Runners United - Conwy Cockwatch, a live birth and Alex "Rhet" Ferguson in one thread. What more could we ask for?

peach should be ok, he is fairly specialised and not very cheap so he just runs on contracts which everyone is trying to avoid but inevitably need, hopefully if it does not take longer than 3 months we should be fine. it has happened before.

Oh no sfx, very sorry to hear about DH's job. What are the prospects like in his field for a new one?

hello finally sort of caught up apologies for omissions

well done to
ibby great time and lovely to have enjoyed it
sonic good feeling to finish under target and fab to have coffee and muffins afterwards
squix yes of course antlers would have messed up the aerodynamics
running your race sounds great and challenging, love your strategy

fanny any bruises aprt from carpet burns or any more domestic incidents?
peach glad to hear the sleep business is moving in the right direction and hurrah for MIL
june hope you had fun at the body combat

monkey I am so sorry your son is going through this, unfortunately not everyone actually bothers to educate their children, I think it is right to go to the school and get them to pay attention. you son is clearly a thoughtful and resilient little boy

orange how goes the PMT? I seldom cry but get pretty short tempered

here all going ok except that dh will be out of a job by the 21st but still we must not complain there are plenty of people in a worst situation, I am planning in doing temp work in the new year.

hat I have worked in the field since I was about 19 in some role or other including in management. I genuinely like it but it is not a particularly well regarded area, no one ever pays much attention to it unless to complain about costs or to react to some obvious scandal the press picks up on slow news days

and I managed a pitiful 3 miles today, really really must push self

Oh wow that's v generous and helpful of your MIL. Takes one pressure off at least!

oh monkey, my heart breaks for him. He does sound very mature and seems like a wee gem but glad that DH is going to see school. It is really unacceptable and just too depressing for words to think they have learned this type of attitude from their parents. DP used to get teased at school for being "soft", i.e. not playing football and giving his mum a hug at the school gate etc. Not nice at all. Glad Jillian helped you work out some aggression

Good runs Wheely, sticky, and Rhet!
My lovely MIL leaves tomorrow , but has just gone out and bought us a week's worth of meals from Cook. Don't know if they have that shop everywhere but it does frozen ready meals, but lovely posh ones. She also got loads of cake/treats. So sweet of her and must have spent at least £100.

Thank youo all for being so lovely . Had a good rant and rave at Jillian too (she didn't seeem to mind ) and I feel much better. Catch up properly later.

Oh monkey how hard for you all but I echo everyone else in saying how mature your ds sounds and how proud you should be of him. However, that doesn't always help when all you want to do is go in and slap the horrible child who is making yours upset. I hope your dh gets it sorted and that shred helped in the short term.

10 miles this morning for me. Chilly ! Made me realise that I haven't completely grown out of asthma. My main triggers were always cold and exercise and I felt quite tight all the way round. Must dig out my inhaler . I ended up taking a slightly different route to normal as I spotted the BMF class and knew my friend might be there so ran passed them, couldn't see her and ended up on one of the horse tracks in Richmond Psrk which was sand so made for some interesting running. I then decided at mile 8 to add in the steepest hill I know which I have avoided for 18 months since I almost lost my lunch on it. Anyway, I heard fanny in my head telling me not to be a wuss and went for it. Probably nothing by some people's standards but I got up it fine.

Anyway, shins seem to be twinging a bit....

Off to spreadsheet my half training plan
now I know I can add some easy weeks in !

monkey you should certainly be very proud of your DS, he sounds a wonderful little boy and very mature for his age (in fact, just mature full stop). Moshi is very right.

rhet will you be wearing your antlers in the delivery suite?!

Just back from 12 mile run (2:06). Started off really slow, knees were very stiff, but by about 3 miles in was properly warmed through. At miles 7-8-9 I met a lovely chap - approaching 73 years old he said! - very wiry and shorter than me, and doing a good pace. So just looking back at my stats, I did 9:39 m\m there. I must take him with me whenever I go running, clearly!

monkey - just wanted to say you are better off than you think you are because (a) your DS is already showing incredible resolve for his age and (b) any sort of behaviour like this that goes on with those oiks at school will therefore only serve to make him a stronger and more confident child by the sounds of things. You should be proud of how he is handling it. Much as we would like to, we cannot change the way people think or speak and so if another child's actions are primarily learnt from the way their parents behave and speak, then you just have to accept them for the cretins they are.

chip and number arrived today for Saturday...wonder if I will be running, or not!

03/12/11 - Jingle Bells 5k Phoenix Park - rhetorician
11/12/11 - Stockport 10 (mealworm one) -orangehead
01/01/11 - Morpeth 11k Road Race - AngeChica
07/01/12 - Bupa Great Winter Run 5k Holyrood park - bumply
22/01/12 - Four Villages Half Marathon (Helsby) - Fannybanjo
19/02/12 - Brighton Half marathon - Wheely
04/03/12 - Milton Keynes Half Marathon - pawsnclaws
10/03/12 - Blackpool Half Marathon - DrNortherner, Fannybanjo
11/03/12 - Cambridge Half Marathon - Futurity, Runnerstipple, Cherry (what have I done??), Bonkers20
25/03/12 - Edale Skyline - (21 miles. 4,500 ft climb) Hatwoman
25/03/12 - Fleet Half Marathon- DebitheScot
25/03/11 - Run Northumberland HM - AngeChica
31/03/12 - Olympic Park Run - wiifitmama, runerstipple
01/04/12 - Reading Half-Marathon - RunningAllDay, Tulip27
15/04/12 - Cambourne 10K - Futurity
22/04/12 - VLM: ibbydibby, AngeChica
28&29/04/12 - Wye Forest 50 (miles!) - RunningAllDay
29/04/12 - Shakespeare Half Marathon - FairyBasslet
27/05/12 - London Bupa 10K - Futurity
09/06/12 - Blenheim Sprint Triathlon - Cherry
29/06/12 - San Francisco Marathon - MoshiMoshi

Just added Cambourne 10K on 15/4/2012. That's three events booked already for next year :)

Waiting for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to finish so I can Shred and take out some of my aggression on Jillian!

runner hug gratefully accepted. He's a really nice kid, but I also don't want people to think nice kid = pushover. Funny enough, he got literally pushed over at football on Saturday, after their friendly they were lining up to shake hands and a boy from the other team just walked up and pushed him over to the ground. He was fine, bit bemused, but it turned out that the boy had Aspergers. I think ds knew something wasn't quite right because he sort of accepted it and knew it wasn't meant aggressively.

Rhet don't bloody tempt me, this is why DH is going in (also because he knows they will take him more seriously). I'm sure they would love to say this is just harmless teasing over a pair of pants (FFS) but I think we all know what the issue is, don't we?

monkey :( DP is sitting here saying (not usefully, it's true) that she would want to go in and batter the little fuckers...I think I might have to work on her as it is, alas, inevitable that one or both of my children will have to suck up some of this poisonous shit. And yes, runner is absolutely right, he is a credit to you and I am sure you will tell him how proud you are of him.

Oh monkey, I really feel for you and DS. I can see this one coming with my DS1 (who is 8) as he's not into football and stuff. its fine this year because he's at primary school, but he moves up to middle school next year and its a different kettle of fish there.

I know your DS shouldn't have to deal with it at all, but can I just say what a fantastically mature attitude he has, and that has to be a credit to the way you bring him up.

there's something truly appalling about when the Garmins muck up...did 12k this morning - running late due to DD first of all wanting to go back to sleep and then wanting me to teach her ballet.

I need to run some hills!

My shoes are asics lahar (+ some combo of rugged sounding letters like G T and X) and I really liked them - I think I bought them through amazon, see here

I'd definitely buy them again - hat what model of Innov8's do you have? when I looked on their site it seemed that they only had one women's trail shoe, but on wiggle there are loads

Hi all! Another one who finds it just impossible to run in the heat - I'm the opposite of a fairweather runner. When I got up to school this morning it was - 1.5 degrees, I think we may get snow soon.

Am just going to have a rant and bury this at the end of the thread so it's not hanging about ..... feeling very very sad today for ds1. He's written a Christmas list which includes the words "plain grey pants" and my heart sank because I knew straightaway what that meant - yep, you guessed it, apparently coloured or patterned pants are "gay". It seems it's the one same boy and two other sheep followers who are still on at him despite my having words at school about this. Apparently he's also "crap" and "shit" at football.

Ds has asked us not to go in and talk to the teacher again, he says it doesn't bother him and (God honestly this broke my heart) he said "Mum I'm not going to let three people tell me how I live my life." Much as I applaud that attitude, I don't think a 9 year old should have to deal with this, and it DOES bother him.

DH is going to go in and get this sorted. I can't appeal to the parents because I know full well that the ringleader's parents would probably (a) use that sort of language at home and (b) applaud the sentiment.

Am just going to quietly fume for a bit at home, but I feel better for getting it off my chest.

Rant over!

Great report sonic, and glad it wasn't too hot (though much respect as even 20 degrees would push me over the edge!)

squix, very exciting about your rowing training! What are you going to wear, it'll be a cold one eh?? And yes, you are about to become superhumanly fit!

orange, this might sound silly but could you do a little warm up in the house? Kind of like the thing they do before races? That way, you could maybe get away with less clothes, and even without gloves on "idiot string"???

So has anyone actually said ?no? to the social conscience q?

I had a go at the smartcoach and it didn?t seem to work ? even when I chose the hardest level it only had me going out 3 times a week

DrNo - glas to hear your neice is ok

rhet glad your HOD is giving you leave but surprised the uni (?) hasn?t sorted its policies out to formalise this for everyone ? people shouldn;t have to depend on the good will of their boss.

fanny hope the carpet burns are together. I sympathise ? when the kids are hard work a fall, or something like that, tips you over the edge. (who?s winston???)

ibbydibby great time ? well done! Thanks for the race rports - running sonic and squix

Re trail/off-road/fell shoes - the only ones I?ve ever had are innov8s ? but that is pure laziness on my part ? there are 2 shops v close to home that stock them ? and I just can?t be bothered to trek to a shop with a fuller range. I?m on my third pair of innov8s ? they?re good but possibly not as long lasting as I think they should be ? mine have lasted about a year ? but maybe that?s ok, seeing as they get quite a hammering. And yes, on the whole they seem to be cheaper than road shoes. Possibly less cushioned but if you?re mainly off-road that?s fine. They need to be low and also a nice snug fit for a good foot plant on unstable ground.

squix I?m not a regular on bogs of despair, though I did nearly loose one of my shoes on their first ever outing. And yes ? it?s not worth dancing round puddles.

I went out for 12 miles yesterday ? I?m a bit gutted because I decided to do a relatively flat route on trails, rather than fully off road, to see how quick I could do it ? and my ?kin garmin fecked up. It says I did 1.5 miles in 20 minutes .

Dd has got her cross country event tomorrow. I hope she enjoys it ? I?d love her to catch the bug.

Right ? must go and get some work done.

I definitely think the new thread should be dedicated to Rhet and her DP's new gal .

Good report sonic, I can't imagine running in the heat.
Off to do 10 miles now, but really don't know what to wear it's really cold but I get quite hot when running. Managed to root out my head band last night, first run of the year with it. I find the cold gives me earache but fine with headband

squix I really like my Northface XTR cross trainers for trail shoes, - lots of support and goretex which is nice when it?s wet. Never normally a north face fan (think they?ve gone more fashion house than sporty) but these have been good. And if you think your arms are going to hurt after rowing, wait and see what your abs feel like!

Moshi I liked the ?good rubbing? encouragement, especially combined with the Conway cockwatch thread title... A lovely visual image... and I also like you juggling kids and a dog ? clearly your upper body strength is good from all those monkey bars. Seriously though, I hated the final few weeks before we moved ? so stressful, and then you know it?s all waiting at the other end. Hope all goes as smoothly as possible.

Great match reports everyone - looks like a really sucessfull set of runs for everyone - I liked how dfferent they all sounded too longer/shorter courses, fast courses, and trail runs.

My match report: After learning my hydration lesson on Tuesday, I spent Sat evening necking water, then got up at 5am and made sure I got just over a ltr down me, making sure I had time to re-hyrdate from the night and get it through my system before the run... Day was nice, heat had come right off and was fairly breezy ? I think the run was probably just under 20degrees all the way. I was wondering what the set-up would be, like, and it was very welcoming, the deal with the club members is they ruin virtually for free - $3 each, but have to volunteer to marshal a few race each year, so the marshalls knew all the members, and shouted encouragement/abuse at them all as they went passed, which gave a great atmosphere.

Run was twice around a 7.5km course all along the swan river (up to one bridge, over the bridge, back up the other side and over a second bridge, so very pretty, but little shade, so glad weather was cooler, and you could chose your length right up to the last second when the 7.5km competitors peeled off into the chute to finish. I actually found that quite difficult as I?d been running in a pack of people at about the same pace, and at the 6.5km point they all sped up, and it was quite hard not to get dragged into their sprint finish.

Secided if I wanted sub-80min, I just needed to keep myself between 5:00 and 5:10 for the run right from the off, and pretty much stuck to that.
Felt very strong on both loops, my normal training run has been 11km for several months now, though I did a couple of 15kms to prep for this, and I did notice at about 12km I felt tired, fortunately that was around when I returned back to the first river bank so I felt like I was on the home straight and pushed through. Really felt recent abs worked helped, as I held a good posture throughout, and wasn?t slumping at the end. DH had made chocolate muffins with the girls and then driven down to meet me, so finished with them cheering me then had coffee and muffins in the park.

Reading about everyones HM plans. I just don?t see how I can get more then 2x runs per week in, so I think mine is going to be
a) Stay with my 8km run to work once a week, and focus on getting that as fast as poss.
b) Now I can do 15km, keep my weekend run at 15km(dec) for a month, then move it to 18km for Jan. In Feb I'll prob will pretty much have to drop running, as will just be too hot, will swim to keep fit and keep on with weights etc to keep core body strength. March ? restart at 15km longer run, ramping back up to 18 as soon as I?m comfortable. April ? make my weekend run 20km for a race in early may.

Prob against all training advice, but I think I?m better off doing something suboptimal I know I can keep to. Am hopeful that I can get sub 2hr on this.

Hello all I hope everyone is well, look forward to catching up tomorrow, particularly the race reports.
Need bed now