the sub-four thing seems to be a real 'you're one of us now, son' moments for the marathon, and it means all the more to me as I came so close to seeing it slip by.... 
JTC
PFM Villager...
Yeah, I'm especially relieved as only last week I had physio and an x-ray for a suspected groin/pelvis injury. Recent runs had been affected by discomfort and so Saturday was a bit touch and go. I started wondering whether I might even make it to half-way, but a strong anti-inflammatory and the boost of race-day adrenaline got me through. It was tough, but I am really delighted. And the groin, whilst still not right, didn't bother me that much during the run nor afterwards. Still recovering - my quads, calves and toes have all taken a hammering - but as a personal achievement it was worth it. Planning now to rest up for a week and then switch to light/short runs over the dark months, building up again in Feb/March for marathon 3 (London)....
ian123running
pfm Member
That's great JTC well done. Take it easy with the recovery - it will take a while before you run normally again. Any shorter races planned? I did some of my best 5ks and 10ks soon after (i.e. within a few weeks ) of marathons. Shame to let al that fitness go to waste!
London... a fabulous target there!
Ian
London... a fabulous target there!
Ian
ian123running
pfm Member
JTC How was the Gent (Ghent) course and race experience? We visited a couple of weeks ago and loved the place.
JTC
PFM Villager...
I thought they did very well for an inaugural marathon, although the experience was strange as they allowed runners to have 'support cyclists' (!!) which occasionally made the narrow-ish route a bit congested. Pace runners were excellent, and finishing inside a stadium with a crowd (albeit a bit sparse) made me feel briefly like a sporting somebody!
Are you on Strava? If so, follow me and you can see the route for yourself. In brief, pretty flat as you'd expect, a mix of maybe 2/3 pavements to 1/3 reasonably good trail, a few minor hills (mainly when you had to cross a canal) and some beautiful scenery.
I'm tempted to concentrate a bit on my 10Ks. Bizarrely enough, now that I'm in the 'sub-four' category (did I mention? ;-) it looks odd that my 10K is still over 50mins. What I *think* is that I can start pushing the pace for shorter runs. In 2018 I'd like a sub-1:50 HM and a sub-50m 10K. I wasn't far off it on both during Gent, so it should be achievable. I'd also like to be sub 4:15 for London if possible (bearing in mind increased numbers etc.)
windhoek
The Phoolosopher
Just a wee update. Did my second marathon in Gent on Saturday past, and got my sub-four (just!) - 3:58:01. Started well, 1:55 to half way, but started to fade after 30K. Luckily they had excellent pace runners, so when the tell-tale balloon of the 3:59 pacer started to appear in my rear-view I knew I had no choice but to hang in there. Very pleased; the sub-four thing seems to be a real 'you're one of us now, son' moments for the marathon, and it means all the more to me as I came so close to seeing it slip by....
Superb JTC! although two minutes over that distance isn't much, I can imagine the mental pain that would have followed had you been two minutes slower and come in a 4.00:01. A marathon at any time as a great achievement but to clock you first sub 4 hours must be a great feeling. I hope I can do likewise one day myself. Well done
PigletsDad
My intelligence test came back negative.
I finished my "A" race for the year Saturday before last. This was my first ultra, at a more mature age than most first timers.
My build-up had gone well until three weeks before-hand when I got a knee injury, so I missed two weeks of training and my final long run. The physio said there was little risk of long term damage if I did the race, it might just get so sore that I couldn't finish. I revised my target time up and planned to do more walking, and specifically walk down all the hills, no matter how gentle.
The race was the Endurancelife Suffolk Coastal Trails Ultra, 33miles and very flat. It was bright but extremely windy on the day. The start / finish area was in the ruins of a medieval friary just outside of the village of Dunwich. We set off just after 8am, heading north, and coming out onto the beach for half a mile or so on the way into Walberswick and checkpoint 1. There was then a loop up the banks of the river Blyth, and back across farmland to checkpoint 1 again. At this stage I was right near the back of the field, with mild but bearable discomfort from the knee. Next we ran through the UK's biggest reed bed, on boardwalks and raised paths, then through flooded woodland and up to checkpoint two on the edge of Dunwich forest. From there we headed south, but mostly through woodland or sheltered lanes, so we rarely had the full force of teh headwind. Although I lost time on the down slopes, on average I was now moving up the field. We came out onto the road for a couple of miles before checkpoint 3 at 19miles. I was starting to feel a bit better, and as the course turned back to the coast I started to pick the pace up, with less walking. The stretch up the long distance coastal path was great fun, with a massive tailwind pushing me along. I had a couple of bad patches at 24 and 28 miles, but was mostly overtaking people, and did the final 2.4 miles leg in under 22minutes, giving me a negative split.
I finished 2nd VM55 (of two finishers, several others dropped out) and 49th of 94 finishers. If I had run the first part less conservatively I might have finished faster, but I had of way of knowing how my knee would hold up.
My build-up had gone well until three weeks before-hand when I got a knee injury, so I missed two weeks of training and my final long run. The physio said there was little risk of long term damage if I did the race, it might just get so sore that I couldn't finish. I revised my target time up and planned to do more walking, and specifically walk down all the hills, no matter how gentle.
The race was the Endurancelife Suffolk Coastal Trails Ultra, 33miles and very flat. It was bright but extremely windy on the day. The start / finish area was in the ruins of a medieval friary just outside of the village of Dunwich. We set off just after 8am, heading north, and coming out onto the beach for half a mile or so on the way into Walberswick and checkpoint 1. There was then a loop up the banks of the river Blyth, and back across farmland to checkpoint 1 again. At this stage I was right near the back of the field, with mild but bearable discomfort from the knee. Next we ran through the UK's biggest reed bed, on boardwalks and raised paths, then through flooded woodland and up to checkpoint two on the edge of Dunwich forest. From there we headed south, but mostly through woodland or sheltered lanes, so we rarely had the full force of teh headwind. Although I lost time on the down slopes, on average I was now moving up the field. We came out onto the road for a couple of miles before checkpoint 3 at 19miles. I was starting to feel a bit better, and as the course turned back to the coast I started to pick the pace up, with less walking. The stretch up the long distance coastal path was great fun, with a massive tailwind pushing me along. I had a couple of bad patches at 24 and 28 miles, but was mostly overtaking people, and did the final 2.4 miles leg in under 22minutes, giving me a negative split.
I finished 2nd VM55 (of two finishers, several others dropped out) and 49th of 94 finishers. If I had run the first part less conservatively I might have finished faster, but I had of way of knowing how my knee would hold up.
Guitar Beard
pfm Member
I have my eye on some high viz cold weather stuff (you can't have enough) and one of the body torches also one of these for post run analysis http://www.milestonepod.com/ - Anyone used one?
sean99
pfm Member
Good to have an ultra runner on the thread. I don't think my knees could take anything longer than a 1/2.
An odometer for your shoes - that's a really cool idea at a decent price. In terms of post run analysis I'm still of the opinion that a heart rate monitor is probably the #1 training item, but I must admit I don't use it as often as I should.
An odometer for your shoes - that's a really cool idea at a decent price. In terms of post run analysis I'm still of the opinion that a heart rate monitor is probably the #1 training item, but I must admit I don't use it as often as I should.
JTC
PFM Villager...
If anyone likes this sort of thing, I blogged about my day out in Gent (including pics):
https://runladdierun.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/milestone-race-day-4-the-gent-marathon-2017/
https://runladdierun.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/milestone-race-day-4-the-gent-marathon-2017/
ian123running
pfm Member
After a break of a couple of years, cross country again (I'm in yellow). Nice simple course, just under 6 miles. Did OK but my son was well ahead despite his hangover. Grrr.
photo 1694 was taken at 11:58:03 by Barry Cornelius, on Flickr
photo 1694 was taken at 11:58:03 by Barry Cornelius, on Flickr
JTC
PFM Villager...
Great stuff. I did my first parkrun of the year on Saturday (still with kinda tired legs from the previous weekend's marathon) and got a PB. Not particularly quick - compared to some - at just over 23 minutes - but it goes to show that the long run training doesn't hurt the shorter stuff either. I'm now targeting 22:30 as a new PB by year end for the 5K, and maybe get that down a bit next year.
JTC
PFM Villager...
Did 25K yesterday - the first 21K was reasonable, with a big f**k off hill slowing me down (300m climb over a few K) but still just over 2 hours. However, at just around 21K my hip started to hurt, hail came on and the wind got up. And there was me in only a flimsy running tee. Suffice to say, not my best training run. And a damp, cold, miserable trek back to the car...
In other news, thinking of running the Northumberland coastal trail series (marathon) in February. 26 and a bit miles of dune running. What's not to like?
In other news, thinking of running the Northumberland coastal trail series (marathon) in February. 26 and a bit miles of dune running. What's not to like?
windhoek
The Phoolosopher
Sorry I've not been chipping in recently. I'm lucky if I can run 50m - that's fifty metres, not fifty miles - as my left hip, thigh, pelvis or whatever is still giving me jip. I can walk more or less fine, with an ever so slight hobble if you look close enough, but whenever I try to run I end up running with a limp and simply have to stop within a minute or two. I'm somewhat reluctant to visit my GP as I'm sure she'll send me for a x-ray, but not to put too fine a point on it, I don't really fancy having an x-ray machine anywhere near my giblets; they might not be prize-winning golden giblets, but they're all I've got and I sure as hell don't want to end up with crispy-fried giblets for the rest of my life!
Anyway, well done to all you guys still clocking up the miles, marathons and ultra-marathons
Anyway, well done to all you guys still clocking up the miles, marathons and ultra-marathons
sean99
pfm Member
Since you live in the UK where it won't cost you an arm and a leg I'd go see your GP if you're having that much trouble - you may or may not get help. You could also ask a local running club / triathlon club for physio recommendations if only to get an evaluation and figure out how to heal as quickly as possible. You could probably get a private evaluation and maybe some exercises to do (and ones to avoid) for less than the cost of a pair of running shoes.
In the mean time to keep spirits up and belly fat down now is the ideal time to work on your swimming and / or cycling, within your limited abilities to be ready for the next tri. season ;-)
Best wishes for a speedy recovery - inability to exercise has a really negative effect on my mental health.
Two weeks until my first 5k race since August - the goal is under 19:30. I just hope the weather isn't bad.
In the mean time to keep spirits up and belly fat down now is the ideal time to work on your swimming and / or cycling, within your limited abilities to be ready for the next tri. season ;-)
Best wishes for a speedy recovery - inability to exercise has a really negative effect on my mental health.
Two weeks until my first 5k race since August - the goal is under 19:30. I just hope the weather isn't bad.
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