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 !

playthedayaway keep it up - well done!

thecoo agree with what others have said. You will do 10 miles fine. Just enjoy it.

paws Happy Birthday fro tomorrow.

Peachy lol at coming home for a poo. Running certainly keeps things regular doesn't it?

My legs are killing me today after a monster trainings ession at running club last night. There were over 40 runners, it was dark and very foggy. The humidty does my hair no favours. We did interval training running laps of en estate called The Oval (about half a mile 1 lap) We did 2 laps fast, then half slow and half fast. Then 1 lap fast, then 1/4 slow..........then it all got a bit complicated for me. The fast runners started lapping us, it was foggy and we got disorientated and could not even remember where the laps started and when we should be slow or fast. So me, and a few others ended up running about 92 frigging laps (slight exaggeration there but it felt like it)all at one pace that was slightly too fast for us to maintain. I was sweating for England at the end. And we were out for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Anyway. Today I ache so am resting. Will do recovery run tomorrow.

Hope you are all well

Peach sympathies on the poo problems. I have spent many a long run with buttocks tightly clenched desperate for the loo Chocolate on the day before a long run is what sets me off. No chocolate and going before I erm...go seems to work

It's marathon madness round here peach On the one hand I will be so glad when I don't have to do this really long runs anymore, on the other hand I can't wait to do it all again

LOL at your monster session DrNo, sounds like fun You deserve a rest day today!

Peach can't remember if I've said this before, but my "digestive" issues are completely resolved as long as I cut out wheat. Not a big problem as ds2 has to be gluten and wheat free anyway. I used to get stomach cramps running for over an hour but no more. Oh the joys!

Well done on your 8.2 miler, wheely! See, you can do it!

My 11 miler was better today and I found my bounce again hitting 8m/m although:

1. It took me 4 miles to warm up.
2. I could barely run as my calf was so painful at first.
3. I fell spectacularly at mile 3 and have a bruised and bleeding arm and knee.
4. I nearly twisted an ankle at mile 8 after admiring a pair of English Pointers.

Conclusion: I am tired and showing it so sometimes may hit the right training pace but probably not on current form. The taper should see me good I am told so am going to try avoid incapacitating myself in the meantime .

Happy running everyone!

Moshi well done, I'm prone to dog distraction too!

A small "whoohoo" from me if it is allowed - I've reached my fundraising target with a little help from my birthday money, and still have more to come. Thanks all for the donations, you're all superstars.

Happy birthday pawsnclaws - hope you're doing something other than the gym to celebrate!

So glad your run went ok yesterday wheelybug. It sounds like quite a fast time to me too...

moshi that sounds like quite an eventful run you had . I hope your arm and knee are ok - you need to take care of yourself.

It seems to be unanimous that I enter the 10 miler, so I'm going to go for it. I really appreciate the advice. cestlavie will try doing 4 sessions like you suggest, but I'm a bit of a novice, so can I ask a couple of silly questions?

What is a recovery run?

Is the speed session interval training or just doing a shorter distance fast? How far should this be?

Quite excited now actually!

Right, have entered the Storford 10 for 26th June - gulp!

Slightly worried now, as race starts at 10.30 and awards ceremony between 12 and 12.30 and they "encourage all runners to stay for the awards presentation" - I probably won't even be finished running by then, so maybe this race is aimed at fast and serious athletes, not slow plodders like me!

I'll probably get to the finish and it will all be closed up and everyone gone home

thecoo you know, I'm sure lots of people will have different views (and probably have much more structured training sessions than me!)

A recovery run is something I'm terrible at doing but is basically a moderate distance run at a slower pace to flush out stiffness in muscles and keep you ticking over. So say for me, if I'm running 13 mile on long slow runs, it might be a 4-5 mile run at about the same pace, maybe even slower. I always end up going too fast but that's the theory anyway!

Intervals (which people definitely know more about than me!) is mixing up slow and fast speeds over your workout. Like doing say 4x 1k fast runs, with a 500m walk in between each of them. Tons of variation on this but the aim is for it to be a cardio workout by pushing each fast interval hard as you reasonably can. Personally, I aim to finish each interval struggling for breath but able to jog lightly after it.

Running shorter distances faster are tempo runs, meant to be at point at which you're running just under your anaerobic threshhold - kind of hard to judge but it's broadly the point at which you're holding a steady pace just under the pace which would mean you're gasping or breathing hard. Point being to raise you're general level of fitness. Distance for me would be about 5 miles.

Hope that helps but will let everyone else jump in!

Happy Birthday paws

Hope you are okay today Moshi, my personal and extensive experience of falling over tells me that everything stiffens the next day and you can feel worse then. Look after yourself, just get through the next 10 days or so and then...taper time

Well done on entering thecoo, you will be fine. You could always check last years results online if they are available and see what time the last finishers came in, I always do that

I do intervals once a week, normally mile or half mile repeats with recovery time of about 2 mins. I just started with this marathon training but I have definitely seen some benefit.

Your summary of recovery Runs made me smile cestlavie, I always run mine too fast too I think I am just so pleased to only have 5 or 6 miles to do after the previous days long run, I just go too quick. Doesn't seem to have done any harm so far though

11 slow miles done. It's chilly out there! Watched 2 men (much younger than me) on bikes get off and walk up a hill as I ran up it Always a good feeling!

My foot seems to be giving me a bit of niggly pain, worse when walking than running though. I'm just icing, resting and hoping it will go away

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAWS !! Hope you have treated yourself to a big cake.

Hope your bumps and bruises are ok today Moshi and your aches and pains DrNOrtherner

Well done on entering the race thecoo - always good to have something to aim for !

Doyouthink - yikes Beachy Head marathon sounds hilly !

I did 5 miles in the gym this morning. Legs v. tired after yesterday so was a bit of a struggle but is done. I don't know how you hard core lot manage running most days ! I now won't run probably until SUnday evening so a bit of rest.

Where is the pain in your foot doyou? I get pain under the arches extending to the heel, but it tends to disappear once I've done a couple of miles and is always worse after resting. Plantar faciitis in my case.

Did a gentle 4 miles in the gym - cold is getting better but my chest is a bit achy still. Might go back to the gym tomorrow and remember to take my swimming cossie so I can use the steam room.

Well done on your 5 miles Wheely, it's hard, running on tired legs.

Beachy is very hilly but meant to be one of the most scenic marathons in the Country. I like a nice view while I'm walking running up hill

Yes, I think that's what it is paws. I had pain in the heel week before last which went, but this came on after my interval session Tuesday. I am ignoring it

Enjoy the rest of your birthday

Happy birthday Paws!

Hills? What are they? (I'm trying to pretend they don't exist, lol.)

Found myself really wanting to cut the walking down when I went out Wednesday, so enjoying myself.

Out tomorrow and then the weekend off. Is three times a week enough?

Another happy birthday paws. Hope you treated yourself to a nice cold bottle of Lucozade sport and a refreshing protein bar!

playthedayaway I get out three times a week and once more would be nice (if I had the time) but it's good enough for me!

Got my long (13 mile) run tomorrow morning but forecast appears to be blanket rain so that should be something of a slightly damp experience. Looking forwards to it though all the same - so much better than the intervals and speed sessions and hey, technically it could save on a shower when I get into work!

Thanks cestlavie and doyouthink for all the explanations and advice :) - I'll be able to pretend I'm a 'real' runner soon!

I looked up last years race results for the Stortford 10 and it had 121 results with the last one coming in at 1hr50, so now I'm really panicking! Should've looked this up before I entered...

Found some training plans, so going to try and improve my speed as well as get up to the distance.

Good news is I mentioned it to the girl I work for and she's entered too now, so at least I'll have a bit of company, at least at the beginning.

pawsnclaws hope you're enjoying your day - will have a in your honour tonight.

Thanks for the sympathy re. digestion issues! Am a pretty regular sort of a gal (vegetarian)and normally very strict about GOING before a run, (sometimes have a cup of coffee to get things moving along) but didn't yesteray. Ah well, learned my lesson

DrNorth, that training session sounds like a nightmare. Hope you, and your hair, have recovered!

Doyouthink, I think that's what they call the marathon bug. You are now hooked for life I am predicting! Hope the foot is ok.

Well done on your 11 miles moshi, sounds like the tiredness is setting in so hurrah for tapering!

Happy Birthday Paws and well done on reaching your target. Great stuff.

Dont worry thecoo about that awards ceremony. The folk who are actually getting the winners medals WILL be super fast so will want to get away. 10 miles in 1 hour 50 is definitely doable. Glad you friend from work doing it too, its nice to have someone to chat to when you're waiting to start and the nerves set in. Just to add to cestlavie's excellent descriptions of training sessions, you could also try fartlek which is a kind of speed training and you dont need a special watch or racing track to work out how long to run. You basically do a warm up run and then start running short distances fast and then run recovery distances inbetween but you can vary the length of the distances so you could run fast to a tree and then recover to the next road, that sort of thing. It's not as scientific as a measured interval session but is quite fun and is a good one to do if you want to do some sort of speed training but maybe are having a day when you are not in the mood for normal intervals. Of course the tendency sometimes is to unleash you inner lazybastard and think, oh I'll run really fast to that bin just there and then maybe walk to that err....ice cream van

Well done on your 5 miles Wheely, enjoy those rest days!

playtheday, yeah 3 times as week is enough, that's what I do. The difference between 2 and 3 is massive I find. If you can get into thte habit of 3 then you can always do more if the mood takes you!

Good luck with your 13 miles tomorrow Cestlavie, it's true, after doing speed sessions, a normal run seems like a treat huh? Albeit a wet one...

Tomorrow is supposed to be my yoga day but think I might have to miss as DP got job interview in afternoon so would have to leave the class early to get back for DD and even then I know will be checking the clock. Not conducive to lovely relaxing yoga session so will skip it and maybe go a run instead.

Oooh, Born To Run turned up in post today so an early night might be in order. I know how to live!

Happy birthday, paws! Tis DD1's birthday tomorrow so I am
about to get down to making that cake I promised... Happy running everyone and may those injuries bog off and stay away. Feeling not as bad as of late following a sports massage last night. Day off today where I did nothing and have a short 4 mile recovery run tomorrow before my 20 miles with 13.1 at MP at a race at Dorney Lake. Aiming to run it in 1:36 I think if I hit 7:20m/m.

PS peach - loving the admission of the run cut short by a mile due to a poo. We have all been there!

Good luck with the cake moshi and hope DD1 has a good birthday ! - I keep meaning to ask, how are you going to do the 20 miles with a 13 mile race in it? Keep running after the finish line ??

Peach - let us know what you think of Born to Run. I have added it to my wishlist (in the hope someone looks at it !).

Thecoo - try not to worry about the previous times although I always worry about these things too !

C'est - good luck with the 13 miler, hope it stays sunny but cool !

Doyouthink - true the views at Beachy Head will be stunning, it might just take your mind of thsoe hills

Playtheday - Another 3x week girl here. You should be fine and means you shouldn't need to run two days in a row.

Paws - hope you've had a good day.

Happy birthday to Moshi's dd for tomorrow!

I have just made the worst cake in my cake-baking history which my DCs will be horrified to see tomorrow. Not sure what went wrong. Hope DD1 appreciates it still!

wheely - 6 mile warm up, 13.1 miles at marathon race pace and then 1 mile warm down. All to practise marathon pacing ("MP") fueling and running at MP on tired legs. That's the idea anyway but it may turn out otherwise !

Moshi I once baked some muffins for school and they looked a bit sad, so I kept them for the family to eat and bought some - thank god I did because the first one I ate turned out to have great big pieces of eggshell in! So I'm sure your cake is great

Had another look at that calculator you posted a while back and it seems I am capable of running 10 miles under 1hr 50 based on past performance, so just need to think positive and train hard! That site is actually a great resource all round, so thanks for sharing it.

Having a rest day today so will just focus on figuring out my training schedule. Have a good day everyone!

She loved the cake! We called it Howl's Moving Castle Cake which, if you have seen the film, is quite an apt description of it .

4.5 mile recovery run which went OK in that nothing hurts more than usual so I think my 20 miler might be OK tomorrow (crossing fingers).

Morning all, lovely run this morning.

Stayed dry and got round in just a few seconds over 1.45 which is almost 3 minutes better than last week (hoorah!)... which I guess goes to show than intervals and tempo runs do help, however, hateworthy they can sometimes be! Also quite surprising as was out til late last night then up with an annoyingly chirpy DD from 6 this morning and thought I might actually fall asleep/ run into a tree/ into a canal during the first couple of miles.

On the downside, I think being tired left me a bit tense through the run and probably out of sorts in terms of posture. Result, shoulders feel tight and sore and left calf muscle doesn't feel too good. Lesson? Persuade DD to sleep longer (without too much Nurofen being involved)

Talking of DDs, happy birthday to Moshi's DD. Fine work on the cake baking. Sure she'll appreciate the effort (kids being just like that of course...)

Hope you're enjoying "Born to Run" Peach. It's a great book for making you want you to just get out and run for sheer hell of it. Am just ordering "Feet in the Clouds" which I think someone on here recommended and which looks great (mental note to self, don't get too weird about running!)

Hope your foot's feeling better this morning Doyou for some ice. Those niggles are always annoying and a bit worrying.

Cake sounds marvellous Moshi and happy birthday to your DD! Glad your recovery run went well, good luck for tomorrow.

Cestlavie, good work on your time this morning. Sorry about the early start! I know sm unbelievably lucky to have a DD who sleeps in relatively late! T'is my day for a lie in today and have spent it Reading Born To Run! Am half way through and absolutly loving it! These ultrarunners just seem superhuman. Truly inspiring!

Happy birthday to your DD Moshi, glad she liked the cake. My ds's have learnt not to worry what mummy's cakes look like, they normally tase ok

Enjoy your run if you get out peach, hope the weather is better your way than here...it's raining!

Glad you stayed dry cestlavie and a very quick time! Hope your niggles are just that and disappear quickly. You will enjoy 'Feet in the Clouds' I'm sure, I loved it! Nearly ordered it for my Kindle the other day, I probably when if I get through my current book. I feel like I need some inspiring running stories in the run up to the marathon.

My foot is feeling better today thanks, not gone but less painful than Wednesday. A rest day too and 'only' 15 miles tommorrow so all good.