Happy when we are running!

[MoshiMoshi]

Hear ye! Hear ye! All those who want to liberate themselves from the shackles of their domestic and work lives, join us here in our continued bid to run and be happy and feel free !

Hi All

Great running everyone - some really long distances here. In awe !

Welcome Nora

DrNo - I have a garmin, I love it although don't do as much with it as I could I think mainly because I haven't downloaded any software on to my laptop as its a bit too full at the moment. Otherwise, Mapmyrun.

Hat - gorgeous scenery. Much like my run along the A3 today (actually just before that I had been in Richmond Park amongst the deer)

I did 8 miles today (8.14 to be precise..) which is the furthest I've ever run . And, the distance I have to do (bar 0.06 m)for the Kingston run so feeling pretty happy. Although,the first 4 miles i did fast for me (under 5mins per km),then I turned round to come back and had the wind and rain in my face so slowed down a bit. Then in my last mile got an horrendous stitch so really had to slow down - booo. Which meant it took me 1 hr 10 (but the last mile took 10 mins). Ah well, still feeling pleased.

PS - my feet are fine again. I am .

Your pace wears me out just looking at it Moshi.

Well done on your longest every run wheely. You are alot faster than me!

I have started using gels recently too. I'm experimenting with how many but I took 3 on Saturday, had one at 4, 8 and 12 miles. They are a pretty unpleasant texture and taste weird but they don't upset my stomach and do seem to help. I use the SIS Go ones.

I will have to get some bodyglide or something paws, my back really hurts today, everytime I bend over

I finished the week with a gentle but wet 5 miles. I was absolutely whacked after my long run + night shift combination but pleased I did the run, I hate missing any!

Morning guys! Looks like I need to save some pennies and get a garmin then seeing as lots of you have them. Dh is a cyclist so I guess he could also use it on the bike?

My friend and I had a great run yesterday, both felt strong and did some mean hills, not fast up the hills but strong and steady, It was pouring with rain but you soon forget the weather don't you?

Rest day today and running club tomorrow.

Hi, can I come on in here? I've just this morning signed up for the Chester Half Marathon, and I'm having a bit of a panic!! The most I've done before is 11 1/2K (I was training for a 10K and got lost - the story of my life!!).

I've printed off the Couch to 5Ks Half marathon version (does that make sense??), and I'm now trying to arrange my life around training - the race is 14th May, so I have pretty much exactly 12 weeks!!

Any advice? I can't afford a gym or Trainer (which is why I began running 2 years ago in the first place!) - but I'm more than happy for any help any of you would like to give me!!

Well done on your 8 miles, wheely! It will be useful to get some runs in longer than the race length as you will bwnefit from the endurance you gain and find your stamina is much better ie you will be able to keep pace and enjoy the race without suffering towards the end.

DrNo - great hill run there. Hill running is particularly good for leg strength and focusing on good form sonic you can incorporate a weekly session into your training you will reap greater benefits than the obvious aerobic ones.

Welcome to IreadtheteforeIam! Make sure the schedule you have chosen is realistic for you. Make sure that the longest run on week 1 is no longer than the longest one you are currently doing and also that the sessions are ones you can realistically keep to. It is fine to miss 10% of the runs and recognise that real life can intervene, especially with little ones to look after, but there is nothing more demoralising than continually having to miss scheduled runs.

PS and congratulations on committing to your first half, IreadthereforeIam! Add your name to the list on page 25 so we know where you are in your training programme and when your race date is.

I use my Garmin on my bike Drnortherner...when I get out on it, which is not much at the moment I got a bike mount from Amazon which works really well and has a much better velcro strap for my small wrists aswell.

Hello Iread, good luck with the training.

heya, new to this part of the forum
i enjoy running, i usually do 5 to 8 k once a week or once every two weeks. usually on the treadmill at the gym, i have this weekend done 6k outdoors, really enjoyed it.

I think I'd like to find a race to participate in so that i have a goal for my training iyswim. I'm in london.
i had a baby in june 09 and put on 5 stones during my pregnancy, all lost now but still have 1 and a half stone to loose. i think i lost a lot of confidence through this which is why I'm finding the prospect of joining a race quite daunting.

any advice on how to get started? thanks in advance!

Welcome, June and well done for having the confidence to want to enter a race. There is nothing like a race in your diary to focus you on your training and making sure you get out of the door regularly. I would focus on something like the Race For Life 5Ks for starters as you can easily cover the distance and can work on improving your speed over the distance in a race environment. Runners World have a great calendar with races in it and there are various other websites with races to choose from. You may find it beneficial to run at least 3 times a week to help shift the excess baby weight and see a real improvement in your fitness though. Once a week or fortnightly is probably not enough to advance. Do you think you can commit to more regular runs?

oh welcome june - your first race is such a great experience. you'll love it. like moshi says check out runnersworld - both for a race and training schedules. and enjoy the fresh air. Spring is coming - taking the decision to do a race is the biggest step. it's all easy from here: just follow a schedule. and come on here and tell us how you're getting on.

thanks for your replies, I'll check out the site.
moshi, at the moment i only run once a week because i do other types of training the rest of my free time (6. or 7 hours a week in total). im quite happy with the progress withy weight loss so far. i really do enjoy where running takes me mentally, clears my head.

i used to run everyday but i end up with a pain on the tendon just above the achilles heel and then i have to stop running for a few weeks in order for it to get better. that's bad as i really need my feet for the rest of my training :)
i ran every other day over xmas and this pain came back so i'm not sure what to do about that.
i got some shoes from one of these shops where they watch you run on a treadmill and tell you what show to get but that did not improve things for me.

20/02/11 - Eton half marathon: Passmyglass
27/02/11 -Kilimanjaro half marathon: themasterandmargaritas
06/03/11 - Bath Half Marathon: MoshiMoshi
13/03/11 - Spen 20: Mrs Wednesday
19/03/11 - Dorney Lake Half Marathon MoshiMoshi
27/03/11 - Kingston Breakfast Run 8.2m wheely
02/04/11 - Miles for Missing People 10K: MoshiMoshi (may ditch this race if we are collecting our NEW PUPPY that weekend )
10/04/11 - Brighton Marathon: Pawsnclaws
17/04/11 - VLM: MoshiMoshi/ Passmyglass/ Doyouthinktheysaurus
10/05/11 - Burbage Skyline 5.75 miles Hatwoman
14/05/11 - Chester Half Marathon: IreadthereforeIam
15/05/11 - Oxford Town and Gown 10k: Goldberry
22/05/11 - Edinburgh Marathon: MrsWednesday
08/06/11 - Claver Peak 5 miles: hatwoman
12/06/11 - Bath R4L 5k Dillinger
12/06/11 - Redcar half marathon - DrNortherner
10/07/11 - British 10K: MoshiMoshi
10/07/11 - RFL 5K, Kingston & Kempton Park: Wheelybug
18/09/11 - GNR: Hamster, Run for fun

Eek Moshi - longer . I thought I was doing well getting to the 8 mile with still another 6 weeks to go. But I see what you're saying. Next w/e we're in CenterParc Hell with friends so probably won't get out for longer than an hour but maybe I'll try longer the week after (then there'll be no excuse for me not signing up for the GSR !) .

Welcome June and Iread. June I can second the idea of Race 4 Life - they are a great start especially as a lot of people walk the whole distance so there's no real pressure to go fast ! In fact, I'm doing one with my 67 year old Mum in July as she took up running and wanted to do 1 race to prove she could and I thought this best (although there's a local women's 8K near her and she's now saying she might do that but she won't accept she's getting hte bug). If you're in London there's lots of them.
Its great to see lots of new people joining us and the list of races growing - makes me want to sign up for more jsut to add them .

Welcome June, nice to see lots of newbies just like me!

Was stick at home today with an ill ds and kept thinking what a great running day.....although the ground is boggy and muddy everywhere round here.

Another question. I run with my dog, and at the moment when he needs to be on a lead i just hold it in my hand/around my wrist but I am aware it does impair my style slightly and I run better not holding the lead. Anyone run with a dog and tried those round the waist leads? Just he's a big strong lab and I don't want him to yank me over!

Hi DrNortherner, I run once a week with my dog and have never tried anything other than a basic leather lead clipped to his harness. Like you I just loop it round my wrist. I don't think a round the waist would work for us as he's big, strong and fast (greyhound) - bearing in mind he could fairly easily get to over 40 mph I'm not going to chance it!

The lead itself is fairly long though so I feel I can still run in a relaxed way as there is always some slack. I think the harness helps too, he seems more comfortable than with a collar/lead.

I love running with my dog but must admit we're not well matched - he's a Linford Christie, great for short sprints while I'm a long slow plodder. So funny to see how utterly pooped he is after only 3 miles!

PS horsebox is pawsnclaws - was just trying out a new name but think I prefer the old one.

Nicely achey legs post yesterday's run.

I was going to try and follow the couch to 10k plan but I have to have surgery in March so that will mean two weeks out.

Would it be better to increase the distance of my run/walk intervals up to 10k and then increase the running or to increase the running now and then increase the distance? Which will get me fitter faster?

Pawsnclaws - I totally know what you mean about the hot sunny day nightmare. And my race is in May and last year may was boiling. I am also an E cup and have got a fab sports bra - no chafing ever (probably because I am not running far enough!). It looks more like a waistcoat and does up at the front. Really soft fabric as well, sort of satiny. And it's black (calm down, gents!). Best sports bra I have ever owned.

I am so excited to be running again - can't wait til my next one!

I prefer pawsandclaws to horsebox!

Wow - lots of newbies - how exciting! June - don't worry about doing a race. I was a real non-runner and have now done a 5k and a 10k race. I really enjoyed them both. Once you've done one, there'll be no looking back!
I'm really wanting to increase the number of runs I do per week. At the moment I do 2, maybe 3 on a good week. What do people think would be too many? I'd maybe be aiming for one longer one (1hr) and a few shorter ones (maybe 40 mins).

Evening everyone!

I've been doing some research! The cool running website suggests I do 5 runs a week (of varying lengths and intensity)! Now, if I had the time, I'd love to run 5 times a week!! I might be able to fit in 3, maybe 4, but I'm going to struggle - especially next week with half term.

I also have the added 'bonus' of a sponsored bike ride the week before my half marathon (why do I let myself be talked into these things??!!). At least I can do as much or as little of that as I want - might be a short leg on that one then!

So am I going to make it up to Half Marathon distance by 14th May with only 3 or 4 runs a week? Or am I just being daft at worrying about this?!

Iread - have you had a look at schedules? Try find one that suits your likely commitment or at the very least can be tweaked so the key sessions are retained. Will have a look later if my Internet behaves itself (has been funny for days now and doing everything in iPhone).

Gold - what are you currently doing? Don't increase by more than 10% a week to avoid overuse injuries.

just stopping by to say add me to GNR list!!!

I need to get back intothe swing of running,and posting, now that my back has improved////

Iread have a look at plans on the Runners World website. They have quite a few different half marathon plans, many will be only 4 runs a week I'm sure.

I only run 4x times a week, don't find it holds me back at all, and I really couldn't fit in a 5th run unless the government decide on an 8 day week

As Moshi says Gold increase your running slowly and do what suits you. As I say I can't manage more than 4 times a week because of my night shifts, but some people run 5 times comfortably.

Thanks Moshi and Doyouthinktheysaurus. I am currently doing about 40 mins at my running group and one or two more sessions of similar length. I want to start doing a longer one as I'm aiming to do a 10k in May, but I've got plenty of time to increase slowly.

Nice to see you back, popsy! And good to read you have a place in the GNR. You can try to beat your PB!

I had an easy run scheduled today - it's a recovery week for me so my body can rest and absorb the training - and went for a nice 9 miles along the Thames towpaths at an average pace of 8:11m/m. I then went onto Bootcamp for an hour of conditioning work as I am keen to make sure I have the strength as well as the aerobic fitness from all this training.

Happy running everyone!