Runners United: Where we support each other through the good runs, the bad runs and everything in between.

Hmm peach you seem to have a thing for tv journos. Good on your PILs !

paws there's a park n ride organised by nirvana the official travel agent and its 15 quid per person which would have worked well if we weren't already staying in town. Will look into council p n r but I'm thinking we'll just blow the expense and train it....and remember to book races with easier logistics next time !

Ha ha Wheely, he probably thinks you want to tickle his massive ears!!! I do love Andrew Marr. I think he runs 9 miles a day, fact fans!

Jesus paws!!! please provide warning before tearing "up and out" is mentioned!!!!!!!

welcome Chrispackham! the door is always open!

Wallace!!!!! Long time no see! Welcome back!

Good luck with the running club cherry, am sure they will be lovely.

PILs arrived last night and have been brill (look away encyclo). they have gone to get DD from playgroup and then her out for lunch. I had trip to the midwife (all good), a long bath, then watched a DVD in bed. MIL bought me two books and a giant box of chocolates with strict instructions not to bring them downstairs to share and must all be consumed by me in my room. I could definitely get used to this! Going out tonight for curry with the girls.

wheely isn't there a park and ride? If not then there should be! That always works best for us. We came down by train to Brighton yesterday which works well as there is a direct service, but didn't work for the marathon as there were no trains early enough - so we did park and ride which was brilliant.

At Chester we stayed at the hotel overlooking the start/finish, which was very convenient for toilet issues, but scary watching all the fitty types warming up! Then a 4 hour drive home ......

ooh and I meant to say, I passed Andrew Marr running in Richmond Park this morning - one of those moments when you smile at someone beacause I always like to smile at runners and then I realised who it was and thought 'oh he probably thinks I'm smiling at him because he's famous'....

Hi All

N4NNY, sorry to hear about the redundancy, I hope something comes up soon. In the meantime, I hope the Iceland trip goes well - v. exciting.

Futurity - Glad you enjoyed the swimming. I agree, it is knackering. In our lessons we only get through about 10 lengths but they are really tiring. This week we were doing front crawl using fists which was hard. I am so pleased i am doing them though - although fear it shows up a triathlon is a long way off for me. Good luck with the renovations. We seem to be constantly in the throws of some sort of work. We're about to embark on havin some bedrooms decorated and the floor in our guest bathroom might need to come up and joists repaired from our leak the other week. At least thats not vital (providing its done by christmas !!).

Glad poo-gate seems to be abating. Good luck at running club cherry.

SFX - see how you feel on the day but maybe a happy 5K would be better than an unhappy 10K for your return to racing.

Hi wallace - I think I remember you too (have I been on this thread tha tlong... I think maybe...)

Am with you on the aches and pains Squix ! I can't remember if you've done the GSR before or just your family ? Are they local (I know you're very much not !) I wondered if you had any insider info as to logistics. We can't decide whether to take the car or not. We're staying at the Ibis in Portsmouth the night before but checking out before the race so presumably won't be able to leave the car there. But, we're leaving the girls at MILs and although from her nearest station (Basingstoke) its v. easy, its not easy to get to the station. We'd probably have to get a taxi and the train isn't cheap so what with the hotel/ race entry/ train and taxi it'll end up costing about as much as a nice weekend away . Not that it won't be nice ......

I've just done my last long run before the race. 10 miles... or so I thought. I'd mapped it last night but when I got back my watch (footpod) read 9.91 miles and my watch usually underreads.... my phone gps said 9.54 miles. Which might account for why I did it in 1 hr 24 mins (was v. chuffed with that until I saw it wasn't 10 miles ). Ah well.... my watch keeps coming up with low memory when I've cleared it all out so I think I'm going to have to work on an early christmas present and get a gps garmin to help me through half marathon training.

Rest day for me tomorrow then I think 5 miles at the weekend, then next week maybe a couple of 5Ks before the big one...

hi wallace - I remember you from days of old. I was absent for a while - the thread has grown and moves so quickly now.

can't keep up! sticky I'm not really sure I'm the right person to ask. I have a copy of Off Road Running, by Sarah Rowell - apparently the off-road bible and I've just looked at it - but there's very little reference to technique. The only thing she does say is that many people will use their arms on tricky downhills to aid balance - for myself I've concluded that the gain in terms of balance and therefore confidence outweighs any slowing effect the flailing might have - but that's specific to tricky downhill sections.

harding? harring. Which is not a word either.

encyclo do you think she mulls these gems over beforehand or is it just a flash of inspiration at the time? She clearly has a gift (FWIW, my favourite ever kitchen belonged to friends of my Gran who had a massive old vicarage. They still had the bells up for the Family to be able to call the servants to the correct room. Now, do you have bells?)

futurity hope all goes well. Am very of all that work going on.

Another lovely day, but I'm a little stiff from yesterday (not groin hobbling though ) so humming and harding about whether to go out. Also will be trickier next week with the girls at home. I think perhaps just a leetle run.

pmsl encyclogirl that is a stunning "compliment" from your MIL!

Man is plastering at the moment. Decorator in tomorrow hopefully (depending on the plaster setting) and then kitchen building starts on Monday. Am very nervous as it is very tight as to whether it will all fit in but I just have to let the fitter sort it out...fingers crossed.

N4NNY so sorry to hear about your redundancy, hope something comes up for you soon.

futurity Good luck with the project. Hideous while you're in it, but totally worth it in the end, I promise. I really love my new kitchen. My MIL's 'compliment' was genius. "It puts me in mind of the servants kitchen in Downton Abbey" ha ha!

sticky 9 miles off road sound fab! Still hobbling through my tight groin (sounds vaguely dirty that). Managed 3.5 last night before the pain reeaaally kicked in!

Just popping in in the midst of my working from home day (the work part is euphamstic often)
I have just about recovered from my tummy bug, sorry for spreading the cyber bugs around!

Just picking up on a few things from other peeps ...

N4nny, sorry to hear about your redundancy, are you able to do part time work, or can you set up as a childminer/work at a nursery? (NB I have no idea if that's even possible). The cost of childcare is a real killer we find. DS's nursery are putting up their fees in January by £2 a day, doesn't sound much but it amounts to quite a lot over the month/year. Also excited to hear you are going to Iceland - we went there a few years back and it is gorgeous. Make sure you go to the Blue Lagoon, my skin was lovely aftewrards.

Peach I faithfully did the perineal massage etc, fat lot of good it was when DS would only depart via the sunroof option ...

futuirty good luck with the building work. Our next door neighbours (other half of the semi) have just announced they are thinking of doing an extension. I can hardly wait to have scaffolding everywhere and their builders peering in at us ...

I am going to try out the local running club tonight also, a bit nervous as I automatically assume they might be quite cliquey, but I think it'll be good for training purposes

Happy thursday all, enjoy your various runnings etc.

I ran with a friend who hadn't done a 10k for ages. Her previous PB was 1hr15 so I ran with her to encourage her. She was delighted that we finished in 1hr7.

Twas a PW for me (even though I am certainly not fast) but was a lovely return to "racing". I have done the Aviemore Half a couple of times so it was nice being there. It is so nice to be running properly again - baby is 11months old!

Just been to first adult swimming class...I'm shattered! Swimming is such hard work...running a half marathon was a doddle (sort of!) compared to that...hopefully sleep well tonight . Enjoyed it though and looking forward to next one.

Running club tomorrow night if I can move!

How did you get on Wallace? I considered it, but feel like I'd done enough this year!

Hello I'm posting on my phone so sorry I'm not naming people but thanks to all offering symphathy on my redundancy at the moment I have nothing lined up so it looks like I will be joining the dole Q :( things are tight for everyone at the mo and I guess the first thing to go is the full time nanny do in Bristol there are very few full time jobs and only very bitty part time ones.

As for running I've had my running course tonight and we did stride work and very gental hill work had a really good session but bbbbbrrrrrr it was cold think mr 7 is right I do need a base layer under my running coat not just a t shirt. Could have done with gloves tonight too

Debi that sounds like fun!

N4Nny I took redundancy just before Christmas last year (nice timing). Even when it's ostensibly voluntary (and it wasn't really, just least worst option) it really sucks. It must be horrible when you've been with a family for a long time. :( Do you have another job lined up?

lovely 9 miles off road in the new trainers today. Was really cold (pass the nipple warmers please fanny), but beautiful and sunny.

Am trying a new arm-technique. I've been having my arms/elbows quite high, but noticed a lot of the fast runners (especially the ones that look like fell-runners - is this right hatwoman if you're around?) keep their arms well down. I thought it might be better for keeping balanced, as well as perhaps better for the shoulders. We shall see...

Rejoining this thread after a looong break. I do recognise some names though.

Well done to Piff - I did the Aviemore 10k too :)

I was just next door at a Pampered Chef party. I was meant to come home at 8.55 so dh could go to football. At 8.56 he knocked on the door to fetch me home! How embarassing [hblush]. I was in the middle of a glass of wine so I've brought it home with me and as soon as he's back I'm going back round there!

peach hoping for good news, people do cope but I hope he will not have to

futurity good luck with building work
ibbi sounds like an awful saga, sympathies

N4nny sorry about the redundancy, how are your prospects of new work? I hope you will be employed shortly although the separation after such a long stint must be difficult. best wishes

sorry if missed people

here I might go for the 5K option rather than the 10K will see how I feel on the day, for a number of reasons, we shall see.

just nipping in to say hello....i joined our running club tonight and the very nice man who runs it ran with me for a 5k - he says if i keep it up i should be running 10k races by the spring - he will advise me on which one to go for first and he is thinking of one in April for me....so if its ok, i will nip back in for a quick and race natters around that time! look out for me!

ttfn!

n4nny sorry to hear about your redundancy and hope you manage to find another job (if you haven't already).

rhet glad you sound brighter, whenever due date looms closer, everyone is bound to feel more stressed as a big change is about to happen. When are you starting running club?

futurity good luck with kitchen and want lots of photos.... I would kill to renovate ours, it is 15 years old and pine and looking very very tired. Our last house we renovated from bare brick (was Victorian) and I had my dream kitchen, was very hard to leave it behind. I even had one of those hot water tap thingies, was the dogs bollocks!

peach hope your dad and his wife are okay.

Ladies, running chat is allowed back on the thread! Did easy 10k this morning, 52 mins. Chatting all the way around with my friend and was quite surprised when looked at Garmin, my fitness improved with my training, even after being so poorly last week, its the hills I tell you! Was so cold though, need to dig running gloves and nipple warmers out.

Hi all! Just about to go on the Brighton ghost walk. Spoooooooky!!

peach I did perineal massage before having ds2. My perineum was just dandy. Unfortunately I tore up and out. Ouch.